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

Author: Hondo

  • Actions Provoke Reactions

    The two ladies involved in l’affair Petraeus seem to be finding out firsthand the truth of the above title.

    Looks as if the Army has decided to suspend the security clearance of Petraeus’ alleged mistress, Paula Broadwell.  No specific reason was given for the suspension.   However, based on what’s come out I’d guess it was the combination of alleged adultery and computer harassment.

    Both behaviors are kinda regarded as “no-no’s” for Army officers.  Broadwell is a member of the US Army Reserve – a MI officer holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, to be precise.  Having one’s security clearance suspended is a significant issue impacting one’s  ability to serve as a MI officer.

    However, at least one source is reporting that a recent search found “substantial classified information” on a computer used by Broadwell.  That could also be the reason for the Army suspending her security clearance.  Mishandling classified info is also a rather big “no-no” for an Army officer – especially an MI officer who presumably would definitely know better.

    Separately, MacDill AFB has apparently decided to suspend unrestricted base access privileges previously granted to Jill Kelley.  No specific reason was given for this action either.

    It will be interesting to see how these play out over time.

  • Justice . . . Sorta

    It looks like we have an end to the ICE “female Frat House” scandal. That’s the scandal which cost one of DHS Secretary Janet Reno’s protégées, Suzanne Barr, her high-level political-appointee job in ICE.

    DHS has filed notice of an out-of-court settlement with the whistleblower in the case, James Hayes. Hayes will remain employed by ICE – and will also receive a payment of $175k as damages.

    So much for those initial claims that Hayes’ allegations were unfounded.  I guess DHS decided they really didn’t want folks who witnessed Barr’s antics to testify in open court regarding what they saw.

    I say this is “sorta” justice because it is.  Real justice would require DHS to go after Barr to recover the $175,000 she cost US taxpayers by being an idiot and sexually harassing male subordinates.

    I ain’t holding my breath, though.

  • Stupid Judge Tricks, Part . . . . Dammit, I Lost Count

    Well, it looks like at least one judge in North Carolina must be a long-lost relative of Gomer and Goober Pyle.  “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

    Seems as if the town of Brasstown, NC, has an . . . um, unique New Year’s tradition. Along with the bear stew and musket shooting, each year they have a “possum drop” on New Year’s Eve.

    What’s a “possum drop”, you ask? In Brasstown’s “possum drop”, the opossum isn’t actually dropped at all. Instead, an opossum is humanely captured during hunting season.  It’s kept caged fed and caged until New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Eve, the opossum is suspended in its cage. At midnight, the cage is lowered as part of the town’s New Year’s Eve festivities.

    Think a low-tech version of the Times’ Square New Year’s Eve apple drop – Appalachian Style.   The opossum is afterwards released back into the wild.

    The person who captured the opossum even gets a special permit from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC).  That permit allowed them to display the opossum at his country store between capture and release vice killing it.

    Well, that’s the way it used to work.  One less dead opossum during hunting season, who gets well fed and and cared for  and then released.  Everybody’s happy, and no harm – right?

    Well that was the case for 20 years or thereabouts. Then PETA got involved.

    Predictably, PETA saw all of this as “cruel treatment” of the opossum. So they took the state to court. Their argument? The retention of the opossum captured during hunting season was unlawful.

    Not surprisingly, PETA managed to find a damn fool appointed as an administrative law judge who agreed with them – specifically, one each Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison.  Morrison ruled that while the animal could indeed have lawfully been killed during hunting season, the state WRC didn’t have authority to let one be captured and kept temporarily.

    “Hunters must afford wild animals the same right Patrick Henry yearned for,” Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison Jr. wrote in his order. “’Give me liberty, or give me death!’”

    That’s right, folks – the moron posing as a judge actually equated the opossum and Patrick Henry in his “learned opinion”.   Geez.

    The NC WRC is presently deciding whether or not to appeal Morrison’s decision.  Otherwise, Morrison’s moronic opinion stipulates that the opossum must be released within 30 days.

    For common sense’s sake, I certainly hope the WRC appeals this act of judicial idiocy.  I hope the appeals court has the common sense to overturn Morrison.  And I also hope the appeals court orders PETA to pay the state’s legal costs incurred in fighting this latest bit of PETA asininity.

     

  • Obamacare Fallout, Part II

    Remember all those claims that the Affordable Health Care Act (ACHA) – AKA “Obamacare” – was going to make your life easier by reducing the cost of your health care?  I certainly do.

    Did you believe them?  Well now – aren’t ye a wee bit auld to be a’ believin’ in Leprechauns, laddie?

    Early figures are out.  Next year, health insurance costs aren’t going down.  Rather, they’re going up in 2013 – by an average of 9%.

    Even Wal-Mart is raising their employees’ health coverage costs.  But like Wal-Mart’s prices, their announced cost increases are substantially lower  than average – around 4.4%.

    Another thing to remember:  under the ACHA, employers are only required to offer healthcare coverage for those working 30+ hours weekly. Given that fact – and the huge costs businesses already pay to subsidize employee healthcare – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what businesses will do when they need more staffing.

    If and when the economy ever recovers, that is.  Until that happens most businesses probably won’t need to add much staffing.

