An Iraq war veteran whose bravery inspired two statues says he was beaten by a group of teens in Washington, DC on Friday night after they approached and asked him whether ‘black lives matter’.
Chris Marquez, 30, a decorated US Marine veteran, was eating in a McDonald’s when the youths walked up and started questioning him, WJLA reported.
‘I felt threatened and thought they were trying to intimidate me, so I figured I’m just going to keep to my food, eat my food and hopefully they’ll leave me alone,’ Marquez told the station.
The youths started calling him a racist, he said, but it was when he tried to leave the restaurant that things went badly for him.
The marine, who had survived ambushes in Fallujah at the height of the Iraq War, was taken unaware again — and this time he was unarmed and without backup.
One of the teens hit him in the head him from behind, knocking him to the floor, where the gang beat him savagely before robbing him. Marquez told police that one youth hit him in the head with a handgun.
This enraged me. A decorated veteran comes home to his nation’s capital, and can’t even enjoy a meal in peace without being harassed by these pieces of shit? Who, by the way, aren’t fit to lick this man’s dirty boots. It’s moments like these when I completely understand Heinlein’s veterans taking matters into their own hands in “Starship Troopers.”
Especially galling is the fact that these little shits try to cloak themselves in a veneer of respectability by donning the mantle of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. A movement that, in my opinion, is a complete farce, run by stupid, silly children of enormous privilege, egged on and enabled by a gelded, feeble education system, and founded on the complete lies and mythology of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.
As someone who spends quite a bit of time in Washington D.C., this is nothing new. Attacks like this have become common on the D.C. metro. They probably reached a low point last summer, when a passenger and card-carrying liberal who enjoyed sneeringly blogging about you gun nuts, was murdered on a train by a young black man asking for money. And yes, the hate fact is that it is always a group of young black men (sometimes a female or two joins in, also black).
Listen, I don’t give a shit about how afraid you are of being called a racist. If you are riding the D.C. metro, or sitting in a D.C. McDonald’s, and a group of young black males surround you and start asking for money, get it through your head: They aren’t asking. If you can, get the hell out of there. If you can’t…for God’s sakes, stand up and prepare to defend yourself. I watched the video below a few times. Marquez had to know what was happening, as the group was waiting outside and one of the scum followed him out the door right on his tail. He was mistaken to turn his back on this piece of shit.
But even before that, he made the mistake of “continuing to eat his food and hopefully they’ll leave me alone.” You can’t do that. These fucks are just looking for a target. Better you stand up and make it clear that you’re ready to go right there. Because they are cowardly turds, they can’t fight one on one. Instead, they attack people in the seated position with multiple attackers. And maybe, just maybe, someone in the McDonald’s could have helped him. Yes, I know…probably not, but it may have helped.
‘As soon as I walked out of the McDonald’s I got hit in the back of the head, or the side of the head,’ he told WJLA. ‘I just dropped to the ground, and [the McDonald’s manager] says I looked unconscious.’
The veteran believes that the attack was a hate crime, and that he was targeted because he was white.
‘I believe this was a hate crime and I was targeted because of my skin color,’ he told The Daily Caller.‘Too many of these types of attacks have been happening against white people by members of the black community and the majority of the main stream media refuses to report on it.’
Marquez was taken to George Washington Hospital where he was evaluated for several hours and treated for head trauma and an eye contusion. He was left with bruises and cuts to his face, and says that he’s had trouble sleeping since the event due to a sharp pain that he often feels in his head.
That wasn’t the only indignity the veteran suffered: when he awoke on the sidewalk outside McDonald’s, he found his pants ripped and his wallet — containing $400 in cash, three credit cards and his Veterans Affairs medical card, among other things — missing.
The youths used the cards that night to the tune of $115, and Marquez hopes that the trail will help police catch them.
Don’t be a victim, people. If a guy starts barking in my face while I’m in a seated position, with his piece of shit homies hyping it up behind him, I’m standing up, and knocking him the fuck out. You are definitely under threat, and you are in danger. You CAN NOT stay in a seated position with your back turned. This is the big city; it ain’t Mayberry. Iron it out with the cops later, if you feel like sticking around. And the irony of this human excrement calling Marquez a “racist,” while clearly targeting him for the color of his skin, is, no doubt, lost on them.
