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

Our brothers across the wide waters at the Walter Mitty Hunt Club in the UK send us their latest “Walt” Lee Shaw;

Walter Mitty Lee Shaw – 40 Commando Royal Marine Walt, was exposed a week or two back by the WMH for having an upsidedown dagger tattoo, calling the Royal Marines a “regiment”, and calling the Corps, “The Commando’s” – all things a genuine Royal Marine wouldn’t dream of doing.

I suppose that’s him on your left in the picture above and the tattoo that’s upside down. Now we know.

According to the Washington Times, Nanny Bloomberg tried to make the New York City cab industry green and, yet again, was dealt a blow in the courts when a judge said that he exceeded his authority with his “Taxi of Tomorrow” program. Then the diminutive tyrant ran into Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman at Madison Square Garden;

“[I will] destroy your [expletive] industry,” Mr. Bloomberg said to Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman, The New York Post reported.

[...]

“It was like Gene had kidnapped his child,” the witness told The Post. “He used the f-word twice.”

[...]

Mr. Friedman said, in The Post. “When we walked away, I asked a friend who was with me, ‘Did the mayor just threaten me?’ My friend responded, ‘No, he threatened you twice.’ “

It’s terrible that Bloomberg, the little Cesar, can’t always get his own way and that sometimes the courts come down on the side of the people instead of blindly acting on hizoner’s behalf and force us all into the square holes he’s mandated for us. That’s twice this year his vision for a Bloomerica has been shut down by the courts. But, yeah, he’d be a great successor to the Obama Administration, wouldn’t he?

From the Washington Post. The Navy only looks ghey;

The greased Herndon Monument is pictured before the event. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered, 21-foot-high statue and remove the “dixie cup” hat at the top, replacing it with an upperclassman’s hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called “fourth-class midshipmen.” This class completed the task in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando.

Don Shipley and Mary sent us a link to the Baltimore City Paper story about Earl Littman who claims to be a “World War II SEAL” and he’s trying to raise money for veterans with a 501(c)3 called “Back Our Vets“. The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be much about Back Our Vets on the internet. ANd, oh, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Littman wasn’t a SEAL, WWII-type or otherwise.

I asked Littman to send information about his non-profit, starting with its incorporation papers. He emailed me a week later saying the state of Texas had not yet sent those papers to him. (He also asked which of three linked videos looked and sounded best. In them, he appears with the Seals-only Special Warfare insignia (AKA “The Trident”) signifying his elite status. I picked the one in which he says:

“I was in Team 1 of the original Navy Seals…as a navy medic I experienced people falling down with wounds and some falling down forever.”

I asked Littman for his military discharge records, and also got no reply. I emailed him notice that VeriSeal had found no record of his alleged Seal service either. I expect no reply to that either.

Of course, his file isn’t available because the operations he participated in back in 1944 are still classified. The existence of the Enigma cipher machine was declassified in 1975, but Littman’s missions are still secret.

UPDATE: Mr. Littman did email back late last night:

The only possible way that you or anyone else can check my service record is to see if the Pentagon will release confidential and secret information on the 100 members of the “secret combat naked warriors” during the period of 1942 through the end of 1945. Upon discharge we were sworn to never tell for the rest of our lives; “what, when, where , why or how” we performed our duties. It was suggested we not try to stay in touch with one another as we might talk about our missions which was taboo.

Yeah, good luck with that, Earl.

TSO Adds:

Some news sources are reporting that a man was shot by an FBI agent in Orlando and that he had been questioned about his involvement in the Boston bombing;

The FBI has not confirmed the link to the Boston bombing, but the friends say the man killed by the special agent was friends with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, according to Click Orlando.

A man claiming to be the suspect’s friend told WFTV that the man was being questioned by investigators about the Boston bombings. However, authorities have not confirmed that information.

The friend said the man’s name is Ibrahim Topashev, but the FBI has not confirmed the victim’s identity.

NBC broadcast news has confirmed that the man was a suspect in the Boston bombing, but, ya know, the media hasn’t been the most reliable in this terrorist attack.

Everything is coming up Lilyea;

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Intelligence Field Unit J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C.

