Usa Thread

[Steve]

I knew of a guy at work who got himself ordained through the mail by one of those flakey "churches" that do that. (OH has been ordained by one!) The guy built a concrete block "church" on his property and would preach to his neighbours once a month. The reason he did it was so he could claim a tax exemption on his land. Everyone knew what he was up to, but the authorities couldn't touch him.

 

 

 

 

I've posted a few times a church is one of the last great tax shelters and businesses to get into.

 

You guys really should thank us Christians for that. The government hates going after religions. They give you a wide berth. You really have to try to get into trouble as a church.

 

You can send yourself on 'missionary' trips to Thailand and have it all paid for tax free. 'Missionary'..hehehe..just thought of the play on words...hehehe...sorry, in a silly mood tonight.

[Flashermac]

 

Most of us are in a silly mood every day - and night.

 

 

I used to sit and discuss starting our own church with a good friend who was a retired Army MP battalion commander. We'd call it the Church of the Immaculate Deceptions. "Yes, sir, brothers and sisters - keep those cards and letters pouring in." Problem was you'd better be a confirmed atheist and hope your right to do that. Neither of us was. I'll bet some of those TV preachers and the like are though. Jimmy Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert etc. If they were really Christians, they wouldn't dare do half the things they do.

 

 

[Bangkoktraveler]

There is another site for idiots who claim they recieved the Medal of Honor. There was a "stolen valor" law making it an offence to claim you recieved medals you didn't, but a federal judge struck it down as violating "free speech". WTF?

 

p.s. The "shield of shame" is army slang for Judge Advocate General's Corps - lawyers in uniform.

 

 

 

General Armstrong's younger brother received the Medal of Honor two different times.

 

He died along with his brother in 1876.

[Flashermac]

 

 

Eating Custard no doubt.

 

 

The MoH originally was the ONLY bravery medal the US military had. People got it in the 19th century for acts that today wouldn't even rate a Commendation Medal. One entire Union Army regiment was awarded it after a battle, every single man. (The Army later decided that was even too stupid for them and took them all away.) Even Buffalo Bill Cody got an MoH for scouting for the Army. Then somebody remembered he was a civilian and took it back.

 

[cavanami]

A friend living here in BKK was a SEAL and he got banged up badly in the Somalia incident(s). He was not mentioned in the Blackhawk Down movie or book but after three years in the hospital he was able to get around with the help of daily pain killers. I sure he would not take kindly to these phonies that "say" they received some medal or were in the "elite" part of the military!

[Bangkoktraveler]

[color:red]SWAT team fired 71 shots in raid in Arizona[/color]

 

The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home.

Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff's Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week's raid.

Six days after Guerena was shot, few details about the investigation that brought the SWAT team to the southwest-side home Guerena shared with his wife and their two young sons are known. Guerena's role in the narcotics investigation is unclear and deputies would not comment on what was seized from his home.Three other homes within a quarter of a mile from Guerena's house, were served search warrants related to the investigation that morning. The addresses and the names of people who live in the other homes have not been made public.

Vanessa Guerena says she heard noise outside their home about 9 a.m. Thursday and woke her husband who had just gone to bed after working a 12-hour shift at the Asarco Mine, she said. [color:red]There were no sirens or shouts of "police," she said.[/color]Guerena told his wife and son to hide inside a closet and he grabbed the AR-15 rifle, his wife said.

The department says SWAT members were clear when identifying themselves while entering the home.

"Tucson is notorious for home invasions and we didn't want to look like that," said Lt. Michael O'Connor of the Pima County Sheriff's Department. [color:red]"We went lights and sirens and we absolutely did not do a 'no-knock' warrant."[/color]When five SWAT members broke through the front door Guerena was crouched down pointing the gun at them, said O'Connor.

"The suspect said, 'I've got something for you,' when he saw them," O'Connor said. Guerena's wife denied he said that.

Deputies began shooting.

[color:red]A deputy's bullet struck the side of the doorway, causing chips of wood to fall on his shield. That prompted some members of the team to think the deputy had been shot, O'Connor said.[/color]The Sheriff's Department put in a call to Drexel Heights fire at 9:43 a.m. requesting assistance with a shooting. [color:red]But crews were told to hold off[/color].Guerena was dead by the time they were allowed in the house, fire officials said.

Vanessa Guerena vividly remembers seeing her wounded husband.

"When I came out the officers dragged me through the kitchen and took me outside, and that's when I saw him laying there gasping for air," Vanessa Guerena said. [color:red]"I kept begging the officers to call an ambulance that maybe he could make it and that my baby was still inside."[/color]The little boy soon after walked out of the closet on his own. SWAT members took him outside to be with his mother.

"I never imagined I would lose him like that, he was badly injured but I never thought he could be killed by police after he served his country," Vanessa Guerena said.

The family's 5-year-old son was at school that morning and deputies say they thought Guerena's wife and his other child would also be gone when they entered the home.

Guerena says there were no drugs in their house.

Deputies said they seized a "large sum of money from another house" that morning. But they refused to say from which of the homes searched that morning they found narcotics, drug ledgers or drug paraphernalia. Court documents showing what was being sought and was found have not been made public. A computer check on Guerena revealed a couple of traffic tickets and no criminal history.

Guerena was a Tucson native and Flowing Wells High School graduate. He joined the U.S. Marines in 2002. He served two tours in Iraq in 2003 and 2005 as part of the Yuma-based MWSS-173 under direct supervision of Master Sgt. Leo Verdugo.

Verdugo was with Guerena's family Tuesday afternoon. He gave them a Marine Corps jacket and gloves to use at Guerena's burial.

"He was an excellent Marine, with a bright future ahead of him," Verdugo said.

"We had just bought a home and he was working graveyard shifts and overtime just to help pay the bills, we were just starting to make this house our home," Vanessa Guerena said.

"I know I can't have him back but I want justice. I want explanations for what happened," she said.

 

Link

 

[Bangkoktraveler]

They called for an ambulance but then told the ambulance to wait..... till he was dead.

 

Apparently the cops made no effort to save his life.

[Flashermac]

 

71 rounds to kill one man? They should have called in an air strike.

 

 

[Bangkoktraveler]

71 rounds to kill one man? They should have called in an air strike.

 

 

 

Surprised they used a SWAT team to serve a search warrant.

 

Once they found out the guy served 2 tours with the Marines overseas, there stories change.

 

I guess he was not your average hispanic ["Mexican"].

[Bangkoktraveler]

The cops claimed he fired on them. It turned out his gun still had its safety on and was not fired.

 

They claim 71 rounds in 7 seconds.

 

I guess his wife should walk away with 5 - 10 million dollars.