Glory!

Sox win! Sox win!

I love my baseball team. But I admit I was holding in reserve a small hope that the Rockies might edge the Sox out long enough so that they could win at home, at Fenway. There hasn't been a world series win at Fenway Park since 1918. I think the old girl is due something.

But quite apart from that small issue I have, what a freaking win! They essentially redid 2004 only this time they were playing a better team in the ALCS.

God I love baseball.

Goodbye Rummy, I'll Always Love You

And there goes the first casuality of the election.

Naturally this is, and has been, expected. It is the correct political decision for a President faced with a hostile Congress controlled by the other party. It is politically wise and demonstrates that Bush isn't inflexible after all. Let's not forget the political skill of the man.

Politcally wise, yes. Militarily wise? I'm not as sure. Losing Rummy is a big deal. He takes with him incredible depth of knowledge of the Pentagon and a great deal of skill in managing the DoD. Despite what his critics and other partisans say, the man has been transformational, perhaps revolutionary, in his role over the past 6 years. He took an organization that was a lumbering dinosaur, still waiting to fight massive tank battles against the Soviets on the plains of Northern Germany, an organization unwilling to change or adapt to the modern method of warfare, and he turned it upside down. Like the French behind the Maginot Line, the military of the 1990s was still fighting the last war. Rumsfeld took that ossified structure and transformed it, or began transforming it, into a lightning fast, rapid reaction, long range lethal weapon. The changes he institutionalized are massive force multipliers that give us tremendous advantage over any adversary or possible combinations of adversaries.

His positive influence on the DoD and the armed forces will be deeply felt for generations. Americans should consider his contributions while they're busy booing his supposed mistakes in conducting the War. He's a patriot of the first order and his departure diminishes the Executive...

...but not politically.

Technorati: ChrisCam, webcam, Weblog, Blog, Election 2006, Rumsfeld, George Bush, Politics, Pentagon, Iraq, DoD

5 Years Later, pt 4

It is 10:03am. I can hear still more bells. We should all be grateful for the sacrifice of the people on board Flight 93. Without their courage, our entire government may have been decapitated in a single blow. In the final act of the day, our enemy attemtped to strike down more of our symbols. Instead, the symbol that survives from the final crash is that of strength, courage, self-sacrifice. In short, the qualities of what it means to be American were on full display in thwarting the designs of barbarians.

United Flight 93 slams into the ground in Shanksville, PA.

5 Years Later, pt3

It is 9:37am. Bells again.

The resiliancy of our people and the strength of our military capability was greatly misunderstood and under appreciated by our enemy. In attacking us, they must have believed that we would shrink away, cower within our borders. Instead we have responded with a huge, multigenerational effort to not only destroy the enemy wherever he is, but to totally undermine the legitimacy and underpinnings of his ideology. By depriving him of the necessary radicalism of average people that he requires to perpetuate his agenda, we will ultimately prevail. We owe a great debt to our service men and women who serve as the spearhead of this effort.

American Flight 77 erupts in a ball of flame as it crashes into the Pentagon at 9:37am

5 Years Later, pt2

It's 9:03am. I can hear the bells again. The emotion of this day has for me not dissipated during the past 5 years. Every single year that comes, and all of the images associated with that morning, and all of the words and songs and people, it all serves to remind me of what was done to us that day. Of how it awakened us and changed us.

Flight 175 crashing into the World Trade Center at 9:03am

5 Years Later, Yet It Still Makes Me Cry

It's 8:46am eastern time. I can hear church bells ringing.

Take a moment, say a prayer. Concentrate and remember what that day was like.

Flight 11 crashing into the World Trade Center at 8:46am

230 Years and Counting...

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - hat we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

More Immigrant Anger

I'm an immigrant. Sure my skin isn't brown, but that is hardly relevant. My family waited in line, paid a hefty sum of cash, took the medical tests and worked hard to gain the priviledge of living in this nation.

I volunteered to serve in the US Army. I enlisted while my friends went off to West Point and Cornell and Harvard and Yale and Brown.

