Dear Friends:

I’m writing with excitement.  My friend and former talk radio co-host, Jon Alvarez, is running for a vacant seat in New York State’s 23^rd Congressional District.  The seat is being vacated by Representative John McHugh as he has been nominated the new Secretary of the Army.

Jon Alvarez defines “patriot”.  His paternal grandparents came to this country from Spain during the turbulent 1930s.  Jon Alvarez grew up in Canton, Ohio and later attended the University of Texas.  He met his wonderful, lovely and loyal wife, Laura, while in Texas pursuing a career in education.

Eventually settling in Central Upstate New York, Jon Alvarez was deeply moved by the images of September 11, 2001.  As our country’s war effort ramped up, Jon vowed he would join the Army if it would allow another brave young soldier to return home to family.  When the military lifted age restrictions, Jon Alvarez joined weeks shy of his fortieth birthday.  At the age of 42 he was deployed to Iraq.  This after he lobbied for overseas duty despite a hearing loss detected by Army doctors. 

Jon Alvarez is scheduled stateside in just a few short weeks.  His initial plans were to return home and tend to his farm in Oswego County, New York and to welcome his daughter as a business partner in real estate sales.  Then the special election came across the radar.

The district is massive, stretching across the vast expanses of the Tug Hill Plateau, Adirondack Forest and portions of the Mohawk Valley and areas south of Lake Ontario.  People living in the district define “hard work and personal responsibility” every bit as much as Jon Alvarez defines dedication to his country.  It’s a natural match.

This nation was once a land of heroes.  It was a land explored by heroes.  It remains a land constructed by heroes.  Contrary to popular belief there are still many great men and women, filled with grit, ready to remind us we’ve so much more ahead. 

Jon Alvarez hasn’t endorsed my message and I’m in no official capacity with his campaign.  We do, however, share a belief the nation is absolutely going down the wrong road.  Jon Alvarez will be representing my fellow countrymen some 400 miles away from where I live but in a sense he’ll be representing an ideal, one which embers still burn in so many hearts.  If you believe you can assist Jon Alvarez in his quest, you may contact me at billc@wgmd.com.  I’ll do my part by pointing you in the right direction. 

A friend serving in Iraq wrote Rush Limbaugh and copied me.  This is the soldier’s message followed by my reply:

Dear Rush, some thoughts for you…

As an American soldier currently serving in Iraq, I feel compelled to write to express my deepest disappointment with the current state of affairs in America, particularly with the fact that I now face being categorically branded a potential terrorist according to the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Yes, I will admit, I have long had right-wing, conservative political leanings, I am against illegal immigration since it is illegal, I strongly support the right to bear arms, and am an advocate for states’ rights.  In fact, I am greatly alarmed at how the federal government is currently over-stepping its bounds and is dangerously extending its scope and power into realms where it has no Constitutional authority.  Frankly, I’m pretty pissed off at how criminally irresponsible our so-called elected representatives in Washington have been giving our hard-earned tax dollars away without our approval.  And yes, I have been known to place bumper stickers of various 3rd party candidates and other political slogans on the bumper of my pickup truck.

So, I ask, does all of the above make me a potential terrorist?  Am I to be lumped in with the same groups as the Ku Klux Klan and Al Qaeda?  Or, because I’m really sick and tired of the hypocrisy of overpaid and corrupt government officials could I be considered a dangerous Lone Wolf?

Well, Sec. Napolitano and President Obama and company, have you considered the fact that I might just be an American citizen with the legal and God-given right to embrace all of the above in the Land of the Free?  Isn’t that why I’m over here, taking precious time away from my family and business to defend those rights inherited by our Founding Fathers, who were they alive today, might very well be on your list as well?

I would hate to think that the very actions of representatives of the federal government, such as this report by the DHS, might contribute to further alienation of the American public towards said government, resulting in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.  After all, the Founding Fathers did charge us with safeguarding our freedoms from an overbearing government seeking to infringe upon our individual rights.

My reply:

Jon, God bless you and I hope he reads it.  I certainly will. 

A former preacher and now politician who does an hour with me on Mondays brought me the Napolitano report.  My Lord, I’m an American and not the enemy.

Last week there was a meeting here at the Legion hall.  It’s the group modeled on The Patriot League but with no plans to make the same mistakes.  We’re, as I said earlier, growing vegetables and canning, and there are plans to use the organization as a political action committee. 

