I’m going to go out on a limb here but I need to say as a disclaimer that these thoughts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of other admins or writers.

There are some changes coming and I’d like to solicit input on how the community feels. If opinions become heated and non-consentual things may default to status quo.

I look at TAH and it’s mission. To define it allows us to best support it moving forward. To me, it seems like it is a collection of a predominately veteran community that leans right. There are alternate voices and some say you need two wings to fly.

The views are very hard right. This is an observation and not criticism. Maybe we all get so much spin on our news that it is refreshing to be able to express ourselves in one place that we feel safe. Our “safe space” as one would say. I’m only saying that the current make-up and discussion trends may be valuable to support.

You just have to know what you are giving up.

TAH discussion will never be mainstream in its current form. Sure, you will tie into Google but if there are national implications with Stolen Valor discussions, I think the discussion forum will immediately be attacked and discredited based on strong language, what some would perceive as homophobic, inside humor, etc. I think someone addressed this at one time and was immediately discounted.

OK, fine. But the views expressed in the discussion group will be never be mainstream and that may be what you are giving up.

TAH can always be supported as a “niche” discussion group, but Stolen Valor may have to go a different direction and have cases offered up as discussion as with any other news topic.  The vast wealth of military and other experiences is invaluable for piecing together a puzzle of someone’s military service when presented as a stolen valor case.

The liability can become a huge issue. It needs to be reader comments and opinion and have a clear delineation from the site. Nobody wants to pay for somebody else’s right to call someone names. You can prove that someone is a ‘liar’ but you can’t prove they are a ‘cocksucker’ or ‘MF’er unless you have photos.

I’m not chastising anyone or anything. I’m merely citing this because this drives the main question as to how best to support the TAH community:

1) Make it a “niche” right-leaning [edit] discussion group, perhaps even walled off from the public or have a private section walled off?

2) Have it more mainstream and promoted to the mainstream media with strigent policies on what can and can’t be posted in order to cut down on criticism?

This is what I am soliciting opinion on.

This wil come into play how things are structured in the near future.

Also, I’d like to say that I feel it is important to welcome new readers / commentors and not chase them away with tar and feathering. This will be imporant for growth and credibility, but of course not give people a ticket to be fruity and disrespectful. Let’s hear their points, try and bend over backwards to tolerate, but really be proactive in welcoming them.

Having said that – ALL opinions are welcome.  Look forward to hearing them if you have any.

~ Extra Admin

Today mandates a mention of the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, (December 7, 1941), surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii, by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II. The strike climaxed a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan.

The depth and scope of this attack is still difficult to contemplate.

Lowest of the low.  How low can one go?

Man caught stealing from Marine parents in their darkest hour

https://www.11alive.com/video/news/investigations/stolen-valor-man-caught-stealing-from-marine-parents-in-their-darkest-hour/85-eeec732f-034b-4ce1-863d-1f1b5cbdeb9c

After a Marine mother’s son was killed by an active shooter on U.S. soil, she donated $135,000 to an organization to honor him. The organizer ended up using the money for a new car and sex toys.

FoxNews reports that a Colonel in the Vermont Air National Guard was forced to resign after caught using an F-16 to meet up with a lover.

Col. Thomas Jackman – whose aviator callsign was reportedly “Snatch” – had been exchanging flirtatious emails with an unidentified Army colonel who worked at the Pentagon for two months before they arranged to meet in January 2015, when he would be in town for a work conference, according to the report by local Vermont website VTDigger, which cited three former Guard members with knowledge of the incident.

Jackman, who was married at the time, told the outlet that he was not involved with the female Army colonel. He reportedly declined to comment on whether the trip forced him to retire.

Jackman, 55, the commander of the 158th Fighter Wing, reportedly used his authority to fly an F-16 nearly 500 miles from Burlington to Andrews Air Force Base, located just outside Washington D.C.

Sounds like the guy who passed himself off as an Army general and showed up for a date by landing a helicopter.

Dare I say it?   They grabbed snatch and it’s a good thing.