This is an actual billboard, NOT a Photoshop.

This is not a Photoshop. I repeat, this is NOT a Photoshop. I am SO not even kidding. See the news story here. You can see it for yourself at TheRepublicanSong.com. The motherfucker's email is pleasedontvoteforademocrat@yahoo.com.

The Lyrics

The Democrat secular progressive move,
political correctness is killing us too.
They want to take the money from the hard workin man,
and give it to the lazy folks that don't give a damn.

Chorus

Democrats and Liberals, shame on you,
don't punish us all just to please a few,
Your holdin people back while we're pickin up the slack,
and that's why we can't vote for a Democrat.
Oh no, a no, no, no, no, no, no...
Oh no, a no, no, no, no, no, nooo...
Yeah, your holding people back, while we're pickin up the tax,
Oh no, no please don't vote for a Democrat.

Now we're trying to win a war and wipe out the terrorists,
We're not fightin for oil we got plenty if we drill it.
But the liberals and the media are spreading their lies,
Get the hell out of our way and let our soldiers fight.

Chorus

Democrats and Liberals shame on you,
don't punish us all just to please a few.
No we can't afford to have another attack,
and that's why we can't vote for a Democrat.
Oh no, a no, no, no, no, no ,no...
Oh no, a no, no, no, no, no, no..
No we can't afford to have another attack,
Oh no, please don't vote for a Democrat.

Republicans, we're not perfect but we know the truth
We uphold the Constitution and the Golden Rule.
We believe a mans freedom is a God given right,
the USA is the beacon to the whole world in sight.

Chorus

Democrats and Liberals shame on you,
don't punish us all just to please a few.
our Constitution, Nation and God are under attack,
and that's why we can't vote for a Democrat.
Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no...
oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no...
Our Constitution, Nation and God are under attack,
Oh no, please, oh no please, don't vote for a Democrat.

Our Constitution, Nation and God are under attack,
Oh no, please, oh no please, don't vote for a Democrat.

I... I... Just...

*immolation*

A mom's letter to Disney/ABC. See also:

• American Airlines to blame for 9/11, Disney/ABC movie falsely claims.
  
• Video: Salon editor Path to 9/11 'worse than you think'
  
• European trailer touts 'official true story;' Blames Clinton...
  
• 9/11 Panelist Slams ABC’s Fib-U-Drama
  
• Keitel: 9/11 Undocu-Drama Should Be Changed
  
• ABC's Top Former Counter-Terror Official Blasts ABC 9/11 Docudrama

The reason why we honor anniversaries is so that we never forget important days.

September 11, 2001 has gotten away from many of us, as memories are wont to do. Whether by human nature or human cowardice or our collective inability to accept the unacceptable, it doesn't matter. I understand that part of letting things like this slip away from us is because it would overwhelm and kill us if we didn't, and I understand that. The problem with this is that it has faded away from the horror it was and into something we are all trying desperately in the 5 years since to get comfortable with. I for one cannot accept that. I don't WANT to 'get comfortable' with it, I don't want anyone to do that even though I know that is what happens. I'm still stuck in a place where in the immediate days after 9/11 I remember going to the grocery store and seeing people doing yardwork on their lawns, and washing their cars, and I was angry that life was going on in spite of what happened. It felt outrageous to me that people could somehow go on with the more boring, mundane aspects of life in the wake of a nightmare like this, I forgot that sometimes we find comfort in that sort of thing. I forgot that life goes on. I still forget that, but I'm a man with so much unfinished business in life that it is difficult to accept this now and then. Things like grief don't get resolved for me, they just take root and refuse to go anywhere. I'm grief constipated, when you get right down to it - about people I've loved and lost, about things like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Asia, you get the idea.

I feel very raw and exposed right now fora variety of different reasons, but what is really very much on my mind at the moment is what is going to be happening on Monday in this country and around the world, where people will stop and think and remember and have those conversations about where they were that day and what they were doing and how they found out, etc. I'll be doing the same thing, I'm sure. I'll also be thinking about the phone call I got on September 11th 1993 telling me my brother was almost murdered and in a complete panic I had to meet my family at the hospital ER to find out if he was going to live or not, what happened, and try to help my siblings, parents, and his children cope with what happened that day - which all these years later I still have bad dreams about.

So for the remainder of this post, I'm going to let others say some of the things I cannot say right now and let video be more powerful than any commentary I could add. I just don't have it in me right now.

