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

Category: “Teh Stoopid”

  • SEAL Murders ISIS fighter, Holds Ceremony on Scene

    In the PSYOP community, a joke goes around about how a PSYOP team could “Go rogue”. Psychological Operations teams are attached to units to provide PSYOP support to the unit’s commander. Not permanently assigned, they could fall though the cracks if they don’t keep engaged. Of course, this doesn’t involve violations of war crimes, laws, or regulations. The team just “does its own thing”. Not encouraged.

    What’s definitely frowned upon is going rogue with regards to violating the rules of land warfare. In this situation, we have a Navy SEAL who murdered an ISIS combatant, then conducted an enlistment ceremony in the area.

    Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher would’ve been eligible to retire, from active duty, next year. Instead, he’s looking at another future. From NBC San Diego:

    U.S. Navy prosecutors accuse Gallagher of premeditated murder for the stabbing death of an injured ISIS fighter who they estimate was about 15 years old.

    And

    On Wednesday, the Navy outlined its evidence including cell phone photos that show Gallagher holding the severed head of the fighter during a reenlistment ceremony.

    According to the article, Gallagher was ranked as number one SEAL chief, his platoon was also ranked as number one. He once had the option to either retire proudly, or continue his service facing better opportunities than others.

    Underneath the high praises; however, those who served with him associated him with poor judgement. This includes shooting into Iraqi civilians.

    The New York Times was graphic with its description:

    But now, less than a year later, Special Operations Chief Gallagher, 39, is locked in the brig, facing charges that during that same deployment — his eighth — he shot indiscriminately at civilians, killed a teenage Islamic State fighter with a handmade custom blade, and then performed his re-enlistment ceremony posing with the teenager’s bloody corpse in front of an American flag.

    Navy SEALs who were with him reported the things that he did, to include:

    * Being reckless
    * Being bloodthirsty
    * Firing into crowds of noncombatants
    * Shooting a walking girl
    * Shooting an old man
    * Threatening to kill those that intended to report these events

    It got to the point that his own team members messed with his weapon’s accuracy. They also benefited civilians with warning shoots to give them a chance to escape. His actions took away from efforts needed to engage the enemy.

    You could read more here and over here. Good reads. The above photo is from the New York Times.

  • Federal Judge Orders Acosta’s Badge Restored

    A federal judge sided with CNN and with Jim Acosta with regards to restoring Acosta to White House press briefings. The argument is still ongoing in court though. Jim Acosta is having his access temporarily restored while this case is being argued.

    From USA today:

    U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, said the White House had violated Acosta’s Fifth Amendment right to due process by suspending his press badge without explanation or a chance for CNN to appeal the decision.

    Kelly said White House officials couldn’t say who made the decision or how. The judge ordered the government to restore the credential while the rest of the case — which drew a slew of support from other media outlets, including USA TODAY — is argued.

    Jim Acosta, as you know, appears hostile to President Trump, and to his policies. He advances a narrative about how his job is to cover the President. There’s a professional way to do that. Jim Acosta does it like a liberal activist.

    Of course, there are those, among the media, trying to spin the White House’s actions as “arbitrary”. For example, just booting people who express a view that the administration doesn’t like, or booting people that the administration identifies as coming from fake news.

    Never mind that Jim Acosta, after already getting more questioning time, refused to yield to other reporters and their questions. He was given sufficient time to allow the other reporters a chance to ask their questions. Then, when a young woman, an intern, reached for the microphone, he resisted her efforts.

    Many in the mainstream media are happy about this ruling. The European Union internet version of this story shows a tidbit about how a lawyer… Who helped the Republicans during the 2000 recount fiasco… Is helping CNN in this case.

  • Homeless man, couple allegedly conspired to deceive GoFundMe funds: UPDATE

    Homeless man, couple allegedly conspired to deceive GoFundMe funds: UPDATE

    A New Jersey couple and a homeless Philadelphia man who were once the symbol of generosity in hard times allegedly conspired with each other to come up with a false story to earn GoFundMe donations and will now face charges, according to a complaint obtained by NBC 10 Philadelphia.

