Ride 2 Recovery Day 1: How Do You Know?

A therapeutic challenge: Veterans with physical, mental injuries will bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

To Support Our Wounded Vets.

Day one of the 2nd annual Golden State Challenge with more than 150 participants headed of from the San Francisco VA towards the seaside town of Santa Cruz. The 75-mile ride took the riders thru scenic Northern California coastline including Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, and the climb of Bonnie Doon. The weather could not have been more perfect with sunny skies and a nice 15 mph tailwind. The ride is made up of groups from the Palo Alto, San Francisco, Livermoore, Fresno, Antelope Valley, West LA, and Sepulveda VA’s. Military groups come from Walter Reed, Brooke Army MC, San Diego Naval MC, Ft Irwin, Ft. Eustice, California National Guard, and several Viet Nam vets. One of the best scenes of the day was SF VA’s Eric Downing come out on his tandem with his 5 year old son. (more…)

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Tags: Elmer Urgarte, Golden State Challenge, Half Moon Bay, Iraq, Military
Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 8:22 am in Military | 2408943 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/10/06/road-2-recovery-day-1-how-do-you-know/Ride+2+Recovery+Day+1%3A+How+Do+You+Know%3F2009-10-06+15%3A22%3A42Ride+2+Recovery

Two Firefights: One Video

July 2009, Sangin, Afghanistan.

05 October 2009

In July, British soldiers and I boarded a CH-47 helicopter at Camp Bastion for the flight to FOB Jackson at Sangin where fighting is brutal.  The helicopter was so stuffed with men, gear and supplies that the cargo was not even strapped down.  We steadied the long stack with our hands and prayed that the pilots not begin flying violent evasive maneuvers.  The tail gunner partially lifted the ramp to prevent bundles from tumbling into the skies, and that was it for securing the bundles.  Just a week before, a giant MI-26 helicopter was shot down on final approach to this same landing zone.  All aboard died in flames, as did two children on the ground. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, firefighters, Sangin
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 6:29 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 24101062 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/10/05/two-firefights-one-video/Two+Firefights%3A+One+Video+2009-10-06+01%3A29%3A53Michael+Yon

The G.I. Film Festival and Gary Sinise: Supporting Our Troops

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the GI Film Festival at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The Festival took place in one day and showed films that portray American enlisted men and women in a favorable light as opposed to the usual Hollywood fare. This festival was an offshoot of the main GI Film Festival which takes place in May every year in Washington D.C. The main event lasts seven days and includes showings of approximately 50 films. This was a one day shortened version in which the crème of the crop were exhibited. You can find out more details about the festival at: http://www.gifilmfestival.com. I also recommend that if you are so inclined, you make a donation to this worthy cause.

Among the screened films was a documentary entitled “About Face,” which was directed by Steve Karras. To me, the film is a masterpiece. It depicts a group of Jewish Refugees from both Germany and Austria that joined the American and British Armed Forces in WWII to fight against their native lands. The film was both moving and educational. In fact, I must state I was not even aware there was so many of these refugees. Apparently, they numbered approximately 10,000. And, because of their knowledge of the native languages of the enemy, many of them were placed in positions that put them directly into contact with the same Germans who were persecuting their family and relatives. (more…)

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Tags: armed forces, Bedford Virginia, D-Day, gary sinise, germany
Posted Oct 4th 2009 at 5:54 pm in Featured Story, Film, Military | 24059419 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/fdemartini/2009/10/04/the-g-i-film-festival-and-gary-sinise-supporting-our-troops/The+G.I.+Film+Festival+and+Gary+Sinise%3A+Supporting+Our+Troops+2009-10-05+00%3A54%3A44Frank+DeMartini

‘Grateful Nation’ Debuts Tomorrow on ESPN2

On Saturday, October 3rd, a fantastic new show premieres on ESPN2.

“Grateful Nation is a unique and compelling outdoor adventure series that goes behind the scenes and into the field with American Veterans. Hosted by Airborne Ranger Tim Abell, this original unscripted program takes viewers inside the minds of wounded combat veterans and returns them to their traditional American hunting heritage.

