Today we remember the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. It’s been seven years already, and yet the ringleader of the terrorists behind these attacks still roams free. The war in Iraq still trudges forward and the hunt for Osama bin Laden is still out of the spotlight.
Hopefully whoever the next president is, be it Barack Obama, John McCain, or even a third party candidate, they will help protect this country from any further attacks and step up the hunt to bring bin Laden to justice.
It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since that day… if you had a child the day of the attacks, they’d be entering second grade this year. It’s amazing how time flies and how old wounds tend to take longer to heal. In related news, they’ve finally finished the design for the WTC Memorial entrance… I really hope that the buildings are started (and completed) sometime soon.
So, as is custom, where was I, the morning of September 11th, 2001? I was in bed and had been woken up by Jessica when it first came on the news. I then spent the rest of the day trying to call relatives who live within a few miles of the towers. Luckily none were injured
Where were you?
Lately, with all the constant talk of controversies with the current crop of White House hopefulls, I was thinking… why do we, as Americans, stand for this kind of garbage? “Obama is a secret Muslim,” “Sarah Palin didn’t have her last child,” and so on. This type of thing is just crazy. Is Obama running for “President of the Christians”? Is Palin trying to achieve the post of “VP of Five Children”? No? Then what does any of it matter?
These types of stories are usually seen in the gossip mags at the supermarket checkout line, not spouted out over CNN. People act like these are the big stories. “Didja hear? Sarah Palin’s husband had a DWI back in 1984!” So? What are her feelings on the conflict in South Ossetia? “The news just said that Obama’s house cost $1.65 million!” Okay… did the news say what his plan is to help fix our runaway national debt?
Why is it that it seems most of us Americans don’t choose the leader of our country based upon their track record or what they stand for, but rather, by their feelings? If your company allowed you to “vote” on your next company president, would you be asking hard hitting questions like “has he/she ever cheated on their spouse” or would you ask things like “would they clamp down on useless company spending?” It’s amazing to me that the key issues seem to play little role in politics, and whenever they come up, people usually accept answers that usually make little sense (example: “I plan to cut taxes and at the same time I’m going to start all these new projects!”).
I know this isn’t a long (or in depth) post, just something I’m a little fed up with. When I’m online or around the office, I didn’t hear discussions about Obama not wanting to fund NASA or McCain seeking to add Amendments to the Constitution. No, I hear about Obama not wearing a lapel pin, or that it was rumored that McCain had an affair with a lobbyist. It’s just ridiculous to me that these are the “issues” that the average person cares about.
You know, both parties and almost all candidates this year preached that they’re bringing some kind of change, but to be honest, I don’t see it anywhere.
These are my daily “Good to Know” links for 04/16/08 … please enjoy:
11 - the beautiful game | 11 the Game
Many new football stadiums have a strong architectural and sculptural beauty, becoming city landmarks in their own right and enhancing the landscape of the environment. We wanted the design of our football table to be equally spectacular and memorable.
Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone | Lifehacker
Let's say you would like to use it make a phone call every now and then with your iPod Touch. You can, and he is how you can make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP.
Coral flourishing at Bikini Atoll atomic test site | Yahoo! News
Coral is again flourishing in the crater left by the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated by the United States, 54 years after the blast on Bikini Atoll, marine scientists said on Tuesday.
Programmer pops question on girlfriend's video game | chicagotribune.com
Hiding a ring in a bouquet just wasn't enough when a computer programmer decided to pop the question. Bernie Peng reprogrammed Tammy Li's favorite video game, "Bejeweled," so a ring and a marriage proposal would show up when she reached a certain score.
David Weiner: McCain "Family Recipes" Lifted from the Food Network | The Huffington Post
On a section of McCain's site called "Cindy's Recipes," you can find recipes attributed to Cindy McCain, each with the title "McCain Family Recipe." It was realized that some of these "Family Recipes," were in fact, exact copies of Food Network recipies.
Come back for more links tomorrow!!
I haven’t had a decent political post on here for a little while, so I thought I’d check out the news and see what we have cooking! Let’s start with Pennsylvania’s upcoming Primary. While everyone assumes Clinton will win, suddenly there were tons of “Obama can win it!!” articles and polls showing him either tied or in the lead. Weird how those polls work, as the polls released today show Clinton in the lead between 5 and 18 points. Did something change… or did all that hope make it seem like he was gonna win? There are still 13 days left before the Primary, will anything change by then? I guess the question is, is there anything in the news that could hurt him? Well, just from the past week this is what I found:
We Need More White People | ABC News
At a Michelle Obama event, reporters from the Carnegie-Mellon University student newspaper “observed one event coordinator say to another, ‘Get me more white people, we need more white people.’ To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, ‘We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.’
“‘I didn’t know they would say, “We need a white person here,”‘ said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. ‘I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.’”
Yes, nothing says “diversity” like a call for “I need a white person”. Moving on… Read the rest of this entry →
These are my daily “Good to Know” links for 04/02/08 … please enjoy:
Fla. Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIV | Orlando News Story
A recent survey that found some Florida teens believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy has prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state. State lawmakers said the myths ar
McCain to Kid: "You Little Jerk; You're Drafted!" | YouTube
I might not agree with his politics, but that's all class.
If You Text in Class, This Prof Will Leave | Inside Higher Ed
Some professors threaten to confiscate students? cell phones if they go off during class. Laurence Thomas has his own approach to classroom distractions. If the philosopher at Syracuse University catches a student sending text messages or reading a news
Don Hewitt: "60 Minutes" legend | SeattlePi
Through questioning by moderator Steve Raible of KIRO/7 Eyewitness News, we found out that he told Dan Rather to "sock him [Abraham Zapruder] in the mouth," "grab his film" recording the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, make a copy, apologize t
Tooth Regeneration May Replace Drill-and-Fill | Wired
The next time your children get cavities, they might get tooth regeneration instead of fillings. That's because materials scientists are beginning to find just the right solutions of chemicals to rebuild decayed teeth, rather than merely patching their h
Memo: Laws Didn't Apply to Interrogators | washingtonpost.com
The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate auth
Come back for more links tomorrow!!
