Grumpy Editor

U.S. MILITARY FAILS TO GET FUNDS FOR A NEEDED BOOST

Grumpy Editor notes a Wall Street Journal piece focusing on “America’s Declining Military.”

In citing the Pentagon is seeking $773 billion for fiscal 2023, the Journal points out, "the 298-ship Navy would buy only nine ships next year while retiring 24.  The fleet would shrink to 280 ships in 2027, even as the Navy says it needs a fleet of 500 to defeat China in a conflict.”

As for the Army, the Journal mentions it is seeking $177.5 billion, "barely up from $174.7 billion last year and a cut after inflation,” adding “end strength would fall to 473,000 from the 485,000 authorized last year. The Army shrugs because it hasn’t been able to fill all its spots in a hot labor market.  This may relieve a recruiting headache for some general, but it won’t reduce the threats the Army may have to address in multiple theaters."

Turning to the Air Force, the Journal says it "is now the smallest, oldest and least ready it has ever been in its 75-year history...but the Pentagon plans to cut its buy of F-35 fighter jets this year." 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

NUMBER OF MEDIA WORKERS DECLINES.  There were 39,080 news analysts, reporters and journalists employed in the U.S. in May, 2021. This is down from 41,580 in the prior May and 44,100 in May, 2019, with average annual wage of $63,230 in May 2021, down from $66,000 the year prior.    

 

MORTGAGE LOAN RATE RISES.  Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan rises to 4.67 percent, highest since December, 2018.

 

SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA HIT SEAFOOD.  New rounds of economic sanctions on Russia make key seafood species such  as cod and crab harder to come by, along with alcohol and diamonds.  

 

NIELSEN BEING ACQUIRED.  Nielsen, the New York-based media measurement company with annual global revenue of about $3.5 million, is being acquired for $16 billion, including debt.  Data collected by Nielsen is a major factor in determining where billions in advertising dollars are spent each year.

 

L.A. BANS NEW OIL WELLS.  The Los Angeles City Council votes unanimously to ban new oil wells and phase out existing ones, a move leaders in the nation's second-most populous city call essential for health reasons.  A city commission will study how to phase out more than 5,200 existing oil and gas wells.

 

BLACK NEWS CHANNEL CLOSES.  The Black News Channel, first all-day news network aimed at African Americans, closes a little more than two years after it went live.

 

COIN MYSTERY.  Quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies are in short supply again.  While some will call it the great coin shortage of 2022, America is facing a coin circulation problem.

 

MILITARY SERVICE NOT ACTIVELY SOUGHT BY YOUNG PEOPLE

Seems few young people seek to go into the military these days, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Army wrapped up 2022 as the worst recruitment year in decades.

It fell about 15,000, or 25 percent, short of its 60,000 recruitment goal last year. 

In efforts to reverse the decline, the Army is promoting new programs plus advertising as it seeks 65,000 recruits this year.

One incentive gives Army recruiters bonuses up to $4,500 a quarter if they exceed their baseline enlistment requirement.

Maybe the military draft should return.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

ROLLING IN THE DOUGHnuts.  Krispy Kreme had a banner year in 2022. It sold a record-breaking 1.6 billion doughnuts sold in grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores.

AGREEMENT TO END HARPER COLLINS STRIKE.  Harper Collins Publishers’ striking union members approved a tentative agreement ending a more than three months walkout and will return to work tomorrow.

SOUTH, NORTH KOREA CONTINUE BATTLE OF WORDS. Over the years, South and North Korea have been battling each other with words.  Latest has South Korea calling North Korea “our enemy.”

U.S. GAMBLING REVENUE BREAKS RECORD.  Commercial gambling revenue in the U.S. last year — more than $60 billion — broke the previous record  of $53 billion set two years ago.  Figures do not include revenue from tribal-owned casinos.

