Grumpy Editor

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.

Marine Corps set to drop 39-year recruiting slogan

The Marine Corps is thinking of dumping its recruiting slogan --- The Few. The Proud. The Marines. --- used since 1977, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Marines are exploring the possibility of using a new tagline in an advertising campaign slated to launch next year.

So it has turned over the effort to top advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.

“The Few, The Proud does a great job distinguishing ourselves from the other branches and making us prestigious to recruits, but it doesn’t say anything about what we do or why we exist,” says Lt. Col. John Caldwell, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command.

A new advertising campaign, he adds, “will show Americans how the Marine Corps is different from the other services and reinforce the elite --- almost spiritual --- standards the nation has for Marines.”

Caldwell points out the new advertising campaign will be based on three concepts: fighting self-doubt to become a Marine, fighting the nation’s battles and fighting for what’s right in our communities.

Meanwhile, the Navy says it is updating all 89 of enlisted sailors’ job titles --- many ending in “man.” However, a junior sailor will continue to be called a seaman, a rank steeped in tradition.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

If wondering why news out of Washington is rather subdued for a few weeks, it’s because members of Congress are in their home territories and won’t return until after next month’s elections…Adding to further negative publicity for Wells Fargo, the Justice Department says the financial institution would pay more than $4.1 million to resolve allegations of improperly repossessing cars owned by members of the U.S. military…Accurate, long-used mercurial thermometers --- invented in 1724 --- aren’t widely in service these days. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seems to have a secret formula in announcing a study that indicates the world is warmer than it has been in about 120,000 years and is aiming to reach its hottest point in more than 2 million years…The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review will discontinue its print edition Nov. 30 and become a digital-only publication. The move will lay off 106 full and part-time staff and leave the larger Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the only daily print newspaper in town…Also trimming staff is The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It plans to lay off 15 editorial employees (out of 110) effective Oct. 17…

USA Today, which has not endorsed a candidate in a presidential election in its 34 years of operation, runs an editorial claiming Donald Trump is "erratic," "ill-equipped," "reckless," has a "checkered" business past and is a "serial liar…

Then to be fair and balanced --- Hillary this week?

Marines succumb to PC, remove “man” from specialties

It didn’t get much play in print/broadcast media when the Marine Corps announced it is yielding to political correctness and is removing “man” from 19 of its job specialty titles in a move to be more gender-neutral, notes Grumpy Editor.

Antitank missileman, for example, will become antitank gunner; field artillery operations man will become field artillery operations chief. and reconnaissance man identifier and its subcategories will shift to reconnaissance Marine, according to documents obtained by Stars and Stripes.

Rifleman and mortarman classifiers will remain, as they are embedded in Marine Corps culture, writes S&S staffer Alex Horton, who adds, “Other changes are meant to align with updated terminology, said a Marine personnel official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”

The change comes after Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in January ordered Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant, to end gender-segregated training, Horton points out.

The S&S writer says Mabus wrote, “This is an opportunity to update the position title and descriptions themselves to demonstrate through this language that women are included,” adding “man” should be removed from titles.

The memos follow Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s decision in December to open all combat-related jobs to women.

Meanwhile, a poll by Economist/YouGov finds only 39 percent of women support registration of women for the draft in legislation working its way through Congress.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Look for higher cost to satisfy your latte habit.  Starbucks plans to hike prices of some drinks tomorrow, with some items rising as much as 30 cents…With all the action going on in the U.S., President Obama yesterday was visiting a naval base --- in Spain…Following dozens of layoffs at its main newsroom in New York, Newsweek is planning to launch an Indian edition...Donald Trump isn't the only one:  71 percent of those polled by Marketplace and Edison Research think the U.S. economic system is "rigged in favor of certain groups."  The pollsters note with those saying "rigged,” it didn't matter if the person was white, black or Hispanic or whether they identified as Republican, Democrat or Independent...Truth in Advertising accuses Wal-Mart Stores of misleading customers by branding products with high foreign content as "Made in the U.S.A."...Fox Business Network, which ended 2015 as the fastest-growing cable news channel, continues that growth in this year's first half, according to Nielsen Media Research...Restaurant sales are virtually flat and some analysts worry that’s a bad sign for the U.S. economy as a whole, reports Business Insider...Getting a green light to start non-stop airline service this fall to Cuba are United Continental, Delta, American, JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska, Spirit and Frontier.

