Wait...isn't Da Vinci Code in the fiction section?

Hello again. I know it's been awhile, and I don't know if anyone will come across this, but it's the summertime now--I'm out of school and have a little bit more time to read and respond to the news. Originally, this website was created to raise a little bit of awareness about the political candidates for president. Since we've got a few years before that really heats up again, I'll focus on whatever news I find interesting. Anyway, on with the news!

So I was checking my e-mail on Yahoo (not as good as GMail, but that's another story) and I came across this story about the Da Vinci Code movie that comes out next week (already got my tickets). There's a few things I don't understand. First and foremost, the book is a work of fiction! I could understand if I went to Borders and found the book in the non-fiction section. Then it is selling itself as a work of truth. Is some of the novel based on actual facts? YES. The Catholic church and Opus Dei and the Louvre and the Knights Templar all existed. Dan Brown shapes his novel around some of these topics that are bound to be controversial--especially if people accept it as the truth. I also understand that some people are a bit naive, maybe even ignorant to this fact, because they don't go to church or participate in religion. I guess that the pamphlets I would make up (if I really cared that much about it) would say (many, many times) "IT'S A FICTION BOOK" or "IT'S A WORK OF FICTION." Something along those lines. Then at the bottom I would put a little blurb that said, "If you are still confused about this fact, please contact _________ Church."

Secondly, this isn't the first time we've heard of "The Da Vinci Code." It's been a book that has been on the NY Times bestseller list for a long, long time. It really was the "Harry Potter" of adult reading. Many people who didn't regularly read picked it up. Now it's going to be a movie. Granted, I'm sure more people go to the movies than read books nowadays (pity), so they are worried that the "gospel" will get out to more people. And as for the Catholic church taking "unspecified legal action"--what court do they think that's going to hold up in. I guess even the Vatican doesn't know the difference between non-fiction and fiction.

In the end, I guess I'm as riled by the people who read this book and actually like it and take it as the truth as I am by people who are opposed to it and want to crush it. I read it--twice--and found it to be a thrilling little adventure that was over the second I finished it. I don't make it out to be anything more than I did other books, like "1984" or "Moby Dick." Let's get over it and move on.

It's not my fault...They told me not to!

You better watch out, because John Kerry is furious. Apparently, the Democratic presidential candidate is angry because he wanted to go after the swiftboat allegations (and more importantly the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth), but his aides advised him not to. He is "shaking up" his current staff and brought in top Clinton aides Joe Lockhart and Joel Johnson. He has not fired anyone as of yet. One advisor to Kerry said this:

"The candidate is furious," a longtime senior Kerry adviser told the Daily News. "He knows the campaign was wrong. He wanted to go after the Swift boat attacks, but his top aides said no."

I can somewhat understand Kerry's frustration, but I'm pretty sure that Kerry has the final say in these matters, and if he wanted to counterattack the swiftboat veterans all he has to do is make the order. I do not think he has anyone to blame but himself on this one.

And really, I think it is too little, too late. I think most of the damage that could be done has been done. Most people are either going to believe the allegations or not. If a person is already pro-Kerry, I seriously doubt if these accusations are going to make them change their mind.


Pretty scary, huh?

Did they think we wouldn't notice?

I'm sure that some of you have probably heard about this already, as I'm sure that it will make big news, but another controversial toy has has been found in Miami. The "toy" consists of a plane wedged between two skyscrapers. Some people feel that this toy depicts a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I must admit it looks like that to me. L and M Export/Import, the company that made the toys, claims that there is nothing wrong with the toys. Supposedly, the company that distributed the toys, the Lisy Corporation, did not view the toys before they sold them with children's candy bags. They are in the process of recalling about 14,000 bags of candy that may have the toys in them.

Lisy says they were sold the toys by L&M Import and Export. The product was coded as a plastic swing play set and sent in two versions, one with a man swinging between the towers. The product was packed in bulk, with the airplane version out of sight.