GOLDEN STATE’S POPULATION DROPS.  California’s population dropped by more than 500,000 between April, 2020 and July, 2022.  Primary reasons for the exodus are high housing costs, long commutes, crowds, crime and pollution.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER SUSPECT DIES UNDER CAR.  A woman accidentally ran over a man suspected of trying to steal her truck's catalytic converter in Palmdale, Calif.  The suspect later died. Deputies said the woman had fallen asleep in the truck when she heard sawing underneath. She turned on the vehicle, backed out of the space and felt a bump.

U.S. ARMY SEEKS A NEW LIGHT-ARMORED COMBAT VEHICLE

With the focus on Ukraine and Russia, a Washington Times story reports the Army "wants a new combat vehicle and is willing to pay more than $7 billion to the defense contractor that can provide it,” notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The service released a bid for the next generation Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, designed to allow troops to carry out a range of missions “while providing protected, sustained and networked mobility for personnel and payloads across the full spectrum of military operations," it adds.

 

The JLTV is a joint Army-Marine Corps project with the Army acting as the contracting agent, the Washingtonn Times points out. 

 

The light-armored vehicles designed to carry troops and cargo will replace part of the two services’ fleet of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, better known as Humvees.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

KOALAS BECOME ENDANGERED.  Koalas, arboreal herbivorous marsupial natives to South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory, affected by the area's 2019-2020 bush fire, now are considered endangered.

 

CONSUMER PRICES JUMP IN JANUARY.  U.S. consumer prices jump last month --- going to a 7.5 percent annual rate --- leading to the biggest annual increase in inflation in 40 years and fueling financial markets speculation for a hefty 50 basis points interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month.

 

ONE-THIRD FEEL U.S. HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION.  Thirty percent of likely U.S. voters think the U.S. is heading in the right direction, according to a Rasmussen Reports national survey for the week ended Feb. 3.  The finding is up one point from the prior week.

 

MORNING JOE ON MSNBC GOING TO FOUR HOURS.  MSNBC’s Morning Joe program expands to four early-morning hours starting April 4.  Co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist will lead the show during all those hours.

 

FEW BLACK WOMEN ARE FEDERAL JUDGES.  Black women account for a small fraction of federal judges.  Only 70 of the 3,843 people who have ever served as federal judges as of Feb. 1, 2022, have been Black women.

 

U.N. TO FOCUS ON PLASTIC POLLUTION AT SEA.  A United Nations meeting later this month will focus on plastic pollution at sea reaching high levels and what actions can be taken to stop such waste in oceans around the world.

 

NORTH KOREA AGAIN TOUTS MILITARY CAPABILITIES.  North Korea again boasts its military capabilities, including a missile it claims could strike the U.S.  With that bragging comes a North Korea Foreign Ministry statement proclaiming, "In today's world where many countries waste time dealing with the United States with submission and blind obedience, there’s only our country on this planet that can shake the world by firing a missile with the U.S. mainland in its range." 

MILITARY RECRUITING BECOMES DIFFICULT JOB

 

The U.S. is finding recruiting for the military is getting to be a tough job, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

“Due to attrition and retirement, the military needs to find more than 150,000 new recruits every year to meet its overall 'end strength' goal," reports Bloomberg.

“In 2020, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all hit their annual recruitment goals --- but those figures were distorted by a historically weak job market, as active-duty service members delayed plans to re-enter the civilian sector, reducing the need for new hires,” continues Bloomberg.  “Last year’s target of 61,200 new Army enlistees, for instance, was 20 percent lower than in 2018, when the Army failed to meet its goal.”

Bloomberg points out “this limited supply compromises national security,” adding, “recruits tend to be drawn from a shrinking segment of the population --- from a small number of mostly southern states and families of veterans, a group whose share of the population is lower than at any time since World War II.”

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS MAY SEE BIG BOOST.  For the 69 million Americans who collect Social Security, estimates project they're on track to get a 6.1 percent cost-of-living adjustment, the biggest increase since 1983.  Official figures are announced in the fall.

