Recently I met a soldier returning to Iraq. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned he had 65 kills. He didn't say that boastfully or with great anguish. He said it in a matter-of-fact tone.
I don't have any way of verifying his statement, but even if he killed a fraction of that amount...
To those who honor the soldier/warrior, that would make him a hero of sorts.
To those who are anti-war, that would make him a tool of war (perhaps a villain).
At the very least, you gotta regard him as being deadly...
Here's an item discovered, this past week, in the Wash. Post. How could I have missed this commemoration?! (Was this news covered by BET or Radio One?):
June 7
Hands were clapping and feet were (gingerly) stomping in the East Room of the White House yesterday as President Bush welcomed gospel singers Erica and Tina Campbell of the group Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and Smokie Norful to celebrate Black Music Month.
The singers each performed two songs, with the president and first lady Laura Bush nodding along. "Let history record you had me jumpin' in my seat," Bush said afterward.
The compliment wasn't just lip service -- the president smiled, clapped and mouthed the words as McClurkin sang, "Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from Heaven above with wisdom, power and love."
Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) were among the attendees, as Bush tipped his hat to innovators in jazz, gospel, the blues and rock, citing greats like Louis Armstrong , Lena Horne, Diana Ross and Ella Fitzgerald .
"One of the greatest black musicians to visit the White House was Dizzy Gillespie ," Bush said. "He liked it so much here he became a write-in candidate in 1964. His platform included jazz in schools and Miles Davis as head of the CIA."
Over the crowd's laughter, he added, "I'm not making that up."
Who knew that President Bush, or someone on his staff, is such a treasure trove of jazz trivia?! Somebody must be piping stuff into his i-pod.
I found the following item reported on a Louisville, KY portal. It seems like the kind of thing that would happen in some war-torn zone or brutal dictatorship, rather than the U.S. of A.:
Man Dies After Being Buried In Hot Asphalt
Jun 6, 2005, 2:50 PM
(LEXINGTON, Ky.) -- A central Kentucky man is dead after being buried up to his waist in hot asphalt when the tailgate of a fully loaded asphalt unexpectedly opened. It happened Monday morning on U.S. 27 in McCreary County near Lexington.
Officials say three asphalt trucks were traveling south on U.S. 27 when the lead truck stopped because of engine trouble.
The driver of the second truck and two other men were standing behind the lead truck when the tailgate suddenly unlatched and burst open, allowing the scorching-hot asphalt to spill out.
One of the men was immediately buried waist deep in the asphalt, and died within a few minutes.
The two other men were burned as they used shovels to try to dig out the first man.
The names of the victims were not immediately released.
Yesterday I perused the tables of a neighboring conference and picked up a report on the Effects of The Vermont Mental Heath / Substance Abuse Parity Law published in 2003.
(background: the law went into effect in '98 and sought to require health insurers to cover mental health and substance abuse services on par with general medical and surgical services. At the time of the report, it was the most comprehensive parity law in the nation.)
I never paid much attention to MH/SA coverage, but what is of interest to me is how the analysts evaluated the parity law's effects (what their methodology was) and how to improve the law's effects.
Can't comment much, 'cause I've only started looking at the report. Will probably have to brush up on my statistics (namely, regression). But on cursory examination, it seems that the report is written for the cognoscenti. Not for a lay person, like me. Not enough detailed explanation for me to follow at times.
One report conclusion does strike me: that consumers need to be more aware of their MH/SA coverage. This is a time-honored problem, how to publicize. Was there any money budgeted for a publicity campaign?
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Upcoming: Vermont song recital
When: 21 June 05, noon
Where: Coolidge auditorium, Library of Congress
Who: Margaret MacArthur, singer and collector of traditional songs
info: (202) 707-5510
cost: free
and later that day, MM sings across town...
What: songs from VT, AZ, and CA (other?)
Where: Millennium stage, Kennedy Ctr.
Time: 6pm
cost: free