9/11 - I Will Never Forget Paul John Gill, FDNY

Today marks the fourteenth anniversary of the day that the United States of America was attacked by Terrorists. One of those who bravely gave their lives that day was a friend of mine. Fourteen years later, I still miss him.

I am re-posting the tribute I originally posted . I just can't find the words today to do another, other than to say that I have often wondered where Paul would be today, had he made another, safer choice? He could have joined our Union - he would have been a shoe-in. He could have worked with me on the movie "World Trade Center", instead of losing his life in the real one. That should tell you all you need to know, that Paul would rather risk his life saving others, than tell the stories of those who do.

I will Never Forget Paul John Gill. Who will you be remembering today? Don't let them be forgotten...

Paul, this is for you...





Miss you, Bro...

Three years ago today one of the finest men I have ever known was murdered by terrorists in New York City. Paul Gill was my friend. I remember the day he walked into our shop. He had flames tattooed up and down his arms, kind of like what you might expect to see on a '57 Chevy Bel Air, you know, a real Hot Rod. Paul was a real Hot Rod. He was a New York City Firefighter and like many of his Brother's, he worked other jobs on his off days. For all the hoopla about New York's Bravest, and probably everywhere-else, Paul needed to work other jobs to make ends meet. What does that tell you about how much we appreciate those who risk their lives for us on a daily basis?

Anyway, I came to know Paul after a period of time. I took him under my wing and showed him the ropes of the make believe world of Motion Pictures. Paul fit right in. He was smart, talented, with a great work ethic. He hit it off with this old Marine and we became friends. I often went to the Firehouse with him and hung out with the guys, watching TV and shooting the breeze as guys often do. We used to go to a little Brazilian Restaurant, Chateau Brazil, after work and hit a few cold ones. The days Paul worked at the Firehouse, I would stop by and hang for a while. His fellow Firefighters were always amazed at the fact that Paul was a good enough carpenter to make it in the crazy world of TV and Movies. They shouldn't have been.

Paul was the kind of guy who was good at anything he tried. He was dedicated. He paid attention. He wanted to learn. He took personal pride in everything he did. He never wanted to let us down or make excuses for sloppy or poor workmanship.

I remember when he came in one day after serving his tour with the Fire Department. He was very excited. I asked him what the happy occasion was and he told me that he had gone on a Rescue Call and had actually saved a guy's life. It was the happiest I had ever seen him. Paul was a Life-saver, not a Life-taker.

But on September 11, 2001, Paul's life was taken. He had been transferred back to his home station at 48th & 8th Avenue, the Pride of Midtown and when the planes hit the Trade Towers he was there. No movie, no make believe. No special effects. Not this time. Paul Gill died doing what made him happiest - trying to save other people's lives.

And Paul, you never let us down. We are proud of you. And we miss you terribly.

Semper Fidelis, Brother, for you were, and are, and will always be, "Always Faithful" We will never forget you.

deuddersun


For the FDNY...




For My Fellow New Yorkers...



Paul Gill, New York City Firefighter

Complete 911 Timeline

(This post will remain on top until Wednesday, September 12, 2009)

API To Saddle Up Again

API, The American Patriot Institute to Saddle Up Again!

Via The Alternate Brain

To defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

 Alternate Brain Announces:

The American Patriot Institute is pissed off at this and I don't blame us:

Military.com

VA Silent on Exec Bonuses for Manipulated Data

A year after testifying that some executives received bonuses by manipulating appointment data for veterans needing mental health care, a former Department of Veterans Affairs hospital administrator said officials have avoided the issue “like the plague.”

“They avoid it with a 10-foot pole,” Nicholas Tolentino told Military.com in a telephone interview Monday.

They'll be damn lucky if the pole we shove up their ass is only 10 feet!

Go read the rest of the article and you will know why us creaky old Vets are pissed off enough to groan our way to our feet and head for the sound of the guns. Our newer Vets, from Iraq in particular, were suckered into giving it up for a neocon lie and we owe them big time. All Vets are affected by this as well.

Stay tuned.

The 8 Founding Members of the API

Philadelphia's Finest

Congratulations to Philadelphia Police Officer

Gregory Giacomelli

Greg is my favorite nephew and it was with enormous pleasure that I attended his Graduation from the Philadelphia Police Academy on Wednesday, September 5th.

Officer Giacomelli has been assigned to the 39th District here in Philadelphia. A strapping young man at 6'-4" and adept in the martial arts, Greg fulfilled his dream and is now proudly serving the city he loves.

As I mentioned Greg is adept in the martial arts and qualified Expert on the pistol range, but his most important qualities can't be measured- quick to smile or laugh, Greg has an innate ability to relate to regular people, and the patience necessary to reach workable solutions to unworkable situations.

