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

Category: Politics

  • Weird Stuff You See While Traveling

    Sometimes travel takes me near or through parts of the Appalachians. Recently it did again – though not near enough to Jonn’s part of WV to drop by.

    While driving, I saw something that made me do a double take. Then I had a damn good laugh.

    I saw an ambulance. It was from a firm that called itself “Delta Response Team”.

    Seeing the name made me think, “Yeah, OK. Whatever.” But when I saw what I presume was their logo on the door, well . . . I nearly lost it.

    You see, the logo was an acronym – in about 8” block-stencil letters, canted at a 45-degree angle to the horizontal – of their name.

    That’s right: the ambulances were emblazoned with a huge “DRT” on the doors and sides. Given the use of that acronym here at TAH to mean something a bit different, I thought it was ironic that an ambulance company would use the same acronym for their logo.

    And funny as hell, too. (smile)

    But don’t take my word for it. Follow this link for a photo.

  • New Pentagon rule bans ‘offensive jokes’ and harassing behavior.

    Mattis

    Military Times reports on Thursday the Pentagon released Department of Defense Instruction 1020.03, “Harassment Prevention and Response in the Armed Forces.” The new instruction establishes guidance to the services’ to prevent all types of harassment, ranging from offensive jokes to sexual harassment.

    Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, known for his own use of colorful language to inspire the troops, said a new Pentagon policy targeting offensive language and behavior should not be interpreted as a draconian end to military camaraderie.

    “You have to adapt to your times,” Mattis said. “There’s a rough, good humor among soldiers. We all know that. But I have never seen rough good humor countenance or in any way frame something that’s disgusting, repellent or something like that.”

    According to the instruction, “harassment may include offensive jokes, epithets, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs,” as well as physical threats or racially-tinged interactions that “creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.”

    I’m of a mixed mind about this. One person’s harassment is another’s vivid learning experience. Times change- I get that- and we all can agree there is no place in the military for sexual harassment. But I can see this becoming a sop for some puppy’s hurt feelings when receiving some well-deserved stick-and-rudder from a superior. Thoughts?

  • Tammy Duckworth feigns concern for the troops

    Tammy Duckworth feigns concern for the troops

    The Washington Post reports that Senator Tammy Duckworth lit into the President this weekend when he blamed Democrat Senators for failing to fund the government and causing a shut down;

    “Does he even know that there are service members who are in harm’s way right now, watching him, looking for their commander in chief to show leadership, rather than to try to deflect blame?” Duckworth said. “Or that his own Pentagon says that the short-term funding plans he seems intent on pushing is actually harmful to not just the military, but to our national security?”

    The junior senator from Illinois said Trump’s attempts to pin the shutdown on Democrats, especially by using the military, were examples of the president failing to take responsibility.

    “I spent my entire adult life looking out for the well-being, the training, the equipping of the troops for whom I was responsible,” Duckworth continued. “Sadly, this is something the current occupant of the Oval Office does not seem to care to do — and I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger.”

    Duckworth saved her zinger for the end, a dig at the medical reason Trump has claimed was why he was able to avoid military service for the fifth time.

    “And I have a message for ‘Cadet Bone Spurs,’ ” Duckworth said. “If you cared about our military, you’d stop baiting Kim Jong Un into a war that could put 85,000 American troops, and millions of innocent civilians, in danger.”

    Senator Duckworth lost her legs in a 2004 helicopter crash in Iraq and I have no qualms with her military service – she certainly did her part and sacrificed more than most of us.

    My problem is with the politician Tammy Duckworth. She was once the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs where she was found to have misused Department funds and she personally fired and threatened employees who brought instances of veteran abuse in the State to her attention. She (or the State of Illinois taxpayers) settled in the resulting whistleblower lawsuits.

    From Wiki;

    Also in 2009, the Illinois Auditor General released an audit of the Veteran’s Affairs department. Some issues noted by the audit predated Duckworth’s tenure, while the majority of the audit covered Duckworth’s tenure. Findings of the audit included a fiscal year 2007 report that was not completed on time, failure to conduct annual reviews of benefits received by Illinois veterans, and failure to establish a task force to study the possible health effects of exposure to hazardous materials. The routine audit covered a two-year period, June 2006 to June 2008, and the findings were described by the auditor’s department as “typical” in its audits

    In 2009, Duckworth was approved by the Senate to serve in the Shinseki Veterans’ Affairs Department as the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. She bravely announced that she would be testing the VA system by attending college full time to complete her advanced degree while taking a fat SES paycheck from the VA. While the VA burned under Shinseki, while veterans lined up for their medical benefits to treat their injuries, Duckworth jumped to the head of the line of veterans’ college benefits, taking the post-9-11 GI Bill stipend along with a paycheck for a job she never did.

    When the VA started taking flack for the ineptitude of Shinseki, Duckworth abandoned ship like a good rat.

