By MARK THOMPSON Thursday, Apr. 02, 2009

When Army Staff Sergeant Amanda Henderson ran into Staff Sergeant Larry Flores in their Texas recruiting station last August, she was shocked by the dark circles under his eyes and his ragged appearance. "Are you O.K.?" she asked the normally squared-away soldier. "Sergeant Henderson, I am just really tired," he replied. "I had such a bad, long week, it was ridiculous." The previous Saturday, Flores' commanders had berated him for poor performance. He had worked every day since from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., trying to persuade the youth of Nacogdoches to wear Army green. "But I'm O.K.," he told her.

No, he wasn't. Later that night, Flores hanged himself in his garage with an extension cord. Henderson and her husband Patrick, both Army recruiters, were stunned. "I'll never forget sitting there at Sergeant Flores' memorial service with my husband and seeing his wife crying," Amanda recalls. "I remember looking over at Patrick and going, 'Why did he do this to her? Why did he do this to his children?' " Patrick didn't say anything, and Amanda now says Flores' suicide "triggered" something in her husband. Six weeks later, Patrick hanged himself with a dog chain in their backyard shed.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now the longest waged by an all-volunteer force in U.S. history. Even as soldiers rotate back into the field for multiple and extended tours, the Army requires a constant supply of new recruits. But the patriotic fervor that led so many to sign up after 9/11 is now eight years past. That leaves recruiters with perhaps the toughest, if not the most dangerous, job in the Army. Last year alone, the number of recruiters who killed themselves was triple the overall Army rate. Like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, recruiter suicides are a hidden cost of the nation's wars.


more at link....


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...



This story just shows one more reason we need to get the "HELL OUT" of both Iraq and Afghanistan. As the daughter of a former 30 yr Marine Vet, I feel for the soldiers and their families. They are being abused in every way possible-- multiple tours of duty, no help for the families or for the returning soldiers, whether physically or mentally wounded, and the families of soldiers killed in action aren't being told the truth about their deaths...the list just goes on and on. Now here is this story about what is happening to the ones here in the US doing the recruiting.

Stories have been leaking out over the last 6 years about some of the underhanded recruiting tactics being employed, but nothing has been said about the men and women doing the recruiting until now. This is just one more reason we need to end this damnable war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Damn Bush and all those involved for keeping this freakin mess going!! I don't care who they are, what side they were/or are on, in the end we are all paying for this horror. Every one of us.

God help us!!!

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Brenda Gardenhire shows off her new home with pride. It looks like an oversized shopping cart covered with a khaki canvas. But to her, it's "wonderful" -- a stepping stone to get her off the streets and get her life back in order.

"It's like your own home, your own apartment, your own room," she said, showing off the 7-foot-long living space on wheels. "No one else can come in here but me."

Gardenhire is talking about her makeshift home called an EDAR, which stands for Everyone Deserves A Roof. The units are being distributed to homeless people in the Los Angeles area by the Everyone Deserves A Roof nonprofit organization.

It's the brainchild of "Revenge of the Nerds" movie producer Peter Samuelson, who has spent much of his life working with charities to help impoverished children.

He got the idea to help the homeless in recent years as he rode his bicycle from Los Angeles to the beach at Santa Monica. Video Watch a canvas-covered 'home' for the homeless »

On those bike rides, he began seeing more and more homeless people. But he didn't just whiz by. He stopped to talk with them -- 62 people in all. One by one, he listened to their needs and what they wanted most: a roof over their heads. And the idea for the EDAR was born.

"If you had to define the value of a civilization, it's not how many SUVs you've got," Samuelson said. "To me, I think it's how well do we take care of our children, our homeless people, our mentally ill, those less fortunate."

more at link.....


http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/0...



Certainly this isn't a cure or a solution to homelessness, but I can see where it can help those in need--not having to sleep on the cold ground or where it's wet and damp. Having some place to call their own can give back a sense of pride to these men, women and families who have lost everything. Maybe it can be a stepping stone to helping them regain what has been lost.


fixed...hope this helps.

