Happy Birthday, U. S. Marines

This is a repost from last year.  Happy Birthday, US Marines!

The Marine Corps was created on November 10, 1775, in Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by a resolution of the Continental Congress. In 1834 the marines became part of the Department of the Navy.

The globe and anchor signify worldwide service and sea traditions. The spread eagle represents the nation itself. The motto, Semper Fidelis, or Always Faithful, is clenched in the beak of the bird.

To all you current, inactive and retired Marines,

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mathew 25-21.

Montage

It has become a liberal tactic to release potentially damaging information late on Friday or Saturday when the MSM’s attention is elsewhere…or purposely redirected. This last weekend was no different.

On today’s Drudge Report is the headline: The Hilliary Papers: Ruthless First Lady. Diane Blair, a political science professor whom Hillary Clinton once described as her “closest friend”, died in 2000. She and others collected documents during the Clinton’s campaign before Bill Clinton’s run for the Presidency in 1992. More documents were added until Blair’s death.

Jim Blair, a former chief counsel at Tyson Foods Inc. who was at the center of “Cattlegate,” a 1994 controversy involving the unusually large returns Hillary Clinton made while trading cattle futures contracts in the 1970s, donated his wife’s papers to the University of Arkansas Special Collections library in Fayetteville after her death. — The Washington Free Beacon.

A memo from those archives, under the title of, “Research on Hillary Clinton,” noted that Bill, according to pollsters, was viewed as ‘slick,’ while Hillary was viewed as ruthless. The picture the documents paint of Bill and Hillary Clinton is not complementary. Bill comes across as bungling and stupid while Hillary is portrayed as one who’d cut a throat to maintain political power.

***

A bit of bad news for Obamacare came to light over the weekend. It is another ‘unintended consequence’ that the libs are now claiming to be a feature. (Systems Designers, development and project managers are very familiar with the tactic.)

Obamacare will induce people to drop out of the work force, a recent congressional study reported.

The Congressional Budget Office report, examining Obamacare’s effects on the economy, predicted that the U.S. workforce would shrink by 2.5 million people. The cause: Low-income people get subsidies when shopping on Obamacare’s health-insurance exchanges. This makes it easier for people to afford health care without a job or by working part-time. — The Washington Examiner.

The column may be a bit difficult to understand. The bottom line is the amount of subsidies granted to ‘qualified’ applicants may influence people to maintain low incomes or drop out of the work-force completely. An income difference of $1 can mean the loss of those subsidies and increased healthcare costs of thousands of dollars per year.  That—is a disincentive to work. Why work when more money means the loss of the subsidy and higher costs of the now-required healthcare coverage.

The ‘unintended consequence’ came to light in another venue, a discussion between the head of the Congressional Budget Office and Obama’s spokesman, Jay Carney. The gist? Americans now have a choice whether or not to work!

My, oh, my, how times have changed. America now has a government that views work as a trap and celebrates those who escape it.

That is the upshot of last week’s remarkable exchange over ObamaCare. It began when the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the interplay of taxes and subsidies in the law “creates a disincentive for people to work.” The report predicted the mix would lead to fewer hours worked, costing the equivalent of nearly 2.5 million jobs.

In response, President Obama’s spokesman pleaded guilty — with pride and pleasure.

“Opportunity created by affordable, quality health insurance allows families in America to make a decision about how they will work, or if they will work,” Jay Carney said. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi applauded the law for freeing people from “job-lock.”

They never mentioned the implications of this distinctly Obamaish New Deal. The subsidies that enable some Americans to decide “if they will work” mean higher taxes from those who must or want to work. — The New York Post.

Job-lock. The democrats have created a new term. When I looked at the definition of the term in Wiki, I noticed the page was last updated February 9, 2014. Yes, the libs must keep ‘job-lock’ up to date.

***

When I was in the Air Force, one of the first things I read as it became available was the Air Force Times. Like the Air Force, each branch of the military had its paper, the Army Times, the Navy Times, and the Marine Corps Times. There may have been a Coast Guard Times, too, although I never saw one.

