You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001. Neither will I.
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say "Good-Bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go."
I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.
I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!" I said. "Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now."
I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.
I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.
I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?
I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; "Come to Me... this way... take my hand." Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?
September 11, 2001 was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are "ready to go."
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God
OUR FATHER
During the next 60 seconds, stop whatever you are doing, and take this opportunity. (Literally it is only 1 minute.) All you have to do is the following:
You simply say an "Our Father" for the person that sent you this message:
Our Father who are in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy Kingdom Come,
Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever Amen.
Next, stop and think and appreciate God's power in your life, for doing what you know is pleasing to him. If you are not ashamed to do this, follow the instructions.
Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before My Father"
"Yes, I love my God. He is my fountain of Life and My Savior. He Keeps me going day and night. Without Him, I am no one. But with Him, I can do everything. Christ is my strength."
May He be with you in all the stairwells of you life.
Bush and Osama decided to settle the war once and for all. They sat down and decided to settle the whole dispute with one dog fight. They would have five years to breed the best fighting dog in the world and whichever side's dog won would be entitled to dominate the world.
Osama found the biggest, meanest Doberman and Rottweiler female dogs in the world and bred them with the biggest, meanest Siberian wolves. They selected only the biggest and strongest puppy from each litter, removed his siblings, which gave him all the milk.
After five years they came up with the biggest meanest dog the world had ever seen. Its cage needed steel bars that were five inches thick and nobody could get near it.
When the day came for the dog fight, Bush showed up with a strange looking animal. It was a nine foot long Dachshund. Everyone felt sorry for Bush because they knew there was no way that this dog could possibly last 10 seconds with the Afghanistani dog.
When the cages were opened up, the Dachshund came out of its cage and slowly waddled over towards Osama's dog. Osama's dog snarled and leaped out of its cage and charged the American Dachshund--but when it got close enough to bite the Dachshund's neck, the Dachshund opened its mouth and consumed Osama's dog in one bite. There was nothing left at all of his dog.
Osama came up to Bush shaking his head in disbelief. "We don't understand how this could have happened. We had our best people working for five years with the meanest Doberman and Rottweiler female dogs in the world and the biggest, meanest Siberian wolves."
"That's nothing", said Bush. "We had our best plastic surgeons working for five years to make that alligator look like a weenie dog."
GOD BLESS AMERICA
1. Last Christmas we were thinking about all the things we didn't have; this Christmas we are thinking about all the things we do have.
2. Last Christmas we were placing wreaths on the doors of our homes; this Christmas we are placing wreaths on the graves of our heroes.
3. Last Christmas we were letting our sons play with toy guns; this Christmas we are teaching them that guns are not toys.
4. Last Christmas we were counting our money; this Christmas we are counting our blessings.
5. Last Christmas we were lighting candles to decorate; this Christmas we are lighting candles to commemorate.
6. Last Christmas we paid lip service to the real meaning of the holidays; this Christmas we are paying homage to it.
7. Last Christmas we were digging deep into our bank accounts to find money to fly home for the holidays; this Christmas we are digging deep into our souls to find the courage to do so.
8. Last Christmas we were trying not to let annoying relatives get the best of us; this Christmas we are trying to give the best of ourselves to them.
9. Last Christmas we thought it was enough to celebrate the holidays; this Christmas we know we must also find ways to consecrate them.
10. Last Christmas we thought a man who could rush down a football field was a hero; this Christmas we know a man who rushes into a burning building is the real one.
11. Last Christmas we were thinking about the madness of the holidays; this Christmas we are thinking about the meaning of them.
12. Last Christmas we were getting on one another's nerves; this Christmas we are getting on our knees.
13. Last Christmas we giving thanks for gifts from stores; this Christmas we are giving thanks for gifts from GOD.
14. Last Christmas we were wondering how to give our children all the things that money can buy; this Christmas we are wondering how to give them all the things money can't (peace, security).
15. Last Christmas we were thinking about all the pressure we are under at the office; this Christmas we are thinking about all the people who no longer have an office to go to.
16. Last Christmas we were singing carols; this Christmas we are singing anthems.
17. Last Christmas we were thinking how good it would feel to be affluent; this Christmas we are thinking how good it feels to be alive.
18. Last Christmas we thought angels were in heaven; this Christmas we know they are right here on earth.
19. Last Christmas we were contemplating all the changes we wanted to make in the new year; this Christmas we are contemplating all the changes we will have to make in this new reality.
