Remembering 9-11

This is a sad day for America, or at least it should be. Eight years ago we were attacked by a vicious and ruthless enemy and over 3000 American lives were lost. The day is being attacked by the left, but to be honest with you, I would rather share my memory from that day rather than talk about those people.

It was a normal work day for me. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning. The sky was clear and the temperature was mild. I was working on the North Side of Pittsburgh when someone said that a "small plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York." I immediately thought that someone was learning how to fly and really screwed that lesson up. Then we heard about a fire in the building and I thought it was just a small one that would be extinguished. Then we heard that another plane had crashed into the other building at the "WTC" and I thought, "We're under attack."

There was a mass exodus from the city as reports of a plane crashing in Somerset Pennsylvania some 40-50 miles away. What was a normal 15 minute commute told over two hours for me to return home. I had a six month old at the time and I was never so glad to be with my family. Like everyone else I watched in horror as the story unfolded. The World Trade Center, Shanksville, the Pentagon. I watched our President address the country and the wall to wall coverage on the television.

About four that afternoon I went out in the back on our deck. It was eerier. Total silence. Normally I could hear planes in the distance turning to make their approach to Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. That day there was none. After a while, the silence was broke by the sound of an F-16 flying through the sky and latter several Blackhawk and Huey helicopters. Since my time in the military, I'm like "Radar O'Rielly" I can hear a Huey before anyone else.

The next day there was a sense of loss. We were mourning the loss of our brothers. We never knew them of course, but we felt as if we had. I stood in line to give blood, the only time in my life when I had to stand in line to do that. I went to Mass with Catholics and non-Catholics. It didn't matter what faith you were, you just wanted to go to church, to be with others, to be with God.

It didn't matter if you were liberal or conservative. It just didn't matter. All the political BS was put aside and we were united as one. Overnight American flags started to appear on every house. We were united.

They don't show the planes going into the "Twin Towers" or the fires anymore. That's too disturbing and people don't want to see that, they say. They say it also incites hate and violence. It does not. They just want us to forget 9-11. I say show the video every night. We should never forget 9-11.

I wish 9-11 had never happened, but of course that's not possible.

I wish we could go back to September 12th.

D E T A I L S

There was a revival meeting tonight. It wasn't in a tent somewhere in the deep south. Billy Sunday or Billy Graham wasn't there, nor was Robert Duvall. There weren't many people coming up to the front asking that their sins be forgiven or finding God.

BHO was there as was Queen Nancy and Bobo Joe. Cameras were present so Chuckie Schumer was there. It was at the United States Capital and BHO gave his 39th speech on health care reform and while it wasn't his best speech, he did make some points that I agreed with and some I did not. The speech was was too long. On salesmanship he was good. On substance, he was poor.

I agreed with tort reform. I agreed with pooling all the insurance companies into a national pot. I agreed with the idea that no one should loose their insurance because they get sick, hell, that's why you have insurance in the first place. I agree with the notion that you can't be turned down because of a pre-existing condition.

I don't agree with the lies. BHO said that there were never going to be the so called "death panels." If that is so, why was the senate prepared to take them out of the existing bill? He left the door open for a "public option."

The President was openly called a liar by Joe Wilson a Republican Congressman from South Carolina during the speech, which in my lifetime I never heard happen. Sadly, Representative Wilson is right.

The bill proposed by the democrat congress contained the "death panels," it contained language that would have forced you into a public option if there was ANY change in your medical coverage. If your co-pay or your contribution went up at all, you were forced into a public option. I know because unlike most members of congress, I read the bill.

As I said, I could support the President on most of his proposals, if I thought he was being honest and up front with the American people and if I saw the details in writing and if they were passed just as he outlined them.

One of the points he made was that in Alabama, one company insured most of the population. In other states, one company insured 75% of the population. Well, that is because the states have limited the number of insurance carriers allowed to sell insurance in those states. There are over 13,000 insurance companies in this country. If you allow them to cross state lines and offer their insurance, there would be real competition. When you limit people's choices, the rates stay high. When you allow competition, the rates will go down.

