The following is a story which should anger you greatly — and definitely scare you. The burning question you are left with, as you will see, is this: Are our young men and women in the military being properly educated and trained before and after being deployed to Iraq? Read it, then let me know what you think. Frankly, it makes my blood run cold.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Darryl Mathis waits in his Pensacola, Florida, home for the body of his 24-year-old son to return home from Iraq. Mathis, a military veteran himself, was seething with anger Thursday as he spoke about the death of Army Staff Sgt. Darris J. Dawson.

Dawson, and Sgt. Wesley Durbin, 26, are said to have been shot and killed by another U.S. soldier on Sunday at a base south of Baghdad.

Darryl and his wife, Maxine (Dawson’s stepmother), say the military has told them nothing about the incident: no details on his death, no information at all.

His voice shakes as he says he believes that the military has let him down.

“I’m very disappointed — very,” he said. “If I would get a straight answer, if they would actually tell me what’s going on, I would have something to work on; but right now, I have nothing to work on. Everything I’m getting, I’m getting from the media.”

His wife sobs as she says her stepson’s death was foreshadowed by a phone call he made to her from Iraq.

“He said that he was more shaky sometimes of the soldiers than of the enemy, because of the young guys over there.”

She said she asked him, “What in the world do you mean? You’re afraid of your own soldiers?”

” ‘These kids are trying to fight a war they know nothing about. … They’re jumpy. … They’re more scary than the enemy,’ ” she said he told her.

“And I said, ‘Oh, God,’ ” said Maxine Mathis.

On any given day, CNN receives dozens of detailed news releases from the U.S. military, including those announcing U.S. military casualties. In the cases of Dawson and Durbin, there was no mention of their names, and the releases were terse.

“A multi-national division center soldier died this morning of non-combat related causes,” the first release read. “The cause of death is under investigation.”

A second release came later in the day.

“A second multi-national division center soldier died this morning of non-combat related causes. The solider died of wounds September 14 at a coalition forces combat Army support hospital,” it read. “The incident is under investigation.”

Inquiries Thursday from CNN were met with a news release that a press officer said had been drafted Wednesday. However, the release had not been e-mailed to reporters Wednesday, as is customary.

After naming the two soldiers and giving their rank and unit, it reads, “A U.S. soldier is in custody in connection with the shooting deaths. He is being held in custody pending review by a military magistrate. The incident continues under investigation.” The release gives no other details.

The U.S. military is classifying the death of Sgt. Dawson as “non-hostile,” something Dawson’s father finds puzzling.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know,” he said. “I just can’t get it together with that. I had never heard that before. ‘Non-hostile’ in a war zone?”

Lt. Col. Paul Swiergosz is a public affairs officer for the area in Iraq where the incident took place. He says the “non-hostile” death classification was given “because the deaths were not the result of hostile enemy action.” But details on what happened remain scarce.

After asking, CNN received an e-mail press release from Gen. Tony Cucolo, commanding general of the Third Infantry Division that a press officer said had been drafted on Wednesday. The release, however, had not been e-mailed to reporters, as is customary.

“We do know one soldier, a fellow noncommissioned officer, allegedly opened fire and mortally wounded his squad leader and fellow team leader,” reads the statement.

A spokesman at Fort Stewart in Georgia said, “A soldier has been taken into custody. The incident is under investigation, and that is all I can say.”

The spokesman would not even confirm information in his commanding general’s press statement.

Maxine Mathis says she is stunned at how her stepson’s death has been handled by the military. She says the Army assigned someone to help the family with anything they needed once they found out Darris had been killed, but she and her husband don’t know how he died.

She said her husband asked the liaison officer whether it was true that Darris had been killed by another U.S. solider. She said the officer denied it, insisting he didn’t know anything else.

Darryl Mathis continues to express his disappointment in the lack of information from the military about his son, amid rumors his son’s body could be home by Saturday.

“I don’t even know where he’s at, at this time,” he said.

Bobby Muller, president of Veterans for America, said he thinks the way the military classifies deaths in Iraq is an attempt to keep the public combat numbers down.

“There is a clear and long-standing record, regarding the classification of causalities in Iraq to minimize combat losses. And we’re seeing people wounded and killed that would have well been considered casualties from hostile action in previous conflicts. It’s an attempt to conceal the actual cost of this war in terms of casualties,” Muller said.

