In reference to 1987, a lecture the other day involved an old news video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning.

In the process of being drilled by a senator who asked:

“Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?”

Ollie replied, “Yes, I did, sir.”

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience.

“Isn’t that just a little excessive?”

“No, sir,” continued Ollie.

“No? And why not?” the senator asked.

“Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir.”

“Threatened? By whom?” the senator questioned.

“By a terrorist, sir” Ollie answered.

“Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?”

“His name is Osama bin Laden, sir” Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name but couldn’t pronounce it; most people back then couldn’t. A couple of people laughed at the attempt.

Then the senator continued: “Why are you so afraid of this man?” the senator asked.

“Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of,” Ollie answered.

“And what do you recommend we do about him?” asked the senator.

“Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth.”

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

That senator was Al Gore.

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Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986.

The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him.

As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called “political prisoners.”

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands.

President Bill Clinton and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, “insisted” that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center.

This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.

It was censored in the US from all later reports.

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Pass it on.

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BZ

I just returned from having viewed Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center.

I must admit some amount of trepidation considering Mr. Stone’s history and his remarks following the massive flop Alexander. Stone insulted his audience then by chalking those of us in the United States as, essentially, dung-eating beetles for failing to recognize the brilliance of casting Colin Farrell (with his horrible dye-job) as the overtly homosexual conquerer. Oliver Stone threatened (like the brilliant actor Alec Baldwin) to move to France due to America’s inherent homophobia. Huh.

Both persons are still, oddly, living in the United States (Johnny Depp did, in fact, move to France; he evidently means what he says).

World Trade Center is much different; instead of taking a wider perspective Stone narrows the range and enables us to greatly care and feel for his characters. Despite this I cannot help but wonder how this film would have been handled by other directors; at its conclusion I felt that Stone somehow — I don’t know — somehow held back. I freely admit to a bit of a bias against Stone considering his background and his past remarks.

The story delves into the rescue of two of the 20 persons pulled from the wreckage of the WTC, survivors number 18 and 19, New York Port Authority Police Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer Will Jimeno, portrayed by Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena respectively.

THE TRUE HERO:

In my opinion, however, the movie’s true star is a man showcased for a time and then forgotten, David Karnes. Who is David Karnes? I did not know, until I watched the film.

USMC Staff Sgt. David W. Karnes is one man who stood up and, by doing so, made the ultimate difference between life and death. One man, one person, can still make a difference in this country and so it was with this incredible Hero.

David Karnes, at 43, watched the fall of the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001, like most of us.

A former Marine and then an accountant in Connecticut, Karnes did this:

I stopped to get a high-and-tight haircut at the local barbershop, then traveled toward my home in Wilton to throw on a pair of starched cammies (camouflage fatigues)I had hanging in my closet. I then stopped at my storage unit on Long Island to grab some basic 782 and rappelling gear, and then started on what is normally a 45-minute drive toward the World Trade Center.

“I was traveling down the closed parkway in my car at a very aggressive speed,” Karnes explained. “Funny thing is that two weeks prior to the attack, I bought a used car— ironically, it was a Porsche 911 . The cops that had checkpoints all up that route waved me through because I had the top down on my car and they could see that I was a Marine with intentions to get to the site.”

Upon arriving at the site where the towers once stood, Karnes immediately noticed a group of fireman as well as a handful of military service members like himself. Karnes found a search-and-rescue buddy in another Marine on the scene whom he knows only as “Sgt. Thomas.”

“I asked Thomas and the others if anyone has been in the center of the collapse area where the two towers stood,” Karnes admitted. “He said no because the authorities won’t let anyone near that area, so I asked him if he would take a walk over there with me.”

The rest is now history.

Karnes, a civilian disguised as a military man, breached the various lines surrounding the towers and, with a legitimate military man of rank, managed to locate the area where both Port Authority officers had been buried under tons of precarious debris.

Both PA officers, following numerous surgeries, subsequently retired but lived to enjoy their families and their futures.

And Staff Sgt. David Karnes?

He re-enlisted and served two tours in Iraq.

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BZ

(I’m back tonight, and happy to be home!)

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Good: Your wife is pregnant.
Bad: It’s triplets.
Ugly: You had a vasectomy five years ago.

Good: Your wife’s not talking to you
Bad: She wants a divorce.
Ugly: She’s a lawyer.

Good : Your son is finally maturing.
Bad : He’s involved with the women next door.
Ugly : So are you.

Good : Your son studies a lot in his room.
Bad : You find several porn movies hidden there.
Ugly : You’re in them.

Good : Your hubby and you agree, no more kids.
Bad : You can’t find your birth control pills.
Ugly : Your daughter borrowed them.

Good : Your husband understands fashion.
Bad : He’s a cross-dresser.
Ugly : He looks better than you.

Good : You just gave “the birds and the bees” talk to your daughter.
Bad : She keeps interrupting.
Ugly : With corrections.

Good : Your son is dating someone new.
Bad : It’s another man.
Ugly : He’s your best friend.

Good : Your daughter got a new job.
Bad : As a hooker.
Ugly : Your co-workers are her best clients.
Way ugly : She makes more money than you do.

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BZ

Actually, I’ll probably be posting on Saturday night after my Southwest flight back into Sacratomato.

Thanks again for visiting, come back, and take every opportunity to tell those you love in your life precisely that!

BZ