Yes, there must be reform. I don't know anyone who doesn't think that reform is needed. You do not however, throw the baby out with the bath water or cut off your nose to spite your face. (If I had another metaphor, I would throw it in here as well)

I have said many times before and I'll say it again, the United States has the greatest health care system in the world. You don't see ANYONE going to France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Sweden or any other country on this earth for health care. You DO see them coming to the United States for health care.

Write the bill. Take your time and do it right. Let the public and the congress, READ the bill. Debate the bill in a civil manner and then vote on it. If it's good legislation the people will say so. If it's not, believe me, they will tell you.

Let us read the "fine print."

Show us the details.

Classic

Did you watch Dragnet as a kid? I did. Jack Webb was the no-nonsense detective who often lectured "juvenile delinquents" about doing the right thing. Harry Morgan was his partner. I found this video today that is great!

There's a lot to be said for that. Think about it.

Back when this country was founded, there was a cry of freedom. Freedom from religious oppression, freedom from tyranny, freedom to live our lives the way our Creator intended for us to live.

We sent farmers, shoemakers and bakers to represent us. After serving their country and their constituents, they returned to their jobs and resumed their lives. They went to the Capital with a purpose and voted for what was best for the people that sent them. They resisted increasing the size of government and used common sense and prayer as part of their decision making.

When our country was provoked, they stood tall and answered the challenge. They never looked for war or conflict, but never backed down from it. They stood firm in the resolution that although it wasn't their choice to be called to service, they answered the call.

Somewhere along the way things changed. It was no longer a "burden" to be called to service, it became a "profession." They no longer went and served a term or two, they made it a career. They no longer sacrificed for your country and constituents, they voted themselves a pay raise when THEY felt it was needed. Somewhere along the line their constituents became the burden and they tried to avoid them, instead allowing the lobbyist entrance over the commoner's. Somewhere along the line things changed.

Many in the media and in Washington think people who believe in God, duty, family are whack jobs. They think people who want to take their country back are bad, stupid and uneducated. They think the people who showed up at "Town Meetings" were paid, uninformed, ignoramuses who did not represent the feelings of the people. They feel that the people who think this way get their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and who have no original thoughts of their own, or if they do, they are a bunch of backward, hate mongering racist. They laugh when you use slogans like "Don't Tread On Me."

If you believe in God, duty and family, you are not "progressive." You are stuck in 1955 and you are useless to society. You haven't "evolved" or changed with the times. If believe in marriage between a man and a woman only, you are a hateful "homophobe" that wants to deny the same joys of love that you and your heterosexual spouse share. If you are against the government running universal health care, you are a heartless bastard that wants to deny someone "constitutional rights" to health care. If you are pro-life, you want to infringe into a woman's life and tell her what to do.

See if you believe in God, duty, family and common sense, you are a dinosaur, behind the times, uneducated and an ignoramus.

But, the tide is turning.

To some, self preservation is starting to kick in and they are afraid of you and your vote. They know you are watching them and they are going to be real good, because if they aren't, you are going to vote them out of office. Watch what they do in this next year, yes that is important. But just as important, look at what they have done to this point. Know their record. Be informed. They will do the right thing (hopefully) while you are watching, but when you are not watching, they show their true colors. Don't be fooled. Yes it is important to see what they do in this next year, but look at their total body of work.

After all, they haven't been there for a year or two like their forefathers, they have been there a career.

Be educated. Know what you believe. Believe in what you believe and stick with it. Know your representatives. Be informed. Vote.

Labor Day 2009 Edition

Labor Day. The unofficial end to the summer. A last chance to go to the swimming pool, have a pig roast, or party with family and friends. Like Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, it honors Americans, the American worker.

This day use to mean something. It was a celebration of the American worker and to some extent, the unions that helped make this country strong. Now it is just a political event. The parades we go to are filled with politicians, who in reality, don't give a damn about the American worker, but then again, neither do the unions.