Tim’s innovative interviewing strategy together with stunning HD videography launches Grateful Nation into a unique category that captures a whole new audience of sportsmen and patriots.”

The first episode of “Grateful Nation” follows actor and Army Veteran Tim Abell and Army Sergeant First Class Greg Stube on the hunt of a lifetime.

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with SFC Greg Stube via telephone and was immediately struck by his eloquence.  Greg has the unusual ability to talk about enormous concepts on a very small and personal level.  I sometimes find it difficult to speak clearly about the ideas of duty and sacrifice.  SFC Stube speaks of such things with deep understanding and with perfect clarity.  He learned first hand and up close what these concepts are all about. (more…)

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Tags: "Grateful Nation", ESPN2, SFC Greg Stube, Tim Abell
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 10:35 am in Military, Reviews | 23748215 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/10/02/grateful-nation-debuts-tomorrow-on-espn2/%27Grateful+Nation%27+Debuts+Tomorrow+on+ESPN22009-10-02+17%3A35%3A24J.R.+Head

Pedro Inspired the Vikings

Note: I asked Danish journalist Camilla Fuhr Nilsson to write a couple of stories about the Air Force Pedros.  After publication of her first installment, she emailed from Afghanistan, surprised to have gotten “thank you” notes from readers.  As a journalist, Camilla had never gotten “thank yous” before.  In the about five years I have covered the wars, it is safe to say that British and American service members, their families and others, have thanked me 100% of the time, for each of hundreds of dispatches.  That would be tens of thousands of thank yous…maybe more.  If not for those thank yous, I would have quit after just a few months in combat.  The power of a sincere “thank you” can never be measured.  And now Camilla’s second story:

By Camilla Fuhr Nilsson
Published: 30 September 2009

“These things we do that others may live” is the current motto of the US Air Force combat search and rescue team, or Pedro as they are called when deployed to Afghanistan. They fly into the battlefield with their smooth Pave Hawk helicopters and evacuate the wounded infantry soldiers and Marines. On a recent evacuation of two Danish soldiers in the middle of a battle with the Taliban, the Viking ancestors made a memorable difference to the 129th American Air Force Pedros crew. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, Air Force Pedros, Camilla Fuhr Nilsson, Military
Posted Sep 30th 2009 at 7:25 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 23858215 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/30/pedro-inspired-the-vikings/Pedro+Inspired+the+Vikings+2009-10-01+02%3A25%3A34Michael+Yon

Lonewolf Diaries: Supporting The Military is Sooo Last Adminstration!

It’s no secret that the good ol’ stars and starlets of tinseltown have no respect for the men and women of our military. Much like our president, however, they’re smart enough to know that they should act as though they do.

It’s exactly why every now and then a Hollywood celebrity will say that they “support our troops but not the war” or that “these men and women shouldn’t be dying in vain.” Is anybody still fooled by those one-liners anymore? Similarly in our president’s case, it’s why he continually says that he supports our troops without giving them so much as a shred of his time. I’m sure that the men and women putting themselves in harms way will understand though. After all, he’s got a meeting with one Mr. David Letterman.

For those who haven’t yet heard, Obama has met with General Stanley McChrystal (the good man in charge of leading our honorable troops to victory in Afghanistan) only once, yes, ONCE in the last seventy days. So it seems apparent that while Obama has no time to devote to the men and women of our armed services (the same people who ultimately make him look good), he has plenty of time to devote to promoting himself.