There was a government agent taking down license plates in the parking lot.  Two miles away there are hundreds of illegal aliens working at a chicken plant. 

How many Legionnaires in the next room having a beer had their plate numbers taken?  Men who bled on battlefields for their country now collateral damage for the latest government purge. 

The Obamites may well be creating the situation they claim to fear. 

Thursday is the 7th anniversary of the terror attacks on America - also called Patriot Day

Already too many people ask why we would want to remember such an event every year - it’s too depressing, it’s not happened again, etc. Well - if we don’t remember it - and we become complacent, it will happen again.

With more and more countries coming out of third world status, and countries that we never took much notice of in the past suddenly showing up front and center in the news – and suddenly a lot more modern and advanced than we remember them being. We aren’t so much the world power that we were 40 years ago. But as we do defend our own and fight our battles and others when asked – we make more and more enemies, who are now able to stand up and fight.

9/11 is now history – but it’s history that is still fresh in our collective memory and something we don’t want to see repeated on our soil.

Like they say – those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it.

Some of the numbers involved in 9/11 -

• 65,000 - personal items recovered from ground zero 
• 437 watches
• 144 rings
• 119 earring
• 80 bracelets
• 77 necklaces
• 2,998 - Total number killed in the attacks - (excluding the 19 hijackers)
• 2,603 – in the WTC and on the ground in NYC
• 343 firefighters and paramedics
• 246 – were on the planes (excluding the hijackers
• 200+ people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers
• 125 – at the Pentagon – 55 were military
• 90 – countries represented among the dead

                             Don’t your forget.

At the start of the school year, a caller to WGMD’s Dan Gaffney Show related that a school bus driver was told his bus would fail inspection if he did not remove a US Flag decal that was on his bus.  That was an issue that outraged many WGMD listeners – that the primary symbol of patriotism would not be allowed on a public school bus.  It seems that after 9-11 the decals were allowed as there was a more patriotic feeling across the country in reaction to terrorism striking in our own country.   

The Delaware Code does not specifically say that the decals are not allowed, but that they – or similar forms of decoration – are not mentioned at all.  So apparently not being included in what is allowed makes them a no no.     

Now 6 years after the fact, patriotism seems to have gone out of favor with the Dept. of Education and now the once allowed flag decals are now no longer ok.  That’s a slap in the face to all the troops – many from Delaware – who are currently in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the world fighting to keep us free from terror.  

It seems the public outrage has penetrated the walls of the Department of Education, which now seems to be reconsidering its stance and will accept public comment - in writing - for an amendment to the Delaware Code’s Administrative standards for school bus chassis and bodies – to allow a flag decal or plate on a school bus.  Comment will be taken until the close of business on Tuesday, February 5.  Several different bus chassis and bodies are targeted.     

Here are the three public notices that were published in the News Journal this morning:

1 - Public Notice Department of Education
1101 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies Placed in Production after March 1, 1998

The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 1101 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in Production After March 1, 1998 (Terminology and School Bus Types are Those Described in the National Standards for School Transportation 1995). The amendment allows for the placement of a U.S. Flag decal or plate on a school bus.
Persons wishing to present their views regarding this matter may do so in writing by the close of business on February 5, 2008 to Susan K. Haberstroh, Education Associate, Regulation Review, Department of Education, at 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901. A copy of this regulation is available item the above address or may be viewed at the Department of Education business office. 1/7-NJ
Published 01/07/2008

2 - Public Notice Department of Education
1102 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after March 1, 2002 and on or after March 1, 2003 with Specific Changes for Buses Placed in Production after January 1, 2004

The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 1102 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after March 1, 2002 and on or after March 1, 2003 with Specific Changes for Buses Placed in Production after January 1, 2004 (Terminology and School Bus Types are those described in the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP), May 2000). The amendment allows for the placement of a U.S. Flag decal or plate on a school bus.
Persons wishing to present their views regarding this matter may do so in writing by the close of business on February 5, 2008 to Susan K. Haberstroh, Education Associate, Regulation Review, Department of Education, at 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901. A copy of this regulation is available from the above address or may be viewed at the Department of Education business office. 1/7-NJ
Published 01/07/2008

3 - Public Notice Department of Education
1103 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after January 1, 2007

