Once again I find myself grateful for President Obama and the USA military.

They make an interesting team.  


Here we are on the cusp of the tenth remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001 on Lower Manhattan, a Pennsylvania field and Washington, DC.  Due to the successful mission into Pakistan to secure evidence about the activities of al Qaeda with the death of Osama bin Laden, we are finding reason to be cautious when we otherwise may not have been.


I can't thank President Obama enough and the perfectly executed mission into Pakistan to kill the world's most heinous terrorist and bring home information that is now alerting all the USA to protect lives.  What would we have done without this team of determined patriots to protect us all?


I realize New York's Finest has a remarkable record of successfully protecting their citizen's lives, but, there is an aspect to this that makes their measures all the more meaningful and appreciated.

...Police cruisers (click title to entry - thank you) took up positions on midtown blocks on Lexington, Park and Fifth avenues today as officers stopped trucks and other vehicles for inspection. Drivers were made to open the storage spaces of delivery trucks for police. In Brooklyn, U.S. marshals armed with machine guns guarded the federal courthouse and increased security was observed in front of the nearby city emergency management office.

"We have already had a full complement of people working shifts because of the Sept. 11 anniversary prior to this," said Jim Margolin, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office. "We are taking the logical investigative measures to assess this threat."...

With the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 nearly here a discovered group of heroes has been revealed.

A boat flotilla of 'the willing' emerged that saved lives and calmed the panic.

...At first, (click title to entry - thank you) the response by local vessels was completely spontaneous. Ferries, tug boats, fishing boats and other vessels pulled up, filled with tired, dust-covered survivors, and made for the nearest shore – often Brooklyn, just across the East River, New Jersey across the Hudson, or Staten Island on the other side of New York Harbor.

“They were just steaming out of the buildings and the first mode of transportation they saw was a ferryboat, that’s when they know, this is how I’m getting out of here,” said Rick Thornton, another New York Waterway captain. “They didn’t even care where the boat was going.”

The numbers involved threatened to overwhelm these efforts, however. “There wasn’t panic in New York, in the beginning – just volume,” said Capt. Slater, whose ferry made dozens of trips back and forth to New Jersey. “It wasn’t until the first building fell that there was panic.”...

Rarely do we get a chance to see the faces and stories behind those that work. An excellent multi-media expos'e by The New York Times. Thank you.

The Workers (click title to entry - thank you)

The World Trade Center site employs more than 3,200 workers. At present, it is the largest construction project in the United States. These portraits and audio narratives are a testament to their myriad skills and talents. From the ironworker who provides for her family to the contractor who lost his brother on Sept. 11, each of these workers has a unique story to tell, but they all share a common goal: rebuilding a piece of New York that was once lost.

There is massive flooding throughout the Northeast. The Susquehanna is the latest, but, not the only.

Thursday September 8, 2011 
Montgomery, PA
Photographer states:  Our area in Pennsylvania has been experiencing record rainfall and wicked flash flooding along the Susquehanna River on both the North and the West Branch. Our town had flooding from the West Branch and Black Hole Creek. This photo was taken earlier in the day when Black Hole Creek had flooded this road in town. The water on the right hand of the photo is on the river side. I was taken by the lone sneaker just sitting upright on the sidewalk, as it came to a rest.

I believe two have died so far with this episode of flooding due to the arrival of Lee.

WILKES-BARRE -- Pennsylvania's lawmakers (click title to entry - thank you)  in Washington are urging President Barack Obama to grant a request by Gov. Tom Corbett to declare parts of the state where flooding is taking place a federal disaster area.

In a joint letter to Obama released by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, along with 12 U.S. Representatives Thursday evening, they said that communities up and down the Susquehanna River and along its tributaries are taking as much as action as possible ahead of feared flooding that has already forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

They're asking Obama to move quickly on Corbett's request which was made earlier Thursday.

Between 5 and 9 inches of rain fell in some parts of the state a little more than a week after the remnants of Hurricane Irene doused the East Coast. The soaking sent numerous waterways over their banks, including one northern Pennsylvania creek that undermined a bridge abutment, causing a partial collapse.

