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Thursday, July 14, 2016

Still unclear why Dallas gunman was honorably discharged from US Army




Glendening has declined to comment saying, "I'm under direct orders not to divulge anything further and am subject to military prosecution if I do."



Who do you suppose threatened this guy...and why? I read another article where this went way further than simple sexual harassment which has since been taken down.

This sounds crazy, I know, but so was "It was the video". Is someone in this administration trying to wipe clean his past? That is a very interesting WHY? A lot of sketchy things going on with this guy before and after his death

Starting to get the same odor I got from Comey, Lynch, and the Clintons.

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DALLAS – Almost a week after the Dallas sniper attacks, it's still unclear how the gunman obtained an honorable discharge from the military even though Army officials sent him home from Afghanistan with a recommendation that he be thrown out of the armed forces.

An attorney appointed by the military to represent Micah Johnson in a sexual harassment case speculated last week that Johnson's behavioral record could be more serious. The attorney says he's now under strict orders not to discuss the matter with reporters.

Johnson, 25, served in the Army Reserve for six years before the July 7 sniper attack, which killed five Dallas police officers.

"We are reviewing all of his records," Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber said Wednesday. He would not elaborate or discuss any aspect of the review.

Johnson's lawyer said he had prepared documents for a more severe other-than-honorable exit almost two years ago.

An other-than-honorable discharge is not as serious as a dishonorable discharge, the harshest form of dismissal from the military. The lesser punishment may be issued for misconduct, for security reasons or in lieu of trial by court martial. In some cases, it can bar a soldier from re-enlisting or receiving some veterans' benefits.

Army lawyer Bradford Glendening was assigned to represent Johnson following an accusation of sexual harassment against him by a female soldier in his unit, Glendening said. Exactly what Johnson is accused of doing has not been made public.

Johnson deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, but was sent back to Texas with the recommendation that he be removed from the Army with an other-than-honorable discharge, said Glendening, who prepared the other-than-honorable discharge papers in September 2014.

However, Johnson didn't actually leave the service until the following April, according to service records released by the Army that do not classify his discharge.

His attorney later learned that the discharge was honorable.

"I was shocked to see that," he told The Associated Press by phone last week, less than 24 hours after the Dallas shooting. He said he never received final documentation on how Johnson's case was resolved.

"Somebody really screwed up but to my client's benefit," he said.

Since then, Glendening has declined to comment saying, "I'm under direct orders not to divulge anything further and am subject to military prosecution if I do."

Other members of Johnson's Army Reserve unit have suggested they are under similar gag orders as active-duty personnel.

The Army would not comment on those reports. Instead, it said all questions about Johnson's military service should be referred to the Army's public affairs office at the Pentagon.

Johnson entered the Army Reserve in March 2009 at age 18, after graduating from high school in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite. He was a carpentry and masonry specialist assigned to an engineer brigade based in Seagoville, south of Mesquite.

He deployed to Afghanistan in November 2013 as part of the 420th Engineer Brigade. He was accused of sexual harassment the following May.

Sending a soldier home from Afghanistan and then starting the process of removing him from the Army was "highly unusual" if it was based solely on a single sexual harassment complaint, Glendening said last week.

He said: "99 percent of the time, you counsel the soldier. You say, 'Don't let it happen again."

The attorney suggested that Johnson may have had other problems in his unit.

"It was not just the act itself," Glendening said. "I'm sure that this guy was the black sheep of his unit. Every unit's got one."

The accuser in the sexual harassment complaint has declined repeated requests for an interview with the AP. In a 2014 statement, she said she wanted Johnson "to receive mental help." She also sought a protective order against him "pertaining to myself, my family, my home."

Glendening said Johnson was subsequently ordered by the Army to stay away from his accuser. It's unclear whether he got mental counseling.

The Army last week released a brief summary of Johnson's record, detailing his dates of service, his deployment to Afghanistan and his awards.






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Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Donald Trump, his kids, and Jared Kushner have meeting with Mike Pence at his home






Hope it's Newt or Pence.

If it's this guy I could hear the jokes already.


