New Yorker Reporter Resigned,,,after blaming others

Ok! So a reporter shared something that turned out to not be true, and now, she is blaming others for doing it?
I screw up all the time because I believe reporters. That is my bad for not taking the time to make sure what they share is in fact true. OK, honestly, I also screw up all by myself but I do try to get it right. I eat crow so often, I carry a salt shaker! 

This person is paid to report news not jump all over something she saw on social media and share as if it is true. 

Writer resigns from ‘New Yorker’ after twitter flap over Pasco Marine’s tattoo
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
Times staff writer
Published: June 22, 2018

Lavin said she "was also a useful foil: a fat Jewish feminist with a Harvard education. ICE said I ‘baselessly slandered an American hero,’ artificially pitted me against a disabled veteran, and engineered a conservative news cycle in which I was a villain."

Talia Lavin, whose tweet about a Pasco veteran’s tattoo implied he was a Nazi, has apologized to him and resigned from her position as a fact-checker at the New Yorker magazine.

But in another tweet, Thursday evening, Lavin also lashed out at the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, saying it unfairly targeted her in its own tweet about combat-wounded veteran Justin Gaertner.

"This has been a wild and difficult week," Lavin said in the tweet. "I owe ICE agent Justin Gaertner a sincere apology for spreading an rumor about his tattoo. However, I do not think it is acceptable for a federal agency to target a private citizen for a good faith, hastily rectified error."

A Twitter storm erupted last weekend after Lavin’s tweet about a cross-shaped tattoo on Gaertner’s elbow drew a response from ICE saying she had "essentially labeled him a Nazi."

Later, Lavin tweeted, "I had become a weapon used to discredit my colleagues and the vital work they do holding power to account. As a result, I have resigned after three years at the New Yorker."

But she also insisted that ICE misled people about her role in the controversy.

"ICE also lied about me, saying I originated the scrutiny of Gaertner’s tattoo," she said in a tweet.
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Marine tattoo of Titan 2 caused viral lie

Reminder: It is not true just because you read it on social media!

Nazi or not? Tattoo sparks Twitter storm over wounded Pasco veteran 
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
June 19, 2018

The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is pushing back against a social media post implying that a combat-wounded New Port Richey veteran has a Nazi symbol tattooed on his arm.

Justin Gaertner of New Port Richey, who lost his legs to an explosion in Afghanistan, trained as a forensic analyst to fight online pedophiles through the Department of Homeland Security. [CHRIS URSO | Staff (2015)]

In a tweet Monday afternoon, ICE officials denied the veteran is associated with Nazis. It quotes Justin Gaertner, a Marine who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011, saying that the tattoo is not an Iron Cross but a "Titan 2" design, the symbol of his platoon.

Gaertner has been featured in news stories about a public-private program to investigate pedophiles, called the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Child-Rescue Corps or HERO. Created by U.S. Special Operations Command, Homeland Security Investigations and the National Association to Protect Children, the program trains wounded, ill and injured commandos in computer forensics and law enforcement skills to help in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.
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Vietnam Veteran Carries Memorial of Lost Lives

Vietnam vet’s tattoo honors lost comrades
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore / Correspondent
Posted Apr 20, 2018

Collie said he has post traumatic stress disorder and continues to have flashbacks about horrific sights in the war, from Vietnamese children wired with hand grenades approaching American troops to “eight hour snakes” that hung from trees in the jungle and caused death within eight hours if you were bitten. He said sometimes even smells have been known to trigger PTSD, like a match bringing back memories of the scent of gunpowder.

“The tattoo is a memorial to my brothers and sisters who never came home,” said John Collie.

Vietnam War veteran John Collie carries an ever-present reminder of his lost comrades.

Collie, 66, has a tattoo that covers his back and depicts four Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, a POW camp tower, a silhouette of a prisoner of war and sharpened cane poles piercing a suspended skull. Flowing tattooed script across his shoulder blades reads “Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.”

“The tattoo is a memorial to my brothers and sisters who never came home,” said Collie, adding that the “masterpiece” was done by artist Brian Adams and took four hours to complete in one sitting

Collie served with the 173rd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War for 18 months after boot camp in 1971. He said he left most of his military connected papers and decorations for his service at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall when the memorial was on display in St. Petersburg.
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Family and Church Members Send Guardsman Off With Promise

Local Soldier gets special surprise before deployment

WQAD News 8

Jenna Morton

September 29, 2017

They got "IGY6" tattooed, a permanent symbol that they have his back.

DAVENPORT - Today the Iowa National Guard had a send-off for its largest, single unit deployment since 2010.

Send-off ceremonies were held at several locations, including Muscatine, Davenport, Waterloo, and Boone.

Around 400 soldiers of the 248th Aviation support Battalion will head to Fort Hood, Texas for additional training before assignment to overseas locations.

One of those soldiers is Michael Novitske, from Davenport.

His family will tell you the goodbyes never get easier.

"It`s our second but our first with kids so it`s going to be extra hard," said Michael's wife Kaylee.

The Iowa Army National Guard facility in Davenport was packed with people to say goodbye.

However, for Michael's family and friend's actions speak louder than words. Michael's family and his church family went out and got matching tattoos.
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Marine vet barred from restaurant because of neck tattoo?

