Counterprogramming

The title of this week's story is a probably futile attempt to beat Larry "Snarky Comment" Hosken at his game. To head him off at the sass, if you will. (Actually, I love the one-liners. I'm just peeved that they're usually wittier than my actual stories.)

The inspiration for this week's story was a recent AP article about the "alarming spike" in US Army suicides last month:

"In January [of 2009], we lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaida," said Paul Rieckhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He urged "bold and immediate action" by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

I have nothing but respect for the men and women of the armed forces. They are the defenders of our liberty, by choice, and they deserve better. They have earned better.

(ObTangent: Go read why screenwriter John Rogers thinks "[the movie] 300 is startlingly anti-American.")

I admit that I did, once upon a time, watch JAG. Partly because the Top Gun-lite flavor appealed to my inner teenager, but mostly for Tracey Needham. And I also appreciated the Quantum Leap fan convention that showed up in one episode for absolutely no reason. All hail inside baseball.

In the world of televised police procedurals, the undisputed king is Law & Order. But only the original--none of that SUV or Criminal Intent or Diet Caffeine-Free Zero crap for me. Sam Waterston FTW!

Finally: A shout out to my friends Aaron, Loren, and Mike, who are very much alive and well, unlike their namesakes in the story. I needed three surnames, and they were the first trio that came to mind. (Well, okay, the second, but I couldn't exactly name three modern American infantrymen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.)