This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Jonn Lilyea

  • Thai cave rescue successful

    Thai cave rescue successful

    The Telegraph reports that the last of the soccer team and their coach were extracted from that cave in Thailand weeks ahead of schedule;

    “We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave,” said the Thai Navy Seals on their official Facebook page, referring to the name of the children’s football team.

    The mood had been overwhelmingly optimistic from the outset on Tuesday despite heavy rainfall overnight that had continued throughout the morning.

    Under overcast skies, Narongsak Osottanakorn, Chiang Rai’s governor and head coordinator of the rescue mission, correctly predicted shortly before noon that all five remaining survivors would be freed by the end of the day.

    According to CBS News, an Illinois restaurateur participated in the rescue;

    Tsanet Natisri owns the restaurant THAI-D in Marion, Illinois, where he and his wife serve traditional Thai cuisine, WFVS reports. Natisri is a groundwater expert and planner who moved to the U.S. in 2004 from his native Udon Thani, Thailand.

    Officials knew Natisri had the skills needed to aid the rescue operation, so they called on him to help pump water out of the cave where the soccer team was stranded.

    Natisri was in Thailand doing charity work when military officials requested his help at the cave site on June 28, WFVS reports. He travels back and forth to Thailand three or four times a year, often for charitable work, he told CBS News. “I was doing a groundwater recharge project with the government when the military called me and asked for help,” Natisri said.

  • Richard E. Kohl, valor thief, pleads guilty to defrauding the VA

    HMC Ret sends us a link to the news that 83-year-old Richard E. Kohl pleaded guilty in Pensacola, Florida to defrauding the Department of Veterans’ Affairs of $219,719.39. From the Department of Justice;

    Documents introduced at the time of the guilty plea reflect that, at some point prior to July 3, 1996, Kohl created and signed a fictitious Form DD-214 that falsely reported that he served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War and was discharged on December 20, 1961. Kohl never served in any branch of the United States military. Kohl used the false Form DD-214 as proof of his military service to obtain veterans’ benefits he was not entitled to receive. Between February 3, 2005, and February 9, 2018, Kohl received benefit payments and services totaling approximately $219,719.39 from the VA.

    “By defrauding the federal government for personal gain, Kohl stole resources needed to help real veterans,” said U.S. Attorney Canova. “These benefits are meant for the brave men and women who have served our country.”

    Monty Stokes, Special Agent in Charge, VA Office of Inspector General said, “The VA benefits fraudulently received by Mr. Kohl were intended to provide financial and health care support for veterans who honorably served in the armed forces of the United States. This guilty plea is the result of the successful investigative and prosecutive efforts of the VA OIG and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. These continued efforts safeguard the integrity of VA programs, and ensure that VA benefits are provided only to those who have earned them.”

    I don’t know what is going on at the VA, but it seems to me that there are too many of these folks slipping through. This old coot had no military service, and that fact should have been available to the gatekeepers at the VA from the git. Now they want to imprison the guy for ten years and what good is that going to do anyone?

    That $200k is gone. He’ll never live long enough to pay that back. Veterans are the ultimate victims.

  • Navy Ensign Sarah Mitchell dies in Red Sea operations

    Navy Ensign Sarah Mitchell dies in Red Sea operations

    VT Woody sends us the sad news that US Navy Ensign Sarah Mitchell was killed while involved in small boat operations in the Red Sea;

    A Sailor assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) died from injuries sustained while conducting small boat training July 8.

    Ensign Sarah Mitchell, 23, of Feasterville, Pennsylvania, was medically
    evacuated to a hospital in Aqaba, Jordan, and was pronounced dead at 12:45
    p.m., local time.

    From USNI;

    Mitchell graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2017 and reported to the destroyer on June 5, 2017, according to her biography.

    Dunham is currently assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and departed its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on June 2. The ship transited the Suez Canal on June 28 and entered the Red Sea. Earlier this month, the ship conducted operations with the Egyptian Navy.

    Training for war can be as deadly as war. Be safe out there.

  • Tuesday morning feel good stories

    Tuesday morning feel good stories

    From San Antonio, Texas;

    Police said a homeowner fired a gun at a man who apparently tried to break into a home on Monday morning.

    The shooting happened just before 10 a.m. on Kenmar Drive, located near South WW White Road and East Houston Street.

    The homeowner told investigators a man arrived at the house on a bicycle and tried to break in through the front door. That’s when the homeowner pulled out a gun and fired at least one shot, scaring off the alleged intruder.

    When officers arrived, they found the suspect around the corner from the house.

    From Clanton, Alabama;

    Two people are dead after what authorities are describing as a burglary attempt and shooting in central Alabama.

    A statement posted on Facebook by the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to a residence on Sunday morning about a possible break-in and a suspicious vehicle.