As Barack Obama devotes more time to personal press than any other president in history (in record time to boot), it’s becoming more and more glaringly apparent… Our president is more Paris Hilton than General Patton. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, David Letterman, General Patton, General Stanley McChrystal
Posted Sep 29th 2009 at 5:31 pm in Featured Story, Lone Wolf Diaries, Military, Politics | 23745482 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/scrowder/2009/09/29/lonewolf-diaries-supporting-the-military-is-sooo-last-adminstration/Lonewolf+Diaries%3A+Supporting+The+Military+is+Sooo+Last+Adminstration%212009-09-30+00%3A31%3A19Steven+Crowder

Michael Yon Dispatch: The American Pedros – No Nonsense Combat Rescuers

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Tags: Afghanistan, Beowolf, Black Hawk Down, Camilla Fuhr Nilsson, Super troopers
Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 8:25 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 2364586 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/27/michael-yon-dispatch-the-american-pedros-no-nonsense-combat-rescuers/Michael+Yon+Dispatch%3A+The+American+Pedros+-+No+Nonsense+Combat+Rescuers+2009-09-28+03%3A25%3A45Michael+Yon

Bullshit Bob

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Tags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, British 2 Rifles, British Minister of Defence, Censoring Helmand
Posted Sep 26th 2009 at 5:12 am in Featured Story, Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 23611840 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/26/bullshit-bob/Bullshit+Bob+2009-09-26+12%3A12%3A20Michael+Yon

America in Danger: Important Courtroom Battles

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Tags: David Rivkin, Maqaleh v. Gates, Michael Yon
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 4:18 pm in Law, Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 23524617 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/24/america-in-danger-important-courtroom-battles/America+in+Danger%3A+Important+Courtroom+Battles2009-09-24+23%3A18%3A27Michael+Yon

Gary Sinise and the Reagan Foundation Host the Best of the GI Film Festival “Road Show”

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, September 26, 2009

On Saturday, September 26, 2009, award-winning actor Gary Sinise and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation will present the award-winning GI Film Festival at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to screen the “Best of the Festival.”  The GI Film Festival is the first and only film festival in the nation that honors the successes and sacrifices of the American GI through the medium of film.  (Please visit www.gifilmfestival.com/losangeles for more information and to purchase your tickets.) 

Tickets are $25 per person and include access to all screenings for the day and free admission into the Reagan Library and Air Force One Pavilion.  VIP tickets are $40 per person and include all screenings and admission, as well as a special reception with Gary Sinise following the prime time screening. (more…)

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Tags: gary sinise, GI Film Festival, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 5:05 am in Film, Military | 23215824 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gifilmfestival/2009/09/24/gary-sinise-and-the-reagan-foundation-host-the-best-of-the-gi-film-festival-road-show/Gary+Sinise+and+the+Reagan+Foundation+Host+the+Best+of+the+GI+Film+Festival+%E2%80%9CRoad+Show%E2%80%9D2009-09-24+12%3A05%3A15G.I.+Film+Festival

Honoring September 11th: We Need Not Be Told

Before we can be of service to those who still breathe, we must remember those whose breath was taken from them on this day, and who took it. The current administration has changed this day into a national day of service, another move to further remove us from the reality of life as it is and towards the Utopian life that lives inside their head. And to help nudge society and our popular culture into that imaginary world, the administration has a covert operative in Hollywood.

Hollywood has beneath it a core of self-hatred, mostly because those who run it are engulfed in a glowing guilt rivaled by no religion or ideology. A guilt which silently tells them that their white skin is not worthy of the riches they have. And most are not. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, hollywood, Military
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 7:41 pm in Culture, Military, Politics | 22279017 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jlindsey/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th/Honoring+September+11th%3A+We+Need+Not+Be+Told2009-09-12+02%3A41%3A25Joseph+Lindsey

Honoring September 11th: Flight 93, and a Free People

Today, eight years ago, acts of unspeakable evil were committed on American soil. Al-Qaeda terrorists killed almost 3,000 people.

Whether the effort to preserve our liberties, secure our Constitution, and protect our people is called the “Global War on Terror” or “Overseas Contingency Operations,” the result of failure is the same: more terror and death.