I am so proud to know him. I know he will be a credit to the Police Department, the City of Philadelphia, his family and friends. He's the kind of Cop you would want to see if you're lost, need help or in trouble.

Officer Giacomelli taking his Oath to Serve and Protect.











While I have pictures of Greg and his proud family I have declined to post them in the unhappy event some miscreant decides to take "revenge" on Greg's family for some future"episode", however, I don't have the same reservations, so ...

Here we are!

I told you he was a strapping young man!







Congratulations Officer Giacomelli!

And Congratulations to Class 349, Philadelphia Police Academy!



As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, of Hill Street Blues used to say: "Hey, let's be careful out there."

d.

Happy 4th Of July!

This weekend let's put aside our differences and celebrate the birth of our Nation!

Happy Independence Day!

Working

I've been doing a little house cleaning here, changed the look, moved some stuff around, still plenty to do tho. Some links and widgets are out of date, others just won't work, guess yer gonna have that.  Not sure who's comment service I'm using, think it's Blogger's, but it works and that's good enough for the moment.  I also need to go thru my link list and see what and who is still active.  I hate to delete links tho, you never know when someone will get bitten by the bug and pop up again with something to say, so if there's a site at the end of the link, active or not, I'll leave it.  A lot of people have put a lot of effort and love into those sites, and if nothing else, they can serve as archives.

So, while I work behind the curtain, I'll leave you to ponder this. 

Little blast from the past...



Let's update this, ok? So what, exactly, have we learned over the last 45 years or so? You tell me...

An Exhumation (and Reincarnation)

For some reason, a reason I have not yet fully fathomed, I have decided to exhume this old blog and try to make it readable again.  There is a lot here - years of my thoughts and realizations, which I am reluctant to bury, some good, some awful, but mine none-the-less.  I started this blog in order to combat the lunacy of the Aways Wrong Right during the years of the George "Dubya" Bush debacle.  Motivated by my brother, Scroff, I joined other Progressive bloggers in an attempt to counter the Right's lies and insinuations, hence my participation in the American Patriot Institute.  How, I reasoned, could we who had served be labeled Un-American and traitors?  The swiftboating of a legitimate war hero, John Kerry, showed me that in Right Wing politics there is no room for "reason" of any kind.  This was only reinforced by the Right's lame efforts to discredit Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential elections.  Indeed, to this day, their claims that he is a Muslim, (as if that in itself should disqualify him somehow in a country founded, in part, on religious freedom), or that he is not a natural born citizen, still ring from the mouths of the Right Wing shills on Fox News and from the likes of Rush Limbaugh on Right Wing Radio, and is eagerly consumed by legions of common working folk, too scared or bamboozled to act in their own best interests.  (Face it, the wealthy, who are for the most part, the Real Republicans, are far too educated and intelligent to fall for such blatant nonsense.)  With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States, I naively considered the battle won and slowly withdrew from the field.

But it is not politics that draws me back.  Rather it is death. The death of four good friends over the last eight months.  I have come to see my own vulnerability and mortality and it is this realization, that tomorrow should never be taken for granted, that motivates me now.  There is no more "later".  There is only now for me, and if there is to be a "later" for someone-else, a later that involves a truly free country, with equal opportunities and real justice, a later in which all the sick are treated and all the hungry fed, a later where all children are able to reach their potential, where war is a last resort and not a method of strong arm diplomacy, where good, hard working men do not die in mines or offshore oil rigs to feed the Corporate Coffers of soulless, arrogant men, then I must act now.

No longer can I sit by while our work is shipped offshore and our hardworking citizens left to languish in fear, choosing between eating, medical care or paying bills, as rich Republicans deny even the smallest bit of help by refusing to extend unemployment benefits. No longer can I bear to watch once proud workers who built our nation and raised our families struggle, with no help at all from their fellow citizens while Big Banks, Oil Companies and Automakers feed freely at the public trough!  Welfare is evil and only encourages laziness! Unless it is Corporate Welfare under the guise of Bail outs!  Too big to fail is too big to exist! That is real free market economics!  Socialism works fine for Mismanaged Corporate giants, for Wall Street... but not for Main Street! Main Street is told to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and carry on as the rugged "Real Americans" always have, and the illusive carrot that is dangled is "work hard and you too can join the ranks of the wealthy"!  Ah yes, Capitalism at it's best ~ indeed, then let that free market capitalism apply to all.

Myths like the Protestant Work Ethic apply only to the working class!  Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!  This false promise of reward and social justice in an afterlife is small comfort to the family watching their child die due to lack of adequate healthcare.

It is time to level the playing field.  And that is exactly what I will try to do.  Will you join me?  Will you help me? The future is ours, but we must act now.

d.

No Comment

After years of using a wonderful FREE service from Halscan for comments, a new outfit has moved in, taken over and now wants us to pay for commenting. That is why there are no comments after each post. I am working to rectify this and any suggestions would be appreciated. C'mon, one of the two people who still visit here must have an idea!

