Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Single Mom To Be Court Martialled For Putting Her Kid Before War

By Steve


Think Progress has an update on the case of Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, the women arrested by the U.S. Army for missing her deployment date to Afghanistan when her care plan for her 11 month old son fell through. Newshoggers originally broke the story back in November. Back then:



The Army gave Specialist Hutchinson an extension of time to find someone else to care for her son, and in the meantime her mother brought Kamani back to Georgia. However just a few days before Specialist Hutchinson was scheduled to deploy she was told that she would not get the extended time after all and would have to deploy, even though there was no one to care for her child.


Faced with that choice Specialist Hutchinson did not show up for her plane. The military had her arrested and they put her child in the county foster care system.


The Army has now charged Huitchinson - she faces years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if found guilty.



A spokesman for Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah said Wednesday that Hutchinson has been charged with missing movement � for missing her overseas flight � being absent without leave, dereliction of duty and insubordinate conduct.


The stiffest charge, missing movement, carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. � But first, an officer will be appointed to decide if there�s enough evidence to try a case against her.


As I wrote back in November, "There's rules, and then there's being hidebound by the rules to the point where you do something stupid and pettily evil like this." The Army should drop the charges and apologize.



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2 comments:

  1. Kevin (NYC)January 14, 2010 at 5:34 AM

    gotta do it. can't have being preggers or having a kid an excuse to get out of your contract.
    Just like when we paid those big wall street bonuses... cause contracts is contracts...
    see also, putting soldiers in prison if they get preggers in-country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlexJanuary 15, 2010 at 5:10 AM

    This is always a possibility when you decide to join the military. So, be prepared for consequences of a choice like this.

    ReplyDelete

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