It would be nearly impossible for us at TAH to ignore this news. For the sake of clarity, you can read the actual Opinion Here. The interwebnet thingy has been abuzz with opinion on what all this actually means. Far be it from me to deny the Gun Nutz around here the opportunity to opine. I spent some time on the usual “Gun Channels” trying to sort through it all. Reuters is as good as any on the announcement:
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantees a right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense, finding that Hawaii overstepped its authority to regulate firearms possession outside the home.
The ruling by a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, makes the San Francisco-based court the sixth U.S. circuit court to interpret the Second Amendment that way and could set the issue on a path toward the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not taken up a major gun rights case since 2010.
I wouldn’t rush into the streets covered in Glocks just yet. The 9th has been known to lean just a wee bit left of center…seems to me they are forcing the issue to the Supreme Court. Me thinks there be sound far left reasons some gun grabbers in robes ruled this way. If not, I enjoyed my time on the beaches in Israel…maybe I can enjoy the same kind of beaches here in the good ole U S of A.
In August we reported on the horrific case of Army nurse Katie Blanchard who was attacked by Clifford Currie and set ablaze with gasoline. This past week the Kansas City Star reports that Currie was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of assault with the intent to kill.
According to court documents and trial testimony, Blanchard was in her office when Currie doused her with gasoline and ignited it with a match.
Currie also tried to attack her with a razor and a pair of scissors. He also tried to stomp on her neck before other employees were able to intervene and subdue him.
Lt. Blanchard had filed numerous reports through her command about her concerns that Currie was dangerous. It seems that the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) does not have much to say about the incident. However, it has been widely reported that Audrey Harris, who was President of the Unions Local 738 at the time, made statements to several people that Lt. Blanchard got what she deserved.
From what Google Fu I have conducted, it appears Audrey Harris still is the President of Local 738. I can’t seem to find anything online about her being disciplined or the AFGE denying that one of their Local Presidents condoned setting an active duty Army Officer on fire. Surely, The American Federation of Government Employees must be outraged that something like that was reported about one of their Presidents. If it is indeed true, maybe they have taken some kind of disciplinary action with Ms Harris that they are keeping very, very quiet.
I wouldn’t want to upset anyone with the AFL-CIO over a little thing like people being set on fire. I am sure they have much more important things to worry about. The AFGE must be too overwhelmed trying to carry out their mission to respond.
AFGE takes seriously its responsibility to help provide good government services while ensuring that government workers are treated fairly and with dignity. The union supports a meaningful transformation of the federal workplace to improve the way services and benefits are delivered to the American public.
Ahh, what the hell…you can read all about the AFGE, AFL-CIO and some other Alphabet Soup organizations missions HERE. I hope National President J. David Cox doesn’t get his panties in a bind over any of this. It might appear to Cox that I am being a Richard but between us Davids…I just don’t give a damn. Harris might need Cox, but I just don’t swing that way.
Lt. Blanchard has my utmost respect and best regards.
Its not often when I wake up to check email and find something from the Secret Service lurking at the InBox. On short notice we were asked to attend a Reception with VPOTUS to commemorate one of the bombings that occurred in Beirut, Lebanon. Had it not been for the tireless efforts of Jeff Hamman, editor and historian for all things Beirut related, the event would have been diminished to little more than a hand full of people and a cup of coffee. Because of his relentless efforts to organize and be the liaison between the White House and those within the Beirut Community, it turned out to be something very special. We all owe him our humble thanks for a job well done.
Beirut Survivors, veterans and next of kin with Vice President Pence. I am the tall dark handsome one…it should be obvious which one is me.
You can see more about the ceremony held in the very heart of the Corps at 8th and I … HERE
I stopped by the TAH Bunker to get the proper clearances and check on my Lapua. I was detained on the front porch for a time, but using the Soviet as the effective distraction that she can be, I seen my opportunity and crept inside the compound. It might have been coincidence, but some Army guy kept putting himself between me and the Gun Vault. Gun Nutz…they get all territorial over the smallest of things. In any event, the TAH compound is all secure and may only be missing a little ammo. I have to say there is a Goddess withing those walls, Jonn married up. Her warmth and humor almost make it unnoticeable that Jonn has locked up all the valuables when I visit. I am always welcome at the TAH Compound…as long as I bring the Soviet with me.
I don’t want to describe the actual ceremony too much because there are plenty of links to other, less informed media outlets than TAH for that stuff. What none of those other News organizations know is what we are here for. To the right of VP Pence in the picture above is Morris Dorsey and his wife. He is one of the very few Marines with two Purple Hearts from Beirut that are alive to talk about it. The last time some of the people in that picture seen Morris Dorsey he was being carried out of the largest Non-Nuclear explosion on Earth and one of the few survivors.
Morris Dorsey rescue.
VP Pence went out of his way to recognize Dorsey’s service and sacrifice to this country. Words can not describe the joy I felt watching Dorsey get the long overdue recognition he deserves. We had a ball at 8th and I. Both of our spousal units brought Bail money on the trip and neither of us needed a dime. I used the crapper in the Commandants house…and he didn’t seem to mind at all.