Luzerne County officials called for a mandatory evacuation of all communities along the Susquehanna River that were flooded in the historic Agnes deluge of 1972 -- an order affecting up to 75,000 residents. Officials in Harrisburg said they evacuated 6,000 to 10,000 residents from low-lying areas.

Rose Simko, 44, lives about 150 feet from the levee in Wilkes-Barre. On Thursday she was packing up her car and heading to stay with family on higher ground. Though worried her house will be inundated, Simko knew she had to leave.

"Everything is replaceable," she said, "but my life is not."...

Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Oneonta, New York
Photographer states::  Flash Flooding has hit the Oneonta, NY area in a way not seen since 2006 according to residents. This is the road to the high school that has been over run by water since early in the afternoon. An early dismissal occurred just in time. Classes on the SUNY Oneonta campus were canceled for today and that was before over an inch of rain fell overnight last night. And more in on the way

Binghamton flood at historic levels, devastates region (click here for video) 
4:50 AM, Sep. 9, 2011

BINGHAMTON — More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from the Binghamton area because of rising floodwaters, some of them in dramatic roof-top rescues.

State and Broome County officials stressed Thursday that the flooding was of "historical proportions" and residents in the floodwaters' path needed to get out immediately.

Scenes of devastation were occurring up and down the Susquehanna River watershed, where remnants of Tropical Storm Lee poured water on top of communities already soaked by the remnants of Irene. Hundreds of roads were closed and a total of more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate, most of them in the Binghamton area of New York and the Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania....

The video is all telling. 

September 8, 2011
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
Photographer states:  Fetters Mill 9-8-11 morning

Murdoch's Media Service is nothing but spin meisters. That was very evident after President Obama's Speech.

The "No Spin Zone" was nothing but spin as O'Reilly targeted Warren Buffet as an example of increasing "The Capital Gains" tax.  He went on to insult Mr. Buffet as an old man that compares apples to oranges.  O'Reilly explained to his viewership that Mr. Buffet made a fatal error in comparing his Capital Gains Tax to his secretary's Income Tax.  The beautiful part came in when Mr. O'Reilly called in his guests to speak and no one agreed with him.  The female commentator stated President Obama said nothing about Capital Gains and then the two male commentators stated that Capital Gains is a Tax and for the very wealthy it made no difference if they paid more as a percentage of their income.  O'Reilly then defended himself by saying everyone was picking on him that evening.  


Sure, Bill, whatever you say.  


LIAR!


Then Hannity took President Obama's statement about how the economic crisis was not a reason for destroying all the guarantees Americans have received from their government in the past and turned into a rant about "Stimulus" and "Cash for Clunkers."  Huh?  Either Hannity is the most stupid man in the world, which he might be, or he is grasping for straws.  What President Obama stated was that the REGULATORY of the federal government will not allow for degradation of the safety to citizens it has always enjoyed in the name of economic stimulus.  


I would think not.  You know yesterday I was out in the bright sunlight walking across a paved parking lot and I took a deep breath, with my mouth closed, just to see what quality of air it was and the back of my throat started to burn.  That is in North Carolina.  That is not good.  The air quality is lousy especially in areas called strip malls where there are no trees for a mile or more and there are no winds and air is stagnant.


Following his rant, Hannity brought on the "Tea-Partied" Eric Cantor and they started their imagineering together.


The fact of the matter is the Republican Party where Former Governor Jon Huntsman fits in is gone.  The USA Brain Trust does not exist in their world anymore.  It is left up to the latest ideological rant based in lies and language to destroy the country.  Murdoch's media empire is based in 'Gutter Ideology' and he has made billions because of it.  He began it to remove the 'royalty' out of society to facilitate and empower the 
commoner.  It has outlived its 'best interest' for democracies.  


President Obama gave a brilliant speech yesterday.  He did it while accommodating the Republican Debate on Wednesday and the beginning of the football season.  He completely compromised the activities of one man in the most powerful seat of government in the world because he wanted to reach out to the people.  He didn't want conflict, he wanted cooperation and in the end it was he that cooperated the most.  The USA does not need to remove the luster from its royalty.  Quite the contrary, the USA needs to have faith in a man determined to speak to them.


The FCC needs to do its job here and bring the Murdoch media service in line with the rest of the network coverage which sought to put together a comprehensive picture of the provisions of the President's speech without attempting to hate the words he spoke.