Let us stop to reflect on what happened eight years ago and pray for the families of the dead, both civilian and uniformed, and the living serving on the front lines of freedom. As we do, let us also remember the nature of the attacks in far flung places like Mumbai, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Beirut, Baghdad, Kabul, and Sderot. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, bush, Flight 93, Obama
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 6:14 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 22322231 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cdevore/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-flight-93-and-a-free-people/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Flight+93%2C+and+a+Free+People+2009-09-12+01%3A14%3A14Chuck+DeVore

Honoring September 11th: Serve and Remember

President Obama has designated September 11th as The National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Remember.

–

(more…)

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Tags: 9/11, air force, army, Marines, navy
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 5:22 pm in Culture, Military, Politics | 22270621 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-serve-and-remember/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Serve+and+Remember2009-09-12+00%3A22%3A15J.R.+Head

Honoring September 11th: Remember

I remember the moment when I turned on the television that morning eight years ago and saw smoke coming out of a hole in one of the World Trade Center Towers.  I had worked briefly in that building, during my short time living in New York.  I sat in horror, wondering what horrible accident had occurred, what misfortunate pilot had wandered off-course and made such a fatal error.  What a tragedy, I thought.  What a horrible accident.  What a shame.

And then, while I sat there in my comfortable American home watching my big screen television on my recently purchased couch with my coffee in hand, in real time, I saw a second plane hit the other tower.

At that moment, I knew:  This is an attack.  And everything changed for me, utterly and completely. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Obama, Pentagon, September 11th, war on terror
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 4:13 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 22231020 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mrwrestler/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-remember/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Remember2009-09-11+23%3A13%3A09Mr.+Wrestling+IV

Honoring September 11th: We Will Prevail

I recall vividly the profound sadness, anger and horror I felt the moment the first tower collapsed. 

I was glued to the television that fateful American morning when Matt interrupted Tom & Katie to report: “We just saw a live picture of what seemed to be a portion of the building falling away from the World Trade Center.”

–

After the initial shock then realization that our nation had been attacked, suffered thousands of innocent civilians murdered at the hands of barbarians, and that America had been thrust into war — My mind hurtled back to an earlier reading of Tom Clancy’s gripping novel Executive Orders Debt of Honor. 

In it, the author describes how a deranged commercial jet pilot — bent on revenge against America for WWII — crashes his 747 Jumbo jet into a joint session of Congress, thereby slaughtering nearly the entire American political leadership, save of course Mr. Clancy’s heroic protagonist, Jack Ryan.  (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, Barack Obama, bush, Congress
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 3:08 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 22313065 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abaldwin/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-we-will-prevail/Honoring+September+11th%3A+We+Will+Prevail2009-09-11+22%3A08%3A52Adam+Baldwin

Honoring September 11th: The Restart of History

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” – Michael Corleone, Godfather Part III

True story:  As a young man just out of law school, I was consumed with politics.  I even went to work on the Hill (Capitol, that is, Washington, DC) and in journalism.  But at some point in the ’90s, my interest faded away.

Francis Fukuyama wrote a then-notorious book called The End of History, published in 1992, shortly after the Soviet Union’s collapse.  He argued that the age-old ideological struggles over what constitutes the best form of government were over, and the undisputed universal champion was Western liberal (in the classic, free-market sense) democracy.

I grew up during the latter stages of the Cold War, when the existential threat of nuclear war hung over and colored almost everything.  It made politics seem vital to one’s very survival.  And I found the debate between capitalism and communism hugely compelling. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Clash of Civilizations, cold war, Politics, Soviet Union
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 1:51 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 22237815 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aleigh/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-the-restart-of-history/Honoring+September+11th%3A+The+Restart+of+History2009-09-11+20%3A51%3A51Andrew+Leigh

Honoring September 11th: He Kept Us Safe

My sense that the September 11th attacks would transcend partisan politics lasted less than a few days. That may sound cynical, but after counting myself as one of them for over a decade, I know how the Left thinks and I knew what was coming.

Within days of the attacks, it began. Without a word, those who had endlessly looped the video of the beating of Rodney King stopped airing footage of Americans jumping to their deaths from the burning World Trade Center. Not long after, those who would later sear the images of a few misfits at Abu Ghraib into the hearts and minds of the enemy, began the inevitable murmurs of “being responsible” when it came to airing footage of passenger planes exploding into the towers.