I come from a family of union workers. My father and brother were both faithful members of the union. I was and still am a member of a union, having taken out a withdrawal card many years ago. All I would have to do is request my membership be reactivated and for a fee (and monthly dues) I would be a member in good standing. The unions use to be faithful to the workers, now they are an extension of the democrat party. It is very sad. It's sad because the rank and file are the ones' who suffer.

Time and time again we see the unions get behind the democrat ticket. They give money from the union, the make phone calls for the candidates, the stuff envelopes, the knock on doors and they take people to the polls to vote. When their candidate does get into office, what do they do? They raise their taxes, give their jobs away and try and take their health care.

Look at the last two democrat Presidents, Bill Clinton and BHO. Bill introduced his universal health care plan that would basically strip the unions of their health care and replace it with a lessor government run health care. BHO got behind the democrat proposal that would essentially do the same. What many of the unions fought hard for the last 60 years, would be gone. Of course the union officials don't see it that way.

Take Pennsylvania. Please. Ed Rendell the governor of the Commonwealth when he first ran for governor won on the backs of the union. Well that and a couple thousand dead Philadelphian's who voted for him. So what did "fast" Eddie do to show his appreciation to the state union workers? He gave them a contract that included no pay raises for four years and then when they did get a raise, that raise was eaten up with higher contributions to their medical benefits.

So what did the union do when Eddie ran for reelection? Did they get together and vote for Lynn Swann? Nope. The worked hard and got "Uncle Eddie" reelected! You get what you vote for.

I have a friend who has worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for over 30 years. He is a staunch democrat, except when it comes to governor, then he always votes for the Republican. According to him, "the Republican's always give you a better contract."

There was a time when the democrats went after the unions. Bobby Kennedy went after Jimmy Hoffa for several years. It was Bobby and the boys who got Jimmy locked away for several years. It was Nixon, a Republican who got him out.

Jimmy Hoffa in some people's eyes was a crook. In other's he was a God send. Jimmy Hoffa took care of the rank and file. He got them higher wages, better benefits, built hospitals and grew the health and welfare fund into a multi-million dollar fund. When he dipped his hand into the cookie jar and took two million dollars, the rank and file didn't care because he took care of them first.

The union officials today don't take care of the rank and file. They are more worried about promoting themselves, from Business Agent to Trustee, to and Officer of the local. They forget about where they came from, what it was like when they were rank and file members. They are too busy sucking up to the democrat candidates.

Look at the UAW. Look at the Big Three automakers. GM in 2007 sold the same amount of cars as Toyota. Toyota made several billion dollars, GM lost several billion dollars. You can't blame all of it on the union, the auto makers share their fair share of the blame, but when a company can't lay off a worker because they don't need them and they have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in wages and benefits for a workers to go and sit at a "job center' only to read the newspaper, play video games or watch movies, that is wrong. It is also what the unions until recently have demanded.

The steel industry was the same way. When the companies were "flush" the unions demanded and got $25 an hour and 16 weeks of vacation for a guy to push a broom. When times got tight, the unions would not budge and would not allow for a reduction of wages or layoffs of these broom pushers. We all knew that Americans made the best steel, but because of the union contracts, the companies were unable to compete. What we ended up with was inferior steel from Japan and China that was practically rusted before it was put on a car. Did you drive a AMC or a Ford in the 70's and 80's? Even Rusty Jones couldn't help those rust buckets. When you bought the car, you were given duct tape and bailing wire to help keep the bumpers on.

They (the leaders) stand behind the democrat party and support all of their causes. They want the minimum wage to go up because most of their contracts are tied to the minimum wage. They support illegal immigrants gaining amnesty because they will gain new members. They support universal health care, well because the democrats tell them to.

The head of the AFL-CIO is a man named John Sweeney. He is a 75 year old crotchety old man who since he became head of the AFL-CIO with a goal of adding new members, has lost members. Several of the unions that form the AFL-CIO have pulled away from the governing body because of his leadership. If you have ever heard this guy speak or read any of his writings, you would see that he is a Socialist bordering on Marxist.

