There’s a lot in the weekend’s papers and around the blogs that should not be missed.
*The LA Times has an important editorial about the necessity to define and standardize just what we mean when we say “drop out,” so that school districts (LAUSD a notable example) can no longer play Hide the Dropout. The Times rightly gives credit to US Education Secretary Margaret Spelling for calling for the standardization.
*On Saturday, Glenn Greenwald at Salon notes the frequency with which the media mentions Barack Obama’s bowling score and the fact that the Clintons are rich, but how comparatively rarely our media managed to comment on the declassification of John Woo’s torture memo that makes clear that the Bush administration “…declared the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to be inapplicable to ‘domestic military operations’ within the U.S.
*The LA Times also has a smart and thoughtful Op Ed by novelist Rabih Alameddine about the dangerous and prejudicial way we use the words “God” and “Allah” in this country.
*But for me the weekend’s most upsetting and essential read is the report in the New York Times that Army leaders are worried about the mental health of our troops when they are subjected to repeat tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here are some relevant clips:
[SNIP]
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond.
Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health
Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times, according to a separate set of statistics provided this week by Army personnel officers. The percentage of troops sent back to Iraq for repeat deployments would have to increase in the months ahead.The Army study of mental health showed that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers — a critically important group — on their third or fourth tour exhibited symptoms commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorders….
I have a lot more thoughts about the issue, but I’m on a hard-core deadline so I’ll leave it at this: In the past, the military has not typically been terribly good at appropriately worrying about stress and PTSD. So if the Army is starting to throw up red flags about the compromised mental and emotional health caused by repeated deployment in this wrong-headed, swamp of a war (my terms, not theirs), with it’s ambiguity of enemies and purpose, I can only imagine the worry of the mothers, dads, wives, husbands and children of the service people we are using so recklessly.
Anyway, read it, and let me know what you feel and think.
Happy Monday.
PS: I’m going to see The Boss in Anaheim on Tuesday night, so he’s on my mind, hence the YouTube illustration rather than a photo.
L.A. would do better to break down its school system into extremely small units and let representatives of the local schools run them.
As long as we’re defining words, maybe we also need to define and standardize what is considered the costs of running schools. I’ve said before that the costs provided by the BOE cannot be trusted.
Don’t trust numbers given by school systems, especially when they have a conflict of interests. (And, just think what each parent could do for their children with $25,000 per child.)
Minor point. That should be Glenn Greenwald at Salon. Glenn Reynolds largely believes Bush can do no wrong.
Your comment about PTSD among soldiers serving multiple tours reminds me of the current movie “Stop Loss”. There are many soldiers who have blogs and provide a personal perspective that you can’t get from a news report. Sorry if I previously mentioned these blogs.
I get much of my Iraq news from the soldiers themselves, I just read a review of movie “Stop Loss†and personal view from G.I. Kate at this blog.
http://myamericaniraqlife.blogspot.com/
Here is a sample of content from blog;
http://theunlikelysoldier.blogspot.com/
“My stomach churns and my head pounds, my sleep schedule is fucked almost as bad as this “war” or whatever the fuck you want to call it. I spend two four hour shifts in a guard tower. Staring out at nothing. Waiting for that psychotic wiley asshole to hop in his 1977 Ford VBIED and plow through the gate so I can put the .50 cal on him and blast him and the car to shreds, slinging lead until the barrel melts or I run out of ammo, and only after my ears stop ringing would I hear someone on the other end of the radio screaming at me. Gimme my medal sir, shake my hand for the pichur in the paper, outstanding soldier yaddah yaddah, and it all means precisely: $dick.
So much to read so little time, a few of my bookmarks, and many links to other blogs.
http://wordsfromwarriors.blogspot.com/
http://ltnixonrants.blogspot.com/
http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/
Matt Sanchez has many pictures
http://mattsanchez.typepad.com/
‘
The LA Times also has a smart and thoughtful Op Ed by novelist Rabih Alameddine about the dangerous and prejudicial way we use the words “God†and “Allah†in this country.
This is absolutely so pathetic and insignificant that I don’t know where to start. Liberals are so desperate to attack anything western and to take up for Islam that they resort to attacking our dictionaries.
Oooops. Thanks, Randy. Hey, Woody, I give you credit for at least reading the Rabih Alameddine thing. (You did read it, right?)
And its worse than that Celeste as the same period saw 1,000 mentions of Monica Lewinsky! The performance of our so-called “Elite Media” has become so bad that “laughable” would be a complementary adjective. Either they are all the high school kewl kids that Greenwald and igby talk about or they live in fear of the no-nothings like dear Woody being the bulk of their readers and wish not to offend.
Thanks for the excellent links, LR. By the way, that “unlikely soldier” kid’s a very good writer. A natural. I went over there first.
Also, I notice that Words from Warriors has the Daily Show video about the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley (which, for anyone who hasn’t seen it, is HYSTERICAL in a really sad kind of way. I’m extremely embarrassed for my fellow liberals. Woody, if you haven’t watched this, I promise you’ll thank me.)
rlc, did you mean “know nothings” rather than “no nothings?” We in the know want to know. At least we both know that the “elite media” is bad.
Celeste, if that’s the video where the “peacenik” reporter was trying to blend in, it was funny.
The LA Times also has a smart and thoughtful Op Ed by novelist Rabih Alameddine about the dangerous and prejudicial way we use the words “God†and “Allah†in this country.
Good article. It’s worth remembering that Jesus and Abraham are prophets in Islam.
The larger point being made about meaning is worth remembering also. I like to look up etymologies of words to gain an even better understanding of their meaning.
Larger point? It’s a petty article.
Blah blah blah.
I’m so tired of the speech police.
I’m so tired of the flatulent comments.
I just had a horrible experience. I went to the dentist and they had me recline in the dental chair. The staff assured me that I would be comfortable. But, as they worked, they began spraying water into my mouth. They said that they were just trying to get something out of it. Was it a confession or a tip? At times I could see blood. It was very difficult to breathe. I was afraid that I could drown. As I was about to choke, they would suction it out and start all over again. It was then that I realized that my dentist was waterboarding me–just like the Gitmo prisoners! What had I done? I paid his bills. When it stopped, he wanted some tax tips. Next time, I’m sending him a newletter instead. Be careful of dentists. They might have worked for the CIA.
Your comment might make sense if this happened against your will. Hell, you paid for the privilege. Wanker.
But, I have a pretty smile.
And you’re still pro-torture.