“The Department of Defense has announced the death of every service member who has given their life in operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom,” said a Pentagon spokesman, Col. Gary Keck. “We have been open and transparent on the numbers of casualties suffered in these operations.”

Mathis says his son wanted to come home to his wife and four young children and was in the process of applying for a transfer.

“Last I spoke to him was last week Monday. He called every Monday, and said he was checking his paperwork. He said he was going to call me back once he found out. That was the last I heard from him.”

Mathis’ wife cannot stop sobbing.

“We don’t know why, we don’t know why,” she says “All we know is that our son died a useless, needless death. That’s all we know.”

Technorati Tags: Iraq, the military, Darris Dawson, Wesley Durbin

I have a problem. A computer problem. My stupid ‘puter began spontaneously shutting itself off a few days ago, and it hasn’t stopped! I’ll be lucky if I can get this posted before it shuts off again!

I’ve cleaned the inside, I’ve run a full system scan, the fans are working properly and it’s not overheating, so what could it be??? What would make a computer just shut down like that? Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

I better click “publish” while I can!

Current Mood: Alarmed

You guys have heard of Gloucester, Massachusetts, haven’t you? That was the setting for the movie The Perfect Storm, remember? You all knew that was a true story, right? Well anyway, Gloucester is in the news again. It seems that at the close of school this year, 17 of their High School girls were pregnant! That is reported to be more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. According to Time Magazine:

Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there’s been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, “some girls seemed more upset when they weren’t pregnant than when they were,” Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. “We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy,” the principal says, shaking his head.

The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn’t sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community’s wherewithal. “Families are broken,” says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. “Many of our young people are growing up directionless.”

The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. “They’re so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally,” Ireland says. “I try to explain it’s hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m.”

But wait, it gets even worse!

The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. “We’re proud to help the mothers stay in school,” says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.

But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High’s student clinic, she and the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women’s health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: “Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children.” The pair resigned in protest on May 30.

Gloucester’s elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won’t do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers’: “No one’s offered them a better option.” And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future.

No one has offered them a better option??? Are you freaking kidding me??? I don’t care how much hardship your town or your family run into, you don’t give up on your kids! How can THAT many young girls think that having a baby is the answer? What the hell?! It’s like a bad take on the Stepford Wives — it’s the Stepford Girls — in reverse! I’m sorry, but there is something really tragic going on in that town.

So what do you think? Should they give out contraceptives without parental permission? I think in that town they better! Seems like the school officials are the ONLY ones who give a damn!

Technorati Tags: Gloucester Massachusetts, teen pregnancy, contraceptives and schools

Did you get your taxes in on time last month? We always do, but my middle son never does. He inevitably ends up filing an extension and gets them done later. I don’t know why he can’t just get it done on time, but it doesn’t seem to bother him in the least. It’s not hard or anything, that’s for sure. It’s not like he has massive deductions and all kinds of stuff to itemize. His taxes are pretty simple and straightforward and he has a great tax accountant. Oh well, he eventually gets them filed, though, and thankfully doesn’t get himself in any bad situations where he must seek IRS tax relief.

Have you ever had the misfortune of being audited? I’ve always been afraid of IRS tax audits. My poor Mom was audited THREE times! You know why? Because the IRS couldn’t believe she supported three kids on what she was claiming she earned. I kid you not. That’s the honest to God truth. Can you believe that? I’m just glad there are people out there like the Tax Relief Specialists who can help with all kinds of tax issues, even state income tax help. Knowing there’s help out there makes me a tad less scared of those IRS people! ;)

Tax Relief Specialists, IRS Tax Audits, IRS Tax Relief

All these years on the ‘net and I’ve never had a major email disaster — until now. For reasons completely uknown to me, every single email account of mine was wiped out and every single address in my address book disappeared. I’m trying to stay calm. LOL I’ve restored my accounts, but there is no restoring my address book (I don’t really want to think about that too much. If I do I’ll scream!). So, I need to ask you guys a BIG favor: Would you PLEASE leave a comment here so I can get your email addresses again? Either that, or just email me. I really, really want your email addresses again. Thank you!

Stupid computers. ;)