( Video you should ALL watch + site links behind this cut )

Court posts 9/11 trial exhibits online
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) -- Exhibits from the trial of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, including photographs of September 11 carnage and tape-recorded final phone calls from World Trade Center victims, were posted Monday by a federal court.

The U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, said it is the first criminal case for which a federal court has provided access to all exhibits online.

The videos, photographs and taped phone calls on the court's Web site were graphic in some cases, leading the court to mark 18 of the 1,202 exhibits "discretion advised."

Prosecution Trial Exhibits | Defense Trial Exhibits
WARNING: some of these images are very graphic & very disturbing

[DIY News post format]

I don't reccommend viewing the images in the prosecution's section of exhibits, some of the images of burned bodies & human remains are more than a lot of people could take given the weight of emotion associated with 9/11. I'm not advocating that anyone view these images (denoted with a "[Viewer discretion is advised]" warning on the link), I'm simply offering the link in the event anyone wishes to see. For my part, I have to see these things on occaision just to keep it all from becoming too surreal in my mind.

Yesterday, in the earlier part of the evening, Maggie had to go to her office downtown to finish a bit of work and get caught up for the week. Damien had already gone home for the day and the awareness that it was 9/11 was starting to really sink in. I'd managed to stave off that reality for the majority of the day, chosing instead not to deal with it at all in fact. I'm planning on watching my two favorite film documentaries on the subject later in the week - 9/11 by the Naudet brothers, and In Memorium, the HBO one. Both are spectacular in their grittiness and heart, the unabashed way in which they show the complete range of human emotions, and the respect and care in which both were crafted. 9/11 moreso, as it was initially made as a documentary of the FDNY, and was the only filmed footage from within the towers after the first plane hit the north tower and before the second hi the south tower, and during the first collapse. It is telling and completely gets under your skin and makes a home there, which I think is precisely what good filmmaking is supposed to do - particularly in this case.

I decided to go with her into downtown, for two reasons. One being that I don't like the idea of her being downtown alone on a Sunday evening, and two is I love being downtown alone on a Sunday evening - especially with camera in tow. I knew she'd be okay and safe in the office, and I wasn't going to be wandering more than a mile or two away in either direction. So I went on a picture taking excursion in the solitude and quiet. Our downtown area here is all but a ghost town on Sundays, there's not much open and I might have seen five living souls on the streets and sidewalks. I really like my time alone with the camera, it gives me the ability to tell many stories without using too many words. The light is all natural, and I get to chase shadows and other people's dreams for a short while. The architecture here is very definitive of the old South, and there are many Antebellum and greek Revival mansions along what was the old riverfront. Columbus was founded as a port city on the banks of the Chattahochee river on the dividing line between Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama - which at one point was one of the most corrupt towns in America. Gambling, drugs, booze, whores, murder, you name it. I really need to get some pictures of the more notorious areas for a picture story before they tear them all down. So anyway, I took lots of pictures of some really amazing houses and other interesting places.

( This is the first post in a series of picture posts of downtown Columbus. )

I love Steve Gilliard! Please read every word, I've excerpted the juciest bit here:

Well, motherfuckers, and that means you, fat ass Goldberg and your master, Rich Lowry, PNAC Bitch Beinart, the racist wannabe white Malkin and the little fucktards at LGF, Bareback Andy and "Diversity" Instacracker, all you backstabbing, fag hating uncle tom ministers, you can see Dear Leader in action. America's largest port is gone, maybe forever, gas is $5+ a gallon and FEMA is coming. Whores come faster with old men than FEMA is getting to NOLA.

How did your wartime President react? Like Chiang Kai-Shek when the Yellow River flooded in 1944, with corrupt indifference.

Bush, the man your fever dreams built into the next Winston Churchill when he is really the live action Chauncey Gardiner, has failed to everyone, in plain sight, without question. Rick Perry is trying to save his ass, but it ain't working. NOLA looks like ANGOLA and that ain't flying.

Say 9/11 changed everything now, motherfuckers. Ooops, 9/11, 9/11. 9/11. Doesn't work anymore? Gee, maybe the sea of alligator MRE's once known as the citizens of New Orleans has something to do with that. Now you can shut the fuck up about 9/11. Bush just proved what would happen with another 9/11. Dead Americans as far as the nose can smell.

I fucking love it, this deserves a Rude Pundit award!

From CBSNews.com:
9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable

(CBS) For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

"This is a very, very important part of history and we've got to tell it right," said Thomas Kean.

"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen."

Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers inside the administration and laying blame.

"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed," Kean said.