I studied American history and Constitutional Law in College. Frankly, I know more about this nation than you do.

I am more American than most Americans and I am ENRAGED.

Who do these people think they are and WHY do they think that breaking our laws entitles them to rights under our system?

They are not immigrants. Immigrants come here because they love this country.

They break our laws.

They are criminals.

Technorati: Technorati: ChrisCam, webcam, Weblog, Immigration,

Oh no!

My Patriots....

Is it to be the season of ALL my teams losing?

The End

It is the end of Western Civilization. The Visigoths have invaded and their name today is the Chicago White Sox. Will it be another 86 years of the Dark Ages?

The only thing giving me solace has been the playoff season. Now that it is over, now that the only reason for watching baseball is gone, I have nothing. I am left with daily reminders of everything that's wrong with the world in the form of advancing leftism and the purported demise of America. And now the Red Sox have been defeated. Again.

Mark Friday, October 7th 2005 as officially the worst day of my life.

9/11

Technorati: 9/11

It is highly disturbing to me that on this day the number one search item at Technorati is 'Impeach Bush'. Furthermore, between 9am and 930am this morning, only Fox was running 9/11 commemoration. MSNBC's headline was 'Who's to Blame for Katrina', CNN Headline News was featuring the opening of the Hong Kong DisneyWorld, and CNN was running 'Katrina Aftermath' coverage. None of the broadcast networks had any coverage.

Is our attention span really as short as our enemies have always claimed? Are we really this fickle? Have we learned nothing?

Iraqi Army Donates Money to Katrina Victims

Although they can ill-afford it, a unit of the Iraqi Army has taken up a collection for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It is a touching gesture made more meaningful by its symbolism.

TAJI, Iraq, Sept. 9, 2005 —
Iraqi soldiers serving at Taji military base collected 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Iraqi Col. Abbas Fadhil, Iraqi base commander, presented the money to U.S. Col. Paul D. Linkenhoker, Taji Coalition base commander, at a Sept. 5 staff meeting.

“We are all brothers,” said Abbas. “When one suffers tragedy, we all suffer their pain.”

The amount of money is small in American dollars - roughly $680 - but it represents a huge act of compassion from Iraqi soldiers to their American counterparts, said U.S. Army Maj. Michael Goyne.

“I was overwhelmed by the amount of their generosity,” Goyne said. “I was proud and happy to know Col. Abbas, his officers, NCOs and fellow soldiers. That amount represents a month’s salary for most of those soldiers.”

Abbas read a letter he wrote after giving the envelope to Linkenhoker.

"I am Colonel Abbas Fadhil; Tadji Military Base Commander,” Abbas wrote. “On behalf of myself and all the People of Tadji Military Base; I would like to console the American People and Government for getting this horrible disaster. So we would like to donate 1.000.000 Iraqi Dinars to help the government and the People also I would like to console all the ASTs who helped us rebuilding our country and our Army. We appreciate the American's help and support. Thank you."

From Bunker Hill to Baghdad

I listened to the President this morning speaking in West Virginia. I then took a hot shower and thought about our Republic and the struggle it undertook 229 years ago. I was struck by something I heard Bush say and how much it rung true to me: The fight for our independence has never ended. It was waged against the British, waged as the Constitutional process forged the colonies into a nation, waged as the foundations of our institutions were put in place by Hamilton, Marshall, Madison, Adams and Monroe.

It was waged as the nation fulfilled its manifest destiny, waged as it tore itself apart over the issue of slavery, waged by Lincoln with malice toward none, waged against the extremes of market capitalism by Roosevelt, waged against European notions of Great Power politics in the First World War. The battle was waged against fascism, communism, poverty, intolerance, inequality.

We are here today engaged in the latest chapter of our ongoing battle to form a more perfect union. We are fighting for our own freedom and for the freedom of others. For the freedom of our children to live in peace and prosperity. For the peace of an entire region of the world that heretofore has known only destitution and extremism.