If this is true or not, we may not know. An interesting fact about these "toys" is the product number--9-0-1-1. Coincidence? The company that makes the toy still feels that there is nothing inappropriate about it.

Even more interesting is another toy that has surfaced after the discovery of the the "9/11 toy." This toy is similar to the aforemetioned one, except that instead of a plane between the two buildings, there is a man wearing what looks to be a turban. Some people think that this man may represent Osama bin Laden.

Here are the pictures in question:





If the resemblances of these toys are intentional, I personally find it appalling. Comment and let me know what you think.

I'll keep you posted if I hear about more.

Bush condemns 527 Swiftboat Veterans-- Too little, too late? (Website Addition)

Here I am again. I just can't seem to keep myself away as you can see. There is just too much stuff going on and I don't want any of you to miss it.

So, Bush finally condemned the ads from the 527 group Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. The Kerry campaign has been pushing for Bush to condemn the ads since they aired on TV about two weeks ago. The group however, has not heeded Bush's requests and has said that they will continue to blitz voters with the ads.

Fine, that's all well and good. What a bad move on Bush's part not to do it sooner though. Since the group is not funded by Bush (no matter how much the Democrats will try and show you that it is), they do not have to take their commands from him. So, why not condemn them when they first came out, look "good" in the eyes of the Democrats, and then, since the group would not have listened in the first place, let them continue to run the ad. It is a win-win situation for Bush, if you ask me.

The other thing I have a problem with can be seen right here:

"The moment of truth came and went and the President still couldn't bring himself to do the right thing," Senator Edwards said in a statement. "Instead of hiding behind a front group, George Bush needs to take responsibility and demand that the ad come off the air."

A senior Kerry campaign strategist, Tad Devine, told reporters that Republican allegations against Senator Kerry would backfire on Mr Bush because "the allegations are not true and the President is behind them."

Give me a break. If Bush is behind this Swiftboat stuff, then you can bet your ass (I use the ass for emphasis) that Kerry can be found behind Moveon.org and all those other great anti-Bush websites. These Democrats will look and look and look for a connection between Bush and this group, which is funded by a Bush supporter. I had heard that apparently Bush was friends with someone in the group, or a friend of a friend, or something like that. So what? Unless he's funding the group (which is against the law), then he has nothing to worry about, and no one can accuse him of anything any more than they can accuse Kerry of being supportive of anti-Bush defamation websites. Of course they are going to support something that makes their opponent look bad. Let's have some common sense here.

That's it for now, and hopefully for the next couple days. We will see. It seems I've broken my word before. Over and out.

UPDATE: I just read that Kerry is dispatching swiftboat veterans to Bush's ranch in Texas. Apparently, asking for the commercials to stop, which I would consider condemning to a point, is not enough. The article also says that they have found that one of Bush's top legal aides has been providing legal advice to the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth group. I haven't heard if he was doing this of his own accord or what. Regardless, it doesn't look great for Bush (though he still is not contributing to the group, so as far as I can tell, he is not breaking any laws).

I'll keep you updated of any new information.

Kerry phones swiftboat veteran foe

Once again I break my vow of silence to bring you this news from Drudge Report.

Apparently, Kerry has called one of the swiftboat veterans that he served with, who is contesting Kerry's military record. Nothing seems to really have come out of the conversation. Kerry did ask to meet the veteran, Robert Brant, face to face, but Brant declined because he did not think that Kerry was going to set the record straight.

Drudge Report also reports that:

*Kerry's campaign now says is possible first Purple Heart was awarded for unintentional self-inflicted wound...

*Kerry received Purple Heart for wounds suffered on 12/2/68...

*In Kerry's own journal written 9 days later, he writes he and his crew, quote, 'hadn't been shot at yet'

Interesting stuff to think about. Yet, through all of this stuff, who really knows what to believe?

No "Ketchup" for Kerry last night

I just had to break my vow of silence after I saw this article at Drudge Report. Apparently, the campaign is wearing on the couple. They decided to get separate suites in a hotel after a very heated argument.