As usual, our worthless news media barely covered it. Can you imagine if a group of white shitheads surrounded a black war veteran and knocked him unconscious? Anderson Cooper would STILL be reporting live from the scene of the crime. There would be worldwide media camped out there, probably for weeks. Except, of course, scenarios like that happen only in the imaginations of the BLM protestors.
I’m sorry, Marquez. I’m sorry that you had to heroically fight in a war for your country, only to be attacked and hospitalized by the very citizens inhabitants you fought to protect. Heal up, brother. God DAMMIT, I’m pissed off about this. I’m ready to get a few pipe-hitters together and start instituting Fallujah 2004 ROE. Fuck.
Marine Officer Who Led Iwo Jima Flag Charge Has Passed Away:
The Marine who led the charge up Mount Suribachi to place the first American flag over Iwo Jima in World War II died last week.
First Lt. John Wells died Thursday at the age of 94 at a rehabilitation center in Arvada, Colorado, local ABC affiliate Denver 7 reported. Wells was awarded the Navy Cross, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart for his service in World War II commanding the 3rd Platoon, Easy Co. 28th Marines. Wells led his men in a frontal assault up Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 21, 1945.
While Wells did not make it to the top of the mountain himself—he was shot several times by the Japanese—his leadership resulted in his Marines raising the first American flag above Iwo Jima. The iconic photo of the second American flag being raised was taken hours later.
Rest easy, Lt. Wells. Remember, kids: When you see that old guy feeding pigeons in the park, show some respect. They may be a badass who stared death in the eye a lot more times than any of us have. RIP.
Louisiana Police Captain Challenges Gang, Liberals Squeal:
A Louisiana police captain has sent out a blunt message for members of a local street gang.
‘You will be hunted. You will be tracked. And if you raise your weapon to a man like me, we’ll return fire with superior power,’ said Captain Clay Higgins in a video message, as he stood flanked by officers from more than a dozen Louisiana law enforcement agencies.Higgins said a gang known as the Gremlins had been terrorizing the local community around St. Landry Parish, where the captain is based.
‘I’m hopeful that the Acadiana community can make a strong stand, and by extension, perhaps the country, will hear this message and make a strong, unified stand,’ Higgins said, referring to the unofficial name of a region in southern Louisiana.
The macho cop appears to be somewhat of a celebrity in the local community. His Facebook page has more than 20,000 likes and he has launched a website that sells merchandise featuring his likeness.
Higgins sells T-shirts and shot glasses with his face and name on them. Some have slogans like ‘Pay Attention Son’ and ‘Redemption.’
The proceeds from the web store appear to go towards helping the homeless and victims of crimes.
This is great. Someone immediately put me on the list for a T-shirt that says, “Pay attention, son.” Absolutely outstanding.
But of course, here comes the cry-facing and heavy flow day from the usual Zeta-male lady-boys. Gawker was very, very upset with this article. Not, of course, with the gang members who steal, kill, and sell heroin. Oh no…after all, they’re just products of their environment. Also, because slavery or something. It doesn’t matter. What matters to them a great deal is that Captain Higgins used MEAN WORDS to describe the drug-dealing/thieving/murdering scum.
I mean, like OMG, he called them “animals!” You know who else called black people animals? SLAVE OWNERS. Now, a reasonable person would be able to tell the difference between someone referring to ALL black people as “animals,” which, of course, is racist and terrible, and a person calling drug-dealing/thieving/murdering gangbangers “animals,” which, of course, is accurate. But, as I’ve carefully tried to explain to you, white liberals are the worst thing in America and have no brains, critical-thinking skills, or coherent thought. Hence the squealing.
Also, never mind the pesky fact that a large percentage of the people in the community that the drug-dealing/thieving/murderers are terrorizing are THEMSELVES African-American, who maybe, just maybe, enjoy the fact that Captain Higgins is dedicated to eradicating aforementioned drug-dealing/thieving/murderers. And many of Captain Higgins’s police officers are no doubt African-American, who dislike drug-dealing/thieving/murderers as much as Higgins does.