Soon, and predictably, the footage all but disappeared. 

Step one at chipping away at our resolve was complete, and all in the name of a few sophisticates doing what was best for us.

What followed was also expected. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, george w. bush, hollywood, media, September 11th
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 1:10 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 222918195 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-he-kept-us-safe/Honoring+September+11th%3A+He+Kept+Us+Safe2009-09-11+20%3A10%3A59John+Nolte

Honoring September 11th: The Rage Ratchet

Well, it’s been eight years since that terrible morning – George Bush was as deep into his first term of office as Barack Obama is today when those awful events unfolded. 

The anniversary in the mainstream media will be muted, as always – and we’ll come back to that. And even though three thousand people died that day, I want to concentrate on two – not to exclude the others, but simply to show you that they were not some abstract number but individual lives. 

Kevin Cosgrove

One of the people who died that day, eight years ago, was a businessman working in the World Trade Center. His name was Kevin Cosgrove. Kevin Cosgrove stands out from the other three thousand because he was on the phone to 9/11 when the tower he was in collapsed around him. (Fast forward to about 4:00 if you are pressed for time) And I’m warning you, this is not for the faint hearted.  (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Islam, Jonathan Briley, Kevin Cosgrove, September 11th
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 12:33 pm in Featured Story, Media Criticism, Military, Politics | 22255872 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bwhittle/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-the-rage-ratchet/Honoring+September+11th%3A+The+Rage+Ratchet2009-09-11+19%3A33%3A57Bill+Whittle

Honoring September 11th: Friend From Foe

It wasn’t a ‘disaster.’  Hurricanes, tsunami’s, earthquakes and famines are disasters.  It wasn’t a ‘tragedy.’ Accidental drownings, poisonings, SIDS, freak accidents….those are tragedies.  This was an evil, premeditated attack.  The worst, most deadly and devastating attack ever carried off against the United States.  And on our own ground – smack in the middle of the greatest city in the world, New York City. 

Nearly three thousand souls perished.  Not combatants on a battlefield, but average everyday citizens like you and me, starting their days like any other, working to earn a living to feed their families.  Along with them were hundreds of valiant firemen and policemen rushing in to the buildings to save lives. 

The images of those New Yorkers the next few days wandering the streets around Ground Zero with pictures of their missing loved ones, hoping beyond hope that perhaps it was a simple bump on the head and temporary amnesia that kept them from phoning home to tell them they were okay…  These thoughts suck the wind from my soul.  (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Islam, September 11th, Terror, War
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 11:50 am in Culture, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 222510170 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggraham/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-friend-from-foe/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Friend+From+Foe2009-09-11+18%3A50%3A05Gary+Graham

Honoring September 11th: We Remember

WE REMEMBER 9-11 

Smoke billows rolled
As planes shattered glass
Concrete and steel
The trees and the grass 

An enemy attack
On the Land of the Free
How could this happen
How could this be 

Our hearts gripped with fear
In sheer disbelief
Unbearable sorrow
One hardly could speak 

As evil sought triumph
Through catastrophic strife
Towers fell and buildings crumbled
Tragically ending innocent lives  (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Evil, remember, September 11th, Terror
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 11:10 am in Culture, Entertainment, Featured Story, Military, Politics | 22243855 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cstanton/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-we-remember/Honoring+September+11th%3A+We+Remember2009-09-11+18%3A10%3A12Chele+Stanton

Honoring September 11th: The Unavenged

Eight years later, and we still haven’t begun to do what needs to be done.

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Tags: 9/11, September 11th, war on terror
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 9:19 am in Art, Military, Politics | 22096652 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bfawstin/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-the-unavenged/Honoring+September+11th%3A+The+Unavenged2009-09-11+16%3A19%3A02Bosch+Fawstin

Honoring September 11th: Not a Tragedy

Offspring#2 steps into our bedroom and says:

“Do you know what’s going on in New York?”