To find out who failed and why, the commission has navigated a political landmine, threatening a subpoena to gain access to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions of the Bush administration – that there was never any thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an airplane into a building.

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile," said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice on May 16, 2002.

"How is it possible we have a national security advisor coming out and saying we had no idea they could use planes as weapons when we had FBI records from 1991 stating that this is a possibility," said Kristen Breitweiser, one of four New Jersey widows who lobbied Congress and the president to appoint the commission.

The widows want to know why various government agencies didn't connect the dots before Sept. 11, such as warnings from FBI offices in Minnesota and Arizona about suspicious student pilots.

"If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of my husband that we wouldn't have one question answered, I wouldn't believe it," Breitweiser said.

Kean admits the commission also has more questions than answers.

Asked whether we should at least know if people sitting in the decision-making spots on that critical day are still in those positions, Kean said, "Yes, the answer is yes. And we will."

Kean promises major revelations in public testimony beginning next month from top officials in the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, National Security Agency and, maybe, President Bush and former President Clinton.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure how I feel today. There is so much going on. Today is very sureal.

I found out more about Mama, she didn't have a stroke afterall. She has what is called Bell's Palsy. Her right eye will not close on its own so they have to tape it down and she has some paralysis in her throat and esophagus which makes swallowing difficult. She's on some very powerful medication and will hopefully recover from this. I'll know more later.

Today is the 10th anniversary that someone tried to kill my brother Todd, I'd forgotten the exact date until my sister Shay told me last night. The guy that did it is still in prison, the judge threw every book possible at him during the trial. It's a long story, and I really don't have the energy right now. Shay told me that my Aunt Lila (the one I cannot stand) had a triple bypass surgery last week, at which point I asked her "So basically what you're telling me is the doctors confirmed that she DOES, in fact, have a heart afterall..." which made her laugh. Then she told me the other news, the stuff I cannot even deal with right now.

Sometime this week, I don't know exactly when, my 2nd cousin Stephanie was stabbed to death in a hotel room in Rome. She was 19 years old. The police arrested two people in connection with the murder, but the authorities there have only released some of the details to our family. In an effort to prevent her body from being identified, they cut off all of her fingers and beat her face in beyond recognition. There's more, a lot more, but again - I don't have the energy. There's a story about it in the Rome News-Tribune. I cannot remember what she looked like.

And all of this on the 2nd anniversary of 9/11...

I need all of my friends to come to the Riverwalk this evening, please. If you possibly can, I need you there. Pass it on, post about it in your journals if you're local, whatever you can do to get people there.

And send me energy - I need all I can get.

By RUDOLPH GIULIANI



{Posted Sunday, September 1, 2002; 3:38 p.m. EST}
Twelve months have passed. The debris is gone. The thousands who worked tirelessly to rescue and recover those who died no longer dig through the night. The twisted remains of New York's two biggest buildings no longer stand as reminders of the worst attack in American history.

But I haven't changed. When I go to ground zero now, I feel as shocked, angry and resolute as I did a year ago. On Sept. 14, 2001, I flew over the site in a helicopter with President George W. Bush and Governor George Pataki. I had been there many times during the three days after the attack, but that was the first time I had seen the smoking ruins from above. It was indescribably awful. A year has done nothing to erase these images from my mind.

What happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and outside Shanksville, Pa., was not a natural disaster or some colossal accident. This was mass murder perpetrated by madmen bent on destroying not only American lives but also American values. These attacks were not just on the people who were killed and injured but also on the very things that define us as a society: religious freedom, equality, economic opportunity and political choice. I learned as a prosecutor that intent matters. When a loved one dies in an accident, of course it's painful. But knowing that your husband or wife or mother or son is gone because of an intentional act cuts much more deeply.

One way of dealing with this lasting pain is to talk about it. I frequently discuss Sept. 11, often with those who have been most affected by the attacks. I try to confront what was done to us and the importance of being resolute. I've also attended many memorials and funerals, which reinforced a lesson my father taught me long ago about being there for people when they need you most. It's a two-way street. People absorb strength from you, and you get it back from them.

Back at ground zero—16 barren acres, including the footprints of the towers—the debate continues about how best to commemorate the loss. There are many competing pressures and different viewpoints. I am convinced that ground zero must first and foremost be a memorial. All other decisions should flow from that goal. If anything else is added to the site, it should complement and not overshadow the memorial. People a hundred years from now should be able to grasp the enormity of this attack by visiting this sacred ground. Ground zero is a cemetery. It is the last resting place for loved ones whose bodies were not recovered and whose remains are still within that hallowed ground. We must respect the role these events play in our history.