 

                     Who was George Washington?

A report by the American Council of trustees and Alumni finds only 23 of the top 76 colleges deemed to be "best" by U.S. News & World Report's 2016 rankings require history majors to take at least one U.S. history course.

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.”

Media quiet as mystery disease affects 65 U.S. Marines

With print and broadcast media providing around-the-clock coverage of ebola, overlooked is a mystery disease that so far has affected 65 U.S. Marines, up from 31 last month, with more expected to become ill, finds Grumpy Editor.

The ailing 3^rd Division Marines recently trained at the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonsalves in northern Okinawa.

In uncovering this, Matthew M. Burke, a reporter on the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, said, “Symptoms included fever and chills, head and muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, jaundice, abdominal pain, diarrhea and rashes. Some cases were mild; others required hospitalization.”

Burke mentioned Navy Lt. Cmdr. Joy Dierks, a III Marine Expeditionary Force preventative medicine officer, and her team from U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa were tasked with figuring out the cause and stopping it before more become ill.

One suspected source:  Leptospirosis, which the World Health Organization described as a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals. Early stages may include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness in the eyes, abdominal pain, jaundice, hemorrhages in skin and mucous membranes (including pulmonary bleeding), vomiting, diarrhea and a rash.

But pinpointing it will not come soon.  Burke said Dierks believes definitive answers are expected by the end of next month.

In the meantime, Marines continued training at the Jungle Warfare Training Center but water submersion in pools and pits was prohibited, added Burke.  Marines have also been instructed to wash down thoroughly after training and dry their uniforms.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

London’s Daily Mail reported China has toppled the U.S. to become the biggest economy in the world, citing figures from the International Monetary Fund that showed the Chinese economy was worth $17.61 trillion compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.  The newspaper added, “The White House seemed caught flat-footed by the news, crowing on Wednesday about America's relative economic strength in comparison with the rest of the world”…US Airways is facing a major PR problem from many of its passengers and others who noted hundreds of tweets following an onboard incident on a Portland, Ore. to Charlotte, N.C. aircraft Friday.  It centered on a flight attendant who refused coach-ticketed Army Ranger First Sgt. Albert Marle’s request to place his heavily-decorated jacket in a closet to avoid wrinkles.  Reason?  He wasn’t in first-class.  A first-class passenger observed, “I was really appalled at not only the way she looked at him but the way she spoke to him in an angry type of attitude.”  Read more via a New York Daily News account here…Another PR problem, now on a regular basis in the City of  Angels, stems from White House visitors, mainly for fundraising.  Grumbling Los Angeles area drivers met snarled traffic via street closures and detours last week in wide areas from eastside to westside. Motorcades with Vice President Joe Biden stirred things up Monday and Tuesday, President Barack Obama followed on Thursday and Friday with routes from Brentwood, near Beverly Hills, to San Dimas 28 miles east-northeast of downtown L.A....In a late decision, the press today will be allowed to cover Hillary Clinton’s speech to the University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation. Clinton’s fee for the speech at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip:  $225,000…While most people around the country are observing Columbus Day today, Seattle and Minneapolis are marking Indigenous People's Day. Associated Press mentioned it “celebrates the contributions and culture of Native Americans and the indigenous community" as well as "the rich history of people who have inhabited the area"...Retired NBC talk show host and car collector Jay Leno is negotiating with CNBC for a show about cars, a subject dear to his heart...Where are the fact checkers?  President Barack Obama, in a video message, offered advice to West African countries on how to avoid ebola. He mentioned:  "You cannot get it through casual contact like sitting next to someone on a bus." Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was advising Americans who travel to ebola-stricken nations to "avoid public transportation”…Turner Broadcasting, with CNN, HLN, TNT and Cartoon cable networks in its family, said it would slash its work force by 1,475 positions.  Turner's parent is Time Warner Inc.

