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

Category: Shitbags

  • Delta Airlines welcomes troops home with $200 surcharge (Updated)

    A young staff sergeant made this video during his flight on Delta Airlines after they charged his unit $200 a piece to cover their fourth bag of luggage which was authorized on their travel orders upon their return from Afghanistan. The soldier in the video claims his fourth bag was his M4 carbine with a grenade launcher – something he really couldn’t leave behind if he didn’t have the $200 out-of-pocket to pay Delta for their arbitrary charge;

    I’ll admit that i have a real hard-on for Delta Airlines anyway. They arbitrarily decided that they wouldn’t allow duty-free liquor on a flight from Panama one year which screwed up my supply of Panama’s Abuelo rum for an entire year. A stewardess on the same flight told me she had been allowed to bring liquor on the trip – so I’ve decided to boycott them. This just reinforces my boycott.

    At their blog, Under The Wing, Delta writes;

    In the case of today’s situation, we would like to publicly apologize to those service men and women for any miscommunication regarding our current policies as well as any inconvenience we may have caused. We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.

    Yeah, if they hadn’t made a stink, I doubt Delta would have done much of anything for these troops.

    You can file a complaint or comment at this webform.

    Thanks to ROS and Lou West for the video.

    UPDATE: Jeff Schogol sends a link from Stars & Stripes describing Delta’s complete capitulation to the power of the internet;

    By Wednesday afternoon, although Delta had been following the terms of its contract with the government, the airline decided to amend its policy. Soldiers traveling in coach will now be allowed to check four bags free instead of three, the airline said in a statement.

    Now, what about that year I went without my Abuelo Rum, Delta?

  • NJ Thieves sell markers from vets’ graves

    In a link from Rich, three New Jersey women have been arrested for stealing the brass markers from over 300 veterans’ graves that they tried to sell for scrap to purchase drugs;

    Sgt. Covert says a Philadelphia scrap dealer who paid around $1,500 for the stolen goods, is the one who tipped off authorities.

    That’s right up there with stealing a dog’s wheelchair.

  • My enemy’s enemy?

    Rhetorical question; who do you support when the KKK protests the Westboro fags? From the Washington Post;

    WBC member Abigail Phelps said the KKK “have no moral authority on anything.”

    Oh, the irony.

  • Dan Choi in Moscow


    I guess the DADT warrior, Dan Choi, has a “thing” for cops. War On Terror News reports that he’s been arrested in Moscow for brawling with anti-gay protesters there;

    Russian officials have detained three global gay rights leaders, and dozens of others, after they tried to stage an unsanctioned rally near the Kremlin.

    Police say a small crowd of marchers, some waving rainbow flags and others carrying signs that read, “Russia is not Iran,” was attacked by an ultra-Orthodox group who had successfully lobbied the Moscow city government to ban the event.

    I wonder what they’re trying to prevent him from doing in the above picture? And do they have a hand over his ass-crack, too?

    I don’t think he’ll get off as easily as he got off in DC this year.

  • Long Island Power Authority charges town for pole rental

    Claiming they “have no choice” the Long Island Power Authority is charging the town of Shelter Island for hanging American flags from power poles during a memorial parade for one of the community’s fallen sons, according to the local Fox affiliate;

    “I was pretty shocked,” said Peter Reich, a councilman in the Long Island community of Shelter Island. “It’s the most ludicrous thing.”

    The flags were hung last year for the funeral of Army 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert. The Shelter Island native was killed while on active duty in Afghanistan. He sacrificed his life to save his platoon and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for his actions.

    Last week, Theinert’s platoon gathered in Shelter Island for a reunion. To welcome the troops, the American Legion, along with the owner of the local hardware store, decided to once again line the parade route with American flags.

    Local residents donated the $8,000 needed to purchase the flags, and the town’s superintendent of highways posted them on the utility poles. But someone from the power company reportedly saw a story about the flags in a local newspaper and informed town officials of the $5-per-flag fee.

    A spokesperson for the Long Island Power Authority did not respond to repeated requests for a comment and instead demanded to know, “Why is this a story?”

