January 2008 archive

People don’t read, they watch TV.

Since the dawn of the Television Age, this has been a club that the Power That Be have hit us on the head with. People watch TV, and those with money can buy their way Onto TV, and those approved by the estalishment are Broadcast on TV News … and progressives, whether progressive elitists or progressive populists, are largely left out.

And when progressives get on, its because the trendy lefty cocktail set … could be New York, could be Hollywood, wherever … sniff about the inability of TV to cover any Important Issues … and so the progressive populists, about whom nobody sniffs if they are ignored, are left out entirely.

But … well, but the environment is diff’rent. The technology exists. We can do what the Russian dissidents did … we can spread our message by Samizdat.

And how do we get people to read it? Well, we hand them a video, and they can watch it on TV.

That’s the Video Samizdat Revolution.

And it hasn’t happened yet, but if you want it to, it can.

1. Dana Priest of the Washington Post reports Soldier suicides at record level: Increase linked to long wars and lack of Army resources.

   Suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980…

   Last year, 121 soldiers took their own lives, nearly 20 percent more than in 2006. At the same time, the number of attempted suicides or self-inflicted injuries in the Army has jumped sixfold since the Iraq war began. Last year, about 2,100 soldiers injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002, according to the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan.

   The Army was unprepared for the high number of suicides and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among its troops, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have continued far longer than anticipated. Many Army posts still do not offer enough individual counseling and some soldiers suffering psychological problems complain that they are stigmatized by commanders. Over the past year, four high-level commissions have recommended reforms and Congress has given the military hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its mental health care, but critics charge that significant progress has not been made.

   The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed severe stress on the Army, caused in part by repeated and lengthened deployments. Historically, suicide rates tend to decrease when soldiers are in conflicts overseas, but that trend has reversed in recent years. From a suicide rate of 9.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2001 — the lowest rate on record — the Army reached an all-time high of 17.5 suicides per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2006.

   Last year, twice as many soldier suicides occurred in the United States than in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. Meanwhile, U.S. commanders in Iraq favor pause in troop cuts reports the Washington Post. “Senior U.S. military commanders here say they want to freeze troop reductions starting this summer… There are about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now, with about 5,000 leaving every month; the proposed freeze would go into effect in July, when troops levels reach around 130,000. Although violence is dropping in Iraq, commanders say they want to halt withdrawals to assess whether they can control the situation with fewer troops… Officers are still debating the length of the proposed freeze, with some arguing for 90 days and others saying it could be as short as 30. Because it can take as long as 75 days to withdraw a brigade, a freeze could result in troop levels remaining steady through most of the rest of Bush’s term, deferring any continued drawdown to his successor. Military planners fear that maintaining the current pace of withdrawals could lead to an unstable situation just as a new administration takes office in January.” Bush’s ‘temporary surge’ now becomes permanent. Surprised?

   According to the AP, “At least 37 U.S. soldiers have been killed in January – well above the 23 who died in December but still sharply lower than a year ago. In January last year, 83 soldiers were killed in Iraq. Since the beginning of the war in 2003, at least 3,942 members of the U.S. military have died. The total for January could rise; occasionally the military reports new casualties a few days after they occur.”

Four at Four continues below the fold with news about the fate of Afghan journalism student Sayed Pervez Kambaksh and Atlantic hurricanes.

John Edwards recently suspended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President, saying “It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path” and reminding us all that “We must do better if we want to live up to the promise of this country we love so much.” He ran a strong campaign that influenced the positions of both Obama and Clinton. Naturally his supporters are disappointed. Many of them vote this upcoming Tuesday and are now trying to decide whether Obama or Clinton deserves their vote.

In last year’s State of the Union address (which I’d taken to calling his State of Denial address for this very reason) Bush had never said a word about New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, or Katrina–as if he’d written off an entire area of the country. So I didn’t expect them to be mentioned Monday night.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when Bush first mentioned “armies of compassion” on the Gulf Coast, then announced that NOLA will be the venue of the next North American Summit with Canada and Mexico.

What is this–NOLA’s “not ready” to host a fall presidential debate, per the site selection commission–yet she can, per Bush, host a summit of three world leaders in April?  

Let’s see since I last updated I:

1. Fixed two broken lights in the barn, they were in the area originally intended for the horses but the previous owner found it easier to put them in another spot.  Now they’ll have the option of two places if I need to do work in one of the areas.

2. Took the ATV out to the farthest point of the property and tested the hand held radios.  The Cobras worked great but the Audiovox radios weren’t as strong.  It’s good to have the radios in case something happens and I need help.  The stories are many about men who were working on their tractors on the back 40 and had to lose a leg or an arm for lack of a communication device.

3. The birds are enjoying their sewet cake and feed, so far I’ve seen chickadees, winches, blue jays, wrens and there are some pigeons in the barn(note to self must fix cupola on barn), and an owl has decided to make the woods around here his/her home.

On NightProwlKitty‘s diary, “I’m not waiting on the government to give me nothing”

https://www.docudharma.com/show…

tahoebasha3 posted a comment about a group named NENA (The Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association) that is part of the effort to rebuild the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. The organization is under the auspices of Lower 9th Ward residents. Tahoebasha3 posted NENA’s telephone number.

I called and the woman who answered the phone later told me she was President of Lower Ninth Ward Homeowner’s Association. She was handling the phones while everyone else went to lunch. I’m still a little bit overwhelmed by our conversation, so this essay will be brief. I was told that the majority of the people NENA helped were senior citizens. We exchanged emails and plan to stay in touch. I thank everyone who blogs on this issue, it’s because of you that I made this simple phone call.

NENA’s priority needs are:

1.) Building Materials: nails to studs to wire.

2.) Money

3.) Gift Cards from: Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Win Dixie Food Stores, Dollar General, Family Dollar  

Send to:

NENA

PO Box 3920

New Orleans, Louisiana 70177

“If it wasn’t for the people who call us, we wouldn’t be as advanced as we are.

It’s the thought, you know?”

~~Linda Jackson