FLOODS HIT GERMANY, WESTERN EUROPE.  While parts of the U.S. cope with a long dry spell, worst flooding in decades hits Germany, Belgium and other parts of Western Europe following days of heavy rain that swelled rivers. 

U.S. OVERDOSE DEATHS SOAR.  Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, estimates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adding it eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year.

VENICE NIXES LARGE CRUISE LINERS.  Declaring Venice waterways a “national monument,” Italy is banning mammoth cruise liners from sailing into the lagoon city.

 

NUMBER OF CRUISE SHIPS TO JUMP.  Shipbuilders are busy.  More than 70 cruise ships are scheduled to debut between now and 2027.

 

FRENCH FRIES AT $200 A PLATE.  Serendipity3, a restaurant on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, creates the world's most expensive French fries to coincide with National French Fry Day:  $200 a plate..

ANOTHER MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE FOUND.   A 9-year-old girl visiting a Hawaii park with her family finds a message --- in English, Spanish and Japanese --- inside a mud-caked glass bottle that was launched from Japan 37 years ago.

BRAZIL DROUGHT LEADS TO HIGHER COFFEE PRICES.  A drought in Brazil coupled with an increase in demand for coffee as the world reopens after the coronavirus pandemic leads to higher coffee prices on grocers shelves.

 

$915,000 FOR ELTON JOHN'S PIANO.  Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay adds to his vast music collection in buying at auction Elton John's Steinway & Sons Model D Grand Piano for $915,000.  It was used on tours from 1974 to 1993.

LAURA YEAGER BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO COMMAND ARMY INFANTRY DIVISION

 

After 33 years in the military, Brig. Gen. Laura Yeager will be the first woman to command an Army infantry division, observed Grumpy Editor.  She takes command of California National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division at the end of next week.

“I’m hoping the novelty of the situation will fall away and we can focus on doing the work,” she told Rose L. Thayer, Stars and Stripes writer, mentioning she was also the first woman to hold her previous assignment as commander of Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The daughter of a Vietnam War veteran, Yeager began her active-duty military service in May, 1986, receiving her commission from the California State University, Long Beach, ROTC program. She completed military helicopter training in 1989, and served as UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter aeromedical evacuation pilot.

Yeager deployed to Iraq in 2011 as the deputy commander of the California Guard’s 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, in which she later became the commander.

Members of the 112-year-old 40th Infantry Division fought in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. More recently, division soldiers deployed to Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations around the globe.

Grumpy Editor once served in the 40th Infantry Division as a public information specialist.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

NATURE VISITS BOOST GOOD HEALTH.   People who spend at least two hours in nature a week are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological well being than those who don't visit nature at all during an average week, according to research led by Britain's University of Exeter, published in Scientific Reports.

 

MARIJUANA REVENUE RISES IN COLORADO.  Colorado's department of revenue said the state surpassed $1 billion in marijuana revenue since it legalized cannabis sale in 2014. The revenue included marijuana tax, licenses and fees. Sales topped $6.56 billion.

 

MILITARY SUPPORT NIXED FOR HBO SERIES.  An upcoming HBO series called “We Are Who We Are,” focusing on American military teenagers in Italy --- and seeking U.S. military support and facilities --- won’t have the Defense Department’s support, said Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, film and television liaison at the Los Angeles office of the chief of public affairs.

 

O.J.'s FAMOUS ROAD TRIP WAS QUARTER OF CENTURY AGO.   It was 25 years ago on this day that  95 million Americans watched as O.J. Simpson participated in the slow-speed car chase of the century on Los Angeles freeways. More people watched Simpson on the freeway system than that year’s Super Bowl.

 

MORE U.S. MILITARY CONSIDERED FOR POLAND.  President Donald Trump is considering moving up to 2,000 troops from Germany to Poland, after that country proposed building a “Fort Trump” in efforts to lure the United States to base a larger American military force there.

