Thursday, June 29, 2006
The tone of this article is so pathetic. When Chelsea is partying with Madonna and Donatella Versace and Gweneth Paltrow...it's so chic...she's so glamourous. When Jenna Bush moves to Latin America to teach...she's abandoning her Margaritas. I'm sending an email to these writers. Take a Read....from the Washington Post.
Teacher Twin Ready for Takeoff
By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Thursday, June 29, 2006; C01
Jenna Bush , the nation's most famous public-school teacher, is skipping the country and bidding a happy adios to the young-Washington social scene she once ruled. Uh-oh, what do we do now?
Friends say that the blond, younger-by-minutes First Twin has been quietly making plans over recent months to leave D.C. for a teaching job in Latin America, most likely around the end of summer.
The move reflects the growing seriousness of a 24-year-old whose collegiate partying provided endless fun for gossip columnists during her father's first years in office -- yet also offers an escape from the Washington spotlight she and sister Barbara always have seemed to resent. Last week marked her final day at the Mount Pleasant charter school where she taught for a year and a half.
"First-year teaching is one of the most difficult jobs a person can have," said Linda Moore , head of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, where Jenna and a fellow instructor oversaw a class of third-graders being taught in both English and Spanish. "She was a wonderful first-year teacher."
The White House, which maintains a strict no-comment policy on All Things Twin, would not elaborate on Jenna's plans or address questions about the cost of providing security for her overseas.
There seems to be little precedent, though, for the spawn of a sitting commander-in-chief to move abroad. Barbara spent at least several weeks doing low-profile volunteer work at a hospital in South Africa last summer, but had returned to the States by the fall. ( Chelsea Clinton 's sojourn at Oxford began several months after her parents left the White House.)
According to Carl Sferrazza Anthony , author of 11 books on first families, "you'd have to go back to a young girl who was really popular in her day: the daughter of Ulysses S. Grant ." Like the Bush twins, Nellie Grant was a social live wire who was a magnet for the paparazzi equivalent of the 1870s. She married a prominent Englishman in a splashy White House ceremony and moved across the pond with him -- but that was well before the Secret Service was assigned to guard presidential families.
Meanwhile, Jenna's departure will mark the end of an era for Washington, which now will be completely Twinless. After several months floating around town, Barbara bailed on D.C. just weeks ago, moving to Manhattan, where she recently landed a job in education programming at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Then again, it's been a while since the twins truly cut loose in public. Underage drinking escapades at Stetson's? That was so first term. Two years ago, Jenna's mere appearance at a Georgetown watering hole was enough to put Smith Point on the map for the young preppy set. But her more recent outings, though slavishly chronicled in this column, have been far more subdued -- weekend dinners at nice restaurants, shopping trips and a Richmond 10K with "Sister."
Could be the early-morning hours of her teaching job, or the influence of longtime boyfriend Henry Hager , who just left his Commerce job to get an MBA at U-Va.'s Darden School. (They'll try to keep their love alive across the Americas.) Or it could just be, you know, growing up. She's slimmer than in her old party snaps, with a sleeker haircut. Friends paint a picture of Jenna as "normal," down-to-earth and approachably nice. While her dark-haired sister went east to Yale and is known to show up at beautiful-people galas, Jenna stayed close to home at the University of Texas. She has told friends she can't stand Washington and the who-do-you-work-for ? mentality of its ambitious young politico class.
"She has a disdain for that whole rat race," said one, "despite the fact that she's the person everyone would want to talk to."
Yesterday, neighbors spotted moving vans outside her home near Georgetown; it's believed she'll spend her final weeks in town crashing with the 'rents on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Teacher Twin Ready for Takeoff
By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Thursday, June 29, 2006; C01
Jenna Bush , the nation's most famous public-school teacher, is skipping the country and bidding a happy adios to the young-Washington social scene she once ruled. Uh-oh, what do we do now?
Friends say that the blond, younger-by-minutes First Twin has been quietly making plans over recent months to leave D.C. for a teaching job in Latin America, most likely around the end of summer.
