Never Forget

Today is the 7th anniversary of an event that changed my life. It also changed the way I view the world and politics.

On this day, we were attacked by a group of people that are nothing short of evil. May they burn in Hell.

Please take time out of your busy day to remember what happened. Remember where you were. How you felt. Who you cried for. Please remember all of those brave souls who rushed into those burning buildings to save lives of total strangers and never made it home to their loved ones.

Truthers and Homosexuals

Ahmadinejad was at Columbia U. earlier (I'm not even going into the why) and was brought to task (slightly) on some subjects.

NEW YORK - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defended the right to cast doubt on the Holocaust in a tense appearance Monday at Columbia University, whose president accused the hard-line leader of behaving like "a petty and cruel dictator."

Ahmadinejad smiled at first but appeared increasingly agitated, decrying the "insults" and "unfriendly treatment." Columbia President Lee Bollinger and audience members took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.

"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause.

He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history."[link]

None of this changes anything, he's still a madman and he still will deny the holocaust and continue to call for Israel's destruction. This next part was funny though:

Asked about executions of homosexuals in Iran, Ahmadinejad said the judiciary system executed violent criminals and high-level drug dealers, comparing them to microbes eliminated through medical treatment. Pressed specifically about punishment of homosexuals, he said: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

With the audience laughing derisively, he continued: "In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."

I wonder if any of the 'rights' groups will protest the slime?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

Earlier this month, my wife and I went to visit my brother and his wife at their apartment in New Jersey. We got to spend 3 full days with them and visiting New York City. This is the first time that I had been to either place. New York City has been in the top 2 places in the U.S. that I wanted to visit in my life. So needless to say, I was excited to visit the Big Apple. It was awesome.

While we were there it just so happened (wink, wink) that the subscribers to Conservative radio host and CNN Headline TV host Glenn Beck's website were having a National Insider Convention. Basically it is a gathering of Glenn's fans just to meet each other and spend time together. There are several of these Insider Conventions held across the country. About 2 years ago several Insiders wanted to have a national meeting. Glenn was invited to attend. Long story short, New York City was the only place that Glenn's schedule allowed him to attend. The first National Insider Convention was held last year. This year was the second and I was able to attend. Beck and his staff organized several events and Glenn was there for each one. Maybe it's just me, but Glenn genuinely seemed like a real person. He was very down to earth and very polite.

I have posted several pictures of a couple of the events. (I am the tall fat dufus with the loud shirt and goofy beard.) The first set were taken before and after a private screening (for the Insiders) of the taping of Glenn's TV show. Before the taping he described a little of what to expect and what he does. Afterward he came back to talk a little longer and even answered a few questions from us. The second set were taken the next day during a Meet & Greet session. Glenn and his staff answered questions for about 90 minutes. Then he met (albeit briefly) with each and every Insider. Posing for pictures and giving autographs. I was really impressed with the intimacy of the whole thing. Plus, he seemed genuinely thankful for those of us that are willing to pay a little extra every month to subscribe to his site. That or he was really laying it on thick. :D

The New York City photos (all 554 of them) are ones that the wife and I took on our trip around Manhattan, Ellis Island and Liberty Island. There is a lot of boring stuff in there. Believe it or not, I weeded out a lot of the really boring stuff. (I started with about 600+ pics)

Some of my favorites are from our trip to the World Trade Center site, FDNY Ten House & the memorial wall, St. Paul's Chapel (next to WTC where many of FDNY & NYPD took refuge during rescue & recovery operations) Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. There is also a short visit (near the end) to the infamous FDNY Hook & Ladder #8. The last few pictures are of the Deutsche Bank Building. Sadly two of New York's Bravest died in that building fighting a fire on the upper floors. Those pictures were taken a couple of days after that fatal fire. God bless the FDNY and their fallen brothers.

Sorry for being so long winded. I hope you all enjoy the pics. If nothing else, maybe they'll help cure that insomnia that has been nagging you for the last several years. :)

Patriotic poem/rap by a U.S. Marine

I found this posted on a forum that I frequent. Then I selfishly posted it on Digg and now I am shamelessly promoting that post. :)

http://digg.com/videos/people/Patriotic_poem_rap_by_a_BadAss_Marine

It's good to see a right leaning story on the Digg.com front page every now and then. (hint hint)

For those of you that would prefer the direct URL: http://www.badassmarine.com/story.php?title=YouTube_-_BadAss_Marine-1

Either way, it's really moving.