War and Suicide

via Powerline our favorite propaganda rag TNR chronicles a war ravaged soldier and his road to Suicide.

I won't argue that war doesn't create substantial mental health stressors for its participants(If your struggling with 'getting right' get help), because it does.

I won't argue that Military Mental Health care is the best money can buy, because it isn't.('If you're thinking about blowing your brains out...go to the nearest hospital, military or otherwise, if tri-care won't pay..there are plenty of patriotic Americans who will help you find a way to pay")

Propaganda

MaryAnn has a pretty good summary of Soviet Propaganda in her post Against All Enemies.

Sowing the seeds of anti-Americanism by discrediting the American president was one of the main tasks of the Soviet-bloc intelligence community during the years I worked at its top levels.

All good things come to and end

There is an end to everything, to good things as well. The proverb dates back to about 1374 (Chaucer). First attested in the United States around 1680. The word 'good' was added much later. 'Everything has an end' and 'Everything comes to an end' are variants of the proverb." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman

I'm referring to the end of one of my favorite blogs, who's owner also authors here, Andi's World. A sad and bittersweet decision made by Andi:

This has certainly been one of the most difficult posts I've ever had to write. After some long and thoughtful deliberation, I've decided to close Andi's World. I love this blog, with a passion, primarily because this blog has afforded me other, better opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our troops and their families. Opportunities that are more of a priority for me right now than providing daily, unimportant commentary here, and opportunities which allow me to make a tangible contribution to the military community, of which I'm a proud member.

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think when I started this blog that I would meet so many incredible people, and become involved in so many worthwhile projects. I am grateful every single day that I decided to begin blogging.

When I founded SpouseBUZZ, I knew it could be an important resource for military spouses, but I never dreamed it would be considered a lifeline for so many. I know from experience that the cyber-world can successfully distract, entertain and support military spouses as they embark on that often-lonely, often-dark and often-scary journey called deployment. Hardly a day goes by that a military spouse doesn't comment or email to thank us for SpouseBUZZ, which makes the hard work worthwhile.

At Ft. Hood, I held the hand of a young, teary-eyed Army wife who told me that she needed what we offered. In San Diego, more tears flowed, more hearts were touched and more lifelines were established. I cannot overstate how important the work at SpouseBUZZ is to military spouses who are, increasingly discovering the value of non-traditional, unofficial sources of support, like blogs. Now would be a great time to tip my hat to my fellow spouse bloggers who work daily to entertain, assure and support military spouses.

From the moment I stumbled upon Mudville Gazette, quite accidentally, I knew I wanted to be a part of such an exciting and important community, and I thank all milbloggers, whose collective efforts have served to give this community a much-needed voice, for their work.

I love working in an environment which focuses solely on offering support to military families and doesn't dwell in politics or whether or not we should be in Iraq. SpouseBUZZ is just such an environment and it is growing by leaps and bounds.

You can read the rest here and say your farewells and give her plenty of well wishes.

Do not fret, Andi will not be leaving us, here. She needs a place to vent and this is the perfect place. But I suggest if you really want to keep up with her, you visit her and the other military spouses at SpouseBUZZ, you won't be sorry.

We had boot...

...they brought ass.

Result: predictable.

I wonder if that was the long-overdue "spring offensive"?