The move reflects the growing seriousness of a 24-year-old whose collegiate partying provided endless fun for gossip columnists during her father's first years in office -- yet also offers an escape from the Washington spotlight she and sister Barbara always have seemed to resent. Last week marked her final day at the Mount Pleasant charter school where she taught for a year and a half.
"First-year teaching is one of the most difficult jobs a person can have," said Linda Moore , head of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, where Jenna and a fellow instructor oversaw a class of third-graders being taught in both English and Spanish. "She was a wonderful first-year teacher."
The White House, which maintains a strict no-comment policy on All Things Twin, would not elaborate on Jenna's plans or address questions about the cost of providing security for her overseas.
There seems to be little precedent, though, for the spawn of a sitting commander-in-chief to move abroad. Barbara spent at least several weeks doing low-profile volunteer work at a hospital in South Africa last summer, but had returned to the States by the fall. ( Chelsea Clinton 's sojourn at Oxford began several months after her parents left the White House.)
According to Carl Sferrazza Anthony , author of 11 books on first families, "you'd have to go back to a young girl who was really popular in her day: the daughter of Ulysses S. Grant ." Like the Bush twins, Nellie Grant was a social live wire who was a magnet for the paparazzi equivalent of the 1870s. She married a prominent Englishman in a splashy White House ceremony and moved across the pond with him -- but that was well before the Secret Service was assigned to guard presidential families.
Meanwhile, Jenna's departure will mark the end of an era for Washington, which now will be completely Twinless. After several months floating around town, Barbara bailed on D.C. just weeks ago, moving to Manhattan, where she recently landed a job in education programming at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Then again, it's been a while since the twins truly cut loose in public. Underage drinking escapades at Stetson's? That was so first term. Two years ago, Jenna's mere appearance at a Georgetown watering hole was enough to put Smith Point on the map for the young preppy set. But her more recent outings, though slavishly chronicled in this column, have been far more subdued -- weekend dinners at nice restaurants, shopping trips and a Richmond 10K with "Sister."
Could be the early-morning hours of her teaching job, or the influence of longtime boyfriend Henry Hager , who just left his Commerce job to get an MBA at U-Va.'s Darden School. (They'll try to keep their love alive across the Americas.) Or it could just be, you know, growing up. She's slimmer than in her old party snaps, with a sleeker haircut. Friends paint a picture of Jenna as "normal," down-to-earth and approachably nice. While her dark-haired sister went east to Yale and is known to show up at beautiful-people galas, Jenna stayed close to home at the University of Texas. She has told friends she can't stand Washington and the who-do-you-work-for ? mentality of its ambitious young politico class.
"She has a disdain for that whole rat race," said one, "despite the fact that she's the person everyone would want to talk to."
Yesterday, neighbors spotted moving vans outside her home near Georgetown; it's believed she'll spend her final weeks in town crashing with the 'rents on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Today we had a remarkable young man joining us on the air today. PFC Justin King was attending Advanced Individual Training as a new soldier in the Army Reserves. He was not feeling very well and after receiving treatments for what was thought to be pancreatitis, was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer has spread to his lungs, adrenal glands, spine and stomach. He has received multiple chemo treatments and is resting at home to be with his family, in Robinson Illinois.
The amazing thing about this man who is thirty years young--is that he still wants to serve his country. He enlisted in the Army after completing college and working in the civilian sector because he wanted to do something "for his country and more than for himself." He has said that he wants "to serve in some capacity to the best of my abilitiy and until my health fails, as a soldier. I want to tell other soldiers how to deal with a terminal illness, I want to do something useful."
Please show him you care about him. He loves the Cubs and motorcycles. He would not be well enough to travel...but if you could send a card, tell him that you are thinking of him and appreciate his service and his love of duty, honor and country.
PFC Justin King
805 W. Beech Street
Robinson, IL 62454
His parents are Robert and Pamela.
Thank you for caring!
Eileen Byrne, WLS
The amazing thing about this man who is thirty years young--is that he still wants to serve his country. He enlisted in the Army after completing college and working in the civilian sector because he wanted to do something "for his country and more than for himself." He has said that he wants "to serve in some capacity to the best of my abilitiy and until my health fails, as a soldier. I want to tell other soldiers how to deal with a terminal illness, I want to do something useful."
