Archive for the ‘9/11’ Category

Speaking to a crowd of voters at a candidate forum in Plymouth last night, Congressional candidate Luke Puckett substituted a brief address remembering the events of 9/11/01 for his normal stump speech. The text of his remarks can be found below.

“Good evening, my name is Luke Puckett and I am running for Congress. I am a husband, father of three, and small business owner and employer from Elkhart. I am running for Congress because I believe that it’s time for some common sense solutions in Washington. From the slowing economy to high energy prices, Washington has failed to put in place policies that will help the hardworking people of Indiana.

“Tonight, I want to deviate a little from my normal campaign speech. Instead of talking about Washington’s lack of leadership and lack of response to our problems, I want to talk about a day in which we saw leadership and in which we saw a courageous response to pressing needs.

“Since the fall of the Soviet Union we pondered how we would meet the global challenges of the new era. We were lulled into a false sense of security and we wondered if we would ever again face monumental threats to our existence and our ideas. But liberty has always had its foes and history handed us our moment to stand on a late summer day 7 years ago.

“On September 11th, 2001 when we saw hate in action in the form of a terrible attack that ranged from the World Trade Center in New York City to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. to a cornfield in Pennsylvania. Those who perpetrated this evil act were motivated by a venomous ideology of bondage and totalitarianism. Their motives were evil and their actions were cowardly.

(Read more below the fold) (more…)

I had arrived at work a little later than normal this particular morning taking the Red Line in from Silver Springs, Maryland. I had just started my job as the Deputy Chief Clerk for the congressional Government Reform Committee, chaired by Congressman Dan Burton, not even two weeks earlier. This was my first real job after college and it took me away from my home state and comfort zone of Indiana. Little did I know that leaving home to work in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, a place I had wanted to work my entire life, would invite me into a world that changed forever that fateful morning.

It was 9:17 by the time I had sat down at my desk in the Rayburn House Office Building. The TV was on, which I found odd. My co-worker and office mate Bob Briggs hadn’t yet arrived so I wondered who had turned it on. I turned to see on the TV a building that had a large black hole in it. The TV was turned to Fox News and it had the letters “WTC” underneath the picture. I know this sounds a little dumb, but never having been to New York and not really giving it much thought I had no clue those letters meant the World Trade Center. Not really getting what was occurring, I started my computer when I heard the replay of the second plane hitting the second Trade Center tower. I was stunned. The press office was next door to my office and that is when I first heard the accusations that Arab terrorists were behind this. There was mass confusion. People were running outside the hallways saying that we needed to get out, but no one really had any answers as to why. We just needed to leave. But if we weren’t yet convinced we needed to evacuate the building, we were about to be.

Just after 9:45, I went out to the front of the office where the TV, set to CNN, had just cut to an image of the Pentagon after it was hit. Then reports started coming in that another plane was heading towards the Capitol Building. Mass evacuations all around DC were in full order. I tried to call home from an office phone, but either the lines were jam packed or dead. I hadn’t yet purchased a cell phone so I had no way of contacting my parents. Hearing that the Blue Line that ran through Pentagon had shut down, I hoped to make it back to the Red Line before the entire Metro shut down.

(Read more below the fold) (more…)

President Franklin Roosevelt once declared December 7th as “a day that will live in infamy” after the Japanese attack against the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor. Even FDR couldn’t imagine what happened almost 60 years later on September 11th, 2001 in New York, Washington DC, and in a rural Pennsylvania field.

In the category of “What were you doing when….”, my grandparents talked about what they were doing when the announcement was made on the radio (remember, no TV back then) that Pearl Harbor was attacked. Grandmother was up and about cleaning the house and my Grandfather was asleep after working nights at Pullman Standard in Hammond. Grandmother woke him up to tell him Pearl Harbor was attacked. He knew he was going to get called back to the Army soon.

My mom tells me on November 22, 1963 she was in school and the principal came over the loudspeaker announcing the death of President John Kennedy and school was immediately dismissed. School was not open until after the funeral.

On September 11th, 2001 I was at work for an internet provider and trying to figure out why the internet was so slow, and nobody could get to news sites (CNN, Fox News, Drudge, etc.) I had no idea what had happened until a co-worker told me to set up the TV and turn on the news. Watching Matt Lauer describe what was happening as it happened - Towers collapsing, the Pentagon, United Flight 93. That day nothing happened. Phones didn’t ring. People didn’t come into the office. Everyone was just captivated by what occurred. Then the unusual happened - a customer came in and said there was a rumor going around town that gas stations were running out of gas. Having a pretty good idea who was responsible for the attacks, people panicked and soon gas lines of up to one mile long formed at every gas station in town. One gas station raised its price to $4.00 per gallon, when a few hours before the price of gas was about $1.40 to $1.50. All but one station ran out, and people were following tanker trucks. It was literally a scene out of “Mad Max”.