Look at the picture above. White liberals have decided that it is racist for police to enforce the law. Indeed, we have two presidential candidates who are vowing to pretty much end policing in black communities! Forget the hard-working people in those communities who may actually LIKE that the police arrest murderers. The only concern from Gawker is that police must not arrest heroin dealers. Because white liberals have watched “The Wire,” and think it’s like, the best, and Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell are noble men trying to make it in a cruel world.
Like Dave Chappelle said…keep an eye on Kavan Broussard up there. Dude probably did some crazy shit to get into the gang.
I’m serious: Go read the comments under the article at Gawker. You have white liberals from other parts of the world who say they are more afraid of Captain Higgins than of Louisiana gangbangers. I would gently suggest to them that perhaps their fear is juuuuuuust a bit misplaced.
Feds Raid Home of San Bernardino Shooter’s Brother:
Federal agents spent four hours on Thursday combing through the Corona, California, home of Syed Raheel Farook, the older brother of the male shooter in last December’s San Bernardino massacre.
Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Laura Eimiller tells PEOPLE the raid was sanctioned in a search warrant that has since been sealed by a judge.
Eimiller says that seal prevents her from discussing Thursday’s raid in any detail.
“I can say that a search warrant was executed at that residence in California,” Eimiller says, “We’re still seeking evidence as part of this ongoing investigation.”
Calls to Farook’s cell phone and home were not returned on Friday.
Remember when CAIR took to the podium right after the shootings with the brother, who the FBI inexplicably hadn’t arrested yet (well…we know why), and lectured us all that he was a military veteran, above reproach? And that it was insulting to think that the mother had anything to do with it at all? And the leader of the mosque, who claimed he had never said one word to Farrook, only to be caught lying when the FBI found dozens of text messages from Farrook in the imam’s phone?
Yeah. I remember.
The hack of notorious cheating website “Ashley Madison” whose uber-classy motto is “Life is short. Have an Affair” is continuing to cause embarrassment around the country. And now, it’s the Air Force’s turn.
As the Aspen Times recently reported, website RoadSnacks.net has analyzed more than 32 million leaked accounts and come up with lists of the cities nationwide where the website is most popular. Topping the list in Colorado is none other than the U.S. Air Force Academy nearby Colorado Springs. USAFA has 464 accounts out of a population of 3,711, or 12.5 percent of the population. Colorado Springs itself is eighth on its’ state’s Ashley Madison list, with 6.6 percent of the population on the site (and probably also rushing to delete their browser histories).
But it’s not only Colorado. Multiple Air Force and joint bases showed up on their states’ lists of top Ashley Madison users, such as:
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. Elmendorf was second on the state’s list, with 11.3 percent of its population on the site, and Eielson was fourth with 5.4 percent.
Eglin AFB tops the list in Florida, with 15.4 percent of its 2,857-strong population on Ashley Madison.
Scott AFB, fourth on the list in Illinois at 9.1 percent.
Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, third on that list at 12 percent.
Joint Base Andrews, third on Maryland’s list at 11.5 percent.
Whiteman AFB, fifth on Missouri’s list at 9.3 percent.
Holloman AFB in New Mexico, second on the list at 8.2 percent.
Minot AFB in North Dakota, third on its state’s list with 9.4 percent of residents on the site (and Minot proper is right behind the base).
Shaw AFB, sixth on the South Carolina list with 9.8 percent.
Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, second on the list at 6.8 percent.
Sheppard AFB in Texas, number 3 in the state with a whopping 16.3 percent of its population on the site.
Hill AFB is the top city in Utah, with 10.5 percent of its 3,122 population on the site.
What the hell, Air Force?
Well, This is Going to Be a Friggin’ Disaster:
The Afghan air force is poised to take a major step forward in 2016 with the initial deployment of the A-29 Super Tucano, an attack plane bought by the Pentagon to give the Afghan military the ability to drop bombs in combat. But before the plane has flown a single combat mission, a new report suggests the Afghan military is struggling to avoid killing civilians with the other aircraft it already has.
The number of civilians killed by the Afghan air force increased almost eight times between the first half of 2015 and the second, according to a new report on protecting civilians in armed conflict by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The organization recorded five civilians killed and 23 injured by the Afghan air force between January and and June 2015, and 41 killed and 57 injured in the latter half of the year.