 

U. S. COMPANIES WARN ABOUT DAMAGE FROM TARIFFS.  More than 600 U.S. companies and industry trade associations warned President Donald Trump that tariffs on China will damage the U.S. economy, leading to job losses and harm to millions of consumers.

 

SOLDIER TOURS EXTENDED BY ONE YEAR.   Single-soldier tours in Europe and Japan will increase to three from two years in a move designed to save money and boost the combat readiness of overseas units, revealed the Army.  The policy change, affecting 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers a year, applies to all single soldiers who receive unaccompanied travel orders. 

WILL ARMY GIVE CURRENT FOOTWEAR THE BOOT?

With military editors mostly gone from major newspapers, there’s an absence of news on everyday developments focusing on men and women in uniform, observed Grumpy Editor.

An example:  The U.S. Army is testing new combat boots that are lighter and more comfortable.

Stars and Stripes writer John Vandiver revealed the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Soldier Center in Natick, Mass., has developed prototypes that soldiers will wear at three basic training and active duty sites during the next four months.

The general-purpose prototypes being tested are the first significant change to basic Army combat boots in 30 years.

Vandiver quoted an overseer of the new footwear saying, “Soldiers live in their boots and many will tell you that there is no piece of equipment more important to their lethality and readiness.  A bad pair of boots will ruin a soldier’s day and possibly result in injuries, so we really believe that each of these prototype boots have the potential to improve the lives of soldiers.”

The prototypes --- up to 1.5 pounds lighter per pair than those issued today --- utilize more flexible types of leather and lighter outsoles and will be field tested on 800 recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and Fort Jackson, S.C.

Another 900 pairs will go to soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas, said Vandiver, adding the Army’s soldier center team will custom-fit each pair and collect solider surveys on boot performance in the spring.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

BANKS CONTINUE TO SNUB HIGHER RATES FOR DEPOSITORS.  While growing higher interest rates have boosted income for banks, allowing them to make more money on their loans, not widely reported is that customers are starting to demand higher interest rates on deposits.

GANNETT TARGET OF TAKEOVER.  MNG Enterprises Inc. — better known as Digital First Media — made a takeover bid for Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, Arizona Republic and many others as the nation's largest newspaper publisher measured by total daily circulation.

VINYL SEES RESURGENCE.  Music industry consumption figures show that CDs, as expected, are declining in popularity but vinyl is experiencing a resurgence, particularly for classic albums, noted Fortune, which added cassettes also are experiencing sales growth. 

FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS.  The winter 2019 issue of Writers Tricks of the Trade, a free magazine is now online.  Produced by Las Vegas-based Morgan St. James, author of 16 books, the 37-page issue provides information and news of interest to freelance writers.  View it at  https://joom.ag/aNTa 

SEARS STILL HANGING IN.  Sears Holding Corp. received another reprieve, a bankruptcy auction win for the company’s chairman Eddie Lampert.  However, experts pointed out problems that got the retailer into trouble in the first place continue with little hope for change. 

SURVEY FINDS TRUMP APPROVAL RISES WITH LATINOS.  President Donald Trump’s approval rating among Latinos jumped almost 20 points from December to January in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll.

FIRST FEMALE EDITOR OF CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS.  Veteran Chicago journalist Ann Dwyer, 54, will become the first female editor of Crain’s Chicago Business in its 41-year history.  She joined Crain’s from the Chicago Tribune in 1995 as a copy editor, reported Chris Roush, of Talking Biz News.

RUNAWAY DOG SHAKES UP LAX.  A runaway German Shepherd, named Cashmere, created a headache on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport Thursday afternoon when she escaped while being loaded onto a plane for an international flight.  Nine officers responded and after a half hour Cashmere was secured and loaded back onto the aircraft.

 

POSSIBLE MATE FOUND FOR LONELY FROG.   A Sehuencas frog, named Romeo, thought to be the last of its kind, and alone in a tank at an aquarium in Bolivia for a decade while scientists tried to find him a mate, finally may have a friend.  Scientists from a museum in Cochabamba City have found five more, first to be seen in the wild for 10 years.