20. Last Christmas we believed in the power of the pocketbook; this Christmas we believe in the power of prayer.
21. Last Christmas we were sharing / spreading / listening to gossip; this Christmas we are sharing / spreading and listening to the Gospel.
22. Last Christmas we were complaining about how much of our earnings went to taxes; this Christmas we comprehend that freedom isn't free.
23. Last Christmas we valued things that were costly; this Christmas we value things that are holy.
24. Last Christmas the people we idolized wore sports uniforms; this Christmas the people we idolize wear police, firefighter, and military uniforms.
25. Last Christmas peace on earth is something we prayed for on Sunday morning; now it's something we pray for every day
"I bring you good tidings of great joy . . . and on earth peace, good will toward men."
The words from Luke seem strange this year. For Americans, it was a year in which more than 3,000 innocent human beings were slaughtered by other human beings. And yet the human spirit cannot be reduced to this single act of cruelty, or any other that has been committed over the ages. The yearning for peace and good will keeps manifesting itself, at unexpected times and places and in unexpected circumstances.
Just six weeks ago, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed, missing by two houses my brother-in-law's home in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Rockaway in New York City. The plane was carrying 260 people headed to the Dominican Republic. All perished, as did five in a neighborhood I've come to love. I wrote a column that day about a place where so many neighbors had already suffered and died in the attack on the World Trade Center.
It was all very grim, and then something remarkable happened. From around the country, people responded to the suffering of other people. They wanted to help, to express their solidarity, to stand with those who were hurt for absolutely no good reason.
"I have been wondering if any of these families struck by Sept. 11 or yesterday's disaster could use a nanny for a couple of weeks in December," wrote Cameo Garrett, 27, of Portland, Ore. "I don't have much money, and cannot afford airfare, but I would like to drive to New York and volunteer my time" to "any family that has been a victim in the recent tragedies." I passed her offer on to people in New York.
From my hometown of Fall River, Mass., came a note from Matt Kuss. He wanted to raise scholarship money for the child of a firefighter killed in the Sept. 11 disaster. I took this offer to one of my brothers-in-law, Kevin Boyle, who lives in Rockaway. Kevin, in turn, took it to his firefighter friends.
And then an equally remarkable thing happened. The firefighters, he reported, said that the children of people in the uniformed services who had perished on Sept. 11 were being taken care of. Better, they insisted, that the scholarship money go to others who had died in the attacks, and were not so well provided for. Thus was one act of generosity reciprocated by another.
When I asked Kuss if I could mention his name and what title I should use for the work he did -- he is director of the school/business partnership program in the Fall River public schools -- he said he didn't mind being mentioned, but that this wasn't his purpose.
"Those with titles are our fallen brothers and sisters," Kuss wrote me back in an e-mail. "Policemen, firemen, civilians, pilots, preachers, they all share the same title in my heart, heroes. Whatever I can do to preserve their memories and the memories of their loved ones will be title enough for me."
And then there was Joan McGraw from Lake Wylie, S.C. One day the mail brought a letter from her and a check for $1,000 made out to St. Francis de Sales Church in Belle Harbor. It's a great church in Rockaway whose pastor, Monsignor Martin Geraghty, I had quoted in the column about his neighborhood.
"I am enclosing a check for you to please forward to Monsignor Geraghty," McGraw wrote. "We would like him to see that it is used for a family in his parish in need because of these tragedies." Monsignor Geraghty has told parishioners he has received spontaneous offerings of this sort from all over the country.
In the wake of Sept. 11, much ink has been spilled about the new spirit of community and solidarity in our nation. Many who read newspapers and watch television are understandably skeptical of grand theories offered by columnists, commentators and other assorted bloviators.
But to see the changes that have taken place in our country since Sept. 11 is not to offer a grand theory. To say that Americans have been touched, moved and thus transformed by the events of the past three months is only to assert what almost all of us have experienced. Many American families are suffering this Christmas because of their losses. May they feel at least a bit of comfort from the fact that so many other Americans -- including Cameo Garrett, Matt Kuss and Joan McGraw -- experience their loss, too, and wish them peace in a spirit of good will.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
http://www.wcol.com/harmon/silentnight.html Warning - this one takes a while to load.
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/product/film_info/0,3699,2415420,00.html
We've been advised that terrorists may attempt to pass themselves off as ordinary American citizens and may even attempt to change their hair color, wardrobe or appearance in order to "blend in". You are advised to notify your local authorities of any suspicious individuals who may match the following examples.