Counting both coalition and Afghan airstrikes, the number of children killed or wounded in aerial operations increased 69 percent in 2015 with 36 killed and 55 wounded, according to UNAMA’s report. Despite carrying out far fewer missions than the coalition, Afghan pilots caused 49 of those 91 casualties, the organization found.
Well Played, Philly Police Department:
(CNN)There is hope and help for you, Kanye West.
The Philadelphia Police Department tweeted an altered picture Thursday featuring the rapper’s head atop a uniform, with an offer for West to join the force.
We R hiring,@kanyewest! Starting salary of $47,920; u could be debt-free by the year 3122! https://t.co/EHV6nhwuGY pic.twitter.com/TzSTK2zEGr
— Philadelphia Police Department (@PhillyPolice) February 18, 2016
The police department said that “with a few promotions and cost of living increases, Yeezy could probably break even in a quick 500 years.”
The social media funny was clearly designed to draw attention to employment opportunities with the police, as it included a link to the careers section of the department’s website.
Bahahaha. On a related note: Why do people think this guy is some sort of musical genius? At the risk of sounding like An Old, I just don’t get it. To me, he’s borderline mentally challenged. I mean, when I think of musical genius, my thoughts generally first go to, you know, someone who can ACTUALLY PLAY AN INSTRUMENT. Ah, but maybe it’s his virtuoso writing ability? Let’s take a look at some of his most celebrated lyrics:
“Now I ain’t sayin’ she’s a gold-digga
But she ain’t messin’ with no broke niggas.”
Yep, that’s right up there with Bill Goddamn Shakespeare. And why is “nigga” plural, when the aforementioned “digga” is singular? Consistency, man. Kanye, I think I speak for almost everyone at this point: Go home. Raise your kids. And stop asking people for money.
Cincinnati VA is Latest Disaster:
Nearly three dozen whistleblowers have come forward saying the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati is in a state of disorder. They say veterans are not getting the care they need in the backyard of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, the former chief executive of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co.
Since October, a team of Scripps reporters has been talking to a group of 34 current and former medical center staff members. The group, including 18 doctors from several departments, sent an unsigned letter to McDonald in September describing “urgent concerns about quality of care” at the facility, which serves more than 40,000 area veterans. They allege a pattern of cost cutting that forced out experienced surgeons, reduced access to care and put patients in harm’s way…
Here we go again. Go read the whole article; the Scripps reporters did an absolutely fantastic job. It’s a really long report, so I can’t excerpt all of the good parts here. But there are some headline-grabbing highlights:
…Dr. Temeck prescribed controlled substances, including hydrocodone and a generic form of Valium, to Mrs. Hetrick, the wife of her regional boss, Jack Hetrick. State and federal authorities confirm Dr. Temeck does not have a valid controlled substances license that would allow her to write prescriptions privately for Mrs. Hetrick.
Dr. Temeck cut around-the-clock staffing by emergency airway specialists to save money, resulting in at least one close call involving a patient who could not breathe.
Dr. Temeck told operating-room staff they were being “too picky” when they reported surgical instruments delivered to operating rooms with blood and bone chips from previous surgeries.
Dr. Temeck is paid separately as a VA administrator and cardiothoracic surgeon. But whistleblowers say she has never served as the operating surgeon since coming to Cincinnati...
..As acting chief of staff, Dr. Temeck earns $137,191. According to the VA, Temeck earns an additional $194,343 for her role as a cardiothoracic surgeon, for a total of $331,534.
Multiple sources, including those who have been inside the operating room with Dr. Temeck, say she only serves as an assistant and has never worked as the operating surgeon since arriving in Cincinnati. “It’s certainly common knowledge in the hospital that she’s gaming the system,” Dr. Freiberg said.
Brooks said it’s an “open secret” in the hospital that Dr. Temeck earns the additional salary as a cardiothoracic surgeon for work he has never seen her perform.
What is it with the VA and hiring all of these criminal women? We’ve already extensively covered other examples of thievery from high-placed VA execs. It appears that this is just another in a very long list. Go read the whole thing. If you’re in the Cincinnati area, or a VA patient there, and have some dirt, send it over to me.
The Veterans Crisis Line has a habit of leaving distressed callers hanging — with veterans, troops and family members sometimes getting calls ignored or sent to voicemail, according to a watchdog report.