    The only veteran Tammy Duckworth cares about is Tammy Duckworth.

    I don’t see her criticizing Chuck Schumer for his five deferments from the draft. Or Harry Reid. Does she consider them to be draft dodgers, too?

    Thanks to Chief Tango for the Washington Post link.

  • Moriss Taylor passes

    Moriss Taylor passes

    Rob J sends us the sad news that Moriss Taylor, the star of one of the longest-running locally produced television shows in history, has passed at the tender age of 93.

    The Moriss Taylor Show on KHSL-TV started in 1956, broadcasting until 1997.

    Chico radio executive Dino Corbin worked with Taylor in both television and radio from 1972 to 2013, when Taylor retired.

    “I’ll remember him for his incredible work ethic, the love of his family, the love of our business — that of broadcasting and entertainment,” Corbin said Wednesday.

    “And he loved to make people smile,” said Corbin, who recalled Taylor’s love of corny jokes.

    Like most of his generation, Moriss was a veteran, according to Wiki;

    He served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the second most prestigious medal for valor a person can receive in the air with the Medal of Honor being the most. He flew a cargo plane over “The Hump” between India and China.

  • “Grunts in the Sky”

    It took nearly four years for the Air Force to release an official mini-documentary on the A-10 Warthog and its contributions to the war efforts in Afghanistan. Apparently suppressed for political reasons, it was finally released due to a FIOA in December, and appeared on an unofficial Air Force Facebook group. 20 minutes in length, it consists of B-rolls, combat footage, and candid interviews with pilots and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) embedded with ground troops. Its well worth watching.

    Read more at: The Drive

    Or better yet, watch the video. Grunts in the Sky

    Tip o’ the hat to The Drive, The War Zone.

  • GAO generally fails in attempts to buy firearms on internet

    AW1Ed sends us a link to IJR which found a Government Accountability Office report on their attempts to purchase firearms on the internet. Apparently, Democrats Elijah Cummings, Brian Schatz and Elizabeth Warren asked the GAO to investigate the ease with which consumers can buy firearms on the internet. It didn’t go well for the gungrabbers. From the GAO report;

    GAO agents attempted to purchase firearms from Dark Web and Surface Web marketplaces. Agents made seven attempts to purchase firearms on the Dark Web. In these attempts, agents did not disclose any information about whether they were prohibited from possessing a firearm. Of these seven attempts, two on a Dark Web marketplace were successful. Specifically, GAO agents purchased and received an AR-15 rifle and an Uzi that the seller said was modified so that it would fire automatically. GAO provided referral letters to applicable law-enforcement agencies for these purchases to inform any ongoing investigations.

    Tests performed on the Surface Web demonstrated that private sellers GAO contacted on gun forums and other classified ads were unwilling to sell a firearm to an individual who appeared to be prohibited from possessing a firearm. Of the 72 attempts agents made to purchase firearms on the Surface Web, 56 sellers refused to complete a transaction: 29 sellers stated they would not ship a firearm and 27 refused after the disclosure of the undercover identities’ stated prohibited status. Furthermore, in 5 of these 72 attempts, the accounts GAO set up were frozen by the websites, which prevented the agents from using the forums and attempting to make a purchase.

    They were able to buy two weapons on the “Dark Web”. The AR-15 they bought arrived with the serial numbers scratched off and the Uzi that had been advertised as Fully automatic, arrived as a semi-automatic weapon. I’m sure they were disappointed.

    The GAO provided a helpful graphic to summarize the results of their “surface web” attempts;

    So, basically, the GAO proved that which we’ve been saying all along – the internet doesn’t facilitate well the illegal purchase of firearms. Criminals aren’t arming themselves by buying guns from Gun Broker or Guns America websites, or even from private citizens. Americans don’t want to arm criminals, and this test by the GAO proves that.

    I’ve bought guns on the internet and I had to go through FFL dealers and background checks each time. Just like the background checks when I bought guns at Gun Shows.

  • News from the South Pacific

    I have no idea who that fellow in the pink bathrobe is, but I’m sure he’s there to just goof off. Tourists!!

    In the US Marshall Islands, a ceremony at Memorial Park was held on December 4, 2017,. marking the 4th anniversary of the death of  USAF CPT David Lyons in Afghanistan (12/4/2013) when the ship bearing his name docked at Saipan in the Marshall Islands. http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/101260-saipan-veterans-join-commemoration-of-capt-david-i-lyon-s-death-anniversary

    Local members of the Saipan VFW and CNMI Veterans Affairs personnel participated in the ceremony.