In an effort to intimidate people into joining the unions, they came up with "card check." What this would do is take away the secret ballot. As it stand now, the unions are allowed by law to come into a place of work and try to organize. They talk to the workers, give them information about the union and make the case of what the union can do for the workers. After a period of time, a secret ballot is taken of all the workers. If a majority want to join the union and have the union represent them, then the union is certified and the employer has to negotiate any contract through the union. Since the unions haven't been effective in making there case and have been rejected by most workers, they want "card check" which would allow any union representative to walk up to a worker, in front of other union members and sympathizers and ask them if they want to join the union and if not why? This form of intimidation thankfully so far has been unable to get traction in congress and for the time being is dead.

The point is that unions use to be good for this country. The unions helped to build this country and use to take care of the rank and file. Many of the benefits enjoyed by all workers is a result of the blood, sweat and tears of the unions. Today the unions sadly just take care of themselves. Themselves and the democrat party.

So when you go to your Labor Day parade today and you see someone like Joe Biden who is marching in the Pittsburgh parade, just remember that your union is sadly, bought and paid for by the democrat party. It's not your father's union anymore.

Rocco's trademark picture

Welcome. Very seldom do I publish works of other authors/corespondents. There are many other blogs out there and very few that I actually go back to on a regular basis to read. One of them is the WHISPERS IN THE LOGGIA. It is written by a young guy named Rocco Palmo, who I may add is very plugged into the Vatican and has unbelievable contacts. Based from Philadelphia, Rocco keeps those interested in the goings on in the Catholic Church.

What follows is not just for Catholics. It transcends any organized religion. This about life, a wonderful life that everyone should know about. I also encourage you to read "Whispers" on a regular basis.

Family Matters

For all the times the term gets tossed around these days, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more pro-family than this:

Gregoria Martinez, 94, might seem like your typical grandma. She made quilts for her grandchildren, encouraged them to go to church, prayed for them, and gave advice.

Except the Texas grandma didn't have just a handful of grandchildren when she died Tuesday.

She had nearly 300.

Ninety-eight were grandchildren; 164 were great-grandchildren and 16 were great-great-grandchildren — all descendants of her own 11 offspring.

That's without counting her three stepchildren or any of their descendants — or the three great-great grandchildren currently on the way. The family purposely underestimated the total count, but felt if all were included it could be as high as 500.

Actually, they have been losing track. Now, with nearly half the family attending the funeral Wednesday, family members passed out index cards to update names and phone numbers while they had their chance.

Martinez's survivors packed the 500-seat St. Mary's Catholic Church in Quanah.

"Her numbers are pretty astounding," said Jesse Jalomo of his mother-in-law. "It's not no misprint."

The devout Catholic woman, whose husband, Ponciano, died at the age of 94 sometime after their 50th wedding anniversary, "could fill up our elementary school in Quanah with all the great-grandchildren and the great-great-grandchildren," Jalamo said.

And she knew practically all of them.

"If one of my sons would come up to see her, she'd say, 'Are you JJ?' He'd say, 'It's JJ, Grandma.' And she'd say, 'Are you doing right? Are you taking care of your family?'"

Family and faith were her two priorities — and she insisted on talking about both with everyone. But not by telephone. "She'd say, You come to see me, face to face. You want to speak to me, you come to my house, and you drink a cup of coffee with me."

She didn't preach about the benefits of large families, but did believe she was brought into the world to multiply.

"You know Catholics," said daughter Elva Jaloma.

When Gregoria was raising her children, she and her husband were migrant workers, traveling to Wisconsin to pick tomatoes and cucumbers, then back to Texas to pick cotton.

"They had 11 kids, and raised 14, and not one time did (they) draw a food stamp, a welfare check, or an unemployment check," Jaloma said of his in-laws. "They didn't believe in that. They said, 'If you want something, you work for it.'"...

Only in later years did both Gregoria and her husband work as custodians at a nearby hospital.

Long marriages run in the family, with many grandchildren logging 20-, 30- and 40- year anniversaries.

