Special thanks to HMCS FMF ret for offering the above moon photo for use on this post. Taking photos of the moon and other astronomy related subjects is a new hobby that he picked up. This is one of his photos.
Speaking of the moon, someone downloaded a video taken by a satellite observing the moon. By lowering the brightness, and increasing contrast, the video creator exposed a different perspective. The longer you watch the video, the more ground features you’ll notice:
Earlier this week, we saw a statement about how President Trump became the first president, since 2002, to not visit troops at Christmastime. NBC ran an article about how President Trump broke with tradition and didn’t visit troops, in the combat theater, during the Christmas period.
It wasn’t enough that he talked with troops, and with others, on Christmas day.
Then, we get the news that President Trump visited troops in Iraq. On top of that, deployed troops presented “MAGA hats” to President Trump for his autograph.
So much for the earlier statement.
Instead of admitting that they were wrong, or changing their narrative, they doubled down. They questioned whether or not the troops were violating policies, regarding political activism, when they requested President Trump’s autograph on their MAGA hats.
From Fox News:
CNN’s criticism of Trump visiting the troops wasn’t limited to Watkins report and the network took a negative tone throughout their evening coverage.
CNN anchor Jim Sciutto blasted Trump for his “routine lying,” while CNN military analyst Mark Hertling criticized Trump for getting “political” during his visit. Former Obama State Department spokesman John Kirby even dinged the president for not visiting with Iraqi security forces, who are also part of the fight against ISIS.
Ex-Obama senior advisor David Axelrod told Sciutto that it’s “good” that Trump went to see the troops and that “we should give him credit where credit is due,” but slammed the president’s political rhetoric.
“It does give you the sense that this was sort of a box-checking exercise in many ways for the president. It was a serendipitous timing because it clearly was planned before everything that’s happened. And you know, yesterday was kind of an orgy of self-pity and rage on Twitter from the White House,” the CNN political commentator said. “So it changed the subject, it put him in a much better position coming with all the turmoil in the Defense Department. It’s a valuable thing but peculiar in many other ways.
Well, considering that they’ve turned the media information domain extremely hostile to President Trump, what did they expect him to do? Shut up and let them erroneously define him? President Trump will “fight back” and get his side of the story out effectively. He’ll do so when the opportunity presents itself to get his argument out.
If they want to see political activism, they need to review the free political campaigning that they do for the Democratic Party.
You could read the article, along with tweets criticizing CNN, here.
You could read NBC’s piece, with regards to President Trump’s not visiting troops at Christmastime, right here.
Thanks to AW1Ed for the Fox News link.
Although Retired General Mattis designated February 28, 2019, as his intended step-down date, it’s looking like he’ll leave at the end of this year. President Trump designated the Deputy Secretary of Defense as the Acting Secretary of Defense effective January 1, 2019.
From the Military Times:
Mattis’ relationship with Trump had appeared to sour in recent months as the president pushed for more aggressive military policies.
Pentagon officials appeared caught unaware by sudden decisions made in the Oval Office on forming a new Space Force, sending troops to the southern U.S. border, and banning transgender recruits from the ranks.
Most recently, Trump’s decisions to begin massive troop withdrawals in the Middle East and Afghanistan seemed to go against military commanders’ advice.
Shanahan, who is among the candidates to permanently replace Mattis, is now in a position to drive changes he’s championed as Mattis’ deputy.
The former Boeing executive in his current role has pushed for systemic changes to the acquisition system that pushes the Pentagon’s focus away from annual budget cycles and more on making programs successful.
Patrick Shanahan wants to focus on process and outputs, removing duplication of efforts, making programs successful, etc.
You can read more here. Here’s President Trump’s announcement:
I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
Happy Hump Day TAH! Time for your own topics.
Hoping that you guys enjoyed your celebrations yesterday. Roasted turkey and ham yesterday, no need to worry about what to prepare for today. Spray leftovers with water, microwave, and presto, just like it came from the oven.
Looks like we had some fun on one of the threads yesterday as well, hoping the recipient of our wisdom takes our advice to heart.
You guys recall the story of a good Samaritan who aided a woman. In a show of appreciation, she started a GoFundMe campaign for the man, who could’ve used the donation as a springboard back to normalcy. Instead of using the funds to do what they claimed they’d do; however, the fund starters went on a spending spree.
Here’s the latest from the Associated Press:
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) — GoFundMe says it has refunded everyone who contributed to a campaign involving a homeless veteran from Philadelphia who prosecutors allege schemed with a New Jersey couple to scam donors out of more than $400,000.
GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne said Tuesday that “all donors who contributed to this GoFundMe campaign have been fully refunded” and the organization is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Burlington County prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Johnny Bobbitt conspired with Katelyn McClure and her boyfriend at the time, Mark D’Amico, to concoct a feel-good story about Bobbitt giving McClure his last $20 when her car ran out of gas. They raised $400,000, which authorities say was spent on luxury items and casino trips.
Whithorne said campaigns involving misuse “make up less than one tenth of one percent” of all GoFundMe campaigns, but such behavior “is unacceptable” and “has consequences.”
“We have a zero tolerance policy for fraudulent behavior,” he said. “If fraud occurs, donors get refunded and we work with law enforcement officials to recover the money.”
McClure has alleged through her lawyer that D’Amico duped her. His lawyer has denied the allegations. Prosecutors released texts from McClure including one sent right after the GoFundMe page was set up in which they allege she told a friend that the “gas part is completely made up.”
Prosecutors began investigating last summer after Bobbitt said he wasn’t getting money raised on his behalf. He later sued the couple.
The link to the article is here.
Merry Christmas This Aint Hell!
You guys come up with the themes and focus for this thread. In the meantime, here are some Christmas/Holiday music that was performed during the Medieval Period and the Renaissance:
Medieval Carol “Gaudete”:
Artist: London Cello Orchestra, The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Geoffrey Simon
Album: A Cello Christmas
Personent Hodie:
https://youtu.be/zTz_rcolwyA
MUSIC: Andrea Alonso / Celtic Song – A Celtic Christmas CD
As I Lay on Yoolis Night|English Medieval Christmas Song:
Artist: Martin Best Ensemble, The
Album: Christmas Medieval Music
Over an hour of medieval Christmas music; Medieval Carols, Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly:
Various artists listed under video.
Have fun this Christmas, enjoy the visits, gifts, feasts and drinking, but be safe and don’t be a stranger here. Knock yourself silly with enjoyment and posting.
According to President Trump, ISIS has been beaten down to the point that countries in the area can deal with them effectively. Would Russia be ecstatic over this decision for the U.S. to pull out?
With the U.S. largely removed from the picture on the ground, it’s up to Turkey and others to counter balance the Russians, Iranians, and other actors. We have the Kurds, and we still have the ability to continue to conduct air strikes over the area.
There’s also the chance that the Russians and Iranians could influence momentum on the ground in their favor. ISIS could be “removed and dislodged”, thus leaving us a Syria that’s grateful to Russia and Iran.
For their part, the Russians are being cautious.
Just as the decision to pull out surprised those within the U.S., and among our allies, it also surprised our enemies and adversaries. They’re praising what they believe is a new advantage on their part to frame and shape the new direction a new Syrian government could take.
From Al Monitor:
First, he agreed with Trump that the Islamic State was on the ropes, while adding that there was still “danger of these groups pouring into neighboring regions, Afghanistan in particular, and other countries to where they originate from.”
Second, the Russian president echoed the skepticism of many of his lieutenants.
“As for the pullout, I don’t know what it means,” he said, commenting, The United States has “been in Afghanistan for 17 years and almost every year they say they are pulling out.”
Finally, Putin tore into Western countries — the United States, France and Germany in particular — for allegedly pressuring the UN to block progress by the Astana trio.
“Do we need American troops [in this situation]? I don’t think so,” Putin said. “Let’s not forget their presence is illegal as they neither have a UN mandate nor a Syrian government invitation, like we do.”
You can read more here.
Over 50,000 U.S. Army veterans are part of a class action lawsuit involving their discharge characterization. These veterans have PTSD, TBI, service related mental conditions, etc. They argue the possible contribution these conditions may have had on the actions they took that lead to their being discharged.
The Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) provides a path for Soldiers wanting to rectify an unfair discharge. However, they’ve been accused of frequently denying claims to “upgrade” discharge characterizations related to PTSD.
Many veterans affected by these discharges saw an impact on their veteran benefits. They argue that the ADRB disregarded the Department of Defense’s orders to take PTSD and other conditions into consideration. They’re hoping that this lawsuit would force the ADRB to comply with the DOD’s requirement.
From Military.com:
Although the Army Discharge Review Board promises these veterans a path to correct unjustly harsh discharges, the ADRB frequently denies claims in defiance of recent Department of Defense policies intended to ease this process for veterans with service-connected PTSD and related conditions, according to the plaintiffs.
“This decision means that thousands of service members who have been denied the support of VA resources because of an unfair discharge status may have another chance at relief,” said Kennedy, who served in Iraq and is a founder of the Connecticut chapter of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
“The cost of this continuing refusal to reckon with the reality of mental illness in the military is more than unjustly denied benefits — it is a generation of lost promise and opportunity for countless soldiers suffering the invisible wounds of war as a result of their sacrifice for country,” Kennedy said.
You can read more here.