Pentagon seeks decade-old bonus returned from troops

Grumpy Editor notes this is how the Pentagon these days treats thousands of troops who fought, some multiple times, in Iraq and Afghanistan, a decade ago after those in uniform received enticing bonuses of $15,000 or more to go overseas:

Washington wants its money back from the troops who saw battle.

A Saturday Los Angeles Times story by David S. Cloud reveals not only are the troops ordered to repay the enlistment bonuses, but they are “slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse --- after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.”

Cloud points out; “Investigations have determined that lack of oversight allowed for widespread fraud and mismanagement by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets.”

He adds, “Soldiers say the military is reneging on 10-year-old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on veterans whose only mistake was to accept bonuses offered when the Pentagon needed to fill the ranks.”

Meanwhile, also being mistreated is Boston area Army reservist Capt. Shane Morgan, an Afghanistan veteran, who is struggling to pay his medical bills after he had a heart attack during a fitness test.  Now he's fighting to get health benefits from the Army.

Remember the old enlistment slogan, “Join the Navy and See the World?”

The Pentagon now sends Navy personnel, away from ships, to dangerous locations on land.

Such was the case last week in Iraq when 34-year-old Chief Petty officer Jason C. Finan, of Anaheim, Calif., died from wounds in a roadside bomb blast near Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul in northern Iraq.

He was assigned to a land-based explosive-ordnance-disposal mobile unit.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Social Security recipients for 2017 will get a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of about $4 a month --- because "inflation is low"...Most voters aren’t buying the story that the Russians are trying to manipulate the election for Donald Trump but think the U.S. media is trying to swing things for Hillary Clinton, finds a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey...Vogue, the fashion magazine, endorses Hillary Clinton for president.  The publication has never endorsed a candidate until now...California State University, Fullerton, says “secretary” is an exclusive word that’s inappropriate to use.  Better to say “administrative assistant."  It also frowns on words containing "man" such as “mankind"...A U.S. Postal Service worker last week dumped his mail in the woods behind a subdivision in Decatur, Ga.  How much was tossed? The Postal Service sent five investigators to retrieve the discarded mail.  It took more than two hours to get it all out of the woods...Newspapers are being squeezed by an accelerating drop in advertising.  So there is a growing focus on trimming staffs...MetLife, the 148-year-old insurance company, is dropping Snoopy, the Peanuts cartoon character, in its advertising after 31 years.  

Oops!

A Richmond, Va. TV news anchor finds out the hard way that one letter can make a blushing difference when reading the teleprompter.

A typo causes him to say “check your panties" rather than "check your pantries."

Top generals reveal military ranks, budget below par

Not getting much media coverage during the week was Capitol Hill testimony on the state of the U.S. military with the Army’s top general declaring ground forces face a high level of risk if there is a major conflict with countries such as China or Russia, notes Grumpy Editor.

Years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, constrained budgets and troop cuts have had a cumulative effect on U.S. military forces, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley tells a House budget hearing.

Milley, 39^th Army chief of staff, describes as a "great power war" against one or two of four countries --- China, Russia, Iran, North Korea --- would pose greater challenges for the U.S.

The four-star general reveals the Army's readiness is not at a level appropriate for what Americans expect to defend them.

Gen. Robert Neller, Marine commandant, joined Milley in informing lawmakers that upticks in military mishaps are affected by funding shortfalls that have led to less training, citing the crash of two Marine helicopters in Hawaii in January that killed 12.

