Lefty Granny Sues Army Over Embed SNAFU

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The Oakland Tribune reports the story of a hipster granny from Berkeley that has decided to sue the U.S. military over a reporter embed she arranged in Iraq that was abruptly canceled by the government. While the Oakland Trib and the hippie granny try their hardest to make the U.S. military the villain, it's a bit hard to feel too sorry for her when the facts are considered. On top of that, the Trib absurdly calls her situation an "ordeal" which, when comparing her situation to what the soldiers have to go through, seems a bit over-the-top and silly, really.

Jane Stillwater of Berkeley, CA, had arranged an embed in Iraq and was told on January 19 that she was accepted. She immediately bought her plane ticket and arranged for the trip. Later that same day, however, she was contacted again and told her embed was canceled. Regardless of the cancellation, Stillwater flew to Kuwait anyway hoping the military would change its mind. They didn't and now she is suing in small claims court for the plane ride and other expenses.

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The Berkeley blogger had been to Iraq as an embeded reporter twice before this aborted attempt for which she is suing.

The Oakland Tribune obviously sides with the blogger and tries to make her situation seem worse than it really is. At one point in the story, the Trib sonorously tells us that "Stillwater's ordeal began nearly a year ago."

Ordeal? Let's get something straight, shall we? She had her embed canceled the same day it was approved yet later she wasted her time and money and flew herself to Kuwait anyway, just on the off chance she could convince them to change their minds. THAT is no "ordeal." No, Oakland Tribune, far from an ordeal it is closer to being stupid. She did it to herself. This does not qualify as an "ordeal."

Still, the U.S. military does come off a bit too dismissive of blogger Stillwater. Their reasons for canceling her embed seem a bit thin, to be honest. The first reason offered from the military for canceling her embed was due to "changes on the battlefield" and "limited resources to support embeds." After she complained, the military offered a new reason.

"The main reasoning behind the final decision is the low circulation of your work compared to military expense," according to an e-mail from Spc. Embed Coordinator Savanah Alas-Ruiz.

Well, which is it?

Naturally the hippie granny thinks her embed was canceled because she is a "progressive" in her politics and on her blog has been a known Bush hater attacking the administration repeatedly. She has, though, written positively about the troops and her past embed experiences. This claim is also hard to believe as she had been approved and hosted as an embed two other times without a hitch. Why should we believe her "progressive" views didn't hamper her two other times but did this time?

But, it's really hard to side with Stillwater when it is discovered that she was aware that her embed was canceled, yet she still wasted her time and money flying to Kuwait anyway. And when Stillwater reveals she flew to Kuwait without any money or even a credit card, it makes it even harder to sympathize with her for her foolish lack of support and planning.

But she packed her bags -- only to be lost in transition -- and flew into the Kuwait International Airport. She was holding out hope that military officials would reconsider. They didn't, so she spent two days and a night drinking mochas on a love seat in the airport Starbucks, a meeting spot for journalists, soldiers and contractors. She had little money, no credit card and needed to have wireless Internet access in case a military e-mail arrived.

"I was there on a total shoestring," she said during an interview in her subsidized Berkeley apartment. Finally, tired, broke and hungry, she went to the U.S. Embassy, which arranged for an earlier flight back to the Bay Area.

Sounds to me like she put herself in this "ordeal." Of course, it is easy to agree with Stillwater that her cancellation was a bit less than legitimate. But this whole silliness with the small claims court is laughable. Still the Oakland Tribune tries very hard to make us all feel sorry for Stillwater and that's pretty silly, too.

(Photo credit: www.sfgate.com)


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No room at the inn for the progressive

Picture her in Kuwait begging the military to take her, legs shaking as she tries to hold herself up with her cane.

Sorry, granny. You arrived in Kuwait broke hoping the government would pay for everything. Sucker!

btw - Am I the only one that thinks granny has that John Lennon thing going for her?

I think...

I think Granny Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies when I see her.

Sounds Like a Case for Judge Judy ....

I wonder how she gets jurisdiction over a Federal entity in small claims court.   

vs. Feds ... in a state court?

That's a great point - a small claims court is a state court.  How'd she get a state court to even accept her suit against the Federal government?  If anything, she'd have to go to her US District Court. 

Side question:  Why doesn't California just get it over with and secede from the union?

Secede, heck. Let it fall

Secede, heck. Let it fall off into the ocean!

Reminds me of the Tool song

Reminds me of the Tool song AEnima,

"Learn to swim and I'll see you down in Arizona Bay"

 Or slide into the

 Or slide into the ocean?

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

I wonder...

When she goes, is she going to cover up and walk behind a man? Will she speak only when spoken to? Will she be subjected to honor killing for not doing so?

 Such is the life she wants for all Iraqi women by not supporting attempts at freeing that country. After all, those women are the property of their husbands. How DARE we interfere with Iraqi men's property rights!!!