    Um, because you’re a member of the community that Lt. Joseph Theinert died protecting, too?

    To his credit, the LIPA COO has offered to pay the fee out of his own pocket, but the community says it’s not about the money, it’s the principle of the issue. Apparently, they also hung flags from some poles owned by Verizon and Verizon has decided they’ll waive the fees they normally charge. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?

    Thanks to TSO for the link.

  • All’s Well That Ends Well

    Sorta…

    Forty years later.
    Vietnam hero cures an old Rutgers wound

    Forty years ago, he attempted to pursue a law degree upon his return from Vietnam and rehabilitation in veterans’ hospitals. He’d been through hell, and the last place he expected to face more of it was in academia. But the climate in the late 1960s and early ’70s was often inhospitable to those who had served in Vietnam, even the most highly decorated.

    Academia – Then and now?

    Because of opposition to the Vietnam War and an antipathy toward those who served, Christian said, the faculty made a circus of his attempt to earn a law degree. “If I got a grade that was marginal, they would release it to the newspapers and news media,” he said.

    Christian said certain of the deans had disputed the existence and severity of his war injuries, many of which are not obvious. “I was asked by the administration to disrobe in front of the student body because they didn’t think I was a disabled veteran,” Christian said.

    “At the time there was no Americans With Disabilities Act and there was no Privacy Act,” he said. “They couldn’t touch the politicians, but they could touch a war hero.”

    He said some faculty members would post lists of purported Vietnam heroes – lists that would include North Vietnamese names.

    I haven’t vetted this story, Jonn or someone else with more ready resources can do so. I can personally vouch for the atmosphere in many colleges back then and that’s why I decided to post this.  Consider this a history lesson if nothing else.

    Update:  Thanks to those who filled in the blanks, so to speak. Even I remembered the name, but this IS TAH.  So I added the caveat.

  • Coburn questions “adult babies” on SSI

    I find it hard to believe that it takes an inquiry from a US Senator to get the Social Security Administration to take a look at subsidies to people who act like babies for a living. (Washington Times link)

    Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and the Senate’s top waste-watcher, asked the agency’s inspector general to look into 30-year-old Stanley Thornton Jr. and his roommate, Sandra Dias, who acts as his “mother,” saying it’s not clear why they are collecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits instead of working.

    “Given that Mr. Thornton is able to determine what is appropriate attire and actions in public, drive himself to complete errands, design and custom-make baby furniture to support a 350-pound adult and run an Internet support group, it is possible that he has been improperly collecting disability benefits for a period of time,” Mr. Coburn wrote in a letter Monday to Inspector General Patrick P. O’Carroll Jr.

    Yeah, but they have no problem taking money from veterans instead of cutting the metaphorical umbilical cord to these creeps. And oh, big baby Stanley responds to the Times;

    In an email response to The Washington Times, Mr. Thornton threatened to kill himself if his Social Security payments are taken away, and said the television episode showing him doing woodwork oversold his abilities.

    “You wanna test how damn serious I am about leaving this world, screw with my check that pays for this apartment and food. Try it. See how serious I am. I don’t care,” the California man said. “I have no problem killing myself. Take away the last thing keeping me here, and see what happens. Next time you see me on the news, it will be me in a body bag.”

    Stanley, don’t talk, just do it…save the taxpayers the hassle of an IG investigation, cuz we don’t care either.

  • Marine and 5-year-old rescue Mom from sexual assault

    Justin Gerou a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, ran downstairs to his neighbors apartment when he heard her screams, yanked an 18-year-old attacker off of her and wrestled with him until the police arrived and tasered Jonathan Aiken to finally subdue him. But Gerou wasn’t the only hero on the scene;

    …the woman’s 5-year-old son jumped on Aiken’s back. The child received two bruises after the man hit him in the face. “He was so brave. He jumped on top of the guy and started hitting him on the back of the head screaming as loud as he could to get off his mommy. He’s definitely my hero,” said the woman.

     

    Thanks to Tman for the link.