Thought I would post these new pictures of my boy now that he is coneless. The stitches were removed from his mouth on Thursday and the vet said his mouth looks good. He has returned to his crazy, fun-loving self.

This picture was taken in my parent's backyard. He was so thrilled to have his cone gone, he rolled all over the grass.




These next two were taken today on my apartment balcony. My handsome boy...





and this last one I like because it shows Sheridan just relaxing.



Just wanted to show off my beautiful boy with my friends here in the Edwards Forum.

It has been thirteen days since my beloved Sheridan had his mouth surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. My poor boy had to have the front part of his mouth (lower canines, little front teeth and a piece of his lower jaw) removed because of it. His new look isn’t as bad as I feared. I told a friend of mine that when I look at him, he reminds me of a little old man missing his lower partials.

I’ve run the gamut of emotions since learning Sheridan has cancer. I knew it was a possibility since he is a Golden Retriever and unfortunately, his breed is prone to that sort of thing. I also knew that at 12 years of age, there was an even stronger chance of it popping up. If there is an upside to all he has been through, it is that the kind of cancer he had does not spread once the tumor is removed. The vet did some tests, checking for cancer signs in his lungs, abdomen, and elsewhere and it all came back negative. Thank God! I haven’t given any updates since his surgery, as it has been full time job caring for him. It’s like having a baby in the house as I have to help him eat, drink, and prevent him from running into everything and hurting his mouth.

During this time, he has had to wear an e-collar. I’m sure anyone who has ever owned a pet knows what these are, but for those that don’t I will describe it. It is a big, plastic tube that is worn around the animal’s head to keep them from chewing or otherwise hurting themselves. So for the last 13 days, my poor boy (and I) have suffered through the presence of the cone. He has had a hard time adjusting to it. For the first few days he looked at me like I was punishing him for something. I felt so bad, but thankfully, he will be seeing his normal Vet on Thursday to have the stitches in his mouth removed and hopefully have the cone removed.

Since I have to hand feed Sheridan, sometimes the food falls out of him mouth and into the cone. I constantly have to clean his face and fur. Yep...he needs a good bath, but I still love my boy and am so happy to have him healthy again. All the Vets who had seen him said that he looked really good for a 12 year old dog, so I hope that continues to be the case.

He are some pictures I took of Sheridan a couple of days after his surgery. He was on some pain medication at the time and was sleeping a lot.

Sheridan and I saw his new Vet on Thursday April 24 and for the most part it was a good visit. Everyone at this new Vet office just gushed over my boy, telling me what a sweety he is. (Something I already knew-Sheridan loves everybody). I was also told that he looked really good for a 12 year old dog. I give the credit for that to his wonderful breeder. Also his father and grandfather were champion show dogs. His grandfather even won Best in Breed at the Westminster Dog Show in 1996.

I had to leave him for 2 hours while Dr. McFadden(his new Vet and a very nice lady) ran some tests just to make sure the cancer had not spread beyond his mouth. She noticed a lymph-node on his neck near the tumor site was a bit swollen, so she did a needle aspiration to check the fluid inside(I received the results on Friday and everything was fine). She also checked his lungs, abdomen, and drew some blood-all results came back normal and healthy. ***Big Sigh of Relief*** However...

She did tell me due to the type of oral cancer he had, it would be necessary to remove the front part of his mouth-which means he will lose his lower canines and his little front teeth. Also his lower jaw would be shorter. He will look different, but once this is done the cancer would be all gone and after he is healed he can go back to doing all the things he loves to do...playing fetch, catching balls, and just being my boy. She said his tongue will hang out a little due to the shorter mouth--it already does only it's out of the side of his mouth , but he will be fine. His surgery is scheduled for May 7 and he will have to stay over night after his operation, but I can pick him up the next day. He will be on soft foods for a while until he heals, but after that he can go back to his regular food.

I have been so overwhelmed by all of this and find myself getting weepy at the drop of a hat. I also wonder if it's my fault that he is having to have this surgery. Could I have take better care of him? I guess I will never know the answer to that. What I do know is that I'm just glad that he will be with me for a while longer. I know I will lose him one day due to old age, but I refuse to let this nasty disease be the reason.