One reason why the ‘Times was so popular was that it was published by an independent, semi-private company. The current ‘Times are now owned by Gannet.

By semi-private, I mean the military branches tried, often, to control the content of the ‘Times. They failed each time. Many retired and active military members were contributors to the ‘Times. Military retirees often held paid and advisory positions to the various ‘Times editions. They knew where the bodies were buried and used that knowledge…frequently to the embarrassment of the particular branch.

The success of the ‘Times is its support of the lowest members of the military, not its highest. Those supporters insure truth and accuracy in the stories and reporting. The various ‘Times papers have credibility—more credibility than the military hierarchy and that difference in credibility is leading to conflict again.

Once again, the military hierarchy is attempting to control the content of the ‘Times…the Marine Corps Times in this particular case. I predict this effort will eventually fail, too. The last time a service branch tried to control the ‘Times, the paper was smuggled onto military bases around the world. Like Prohibition, banning the ‘Times will fail.

Marine Corps Times first casualty in headquarters’ war to ‘professionalize’

Independent newspaper does not conform to new Marine Corps message, brass says

Feb. 9, 2014 – 05:05PM, By Lance M. Bacon Staff writer

Marines leaf through a copy of Marine Corps Times during some downtime at a patrol base in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The newspaper, which throughout the last year has investigated allegations of wrongdoing involving the service's top general, has been targeted by Marine Corps headquarters as part of a new initiative to 'professionalize' areas where the publication is sold.

Marines leaf through a copy of Marine Corps Times during some downtime at a patrol base in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The newspaper, which throughout the last year has investigated allegations of wrongdoing involving the service’s top general, has been targeted by Marine Corps headquarters as part of a new initiative to ‘professionalize’ areas where the publication is sold. (Brennan Linsley / The Associated Press)

Marine Corps leaders have ordered the independent Marine Corps Times newspaper removed from its prominent newsstand location at base exchange stores worldwide and placed instead in areas away from checkout lines, where it is harder to find and fewer copies are available.

The move raises troubling questions about motive and closely follows a directive prohibiting commanders from using budget funds to buy Marine Corps Times and a number of other publications.

Marine Corps Times is widely recognized for its comprehensive coverage of the Corps, focusing on everything from career tracks, to pay and benefits, family and spouse issues, and employment after leaving the military.

Throughout much of the past year, the paper has published dozens of articles as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations the service’s commandant, Gen. Jim Amos, abused his authority to ensure Marines were punished for an embarrassing war-zone scandal. Numerous reports have captured the attention of mainstream media outlets, including NPR, CNN and Time magazine, among several others.

Spokesmen for the commandant’s office would not answer questions about whether Amos or his staff were aware of or involved in the decision to relocate the newspaper, but a source with knowledge of the new directive said it was approved with the commandant’s knowledge.

“It is no secret [in the Pentagon] that the commandant does not like Marine Corps Times,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The commandant’s office punted all questions, including whether Amos was involved in the decision to move Marine Corps Times from prominent display in the exchanges,to Manpower & Reserve Affairs, which has oversight of the exchange. A spokeswoman for Manpower & Reserve Affairs said the paper was moved as part of a plan to “professionalize” the front of the exchanges.

As every serviceman and veteran knows, weasels exist at all levels. In this case, it is the Commandant.

***

One last bit. The ‘conservative’ rankings of Congress was released this weekend. Claire McCaskill was ranked 50 out of the 100 Senators. It’s well known that McCaskill voted with the ‘Pubs on issues that had no chance to pass, hence her rating. Missouri’s other Senator, Roy Blunt, supposedly a ‘Pub, was ranked 42, not far above liberal McCaskill. The difference is that McCaskill manipulated her votes to appear more conservative. Blunt didn’t.

I understand that primary opponents to Blunt are forming all across Missouri. It couldn’t happen to be better Senator—and that’s a point. We don’t need two liberal voting Senators and that is exactly what we have had. Time for Blunt to go back to obscurity.