    The original story was this: Johnny Bobbitt, who was homeless, gave his last $20 to Kate McClure, a stranded motorist in Philadelphia in November last year, to help her get gas. To thank him, McClure, 28, and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, 39, created a GoFundMe account to raise funds for Bobbitt. Around 14,000 people donated to the campaign, which brought in more than $400,000 overall.

    But investigators said the three deliberately prevented donors from gaining information “that would affect their judgment about solicited contribution to that fundraising effort,” according to the station. Now they will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, a source familiar with the case told NBC 10.

    The couple turned themselves in on Wednesday to Burlington County authorities, the source said. It was unlcear if Bobbitt was with them. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s office is expected to make an announcement in the case on Thursday, The New York Post reported, citing multiple reports.

    The story appeared to begin to fall apart after Bobbitt claimed that the couple used the GoFundMe money as “personal piggy bank,” and sued the couple in August over the funds.

    Bobbitt’s attorney, Jacqueline Promislo, told The New York Post in September that the couple started to spend the money right after depositing it into their bank account. Bobbitt accused the two of mismanaging the donations, which the couple initially denied.

    “They went on shopping sprees,” Promislo told the paper. “[Bobbitt] tells me they had a Louis Vuitton bag and Chanel sunglasses, a new iPhone 10.”

     

    Read the entire article here:

    Homeless man, couple allegedly conspired to deceive GoFundMe funds: report

     

    A press conference is scheduled today at 2pm EST.

    The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office has said it will announce new developments in the ‘GoFundMe’ case Thursday afternoon.
    Prosecutor Scott Coffina said no information will be released prior to the 2 p.m. announcement.

    More information is here:

    GoFundMe case: Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure arrested and charged, documents show

     

     

     

    UPDATE 11/15/2018 @1430 CST

    Also during the news conference, Coffina said Bobbitt was not taken advantage of, but was fully complicit in the scheme.

    All three have been charged with Theft by Deception (second-degree,) and Conspiracy to Commit Theft by Deception (second-degree).

    D’Amico and McClure, both of Florence Township, New Jersey, surrendered on Wednesday night. They were processed and released.

    Bobbitt, of the Kensington section of Philadelphia, was charged on Wednesday and is awaiting extradition.

    Coffina said GoFundMe has cooperated with the investigation, and will be refunding all of the donations.

    More information is here:

    Prosecutor: GoFundMe story about helpful homeless man was a hoax

  • Midweek Open Thread

    Happy Humpday everyone, it’s the middle of the week again! Thanksgiving is next week!

    Onto “DU news”, a plan to get President Trump “unhinged“:

    Originally posted by Moostache:

    His ego would start tearing him apart if people kept chanting “Trump’s a Chump” in a kind of rebuttal to “Lock Her Up”…he’d try to play it off, but the longer and more frequently flash mobs hit him with it, the more unhinged he’d become…

    Yes, big crowds with phones ready to record these NPCs acting unhinged. In Georgia, cries you won’t hear from another set of NPCs if this would result in a Republican having a fighting chance:

    Originally posted by babylonsister:

    Voting rights advocates have won a string of victories in Georgia, and Republicans are now banned from certifying the election before Friday. Abrams needs to pick up roughly 20,000 votes to force a runoff because Democrats aren’t going to give up without a fight.

    Dems are now complaining about how the demands to stop the recount in Florida would disenfranchise the thousands of absentee military votes. Wasn’t it the Democrat party that scrutinized these same votes when these votes helped the Republican? They probably don’t care about those military votes, just those votes that would give them the results that they want.

    Meanwhile, a psychiatrist, who hasn’t evaluated President Trump in the proper setting like his medical team has, provides an “opinion” of the President:

    Originally posted by Chauncey Devega of Salon:

    Donald Trump is also a habitual liar who is at war with the truth and empirical reality. For Trump the world (and reality) must be bent to his will. His supporters love him because of all these traits and behaviors, not despite them. Their adoration for Trump is almost libidinal.