We need to get out NOW! I'm with you Granny! Back to the days of feeding live people into plastic shredders and having them scream as their legs and lower torso are shredded. Back to having mad-men dictators decide if you get pulled out of your house at 3 AM and suddenly you disappear. Yes indeed, they were MUCh better off before we stole their land and their oil! Right on Granny! Now, BACK TO THE KITCHEN AND BAKE ME SOME PIE!

Let's recap: She was told

Let's recap:

She was told not to go to Kuwait; she wouldn't be allowed to embed.

She flew there anyway, in the hope of changing their minds...she didn't.

She now wants to be reimbursed for her (by-choice) futile trip.

Yup, sounds about right in our "if I don't get what I want, someone's going to pay!" society.

Perfect, Motherbelt

Summed up simply and brilliantly, even a liberal might get it.

I don't know, a liberal

I don't know, a liberal would probably think her efforts were noble. :-)

yup

Granny vrs. the Industrial Military Complex.

Or something like that.

Good point.

Remember...

Liberals do not have free choice. No, the intergalactic spacemen or whoever they worship decide all things, like whether she would fly to Kuwait, who you get in bed with. No, you have it wrong. Sorry.

Only a hippie would go

Only a hippie would go overseas without a credit card. Did she think Kuwait has Granny Hostels?

"Jane, you'll be bunking with Agnes, Calliope and Clara." 

You're right.  Only a

You're right.  Only a hippie would do something so completely stupid to make a point.  What a crazy old bird.

Eric Cartman: "They're

Eric Cartman: "They're hippies, they don't have any money!"

And my favorite: "Hippies.They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad." 

so she has no money supposedly

 but spends three days sucking down $3-a-cup Starbucks mochas? I have a hard time thinking she was doing more than one an hour...and that's assuming Starbucks over there isn't more expensive due to exchange rates, the fact their stuff is shipped at more expense...and she obviously wasn't camping out there when the store was closed, obviously staying somewhere else and getting some sort of financial latte support-pretty sure she was pounding down a few expensive biscotti's too, unless we're supposed to believe she went without food for those three days too.

Not only is she a loon, but she's a drama queen and a liar.

be nice to us in CA. we're stuck in the asylum, and the inmates are running it.

 

"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".

"You spend your money anyway you want and respect other's rights to do the same"

The Military screwed up, big-time, here

They should have admitted their mistake and made up for it by an all expense paid trip back home for her ...

a wonderful cruise ...

on a mega-tanker ...

met up by a special Somali escort.

"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain

lol

Some grannies are blissfully unware of the dangers life holds.   This one never quite grew up.

I'd have put her in the

I'd have put her in the jump seat of a C-130 that was also hauling a couple Humvees. What is good enough for our warriors should be good enough for her.  

YOU CAN KEEP "THE CHANGE" PALIN 2012

embed? More like

embed?

More like in-bred, judging by that Hell's Granny pricture

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same...
Yours is the earth and all that's in it...

The US Millitary the new Priceline.com?

      Look, Mary-Jane-hash-pipe!  The US Millitary have an important job to do in the Middle East.  The last thing they have time for is to worry about the travel and room accomodations of your little vacation.  That is what it became when you decided to fly over there even though you were told that they canceled your imbed.  Next time, use priceline or Expedia.  Maybe then you'll have some sort of legal footing when your next vacation to Kuwait doesn't pan out well. 

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

Miz

The US Millitary have an important job to do in the Middle East.

Exactly right.  All they need is to have to take care of some crazy old bat.  I think it is quite selfish of her at her age to want to be an embed in the first place!

I think when they told her

I think when they told her she was going to be embeded, she thought she was going to get a nice nap out of the deal.

Embedded?

She thought they said INBRED, and was the first to raise her hand!

this is off topic, but it

this is off topic, but it makes me laugh when I had to explain to my wife what SNAFU and FUBAR actually meant, and she didn't believe me that the military would be so crude . . . extra funny because her father was a 1st Lt in the Marines Korea era . . . I love my wife, but I bet this old bat here doesn't know what SNAFU and FUBAR mean

it amazes me when liberals get screwed (legitmately or not) by the govt but still see it as a solution, because maybe next time it will be different

let's fix this

but still see it as a solution, because maybe next time it will be controlled by their friends who cater to them

That's better. 

 

I'm a typical white person.

Did you tell you wife...

 what 11 up, 3 down means?  That was always my favorite one when I was in the millitary. 

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

How many people reading this

How many people reading this will be saying WELL WHAT IS IT?

LOL!

 Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing.  LOL!

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

Actually, I know what the

Actually, I know what the phrase means and how it's used, but not why it means it. I have no idea what it is that 11up or 3 down in the phrase refers to.

I'm not military

TELL ME WHAT IT MEANS OR DONT POST IT!!

also I know FUBAR - not certain about SNAFU....

 

 

 

Hint, Hint...

 You're so ate up!