Ducking and Running plus other items

Obama is expected to arbitrarily change Obamacare today to allow people “to keep their old insurance.” There’s two problems with his turnaround on the failure of Obamacare. First, he doesn’t have the authority to make these changes. Yes, I know, he’s already done so numerous times for his corporate and union buds. Those exceptions weren’t legal, either.  The second problem is—those policies no longer exist and are, themselves, illegal to be sold under Obamacare. Obama can’t, with a wave of his hand, recreate plans that no long exist.

Whoops!

More lies from the Liar-in-Chief.

***

The light-bulb banner, ‘Pub representative Fred Upton, has proposed a bill to modify Obamacare to correct some of the problems. There are numerous problems with Upton’s bill. First, it creates additional issues—shall we say more unintended consequences, and, while Upton and some ‘Pubs, like Vicky Hartzler who is co-sponsoring the bill, think it will gain dem support, it is stepping into a dem trap.

You see, in the Senate, Mary Landrieu, D-LA, has a plan, too. One that is even worse than the Upton bill, if that’s possible. So what happens if Upton’s bill is passed in the House? It reaches the Senate, where Reid will swap it for Landrieu’s bill and send it back to the House. If the ‘pubs don’t pass it, they’ll be blamed for “not fixing Obamacare.” If they pass it, it just makes Obamacare worse and saves Landrieu’s butt because of the backlash from her constituents over her votes for Obamacare.

Yes, It’s a Trap.

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  November 14th, 2013 at 02:24 AM

Since yesterday afternoon a bunch of good Republicans who’ve decided to put their faith in the man who banned the incandescent lightbulb, have been telling me how wrong I am for thinking the Upton Plan is a trap.

Folks, it is a trap. You may not think it is a trap, but the Democrats are going to use it to turn the tables on the GOP

Certainly Upton and House Republican Leaders do not think it is a trap, but it is one the Democrats have flipped skillfully on the GOP.

First, understand that Upton is messaging legislation. It allows everyone in Congress to say they support people being able to keep their healthcare plans, but it lacks measures to force insurance companies to let people keep their plans. It is a paper tiger.

But Republicans are starting to pick up worried Democrat votes for the Upton legislation who feel they must stand for something with 2014 on the horizon.

So Upton will pass. It will be “bipartisan.”

Democrats, meanwhile, need to get Mary Landrieu and a host of other red state Democrats re-elected. The President’s law be damned, they want to save their Senate majority. Remember, Obamacare already has embedded in the law provisions bailing out insurance companies and the Democrats and Republicans have shown themselves perfectly comfortable bailing out businesses deemed “too big to fail” in the past. Insurance companies participating in the exchanges will be deemed “too big to fail” I guarantee. So the Democrats can hurt insurance companies and undermine their own exchanges, but the government will bail out the insurance companies affected under the terms of Obamacare as already written.

The House would send the Senate the Upton measure. The Senate Democrats will respond, “But Upton has not teeth. Landrieu has teeth.” The Senate will substitute Landrieu’s legislation for Upton’s, send it back to the House, and watch the GOP try to explain why they say their for letting people keep their health insurance plans, but will not actually force insurance companies to let people keep those plans.

Yet again, the GOP will be cast as the tool of insurance companies and Mary Landrieu as the savior of plans people already have. Republicans will cave. They’ll console themselves thinking Landrieu’s bill will undermine Obamacare and cause it to collapse.

Upton’s legislation by itself isn’t worth worrying about. But Upton passed with Landrieu’s bill still on the table gives the Democrats the offense back. Republicans will absolutely flub the response and, embarrassed, vote for Landrieu. If you don’t believe me, Fred Upton is open to Landrieu’s plan himself.

Lots of Republican pundits and folks at the NRSC are giddy thinking Landrieu will blow up Obamacare. No. It will deliver even quicker rate shock to Americans, but it will not stop Obamacare. Landrieu will do much harm, but it won’t somehow repeal or obstruct Obamacare.

The GOP is getting too clever by half. They need to just demand full repeal of Obamacare — not let Democrats like Landrieu save themselves while claiming to fix the unfixable.

Obamacare is not fixable. If anything, Landrieu shows just how unfixable it is.