    This isn’t the only NPC that claims that those who support President Trump are doing so due to “Cult of Personality”… And not because we actually agree with many of his policies.

    Ocasio Cortez just might be a problem for the Democratic Party:

    Originally posted by redstatebluegirl:

    Now she is breaking with New York leaders on the Amazon headquarters. She is itching for a fight and will make us look like morons. This is a two year win people, we did not win the Senate, we did not win the White House. She could be a lightening rod for the right, someone needs to take her aside and tell her to temper herself. Of course Bernie won’t but someone in the Democratic Party should.

    She, and Bernie, represent the where the Democratic Party is rapidly heading. Given that a healthy percentage of millennials have no issues with socialism, we could expect more like them being elected.

  • Blast From the Past; David “Doc” Shrum, phony wounded veteran

    Blast From the Past; David “Doc” Shrum, phony wounded veteran

    Jonn posted about David “Doc” Shrum on August 25, 2015, read the original post and comments here: David “Doc” Shrum; phony wounded veteran. Military Phonies posted a Throwback Thursday on David “Doc” Shrum on January 12, 2017, here: David “Doc” Shrum; phony wounded veteran. The 42D Dental Laboratory Technician was selected for the Blast From the Past weekly post among a plethora of eligible poser candidates by the elite TAH selection team, well, just because.

    As Jonn pointed out so eloquently, “The lesson here is; if you enlist to be a dental technician, be a dental technician”.

    Jonn’s work below.

     

    Doc Shrum
     

    Several months ago, the New Mexico department of the Military Order of the Purple Heart told us about this guy that they had booted by the name of David Shrum. Shrum had been the state commander in the early part of this century and folks started wondering about some of his claims. From the Daily Times;

    Shrum claims on the DD 214, provided to The Daily Times by the military order, that he received the bronze star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Silver Star, prestigious medals given to soldiers for heroism or gallantry in military action.

    However, according to Shrum’s military records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request sent to the federal National Archives and Records Administration, Shrum received no awards for heroism.

    Here’s that DD214;

    Doc Shrum DD214
    Notice the DD214 says that he joined the Army in 1964. Well, that’s easy to disprove;

    Doc Shrum HS diploma
     

    Yep, he was still in High School when the DD214 says he was in the Army on active duty. And all of those medals “with clusters”. No one in the Army says “with clusters”. Except newbies.

    [David’s brothers] Ken and Bill Shrum claimed in interviews that their brother has a long history as a con artist and has served time in federal prison for fraud.

    It looks like David did serve according to the Daily Times;

    The records indicate that David Shrum graduated in November 1965 from basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and then received training as a dental lab specialist in San Antonio, Texas.

    […]

    David Shrum was stationed in Okinawa beginning in June 1966 and remained there until the completion of active duty, federal records state.

    […]

    David Shrum finished active duty in September 1968 and reenlisted in February 1971, according to federal records.

    David Shrum served in Vietnam with the 56th Dental Detachment from April 14, 1971, to Feb. 21, 1972, according to federal records.

    He received additional dental training upon his return to the United States and was redeployed to Germany in December 1973.

    We submitted for a FOIA on Shrum back in September but for some reason they didn’t include his awards and the standard FOIA form that we normally get. All they sent was his assignments. Mary has resubmitted four more times. But here are his assignments;

    David Shrum Assignments 1
    David Shrum Assignments 2

    You can see that he does have a tour of Vietnam as a dental technician from April 1971 – February 1972. Not usually a type of assignment that would earn him 17 Air Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 3 Silver Star Medals. Nor would it require the Basic Airborne Course, and the Jungle Operations Training Course.

    After he was booted from the Army with a General Discharge after a drunk-driving accident on a US base in Germany, he spent two tours in prison for defrauding investors in a couple of schemes he tried to perpetrate on the public.

    The upshot is that the MOPH has suspended the chapter in Farmington, NM and some of the members have reported Shrum’s lies to the VA and to the Feds.