I wanted to thank everyone for their good wishes for Sheridan. I and my boy both really appreciate it.

The Vet called me this morning and gave me the bad news. It had some long, complicated name and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as she told me. She said the tumor had been one of three possibilities. Unfortunately, what it turned out to be is the most aggressive of the three. If I ignore it, it will eventually grow back and break his jaw. So I have two choices before me...

1) Do nothing, just continue to give him pain medicine and antibiotics and wait for the end. That is not an option for me

2)Or fight back. The good part of this bad news is that this particular cancer doesn't spread. So once it is removed he will be okay. To remove it, part of his jaw must be extracted in surgery. So he has to have a CRT scan to find out how much the tumor has invaded his jaw. My Vet told me dogs who have had this form of surgery do really well.

I have to admit I sat and cried after getting off the phone. I thought Sheridan's dealings with the Vet were over for now. I guess not.

Sheridan has to see a different Vet who deals in cancer and he has a visit scheduled for next week, Thurs. April 24. Please continue to keep good thoughts for my baby. I will keep everyone up to date as I get more information.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- At 5 a.m. on any given day, Anne Mahlum could be found running the dark streets of Philadelphia -- with homeless men cheering her on as she passed their shelter. But one morning last spring, she stopped in her tracks.

"Why am I running past these guys?" recalls Mahlum, 27. "I'm moving my life forward every day -- and these guys are standing in the same spot."

Instead of continuing to pass them by, the veteran marathoner sprang into action so they could join her.

She contacted the shelter, got donations of running gear, and in July 2007 the "Back On My Feet" running club hit the streets.

The first day, Mahlum led nine shelter residents in a mile-long run. Today, Back on My Feet has teams in three Philadelphia shelters, including 54 homeless members and more than 250 volunteers. The group has logged more than 5,000 miles.

snip....read more

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/02/heroe...


I just finished reading this story and thought others would appreciate it as I did.

Source: Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. - Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list, following a 13-year restoration effort that helped the animal's population soar, federal officials said Thursday.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the U.S. outside of Alaska in the early 20th century.

"Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are thriving and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act," said Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. "The wolf's recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains is a conservation success story."

The restoration effort, however, has been unpopular with ranchers and many others in the three states since it began in the mid-1990s, and today some state leaders want the population thinned significantly.

....continued

Read more: http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=2...

---

It's ridiculous that the wolf is being removed from the Endangered Species List. Yes they are doing well, but they still need to be protected. What really ticks me off is that these bastards remove them from the list and then turn around and say it is okay for them to be trapped and hunted!!!

What is wrong with these people?

Source: Time

King penguins are supposed to be a wildlife success story. The flightless Antarctic bird — the second-biggest penguin after its movie-star emperor cousin — was hunted into near-extinction by sailors in the 19th century, who used their fat as cooking oil. When the slaughter ended — penguin fat no longer being the preferred way to simmer your cruise dinner — the penguin bounced back, and today numbers about 2 million. This is a healthy, robust species that sits near the top of the complex Antarctic food web.

They may not stay that way much longer. A new report by French scientists in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences finds that king penguins could be wiped out over the coming decades due to global warming. Led by Yvon Le Maho, a physiologist at French National Center for Scientific Research, the team of researchers followed 456 adult birds with radio transponders implanted beneath their skin. Over an eight-year period, the researchers correlated survival rate to changes in sea surface temperatures, and found that in warm years, penguin chicks were less likely to survive the lean months of winter, because there wasn't sufficient fish to feed them. (Warmer temperatures seem to lower fish populations in the Southern Ocean, off Antarctica.) Adult survival rates dropped as well in warmer years. Ultimately, the scientists report that a 0.47 degree F increase in the temperature of the Southern Ocean — considerably below current forecasts for the next several decades — would reduce penguin numbers by 9%, enough to touch off a population collapse. "Our findings suggest that king penguin populations are at heavy extinction risk under the current global warming predictions," the study's authors wrote.