    The statement says deputies then got another call from the property owner saying that two males had come on the property trying to take the vehicle. The owner believed the car contained items taken in a burglary.

    An altercation occurred, and authorities say the property owner fired shots that left two people dead.

    From Lewisville, Texas;

    A teenager is dead after being shot while trying to break into an apartment in Lewisville.

    The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday at the Oaks of Lewisville Apartments near Business Highway 121 and Bellaire Boulevard.

    Police said there were three people home at the time and one of them was armed. The resident fatally shot the 16-year-old robbery suspect. His name has not yet been released.

    Another 17-year-old suspect suffered minor injuries during a struggle inside the apartment. That suspect, identified as Ivory Dewayne Tatum III, was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation.

    From Elizabeth, New Jersey;

    When a robber targeted a member of the New York Air National Guard in Elizabeth early Sunday morning, he got more than he expected: return fire.

    The Union County Crime Stoppers are now offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information about the man who made off with the citizen soldier’s wallet and knapsack.

    The victim — whom authorities did not name — was sitting in his parked car in the vicinity of Mary Street and Trinity Place around 1 a.m. when the suspect walked toward the airman’s car, opened a door and pointed a gun at him, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Sunday afternoon.

    The robber took the man’s wallet and military knapsack, which had personal items inside, before the airman retrieved his own gun from inside the car and confronted his assailant.

    Authorities said the two men briefly exchanged gunfire before the suspect fled the scene, leaving his weapon behind.

    No one was injured during the gunplay, the prosecutor’s office said.

  • Ty Cobb at TAH official burger bar

    Ty Cobb at TAH official burger bar

    The media noticed that Trump lawyer, Ty Cobb was spotted rocking out at the TAH official burger bar Slash Run Saturday night;

    D.C. photographer Chris Stewart spotted the man, who became an Internet sensation because of his curly mustache, at Slash Run, which according to its website is a “rock n’ roll burger joint, bar and music venue” in the Petworth neighborhood.

    According to the Washington Post, Suspect was told that Cobb was part of a wedding group, and afterwards they stopped in for the Copstabber performance still wearing formal attire.

    While Cobb didn’t get up and dance like the other members of his party, he did put his hands in the air and particularly seemed to enjoy a song called “I Like Cocaine,” according to Suspect.

    Good lookin’ group. Thanks for your patronage.

  • Church shooting averted in Alabama

    Church shooting averted in Alabama

    WHNT reports on the story of events in Limestone County, Alabama yesterday when Thomas Zebulun Lewter, 34, began to lecture his soon-to-be-ex-wife and her parents from the pulpit of the O’Neal Church of Christ;

    Stephen Young, Public Information Officer with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, said Lewter approached the pulpit during the service and began to speak about his pending divorce, calling out his wife and father-in-law who were present in the service.

    According to authorities, congregants approached the pulpit and tried to convince Lewter to stop talking and sit down, but he refused. That’s when deputies say Lewter attempted to grab his handgun. Deputies say congregants tackled and restrained him.

    A retired Limestone County Sheriff’s deputy who was present assisted, Young said, and handcuffed Lewter while they waited for deputies to arrive.

    I suppose shooting your soon-to-be-ex-wife won’t convince her to stop divorce proceedings, neither will failing to shoot her because of your neighbors piled on top of you. Try chocolates and flowers.

  • Charles James Patrick Brown; phony Navy SEAL

    Charles James Patrick Brown; phony Navy SEAL

    Someone sent us their work on this fellow, Charles “CJ” Brown who makes claims that he was a Navy Seal. Here’s a picture of him receiving an award for working with veterans from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. You can see the SEAL Trident on the lapel of his jacket;

    Folks tell us that when he’s asked about his military career, he responds “That is confidential…classified information”.

    Well, Don Shipley says that he was never a Navy SEAL, and the Navy says he was never a sailor;

  • Corporal Joseph Maciel killed in green-on-blue attack

    Corporal Joseph Maciel killed in green-on-blue attack

    The Department of Defense announced that Corporal Joseph Maciel was killed Saturday while involved in operations supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel;

    Cpl. Joseph Maciel of South Gate, California, died July 7, 2018, in Tarin Kowt District, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan from wounds sustained during an apparent insider attack. The incident is under investigation.

    Maciel was assigned to 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. Task Force 1-28 Infantry is currently deployed in support of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade.

    From Stars & Stripes;

    Maciel’s decorations include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

    The incident is under investigation, officials said. Maciel’s death marks the third U.S. fatality in Afghanistan this year.

    The 1st SFAB arrived in Afghanistan earlier this year to advise Afghan forces below the corps level as part of the Trump administration’s strategy for ending the longest war in U.S. history. Their work puts them closer to the front lines than most U.S. troops have been in years, which has sparked concern that more U.S. causalities could result.