The probe by the Veterans Affairs Department Inspector found that the 24-hour suicide hotline — which was the subject of a recent Oscar-winning documentary — has struggled to adequately prepare its staff for a massive influx of crisis calls.
Who cares, right? The documentary people have left, so it’s back to business as usual. Everyone is on their best behavior, I’m sure, when the cameras are trained on them.
The main call center, in Canandaigua, N.Y., has let some calls fall to one of its backup centers — where lesser-trained responders left calls unanswered, according to the report. Calls to backup centers are not monitored by the VA.
How much training does one need to know that, if your job is to answer the suicide hotline, you answer the GODDAMN PHONE? There, I’ve just trained you.
Those callers “did not always receive immediate assistance from VCL and/or backup center staff,” the report says, and the center “did not provide social assistance with adequate orientation and ongoing training.”…
…That came at the same time as a massive spike in demand for the center — between 2013 and 2014, calls spiked 30%, with more than 374,053 calls coming in the latter year. More than a quarter of those calls were rerouted to backup centers — a 112% increase in backup calls from the previous year.
That is an incredible statistic: 374,053 phone calls to the suicide hotline? In a single year? Absolutely shocking. Please, please, please…reach out to your brothers and sisters in the military. A lot of them are suffering in silence. You could make a big difference.
Let’s Make it a Trifecta of VA Disasters This Week:
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A state audit says workers at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans falsely claimed they were checking on patients after being alerted of possible falls, failed to properly investigate allegations of abuse and neglect, and took too long to fill prescriptions.
The veterans home also continued with inadequate staffing levels even as the state filed four complaints against the contractor hired to supply nursing aides.
Auditors used surveillance video to show only 47 percent of bed checks and 33 percent of fall alarm checks were done, even though the home had produced documentation that the checks occurred.
CEO of Michigan Veterans Health Leslie Shanlion said that there have been decades worth of complaints with the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. She was appointed to the position in October, just as the auditors were wrapping up their investigation, and says that going in she knew things weren’t good.
“The audit reflects a lack of leadership, a lack of current policies, procedures, and training, and a lack of accountability,” Shanlion said.
The audit was made public Thursday, a day early, after Rep. Holly Hughes, (R-Montague) called the findings “very disturbing.”
She said in the statement that the “mistreatment of our nation’s heroes is unacceptable and must be stopped.”
Long-time readers of the News Roundup will know that this is a huge pet peeve of mine. These politicians launch investigations and release statements. STOP RELEASING STATEMENTS. Why can’t they ever hold a press conference right outside that week’s terrible VA facility, and get a little passionate about it? Nobody gives a shit about “a statement.” What does have an impact, maybe, is video of a clearly upset politician doing some old-fashioned podium-pounding. Except they never do it.
The investigation by the Auditor General has been worked on for two years. Hughes tells FOX 17 that she was made aware of the report Wednesday afternoon and has just seen a preliminary report.
Hughes calls the investigation very detailed and will there will be reports of “abuse, neglect and mishandling of things, that it’s just deplorable.”
“We will get to the bottom of this and demand accountability from the people responsible, whether that be further inquiry, reprimands or job termination,” Hughes said in the release. “Our veterans deserve the best possible care and we’ll examine what needs to be done to keep that promise to them.”
Sure they will. Color me skeptical. And then, on the heels of this comes the slimy political spokesman:
“Holly Hughes saying she’ll get to the bottom of the mistreatment of Michigan’s veterans is the height of hypocrisy,” said Brandon Dillon, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party in a press statement.
“If she wants answers and accountability from the people responsible for the horrendous conditions at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, she needs to look in the mirror. Her vote, in 2011, for the budget that cut $4.2 million from the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and privatized the care of our servicemen and servicewomen is what caused this crisis of neglect for Michigan veterans. If Hughes wants to contribute to the solution this time, instead of the problem, she should demand that this contract be canceled and the dedicated employees who served our veterans for so long be brought back. It’s time for this experiment on our veterans to end.”
A lot of detail left out there. For instance, 4.2 million from where? From what part of the budget? As I’ve tried to point out over the last year, it isn’t the money, it’s the culture. It’s a culture where it’s impossible to fire anyone, regardless of how brazen their thievery/incompetence is. Which reminds me:
Why Can’t We Fire These People? Bernie Freaking Sanders:
One major reason the Veterans Affairs Department can’t fire troublesome employees: Bernie Sanders.