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Donald Trump met privately with Indiana governor Mike Pence inside the governor's mansion on Wednesday – and brought his influential children along – as speculation over Trump's final vice presidential pick reached fever pitch.

Trump was accompanied by daughter Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric as he entered the governor's mansion.

The breakfast meeting was a sign that Pence, the former House Republican leader who is well regarded by conservatives and establishment Republicans, remains a leading contender to be Trump's running mate.

'It's a little bit like 'The Apprentice,'' former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another VP finalist, told Fox News Channel Tuesday. 'You find out sooner or later who the last one standing is. 



Trump brought along his daughter Ivanka, sons Donald Trump Jr., Eric and son-in-law Jared Kushner to his meeting with Indiana governor Mike Pence



Ivanka is pictured above in a blue and white summer dress as she supported her father



Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka and Jared can all be seen above surrounded by security



There are strong indications that Trump's family members, who have become close advisors inside his campaign, are engaged in a final round of vetting of vice presidential finalists. 

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reported Wednesday that New Jersey governor Chris Christie had already met with the other Trump family members, and that former House speaker Newt Gingrich was jetting to Indiana for a meeting of his own.

Gingrich and Fox News agreed to part ways this week on the former speaker's role as a paid Fox consultant. Gingrich appeared with Trump at a rally in Cincinnati, as Trump gave leading contenders public try-outs for the job. 

Each of the apparent finalists offers something different. Pence has support from D.C. power-brokers, and some of the professionals on his campaign team, and would be a potential way to unify the party, something Trump says he wants to do. 



Donald Trump appeared with Indiana governor Mike Pence at a rally in Indiana Tuesday night, in what is seen as a tryout for the possible running mate


Many top Republicans are skipping the GOP convention, although Speaker Paul Ryan, who knows Pence well, is speaking. His resume and conservative issue positions might assuage conservatives who worry about some of Trump's past positions and more recent statements on social issues.

Christie has become a close advisor to Trump ever since he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed him. He also impressed Trump by destroying senator Marco Rubio in a New Hampshire debate – a move that played to Trump's benefit ultimately.

Gingrich is known for a sharp mind and slashing attacks on Hillary Clinton, and for his deep familiarity with the political levers in Washington.

Ivanka Trump has taken on an important advisory role inside the Trump campaign, as has Kushner. Both of them accompanied Trump when he traveled to D.C. last week to meet with GOP members near the Capitol. Donald Trump Jr. has taken on speaking roles at some Trump rallies.



New Jersey governor Chris Christie has become a close advisor to Trump. Make him AG.



Trump says he's looking for a 'fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat, which would certainly apply to former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who helped seize the House from the grip of Democrats


Indiana governor says state will 'correct' religious freedom law


Trump said Tuesday he is looking for a 'fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat' as his running mate, he told the Wall Street Journal.

At Tuesday night's rally with Pence, Trump said: 'I don't know whether he's going to be your governor or your vice president. Who the hell knows! Good man.'

Pence faces a tough reelection to the governorship, so would likely jump at the chance. He showed his own skill at going on the attack at the rally, going after Hillary Clinton for the attack in Benghazi.

'As the proud father of a United States Marine, let me say from my heart we don't need a president that took 13 hours to send help to Americans under fire,' said Pence. 'Anyone who did that should be disqualified from ever being commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America.'



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Alton Sterling's son speaks out






Okay, this kid is trying to defend his father. I’ll give him credit for that.

Video 261


He said, “His father is a good man.” How many people watched this video and thought... my heart goes out to this kid? The fact is his father was not a good man judging by the laundry list of crimes he has committed over the years. His father was a registered sex offended who got his girlfriend’s 14 year old daughter pregnant. It just irks the hell out of me watching the the public buy this crap hook, line, and sinker every time!









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If Hillary Had Been a Soldier in the Army, Here’s How She’d Be Treated




On a tip from Ed Kilbane



— David French is a staff writer at National Review, an attorney, and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


The problem here is Killary supporters don't care that she's a lying crook. They're going to vote for her anyway. On the other hand self-righteous Republicans are holding the WH door wide open for Killary because their candidate is not the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. Then, after she is elected POTUS, they'll piss and moan what a total disaster she is.

