Blue Oyster Cult knew about PTSD

VETERAN OF THE PSYCHIC WARS
By Eric Bloom, Michael Moorcock

You see me now, a veteran of a thousand psychic wars
I've been living on the edge so long
Where the winds of limbo roar
And I'm young enough to look at
And far to old to see;
All the scars are on the inside
And I'm not sure if there's anything left of me.

CHORUS:
Don't let these shakes go on
It's time we had a break from it
It's time we had some leave
We've been living in the flames
We've been eating up our brains
Oh, please don't let these shakes go on

You ask me why I'm weary
Why I can't speak to you
You blame me for my silence
Say it's time I changed and grew
But the war's still going on dear,
And there's no end that I know
And I can't say if we're ever, ever gonna be free

(CHORUS)

(GUITAR SOLO)

You see me now, a vetaran of a thousand psychic wars
My energy is spent at last
And my armor is destroyed
I have used up all my weapons
And I'm helpless and bereaved
Wounds are all I'm made of
And did I hear you say that this is victory ?

CHORUS:
Don't let these shakes go on
It's time we had a break from it
Send me to the rear
Where the tides of madness swell
And been sliding into hell
Oh, please don't let these shakes go on
Don't let these shakes go on
Don't let these shakes go on

This is not, in any way, a commentary on the War On Terror

Men do what we see needs done when not everyone can arrive at a touchy-feeley concensus and sometimes the cost is more than the market will bear.

John Stuart Mill, in his essay "The Contest in America" observed:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, — is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.

Will we, as a society understand the price being willingly paid by our troops? Can we grasp this, in the moral vacuum of relativism inherent in the Marxist philosophy of our universities and public institutions? I do not believe so. When the good of the individual is not supported, but subverted by each act of public policy heaped upon us in the interest of the majority welfare, then the concept of 'The Individual' as recognized by the founders as being central to the value and sanctity of life is effectively abolished. God did not create us to be part of an amorphous identity; we are to be accountable as individuals and this through a personal relationship, one-on-one with God in the Person of Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of life; this, the purpose of existence that cannot and need not be explained to a cow, regardless of eloquence or volume, but must be communicated to men if we are faithful to Kingdom mandate.

Man-lunch

Double-decker peanut butter and banana sandwich. In a word, yum.

The Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared.

Swampy's Survival tip #42: What to do when attacked by Carniverous Lizards of Unusual Size

step 1: Un-sheathing your knife, hold it at your side, sharp edge away from your body. If you haven't a knife -shame on you- grasp your hairbrush firmly in your hand and step on the head while twisting and pulling the handle. This should give you a jagged and pointed edge.

step 2: Curl the fingers of the hand not holding the knife and extend that arm toward the Carniverous Lizard and assume a crouch as you prepare your lunge.

step 3: Sprint toward the Carniverous Lizard while yelling "Kristi for President!" This will cause the Carniverous Lizards' mouth to drop open, allowing you to dive past the poisonous teeth and directly into the moist gullet.

step 4: Move quickly down the slippery maw, making your way to the stomach. Once inside the stomach, stab into and through the skin. You will have to wedge and wiggle the point of the blade to get past the scales. Lift and slice an opening large enough to allow your passage. Before you emerge, secure a firm grip on as much of the entrails as possible. Slide from the opening you have created and pull the entrails with you.

At this point, any other Carniverous Lizards of Unusual Size will attack the injured lizard until they have all been killed or wounded.

step 5: While skinning the lizards, make sure you avoid the poison glands located in the head and neck; the remainder of the meat is both nutritious and tasty when cooked with some garlic and white wine.

Swampy