What started in Lexington and Concord and culminated at Yorktown continues today by another generation, in another context, in the ongoing struggle for liberty.

Happy Independence Day.

Fly It Proudly

It's flag day today. So hang your stars and stipes outside boldly.

"Rangers! Lead the Way!"

"You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely....The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck, and let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." ~General Dwight D. Eisenhower giving the D-Day order on June 6, 1944.



"There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana. No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!" ~ General George S. Patton, Jr (This speech was delivered to Patton's troops on June 5, 1944)



"The men of the free world are marching together to victory," that just gives me chills. No less true today than it was 61 years ago. But could there be any greater contrast between these images of Americans, Britons and Canadians landing to liberate France and the attitude of the french today? I would wager that no frenchman would ever risk a fingernail to liberate a soul. Not even his own.

To put things in perspective, 155,000 Allied troops landed to loosen Hitler's grip on the Europeans. Almost 10,000 of them died during the landing. I wonder what would have happened if the New York Times, CNN and Newsweek were embedded with those troops who took that many casualties. I wager the Third Reich would be alive and well. Luckily we, along with our British allies, haven't forgotten the lessons of the Second World War.

Other D-Day memoria:

• Michelle Malkin
• Argghhh!
• Blackfive

February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004

Nod to Murdoc for reminding me.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

My Sister's husband is coming home on the 19th from his second tour in Iraq. This kid has had to grow up real fast during the past 2 years.

On the 24th of December, my son and I sat at the computer in my study and took some pictures of ourselves to send to my brother-in-law who was waiting by the computer in the desert west of Baghdad. He took a picture of himself in the early dawn of Christmas morning and sent it on back to us.

I'm not sure why, but I have a strange emotional attachement to these two pictures, taken right after each other, on opposite sides of the planet, and exchanged between family. The bravery of one, guaranteeing the comfort of many.

  

I also have to admit that I became unreasonably emotional when I saw the "Hero Salute" commercial during the Superbowl. Even thinking of it gives me chills and brings a tear to my eye. Well, here's the link to it. Go watch it and tell me it doesn't make you emotional.

On Scarborough Country tonight on MSNBC, Joe showed some footage from a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting today during which, at the point that General Shoomaker was introducing some of the soldiers that had come along with him to the meeting, a spontaneous standing ovation broke out. It was spectacular. The only people not participating, naturally, were the press that were present in the room. I think that sums up how most of them feel about their countrymen who defend the freedom of the press.

Infamy Today

It seems so easy to forget the seminal events in our nation's history as they pass further into the annals of time. The surprise attack 63 years ago will be commemorated one day as we currently commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence or Armistice Day. Some day there won't be people alive that remember what happened at Pearl Harbor.

In a recent trip to Washington, I met one of those people.

My family and I were visiting an ancestor buried in Arlington. It was a sunny day in October, nice breezes and no humidity. As we were walking down from JFK's Eternal Flame toward the entrance, an elderly man was coming up the hill. He was clinging to the woman helping him whom I assumed was his daughter. He wore the hat of the American Legion and had his various medals pinned to the hat and some on his chest. His hat was white and black with black stiching that read, in part, 'Pearl Harbor Vet. Dec 7, 1941'. They paused for a moment to gaze up at Arlington House on the hillside.

I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

I approached them, hand extended. I introduced myself and told the man that I wanted to thank him for his service to the nation. The fact that America possessed young men like him at that great time of peril was of tremendous importance. I told him that I thought he was a credit to us all and that I owed my freedom, in part, to him.

The gentleman seemed a little taken aback. He asked me if I was in the service (my hair being short at the time). I responded that even though I wasn't an American citizen, I had enlisted in the Army as a Combat Medic. His eyes lit up. He informed me that he too was in a medical role when he was with the Navy. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he had been attached to an Army air defense artillery unit that had rushed to the defense of the harbor.