Please show him you care about him. He loves the Cubs and motorcycles. He would not be well enough to travel...but if you could send a card, tell him that you are thinking of him and appreciate his service and his love of duty, honor and country.
PFC Justin King
805 W. Beech Street
Robinson, IL 62454
His parents are Robert and Pamela.
Thank you for caring!
Eileen Byrne, WLS
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
I've gotten so many email complaints about not updating the blog. Sorry! You'd think I was reading six books that were about to be banned off a reading list in District 214. The meeting is tomorrow night in Arlington Heights and I plan on being there to hear what you...you ....the parents have to say. I'm not going to breathe a peep at this village meeting. These are YOUR teenagers, YOUR schools, this is YOUR reading list and your teen's education at stake. I've read six of the nine books that are proposed to be banned. Have you? If your teen attends Wheeling, Elk Grove High, Hersey, BG High School, Rolling Meadows or Prospect..I expect to see you there tomorrow night.
Thursday, May 25th, 7:30pm
Forest View Educational Center
2121 South Goebbert
Arlington Heights
Thursday, May 25th, 7:30pm
Forest View Educational Center
2121 South Goebbert
Arlington Heights
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Maid Of Honor Takes Bullet During Bouquet Toss
Woman Not Seriously Injured In Shooting
I understand the police have the bride's cousin in custody. Upset that she wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid, she hid a Smith and Wesson in her Kate Spade purse. -EB
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A North Texas bridesmaid was struck by a stray bullet while preparing for the bouquet toss at her best friend's wedding reception.
Strange things are known to happen at weddings, but one North Texas woman has a story that can top most after being struck by a stray bullet fired from more than a mile away.
Maid of Honor Kristin Campbell, who is an employee at NBC 5, was having a great time at her best friend's wedding in Houston and was about to make a go for the bouquet when she was shot.
"I didn't hear anything. I just knew I had a hole in my arm," said Campbell. "It was painful, but it wasn't terrible, but it did feel like I was shot. There was really no other way to describe it."
The bullet traveled far, more than a mile, and had lost most of its power after smashing through the roof of the ballroom where the reception was being held, NBC 5 reported.
The bullet fell out of Campbell's arm and onto the dance floor.
"Apparently, some man was upset and just fired his gun into the air about a mile away from where we were. The bullet just came through the roof and into my arm," said Campbell. "It's just a freak event."
For a few minutes after the shooting, no one could figure out what happened.
"I just was so shocked, how can she be hurt ... we didn't hear anything, we didn't see anything, why would she just start bleeding?" said bridesmaid Elissa Winder.
The wound didn't bleed much and Campbell is making a full recovery.
Campbell said the person who fired the shot should be punished.
"I do think it was terribly reckless and there should be charges. But I'm fine, just incredibly lucky and no one was badly hurt when they could have been," said Campbell.
Woman Not Seriously Injured In Shooting
I understand the police have the bride's cousin in custody. Upset that she wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid, she hid a Smith and Wesson in her Kate Spade purse. -EB
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A North Texas bridesmaid was struck by a stray bullet while preparing for the bouquet toss at her best friend's wedding reception.
Strange things are known to happen at weddings, but one North Texas woman has a story that can top most after being struck by a stray bullet fired from more than a mile away.
Maid of Honor Kristin Campbell, who is an employee at NBC 5, was having a great time at her best friend's wedding in Houston and was about to make a go for the bouquet when she was shot.
"I didn't hear anything. I just knew I had a hole in my arm," said Campbell. "It was painful, but it wasn't terrible, but it did feel like I was shot. There was really no other way to describe it."
The bullet traveled far, more than a mile, and had lost most of its power after smashing through the roof of the ballroom where the reception was being held, NBC 5 reported.
The bullet fell out of Campbell's arm and onto the dance floor.
"Apparently, some man was upset and just fired his gun into the air about a mile away from where we were. The bullet just came through the roof and into my arm," said Campbell. "It's just a freak event."
For a few minutes after the shooting, no one could figure out what happened.
"I just was so shocked, how can she be hurt ... we didn't hear anything, we didn't see anything, why would she just start bleeding?" said bridesmaid Elissa Winder.