    Pete Comstock, another former commander of the order…said a federal investigator told him David Shrum is currently under investigation by the office for fraudulently claiming 100 percent disability.

    “He claims 100 percent disability, because of (post-traumatic stress disorder), and it’s a lie,” Comstock said. “He has been receiving $3,000 a month for a long, long time and he shouldn’t have been.”

    The federal investigator was reached by telephone but declined to comment on Shrum.

    The lesson here is; if you enlist to be a dental technician, be a dental technician.

    We’re still waiting for the rest of Shrum’s real records from the NPRC.

    And here it is on Oct. 27, 2015, finally;

    Shrum FOIA

  • USAF Gyrfalcon Recovering

    Don’t do that again!

    AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — An Air Force falcon injured at West Point during a prank Saturday before the annual rivalry football game between the service academies is back home and showing signs of improvement.

    https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/11/05/air-force-academys-falcon-mascot-improving-after-injury-at-west-point/

    The 22-year-old bird named Aurora “was able to fly around in her pen” on Sunday, said Air Force Academy spokesperson Lt. Col. Tracy A. Bunko.

    Sam Dollar, Air Force’s falconry team adviser, told The New York Times on Sunday that two West Point cadets took the birds, threw sweaters over them and stuffed them into dog crates. Dollar said the cadets turned over the birds Saturday morning, with Aurora’s wings bloodied — likely from thrashing inside the crate.

    “I think they had them for a couple hours and then they realized it was a bad mistake,” Dollar told the newspaper. “When Aurora started thrashing around in the crate, they decided that wasn’t a good thing.”

    Aurora is the Air Force Academy’s official and oldest mascot. On the school’s falconry page, the bird is described as a white phase gyrfalcon, which is a “falcon species that is extremely rare in the wild and whose beauty will take your breath away.”

    As this is a rare native bird, protected by federal law, unless you have a federal license for handling birds like this, your ass is absolute grass if you even touch one. This is a beautiful and rare bird, and like those rare birds that come to my feeding station, deserves more respect.

    https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gyrfalcon/overview

    These two smart assed idiots need to have their punk asses hammered flat.

    I have absolutely zero patience with people like this. I spent too much time working for a veterinarian, because I thought I wanted to be a vet, to tolerate this heinous crap. Whether it is animals of any kind, or children, or significant others, there is zero excuse for abuse of any kind.

    My view of people who pull these pranks, thinking that they are harmless when they are not ever harmless, is that they should have to spend some time taking care of wounded or injured critters, whether they are Air Force avian mascots or wounded vets in a hospital with some body parts missing. A little time emptying bed pans and wiping someone else’s butt might teach them some humility and make them into ‘give a shits’ – or not.

    An arrogant ass never makes a good leader, as we’ve seen in someone who used to post frequently on TAH, while looking down his nose at the rest of us.  George Custer was one of those ‘look at me’ types. He graduated at the bottom of his academy class, and he met his match when he took on Sitting Bull, who was a better tactician.

    I do not predict a good future for these two unless they learn to be somewhat humble. That’s the reason I posted the grackle glaring at the camera instead of the AP photo of the gyrfalcon.

  • Important Message From General Charles H. Jacoby!!

    I received the following e-mail last night, and am puzzled as to how to properly respond to it. I’m torn between being flattered that someone wants to give me 30% of $38,000,000 Big Ones, and knowing that no matter how earnestly I respond, the Western Union office that used to be next door to the restaurant on the highway is – well, it’s gone, because nobody patronized it, and the cash to which General Jacoby is referring would have to be shipped to me by Fed Ex – and I’m not sure that they’d want that kind of responsibility, unless, perhaps, General Jacoby paid to insure delivery before he shipped the $38,000,000 Big Ones to me.