The Soviet got her own escort of course, I was pushed aside and left to find my own way around. I tried to get this nice looking WM Captain to walk with me but she said if I didn’t stop stalking her she had no problem beating my old ass.
Then this guy showed up. He seemed to like her. I asked if she knew who he was…she said “Some guy, he seems nice”.
VP Pence invited us to his office. I was told not to touch anything, but of course the Soviet could do whatever she wanted.
The drawer actually does have the former VP’s signatures in it. Rumor has it that at some point we must have had a VP named, Jonn “Lapua” Lilyea. I can neither confirm or deny this.
The Secret Service unlocked the Balcony overlooking the West Wing, probably just because I was there. She was kind enough to take a picture with some old guy.
Zoya proving that Melania is not the only one that knows how to make an entrance.
In the end, VP came over and shook the Soviets hand and said, “Thank you for coming”. He then shook my hand and said, “Thank you for bringing her”. That’s pretty much the same thing Jonn said when we left the TAH Compound. Come to think of it…I hear that a lot.
Traffic in DC being what it is…I tried to borrow a car to get out of town. The guys with the guns said that was probably not a good idea.
With all the posers and petticoat progressives we have to deal with around here, I thought a little quality time with a true Patriot might be in order. Relax, sit back and enjoy a few moments with another American. Just a free public service we offer here at TAH. Oh, the ending is Epic.
Why has doing the right thing become so hard to do without all the “Notice Me” nonsense that goes along with it these days? Starbucks is some kind of coffee company that sells fancy cupcakes too, you might have seen one or two of their stores around town.
Here at Starbucks, veterans, military spouses and civilians work side by side every day. Watch what happens.
Veterans and military spouses are changing our perspectives and our company for the better every day. Learn more about our hiring commitment to veterans and military spouses, and our programs that support them.
Comments on their Facebook page about the add have blown up in their face. It does not seem that they are getting the usual warm fuzzy when they announce how “wonderful they are” to some group of special cup cakes. Starbucks posted a rebuttal to claims that they do not support the Military years ago. You can read it HERE. Apparently, according to Starbucks, the whole thing was started by one Marine Sergeant who has since retracted his statement about them.
It appears to me that they are finding out it is not only some poor Sgt Jarhead that takes exception to their conduct. I take exception to the way they go about many things and almost none of it has anything to do with their coffee. I don’t want to sacrifice the proceeds for a box of 9mm ammo in order to choke down all their political bullshit with a java chaser.
It is a wonderful thing that they contribute to some veteran causes. All the “Look what I did” pandering that goes along with it renders their deeds meaningless. Using a new add campaign to bolster their profits with some kind of “get to know a veteran” campaign is repugnant. I don’t want most people getting to know me. On the rare occasion I find myself in a Starbucks it was not of my own doing and if their customers actually knew what I was thinking they would most certainly not want to be my newest bestest buddy.
I have a suggestion, always wanting to be helpful in these situations, how about they hire just one person in charge of helping people who knows how to STFU about it. I boiled coffee in my helmet for years and survived. I even survived drinking that brown stuff in MRE’s they called coffee. I usually go to Waffle House instead of Starbucks, I get to have coffee with a waffle and don’t have to choke it down with a large dose of political bullshit. What’s even better, the people that eat and work at Waffle House could give a shit less what I think about anything and they never try to convince me they are wonderful people. Just a bunch of folks that know how to STFU and leave each other alone.
I hate to turn on a company that has supported my “War on Christmas”, I hope they don’t cave in this year and claim they have been passing out Yuletide Greetings behind the scenes. Its beginning to sound a lot like, “they will support just about any cause if they can pimp out the people involved for a little advertising”.
When I want a cup of Joe, I don’t want the girl/boy/whatever pouring it to write my name on a cup, I don’t want them even saying my name, it would probably be best for all involved if they didn’t ever know my name.
The next time I go into a Starbucks and they want to know what I am thinking…I am going to tell them so they get to know this veteran better. Its always the same thought…every time, and it goes something like this:
IT PUTS THE COFFEE IN THE CUP…IT DOES THIS WHEN ITS TOLD
For over a year Lt. Blanchard had warned her command that 54-year-old Clifford Currie was a threat to her safety.
At approximately 5:10 p.m. on September 7, 2016, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, heard screaming from an office adjacent to hers at Munson Army Health Center. The civilian NP ran into the hallway and found 26-year-old 1LT Katie Ann Blanchard, an active duty Registered Nurse (RN) and mother of three, on fire from the waist up. (Details of the attack from the FBI Criminal Complaint, dated 8SEP16 can be found here.)
The smell of gasoline filled the hallway. The NP could see another coworker, 54-year-old Clifford Currie, in the office with Katie. He was clutching a straight-edged razor in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Currie, a short, rotund man weighing well over 200 pounds, was screaming at Katie and stabbing at her face even as she was engulfed in flames.
The NP rushed in and attempted to help Katie put out the flames and get away from Currie. Both the NP and Katie fell to the floor while struggling with Currie, who continued to stab at Katie while putting his foot on her neck and hollering incomprehensibly.