    Also in the MI, NOAA has announced plans for coordinating with US Fish & Wildlife to implement recovery plans for various Pacific sea turtle species.  http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/101258-noaa-bares-recovery-plans-for-endangered-sea-turtles

    In Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, the Trust Corporation of the Marshal Islands (TCMI) has deregistered Billions Bunker Group, a Taiwan-based company with ties to North Korea. http://www.mvariety.com/regional-news/101266-marshall-islands-de-registers-corporation-with-n-korea-link

    The Red Cross has now given the Marshall Islands official recognition as its 191st member, which gives them a greater global voice. https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/347447/red-cross-recognition-of-marshall-islands-gives-it-greater-global-voice

    There is some concern, voiced back in November 2017, that a cleanup of nuclear waste was not done properly in 2012-2013. The cleanup project included about 400 lumps of plutonium, stored on Runit Island, a US nuclear test site back in the 1960s, and seawater is now leaking into the storage vault.

    http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/marshall-islands-concrete-dome-holding-nuclear-waste-could-leak/news-story/52169e48cdfe041682e9e6c5b103f

    Guess whose administration cut the cleanup budget for that project? No, really?

    Busy week there in the Marshalls.

    The Marianas (not a US territory) are busy working on attracting tourists and tour groups and are offering tour guide certificates.  http://www.mvariety.com/special-features/my-marianas

    A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Filipinos view DTrump favorably, although he doesn’t quite outrank Vlad Putin just yet.   http://www.mvariety.com/regional-news/101220-poll-majority-of-filipinos-view-trump-favorably

    On Thursday Jan. 4, 2018, US Amb. Nikki Haley warned North Korea against another missile test. She added that Washington (Pres. Trump) would not take seriously any talks between Norkiland and South Korea if Pyongyang (meaning Rocketman) does not give up testing missiles.  http://www.mvariety.com/regional-news/101219-us-warns-north-korea-against-new-missile-test-plays-down-talks

    As for news from Guam: Tourism may be suffering a slight decline because of Fatty Kim da T’ird’s threats to use Guam as a test target for his rocket science experiments. In the beginning, Pres. Trump said Norkiland would meet with hellfire, and so far, nothing has been aimed at Guam and the Gaumanians that we know about, but you never know what that fat bastard is up to, do you? http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-threat-impact-guam-tourism-industry-2018-767849

    So to ease your minds, I’m providing another link to a recipe from Annie’s Chamorro Kitchen, and one of her Chamorro recipes, this time for Chamorro Bistek (Bisteak). It looks good to me. Give it a try. If you’re not sure where to get the ingredients, visit a Hispanic mercado. They can probably be found there. She’s a retired Army vet, so give her a nod. http://guam.stripes.com/news/annies-chamorro-kitchen-chamorro-bistek-or-bisteak

    So far, all is quiet on the Western Front. Let’s hope it stays that way.

     

  • Baltimore Residents Blaming Murder Increase on Lack of Police

    Breitbart is reporting residents are blaming the city’s soaring murder rate on a lack of policing, three years after the Freddy Gray riots. Black Lives Matter (BLM), an activist group, insisted policed presence be curtailed, and city hall acquiesced. As a result, civic leaders are blaming the police for the high murder rate, and that the pullback has put them in danger.

    The Rev. Kinji Scott, a Baltimore activist, is blaming city hall for leaving the neighborhoods unprotected.

    Scott and others are now pressuring the city to bring police back in as a deterrent to the soaring crime rate. Despite the loud proclamations from BLM activists that the police are the problem, Scott and his fellow activists are now claiming that they never wanted police to go away.”

    In an NPR interview, Scott states only activists like BLM wanted the police removed:

    “No. That represented our progressives, our activists, our liberal journalists, our politicians, but it did not represent the overall community. Because we know for a fact that around the time Freddie Gray was killed, we start to see homicides increase. We had five homicides in that neighborhood while we were protesting.

    What I wanted to see happen was that people would be able to trust the relationship with our police department so that they would feel more comfortable. We’d have conversations with the police about crime in their neighborhood because they would feel safer. So we wanted the police there. We wanted them engaged in the community. We didn’t want them beating the hell out of us, we didn’t want that.”

    He also blamed the city for failing to foster a community atmosphere between the police and the neighborhoods.

    “The primary thrust nationwide is what President Obama wanted to do: focus on building relationships with police departments and major cities where there had been a history of conflict. That hasn’t happened. We don’t see that. I don’t know a city—Baltimore for certain—we’ve not seen any changes in those relationships. What we have seen is that the police has distanced themselves, and the community has distanced themselves even further. So the divide has really intensified, it hasn’t decreased.

    And of course we want to delineate the whole culture of bad policing that exists—nobody denies that—but as a result of this, we don’t see the level of policing we need in our community to keep the crime down in our cities that we are seeing bleed to death.”

    An unethical prosecutor and an incompetent Mayor have diminished and demoralized the police department; small wonder the cops aren’t very interested in leaving their patrol cars. Now the good Reverend wants his cake and eat it, too? Careful what you ask for…