Coming Sunday in As It Stands–Get out of Afghanistan, There’s a War Next Door!

The U.S. State Department reported 80 Americans killed thus far this year by Mexican Drug Cartels. That’s already more than last year.

Mexico’s war is spilling into the U.S. (see chart). Our government needs to get out of Afghanistan and use that money to protect Americans at home. National security starts at home.

Record Number of Americans Killed on Border

“It has been a violent year in Mexico. Last weekend was no exception. Four Americans were killed in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which sets just across the border from El Paso, Texas. Two were fatally shot near the Zaragoza international bridge in one incident. In separate incidents, two other U.S. citizen suffered fatal shooting wounds in Ciudad Juarez.”

Six Americans killed in Mexico's drug war city

“Gunmen have killed six U.S. citizens in separate attacks since Saturday in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez, the U.S. consulate said on Thursday, as Mexico struggles to halt surging murders.”

Mexico cops arrest child in hunt for hitmen as young as 12

'When we don't find the rivals, we kill innocent people,' an unidentified boy says in YouTube video

“Parents in the violent cities of Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana on the U.S. border say children as young as 8 years old want to grow up to be drug lords, as the thrills and wealth of the trafficking world touches their lives.”

No pun intended: 'Joking disease' is no joke

Melissa Dahl writes: Why did the cookie go to the hospital?

Because he felt crummy.

What did one snowman say to the other snowman?

Smells like carrots.

Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella?

Fo' drizzle.

Terrible jokes? Or a sign of a brain disorder? Actually, sometimes it's hard to tell.

Witzelsucht (the Germans just have the best words for everything, don't they?) is a brain dysfunction that causes all sorts of compulsive silliness: bad jokes, corny puns, wacky behavior. It's also sometimes called the "joking disease," and as Taiwanese researchers phrased it in a 2005 report, it's a "tendency to tell inappropriate and poor jokes." We've covered all sorts of strange disorders of the mind in earlier Body Odd posts: one disorder makes you believe your loved ones are strangers, another convinces you that your hand has taken on a life of its own. Now, we give you a brain disorder that actually causes a poor sense of humor.

 

Better Than Nothing: Sculpture Generates Minimum Wage

The Minimum Wage Machine is an artwork made by Blake Fall-Conroy. Anyone who interacts with the machine can “work” for a minimum wage.

Turning the crank by hand will yield one penny every five seconds, adding up to $7.15 an hour, which is New York State’s current minimum wage.

I’m curious to know who fills the Wage Machine up when the box is empty!

World's strongest liquors: Spirits make their way into upscale cocktails, but you may need to travel to find them

Grain alcohol may bring back memories — or flashbacks — of college dorms.

But Gilardi’s, a sleek Italian bistro in Springfield, Mo., offers a house-made Limoncello with lemon zest, sugar, and the 190-proof grain alcohol Everclear. It’s served straight up in a sugar-rimmed cordial glass — hardly a means to a sloppy end.

Slideshow: World's strongest liquors

The drink is no anomaly. In the last few years, exceedingly potent alcohols have moved beyond the frat house and into the mainstream palate, thanks to the revival of pre-Prohibition cocktails and our unending thirst for the latest and greatest. “There’s this new level of connoisseurship among drinkers in search of novelty,” says Noah Rothbaum, editor in chief of liquor.com. “It’s not about flavor; it’s about the experience.”

I get a kick out of R.Lee Ermey–in both Full Metal Jacket and his current commercial about being an unsympathetic psychiatrist

Full Metal Jacket Drill Instructor - Watch more Funny Videos

This scene is a great portrayal of the iconic Marine drill instructor.

I think this commercial is hilarious! Guess I’m a R. Lee Ermey fan. My Dad was a Marine and served in the Pacific during WW II. He’s just as crusty as Ermey!

Vietnam Veterans receive the homecoming they never had at Fort Campbell

This video is touching. Tears ran down my eyes when I viewed it. These men are my brothers. We gave up our youth and left part of our souls in the steaming jungles of Southeast Asia. Our shameful return home greetings scarred us. Now, we need to embrace those who are welcoming us Home…and to be at Peace at last.

Sounds of Healing: combat veterans trade M-16s for guitars

A new Band of Brothers – Soldiers and Marines find guitar music healing. Good Veteran Day vibes

Museum Fundraising Campaign Underway for Navajo Code Talkers

It’s never too late to honor these heroes:

“Keith Little and Frank Chee Willetto know time is no longer on their side.

That's why the men, World War II veterans who used a code based on the Navajo language to stump the Japanese in battles, spend their days reminding the world of their contribution to ending the war.

As the numbers dwindle — fewer than 100 Code Talkers of the 400 trained by the U.S. military are believed to be alive — the Navajo veterans are being recognized. Today, Veterans Day, a group of them will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. New Mexico dedicated a 16-mile stretch of highway to them on Wednesday.

HONORED: N.M. exhibit honors Navajo Code Talkers

Now, 65 years after serving mostly in the Pacific, the men are trying to establish their legacy on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Through a foundation, they are about to launch a $42 million fundraising campaign for a museum and veterans center.”

PHOTO - Frank Chee Willetto, pictured at the Gallup Cultural Center in New Mexico, is working to raise funds for a Code Talkers museum.

Profile: America’s Wars and the Veterans who served in them

Today, we honor the men and women who have fought under America's flag. Veterans Day marks a historic armistice and salutes all U.S. veterans, many of whom served during our country's wars and conflicts.

VIETNAM WAR

The communist leader of Vietnam sought to claim control of South Vietnam, a move the United States fought to prevent. (Who was the U.S. president?) The war was met with much protest in the States. (Who was the U.S. commander?)

Although the dates and scope are debatable, historians consider the Vietnam War one of America's longest and costliest.

(How long did the war last?) More Vietnam War facts: Number of Americans who served, American casualties, Total casualties, How did it end?, Veterans today

GO HERE TO VIEW THE REST OF THE WARS.

Veterans Day: Rifle squad honors vets with 57,000 goodbyes

The volunteer squad ensures veterans get a proper final salute

“The bus stops on the cemetery path and the silver-haired men file out, sober-faced and silent amid a sea of white marble tombstones. Some carry rifles, some flags, a few hold bugles. They've all come to say goodbye — to a stranger.

This is their eighth funeral of the day. They have five more to go.

The men are members of a special fraternity of veterans. Two generations. Three wars. Survivors of places such as Khe Sanh, Chu Lai, Tokyo Bay, the Chosin Reservoir. Recipients of Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars. Now all together, offering a final salute to those who, like them, served long ago.”

PHOTO - Jim McGee, a member of the Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad, salutes during a veteran's funeral at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Bloomington, Minn

Corpses and coffins? FDA proposes graphic cigarette labels

The best thing I ever did for my health was quit smoking in 2000.

The feds are gung ho with their new initiative to reduce smoking

“The federal government hopes new larger, graphic warning labels for cigarettes that include images of corpses, cancer patients, and diseased lungs and teeth will help snuff out tobacco use.

The images are part of a new push announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.”

Read more here.