 

Getting it straight with a long-delayed fix:  The New Jersey Herald in Newton on Thursday issued a correction to a story --- published 162 years ago.  It related to a bear mauling a teenage boy to death.  The 1852 story didn't list a location of the bear attack, making it appear it happened in New Jersey. In the correction, with recent confirmation, the Herald said the incident actually happened in Arkansas. 

Fox’s Van Susteren focuses on U.S. Marine held in Mexico

One of the least covered current news stories of national interest involves Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, a U.S. Marine with two tours in Afghanistan, strangely being held --- almost two months now --- in a prison near Tijuana after he missed an exit and inadvertently drove across the San Ysidro border with three legal and registered guns and was arrested by Mexican authorities, notes Grumpy Editor.

While few news outlets have run an Associated Press piece on the development, it took Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, a former criminal defense attorney and civil trial lawyer, to go on scene to bring the “wrong turn” incident to national attention over several days last week via her On the Record current affairs program.

She traveled from Washington to the San Diego-Tijuana border and to the prison on the Mexico side --- even duplicating the confusing road route taken by the 25-year-old Marine in the pickup truck he had driven from Florida to make a new start in San Diego.

Van Susteren’s two-days on-scene investigation included live coverage from the area.  She explained to viewers:  “Even prison officials said we could interview the sergeant in the prison. But after we waited outside the prison for two full days, other prison officials decided to keep us out, refusing to let us interview Tahmooressi.”

Jill Tahmooressi, the Marine’s mother, who was allowed to visit him in a gymnasium-like area at the prison, told Van Susteren that when she saw her son on April 14, six or seven guards surrounded him.

Even to this Memorial Day --- marking 56 days Tahmooressi has been imprisoned --- there has been no movement from the White House or secretary of state in efforts to release the Marine who reportedly has been chained to his bed in the Mexican prison.

 

In case you missed these…

YES, WEATHER CONSTANTLY CHANGES.  Michael Ramirez at Investor’s Business Daily, had it right with his editorial cartoon showing a white-frocked science professor at a blackboard with lines draw through now passé terms of global cooling, global warming, climate change to underline the updated term --- climate disruption.  Off to the lower right in the cartoon, a little boy adds his thought on the blackboard:  It’s called weather.

 

AS COAL PLANTS FADE, POWER COSTS RISE.  Along with current high U.S. gasoline prices (above $3 a gallon for 1,249 days now) around the country, look for electricity rates to rise 4 percent on average this year, biggest hike in six years, predicted the Energy Department.  Key reason?  Coal-fired plants, dominant sources of cheap power generation over the years, are shutting down around the U.S., socked by environmental regulations and economic forces.

 

FORGET WATER FOR VEGGIES.  It took Congressman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) to reveal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece on Friday that in the middle of a Golden State drought the “Bureau of Reclamation drained Folsom and other reservoirs on the American and Stanislaus rivers of more than 70,000 acre feet of water --- enough to meet the annual needs of a city of half a million people --- for the comfort and convenience of fish.”

 

‘HAVE IT YOUR WAY’ MOTTO SHELVED.  Burger King scrapped its "Have It Your Way" slogan, used for four decades, for "Be Your Way."  The company explained the new phrase is intended to remind people that "they can and should live how they want anytime. It's OK to not be perfect...self-expression is most important and it's our differences that make us individuals instead of robots."

 

MAGAZINE COVERS SPORT AD MESSAGES.  Time magazine and Sports Illustrated, in the Time Inc. family, debuted small ads for Verizon Communications Inc. near the bottom of their covers.

Ex-Marine Grimm bellows harsh words, stirs up media

New York Congressman Michael Grimm last week provided the kind of material that makes print and broadcast staffers lick their chops:  dynamic, threatening words by a politician  to a reporter --- who veered off track from the intended discussion on the president’s State of the Union address, points out Grumpy Editor.

Heavy coverage of Grimm extended several days after the irritated congressman, the only Republican representing a significant portion of New York City, told NY1 cable reporter Michael Scotto at the Capitol Rotunda that “I’ll break you in half”…and “I’ll throw you off this f-----g balcony.”

Grimm said for Scotto to ask about a federal investigation into campaign finances --- in which he has not been charged with a crime --- as part of that interview was a “cheap shot.”

Grimm later apologized, saying he had "lost his cool."