It is the place where the President came and told the exhausted rescue workers, "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." President Bush has been determined to keep his commitment to eliminate global terrorism. An appropriately large and enduring tribute at the site will remind future generations of that commitment. Recalling these attacks and their aftermath will remind people today that we need to be unyielding in completing the war on terror. And it will remind people tomorrow that we must never let something like this happen again.

If it were up to me, I'd devote the entire 16 acres to the memorial. A soaring structure should dominate the site, taking its place along New York City's wonderful skyline. It should be visible for miles to demonstrate the spirit of those who gave their lives to defend freedom. There should be a museum and a library. Those who visit should be able to relive the experience in a way that does justice to the enormity of the events. The memorial should echo the goals of the city's Museum of Jewish Heritage, which sits a stone's throw away. The purpose of that museum is to demonstrate the horror of the Holocaust as well as celebrate the survival and strength of the Jewish people. Done correctly, the memorial at ground zero will commemorate the horror and the heroism of Sept. 11.

If we don't do this correctly—if we let some minor memorial be dwarfed by office space—people a hundred years from now will say this generation did not understand the significance of that world-altering day. Sept. 11 must not lose its resonance as time dulls the sharp edges of our collective memory. Ground zero is the site of the worst attack in the history of this country. I pray it will be the worst attack in the history of this country a hundred years from now. Done correctly, a memorial will inspire people. It should not symbolize the loss of our world before Sept. 11 or of an America that no longer exists. It should symbolize our survival and our triumph.

I'm an optimist. Our way is the way of the future. Nation after nation sees that and embraces democracy. It is not a perfectly smooth road. But it's undeniably the way the world is headed. And that's a good thing.

Because—and I don't mean this belligerently—we're right and they're wrong. Those who attacked us had no idea how deep the American spirit runs. I think our grief, rage and resolve have surprised even us. One year later, that might be the most resonant lesson of all. America's resilience—the depth of this nation's character—should never be underestimated.

What do you do when the entire world is slowly being consumed by this acidic sadness and somehow it gets a hold of you?

I still have this sickening feeling in my stomach whenever I see or hear an airplane. I have stopped driving down Wynnton Road because I cannot bear to look at the AFLAC tower. Three nights ago a plane flew over the house when I was outside and at first, I got that same familiar sick feeling when I heard it - then my sickness turned to horror as I looked up and saw the sparks flying from the engine of the plane and what appeared to be flames of some sort. It looked like fireworks! I didn't believe what I was seeing at first, having never seen anything like that. I ran into the house and grabbed the cordless phone and called 911 to see if they were aware of this situation. The operator was absolutely dumbfounded for a few seconds and told me that she would notify the airport and thanked me for calling. My neighbors were outside taking out their Christmas tree and we stood there, horrified, watching that plane spewing sparks and circling the airport for the better part of 10 minutes. Eventually it landed at the airport, though no mention of it was made on the news or in the paper that evening. (My stepmother said she heard something about it but was barely paying attention.)

Later that evening I remembered talking to the operator and it hit me all of the sudden... I had dialed 911. 911. 9/11. And I cried and cried.

This is very much a different world from the one I lived in a few months ago. I cannot stop imagining those people falling from the Trade Center. Or the ones in the towers before they fell down. What were they thinking? How many on the upper floors knew what was happening? Did they feel that somehow they would survive this? How many close to the planes' impact survived the initial crash and agonized until they died? Were they alive when the buildings collapsed long enough to realize it was happening? What was Christmas like for their families? Their parents and siblings, spouses and children, friends and lovers... What are we supposed to do in order to live with this?

I am not sure what to do with myself at times when I ponder these things. It is just entirely too big, and it represents some of the things I never imagined possible in humanity. Though I have had a lifelong emotional connection to the atrocities in the Holocaust and in Cambodia, I never imagined such a thing would be a part of my own history. Yet here I am and I accept that there are no answers for the questions I have. Which sometimes gives me enough pause to start asking different questions.

The truth is I will never stop feeling this sadness for what happened that day. Sitting there watching CNN while having my morning coffee without a care in the world, only to have it all unfold in front of me - live and on camera, as it happened.

I surround myself with the armor that is my friends and with Daniel, who is becoming a main source of strength and comfort to me.

All that any of us can do is to seek out the things we are a part of each day and measure what is important and what is petty, and use that as a gauge to see how many things we take for granted each day by wasing our energies on the wrong things.