A Doctor from a neighboring office heard the commotion and rushed to assist. She and the NP struggled to restrain Currie, who continued to stab at Katie. Even with Katie’s two heroic female co-workers fighting him, Currie was hell-bent on continuing his assault as Katie lay smoldering on the floor.
Clifford Currie: Employee of American Federation of Government Employees Union
One would think the horror of this event would have some kind of closure because Clifford Currie was found guilty this past week of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder. He is facing 20 years in federal prison and will be sentenced in October. Sadly there is much more to become outraged about when it comes to this case.
For most of the thirteen months that she worked with Currie, she tried to have him disciplined or removed before his disturbing behavior would eventually escalate to her attempted murder.
Katie was Currie’s immediate supervisor, and she wrote over twenty negative counseling statements for Currie stemming from his consistently abysmal work performance, complaints directly from patients, and his outright negligence in performing his role as the Exceptional Family Member Program Care Coordinator. Katie repeatedly communicated to her command that she felt unsafe with Currie at work, and she felt untrained to deal with his combative attitude and escalating threats.
Currie overtly threatened Katie on multiple occasions prior to the September 7, 2016, attack.
Katie and her husband before she was brutally attacked.
Clifford Currie was a member of AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees Union). It is being reported that his Union President, Audrey Harris, has loudly stated to multiple employees at Munson Army Health Center, that Katie “deserved” what she got. She did not deserve to be doused in gasoline, lit on fire, stabbed and beaten. It is my understanding that Audrey Harris is still employed with the AFGE Union Local 738.
When Katie’s initial Section Chief transferred from Leavenworth, her new Section Chief took Katie’s pleas for help seriously. She endeavored to stop Currie before he escalated by going to the next Officer in the Chain of Command. But this Section Chief’s effort to put a stop to Currie’s behavior using the proper protocol was met with an admonishment that both she and Katie were acting irrationally as women and needed to come with facts—and not emotions.
It appears to me that Clifford Currie is not the only one that should be held accountable for what happened to Lt. Blanchard.
Before and After picture
It seems the Command and AFGE need to have their altitude adjusted. There is much more to this case. Google is your friend. I am not sure who should be contacted if anyone wishs to voice their concern, but I think this guy:
Michael Kelly – National Vice President, District 9
Phone: (405) 670-2656
Fax: (405) 677-8481
kellym@afge.org
Seems like a good place to start. I will post some links below.
As many of you know, I sleep next to a formerly Cold Hearted Soviet who is now a Red Blooded American. She is such a lucky gal.
It seems the ACLU is targeting those who have recently become U.S. Citizens with their rendition of a “Survey”. I did my best to explain to her, in an objective manner, what the mission of the ACLU is supposed to be. Spending her early years behind the Iron Curtain, she is now wanting to fulfill her obligations as an American citizen.
Anything related to supporting Civil Liberties seemed to be a good idea. She is having difficulty understanding what exactly the ACLU is trying to accomplish with this survey. I think she has some notion that the ACLU is launching a full scale attack on The President of the United States.
I tried to assure her that the ACLU would never do such a thing. After all, Civil Liberties should be protected by all Americans. She still does not believe me and insists this ACLU group is some kind of thing conjured up by likes of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev. Ever since she did her own conversion of 9 inches from the metric system, she is convinced I embellish things.
I told her that there would be no better place to get objective analysis done on this survey than right here at TAH. Please take a minute to read the Survey and Letter sent to her and help me explain how it is only intended to strengthen our Civil Liberties and should not be seen as a direct attack on our President. Maybe a few suggestions on how to answer some of the questions would be helpful.
Just in case some of you would like to help support the American Civil Liberties Union you will find the ability to do so at THIS LINK. No, seriously…you need to check out the link. God Bless America.
Most people who make false and embellished claims of military service go to great lengths in order to support their claims. We often see false documents, altered pictures, claims that could never be true, sock puppets, legal threats, and so much more being used by posers to defend their lies.
Some of the most bold posers use bravado to fend off anyone who dare question their service. They will use all forms of deception to justify their lies. We have had several cases in the recent past that stand out. One man had started his own FaceBook veteran group and was invited to help Admin many more veteran groups. He used the fact that many people who are known within veteran communities were on his friends list to establish his credibility. He had been doing it for many years. His blunder was to try and join a private group that investigates Stolen Valor. They take their lies too far, they always seem to go too far.
During our exposure of another recent case, a man used all kinds of documentation to support his lies. His family, beguiled by bravado, bought into his lie. For decades they were sure his claims were true. After all, he had proof. A lot of proof. Pictures on the wall, documents, awards, and many other veterans that knew him well. Or so it seemed.
I thought you might want to see the things we went to recover from this recent case. It is one thing to use words to describe the lengths these posers will go…quite another to see their deeds with your own eyes.
Here is one of our recent inventories surrendered by a man that never spent a day as a United State Marine:
All recovered from one military poser. The money and time people will put into protecting a lie must be exhausting.
Much respect to the men and women of TAH for your unwavering support. Without all of you, there would be no us.
Many thanks to little Nicky with this particular case. Proud of you brother, Semper Fi.