As he wove his story of that day 63 years ago, his daughter was beaming with pride. I stood there in awe, my wife and son looking on from a few yards away. The man had tears welling in his eyes as he spoke, voice cracking. I listened to him, retelling a story that he had probably recounted numerous times over the years. As he trailed off, gazing up the hill again to Arlington House, I wiped my eyes and thanked him again. His daughter thanked me for my kind words and took her father in arm.

I turned back to my wife and son and, looking at them, silently thanked the man again. Then I thanked God for the chance to meet a living legend from a pivotal point in America's past. God Bless him wherever he is.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2004 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On a quiet Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, more than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. On that day, life changed in America, and the course of history was altered forever. Our citizens reacted to the attack with firm determination to defeat tyranny and secure our Nation. This enterprise required the commitment and effort of our entire country. At the height of the conflict, the United States had ships on every ocean and troops on five continents. In all, more than 16 million Americans wore the uniform of our Nation. They came from all walks of life. They served honorably and fought fiercely. At home, millions more contributed to the war effort, laboring for victory in our factories, on farms, and across America. Today, we honor those who fought and died at Pearl Harbor, and we pay special tribute to the veterans of World War II. These heroes hold a cherished place in our history. Through their courage, sacrifice, and selfless dedication, they saved our country and preserved freedom. As we fight the war on terror, their patriotism continues to inspire a new generation of Americans who have been called to defend the blessings of liberty. Like those who have gone before them throughout our history, our troops fighting the war on terror are defending America from danger and liberating the oppressed. The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day." NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2004, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn occasion with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth. GEORGE W. BUSH

Additional Dec 7 commemorations at Poliblogger, Backcountry Conservative, Argghhh!, Outside the Beltway, Powerline, Michelle Malkin, Shot in the Dark (whom I just blogrolled), The Commissar, Instapunk, SGT Hook, TacJammer.

From Seat 1F...

As I flew out of Washington Reagan Airport last night, I gazed out the window at the beauty of our nation's seat of government. The Capitol Rotunda was brilliantly white against a pitch black sky. It made my heart flutter as I looked down on the monuments to our Republic's greatness. And then I saw the National Christmas Tree. It was glorious.

Baseball Might Save Us All

In the same way that these pictures tell the whole story, the ones in the post are equally telling about the man who is our President.

George W Bush is the only President to throw a strike from the pitcher's mound of Yankee Stadium.

WE BELIEVED!

BOSTON REDSOX WIN WORLD SERIES AFTER 86 YEARS!!!!

RED SOX HAVE SWEPT THE CARDINALS!!!

REDSOX NATION REJOICES!!

WICKED PISSER!

The last time they won the World Series...
The first World War was about to end...
Lucky Lindy was a teenager dreaming of flying across the ocean...
John Kennedy was 1 year old...
Penicillin didn't exist...
TV didn't exist...
Radio was just starting...
There was no Polio vaccine...
Woodrow Wilson was President...
Iraq didn't exist...
Ronald Reagan was 7 years old...
About 30 million people died from the Flu...
The Soviet Union didn't exist...
FDR was 36...
The population of the US was only 100 million...
Babe Ruth was 23...
Fenway Park was 6 years old...
Yankee Stadium didn't exist...
George Washington had been dead for only 119 years...
Teddy Roosevelt was alive...
America was 142 years old...
The NHL was 1 year old...
The NFL didn't exist...
Major League baseball was only 20 yers old...
Lincoln had been dead for only 53 years...
More than 4 million Americans were defending France from the German Army...
Over 50,000 US Citizens would die defending Freedom...
I was -58 years old...
My wife was -55 years old...
My son was -78 years old

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Here's the Nike RedSox commercial that'll just bring a tear to your eye.

Porn for the Right

I love a good conservative phone sex bitch. And leave it to the Internet to generate everything that's anything. Enter Lie Girls. They're 'Weapons of Mass Seduction' according to their website. Somebody please sign up and tell me what the hell this thing is.

My favorite thing on the website is the tagline at the bottom: These girls pose a grave and gathering threat - to your pants!