The Obama administration is moving to undo the Democratic presidential candidate’s past work as Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman in an effort to clean up the department, considering a change in employment rules for VA executives that Sanders fought for vigorously just two years ago.
In recent weeks, the VA has seen a host of job actions against senior employees overturned by the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent, “quasi-judicial” agency that serves as arbiter on a number of federal worker cases. They include the demotion of two VA executives accused of gaming the department’s hiring system for personal benefit, and the dismissal of a New York VA director over patient safety concerns.
Republican lawmakers had hoped to skip any appeals board when they reworked VA employment rules for senior executives two years ago, in the wake of the national patient wait-times scandal that forced the resignation of several top department leaders.
But Sanders — the independent Vermont senator who at the time was chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee — insisted on preserving the protection board’s appeals role, and held up reform legislation in his chamber until it was included.
Sanders’ campaign did not respond to requests seeking comment on the disciplinary issues, but he has made the 2014 legislation one of the centerpieces of his platform.
Yeah, I’ve heard Bernie yammering about his work on the Veteran’s Affairs Committee before. The part that he always leaves out? The fact that he was working very, very hard for the employees of the VA. The veterans themselves, maybe not so much. Now, in fairness, I haven’t looked too much into Bernie Sanders’s record on veterans. But on this particular part, he’s on the wrong side.
I can’t say it enough: Just because you want more money for an institution doesn’t mean you’re “for” the public that particular institution is serving. So a politician may say, “I voted to increase funding for the VA!” Well, that’s all well and good…but what exactly do they mean? Did they increase funding for patient care? Or did they increase salaries, pension benefits, and bonuses for VA employees and execs? More specifics, please.
Young Vets Aren’t Joining the VFW:
KENNEWICK, WA- Our local American Legions and VFW Posts have been around for quite some time, carrying along a tradition of honoring those who have fought for our freedom.
Unfortunately, these traditions are at risk as a large generation of veterans life spans are coming to the end.
“A lot of people think we sit around and drink and tell war stories. Well, we don’t have a bar, so we don’t drink too much. Most of us are beyond that. We don’t tell war stories,” VFW Post 5785 Commander Bob Cooley explained…
..Things are changing, with two to three funerals a week these volunteers need help. “I’m in my 70s and most of us are Vietnam veterans or Korean war veterans. We need younger generations to be apart of our post, so we can continue to keep doing what we are doing,” explained King.
“Be there for our fallen warriors when they fall. Even if they aren’t in their 20s, young and died in the battlefield. They lived a long life, they came home and had to live with those scars. You know, it is nice to know they paved the path for me, without them serving, I would not be able to serve,” Hamel explained.
Gotta tell you, Cooley…you aren’t helping the cause with that statement. Step one: Get a bar. For chrissakes, man, a VFW without a bar? Completely unsat. Then, talk up the bar a little bit more. Emphasize nickel beer Thursdays.
I’m guilty of this. We had a VFW in my beach town in San Diego. I went a few times. But they they lost the lease because they didn’t pay rent or something. I think young vets are less likely to join the VFW because of social media, frankly. It’s much easier to keep in touch with your old battle buddies now than it was in the past. Still, the VFW remains a formidable lobbying group and networking assets. I’m going to join up.
Navy Vet Executed for Killing/Dismembering Shipmate, Only Took 23 Years:
JACKSON, Ga. — A former Navy crewman was executed Wednesday in Georgia for killing a fellow sailor whose remains were found buried in two states.
Travis Hittson, 45, was pronounced dead at 8:14 p.m. after receiving an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the April 1992 killing of Conway Utterbeck.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the only entity in Georgia authorized to commute a death sentence, rejected Hittson’s request for clemency after a hearing Tuesday.
Hittson’s lawyers had said he was mistreated and neglected as a child and constantly craved the approval of others. That, they said, combined with alcoholism and relatively low intelligence, made it easy for his direct supervisor in the Navy, Edward Vollmer, to manipulate him into killing Utterbeck.