“We track this very closely and the simple fact is that we don’t have enough airplanes to meet the training requirements for the entire force,” reveals Neller.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Look for a major reduction of news out of Washington for the next two weeks. Lawmakers are on a two-week recess…Most media now identify the GOP presidential front-runner as “businessman Donald Trump,” rather than far out and flowery earlier descriptions. Interesting, too, is that when Trump addresses rallies now, TV news channels air about one or two minutes of his speech, then spotlight protesters (mostly away from the rallies), often with a split screen with no Trump audio.  Meanwhile, figuring it had a "scoop," CNN this morning featured a lengthy interview with a key protester who distrupted a Trump event in Arizona…It may not make front pages around the nation, but Wednesday is National Puppy Day to inspire canine-lovers to pick up a pooch…Just about every drug commercial on TV urges viewers to “ask your doctor.” Ever try to reach your doctor these days? It’s virtually impossible. Seems advertising agency copy writers --- apparently in fine health --- are unaware of the current situation with overworked medics. Equally difficult: obtaining doctors e-mail addresses…CBS Corp. is considering exiting the radio business, once a steady contributor to the broadcaster’s bottom line…Citing lessened competition, the Department of Justice files a lawsuit aimed at blocking Tribune Publishing, Chicago, which owns the Los Angeles Times, from acquiring newspapers in nearby Orange and Riverside Counties. Tribune has been eyeing Freedom Communications which publishes the Orange County Register and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside County…How big is the adult coloring book craze? Sales of such books for grownups, who are reading newspapers less, shot up to about 12 million last year from one million in 2014…The Washington Times reports: “Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the southwest border is secure enough that the government should now turn its attention to trying to legalize illegal immigrants.”  (Maybe she has missed TV footage and newspaper accounts of surging illegal border crossings.)

 

Unheard of in earlier years:

Quarter-page ads running in a western newspaper tout medical marijuana with a “one day sale.”

Bergdahl, 29, wears 30 years worth of Army 'hash marks'

Editors missed an interesting photo of Bowe Bergdahl, the Army private first class who walked off his post in Afghanistan in June, 2009, and was released by the Taliban in May, 2014, and by then elevated in rank to sergeant, in exchange for five Taliban leaders from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, observed Grumpy Editor.

In a Dec. 22 appearance before a military judge at Fort Bragg, N.C., on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, Bergdahl wore a military dress uniform with 10 “hash marks” on his right sleeve.

What’s unusual about that?

Each service stripe (or hash mark) represents three years of honorable service and is usually worn on the left sleeve.  So 10 hash marks indicate 30 years of military service for Bergdahl --- who is 29.

This was clearly shown in photos by Andrew Craft of The Fayetteville Observer and distributed by The Associated Press and Jonathan Drake, Reuters photographer, when Bergdahl was arraigned in an 11-minute proceeding that included about two dozen journalists in attendance.

See several Drake photos of Bergdahl with 10 hash marks on his right sleeve here. 

Bergdahl faces another pretrial hearing Jan. 12 before Army Judge Col. Jeffery R. Nance, who will preside over future hearings in the case.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE... 

White House reporters keep trying. Representatives of more than 50 journalism and open government organizations met with Josh Earnest, President Obama’s press secretary, in December, again urging greater openness and transparency from the federal government. Four months earlier, the national organizations sent a follow-up letter (to one sent a month prior) to President Obama urging changes to policies that constrict information flow to the public, including prohibiting journalists from communicating with staff without going through public information offices, requiring government public information officers to vet interview questions, and monitoring interviews between journalists and sources.

The next war involving U.S. troops will be unlike prior battles.  As reported in Stars and Stripes, female Marines will be the first members of the U.S. military permitted to wear locks and twists in their hair while in uniform. Meanwhile, the Army announced breast-feeding soldiers will no longer have to use restrooms as milk expressing stations under an updated policy that also ensures their commanders provide mothers adequate lactation breaks.

And in other developments --- While the big news was California Gov. Jerry Brown’s pardoning of 91 “former criminals,” media focused solely on actor Robert Downey Jr., one of those in the group, with substance abuse in his background. Meanwhile, as talk, and stories, on low reservoirs in California due to climate change continued into the new year, the state’s snowpack reached 136 percent --- with more storms on the way --- meaning come water runoff in the spring, those reservoirs will be filled, thus curbing drought talk…Little was mentioned near year end that U.S. taxpayers will be footing 22 percent of the United Nations’ $2.7 billion budget this year…Only media position among the “10 Best Jobs in 2016,” tallied by GoBankingRates.com: public relations specialist.