Background factors for his actions media overlooked:  Grimm, a businessman and attorney, spent eight years on Marine Corps active duty and as a reservist.  He was involved in the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.  Among his awards was the combat action ribbon.  He later worked as an FBI agent for nine years.

 

In case you missed these…

AP WRITERS (AGAIN) SCRUB BYLINES FOR A DAY.  Other than family members, friends and fellow staffers, most newspaper readers probably didn’t notice that most Associated Press writers, for 24-hours late last week, withheld bylines.  It marks the fourth time in recent years they did this, this time protesting health care and job-transfer proposals.

ARMY OPENS PREVIOUS OFF-LIMITS SPECIALTIES TO WOMEN.  Female soldiers, starting in April, will be eligible to serve in about 33,000 positions in 132 specialties previously off-limits to them following a now-canceled policy designed to keep women out of combat.  Thus, they will be eligible to serve in direct ground combat units below brigade level.

BUT WILL HE WEAR RED SOX IN THE PUBLISHER’S OFFICE?  John Henry, who purchased the Boston Globe from the New York Times Co. last October, named himself publisher of the newspaper.  He is principal owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

SNOWDEN JOINS LIST OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CANDIDATES.  Two Norwegian politicians jointly nominate former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden, now in Russia, for the 2014 Nobel peace prize.  He will be among the many names that the Nobel committee considers for the prestigious award.

WASHINGTON POST GEARS UP TO ADD DOZENS OF JOBS.  Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, who bought the Washington Post last August, plans to beef up the newspaper by increasing its budget and adding dozens of editorial employees.

UNIVERSITY PLANS ANNUAL REPORTING AWARD.  University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics is seeking applications for a national Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics.  It’s named after a graduate, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, who died in 2012 while crossing the Syrian border on a reporting assignment for the New York Times.  A $1,000 award goes go to the journalist (or team) whose reporting “best exemplifies four key criteria: accountability, independence, reporting in search of truth and minimization of harm to subjects, sources and the public at large,” says the university.

LOCAL TV NEWS GAINS GROUND LAST YEAR.  A Pew Research Center analysis finds, after a period of declining viewership, audiences for local TV news last year rose 6 percent in the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. period and 3 percent in the 5 to 7 p.m. newscasts. 

Quiet Fed pay raise; overused fiscal cliff; ‘new’ Tribune

Despite a heavy flow of news stories on fiscal crisis and spending cuts at year-end 2012, somehow overlooked by major media was President Barack Obama’s executive order granting federal workers a pay raise, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper got wind of it and covered the development on Dec. 28. 

That was on a Friday afternoon, a time when most key media are snoozing. 

The raise becomes effective March 27. 

As an example of the pay increase:  Vice President Joe Biden will make $231,000 a year, up from $225,521. 

See how other federal workers fare here:  

Halper points out that a senior Republican congressional aide who reviewed the executive order and consulted with the Congressional Budget Office says the pay raise for federal workers will cost $11 billion over 10 years.

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“Fiscal cliff” much overused by media in 2012 

Fiscal cliff, meanwhile, was one of the most overused phrases by print and broadcast media in 2012. 

Yet, the phrase is now new. 

Some writers credit Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke with the words when he warned the House Committee on Financial Services last Feb. 29 of the coming “fiscal cliff” that would take effect with upcoming spending cuts and tax increases. 

Annalyn Kurtz, a reporter at CNNMoney, finds the earliest reference to the term was in a 1957 New York Times article on home ownership. 

Kurtz also notes Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) used fiscal cliff in 2008 in describing Obama’s spending program while Reuters used the phrase in several articles two weeks prior to Bernanke uttering the words in February.

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Future owner candidates eye Tribune Co. assets 

Now that Chicago-based Tribune Co. enters 2013 emerging from bankruptcy, talk centers on new owner candidates. 

Tribune Co. properties include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.), The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) plus 23 television stations. 

Coming out of bankruptcy, senior creditors Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. now control the Tribune Co.’s portfolio of publishing and broadcasting assets, which are expected to be sold. 

Among names mentioned as possible future owners: 

Aaron Kushner, owner of the Orange County Register.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (for the Los Angeles Times).