"They planted something very nice, very family oriented," Jaloma said.

Percilla Montes, 20, said she remembers picking pecans off the tree at her great-grandma's house and going to church with her.

"She always said that family was the most important thing, next to God."...

She spent time listening to her great-grandma. Listening, not talking.

"She was kind of stubborn. What she said, goes."

The theme of her life was clear to all: "Look, this is what it's got to be," she would say to each one. "You've got to have God in your life, and then have peace between you."

On a related note, hopefully no one minds a moment away from the norm to answer the perennial most-asked question in the inbox: "How's 'The Boss'?"

For non-veteran readers, that's a reference to this scribe's maternal grandmother -- born an orphan and raised by Vincentian nuns in southern Italy, a widow on these shores before she was 40, left to raise seven kids (and work three jobs) to keep food on the table, and all the while (and long beyond) a daily communicant.

She's the greatest teacher, surest support, best example of true faith and truest friend I'll ever know... who'll see, Deus placet, her 94th year come November... and through it all, still keeps a firm, but even more loving, watch over her own.

Before anything else, thanks to everyone who's asked -- the question never ceases to bring a tear (or several) on hearing it. In a nutshell, it's good days and bad days -- unable to leave the house for the last four years or so, Boss can't really see anymore, either, and while her lack of sight and pains of movement make the 15-foot walk from her hospital bed to the kitchen table a struggle, most days she can still push herself to pull it off.

Her mind's sharp as ever; her tongue, too... God knows she wouldn't be herself without the latter. And for the most part, grazie Dio, she just amazingly keeps on, aided as ever by my Mom and her five sisters (the oldest of whom is 71), now going into their fifth year in residence, rotating on 24-hour shifts, each sleeping on the old couch alongside the bed when they're "on duty."

Given the challenges -- and, to be sure, their patient's (in)famous temper -- their work has often been anything but easy. But day in and day out, they've tackled it head-on, heroically, with nothing but love and never a second thought; just as she once gave everything for them, see, now they're returning the gift, keeping her comfortable, happy and cared for with everything they've got... and so long as I live, I know I'll never see a greater act of love, nor any better witness to the precious worth and dignity of human life, than this.

She can only see in shadows these days, and her short-term memory's next to nil, but "My glasses are dirty" is the only problem she'll ever cop to... and still, she can -- and does -- call us each by name.

The blessings might seem past, but in reality, they just keep piling up: in the days to come, the orphan who lost both parents before she was three will hear her yet another newborn carried through the door... but this time, it'll be her first great-great grandchild.

As the old prayer was "May you see your children's children," living to hold your grandchildren's grandchildren pretty much defies words. And it's the sweetest underscore of all that, for a woman who raised her six girls to be strong, give all, love richly and live faithfully, the path of descent through five generations is daughter-to-daughter, straight down the line.

The way things are, we have to keep reminding her of this. She usually replies by getting real wide-eyed and saying, simply, "You kidding -- it should be in the paper!"

By no stretch is this "the paper"... but hopefully, it's close enough.

All her life, she's only ever invested in one thing... and all the work, all the sorrows, all the giving, all the love has won her quite the yield: seven kids, 26 grandkids, close to 40 great-grand and, now, an imminent great-great grandbaby. But even as she bears the final Cross of a journey full of 'em, and hands over the last, most difficult sacrifice -- the stubborn self-sufficiency which got her through all the rest -- one thing you'll never hear pass her lips is "Why me?"

In her self-admitted "broke English," all she'll ever say is this: "I did a little, and God do the rest... He been so good to me -- look what He give me."

That doesn't mean it's easy -- it just means it's all a gift, especially to us who're close by. And all I know is that I still need and rely on her more than I could ever express; that every day at her side is more a grace than the one before; that even in its rougher moments, life is what you want and make of it... and that no book or classroom can impart the lessons and values that come from being taught well at home -- in word, sure, but most of all in witness.

Over these years, I've never made a visit or a call without reminding Boss that she's being thought of and prayed for the world over.