I wonder what it was about. Perhaps Kerry told Teresa to shut her mouth, and stop speaking her mind. He probably can only cover for her so much more. I do agree with a lot of the press that she seems to be a "loose cannon."

That's it for now (hopefully).

Over and out.

No posting for 2 weeks...

Hey everyone,

I am afraid that I must take a little haitus from this blog for the time being. I have about two weeks until I go back to school, and about 5 days of that are going to be spent in the woods of nothern Maine. Taking into account those 5 days, it does not leave me a whole lot of time to get things in order. I have things I need to wrap up at my summer job and things to wrap up at home, so that is one of the reasons.

The other reason is this--I'm feeling a little burnt out. I understand that this is normal for frequent bloggers, and I think even more frequent in blogs dealing with current events and such. I need time to read the news and just absorb it for myself. Unless I see something that I think needs to be here, I wouldn't expect anything.

I also hope to continue with my 9/11 Commission Report Summary. There might be a few changes. I found it really difficult in my first post to explain everything in a summarized view. There are so many facts and figures it makes it very hard. I think that I will more than likely provide poignant quotations and my reactions to those, and maybe a brief background to give them context. I just feel that it would be a huge undertaking to summarize the whole thing. Secondly, I must stress this--I will only continue doing this summary if I see a significant rise in my site hits and in comments. I know that I have a few loyal readers at the moment (and I hope to gain more when I get to school), but I can not continue doing this unless I see that a lot of people are getting something out of it. This may also go for my website. Don't get me wrong, I love doing this and sharing this all with everyone--but I just feel that I can't do it if enough people are not reading it. I may just have to restrict spreading my knowledge to dinner time discussions or something.

Anyways, that is all I have for now. Take it easy, and I look forward to writing in a few weeks.

Thanks for reading,

J.D.J.

9/11 Commission Report Summary (Chapter 1)

This is a summary of Chapter 1, "We Have Some Planes"

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Note: These summaries that I am writing consist of parts and passages that I think are important. I bring them to you attention because I think that they are vital information that I believe some people might not know. I guess that is all I have to say about that for the time being. Just keep it in mind.

The 9/11 Commission Report is broken up by chapters, then further separated by sub-chapters(e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on).

Chapter 1, 1.1 - INSIDE THE FOUR FLIGHTS

This section of the Report takes you inside each of the hijacked flights (American 11 and United 175, which crashed into the World Trade Center; American 77 which crashed into the Pentagon; United 93 which crashed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania). It describes each of the hijackers, the security processes at the individual airports, and gives a blow-by-blow account of the hijackings.

I am not going to summarize this section because one can not really summarize what happened in each of the flights. I believe that it is important for everyone to read this part if they get a chance.

Chapter 1, 1.2 - IMPROVISING A HOMELAND DEFENSE

The major characters in this section are the FAA (Federal Aviation Association) and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command).

Basically, there was a complex system of protocol that was supposed to be followed in a case of hijacking. On 9/11, it was the first time that anyone had encountered hijackers who intended to use airplanes as weapons of mass destruction. Besides this, there had never been such an undertaken hijacking before, involving so many planes. There were also many problems with communications between different agencies. The list goes on and on, but that is the basic jist of it. I will now provide some quotations from the report that are relevant.

"On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen."

This was very true. As I said before, the chain of command protocol was very detailed, and would not possibly be able to accomadate such a situation as these agencies faced on 9/11.

"United 175 (second plane to crash into World Trade Center) turned southewest without clearance from air traffic control. At 8:47, seconds after the impact of American 11, United 175's transponder code changed, and then changed again. These changes were not noticed for several minutes, however, because the same New York Center controller was assigned to both American 11 (the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center) and United 175. The controller knew American 11 was hijacked; he was focused on searching for it after the aircraft disappeared at 8:46."

This, of course, presented a big problem because the air controller was not able to discern what was happening on both hijacked planes. They do not say what caused this controller to be responsible for both planes, or if it was just a coincidence. However, since time was crucial in this situation, those several minutes that United 175 was not classified as hijacked made problems much worse.

