Lefty Granny Sues Army Over Embed SNAFU

Publius' Forum ^ | 12/05/08 | Warner Todd Huston

[Mobile Vulgus]

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.

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."

Read the rest at Publiusforum.com...

[Mobile Vulgus]

So, do you think she deserves the refund?

[SolidWood]

Put her in a burka and drop her in Waziristan. Be done with it.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Isn’t it the left that told us “no means no”?

[OCCASparky]

Nope. One can make a reservation without purchasing a ticket, and given her leanings, I'd not assume the DoD would welcome her as a reporter until she's actually IN IRAQ.

That and she could have, and should have, purchased a refundable ticket.

[BenLurkin]

Why not in a pair of shorts with a big American flag sewn on the back of her blouse?

[SmithL]

Here's the original Oakland Tribune thread: Berkeley grandma sues over canceled embed

[Gondring]

One can make a reservation without purchasing a ticket [...]

Oh?

[Alia]

No.

[max americana]

No, she doesn’t deserve the refund. What a waste of life she is. It’s best for this lefty granny to shut up because what else is there to report in Iraq? I assume she’s there to represent the 5th column of the MSM and I think she’ll be disappointed that reports of “war crimes’ which she probably fantasizes about will turn out to be a myth.

[OCCASparky]

Yep...do it all the time, particularly when I fly on American. I make the reservation and it holds that ticket and price for 24-48 hours.

[smokingfrog]

I'm guessing the military was not too impressed with her blog. Possibly popular in Berkley, but not elsewhere.

http://lonestaricon.com/Opinion/janestillwater.htm

Here's a sample:
One of the main reasons that this reservist is over here is economic. "If this job disappears, I don’t know if I can find another one."

"Yeah, but..." I said, as we stood chatting in the chow hall of a military camp that must have cost ten billion dollars to build, "all that military money could have been used to employ people to stop global warming or build hospitals and schools. You guys are intelligent and well-trained. You could have done that instead. You guys could do anything." Plus all that money spent on the last five years of constant warfare hasn’t bought America any more safety at all. In fact, it is the general consensus that America is far less safe now than it was even right after 9-11. Heck, even as we speak, those [leaders] in Washington are hinting around about starting a nuclear war with Russia! How safe is that?

Plus when the spit really hits the fan ecologically and our planet turns into deserts, we are all gonna be smacking our foreheads and saying "Doh!" just like we were all Homer Simpsons. "Doh! Why did we spend all those resources on war! We shoulda spent them on soil conservation and alternative energy." Not that those would be Homer’s words exactly — but even he would get the drift.

[InvisibleChurch]

A “hipster granny”? I’ll bet it’s not her real one.

[Gondring]

That doesn’t cover the whole time, and requires follow-up.

[OCCASparky]

Actually, it does. She was called later THAT DAY.

[MaxMax]

She compares everything to a TV cartoon character. LMAO! Dingbat.

[Gondring]

And I presume she knew that would happen, in advance?

Once the approval is given, it’s reasonable to assume that you have the approval and can make travel arrangements. Theoretically, she could have continued to re-make the arrangements daily “just in case” there was a problem, but it would be a real headache for air carriers and passengers if everyone did that.