(11-up, 3-down, equals 8-up)

Get it?

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

8-Up = 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized)

8-Up? Hay! Quit picking on the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized)!  That was my first duty assignment!

Obama: My job is above my pay grade

Giggle...

 I can't help it if you all were 8 up. ;-D

Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration

http://www.despair.com/government.html

I still don't get it, but

I'm still working on what 'no soap radio' meant.

Situation Normal All F

Situation

Normal

All

F#cked

Up

SNAFU - basically, when things are going the way that they are supposed to, its going to be best described by muttering expletives and kicked sangbags around you are so frustrated

Thank you

I'm embarressed to say that the only reason I no FUBAR is because of some prison movie with Sylvester Stallone movie with Kurt Russel.  Where Kurt Russell explains that they are going to be FUBAR

I still dont get the 8 up thing...  I'll google it


Sam... Here's one for

Sam...

Here's one for ya... 'YCDBSOYA' can you guess what this one is?

The Left Still Hating Gov. Sarah Palin

 

 Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/  

YCDBSOYA

Sorry Clear Thinker, I got nothing on what that means.

The only other one not mentioned that I've hard of is BOHICA. It oddly reminds me of this legal case by the old lady against the army though.

Mike

YCDBSOYA?

Never heard of it, but I'm guessing it starts out...

You Can't...

and ends with...

Sitting On Your Ass

So what's DB?  Dance Backwards?

Jer

Military Acronyms

Situation Normal All F#cked Up

F#cked Up Beyond All Recognition - Imagine promising people metball subs for dinner. You know you have a busy day, so set them in the slow-cook crock pot. By the time you get home, you start stirring them with a sharp knife, and end up with crumbs of meat suspended in tomato sauce. Or from a real life experience, a MASSIVE fire in a ships' engine room that was SO hot, that the various pipes and catwalks and railings metled and the firefighters had to fight to find other ways out of an area that they didn't normally work. Often used when a situation deteriorates to a point of being unrecognizable as anything close to what it really is.

8-up, (Ate Up)often a derogatory term thrown about by junior military personell towards their seniors who know and understand how and why various regulations are in effect. The knids, you know, know everything about everything. They learned it all in public school.

Never Again Volunteer Yourself

My A$$ Rides In Navy Equipment

As for 8th Mechanized Infantry, I'm guessing it's used as a seperating term for the Infantry that mounts up on its equippment compared to the regular marching, boot stomping ground-pounding infantryman. (I explicitly reserve the right to be wrong)

Merry Christmas All!!!!

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You're welcome - Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)

STATE Acronym - Serious

While driving in Delaware's second busiest shopping area, I observed an SUV with a Pennsylvania license plate designator I had not previously seen. GSF in small, vertically arranged letters and then the numerical sequence. Right next to the license plate was another sticker, this one, a vertically arranged white rectangle with a red border, with a Gold Star atop Blue Star. No de-ciphering required. The man driving this SUV proudly displays two of his childrens' service to our great country, one who paid the ultimate sacrafice.

As I drove by him,  I matched his speed, turn my head to meet the traffic check of his turning head, I snapped a crisp salute to him. He knew and understood IMMEDIATELY. A nod, a wave and a smile on his face acknowledge my heartfelt message. As I continued past him, he flashed his lights at me seeing my Retired Navy sticker in my rear window, soon to be joined by my Retired Miltary (Navy) license plate.

Meryy Christmas to all!!!

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You're welcome - Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)

It's The Little Old Lady From Pasadena...uh...Berkeley

The Beach Boys sang... "Go Granny, Go Granny, Go Granny Go."

They should've sung... "Just Go Away Granny."

"Of course, it is easy to

"Of course, it is easy to agree with Stillwater that her cancellation was a bit less than legitimate"

I'd say the cancellation was quite legitimate. She didn't get to embed, did she? The first response, they were trying to spare her feelings. She pushed the issue, and they said to hell with being nice, and told her the truth: you don't get to embed because you are a nobody with no audience.

It doesn't matter what the reason. An embed assignment is not an entitlement. Besides, the reasons are related. The military does have limited resources for embeds, resources that are usually dedicated to journalists that actually have readers, not so-called journalists who use a free blog platform owned by Google. 

"Libs never let you down. You don't have to talk to one very long before the stupid comes out."

Granny is a No-Go

To put it in military terms, Granny was a No-Go.  I suggest that she just suck-it-up and carry-on.

Obama: My job is above my pay grade

Cobra

She can't.  She is a typical liberal who whines and makes a scene when she doesn't get her way. 

Hey Jane...nothing like

Hey Jane...nothing like being on a shoe-string...

Write a book...contact the msm...you will be adored.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

Just a WAG

Do you think she voted for Obama?

No offense meant for people

No offense meant for people her age but this granny left her memories behind when Al Z. Heimer set in.  Just be glad you are living in the world's most tolerant nation on earth, the USA.