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

Category: Who knows

  • Christie honors “true New Jersey treasure”

    I wasn’t going to mention Whitney Houston, there was just no real need. Everyone knows how I feel about her without me having to write a word, but what does need to be discussed is the Great Hope Chris Christie’s decision to lower the flags in the State to halfstaff. In a statement yesterday, he wrote;

    Whitney Houston was a true New Jersey treasure. Her terribly premature death is an awful loss for her family and the incredible New Jersey musical family. Her soaring talent put her in the pantheon of great New Jersey musical talents like Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Bruce Springsteen. Our prayers are with her family.

    Ya know what, yesterday the Department of Defense announced the death of a young Marine from New Jersey who was killed in Afghanistan on February 10th.

    Lance Cpl. Osbrany Montes De Oca, 20, of North Arlington, N.J., died Feb. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

    He was 28 years younger than Whitney Houston at the time of his death, I’d call that “terribly premature”, and he wasn’t found in a bath tub pumped full of drugs because he was distraught over the fact that he was famous and had more money than he knew what he could do with it. So who is flying flags at halfstaff for him, outside of his family? His loss is probably more of an “awful loss for his family” than the apparently surprising news to Houston’s family that she died. His talent and courage surpassed her by miles.

    Blackfive wrote yesterday “this is a bad judgement call that they get to make”. I personally think that it more than poor judgement, it’s downright pathetic. I guess it’s got something to do attracting money to New Jersey, but look at who is bringing that money. Do you want those people in your state?

    Like I wrote on Facebook yesterday, if they’re going to fly flags at half staff for every crack addict that dies in New Jersey, they might as well cut their flagpoles in half.

  • Holiday miracles

    Two real life Christmas tales that will warm your hearts. First, from UpNorth the story of a store clerk who could;

    Before he could run off with any cash, the clerk at the We Buy Gold store in Hendersonville punched him in the nose on Friday. Sgt. Dale Patton with the Hendersonville Police Department tells the Times-News of Hendersonville that 25-year-old Mostafa Kamel Hendi dropped to the floor.

    See what I mean? It brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it? Well, get the hankies, cuz this next one, from TSO who says it happened where he and his child-bride shop, will have you bawling with elation;

    “The suspect then forced the victim to the office area, where he encountered a second employee who fired a weapon at him, striking him in the face,” Indianapolis police Sgt. Linda Jackson said.

    Atkinson was taken to St. Vincent Hospital, where he later died.

    I know, take a few breaths to recover from the Christmas miracle joy. Oh, and the late Mr. Atkinson was a repeat offender;

    Atkinson was released from prison in October 2010 after an armed robbery conviction. He also had a prior conviction on a charge of possession of a handgun without a license.

    Some people just need to be shot in the face and luckily there was someone in Indianapolis willing to help Mr. Atkinson in that regard.

  • Good kids out there

    This article on Rivals High tells a story of a kid in Minnesota, Josh Ripley, who carried an injured opponent a half a mile back to the beginning of the Applejack Invite and then ran the complete 2 mile race.

     

    “I didn’t think about my race, I knew I needed to stop and help him,” Ripley said in the school district release. “It was something I would expect my other teammates to do. I’m nothing special; I was just in the right place at the right time.”

    The story just made me think about the kinds of men and women who choose to serve in the military when we’ve got troops on at least two fronts, and they’re virtually guaranteed action.  People who make sacrifices like Josh did, just because it’s right.   He’d make a nice hospital corpsman, don’t you think?

    =

     

    Nice job, Josh.  I am sure your parents are very proud of you.

     

     

  • Sometimes You Get the Bear…

    A Boundary County man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to unlawfully killing a female grizzly bear in his yard.

    Supporters said that Hill, a father of six, acted responsibly in shooting the female grizzly on May 8, which appeared with two cubs in the yard of his home near Porthill, Idaho, while his children were playing outside.

    “It seems unjust to me that someone would be charged when they were protecting their family,” state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said after the hearing. “I’m at a loss to understand why the U.S. government is pursuing this in the manner they are.”

    State and local officials declined to file charges, but Uncle Sam did.

    Meanwhile, Boundary County commissioners sent letters to Idaho’s congressional delegation and state legislators, asking for support for Hill. They also issued a news release, saying that Idaho Fish and Game officials had recommended against filing charges in the case, and that local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials had concurred.

    Chip Corsi, Idaho Fish and Game’s regional manager, declined to comment on his agency’s stance on charges, but said: “He had three grizzly bears in close proximity to his kids, family and livestock. He had reason to believe there was a threat.”

    Joan Jewett, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland, said she couldn’t comment on the case specifically. In general, however, “we do an investigation and turn over our information and evidence to the U.S. Attorney’s office and the U.S. Attorney makes the decision on whether to prosecute or not.”

    Nothing to see here; moving on.

  • Fatally Unique apologizes

    You guys went after the Dance Team Fatally Unique yesterday when they wore military medals during their dance routine the other day. This was posted on their Facebook page last night;

    It still doesn’t address the jerk-ass comment that they emailed to Matt, though. Nor does it apologize for de-friending everyone who pointed out their disrespect. Most of the comments related to the statement are supportive of their wear and use of medals – but who can expect differently in the age of an American idol president.

    You guys in the Navy need to police your ranks;

  • Swedish hobbyist arrested

    Apparently, certain hobbies can get you arrested in Sweden…especially if that hobby has to do with splitting atoms (Associated Press link);

    The 31-year-old [Richard] Handl said he had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.

    Only later did he realize it might not be legal and sent a question to Sweden’s Radiation Authority, which answered by sending the police.

    He was arrested for possession of nuclear material. Handl admits that it probably wasn’t a good idea to build a nuclear reactor in his kitchen and promises to keep his future research in the theory realm.

    Thanks to all of you who sent the link.

  • Another Marine Corps Ball invite to Hollywood

    ROS sends a link from the Huffington Post about another invitation to a Hollywood star requesting their attendance at the Marine Corps Ball. Sgt. Ray Lewis posts this video invitation on YouTube;

    Yeah, I think a date to the ball with Betty White would probably be the most entertaining night of any Marine’s life.

  • Minnesota to be beerless?

    Old Trooper has been keeping TSO and me apprised of the situation in Minnesota in regards to the sudden impending shortage of the brewed food groups. See, we’re going to be there next month and if there’s no beer, why would we go?

    The problem stems from brand label registrations that brewers must renew with the state every three years, showing the label on each brand of beer. MillerCoors attempted to renew in mid-June, but, according to company officials, sent the state a check for more than the required amount. Green said the company followed up with a new check, which the state received June 27.

    But on June 30, one day before the government shutdown, the company received a letter from the state that its brand licenses had expired. State employees who would typically renew those licenses have been deemed noncritical during the shutdown and laid off.

    Noncritical? That seems a bit arbitrary and capricious.

    It gets worse;

    But if the shutdown were to last into October, another brewing behemoth would have to grapple with an expired license: Anheuser-Busch, responsible for 48 percent of all U.S. beer sales and producers of Bud and Bud Light.

    It seems to me that blocking that much business doesn’t help the state recover from it’s problems. I mean, I’m sure it will affect tax revenues.