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The double standards are painful. I served ten years as an Army lawyer, and one of my responsibilities was advising the command on matters of military justice, including incidents where soldiers mishandled classified information. And if Hillary Clinton was a soldier, she would lose her security clearance, face administrative action, and face the specter of criminal prosecution. I’ve not only seen the pattern, I’ve also participated in the process. Here’s how it would work.

Imagine for a moment that an officer downrange in Afghanistan comes across timely drone footage of suspected insurgents — information that would be clearly Secret (if not Top Secret) at the moment of inception. Unfortunately, however, she doesn’t have immediate access to SIPRNet (for Secret) or JWICS (for Top Secret), so she grabs her iPhone — which is on the base’s civilian WiFi system — and bangs out a text message to a superior officer. She doesn’t describe exactly what she’s seeing, but from context, the message is plain. Shoot or don’t shoot? She needs a decision.

Honestly, it’s hard to imagine such a moment. It’s so counter to military training and the military ethos that actions like this are few and far between. But Hillary is nothing if not special, and it’s clear from FBI Director Comey’s press conference yesterday that she sent and received e-mails concerning “matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level” on her homebrew system, a system less secure than Gmail.


If Hillary were Captain Clinton instead of the presumptive Democratic nominee and wife of a disbarred former president, the following things would occur, more or less simultaneously.

First, the command would immediately suspend her security clearance. As a practical matter, this would mean that she would be unable to do her job. Absent extraordinary circumstances, she would become essentially useless to the command, a glorified manual laborer fit to fill sandbags or clean latrines but little else. Unless the officer is cleared, the loss of a security clearance means the loss of her career.

Next, her commander would probably draft an administrative reprimand. A general officer memorandum of reprimand (known as a GOMOR) is a career-killer if placed in an officer’s permanent file, and it can be drafted independently of parallel criminal proceedings. If a GOMOR goes in the permanent file, even if the officer somehow regains her security clearance, promotion is virtually impossible, and the officer would be wise to simply resign.
Her actions would have ended her military career, and she would have been fortunate to resign in lieu of enduring a court-martial.

Finally, the command would consider criminal charges. Under the facts above, the officer would in all likelihood not only violate the Espionage Act (the same statute at issue in Clinton’s case) but also the Uniform Code of Military Justice. What happened next — as a practical matter — would probably depend on the gravity of the harm. If there was any evidence that classified information had fallen into enemy hands, the soldier would probably face court-martial and imprisonment. If the damage was contained, then the officer might face non-judicial punishment or (also likely) be asked to resign her commission and leave the military.

The end result of the entire process is almost always a negotiated end to the officer’s military career as well as a permanent ban on her access to classified information. In exchange for forgoing criminal prosecution, the officer would leave the military, consent to the permanent loss of her security clearance, and consent to never again seek access to classified information. And that’s a good outcome for the officer — a merciful outcome considering the gravity of the offense.

In other words, her actions would have ended her military career, and she would have been fortunate to resign in lieu of enduring a court-martial. In her post-military civilian life, she would have been unemployable in any serious government position, and if any president made the mistake of appointing her to, say, undersecretary for food safety in the Department of Agriculture, the appointment would be immediately shot down in committee.

To say that Hillary Clinton is unfit to be commander-in-chief is to give her too much credit. It implies that she might be fit for other positions of responsibility. She’s not fit to be POTUS, and she’s not fit to be a private. It’s time for her to slink back to her foundation, make her speeches, and retire to private life.

Instead, she’s still the odds-on favorite to stride into the Oval Office. Our nation is in the very worst of hands.







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Good News for Golfers








There will no longer be a penalty stroke for hitting a ball into the water or out of bounds. 

The USGA, the R&A, the PGA, after a private meeting with Hillary Clinton and James Comey, have recommended that your opponent must prove that you intended to hit the ball into these hazards in order for there to be a penalty.



Carelessness or Ignorance is not Intent.

Therefore: No Intent - No Penalty Stroke!






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