Publisher makes news on the road…

Rutland, Vt. police said the newly-named publisher of the Rutland Herald and Times Argus was spotted driving drunk and leaving the scene of a crash, adding when arrested, Catherine Nelson had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit to drive.

Number of U.S. troops, ships drops as other nations build

 

Broadcast and print media during the week were so focused on heavy coverage of the Confederate flag being lowered in South Carolina that they missed a significant development --- further slicing the number of U.S. military personnel, observed Grumpy Editor.

How big of a cut?  Elimination of about 40,000 active-duty military positions. 

That’s equivalent to about three Army divisions.

Ex-military members are shaking their heads as the downgrading comes at a time when other nations, such as China and Russia, have been boosting their military and equipment.

The deterioration may not be over.  Pentagon leadership said the cuts could expand with additional mandatory budget reductions from Congress.

The reductions are due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, that aimed to reduce defense spending. With another round of budget cuts, known as sequestration, the Army would be forced to reduce ranks by an additional 30,000 soldiers.

Critics said the cuts would leave America unable to respond appropriately to international threats.

Army Director of Force Management Brig. Gen. Randy George said further reductions would constitute a “significant risk.”

That development came on the heels of another shocker that failed to make front pages:  With a shortage of U.S. Navy ships (lowest number since before World War II), the Marine Corps was exploring a plan to deploy its forces abroad in response to global hot spots --- by hitching rides on foreign vessels.

The current Navy is too small, said Jim Webb, former Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan.  He pointed out when he left his post in 1988 there were 568 Navy ships vs. 280 today.

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

No way to boost a declining audience.  CNN with Anderson Cooper’s segment on Friday fumbled exclusive live coverage of Donald Trump by cutting away for an in-studio panel discussion as Trump started to bring a half dozen people to the microphone to detail killings of family members by illegal immigrants, a hot topic stemming from a San Francisco incident in which a young woman randomly was shot and killed by an illegal alien felon who had been deported five times…Allied with that, anyone notice that San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, a former county supervisor, looked like a brass-heavy Army general when facing media in connection with the shooting of the young woman?  Displaying his rank, he wore 16 clearly visible stars: four on each side of his shirt collar and four on left and right shoulders of his jacket…New way to mark an anniversary?  The Wall Street Journal experienced an outage on its Web pages on Wednesday (it’s 126^th anniversary) amid other same-day tech troubles at the New York Stock Exchange and United Airlines…ABC News reported former President George W. Bush charged $100,000 to speak at a 2012 charity fundraiser for U.S. military veterans severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan…Inflation barometer?  Starbucks raised some drink prices by five to 20 cents…Accuracy of book best seller list raises eyebrows.  The New York Times told book publisher HarperCollins it will not include Ted Cruz's new biography, “A Time for Truth,” on its best sellers list, even though the book has sold more copies in its first week than all but two of the Times' bestselling titles…Under a USA Today headline --- Apple's stock falls into the danger zone ---  a story mentioned Apple shares “continued their steep fall, violating several ominous key levels and starting to cost investors some real money” adding, “The gadget maker’s shares Thursday cratered $2.53, or 2.1 percent, to $120.06 a share – their lowest closing price in five months.”  So what happened on Friday, the next day?  Escaping “the danger zone,” the stock jumped 2.67 percent or $3.21 a share to $123.28.  Today, AAPL gained 1.93 percent or $2.38 to $125.66…Friends, fans and family were upset that under consideration is a name change from "Burbank Bob Hope Airport” to “Los Angeles Burbank Airport.”  Now that should create confusion for fliers --- Los Angeles or Burbank?  With a career spanning nearly 80 years, Bob Hope, who died in 2008 at age 100, appeared on stage, radio, television and in films, and was a key entertainer of troops overseas, making 57 tours between 1941 and 1991…Greece’s liquidity crisis was spilling over to some newspapers which faced a paper supply problem, mainly with payments.