For all her selfless qualities, see, deep down she's never lost her painful childhood's craving for love and attention... and these days, every time she hears that she's got it in spades and all around, it's like she's hearing it for the first time.

"How they know me?" she asks.

As ever, what matters isn't so much the "how" but the result: the simple, generous kindness of word and spirit that, in a word, is the best of this Church.

This is all a long way of saying a heartfelt "thanks" for the notes and prayers -- for the many who've been so good to ask, hopefully it answers the question... and to one and all, every blessing of rest, peace, good

Thanks to Rocco for a wonderful report.

Random Thoughts Edition

Hey Kiddos! Having survived some major BS going on, I now return to the opining that I love to do so much.

*Last word on Ted Kennedy. Joe Kline was on a radio program telling nice, heart warming stories about Ted. He was trying to give you a sense of his warmth and charm and how he used to make fun of himself, tell a joke at his expense. Ted use to ask people if they heard any good "Chappaquiddick" jokes lately and if they hadn't, he would tell one! Now there's a real peach of a guy! It's one thing to make jokes about yourself, but when they involve the death of someone because of YOUR recklessness, that is just plain sick. ANY kind thoughts I was having about old Teddy just went out the window.

*Have you heard about this clown Van Jones? He's one of BHO's czars, this one for "Green Jobs" (lots of luck with that) and a self described Communist. (Well now he's back down from those statements.) Any who, this chuckle-head was at a public Q&A when some throw back from the 60's asked him how come the democrats can't get their legislation through when they have the majority, like the Republican's can when they have the majority? His answer? "Because the Republicans are A**holes." What a piece of dog crap. We'll be talking more about this joker as the days go on.

*So, car dealers, how's that "Cash for Clunkers" working out for you? One dealer sold 287 cars and has been paid for four. Another dealer sold 87 and has been paid for three and one dealer told the story about submitting a claim and having it rejected because it "Did not meet the criteria." He resubmitted it and it was rejected again. So he resubmitted it six times before it was accepted. He did not change a word on the form either! Go figure. Now the recipient's of the $4500 are jumping ugly. No one told them the $4500 was taxable! Here's a classic. A dealer gives out the $4500 and doesn't get paid by the government and the person who got the car is taxed for the $4500! BHO doesn't pay a cent to the dealer and collects tax on $4500! What a country! AND YOU WANT THESE PEOPLE TO CONTROL YOUR HEALTH CARE?

*Charlie Rangle has been cheating on his taxes and hiding income, or so we are told. The Congressman who is chairman of the committee that writes the tax laws is himself a tax cheat. It's starting to look like the democrats are going to be forced kicking and screaming to do something about Charlie. Dollar to a donut says nothing will happen, until the elections of '10.

*There is just so much to talk about. A big rally is scheduled for September 12th in Washington DC. Hundreds of buses carrying thousand of protesters are going to fill the city, demanding their country back. What's the chance of that getting on the State Run Media?

*Charlie (see no evil unless it's Bush) Gibson is stepping down as anchor of ABC News. You lefties don't worry, he's being replaced by Diane (Damn don't I look good?) Sawyer, so you don't have to worry about real news being broadcast.

*Johnny Rivers doesn't get the recognition that he deserves as a musician. He belongs in ANY Hall of Fame. You'll put Bobby Womack in but not Johnny Rivers? Give me a break.

*Countin' down the days until the G-20 and the Maggot infested, long haired hippy freaks, dope smokin', FM types come with them to protest. They are all crying that the City of Pittsburgh won't let them wear mask while they protest and do whatever illegal acts they plan on doing. They say they have to have a protest area that is within sight and ear shot of the Convention Center. Here's my plan. The Convention Center is along the Allegheny River. What you do is have the protesters go through a metal detector and then load them onto a barge. Then you tow the barge out into the middle of the river and let them go nuts. No swimmin' in the river either, rent a motel room to take a bath! Don't pollute our rivers! Remember, "Give a hoot, don't pollute!"