Now that's the funniest damn thing I've heard all day. Time for a Sam Adams.

SOX IN 7 !!!

Sox win! Sox win!

On Wednesday, October 20th, 2004 at 12:00 midnight, the Red Sox crushed the Yankees 10-3 in game 7 of the American League Championship, earning a trip to the World Series for the first time since 1986 and defeating the Yankees in the postseason for the first time ever. The Red Sox broke all records by becoming the first team in baseball history to come from a 3-0 deficit in a best of 7 series to win the league pennant.

The most historic baseball comeback ever. Everyone in New England will remember where they were on this day. And it was during this historic season that I first took my wife and son back to the city I lived in for 5 years, the city I went to school in, the city I started ChrisCam in. I brought them to Fenway Park to watch the Sox take on the Yankees in their last matchup of the regular season. We couldn't have known that this was the year that they'd take a shot at reversing the 86 year old curse of the Bambino.

The Sox have finally defeated the Yankees, and it all happened on Yankee Hall-of-Famer Mickey Mantle's birthday. America's game at its best.

Americana

I love this country with all my soul as only an immigrant can. There is nothing, NOTHING more symbolic of what makes us the greatest nation in history than the drama of a great baseball game. And in the pantheon of great baseball games, there is nothing more American than a Red Sox-Yankees game, whether it be in Fenway Park or in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. And in that narrow category of great Americana, there is nothing more dramatic or representative of our Republic than a Red Sox come-from-behind stunner where a 3-0 Yankee lead in a best of seven series is wiped out. It comes down to Baseball, indeed all of sports, at its absolute finest.

The hopes of the Red Sox ride on this game. They've won two improbable victories in epic, historic, record-breaking nail-biters to bring the series into near-balance at 3 games to 2, Yankees leading. It is the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox ahead 4 to 2. It is 38 degrees and a light mist is swirling inside the House That Ruth Built. There are 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Yankees batting with a runner on 1st and another on 2nd. A home run will score a Yankee victory and yet another heartbreaking Red Sox elimination. The Yankees would win and go to yet another World Series and the Red Sox would go home yet again, defeated. The count is 3 balls and 2 strikes. A ball pitched at this point would walk the batter and load the bases. A scenario in which the Yankees excel at producing runs batted in. A strike would be the 3rd out and would signal a Sox victory and a series tied at 3-3. No team in 150 years of baseball history has come from a deficit of 3-0 in a best of 7 series to force game 7. In fact, in all of sports, there are about 5 times that this has happened, mostly in hockey. Hearts are stopping across the Northeastern United States as Yankee stadium goes quiet and the Boston pitcher begins his wind up...

The pitch is in... and it's a strike! A strike! The Red Sox have won an unbelieveable come-from-behind 3 games! They've forced game 7 against the Yankees! If they can pull through and win game 7 they can go to the World Series for the first time in almost 20 years! New England is erupting in cheers! America's two most beloved teams have gone head to head and will battle it out in one more game. Boston's Curt Shilling was superb, the Yankee infield was dynamic. Baseball at its pentultimate.

There is nothing that more represents the national character. A stadium full of every race and religion, color and creed, heterogenous yet united in the love of the game. We're a scrappy, diverse, determined, rugged people. And therein lies our greatest strength. Baseball encapsulates this completely.

Oh, and by the way, the last time the Red Sox won a World Series? It was Wednesday, September 11th, 1918.

Never Forget

A Moment of Silence. United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Never Forget

A Moment of Silence. American Airlines Flight 77 strikes the west side of the Pentagon.

Never Forget

A Moment of Silence. United Airlines Flight 175 strikes the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Never Forget

A Moment of Silence. American Airlines Flight 11 strikes the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Someone asked me what I

Someone asked me what I was doing when I first heard about the terror attacks on the US two years ago. I'm sure we can all remember exactly where we were, what we were doing, who we were with, what we were thinking. That is a memory seared in my mind.

