NEVER, EVER FORGET

I NEVER will. I will never, ever forget.

  

I just watched it on the news. Other people had to live it. 

 

From around the internet:

 

Michael Cammarata, the youngest firefighter lost on 9/11. He had been on the job nine weeks. We need more fine men like him, not less. Imagine the life he was robbed of.

 

Drone show in NYC recreates the Twin Towers. 

 

A memorial from Fullerton, CA (Orange County). You can watch the video here.

 

I remember reading about this years ago, and it's just as devastating now as it was then: 9/11 Search and Rescue dogs became depressed over not finding survivors, so "fake" survivor discoveries were staged to keep their morale up.

 

Also on the subject of 9/11 search and rescue dogs, the legacy of Bretagne, the last surviving 9/11 search dog. She would later work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

 

Twice.

 

One of the bodies actually found:

 

 

This is a fantastic article about the famous "Falling Man" photograph and the photographer who took it.

 

Make yourself watch this video.

 

Various images snicked from the internets over the years:

 

 

 

In addition to American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, which were hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, American 77 was flown into the Pentagon and United 77 was heading for Washington DC when passengers fought back, resulting in the plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. 

 

 

Getty Images

Two members of the Los Angeles Kings scouting staff, Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis, were onboard Flight 175. The Kings mascot, Bailey, is named for Ace. This article about them was published on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

 

The Budweiser tribute commercial that only ran once because the company didn't want to be perceived as benefiting from the tragedy. It's probably been viewed millions of times on YouTube.

 

 

Updating (some more from today):

 

I don't think I've ever seen this one before: "They did it on purpose."  

 

Hell has prepared a special place for these non-humans:

 

Because 9/11 memorials are apparently hilarious to some people.

See the video here.

 

Never forget

Twenty-four years.

Pics snicked from around the nets. Let me know if I need to give credit where credit is due.

Ladies and gentleman, the leader of the free world. If by free world, you mean clown world.

No joke. This is the text of Joe Biden's remarks on the school shooting in Nashville. I transcribed it myself, but you can see it here via ABC News starting at the 6:45 mark. It was like watching the guy warming up an audience for the headliner. How someone could joke and laugh at a time like this is inexplicable to me. Just sickening.

Applause. Biden at podium, smiling.

 

BIDEN: My name is Joe Biden.

 

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

 

BIDEN: I'm Dr. Jill Biden's husband

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: And I eat Jeni's ice cream, chocolate chip.

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream.

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. 

AUDIENCE: Laughter

BIDEN (Grinning): You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Ben, how are you pal? One of the best guys in the United States Congress, Ben Cardin.

 

AUDIENCE: Whoops and applause.

BIDEN: Folks, uh, welcome to the White House. It's a delight to have you all here. And who are those cool looking kids back there? 

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: They're your kids, all four of 'em? Well stand up, guys.

KIDS STAND.

AUDIENCE: Applause.

 

BIDEN: Well, I want you to know, like you, I had two brothers, there were three in our family, three brothers, and one sister. My sister is smarter than all of us. 

 

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

 

BIDEN: Not a joke, she used to be three years younger than me, now she's twenty-three years younger than me.  

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: Yeah, she managed every one of my campaigns for office, even back when I was in high school. We went to the same university two years apart, she graduated with honors, I graduated.

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: And we had a simple rule in the family: listen to Val. 

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: My sister Valerie's incredible, so guys, be nice to your sister, your gonna need her. You're gonna need her, I promise. It's the same lineup. (POINTS) You're the oldest? Who's number two? (KID RAISES HAND) Number two? Who's number three? (KID RAISES HAND). You're twins, are you guys twins? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Okay, alright, this is how it was in our outfit. Well, I'm so glad to see you all, thanks for coming with mom, okay? Gotta take care of your mom. Dad's are much harder to raise, but you know...

AUDIENCE: Laughter.

BIDEN: Before I begin to speak, the reason I spent a little time with the kids, I just wanted to speak very briefly about the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee...

Yes, two minutes and twenty seconds into his Comedy Store audition, he finally wants to speak very briefly about the school shooting. What a leader. And no, I don't care what was already scheduled, if you're the president, you don't joke around when something terrible has happened. I just don't know how someone can yuck it up when they're about to discuss something so awful. I came down here because chocolate chip ice cream. Jesus Christ.

Also, notice they turned off comments on the Biden video? Guessing I wasn't the only person appalled and offended by the jokester approach to a national tragedy.

We deserve better.

Never forget

Many have, I never will.

 

I will also never forget how meaningful this was at the time. We needed a kind gesture like this and guess who gave it to us.

 

From the video description: 

In a break from traditional protocol, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain ordered the change to the daily ceremonial parade to show solidarity with the United States in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. Prince Andrew, representing his mother, was joined by the US ambassador to Britain, William Farish, for the 45-minute ceremony. 

As the band of the Coldstream Guards began the US national anthem hundreds in the crowd sang along while others wept, before observing a two-minute silence. 

An incredible moment for both nations.

 

Merry Christmas, America. Here's your lump of coal.

Gotta love The Babylon Bee.

Except that, basically, that's the official statement:

 

Get vaxxed, still get sick. And I think I'll do everything I can to stay healthy through the winter just to spite him. Shouldn't be hard - I still haven't gotten as much as a cold in the past 2+ years.

For the record, I take no joy in bringing this up

H/T to the Fame is a Bitch Podcast Obsessed Page on FB

I even checked the film's imdb entry for verification, and sure enough...

 

Here's hoping that Richard Fleisher (director), Stanley R. Greenberg (screenplay), and Harry Harrison (novel) weren't too prescient about 2022. 

Pretty creepy though...

 

Amazon Loot: An app for those who would prefer to loot in the privacy of their own home

The Babylon Bee strikes again: Amazon Looting App. Gotta love the Facebook comments.

 

 

Updated 11/24/21 4:35pm: More looting humor from The Babylon Bee.

 

Let the holiday shopping looting begin!

 

A somber and depressing anniversary

Given some recent events and the anti-American disposition of so many of our political betters, the 20th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11/01 is more depressing than usual. 

I just pulled these images from the internet, so let me know if any of them are yours and I'll give credit where credit is due. 

God bless our fallen soldiers

Like everyone else (with a soul) I've been riveted the past few days by the news of the tragic deaths of American troops in the explosion at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. 

One of the many things about this story that really got me is how young they all were. All but one were only in their twenties. The oldest of all of them was only thirty-one. One of the young men has a wife who is about to give birth. They were:

• U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31
• U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25
• U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23
• U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23
• U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22
• U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22
• U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20
• U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20
• U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20
• U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20
• U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20
• U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22
• U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23

We all spent about twenty-four hours looking at pictures of them and reading about what wonderful people they were. The pain from family members has been palpable. Now these young heroes have been brought home to their loved ones. And here, side by side, are two of the most enduring images from their arrival at Dover Air Force Base.

In one photo, someone who would rather be anywhere else.
In the other photo, someone who would rather be anywhere else.

If you feel like our country is drowning, you're not the only one. This also popped up on my social media yesterday:

I usually try to keep the blog reasonably upbeat, but these are somber days. In fact, I kept finding more and more unpleasant reports from Dover, but at some point I needed to get this posted, so that's it for now. Probably more to come, if I can stomach it.