The Muslim Fundamentalists say "America is to blame!" The Arab States say "Israel is to blame!" The Pakistanis say "New Dehli is to blame!" In other words, what they fear is "American Kosher Dehli!" (Oy Vey)
A crazy man tried to blow up a plane with explosives in his shoes last weekend. The guy was a "SHOE-acide bomber" Don't those usually come in PAIRS? (Jay Leno)
A large group of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand-dune.
"One Texas soldier is better than ten taliban".
The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune whereupon a gun-battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence.
The voice then calls out "One Texan is better than one hundred taliban".
Furious, the taliban commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.
The Texan voice calls out again "One Texan is better than one thousand taliban".
The enraged Taliban Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannon, rocket and machine gun fire ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence. Eventually one wounded taliban fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander, "Don't send any more men, its a trap. There's actually two of them."
The governor has announced that he has made a disturbing discovery in the state of Georgia. Apparently, a small number of terrorists became romantically involved with the locals. The result was not pretty and we now have the sad task of reporting a new sector of the human race: ISLAMABUBBAS.
So far, only a smattering of actual births has been reported, and we are hard at work trying to isolate and seal them off. To date, we have identified the following:
Mohammed Billy Bob Abba Bubba
Mohammed Jethro Bin Thinkin Bout It
Mohammed Forrest Gumpa Bubba
Mohammed Rubba Dub Dubba Bubba
Bobbie Joe Bubba Charlene Atat
Linda Sue Bin There Dunthat
Not surprisingly, they all seem to have sprung from one couple: Mohammed Who's-Ya-Daddy and Yo Mama Bin Lovin
We'll keep ! you posted.
CHICAGO (UPI--Uncontrolled Punning Illness) - The war on terrorism took a strange and sad turn Friday as airline officials at O'Hare International Airport refused to let a 73- year-old grandmother board her plane because she had in her possession two, six-inch knitting needles.
Apparently authorities were worried that she might knit an Afghan.
Political dissent can bring federal
agents to door
By Kris Axtman
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
It was 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 7 when the two men showed up.
Donna Huanca was alone, getting ready to open Houston's Art Car Museum. "They looked like robots," she says.
She told the men, dressed in dark suits and carrying leather portfolios, that they would have to wait until the doors opened at 11. That was when they flipped out their badges: They were federal agents investigating reports of "anti-American activity" at the tiny art gallery.
To FBI special agent Terrence Donahue and Steven Smith of the Secret Service, it was a routine mission to check out one of the more than 435,000 tips they have received since Sept. 11.
To Ms. Huanca, whose gallery was opening "Secret Wars," an exhibit on US covert operations and government secrets, it was something else. "What's anti-American about freedom of speech?" the docent blurted out.
The incident, which ended after an hour of questioning, represents more than just a disturbing day for one museum staffer. Across the US, growing numbers of Americans are facing similar interrogations - apparently, they say, because they have criticized the government, President Bush, or the war on terrorism.
Not everyone is bothered by the inquiries. Indeed, by responding to a torrent of tips federal agents are doing exactly what many Americans want them to do.
But as the nation mounts a zealous campaign against domestic terror, some observers say federal agencies are walking a delicate line between checking out leads and trampling on free speech.
"If the FBI is investigating art exhibits at museums, then the line has been crossed," says First Amendment scholar David Cole at Georgetown University in Washington. "The FBI should investigate any credible leads where federal criminal activity may be undertaken. But it should avoid investigating any political conduct."
The rise in doorstep inquiries reflects, in part, a new law-enforcement reality. Suddenly, it may seem hard to know who might be the next to steer a plane into a building. It also reflects raw math. There are simply many more tips to check.
"Remarks made toward the president in an antagonistic way are checked out by the Secret Service. That's always been the case," says Jill Spillman, an FBI agent detailed to the Justice Department. "The FBI checks out [possible] domestic terrorism." She says the people visited are under no obligation to answer questions and are not necessarily viewed as suspects.
But Attorney General John Ashcroft's post-September policy is that each tip be looked into. While not every tip leads to a face-to-face visit, surprise encounters with federal agents are leaving some Americans feeling their privacy has been violated - and that their speech has made them targets of official scrutiny.