My wife Karen and I look at each other, baffled.

“Better turn on the TV,” says Offspring#2.

Black smoke is rising from one of the Twin Towers. A newscaster tells us that a passenger jet airliner has hit the World Trade Center.

Ariel, our son, senses that something is happening. He tears himself away from his Talmud study and steps into our bedroom, gazes at the TV screen.

“How many people work there?” Ariel asks.

“Thousands, tens of thousands, it’s an entire world.” (more…)

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Tags: 9-11, Atrocity, Evil, Islamist Jihad, Tragedy
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 8:25 am in Military, Politics | 21782665 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-not-a-tragedy/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Not+a+Tragedy2009-09-11+15%3A25%3A39Robert+J.+Avrech

Honoring September 11th: They Want Us to Forget

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner

“We will write our own future, and the future will be what we want it to be.” – Barack Obama

In a quiet and seemingly innocuous gesture, President Obama has designated 9/11 as “The National Day of Service and Remembrance.” Personally, I liked the ring of “Patriot Day,” and what does “service and remembrance” mean, precisely ? The idea is to get Americans to “engage in meaningful service to create change…in four key areas”: education, health, energy/environment and community renewal. None of these seems to have anything to do with honoring 9/11, but that seems to be the point: in the Huffington Post, Muslim-American playwright Wajahat Ali wrote, “In the US, we are trying to move away from focusing on 9/11 as a day of horror, and instead make it a day to recommit ourselves to national service.” An excellent Spectator article provides a blunter translation: “Nihilistic liberals are planning to drain 9/11 of all meaning.” Why? ”They think it needs to be taken back from the right.”

In other words, they resent the surge of patriotism and righteous outrage stirred up by the attacks, sentiments that empower the political Right. In order to advance the leftist agenda of dismantling American exceptionalism and recasting ourselves as the villain in our history books, they need Americans to put 9/11 behind us, forget the victims, forget that our enemy danced in the streets in celebration, forget that Islamic terror plots on our very shores continue to be disrupted, and forget that our rights and freedoms are under assault by a subversive civilizational jihad. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, 9/11 hijackers, American Exceptionalism, Blocking the Path to 9/11, cosmic war
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 7:30 am in Featured Story, Military, Politics | 218202127 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mtapson/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-they-wants-us-to-forget/Honoring+September+11th%3A+They+Want+Us+to+Forget2009-09-11+14%3A30%3A28Mark+Tapson

Honoring September 11th: The Price of Liberty is Great; the Gifts of Liberty Priceless

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Tags: 9/11, Islam, jihad, September 11th, Terror
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 6:22 am in Culture, Military, Political Humor, Video | 22213033 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aklavan/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-the-price-of-liberty-is-great-the-gifts-of-liberty-priceless/Honoring+September+11th%3A+The+Price+of+Liberty+is+Great%3B+the+Gifts+of+Liberty+Priceless2009-09-11+13%3A22%3A47Andrew+Klavan

Honoring September 11th: Frank

Frank Munoz was a good guy.  When he was a teenager, he worked hard to straighten his life out. He went to school. He got married. He got a job. He took good care of his mom. 

Frank Munoz died on the 73rd floor of The Second Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

For days after 9/11, his family searched the hospitals because some sick person put his name on a fake Internet survivor list. 

I didn’t cry for him until two years later when my wife and I stood at the edge of Ground Zero. 