That's bad news for the penguins, and worse news for the rest of Antarctic wildlife. Sitting near the top of the food chain, the king penguins are useful markers for the health of the rest of the Antarctic ecosystem. If global warming means they're not getting enough food, the conditions below the penguins could be even worse....

...snip...

The situation is no better in the Arctic north, where studies predict that polar bear populations will rapidly shrink over the coming decades, thanks again to warming. Environmentalists are pressing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare the polar bear threatened, which would make it the first species to be recognized as endangered specifically because of climate change. The government recently failed to meet a self-imposed deadline to make the decision by Feb. 9, and the fate of the polar bear remains unclear....



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...

---

With each new article that comes out about Global Warming and what it is doing to this planet, I have to wonder, what will it take before we do something? How many more signs do we need to prove that we are destroying this planet? What will it take before our leaders wake up.

I love all animals, but penquins are a favorite of mine. This is just too damn depressing.

I watched Keith Olbermann's Post Debate wrap up show and got a good feeling for how it went.

Here's my take on last nights festivities...

I find it interesting that almost to a man(or woman-Rachel Maddow) that all of the TV Talking Heads felt that this was the candidate's most substantive debate.

Really? No stupid, touchy-feely questions? No stupid fluff about clothes or hair or makeup? They actually asked good, meat and bones questions about how these last two Democratic candidates would straighten out the mess this country is in should they be elected. Well my question is WHY? Why did it take the MSM this long to have one of these kind of debates?

Why, when there was a larger Democratic pool of candidates to chose from, didn't any of the MSM out-lets that co-sponsored these little get-togethers have a real, substantive debate, allowing each of the candidates a chance to show who and what they wanted to do for this country?

Well, I think I know why and I'm sure that supporters of the other candidates know why too. First they had to weed out all the trouble makers, people who might have done some real good. Make sure they weren't covered or talked about. Then they had to take down the biggest thorn in their side of all.

John Edwards was marginalized, pushed into a corner derided for trite and trivial things, never given the time of day by most(not all-thanks Keith) of the MSM people until well...here we are.

It was decided long ago by the MSM and the Corporations who will be our candidate come November. Maybe my is a little too tight, but I really believe this is the case. Or maybe, I'm still in mourning for what could have been the beginning of something wonderful for this country. I just don't know anymore.

I'm sure I will be flamed by some here for speaking up and raining on their parades. Or that I have a bad case of sour grapes. Maybe they are right, but I have tired my best not to get into name calling or belittling of others choices. Everyone has made their decision on who they support and I respect their reasons for it. So I've tried not get nasty over any of this.

I am simply stating my anger and opinion at what I consider to be an injustice done to us-the American voters in the way things have been handled.

And it is, after all, just my opinion. So flame away if you feel you must.

It's funny, but also ironic at the same time.

Enjoy!

Today is my best friend's birthday and I wanted to share him with you. He has stood by me during good times and some very bad times in my life, always there with his warm brown eyes, a cheerful smile and constantly wagging tail.

Oh, did I mention he's a dog. Some of you might know him or have asked about him. This is my beautiful boy Sheridan and he's turning 12 years old today.



He first came into my life when he was 12 weeks old. Just a tiny thing then, a ball of golden fur. He was a birthday present from my then husband, Al. He knew I wanted a dog and that I wanted a Golden Retriever. I had done a lot of research about them, and after finding a great breeder, we brought our baby home.

We were both fans of the sci-fi tv show Babylon 5 and decided to name him for one of the characters, Capt. John Sheridan. His AKC name is also derived from the show: Claridge Sky Full of Stars.



We had recently bought our first house and now had a yard for him to play in. Our cat, Fritzie, who had been our only fur-baby at the time, was introduced to the newest member of our family. It was a tense meeting. Sheridan, who was 4 times bigger than our little Fritzie tried to be friendly, but she promptly smacked him on the nose. It took them about a year to become friends, but they did.



Sheridan grew fast, turning from the furry butterball into a large puppy who was all legs.



By the time he had reached 8 months old, he was turning into a handsome golden. He graduated from obedience classes and they took pictures. He was just beginning to show the feathers on his chest and legs that Goldens are known for.