The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 1103 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after January 1, 2007 (Terminology and School Bus Types are Those Described in the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP) May 2005). The amendment allows for the placement of a U.S. Flag decal or plate on a school bus.
Persons wishing to present their views regarding this matter may do so in writing by the close of business on February 5, 2008 to Susan K. Haberstroh, Education Associate, Regulation Review, Department of Education, at 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901. A copy of this regulation is available from the above address or may be viewed at the Department of Education business office. 1/7-NJ
Published 01/07/2008

And this is the section of the Delaware Administrative Code that deals with identification on school buses

Delaware Administrative Code
Title 14 Education
1100 Transportation

2.21 Identification - 1101 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies Placed in Production after March 1, 1998
2.21.1 Body shall bear words “SCHOOL BUS” in black letters at least 8 inches high on both front and rear of body or on signs attached thereto. Lettering shall be placed as high as possible without impairment of its visibility. Letters shall conform to “Series B” of Standard Alphabets for highway signs. “SCHOOL BUS” lettering shall have a reflective background, or as an option, may be illuminated by backlighting. All lettering on NSBY surfaces shall be black, and lettering on black surfaces shall be NSBY or white.
2.21.2 Bus identification number shall be displayed on the sides, on the rear, and on the front.
2.21.3 Other lettering, numbering, or symbols which may be displayed on the exterior of the bus, shall be limited to:
2.21.3.1 District or company name or owner of the bus may be displayed.
2.21.3.2 Bus identification number on the top of the bus, in addition to required numbering on sides, rear, and front.
2.21.3.3 The location of the battery(ies) identified by the word “BATTERY” or “BATTERIES” on the battery compartment door in 2″ lettering.
2.21.3.4 Lettering to identify the fuel type at the fuel filler location (2” letters maximum).
2.21.3.5 Symbols or letters near the service door displaying information for identification by the students of the bus or route served. Such symbols or lettering, if used, shall not exceed 36 square inches in size.
2.21.3.6 Symbols identifying the bus as equipped for or transporting students with special needs (see Specially Equipped School Bus section).

The same basic regulations from the above standards apply to the other buses included in the public notices.

2.22 Identification  - 1102 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after March 1, 2002 and on or after March 1, 2003 with Specific Changes for Buses Placed in Production after January 1, 2004  

2.22 Identification -  1103 Standards for School Bus Chassis and Bodies For Buses placed in production on or after January 1, 2007

1. We’ve heard many times how our troops have been fighting Al-Qaeda over in Iraq so that we don’t have to fight Al-Qaeda here. This is a good strategy, except how do we know Al-Qaeda terrorists, suicide bombers and sleeper cells aren’t already in the United States? The border situation has me wondering.

2. I’ve also heard it said: “There hasn’t been any major terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11.” That’s true, but how do we know something as bad and even bigger isn’t currently in the planning stages? There were several years between the two World Trade Center attacks. President Bush’s Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend was one of the ones who had mentioned how America has been free of major attacks since 9/11, and also stated that Osama Bin Laden is ”a man on the run in a cave who is virtually impotent.” Well, he could be more than impotent—he could be dead. But does that mean the threat is gone and that his followers will all of a sudden stop trying to carry out attacks?

3. We’ve heard about the decline in violence in Iraq, but could part of the reason be that the terrorists are regrouping? It was reported back at the end of August that Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his dreaded militia to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group’s activities. “I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed,” Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the city of Najaf. The AFP reports that in December last year, the Pentagon identified the militia as the biggest threat to stability in the war-ravaged country, even ahead of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the local affiliate of Osama bin Laden’s network.

4. While going on the offensive in Iraq may have put a dent in Al-Qaeda, what about Afghanistan in the Tora Bora region and the area in Pakistan, where they believe Bin Laden is hiding out? Shouldn’t there have been more of a focus on these areas?

5. Even if we wiped out every terrorist and every terrorist cell, does that mean all the evildoers are gone? As long as there are evil ideologies, radical Islam, and violent radicalization, it is likely that new ones will pop up.

I’m sure this all sounds rather pessimistic, but what is really going on here? Lastly Senator Joe Biden this week told New Hampshire voters that they have the Bush Administration to thank for the rising costs of oil. Biden called the temporary increase of troops in Iraq a “fantasy” saying that there is no evidence that it’s working. As reported from the Associated Press and as posted in WGMD News, Biden says the uncertainty in Iraq and Iran are adding an extra 30 dollars a barrel. I heard this week that global warming is being blamed for everything. It sounds like the Iraq war is also getting blamed for a lot of things that have gone wrong.