    Of course, you do realize that I would expect to be rewarded for my endeavors by a considerably larger percentage than a mere 30%. If I’m to guard this cash hoard against all takers, I’d require personal weapons of my own, which requires qualifying for a CCW as well as acquiring an FOID, all of which takes time. There is no instant gratification in this kind of thing. I would also require reinforcement of the walls of my house, or else a new garden shed with a more secure door and lock on the front. Again, this takes time.

    Unfortunately, I might have to be completely honest with him and tell him that my spendthrift gene would flash the “ON” button at the sight and smell of all that moola, and I’d be gone so fast, papers would fly up in my wake.

    Any suggestions are, of course, welcome, and no doubt the good general expects to find his cash hoard intact.  So what say you all?  Tell the general ‘Yes, of course, I’ll take it to help you out”? Or should I be more forthright and tell him he has to ship his entire $38,000, 000 cash hoard to a small regional airport innocuously located at Minot, North Dakota? As I understand it, Fargo is not too far from there. And Minot still does 15 second MITO exercises, so my timing must be impeccable in this matter.

    General Charles H. Jacoby <gen.chj@usa.net>

    Fri 11/2/2018, 1:24 AM

    Recipients

    Greetings,

    My name is  General Charles H. Jacoby, I am an American soldier, presently in Afghanistan for the training, advising the Afghan forces and also helping in stabilizing the country against security challenges. With a very desperate need for assistance, I have decided to contact you for your kind assistance to move the sum of (US$38,000,000.00) Thirty eight Million United States Dollars to you if I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service.

    Some money in various currencies was discovered in boxes at a farmhouse during a rescue operation we conducted in one of the attacks by the terrorists and it was agreed by my colleagues and I that some part of this money be shared among us. The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British doctor working with Red Cross, I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. he does not know the real content of the package, and believes that it belongs to a British /American medical doctor who died in a raid here in Afghanistan, and before giving up, trusted me to hand over the package to his Family.

    I have now found a much secured way of getting the package out of Afghanistan to you for pick up and I will discuss this with you when I am sure that you are willing to assist me. I am ready to compensate you with 30% of the $38 million USD for your assistance.

    I don’t know how long we will remain here, and I was shot. I lost my wife and my little girl in Afghanistan during the attack. wounded and survived two suicide bomb attacks by the special grace of God. This and other reasons I mentioned later prompted me to reach out for help. 70% of my will be used for my investment and start a new life and settle down when i am out of here.

    Please contact me as soon as possible with the following details:

    Full Name:

    Full Address:

    Tel/cell numbers:

    Occupation:

    God Bless you as I look forward to your positive response.

    Truly yours,

    General Charles H. Jacoby.

  • News From Great Mistakes

    Sometimes, no news is good news, and today’s news edition is no exception. The current CO of the Training Support Center at Great Mistakes has been relieved of his watch – er, duty. There are no details yet, just the linked article at military dot com below.

    This guy (Meskimen) did not replace CAPT Jim Hawkins just a few months ago. (No Treasure Island jokes, please.)

    That gentleman was CAPT Raymond Leung, with the change of command ceremony being held in May 2018 after a three year stint for CAPT Hawkins.

    https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/news/ct-lns-great-lakes-naval-command-st-0512-story.html

    No, this fella  is  was the CO of what used to be called the Service Schools Command in the 1970s. Now it’s the Training Support Center.

    Whatever Meskimen did, now he’s being shitcanned for being naughty, details as yet undisclosed. Story below:

    https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/10/26/navy-sacks-great-lakes-training-support-center-commander.html

    A prior-enlisted sailor who oversaw the training and supervision of more than 10,000 of the Navy’s newest personnel has been removed from his job.

    Capt. Mark Meskimen, who served as commanding officer of the Training Support Center at NS Great Lakes, Illinois, was relieved of command Friday “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” said Cmdr. James Stockman, a spokesman for Naval Education and Training Command. The decision was made by Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad, head of Naval Education and Training Command. – Article.

    No details are available yet, but I’m sure they will be forthcoming. Anyone on the inside who has some “stuff” to pass along is welcome to do so.

    My comment:  Idiot (until informed otherwise)