URGENT ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY

WE SINCERELY APOLOGIZED FOR SENDING YOU THIS SENSITIVE INFORMATION VIA E-MAIL INSTEAD OF A CERTIFIED MAIL, POST-MAIL, PHONE OR FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION, IT IS DUE TO THE URGENCY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE SECURITY INFORMATION OF OUR CITIZENRY, I AM SPECIAL AGENT JOHN EDWARD FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) INTELLIGENCE UNIT, WE HAVE JUST INTERCEPTED AND CONFISCATED TWO (2) TRUNK BOX AT JFK AIRPORT IN NEW YORK, AND ARE ON THE VERGE OF MOVING IT TO OUR BUREAU HEAD QUARTERS.

WE SCANNED THE SAID BOX, AND FOUND IT CONTAINS TOTAL SUM OF $4.1 MILLION AND ALSO BACKUP DOCUMENT WHICH BEARS YOUR NAME AS THE RECEIVER OF THE MONEY CONTAINED IN THE BOX, INVESTIGATIONS CARRIED OUT ON THE DIPLOMAT WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE BOX INTO UNITED STATES SAID HE WAS TO DELIVER THIS FUNDS TO YOUR RESIDENCE AS PAYMENT DUE YOU FROM THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AS UNPAID BENEFICIARY.

WE CROSS-CHECKED ALL LEGAL DOCUMENTATION IN THE BOX, AND WERE ABOUT TO RELEASE THE CONSIGNMENT TO THE DIPLOMAT WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT THE BOX WAS LACKING ONE VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT WHICH MAKES US CONFISCATE THE BOX.

ACCORDING TO SECTION 229 SUBSECTION 31 OF THE 1991 CONSTITUTION IN MONEY LAUNDERING, YOUR CONSIGNMENT LACKS PROOF OF OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE FROM THE JOINT TEAM OF THE IRS AND HOMELAND SECURITY, REPLY FOR DIRECTION ON HOW TO PROCURE THIS CERTIFICATE WHICH WILL ENABLE YOU RELIEVED OF THE CHARGES OF MONEY LAUNDERING WHICH IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 12 SUBSECTION 441 OF CONSTITUTION ON MONEY LAUNDERING.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO REPLY THIS LETTER WITHIN 72HOURS, OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED, INTERROGATED AND PROSECUTED IN THE COURT OF LAW FOR MONEY LAUNDERING.

ALSO, YOU MUST NOT CONTACT ANY OTHER BANK OR PERSON IN NIGERIA OR UNITED KINGDOM OR ANY PART OF THE WORLD FOR ANY PAYMENT, BECAUSE YOUR PAYMENT HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED BY THIS BUREAU HERE IN THE UNITED STATES..

YOURS IN SERVICE
AGENT JOHN EDWARD
REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A quick update on events in the ongoing IRS scandal over the last few days:

• The ex-head of the IRS personally knew that conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status were being discriminated against by IRS officials roughly a year before the matter became public, and apparently did nothing of significance.
• The discrimination against conservative groups apparently began in 2010.
• The POTUS met personally with the head of the NTEU on 31 Mar 2010 – about the time that the unlawful bias against conservative organizations by the IRS began.  The NTEU’s PAC reportedly contributed heavily to anti-Tea Party candidates in both 2010 and 2012.
• And, finally:  the head of the IRS Tax-Exempt Division will reportedly invoke the 5th Amendment when called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the matter.

And don’t blame the Administration for this unethical and unlawful mess.  According to Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, an ambiguous tax code is to blame for the IRS selectively targeting the Administration’s political opponents here.  By that logic, I guess the tax code must also be to blame for giving the Administration’s political allies and the POTUS’s relatives expedited approvals.

Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along.

Yeah, right.  What’s next – are we going to see a prominent Administration official coming out and saying publicly, “I am not a crook”?

The Star-Tribune reports that Brigadier General Bryan Roberts, the Commanding General of Fort Jackson, SC has lost his job because he was apparently acting like a drunk private;

The Army says Brig. Gen. Bryan Roberts reportedly was in an altercation with another woman, not his wife. Roberts was suspended from his job by Gen. Robert W. Cone, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, while the investigation continues.