In any event, this is all going to become academic as I expect the President, by the end of this week, to find some new way to claim he is saving people without Congress doing anything and then put the GOP leadership on defense where GOP leaders will spontaneously and pre-emptively blame Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and do whatever the President wants them to do.

Republicans thought themselves clever, but the Democrats are baiting a trap of the Republicans’ own design. The Democrats, and especially the President, want to be thrown in that briar patch.

***

Military deaths aren’t always due to combat nor to enemy action. Sometimes, they occur during training. A number of years ago, some Marines, being trained on a mortar, were killed when a round detonated while being loaded into the tube. Apparently, it’s happened again.

Being in the military is a hazardous job. A young man from our church is in the Navy attending A-school. We pray for him daily.

Some times, deaths occur during normal operations. While such deaths are regrettable, and while operations are conducted as safely as possible, sometime, through no one’s fault, military members die in the course of their duties.

I witnessed one such incident. I was in the Air Force stationed at Richards-Gebaur AFB on the south side of Kansas City. R-G AFB, being situated in the center of the country, was a fuel stop for many aircraft from all services when travelling from coast to coast. There were other military airfields close by, Leavenworth, and Whiteman AFB, but they weren’t used. Leavenworth’s field was too short for some aircraft. Whiteman AFB was a SAC missile base and closed to most traffic, military and civilian alike. That left Richard-Gebaur as the favored fuel stop…and allowed for crew and passengers a change to use the ‘facilities’ and get something to eat.

It was early morning, bright and clear. I don’t remember the date nor month except it was in the Fall and the weather was warm. I had just stepped out of a building facing west. A Navy A-6 aircraft was in the pattern for landing. I saw it bobble, up-down, then flip on its back and go down. Moments later I heard a BOOM from across the main runway and saw a black mushroom rising from the distance.

Sirens started from the flight-line triggered, probably, from the air traffic controllers in the tower. Flight-line fire trucks, always on standby during flight operations, pulled out and headed for the north gate closely followed by base Security Police and a line of blue trucks and ambulances.

I had no duty to join the rescue and recovery operations, I’d be in the way. My only duty was to submit a written statement, later, of what I’d seen as a witness. I went back inside the building and reported the incident to my boss.

Later in the day, I was told there were two deaths in the crash, the pilot and a PO1, a Petty Officer First Class, who was catching a ride. Apparently the A-6 suffered hydraulic failure in the pattern. The pilot and the PO1 ejected just as the A-6 flipped upside down. Neither the pilot nor the PO1 had time for their ‘chutes to open.

The worst part was that the PO1 was coming to R-G AFB on leave. His parents were at base operations to greet him. They witnessed the accident, too.

The local TV news reported the crash that evening. The KC Star ran a few column inches on an inside page. Two lives lost during normal state-side operations. The accident was lost in the other reports arriving daily from South-East Asia.

The news of the four marines killed during training at Camp Pendleton won’t last long on the headlines either. All of the media’s attention, little of that as it is, is focused on Afghanistan. By tomorrow, the day after at the latest, this incident will vanish, too…except in the memories of those who survived or were involved, and their families.

Happy 238th Birthday, United States Marines

I wasn’t a Marine, I was an Airman, a member of the United States Air Force. Our service doesn’t have the history of the Marines, nor the traditions. That does not mean we don’t honor the Marines for their fidelity to the nation.

Happy 238th Birthday, Marines.

EGA-1a

The Weekend Syndrome

It must be a written Washington rule that announcements that are embarrassing to the government or federal institutions must only be released after the end of business on Friday. In this particular case, the news was publicized on Saturday.

EGA-1aThe charges against Capt. James V. Clement, USMC, for Dereliction of Duty, has been “suddenly” dropped. The Captain, and others, were charged in the infamous Taliban urination video case.

What at first appeared to be a case against the Captain and his men, changed into one of “unlawful command interference.” A pretrial hearing was scheduled and Captain Clement’s defense attorney was about to call Marine Commandant, General. James F. Amos, to submit and explain his comments in e-mails to subordinates and the prosecution concerning Captain Clement and the charges.