For example, A.J. Brown, a student at Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina, faced 40 minutes of grilling by two Secret Service agents and a Raleigh police officer in her doorway (she wouldn't let them come in, and they had no search warrant). By her account, they said they were investigating a tip that she had "un-American material" in her apartment. From the doorway, they took particular note of a poster of George W. Bush holding a noose. It read: "We hang on your every word," referring to his unflinching support of the death penalty as governor of Texas.
Then there's San Franciscan Barry Reingold, who was awakened from his afternoon nap by a buzzing intercom on Oct. 23. He called down to the street to find out who it was. "The FBI," was the response. He buzzed the two men up, but decided to meet them in the hall. "I was a little bit shaken up," says Mr. Reingold. "I mean, why would the FBI be interested in me, a 60-year-old retired phone company worker?"
When they asked if he worked out at a certain gym, he realized the reason behind the visit. The gym is where he lifts weights - and expounds on his political views.
Since Sept. 11, the sessions have been heated. Once, he recalls, "discussion turned to [Osama] bin Laden and what a horrible murderer he was. I said, 'Yeah, he's horrible and did a horrible thing, but Bush has nothing to be proud of. He is a servant of the big oil companies, and his only interest in the Middle East is oil.' "
Some fellow weightlifters called Reingold a disloyal American. One, apparently, called the government.
So it was that two agents were standing in his hall. "They said, 'You know you are entitled to freedom of speech.' And I said, 'Thank you. That ends our conversation.' " When Reingold closed his door, he heard one of the agents say: "But we still need to do a report."
As the overheard comment suggests, the FBI and Secret Service view many of these checkups as a routine, almost innocuous, part of their job.
Still, the task has taken on fresh relevance after the terrorist attacks.
"Just because we [talked] to ABC Flight School doesn't mean they did something wrong," says Robert Doguim of the Houston FBI. "But how irresponsible of us would it be if we didn't talk to someone?"
He says the Art Car Museum and its exhibit (which had been planned months before Sept. 11) were deemed "not dangerous" after the agents' visit.
But to Huanca, the face-off seemed unnecessary and intimidating. She says the G-men puzzled over each art installation, sneering and saying things like, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Drawing conclusions from cases like this is tricky, since the reality could involve more, or less, than either side tells the media. But Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, finds the anecdotal evidence deeply troubling.
"All of this speaks to the new McCarthyism, where political dissent is being equaled to treason," Mr. Steinhardt says. "It's a very frightening trend: that people are doing nothing more than expressing the very freedoms that we are fighting to preserve - and find themselves with the FBI at their door."
Copyright © 2002 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
Almost 150 yrs ago, President Lincoln found it necessary to hire a private investigator - Mr. Alan Pinkerton. The function that Pinkerton established actually was the beginning of the Secret Service. Since that time federal police authority has grown to a large number of three-letter agencies - FBI, CIA, INS, IRS, DEA. Now comes a proposal for another agency: The "Airport Security Service."
Can't you see it now, the new service in their black outfits with their initials in large white letters across their backs?
NEWS FLASH!!
BULLETIN!
LATE BREAKING NEWS!!!
Just heard the U.S.A. has captured Osama Bin Ladin. The U.S.A. planes sprayed Afghanistan with Viagra and the little prick sprang up.
It was the first day of school and a new student named Suzuki, the son of a Japanese businessman, entered the fourth grade. The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American history.
Who said "Give me Liberty, or give me Death?" She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Suzuki, who had his hand up.
"Patrick Henry, 1775." He said.
"Very good! Who said 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth'"? Again, no response except from Suzuki:
"Abraham Lincoln, 1863." said Suzuki
The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed. Suzuki, who is new to our country, knows more about its history than you do."
She heard a loud whisper: "Screw the Japs."
"Who said that?" she demanded.
Suzuki put his hand up. "Lee Iacocca, 1982."
At that point, a student in the back said, "I'm gonna puke."
The teacher glares and asks "All right! Now, who said that?"
Again, Suzuki says, "George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991."
Now furious, another student yells, "Oh yeah? Suck this!"
Suzuki jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher, "Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!"
Now with almost a mob hysteria someone said, "You little shit. If you say anything else, I'll kill you."
Suzuki frantically yells at the top of his voice, "Gary Condit to Chandra Levy 2001."
The teacher fainted. And as the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, "Oh shit, we're in BIG trouble now!
...and Suzuki said, "Osama Bin Laden! 2001!"