Midlands Connect reports that there may have been more to it than that;

Harvey Perritt, spokesman for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, says Roberts was suspended due to allegations of misconduct, including adultery and a fight.

From WLTX:

While the investigation is ongoing, Brig. Gen. Peggy C. Combs, Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, will serve as the interim commander.

Someone wrote to us this weekend to tell us that the Odierno letter last Friday was already being implemented and that he was in the middle of an hours-long sexual harrassment/assault response program slide show while he was trying to de-mobilize. I think the wrong people are getting this training.

Thanks to Chief Tango for the links.

The Military Times reports that the Defense Department is preparing to send a report to Congress that was two years in the writing. According to Military Times the report touts Reserve Forces as more cost effective than a large active duty fighting force;

According to a draft copy of the report obtained by Military Times, the Pentagon analysis concludes that Guard and Reserve troops not only are cheaper when in drilling status but also when fully mobilized, in part because their overall compensation is lower when taking into account noncash benefits such as retirement accrual and health care.

Moreover, the overall costs for outfitting units with reservists are lower because part-time troops do not tap many military perks such as family housing, DoD schools, installation-based family support and the moving stipends that active-duty troops get every few years when they are reassigned, according to the draft report.

Yeah, it’s as if Task Force Smith, Kaserine Pass and the First Battle of Bull Run never happened. I have nothing against the Reserves, but even they’ll admit their training is lacking compared to the active duty force.

During Desert Storm, reservist combat units were called up in case war went on longer than it did and in the months during the train up, none of the reserve units, as far as I know met the standard required before they were certified for combat. There was a buttload of reservists who went AWOL at Fort Hood during their training. I’m sure with the current crop that wouldn’t happen. I have more confidence in reservists today than I did the reservists of my days – but so much has changed since then. And this is a return to those old days.

It appears that the only thing the Defense Department is defending these days are their jobs in the Pentagon. They’re certainly not defending this nation in any recognizable form;

The Pentagon disavowed the draft copy obtained by Military Times, dated April 26, 2013.

“The draft report was released prematurely and there are some inaccuracies; the department does not stand by it,” said DoD spokeswoman Lt. Col. Elizabeth Robbins. “We cannot comment on the report prior to the final version being completed and sent to Congress.”

But a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the data appear finalized even if the language that fleshes out the 34-page report may undergo further revisions. Congress passed a law in 2011 requiring DoD to draw up the analysis, but it remains unclear when an official version will be finalized and released publicly.

Remember when they were talking about drawing down the active force before Desert Storm, and some units had to be reconstituted in the midst of their deactivation to respond to Saddam Hussein, but at least they had a large, trained active force to deploy and the only reservists were support units. How are we going to respond to threats in 2016?

I know I could drop a grenade among the whole group here and not hit a Katie Couric fan, but the folks over at the Katie Show sent us a message that she’s saluting the troops Thursday in preparation for Memorial Day (which I just discovered is the 27th not the 31st this year and it’s the 26th next year) so I thought I’d pass the information along to y’all;

“Katie” salutes our troops and shares amazing stories from the front lines and the homefront in a special episode leading up to Memorial Day, which will be broadcast THURSDAY, MAY 23 (check local listings/ or www.katiecouric.com).

Highlights from the show include:

· The first female soldier amputee of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Melissa Stockwell, tells her story…from wounded warrior to Paralympics champion.

· Sergeant Paul Horton, a bomb specialist who served four combat tours, describes his harrowing battle with PTSD and explains how big the problem is for many men and women returning from active duty.

· ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff discusses his own recovery after a life-threatening injury while covering the Iraq war, and some of the heroes he met along the way.

· Veteran Jaspen Boothe’s crusade to help fellow female solders find work and housing through her “Final Salute” program.

· Meet “The Smileys.” One mom from Maine got creative when her husband was deployed, and created an unforgettable year of special dinners for their three boys. She writes about the experiences and the incredible guests who joined them in the book, Dinner with the Smileys.

I know what you’re going to say, but if we boycott these folks when they do things we don’t like, we have to support them when they do good things, right?