I may try to enable Blogger's comments, but I will be damned if I'm gonna pay so some jack-off can call me names in my comment section! Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Ciao!

d.

Move Your Money!

It's so simple an idea I don't know why it took this long for someone to come up with it! If Washington can't or won't control the Big Banks, we can!

Read the article below and take a look at the video. Then repost this everywhere! Let's put our money where it will do us the most good!

d.

Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution

Arianna Huffington

and Rob Johnson

Last week, over a pre-Christmas dinner, the two of us, along with political strategist Alexis McGill, filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki, andNick Penniman of the HuffPost Investigative Fund, began talking about the huge, growing chasm between the fortunes of Wall Street banks and Main Street banks, and started discussing what concrete steps individuals could take to help create a better financial system. Before long, the conversation turned practical, and with some help from friends in the world of bank analysis, a video and website were produced devoted to a simple idea: Move Your Money.

The big banks on Wall Street, propped up by taxpayer money and government guarantees, have had a record year, making record profits while returning to the highly leveraged activities that brought our economy to the brink of disaster. In a slap in the face to taxpayers, they have also cut back on the money they are lending, even though the need to get credit flowing again was one of the main points used in selling the public the bank bailout. But since April, the Big Four banks -- JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo -- all of which took billions in taxpayer money, have cut lending to businesses by $100 billion.

Meanwhile, America's Main Street community banks -- the vast majority of which avoided the banquet of greed and corruption that created the toxic economic swamp we are still fighting to get ourselves out of -- are struggling. Many of them have closed down (or been taken over by the FDIC) over the last 12 months. The government policy of protecting the Too Big and Politically Connected to Fail is badly hurting the small banks, which are having a much harder time competing in the financial marketplace. As a result, a system which was already dangerously concentrated at the top has only become more so.

We talked about the outrage of big, bailed-out banks turning around and spending millions of dollars on lobbying to gut or kill financial reform -- including "too big to fail" legislation and regulation of the derivatives that played such a huge part in the meltdown. And as we contrasted that with the efforts of local banks to show that you can both be profitable and have a positive impact on the community, an idea took hold: why don't we take our money out of these big banks and put them into community banks? And what, we asked ourselves, would happen if lots of people around America decided to do the same thing? Our money has been used to make the system worse -- what if we used it to make the system better?

Everyone around the table quickly got excited (granted we are an excitable group), and began tossing out suggestions for how to get this idea circulating.

Eugene, the filmmaker among us, remarked that the contrast between the big banks and the community banks we were talking about was very much like the story in the classic Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life, where community banker George Bailey helps the people of Bedford Falls escape the grip of the rapacious and predatory banker Mr. Potter.

It was a lightbulb moment. And, unlike the vast majority of dinner conversations, the excitement over this idea didn't end with dessert. It actually led to something -- thanks in great part to Eugene and his remarkable team, who got to work and, in record time, created a brilliant, powerful, and inspiring video playing off the It's a Wonderful Life concept. Watch it below.

Within a few days, the rest of the pieces fell into place, including an agreement with top financial analysts Chris Whalen and Dennis Santiago, who gave us access to their IRA (Institutional Risk Analytics) database. Using this tool, everyone will be able to plug in their zip code and quickly get a list of the small, solvent Main Street banks operating in their community.

The idea is simple: If enough people who have money in one of the big four banks move it into smaller, more local, more traditional community banks, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward re-rigging the financial system so it becomes again the productive, stable engine for growth it's meant to be. It's neither Left nor Right -- it's populism at its best. Consider it a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest. It's time for Americans to move their money out of these reckless behemoths. And you don't have to worry, there is zero risk: deposit insurance is just as good at small banks -- and unlike the big banks they don't provide the toxic dividend of derivatives trading in a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose fashion.

Think of the message it will send to Wall Street -- and to the White House. That we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won't wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can't count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves -- and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America's community banks.

So watch Eugene's amazing video, then go to www.moveyourmoney.info to learn more about how easy it is to move your money. And pass the idea on to your friends (help make this video -- and this idea -- go viral!).

JP Morgan/Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America may be "too big to fail" -- but they are not too big to feel the impact of hundreds of thousands of people taking action to change a broken financial and political system. Let them gamble with their own money, not yours. Let's turn big banks into smaller banks. We'll all be better off -- and safer -- as a result.

Make it your New Year's resolution to move your money. We can't think of a better way to start 2010.

Rock on Santa!

George Thorogood & the Delaware Destroyers!

Crank up the volume and rattle the needles right off the Tree!

Merry Rock & Roll Christmas! From me in the Great White North to you where-ever you are!

Santa d.

Ho Ho Fucking Ho! Merry Christmas! (X Rated)

Think the Elves have had enough?



Merry! Merry!

d.