Afterwards, Lisa and I wanted to get a burger. A block away, we walked into a bar called O’Hara’s. On 9/11, O’Hara’s had their windows knocked out and the building was covered in debris.  (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Con Smith, Frank Munoz, World Trade Center
Posted Sep 11th 2009 at 5:03 am in Culture, Featured Story, Military | 22218238 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cburgard/2009/09/11/honoring-september-11th-frank/Honoring+September+11th%3A+Frank+2009-09-11+12%3A03%3A22Chris+Burgard

Eight Years After 9/11

Memorial for Fallen at FOB Inkerman

08 September 2009
Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Just before the mission, soldiers form up near the memorial for our fallen. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, British Ministry of Defence, Helmand Province, Ross Kemp
Posted Sep 9th 2009 at 3:38 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 22093812 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/09/eight-years-after-911/Eight+Years+After+9%2F112009-09-09+22%3A38%3A44Michael+Yon

Why You Should Read and Support Michael Yon

When I saw that Michael Yon had joined us here at Big Hollywood, I was overjoyed. This is a great opportunity to expand his audience and, frankly, everyone should read his stuff. Yon has been embedding with military units in combat for the better part of the last four years and has been bringing the ground-level truth to those that care to read it.

I can’t remember exactly when I first discovered his writings but it was at a point where he was disagreeing with the spin coming from the Bush White House regarding progress in Iraq. I was disturbed to have confirmation that things were not quite as we were being told but Yon’s critiques, while serious and undiluted, were constructive in nature. I could tell that he was supportive of the effort even though he sometimes railed against the execution of it. Michael Yon pulls no punches and I checked back often to see what else he had to say. Eventually, the network news would catch up and start reporting things that Yon had written about weeks, often months, earlier. This is a pattern that continues today. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, J.R. Head, Marines, Michael Yon
Posted Sep 9th 2009 at 5:03 am in Featured Story, Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 21700627 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/09/09/michael-yon/Why+You+Should+Read+and+Support+Michael+Yon+2009-09-09+12%3A03%3A55J.R.+Head

Help Send Five Wounded Warriors to Dinner with Sarah Palin

I’ve set up a special site at Causes.com to allow for all of us to participate in the R2R auction in order to win a dinner with Sarah Palin for five wounded warriors.

This is how it works:

1. Go to this site and make a donation directly to R2R.

2. At the end of the auction, Friday Sept. 18th, the accumulated donations will be entered as a bid for the DINNER WITH SARAH PALIN auction.

3. If this is the winning bid, FIVE deserving warriors chosen by the Ride 2 Recovery program will enjoy dinner with Sarah Palin – a wonderful evening out with a most wonderful person.

4. If this is not the winning bid, R2R will still benefit from your generous contribution and we will know that each of us will have donated to a most worthy cause. (more…)

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Tags: auction, r2r, Road 2 Recovery, sarah palin, troops
Posted Sep 8th 2009 at 6:22 pm in Military | 22017050 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/08/help-send-five-wounded-warriors-to-dinner-with-sarah-palin/Help+Send+Five+Wounded+Warriors+to+Dinner+with+Sarah+Palin2009-09-09+01%3A22%3A55Big+Hollywood

New Afghan War: Frontline Correspondent Says Fight Has Morphed – But We Still Can’t Afford to Lose

6 September 2009

This story was published in the New York Daily News on 6 September 2009.

Photo: Jacobson/AP

Helmand, Afghanistan – The West is losing this war. This has been obvious for more than three years. Less obvious is that in 2009, we are down to the wire. Gen. Stanley McChrystal and others will soon recommend to President Obama the latest treatment for a dying patient.

Meanwhile, allies and Americans are asking themselves why we are here. Some are saying that Al Qaeda is still here or is waiting in the wings to return to its home. Yet Afghanistan was never Al Qaeda’s permanent home to begin with. Al Qaeda was just renting a little space here, just as it was renting space in places like Germany and Florida. (more…)

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Tags: Afghan war, Afghanistan, al qaeda, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Ghor Province
Posted Sep 6th 2009 at 2:56 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 21884651 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/06/new-afghan-war-frontline-correspondent-says-fight-has-morphed-%e2%80%93-but-we-still-cant-afford-to-lose/New+Afghan+War%3A+Frontline+Correspondent+Says+Fight+Has+Morphed+%E2%80%93+But+We+Still+Can%27t+Afford+to+Lose2009-09-06+21%3A56%3A55Michael+Yon