 

A federal judge ruled that inmates in Cook County Jail, Chicago, have constitutional rights to access newspapers if they want them. 

The jail currently bans newspapers.

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Military readiness sags; will tattoo policy boost ranks?

 

With the focus lately on Iran, Russia, terrorists and likely U.S. presidential candidates, most print/broadcast media missed eyebrow-raising developments concerning U.S. military that turned up last week, notes Grumpy Editor.

As saber-rattling around the world grows, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno warned, “The unrelenting budget impasse has compelled us to degrade readiness to historically low levels." Only a third of the Army’s brigades are ready, due to budget cuts, he added.

Gen. Odierno explained that the Army’s active force has seen a reduction of 80,000 soldiers while 13 brigade combat teams and three aviation brigades have been slashed and reorganized.

“Even today,” continued the general, “we only have 33 percent of our brigades ready, when our sustained rate should be closer to 70 percent. We are unable to generate readiness for unknown contingencies and under our current budget, Army readiness will at best be flatline over the next three to four years.”

But --- and shocking to former military personnel --- a change in long-frowned-on tattoos is seen as yielding more recruits.

Gen. Odierno said, "Society is changing its view of tattoos and we have to change along with that."   Thus, he indicated a revision in the number and size of soldiers' tattoos is coming soon.  New rules still will prohibit tattoos on necks and tattoos that are extremist, racist or sexist.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in a speech at his former high school in Abington, Pa., said the U.S. military faces another challenge:  signing up recruits with high-tech skills.

Carter pointed out the military has to attract about 250,000 people a year to replace those who leave the service.

Only about a third of the 21 million Americans age 17 to 21 are eligible to join the military, he revealed, and half are unable to pass the entry examination while the remainder are ineligible, unable to meet physical fitness or character standards.

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…

Fuzzy framework?  While Iranian leaders and followers were shouting “Death to America,” some Washington politicians and political writers were high fiving over agreement to a "framework" on Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons --- with another meeting (after a long list of prior meetings) slated in June.  Meanwhile, FreeBeacon.com reported just hours after that announcement, “Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Obama administration of misleading the American people and Congress in a fact sheet released following the culmination of negotiations with the Islamic Republic”…A Washington ceremony at the National World War II Memorial marking the 70th anniversary of the battle of Okinawa received scant coverage by media.  A wreath was presented to honor the 183,000 allied service members who fought in the 82-day struggle on Okinawa that began April 1, 1945, leaving more than 12,500 U.S. service members killed and  38,000 wounded in combat…Although major media covered President Barack Obama’s remarks at last week’s opening of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, all was mum about his participation two hours later in a DNC fundraiser in Bean Town…With cries of drought bouncing around California, Dublin --- with about 50,000 population in the East Bay region of Alameda County --- was moving ahead with construction of a $35 million water park, after 10 years of planning…Circle April 24.  That’s Tax Freedom Day --- 114 days into the year, longest yet --- "when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay federal, state and local taxes for the year,” said the Tax Foundation…In the “dah” department, guess how a Republican answers this ---  Among questions sent to GOP supporters by the Republican National Committee, seeking a yes, no or no opinion response: "Do you think our Republican leaders in Congress should be aggressive in forcing the Obama White House to work with them to create jobs, cut taxes and regulations, end economic uncertainty and make American more competitive?"...Not so “smart”?  Exploding smart meters were reported in Stockton, Calif., with a power surge that left more than 5,000 homes without electricity.

Talk about multitasking ---

A Reno radio station is searching for an experienced full-time talk show producer and on-air operator.  Does that sound interesting?  But wait:  skills sought include running the studio, screening calls, scheduling guests, researching topics, locating/editing audio, posting content to social media, updating the website, maintaining podcasts, creating promos and working with the team.

 And, oh, yes, handling stress, deadlines --- and “crazy hours.”