Marine vet barred from restaurant because of neck tattoo
East Valley Tribune
By Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer
21 hrs ago

Andrus served two tours of duty, a total of 14 months, in Iraq during 2004 and 2005. He said he has a 30 percent disability from the Veteran’s Administration for post-traumatic stress syndrome.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq said he was humiliated Wednesday night when he was denied admittance into Gilbert’s new Dierks Bentley Whiskey Row restaurant because of his neck tattoo.

Brandon Andrus, the Iraq veteran, said he was not allowed to have a drink with family members because he has the number “22” tattooed on his neck as a suicide awareness statement. Military organizations say an average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day across the nation.

“I have been to a lot of different places and never once had an issue with anyone,” Andrus said. “They wouldn’t speak man to man. It was, ‘Sorry, sir, it’s a policy.’ They just thought I was going to cause trouble.”
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Marine Finds Better Job Where Marine Tattoo Fits In, At The VA

Marine vet quits his job over 'Semper Fi' tattoo, finds his truer calling at a VA hospital
The Republic
Karina Bland
October 16, 2016

Marine Joseph Leal, a nurse at the VA hospital in Prescott, and Henry Alcott, 93, a vet who lives at the hospital. Both served in the Marines.
(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

Joseph Leal was in the hallway of the historic veterans hospital in Prescott, on rounds as a registered nurse, when he saw an old man wheeling toward him.

“Good morning!” Leal called. He recognized the patient in the wheelchair as the one everyone called “Pops,” but it was the first time Leal had met him.

Pops rolled to a stop in front of Leal. “Let me see that,” he said. He took Leal’s wrist and turned it over to look at the tattoo on the inside of his forearm.

Pops studied the fierce-looking eagle atop a globe and anchor, the official emblem of the U.S. Marine Corps, with the words “Semper Fi” across the top and “U.S.M.C.” underneath, the letters inked in with scarlet and gold.
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Long After War The Ink Remains and the Link

The long fight over military tattoos just hit a new phase
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
April 3, 2015

"Long after war, the ink remains"

WarInk

For Veterans Day last year, a new project was launched to get those who have served to open up about their military experience. The vehicle for doing so was unusual, but common among veterans: tattoos.

War Ink made a splash, with coverage by Buzzfeed, PBS, USA Today and other news organizations.

It showed veterans discussing tattoos and the circumstances under which they got them, which can range from the celebration of a coveted assignment to the mourning of a fallen friend.

It is for all those reasons that ongoing discussions in both the Army and Marine Corps have grabbed attention among service members and veterans alike. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said Wednesday that strict rules on tattoos in his service put in place last year will be rolled back. Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, meanwhile, also said recently that his service is reviewing existing tattoo policies. They were last updated in 2010.
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War Ink is a virtual exhibit that combines video, photography and audio to present the stories of veterans with tattoos. (YouTube: War Ink)

Military Tattoos Evolution of Tributes

Military tattoos evolve into tributes in South Jersey 
Courier-Post
Carol Comegno
January 10, 2015

"The pain of getting those next tattoos was nothing compared to the pain of losing comrades in the fighting or the pain their families went through," concluded the Marine, a Westampton police officer who is still in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Marine Sgt. Andrew Einstein of Mount Laurel, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, displays his tattoo memorial for his friends who lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan, located on his torso. 01.06.15
(Photo: Chris LaChall/Courier-Post)

Andrew Einstein did what a lot of leathernecks do immediately after surviving Marine boot camp.

He got a tattoo.

It would not be the only one.

After tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Mount Laurel resident got several other symbols of his military service, including one emblazoned on his left rib cage to memorialize the death of two fellow Marines.

Army veteran Bruce Coleman of Marlton got one of his tattoos for the same reason — to remember fallen comrades in Iraq, where he served.

Younger veterans' tattoos are different than those worn by their World War II and Korean War counterparts — today, they are often larger, more colorful and artistic, relating more personal, intimate stories of their military service.

The 26-year-old Einstein disliked the feel of tattoo needles piercing his skin when he got that first Marine Corps emblem and vowed never to get another tattoo, but his attitude changed after considerable time spent in combat zones.

A second tattoo on his left shoulder and upper back signifies the stress of returning home.

"Now, I love tattoos. They tell my story," he freely admits.

"I had my battles adjusting to a lifestyle outside of war and dealing with the loss of those guys, so I got more tattoos and decided on a full rib cage tribute piece in honor of those we unfortunately lost.
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WAR INK In Their Own Words

Combat veterans talk about 'war ink'
Army Times
Nov. 6, 2014


“24 veterans ... 100 tattoos ... 1,000 stories.”

With nearly 2 million veterans in California and a generation of veterans returning home across the nation as 12 years of faraway combat winds down, the Contra Costa County Library in California is launching “War Ink,” an online exhibit of Iraq and Afghanistan veteran memorial tattoo art.

Set to go live online on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at www.warink.org, the exhibit represents a platform to explore the unfiltered record of war that veterans have documented on their bodies — and how that body ink serves as a unique and poignant means for veterans to explain their combat experiences to others in far more powerful way than words alone can convey.
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War Ink
Nov 4, 2014
War Ink is a virtual exhibit that combines original video, photography, and audio to present the stories of military veterans in their own words.