 

I lit a candle outside…
trying to remember so many names……
remembering how many died……
and so many families left unsaid….
some still wishing for that one day to come…
they will get a call saying they found their loved one…
     (author unknown)

You can light a candle in memory to someone lost or loved - the candles will remain lit for 48 hours - just click on the candle   And remember all who have died in the war on terror, but especially your neighbors from Delaware and Maryland

Patriot Day was created through a proclamation (Public Law 107-89) by President George Bush after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. The day is in memory of the nearly 3000 who lost their lives at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President Bush has made the resolution and proclamation to designate September 11 as Patriot Day each year since 2002. The legislation requests that President designate September 11 as Patriot Day each year. The day is a discretionary day of remembrance – which means it is not an official public holiday.

How or when Patriot Day is observed depends on your location. US flags are to be flown at half-staff and flown from residences as well (that includes US buildings abroad as well). Now, here’s where location will make a difference. Americans are asked to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46am (EDT) to mark the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashing into the World Trade Center in New York City. A moment of silence could also be held at 9:03am (EDT) when the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, struck the second tower of the World Trade Center, at 9:43am (EDT) when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon or at 10:10am (EDT) when United Airlines Flight 93 went down in a field near Shanksville, PA.

Initially the day was called the “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks.” Then changed to Patriot Day by a by Joint Resolution 71 which was approved in the US House by a 407 – 0 vote (25 members didn’t vote) on October 25, 2001 and approved unanimously by the US Senate on November 30, 2001. President Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001.

People have had some trouble wrapping their thoughts around Patriot Day – with most referring to the day as 9-11 or September 11th instead. Another problem with the day is that it is often confused with Patriots’ Day (one has an ‘s’ and one doesn’t). Patriots’ Day is observed on the third Monday in April and is a civic holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. It is also a public school observance day in Wisconsin. Patriots’ Day has nothing to do with Patriot Day.

Canada shares the observance of Patriot Day as well with flags on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and all Canadian diplomatic missions in the US flying at half-staff.

On the New York Times blog, author of Freakonomics Steven Levitt posed a question: If you were a terrorist, how would you attack? We posed a similar question on the air today but on a local level.

If you were a terrorist, how would you attack Delmarva? What would you do to better protect Delmarva from these attacks?

Most listeners seemed to think an attack on one our bridges and transportation would do the trick. I labored over the decision to do the topic on the air, however, only one caller delivered the obvious “you’re giving the terrorists ideas” and even called the broadcast “terrifying” – I agree with the caller following her… “It must be nice to live in Rehoboth to have all of that sand to put your head in.”

Any attack on a smaller area would greatly trouble all of us living the more rural lifestyle. How do you think we would react if there were an attack on Delmarva? Be it on the water supply, the chicken houses, a school bus, or even an ice-cream truck.

Author Levitt seems to think that a lot of little attacks would inspire more fear… How could this be accomplished locally… easy… a beach attack during the summer coinciding with an attack on the chicken factories, a bomb or a sniper… a school… a gas station… you’d need crazy four guys with a few guns… both of which are available in spaces in our area.

On Delmarva, we panic when a big storm comes through or one murder takes place… How would we react? It’s important to discuss these matters so that we know how to better protect ourselves… I’m not looking for any of us to live in fear… fact is: anything could happen to any of us at any moment that would make our life a little less desirable… I think the real key is not living in fear. Seacrest Out.

 

ABC News is reporting that Al Qaeda has posted a propaganda web video online that asks the question “What is the Big Surprise” in Arabic alongside doctored photos of George Bush amidst a burning White House. 

To view the video from ABC news click here.

We often forget, as we go along with our daily lives here on Delmarva, combing the details of the Ocean City Baby story… or the potential collapse of the Indian River Bridge, or that we’ll be paying $0.60 more for tobacco, that there are real threats to our way of life. Threats that, although we are ignoring them, they aren’t ignoring us. Al Qaeda tells it’s online community to “Wait for THE BIG SURPRISE.” Who knows if these are just scare tactics, or whether they really have something planned for our future. Reports come out almost daily that they are and have been planning something. Some threats have been thwarted, but who knows what evil lies in men’s hearts.

I don’t know if sharing the video is good or bad. If you should just go on with your life and ignore it or allow your voice to be heard… Or if we should “wait for THE BIG SURPRISE.”