From the Halls to the Shores

A boy in his mid-teens learned Wednesday afternoon that it is not a good idea to try to rob a former U.S. Marine at knifepoint, even if the former Marine is 84 years old, police said today.

Santa Rosa police Sgt. Steve Bair said that's what happened around 2 p.m. in the 1600 block of Fourth Street. The elderly man was walking with a grocery bag in each arm when the boy approached him with a large knife, Bair said.

The boy said, "Old man, give me your wallet or I'll cut you," Bair said. The man told the boy he was a former Marine who fought in three wars and had been threatened with knives and bayonets, Bair said.

The man then put his bags on the ground and told the boy that if he stepped closer he would be sorry. When the boy stepped closer, the man kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the sidewalk, Bair said. The ex-Marine picked up his grocery bags and walked home, leaving the boy doubled over, Bair said.

"You're too old, you can't see and you're a woman," Mrs. Clinton said she was told, adding that the recruiter dismissed her by suggesting she try the Army. "Maybe the dogs would take you," she recalled the recruiter saying.

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (AP) - A U.S. Marine Corps reservist in Oklahoma won't be charged for ignoring police requests and wading into a protest to rescue an American Flag.

Twenty-year-old Ray Adam Modisette says he was driving out of Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City Friday when he saw a protester from the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church stuff the flag down her pants.

Police told him to stay away from the crowd but he ignored their requests and was arrested for interfering with official police process.

Midwest City Assistant City Attorney Randal Homburg says he thinks there are ground to prosecute Modisette for an act of civil disobedience. But he says police have asked him not to file charges.

Police Chief Brandon Clabes says he believes Modisette was acting emotionally.

MV-22 Ospreys headed to Iraq will soon be outfitted with a forward-firing gun, a top program official said.
...
The weapon, a 7.62mm mini-gun, is considered an interim system. The 800-pound gun — about the weight of three Marines with full combat loads — will be installed as a removable mission kit and operated by a controller inside the aircraft.

Two California Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on I-15, just north of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar. One of the officers was using hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill.

The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then turned off. Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near the location.

Back at the CHIPs Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the USMC Base Commander. The reply came back in true USMC style:

Thank you for your letter. We can now complete the file on this incident. You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.

Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment location. Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position.

The pilot also suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech. Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.

Thank you for your concern.

Semper Fi.

A Los Angeles County supervisor has called for an investigation of a court commissioner who allegedly barred a foster teen from joining the Marines because she opposed the Iraq war.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich called for the judicial review after reading a Daily News report last week of Commissioner Marilyn Mackel's decision that drew national attention on talk radio, TV and the Internet.

"The judge's denial of the foster youth's request to serve in the military because of her personal anti-war bias is wholly improper and demands a full investigation," Antonovich said Monday. "Judge Mackel has failed the test of impartiality by using the court for her own political views."

"Cowardley men"...

"I wouldn't want these people defending me..."

"HE PROBABLY KILLED LITTLE KIDS AND PEOPLE WITHOUT ANY REASON"...