UPDATE: This bill is now assigned a number

H.RES.1258
Title: Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.

UPDATE 2: The House voted 251-166 today to send this to the Judiciary Commitee. Republicans that broke ranks are after the leap.

Just when I thought this Congress has reached it’s lowest point. Now Dennis K00kcinich has introduced a 35 count resolution calling for the impeachment of …. wait for it … President Bush!

The K00k read his Moonbat Manifesto into the record Monday night, and it took almost 5 hours to read it all.

Doesn’t Congress and The K00k have anything better to do than to introduce and hold hearings and vote on such nonsense?

(More After the Leap) (more…)

I’m not sure who to credit, but I had this saved in my archives:

For a long time, I subscribed to CNN’s breaking news email alerts (at least I did until they started considering Paris Hilton breaking news but not things that were happening in Washington or on Wall Street, so I unsubscribed).

Six years ago today, I got a great many breaking news emails.

I have them saved, and rereading them is a chilling and haunting account of that day.

I have every email saved from September 11 to the fall of Kabul, but I will repost the September 11 ones and those for the immediately following days.

I repost them today, because I think that we should all read and remember. It is too easy to forget and too simple to exploit.

Think back to that day.

Remember what you were doing.

What you saw.

What you felt.

What you thought in those chaotic early hours when nothing was clear and everything was surreal and the fog of war obscured for the first time in almost two centuries three locations on American soil.

The emails are after the leap.
(more…)

During the MRLC we had the great opportunity to interview former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.  We talked to him about a lot of subjects, but one portion of the interview that sticks out is his recounting of his experience with President Bush on 9/11.  Make sure to check it out…and turn it up (we promise, next time we’ll have a mic to mic people)

(Caution - This video is graphic at times, but so moving. It brings back all of my most vivid memories of that day.)

“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.”

–President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001

The Directors of Hoosier Access like to take the opportunity to use this post as an open thread for you, our readers, to share your 9/11 experience. Some of you may have been in New York, some in DC, and some of you may have been right here in Indiana worrying about a loved one or the people you saw on the TV screen that day.

On September 11, 2001, we were attacked, by those who hate us, hate our freedom and most of all, hate our religion. It is my prayer that we as a nation can rise up for the freedoms our ancestors payed with their own lives to brings us. I hope the video above reminds you of what really happened on 9/11 because you may never see that footage on the news again.

I had arrived at work a little later than normal this particular morning taking the Red Line in from Silver Springs, Maryland. I had just started my job as the Deputy Chief Clerk for the congressional Government Reform Committee, chaired by Congressman Dan Burton, not even two weeks earlier. This was my first real job after college and it took me away from my home state and comfort zone of Indiana. Little did I know that leaving home to work in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, a place I had wanted to work my entire life, would invite me into a world that changed forever that fateful morning.

It was 9:17 by the time I had sat down at my desk in the Rayburn House Office Building. The TV was on, which I found odd. My co-worker and office mate Bob Briggs hadn’t yet arrived so I wondered who had turned it on. I turned to see on the TV a building that had a large black whole in it. The TV was turned to Fox News and it had the letters “WTC” underneath the picture. I know this sounds a little dumb, but never having been to New York and not really giving it much thought I had no clue those letters meant the World Trade Center. Not really getting what was occurring, I started my computer when I heard the replay of the second plane hitting the second Trade Center tower. I was stunned. The press office was next door to my office and that is when I first the accusations that Arab terrorists were behind this. There was mass confusion. People were running outside the hallways saying that we needed to get out, but no one really had any answers as to why. We just needed to leave. But if we weren’t yet convinced we needed to evacuate the building, we were about to be.

Just after 9:45, I went out to the front of the office where the TV, set to CNN, had just cut to an image of the Pentagon after it was hit. Then reports started coming in that another plane was heading towards the Capitol Building. Mass evacuations all around DC were in full order. I tried to call home from an office phone, but either the lines were jam packed or dead. I hadn’t yet purchased a cell phone so I had no way of contacting my parents. Hearing that the Blue Line that ran through Pentagon had shut down, I hoped to make it back to the Red Line before the entire Metro shut down.
(Read more of my 9/11 experience below the fold) (more…)

Psalm 23 (King James Version)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Just think, six years ago this was a day like any other. What were you doing the day before our world was changed forever?

Update: Check out Curt Smith’s (Indiana Family Institute) “The Long War” over at Veritas Rex.  It’s a good reminder of what we are facing with terrorism now and into the future and what we’ve been protected from so far.