Doug Manchester, San Diego real estate developer who bought the Union Tribune (now U-T San Diego) newspaper in 2011.

Austin Beutner, former venture capitalist and former deputy mayor of Los Angeles (for the Los Angeles Times).

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In case you missed these... 

Ten minutes into the 2013 Tournament of Roses parade yesterday, it was cutaway time in coverage for ABC and NBC networks which decided to air commercials just as the 100-plus-member precision-marching Marine Corps band passed the reviewing stand.  But the HGTV network, without commercial interruptions throughout, showed all…The Pasadena parade included the first Defense Department float.  It depicted the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. while an added attraction was an Air Force B2 bomber timed to fly over the reviewing stand at 1,000 feet as the Korean War float passed…The Food and Drug Administration moved toward approving genetically-modified salmon for human consumption…Chicago’s Sun-Times Media Group said it will consolidate its suburban newspaper chain…Most discussed story on news/talk radio in 2012 was the presidential election, topping chatter on the fiscal cliff, according to Talkers magazine…A dopey move by District of Columbia police was starting an investigation of David Gregory, Meet the Press host, after he held up to NBC cameras a high-capacity magazine during a gun control discussion.  Police said possession of a high-capacity magazine was not permissible.  One wonders if police would get as excited if a Washington Post photographer, for example, used a similar magazine to illustrate a story on guns.

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Note:  Going into 2013, Grumpy Editor with daily postings since September 2006, will now appear in expanded format weekly.

 

TV documentary details WWII Marine aviation disaster

Sometimes it’s a long road getting a “never-before-told” documentary on a World War II event to the television screen, finds Grumpy Editor, in the airing Sunday of “The Flintlock Disaster” involving the loss of 22 Navy aircraft in the Pacific when bad weather was encountered. 

How difficult was it? 

Los Angeles-based Leon Furgatch 15 years ago started work on the true story involving the Marine squadron in which he served as an aviation mechanic on F4U gull-winged Corsairs. 

Furgatch, an executive producer of the documentary, says he didn’t learn about the Jan. 25, 1944 tragedy until he attended a reunion of VMF-422 squadron mates in the early 1990s. 

“I was smitten with it and decided to break it to the American public because it was the greatest disaster in Marine Corps aviation history, where not a shot was fired in anger, and it also involved a cover-up by the general in charge of the Marine Air Wing," he relates.

The planes were lost on a flight from Tarawa to a safe haven.  The central Pacific atoll had been taken two months prior by Marines. 

Six pilots, including the squadron commander, died in the disaster, with remaining fliers rescued after several days at sea in one-man life rafts, notes Furgatch.  One pilot managed to get his aircraft through to the final destination 750 miles away. 

Narrated by veteran NBC newsman Tom Brokaw, the one-hour documentary airs at 5 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, on KOCE, the Public Broadcasting Service TV station that covers Los Angeles and Southern California. 

Hopefully, the full PBS network, or others, will get around to airing the program produced by Triple Threat Television. 

Furgatch says in an attempt to go the motion picture route, he ran into roadblocks “because producers or their reps informed me that WWII was out of style with the 18-to-49 age group who were the principal moviegoers.”

He adds, “Another excuse was that it was a ‘period’ piece and it would be too costly to film.”

Look for drop in recruits as 2 Marines slated for trial

Marine Corps brass soon will be wondering why enlistments have dropped off, following word that courts-martial are ahead for two Marines charged with urinating on corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan after posing for photos in the incident, predicts Grumpy Editor. 

Charges were made against Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Chamblin and Staff Sgt. Edward W. Deptola.  Administrative punishments for three other Marines for their role in the urination episode were announced earlier.

What the brass --- and non-question-asking media --- failed to consider is that the deceased bad guys in Afghanistan belonged to no official military force, represented no country, wore no uniforms or dog tags, held no rank and possessed no serial numbers.

What triggered the military inquiry was a video that surfaced in January showing Marines allegedly urinating on three dead Taliban fighters.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) jumped in with a criminal investigation. 

It said there were "other pending cases related to this incident" but mentioned no specifics. 

The leathernecks were members of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines that fought in the southern Afghan province of Helmand for seven months.