The wound didn't bleed much and Campbell is making a full recovery.
Campbell said the person who fired the shot should be punished.
"I do think it was terribly reckless and there should be charges. But I'm fine, just incredibly lucky and no one was badly hurt when they could have been," said Campbell.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
It's Hard to Be A Pimp. Even if you're two.
Check out this column about dressing your toddler as a pimp. The new line of clothing, not actually from Kevin Federline, is called Pimpfants. My favorite item is the shirt that says "My Mom is a MILF". As if.
Toddler ’tude: Pimpfants pushes tyke-trash style
By Beth Teitell
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but bring back the ‘‘My grandma went to Florida and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” kidswear.
Anything’s better than the latest attempt to fashion victimize children: Pimpfants wear. As in ‘‘pimp” plus ‘‘infant.”
Britney wannabes - rev up your credit cards, there’s a double-wide load of styles to choose from. There’s the winsome ‘‘Baby Beater” tank tops, the mini basketball uniform with ‘‘Jr. Pimp Squad” across the jersey or the T-shirts that read ‘‘My Mom Is a MILF.” (I’d explain MILF, but this is a family newspaper.)
Speaking of families, parents who dress their kids in Pimpfants might as well start saving for pole-dancing lessons - and therapy sessions - now. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the kids aren’t begging for the stuff. ‘‘But mom, all the other toddlers have ‘Pimpfant’ onesies.”
Where does such design genius come from? I had the pleasure of speaking with the brainchild behind Pimpfants Inc. yesterday, as one Jared Parsons explained his eureka moment. A former skateboarder, he was shopping for clothes for his first son, who’s now 5 and quite a fashion plate. ‘‘I wanted him to dress how me and my friends dress,” Parsons said, ‘‘but it’s hard to find baby clothes like that.” Gee, I wonder why. Parsons and his friends use the word ‘‘pimp” to mean ‘‘styling,” he explained, and just as he was wishing he could buy his infant some styling clothes it came to him: Pimpfants. ‘‘Wow,” he said to himself, ‘‘that’s a really good idea.”
How good? Well yesterday, after word of Pimpfants wear hit the Drudge Report Web site, the server got more hits than it could handle.
Parsons sounded so nice I almost felt bad asking him about, you know, matters of taste. ‘‘We are getting a lot of positive feedback,” he said. And those who are horrified at the thought of a child wearing a shirt that says ‘‘pimp”?
It’s simply a matter of understanding the new lingo. ‘‘A lot of people have trouble thinking of the word ‘pimp’ without associating it with someone on the street.”
Funny, that.
Meanwhile, Parsons said he plans to introduce some new, top-secret designs at a trade show in - where else? - Las Vegas in August. I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping for some chewing tobacco in strained-pea flavor, a baby-bottle cap based on those beer hats that hold two cans and deliver the goods via hose to the wearer’s mouth, and a mullet toupee for the baby without hair.
If I had a bit more gumption, I’d put together a Pimpfant-wearing infant rap group. You know, TWA - Toddlers With Attitude.
Check out this column about dressing your toddler as a pimp. The new line of clothing, not actually from Kevin Federline, is called Pimpfants. My favorite item is the shirt that says "My Mom is a MILF". As if.
Toddler ’tude: Pimpfants pushes tyke-trash style
By Beth Teitell
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but bring back the ‘‘My grandma went to Florida and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” kidswear.
Anything’s better than the latest attempt to fashion victimize children: Pimpfants wear. As in ‘‘pimp” plus ‘‘infant.”
Britney wannabes - rev up your credit cards, there’s a double-wide load of styles to choose from. There’s the winsome ‘‘Baby Beater” tank tops, the mini basketball uniform with ‘‘Jr. Pimp Squad” across the jersey or the T-shirts that read ‘‘My Mom Is a MILF.” (I’d explain MILF, but this is a family newspaper.)
Speaking of families, parents who dress their kids in Pimpfants might as well start saving for pole-dancing lessons - and therapy sessions - now. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the kids aren’t begging for the stuff. ‘‘But mom, all the other toddlers have ‘Pimpfant’ onesies.”