I was at work. We were goofing around and about to enter a video conference with some folks in Landover, Maryland. The phone lines were clogged and we couldn't get a connection through. Someone ran by the conference room and told us that a Cessna had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. Since I spent my entire teens in the New York area, I was immediately interested. We went to look online for some news. The internet was extremely busy. We couldn't get CNN or Fox, but MSNBC was slowly loading. It painted the screen slowly at first. Then picked up speed. My mouth dropped open when the image of Tower 1 on fire was displayed. You could hear the buzz in the office slowly rising in decibles. My teammates and I went downstairs to the fitness center where there was a DirecTV connection. The room was a little crowded already. About 50 or so of us stood in horror as we watched the scene unfold. We watched the second plane strike. The pandemonium, the chaos, the confusion; it's something I'll never ever forget. It was horrible. Everyone in America who was watching it was "there" mentally. We were all mentally standing on the streets of NYC watching the unbelievable sight along with New Yorkers. We all had that lump in our throat, that chill. Then it was the Pentagon. Then it seemed the White House and the Capitol and Air Force One and the President were in danger. Scenes of people fleeing the White House and Capitol Building were just incredible. Was this America? Where was President Bush? Was he dead? Nobody knew what was happening.

The reporters on CNN were just as astonished as we were. They were shaking their heads in disbelief. I remember Aaron Brown just kept staring at the scene from the top of the CNN building in midtown. He was broadcasting live from the roof and really had nothing to say. What could you say. We stood in the fitness center and watched, and watched. After some time, it was then that I said the most incomprehensibly timed thing. I said to my teammates: "At least the fuckers didn't knock the buildings down." Yes. It was as I finished uttering these words that Tower 2 began to collapse. If what had already occurred was unbelieveable, the sight and sound of that building collapsing was surreal in the most extreme sense of the word. It was like a disaster movie. It was like Independence Day or The Towering Inferno or Armageddon. Just incredible.

It was at that point that we began to think of the implication for our company's wide open internet connections. We swung into action to protect our business and our data. It wasn't until later that day that I got home and sat in front of the television for the next few days. I'm not a big crier, but I cried that day. I'm getting teary right now as I'm typing this entry. The emotion I felt as I listened to the President that night was a strange mix of fury and sorrow. A mix of fear and patriotism, righteous anger and pride. It was that night that President Bush spoke to the nation and uttered the words that I have taken and used as a description of how I feel. It was how I felt then and it is how I feel today:

Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.

A quiet, unyielding anger. That sums up how I feel about September 11th and the new world that it has brought us into. A quiet, unyielding anger. Never forget how you felt that day. Take all the rage and sorrow you had at that time and keep it with you. Hold on to it. Reflect on it. Remember it when France opposes us. Remember it when people say we shouldn't remove rogue regimes. When they oppose the Patriot Act. When they bitch about waiting in airport security lines. When they turn a blind eye to illegal immigration. When they call Bush a warmonger. Remember how we felt back then, collectively as a nation. Those events have shaped our times. Don't ever forget 9/11. I won't.

A Moment of Silence. The

A Moment of Silence. The fourth plane is flown into the ground in Pennsylvania.

A Moment of Silence. The

A Moment of Silence. The third plane strikes the Pentagon.

A Moment of Silence. The

A Moment of Silence. The second plane strikes the WTC.

A Moment of Silence. The

A Moment of Silence. The first plane strikes the WTC.

Good evening. Today, our fellow

Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.

Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.

The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.

The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.

I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.

America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."

This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you. Good night, and God bless America. - George W. Bush Addressing the Nation on September 11th, 2001.

I can hear you. I

I can hear you. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. - George W. Bush at Ground Zero (Sept. 14, 2001)

Oh how a few days

Oh how a few days can change the world:

August 23, 2001

September 11th, 2001

I'm trying to think of

I'm trying to think of something to say about Sept 11th. Something that is at the very least a bit interesting, perhaps even deep. However, I can't. So in lieu of that, I'm simply going to link to this