Sheridan continued to grow, becoming a handsome Golden boy, who loved everyone he met (and still does)





Over the years, he has been with me through the ups and downs in my life, my divorce, an emergency surgery, loss of my job, almost being put on the street.

Through it all, he has never asked for anything more than good food, a belly rub, scratches behind his ears, plenty of visits to the grandparents, car rides and long walks.

He is my best friend and always will be and I love him dearly.




Thanks for letting me share my boy with you. He's a little whiter now around his muzzle, a bit slower in his manner, but Sheridan is still a ball of energy, ready for anything. I hope we have many more years together, but if not, he's given me a lifetime of love and memories

I thought I would share a favorite Dilbert cartoon that is probably more relavent today than when it was first run in the paper. Scott Adams has been nailing Corps for a lot of years and this particular strip is a good one. It's funny, but scary at the same time.

Enjoy.

This is an open letter to all the men and women who currently hold positions of power in the US Congress. It is especially aimed at members of the Democratic Party, many of whom owe their current seats to the November 2006 elections. I’ve always held a sneaking suspicion that some of you come to the Democratic Underground to get a feel for our mood. Well...you're about to get mine. Please feel free to pass it on to everyone else.

Since the beginning of the year, the Democratic majority has been able to accomplish a few good things, but have sidestepped, caved or otherwise ignored the two major items that we, the voters, told you we wanted.

When we, the people of this country voted you into power, it was with the clear understanding that we wanted two major things accomplished. One was we wanted out of Iraq. The troops must be brought home. We wanted no more of our young men and women dying for this pointless, idiotic war. We wanted no more blood spilt over a lie.

The second thing we wanted was Bush and Cheney brought to justice, impeached for the high crimes and misdemeanors committed against this country. For the last six years, we have endured:

Bush and his cabal demolishing our economy.
The looting of our treasury for his war.
Watched as the price of basic necessities rose in price.
Bush giving tax cuts to the rich in a time of war.
Wire taps on our phones, our e-mails being read, snooping into every aspect of our lives, all in the name of flushing out supposed terrorists.

We complained as Bush:

Tried to privatize Social Security.
Let corporations take good jobs out of the country.
Commuted the sentence of Scooter Libby, even though he once said he would hold those who released the name of Valerie Plame--a CIA operative--accountable.
Shredded the very essence of our beloved Constitution.
Suspended Habeas Corpus against supposed terrorists, in effect taking that right away from all of us.
Continued an illegal war in which close to four thousand of our fellow Americans have died.
Stood by while thousands of our fellow citizens fought for their lives in the worst natural disaster we’ve ever seen, only to congratulate the head of FEMA for “doing a heck of job!”

I realize I’m glossing over innumerable other crimes this administration has committed, but there have been so many that it makes my head hurt just trying to remember them all. In addition, as every day goes by, new crimes are being discovered. It just never ends with this man or his people.

Which brings me to the main reason I’m writing this; I’m tired. Tired of being angry. Tired of the daily stupidity of Bush and everyone connected to him. Tired of the queasy, burning feeling in my stomach that happens every day after reading of some new outrage committed by this administration and, everyone connected to it.

It’s time to end this feeling.

I use to be a happy person. I had a decent job and life. I was someone who loved her country and was mostly proud of the good things America did here and around the world. That being said, I’m not so naive as to think we had a perfect country, but I’ve always felt that with a bit of effort, we could change any wrongs and make them right.

Well, my life has changed a lot over the last six years. I no longer feel that way. I no longer recognize the America I live in.

We need leaders in Washington now more than any other time in our history. So once again, I say to my elected officials; I’m tired and damned angry. Angry enough to make every Democrat in Washington a promise. If you, our current leaders, continue to ignore us—to disregard the very people who put you where you are today; if you can’t or won’t do what it needed to fix the ills plaguing this nation, I and others like me will elect people who will. We will make sure your time in office is a short one.

Of that, you can be sure. I and every other angry voter promise!

A dear friend sent this to me and I just had to post it. It was just too good not to.

Enjoy.