Defense attorneys for Capt. James V. Clement had won a judge’s order, over objections from Marine prosecutors, for two staff attorneys to testify in open court about how senior commanders interfered in the case to get a guilty verdict.

The attorneys also were seeking to question Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant, and wanted access to his private emails. — The Washington Times.

Instead of complying with the order, the convening authority, Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck, who heads Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va., filed a brief withdrawing the charges.

John Dowd, Capt. Clement’s principal defense counsel, accused the commandant of engineering the largest case of unlawful command influence in the Corps’ history.

“The withdrawal of the charges was another act of cowardice by the commandant, his counsel and the Judge Advocate Division of [Marine Corps headquarters] to cover up the worst case of unlawful command influence in the history of the Marine Corps, which was beginning next Wednesday to be uncovered in a hearing before the chief judge … on several motions to compel discovery,” Mr. Dowd said Saturday.

The defense attorney said he wanted to see email traffic among the commandant, his counsel and his legal division.

“That email traffic would have revealed that [the commandant] and his lawyers had engaged in a secret, corrupt effort to rig and control the investigations and dispositions of the so-called desecration cases until Capt. Clement refused to submit to a corrupt process [of being] charged with crimes he did not commit,” Mr. Dowd said.

Capt. Clement’s defense counsel obtained a sworn statement from Lt. Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser who, as convening authority, was overseeing all cases in the urination incident. The general told of a one-on-one meeting in 2012 with Gen. Amos in which the commandant said he wanted Marine defendants “crushed” via courts-martial. — The Washington Times.

Dropping the charges, however, does not end the story. Captain Clements defense attorneys have filed charges against General Amos with the Pentagon Inspector General.

Citing that conversation, Capt. Clement’s attorneys accused the commandant of blatant unlawful command influence that denied their client a fair court-martial. 

They filed a motion to dismiss the charges, thus setting up a series of public pretrial hearings on Gen. Amos’ conduct scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Capt. Clement was charged with dereliction of duty for not properly supervising Marines who urinated on Taliban corpses. 

A video of the act went viral on YouTube last year, drawing harsh criticism from the White House. The captain denies any misconduct.

Maj. James Weirick, a staff attorney at Quantico who was to testify Wednesday, filed a complaint with the Pentagon inspector general over Gen. Amos’ actions. An investigation is underway. — The Washington Times.

Over the past few years, especially since the beginning of the Obama administration, the top layers of our military have been selected not for their ability to lead, fight and win wars, but to support the administration’s liberal political agenda. This trend has tainted the military. Company and Field-grade officers are leaving in droves taking with them a military heritage leading back to the formation of our country.

This is not an isolated case, it just became public and blew up in the Marine Commandant’s face. Instead of “crushing” Captain Clements, General Amos will now have to answer charges of his own misconduct.

In a just world, General Amos would immediately resign along with the others involved in his unlawful orders. But, it is not a just world and I expect General Amos to follow the lead of Obama, Holder and the examples of other followers of Obama’s corrupt administration.

General Amos future is still to be determined. He may, like so many others who blindly followed Obama, find himself thrown “under the bus.” Or, like Holder, Neapolitano and others, simply refuse to acknowledge his acts and to cooperate with the investigation. In the end, it damages the faith of the nation with its military leaders.

Captain Clement was not, however, exonerated. He will now undergo an administrative board of inquiry to determine if he committed any misconduct. That board could also determine whether Captain Clements will be retain in the Corps or “separated under less-than-honorable conditions.”

General Amos, if events go against him, will likely be allowed to retire with full benefits.

Happy Birthday, USMC

This is a repost from last year.  Happy Birthday, US Marines!

The Marine Corps was created on November 10, 1775, in Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by a resolution of the Continental Congress. In 1834 the marines became part of the Department of the Navy.

The globe and anchor signify worldwide service and sea traditions. The spread eagle represents the nation itself. The motto is clenched in the beak of the bird.

To all you current, inactive and retired Marines,

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mathew 25-21.

Happy Birthday, Marines

Happy 236th Birthday, United States Marines!