"At about 8:55, the controller in charge notified a New York Center manager that she believed United 175 had also been hijacked. The manager tried to notify the regional managers and was told that they were discussing a hijacked aircraft (presumably American 11) and refused to be disturbed."

This was just another problem that did not help the situation. I think that we can all appreciate what they were doing, but ignoring another hijacked aircraft was not the answer.

"Within minutes of the second impact, Boston Center instructed its controllers to inform all aircraft in its airspace of the events in New York and to advise aircraft to heighten cockpit security. Boston Center asked the Herndon Command Center to issue a similar cockpit security alert nationwide. We have found no evidence to suggest that the Commande Center acted on this request or issued any type of cockpit security alert."

There was a big problem with communication during 9/11, as you can see:

"The first indication that the NORAD air defenders had of the second hijacked aircraft, United 175, came in a phone call from New York Center to NEADS at 9:03. The notice came at about the time the plane was hitting the South Tower."

"In sum, Indianapolis Center never saw Flight 77 (plane that crashed into the Pentagon) turn around. by the time it reappeared in primary radar coverage, controllers had either stopped looking for the aircraft because they thought it had crashed or were looking toward the west. Although the Command Center learned Flight 77 was missing, neither it nor FAA headquarters issued an all points bulletin to surrounding centers to search for primary radar targets. American 77 traveled undectected for 36 minutes on a course heading due east for Washington, D.C."

That's all I can do for right now. I will try and post more tomorrow. Please check back.

I can get us out of Iraq...but I can't tell you how, or when or...

As people get more and more uncomfortable with the problems still arising in Iraq, they look to others besides our Commander-in-Chief for other options. Of course, now being the Democratic nominee, John Kerry knows how to get us out of Iraq. He's told us dozens and dozens of times (did you watch the Democratic Convention???). The one thing that is lacking however, is an actual plan.

Kerry says that he has met with foreign leaders who say that they will support these "plans" if Kerry is elected. But wait--he can't tell you who those leaders are. I understand that he can't divulge that information because of the risk of not being elected. However, that puts us back at square one. Since I, the voter, can not count on these supposed foreign dignitaries, I must then rely on the "plan" of John Kerry. He says that if he is elected, he will be able to persuade other countries to join us in this War. This is hard to believe though, because of the reputation that the United States has (which can be largely blamed on Bush), and the problems that we have run into in Iraq (Abu Ghraib, hostages and the Philippines pulling out, continued terrorist and insurgent attacks). As Anthony Cordesman, John McCain's former advisor and Iraq expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says:

"Nobody is going to bail us out of our responsibilities in this conflict. It is not a matter of who is the president at this point. There simply won't be any international support for a country like France or Germany to do it."

I just think that we should not assume that Kerry has a plan, and accept that because we believe that Bush does not have a better plan. Instead, I think that we should demand to know just what his plans are and how he thinks he can get us out of this War.

New Project

I apologize for not posting the last couple days. I was busy and was not able to be in the close proximity of a computer. Anyways, in the time that I have been away, I have been reading the 9/11 Commission Report. I'm about 100 pages into it, and there are very interesting, important things in there. Discovering these facts, I got to thinking, "It is too bad that so many people will not take the time to read this Report." Which it really is. I would say that this Report provides we the public with as unbiased an account of events as we will get. Perhaps if people read this Report, they would not be so easily swayed by one side or another, by Michael Moore, or whoever it may be.

So, taking all of this into consideration--here is my new project--I am going to try and bring forth the most important facts in the 9/11 Report. I had planned to do it all at once, but, as I don't feel like writing an extensive research paper, I will try to post after I finish each section.

Hopefully in doing this, I will be able to provide some information that people might not otherwise get because they were too busy to read the Report, or thought they would not be able to understand it, or what have you. There are some startling facts in here people, and they deserve to be put out there.

For those of you who have been contemplating reading the Report, do it. It is well worth your time.

It is time for us to stop letting other people tell us how we should feel.