About time. I’m very much in favor of the death penalty. I just wish it didn’t take so freaking long. I find it useful, in these cases, to recall the atrocity that the perpetrator committed that actually landed him on death row. Often, media sources whitewash, or omit completely, THAT part of the story. To the credit of the Army Times, they described it in detail:
When they reached the house, where Utterbeck was sleeping in a recliner, Vollmer put on a bulletproof vest and took a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun from his car and gave Hittson an aluminum baseball bat. On Vollmer’s instructions, Hittson hit Utterbeck several times in the head with the bat and then dragged him into the kitchen where Vollmer was waiting, according to court filings. Vollmer stepped on Utterbeck’s hand and Hittson shot him in the head, according to court filings.
Vollmer said they needed to cut up Utterbeck’s body to get rid of the evidence, according to court filings. Hittson told investigators he began to cut the body with a hacksaw but he became sick and Vollmer finished dismembering the body, according to court filings.
They buried Utterbeck’s torso in Houston County in central Georgia and brought the rest of the remains back to Pensacola and buried them there.
Vollmer apparently was able to cut some kind of deal, so he only got life. Too bad…he should have been fried also.
Lt. General in Charge of Afghanistan is Not a Friend:
A Marine wrongfully accused of killing civilians says that President Obama’s new Afghanistan war commander is unqualified to lead coalition forces.
In January President Obama tapped Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson to lead the war in Afghanistan, as the administration confronted the possibility of a long-term troop presence in the country. Nicholson, an Army Ranger, sailed through Senate confirmation on Feb. 4.
The hasty confirmation disappointed retired Marine Major Fred Galvin.
“It is never good for a foot soldier when this guy is in charge,” Galvin told the Washington Free Beacon in a telephone interview from his Kansas home. “I don’t consider him a military leader. He’s a politician.”
A suicide attacker set off a car bomb targeting Galvin’s convoy before small arms fire erupted from both sides of the street. The Marines escaped with just one casualty after returning fire.
Within 24 hours the ambush had morphed into an alleged war crime, with villagers claiming that drunken Marines had sprayed gunfire into crowds of unarmed civilians. The military launched two investigations, but ordered Galvin’s unit out of Afghanistan before they were completed. The Marines denied any wrongdoing, saying they engaged only military targets.
“MSOC F received a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) followed by a complex ambush from both sides of the road,” Urquhart said in the report, which Galvin provided to the Washington Free Beacon. “Vehicles 1 & 2 returned fire to suppress enemy forces and positions.”
Despite the findings of his investigators in April, Nicholson publicly accused the Marines of being a “stain on our honor” in a May video conference given to the Pentagon press corps. He acknowledged that Galvin’s convoy was the victim of a suicide bomb, but said that “in the ensuing fight a number of civilians were killed.” He told reporters that he met with families of the “19 dead and 50 wounded” to issue a public apology, as well as consolation payments to compensate for the losses.
“I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people,” Nicholson told reporters. “The death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor and on the memory of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people. This was a terrible, terrible mistake …That is not what America stands for.”
Galvin said that Nicholson’s public statements undermined his right to a fair trial. The investigative reports were then presented to a three-member Court of Inquiry. After more than three weeks, the court cleared Marines of any wrongdoing, concluding that they were returning fire following a hostile ambush. The headlines on the court’s findings paled in comparison to the many stories written about Nicholson’s remarks. Galvin said that he and his Marines found their career prospects stifled after the incident and have had trouble coping in civilian life because of the “false allegations.”
The perfect leader for the modern military. He’ll deploy the shit out of you, and then stab you in the back when you do your job.
Naked Man Kills Mother on Valentine’s Day:
Manuel Mesa got naked on Valentine’s Day. He grabbed a kitchen knife and fatally stabbed his mother, police said, and kicked and punched her repeatedly.
Mesa, 35, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of his mother, Nancy Mesa. Miami-Dade Corrections workers covered his head with a spit mask when he was being booked into jail to protect themselves from his saliva.
His arrest affidavit says Mesa told police that he “beat the living s— out of her,” and he “stabbed her in the heart.” A witness confirmed Mesa’s statement, according to the police report, saying that Mesa repeatedly punched and kicked his mother.
DAMN, bro. You know…we usually try to find lighthearted naked-man stories here at the News Roundup, but this is pretty bad. Was this some Oedipal shit going on? Ugh. Find me better naked stories and send them to @BKactual.
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