Where does such design genius come from? I had the pleasure of speaking with the brainchild behind Pimpfants Inc. yesterday, as one Jared Parsons explained his eureka moment. A former skateboarder, he was shopping for clothes for his first son, who’s now 5 and quite a fashion plate. ‘‘I wanted him to dress how me and my friends dress,” Parsons said, ‘‘but it’s hard to find baby clothes like that.” Gee, I wonder why. Parsons and his friends use the word ‘‘pimp” to mean ‘‘styling,” he explained, and just as he was wishing he could buy his infant some styling clothes it came to him: Pimpfants. ‘‘Wow,” he said to himself, ‘‘that’s a really good idea.”
How good? Well yesterday, after word of Pimpfants wear hit the Drudge Report Web site, the server got more hits than it could handle.
Parsons sounded so nice I almost felt bad asking him about, you know, matters of taste. ‘‘We are getting a lot of positive feedback,” he said. And those who are horrified at the thought of a child wearing a shirt that says ‘‘pimp”?
It’s simply a matter of understanding the new lingo. ‘‘A lot of people have trouble thinking of the word ‘pimp’ without associating it with someone on the street.”
Funny, that.
Meanwhile, Parsons said he plans to introduce some new, top-secret designs at a trade show in - where else? - Las Vegas in August. I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping for some chewing tobacco in strained-pea flavor, a baby-bottle cap based on those beer hats that hold two cans and deliver the goods via hose to the wearer’s mouth, and a mullet toupee for the baby without hair.
If I had a bit more gumption, I’d put together a Pimpfant-wearing infant rap group. You know, TWA - Toddlers With Attitude.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Check out the email I get. What the hell?
Hello mby dear friend
I was looking through the weab few weeks ago and found your profile. Now aI decided to email you to get to know you better. I ama coaming to your country ina few weeks and thought may be we can meaet each other. I am pretty looking girl. I am 25. Do not reply to this address directly. Email me back at r*va@pop****
Awwwright. How about some real email? DO YOU THINK THE IMMIGRATION RALLIES HELD YESTERDAY HELPED OR HURT THE CAUSE OF ILLEGALS? Email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com
Emails will be read on-air tomorrow. Thanks!
Hello mby dear friend
I was looking through the weab few weeks ago and found your profile. Now aI decided to email you to get to know you better. I ama coaming to your country ina few weeks and thought may be we can meaet each other. I am pretty looking girl. I am 25. Do not reply to this address directly. Email me back at r*va@pop****
Awwwright. How about some real email? DO YOU THINK THE IMMIGRATION RALLIES HELD YESTERDAY HELPED OR HURT THE CAUSE OF ILLEGALS? Email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com
Emails will be read on-air tomorrow. Thanks!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Okay. All the hype in today's weekend reviews is about the movie, "United 93". I'm no film critic..but I didn't love this movie and I feel almost ashamed to give my opinion about it because every critic is falling over themselves over this picture. If you listened to today's interview with entertainment reporter, Bill Diehl, he seemed almost speechless that I didn't like it like everybody else. Here's why. Numero Uno reason is it is too soon. It is too soon because the movie is inaccurate and frankly, if the filmmakers waited....they would have been closer to getting it right. The movie killed off the pilots. We now know from the cockpit recording...that the hijackers didn't slash the throats of all the pilots...they waited and contemplated getting them back into the cockpit. The movie also did not have all the transmissions between ground control and the hijackers and the hijackers and passengers, that was overheard by the recording. Not in it. Should have waited to get it right.