    And if you think the government-run solution – AKA, that touted “single payer” healthcare system you keep hearing about – will be better, you might want to read this.  England’s got a long history with nationalized healthcare – one of the longest in the world, if not the longest.  Their healthcare system  has serious issues.  The second linked article only highlights one such problem out of many.

     

  • A “Really Excellent” Charity

    Charities are good things.  They provide a way to help those who need help, without getting Big Brother (AKA “the Government”) involved.

    And giving to charities is good, too.  Without folks willing to give, there wouldn’t be too many charities.

    But if you’re going to give to a charity, you probably should steer clear of those run by people who did time for kidnapping.  Ditto those where less than 9% of donations end up actually going to the charity, with about 85% going instead to a telemarketing/advertising agency.  And those which have their official “headquarters” located in a vacant house owned by the charity’s founder.

    Think I’m MSU (Making Stuff Up)?  Think again.  All of the things I’ve described above pertain to the Massachusetts Veterans Emergency Fund, founded by Gerald Anacleto.

    That “charity” took in close to $470k in 2010 and 2011.  From that, the charity received just over $40k.

    Interestingly enough, both Anacleto and the marking firm he contracted are required to report the percentages retained by marketing to the Massachusetts AG.  But they’re apparently telling folks that “100% goes to veterans” – when the typical “cut” for telemarketers raising funds is around 55%.

    At least one complaint has been made to the Massachusetts Stat AG about the Massachusetts Veterans Emergency Fund.  Nothing was done.

    And for some reason, the Massachusettes AG – Marsha Coakley – just doesn’t seem to want to discuss the matter.  Hmmmm.

    Gotta love Massachusetts.  Apparently it’s OK there to lie about more than just phantom Native American ancestry.

  • This Might Get Interesting

    Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees.

  • The October Deficit? $120 Billion.

    Yes, you read that correctly.  Even though FY2013 is barely 1 month old, our Federal government is already “in the hole” $120 billion.

    The Federal government spent more than it took in during October – roughly $120 billion more, to be precise.  In October, Federal revenues from all sources were only about 60% of spending.

    I can remember when an annual deficit of $120 billion was really bad news.  Hell, according to White House figures in FY 2007 the annual total budget deficit (sum of on- and off-budget lines) was only $160 billion.

    In case you’re wondering just how bad this is – I’ll save you the trouble of finding your calculator.  If repeated for the rest of the Federal fiscal year that works out to an annual deficit of $1,440 billion – or $1.44 trillion.

    Looks like Apu the Hindu was right.  Financially we are truly screwed.

  • A Visit Remembered

    The Korean peninsula extends from the Asian mainland into the Pacific Ocean south and east, towards Japan.  It’s sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Morning Calm”.  However, that’s a misnomer; Korea’s history has been anything but calm.  Korea has the misfortune to be located between three powerful and aggressive neighbors:  Japan, China, and Russia.  Add periodic internal strife, and throughout history Korea has seen substantially more than its fair share of war.

    It’s a rugged, harsh, mountainous land.  It’s bitterly cold in winter – think  Great Plains/Great Lakes cold – and at times is Dixie hot and humid in summer.  Other than its river valleys it has precious little flat land.  Only about 30 percent of Korea’s land is arable.

    A notable exception is the region extending from the Osan/Seoul/Pyongtaek area generally northwest past Panmunjom towards Pyongyang.  This area includes the lower portion of the valleys of the Han and Imjin Rivers, as well as other reasonably (by Korean standards) open country.  Though nowhere near Great Plains flat, the region is less mountainous than most of the rest of the peninsula.  It’s one of the few such regions in either North or South Korea.

    This region is called the Western Corridor.  It is so named because the area has been the primary route of armies traveling north-to-south and south-to-north in Korea throughout history.  The historical Korean capital, Seoul, sits square in the middle of the Western Corridor.

    — — —

    In the early/mid 1980s, there was still only one major road heading north from Seoul.  This road went north to a town called Uijeongbu.  Yes, that Uijeongbu – the town made famous in the book/movie/TV show MASH.

    (Historical note:  there really was a US MASH unit based at Uijeongbu during much of the Korean War.  That unit was the 8055th MASH, to which the book’s author was assigned.  The book/movie/TV show is based, presumably loosely, on his experiences at that unit. In the 1980s the 8055th’s old compound was still used by the Republic of Korea [ROK]Army. I ran or bicycled by that compound on occasion while I was a youngster stationed in the Uijeongbu area.)

    At Uijeongbu, the road split.  From Uijeongbu north toward Dongducheon and Camps Casey/Hovey/Castle/Nimble, the road was called MSR3 by US forces.  It continued northward from there, crossing the 38th Parallel and passing through the towns of Jeongok-eup and Yeoncheon.  The branch of the road from Uijeongbu west led past Third  ROK Army (TROKA) HQ.  It then joined another major route – called MSR1 by US forces – northwest towards Munsan-ri.  On its way to Munsan-ri this road passed by Camp Howze.

    The road did not end at Munsan-ri.  It continued to the Imjin River, crossed to the north bank of the Imjin, and continued on to Panmunjom.

    The bridge where the road crossed the Imjin was called Freedom Bridge.  It was so named because it was the bridge across which POWs released at Panmunjom at the end of the Korean War crossed the Imjin on their way south to freedom.

    Freedom Bridge

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