Decorated marine forgives DUI driver who nearly killed him
January 6, 2012
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A woman who was drunk when she hit a decorated Marine from behind on his motorcycle, leaving him with critical injuries that doctors initially thought would kill him, was sentenced Friday to four years and four months in prison.
Jessica Marie Bloom, 22, pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to felony charges of DUI causing injury and hit-and-run.
The crash left Gunnery Sgt. David W. Smith with numerous injuries, including a partial decapitation, lacerated kidney, lacerated liver and bleeding on the brain.
Smith, a Bronze Star recipient for valor, was comatose for two days, paralyzed completely for two of three days and on life support for 10 days.
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
Gulf War Veteran searches for her missing service dog
Veteran searches for missing service dog
Updated: Jan 07, 2012 7:01 AM EST
Veteran Karren Coober is searching for her lost service dog, Tia. (Source: WTVR/CNN)
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, VA (WTVR/CNN) – A war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder is on a desperate mission to find her missing service dog.
Karren Coober, a desert storm veteran, has been in the woods everyday this week looking for her lost dog, Tia. Coober says she cannot live without Tia and is desperate to find her.
"Since she's gone I haven't been anywhere, she was my lifeline to the outside world," Coober said.
read more here
Updated: Jan 07, 2012 7:01 AM EST
Veteran Karren Coober is searching for her lost service dog, Tia. (Source: WTVR/CNN)
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, VA (WTVR/CNN) – A war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder is on a desperate mission to find her missing service dog.
Karren Coober, a desert storm veteran, has been in the woods everyday this week looking for her lost dog, Tia. Coober says she cannot live without Tia and is desperate to find her.
"Since she's gone I haven't been anywhere, she was my lifeline to the outside world," Coober said.
read more here
Just when you thought it was safe to honor the fallen, Westboro hate group shows up
How is it "respectful" to stalk a grieving family and hold up signs saying "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" or this one?
From laughingsquid.com
Westboro Baptist Church says it will picket at Whitmire funeral
9:31 AM, Jan. 6, 2012
Staff Report
Members of an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas, plan to preach a “God hates America” message prior to the funeral service of Pfc Justin Whitmire scheduled for Saturday at Simpsonville First Baptist Church, according to a faxed statement from the church and a release on its website.
“This message to be preached in respectful, lawful proximity to the memorial of Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire,” the release said.
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From laughingsquid.com
Friday, January 6, 2012
Florida military 'Under water' home loans force families apart
Holly Petraeus: 'Under water' home loans force families apart
By TOM PHILPOTT
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: January 5, 2012
COURTESY OF THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Many military homeowners who saw their homes plummet in value in the financial crisis still can’t get relief from “under water” mortgages that leave families owing more to loan servicers than their homes are worth.
The situation is especially difficult for the military where families must move every two to four years. Some affected members, on receiving orders to new assignments, are leaving families behind in these homes to avoid a hard hit to family finances or loan defaults, which would harm credit ratings.
Holly Petraeus, head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs in the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), explained in a phone interview that the burden of under water mortgages remains a major issue for families as she discovered this past year during visits to 15 military communities.
Petraeus, wife of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has spent her entire life in the military. Her father, William A. Knowlton, was also a four-star Army general. Her son too is a soldier so Holly Petraeus also is a military mom.
She noted that many military bases are in states hardest hit by collapse of the housing market, including California, Nevada and Florida, so many members bought homes at prices current markets won’t support.
“I was in Florida recently and had about 300 people at the town halls I did,” Mrs. Petraeus said. “I asked informally how many were homeowners and about half of them raised their hands. I asked, ‘How many of you now owe more than the home is worth?’ And two thirds of the hands stayed in the air.”
read more here
By TOM PHILPOTT
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: January 5, 2012
COURTESY OF THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Many military homeowners who saw their homes plummet in value in the financial crisis still can’t get relief from “under water” mortgages that leave families owing more to loan servicers than their homes are worth.
The situation is especially difficult for the military where families must move every two to four years. Some affected members, on receiving orders to new assignments, are leaving families behind in these homes to avoid a hard hit to family finances or loan defaults, which would harm credit ratings.
Holly Petraeus, head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs in the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), explained in a phone interview that the burden of under water mortgages remains a major issue for families as she discovered this past year during visits to 15 military communities.
Petraeus, wife of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has spent her entire life in the military. Her father, William A. Knowlton, was also a four-star Army general. Her son too is a soldier so Holly Petraeus also is a military mom.
She noted that many military bases are in states hardest hit by collapse of the housing market, including California, Nevada and Florida, so many members bought homes at prices current markets won’t support.
“I was in Florida recently and had about 300 people at the town halls I did,” Mrs. Petraeus said. “I asked informally how many were homeowners and about half of them raised their hands. I asked, ‘How many of you now owe more than the home is worth?’ And two thirds of the hands stayed in the air.”
read more here
DoD investigates leaks for bin Laden film
DoD investigates leaks for bin Laden film
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 5, 2012 12:55:11 EST
The Defense Department is investigating whether classified information was improperly provided to a filmmaker working on a movie about death of Osama bin Laden, and the Central Intelligence Agency is changing its procedures for working on similar projects in the future.
The action comes in response to complaints made in August by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, that movie director Kathryn Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. may have had access to highly classified material to help produce a film on the May 2011 raid by a Navy SEAL team of a compound in Pakistan where the al-Qaida leader was hiding.
King expressed concern in a letter to DoD and CIA that granting access to classified information would endanger future missions, and that the expected October 2012 release of the film about the raid raises questions about whether the timing is politically motivated to help Obama get re-elected.
Bigelow and Boal, who worked together on the 2008 film “The Hurt Locker,” about an Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq, were working on a film about the hunt for the terrorist leader before the May raid that led to bin Laden’s death. The two have been working with DoD and CIA to get more information to finish the film, but it is not clear if they received classified information.
read more here
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 5, 2012 12:55:11 EST
The Defense Department is investigating whether classified information was improperly provided to a filmmaker working on a movie about death of Osama bin Laden, and the Central Intelligence Agency is changing its procedures for working on similar projects in the future.
The action comes in response to complaints made in August by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, that movie director Kathryn Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. may have had access to highly classified material to help produce a film on the May 2011 raid by a Navy SEAL team of a compound in Pakistan where the al-Qaida leader was hiding.
King expressed concern in a letter to DoD and CIA that granting access to classified information would endanger future missions, and that the expected October 2012 release of the film about the raid raises questions about whether the timing is politically motivated to help Obama get re-elected.
Bigelow and Boal, who worked together on the 2008 film “The Hurt Locker,” about an Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq, were working on a film about the hunt for the terrorist leader before the May raid that led to bin Laden’s death. The two have been working with DoD and CIA to get more information to finish the film, but it is not clear if they received classified information.
read more here
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