The second reason I wouldn't pay to see "United 93" is that I found it overly political. Where is the President/where is the Vice President/why can't the military shoot this plane down/why aren't we grounding all of the planes? It's all George's fault. What could the President do? Besides ground every single flight into and out of the United States and everywhere inbetween. Wouldn't have mattered. The deadly flights had already taken off. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed at 8:46am. Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon took off at 8:21am and Flight 93 took to the sky at 8:43am. Meanwhile, we thought that what eventually turned out to be American Airlines Flight 11, was a Cessna plane, a hoax, a pilot having a heart attack. The movie brings up some of these...but it's just in passing. The problem with the movie is that you watch it with the hindsight and all of the after-knowledge of 9-11. It's imposssible to watch the movie after the first crash as if this is an ordinary Tuesday morning. We know more seating in the theater than the FAA/ground control/military on-screen and you want to jump out of your seat and throttle them. "DO SOMETHING! GROUND THE PLANES! THE PENTAGON IS NEXT! DON'T LET FLIGHT 93 TAKE OFF!" And inevitably, you want to yell at the unseen President. "GET OFF YOUR DUFF! STOP READING "MY PET GOAT"! GET OUT OF THERE! DOOOOOOOOOOO SOMETHING!" I left the movie more angry at the politics of Hollywood than at the terrorists. And my guess is that on a subliminal level, movie-goers will leave the theater as angry at the Bush administration as Al Quaeda. That's a big score for Hollywood. I don't blame Bill Clinton for not catching OBL when he was in the Sudan. Shoot. We shouted "Lewinsky Diversion!!!" after we attacked an aspirin factory. I don't blame George W. for trying to not create a disturbance in front of children on Sept. 11th. I don't think I would have reacted the same way. But I don't know how I would have behaved. I was paralyzed that morning the way a lot of you were. Who freakin' cares anyway? The fact is, we are not in 2001 anymore. Nothing we do, watch, read or discuss will EVER put us back on that Tuesday morning. Let's refocus on our enemy....and that is not ourselves...it is the terrorists who are out there, as I write, plotting, planning, gleeful in their schemes for 9-11 Part Two. When it happens....I know what will be said. Just the way we smirked at our September 10th mentality, we're doing the same thing again. We're fighting ourselves on gas prices and illegal immigration. Who gives a damn about Tom Cruise's Tomkitten and Angelina Jolie taking Brad Pitt away? We have forgotten our enemy and although this movie features hijackers...I walked out of the theater thinking we're more to blame than them. Score another for the terrorists.
The movie is well-filmed and the actors are great. That's why I give it stars. I don't know how well it will do this weekend. I don't know that viewers are ready to make 9-11 a choice for their personal entertainment...but it will put on screen for us what the heroes on that flight did in sacrifice for their country and fellow citizens. It will visualize for us their terror..and becomes a story of personal heroism. On that level, it is a triumph. No attempted hijacking will ever succeed because of Mark Bingham, Todd Beamer and the American heroes on United 93. Ten percent of the profits will go to build a memorial for these brave men and women. My suggestion? Skip the movie, make a donation to the families and they'll get it all. They deserve that much.
I've received more emails about the May 1st, Monday's illegal immigration rally. If you would like to post on this blog, email your thoughts to eileen.f.byrne@abc.com
Hi Eileen!
All I can say is that I am having surgery early monday morning. I hope to GOD that no illegals that work within my hospital, that could be involved in an indirect (or direct) way to my surgery, decide to walk out and take a day of "vacation". Susan
Good Morning Eileen,
Allright, you've got guests "A" that knock politely at the door, they wait till invited in, they say please and thank you and, through their pleasant visit you learn more about them, appretiate them and hope they'll stay. Guests "B" breaks into your house, demands that you do everything for them that you would do for your own family, they demand that you speak like them and are horribly insulted if you but imply that they may be impolite. You got your legal aliens and your criminal aliens, see the connection?
Another thought:
Hi, Eileen!
On May 1st, I plan on taking a stand AGAINST all of this Mexican bullsh**
by eating out for every meal and even going out shopping which I normally
don't do on weekdays. This is a two pronged attack on my part. First, if
I and many other Americans do this, this will help reduce any impact the
Mexican boycotts will have American companies. Plus, it will show them
that they can do nearly the same amount of business without having to
employee any Mexicans (who decided not to show up for work that day).
Love your show. Have a great day!
Ken - Omaha
More...on the way
The second reason I wouldn't pay to see "United 93" is that I found it overly political. Where is the President/where is the Vice President/why can't the military shoot this plane down/why aren't we grounding all of the planes? It's all George's fault. What could the President do? Besides ground every single flight into and out of the United States and everywhere inbetween. Wouldn't have mattered. The deadly flights had already taken off. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed at 8:46am. Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon took off at 8:21am and Flight 93 took to the sky at 8:43am. Meanwhile, we thought that what eventually turned out to be American Airlines Flight 11, was a Cessna plane, a hoax, a pilot having a heart attack. The movie brings up some of these...but it's just in passing. The problem with the movie is that you watch it with the hindsight and all of the after-knowledge of 9-11. It's imposssible to watch the movie after the first crash as if this is an ordinary Tuesday morning. We know more seating in the theater than the FAA/ground control/military on-screen and you want to jump out of your seat and throttle them. "DO SOMETHING! GROUND THE PLANES! THE PENTAGON IS NEXT! DON'T LET FLIGHT 93 TAKE OFF!" And inevitably, you want to yell at the unseen President. "GET OFF YOUR DUFF! STOP READING "MY PET GOAT"! GET OUT OF THERE! DOOOOOOOOOOO SOMETHING!" I left the movie more angry at the politics of Hollywood than at the terrorists. And my guess is that on a subliminal level, movie-goers will leave the theater as angry at the Bush administration as Al Quaeda. That's a big score for Hollywood. I don't blame Bill Clinton for not catching OBL when he was in the Sudan. Shoot. We shouted "Lewinsky Diversion!!!" after we attacked an aspirin factory. I don't blame George W. for trying to not create a disturbance in front of children on Sept. 11th. I don't think I would have reacted the same way. But I don't know how I would have behaved. I was paralyzed that morning the way a lot of you were. Who freakin' cares anyway? The fact is, we are not in 2001 anymore. Nothing we do, watch, read or discuss will EVER put us back on that Tuesday morning. Let's refocus on our enemy....and that is not ourselves...it is the terrorists who are out there, as I write, plotting, planning, gleeful in their schemes for 9-11 Part Two. When it happens....I know what will be said. Just the way we smirked at our September 10th mentality, we're doing the same thing again. We're fighting ourselves on gas prices and illegal immigration. Who gives a damn about Tom Cruise's Tomkitten and Angelina Jolie taking Brad Pitt away? We have forgotten our enemy and although this movie features hijackers...I walked out of the theater thinking we're more to blame than them. Score another for the terrorists.
The movie is well-filmed and the actors are great. That's why I give it stars. I don't know how well it will do this weekend. I don't know that viewers are ready to make 9-11 a choice for their personal entertainment...but it will put on screen for us what the heroes on that flight did in sacrifice for their country and fellow citizens. It will visualize for us their terror..and becomes a story of personal heroism. On that level, it is a triumph. No attempted hijacking will ever succeed because of Mark Bingham, Todd Beamer and the American heroes on United 93. Ten percent of the profits will go to build a memorial for these brave men and women. My suggestion? Skip the movie, make a donation to the families and they'll get it all. They deserve that much.
I've received more emails about the May 1st, Monday's illegal immigration rally. If you would like to post on this blog, email your thoughts to eileen.f.byrne@abc.com
Hi Eileen!
All I can say is that I am having surgery early monday morning. I hope to GOD that no illegals that work within my hospital, that could be involved in an indirect (or direct) way to my surgery, decide to walk out and take a day of "vacation". Susan
Good Morning Eileen,
Allright, you've got guests "A" that knock politely at the door, they wait till invited in, they say please and thank you and, through their pleasant visit you learn more about them, appretiate them and hope they'll stay. Guests "B" breaks into your house, demands that you do everything for them that you would do for your own family, they demand that you speak like them and are horribly insulted if you but imply that they may be impolite. You got your legal aliens and your criminal aliens, see the connection?
Another thought:
Hi, Eileen!
On May 1st, I plan on taking a stand AGAINST all of this Mexican bullsh**
by eating out for every meal and even going out shopping which I normally
don't do on weekdays. This is a two pronged attack on my part. First, if
I and many other Americans do this, this will help reduce any impact the
Mexican boycotts will have American companies. Plus, it will show them
that they can do nearly the same amount of business without having to
employee any Mexicans (who decided not to show up for work that day).
Love your show. Have a great day!
Ken - Omaha
More...on the way