deserved credits ...

Joe Simone is not a cowboy, and this blog is not about Joe Simone.

It is possible in weeks and months to come that I will find out Joe Simone is not the hero I believe him to be, but I have always considered myself a good judge of character. Before last week I knew nothing about Joe Simone, but there are too many courageous and dedicated Americans who believe in Mr. Simone and his honesty - who believe he is a true American hero. I believe it time we all of us honor Joe Simone - ALL Joe Simones.

Mr. Simone and I walk the same "side of the street" - with a difference: my choice has been to avoid such streets as Joe had to walk in his career; stay away from neighborhoods with which Joe was too familiar, unless there was good reason for me to visit there. My personal American experience objects to there being streets such as Joe Simone had to walk, and I believe both sides of streets should belong totally to people like Joe.

You can find out on your own how a New York cop and an otherwise unremarkable gangland killing is connected to September 11, 2001 in "Cover Up" by Peter Lance. Mr. Lance will be happy if you purchase a new copy of his book, but I am sure he would be just as pleased that you read it any way you can - make sure your library has a copy or two. You can purchase a good copy new or used under $10 (including shipping) at alibris.com

Not just another book about 9/11, "Cover Up" is loaded with facts unreported in previous publications. I am simply using "Cover Up" as launch pad for research. My editing is intended to clarify, without political leaning, and I am happy to discuss the work at any time, for any reason, with anyone who is serious. Threatening communication will be ignored or reported as deemed appropriate by me.

With this writing I risk seeming or sounding somehow self-important, and I sincerely hope I do not come across that way. I am aware that I can be disfranchised momentarily and financially injured for my work on this project. Right now what I am doing is not investigative, but educational - intended only to clarify details related to September 11, 2001. I am not revealing secrets: simply working to make sure what is already in the public domain is more readily availabe to all.

By "clarify" I mean that four and a half years after the murder of an estimated 3300 Americans in New York City and at other locations, most Americans do not recognize truth from lie about events of September 11. Thousands of American families still do not know how they happened to lose their loved ones, or why, and worse, thousands more lives have been lost in the lie ...

... and as a result, Americans and others continue to be manipulated by a concocted story. To help correct that, I decided to use wikipedia, where I edit pages in which I find false, inaccurate, or misleading entries. Each edit cites source(s) and is reviewed by wikimedia staff. I will tag as disputed certain entries I intend to challenge later.

Some will be quick to dismiss me as a conspiracy nut. As much as possible for me, I understand the reasons for their behavior. Those who know me know that I come reluctantly to such a task as this work in which I fully expect to meet resistance, which I am aware as I write this has already begun.

I am sorry to report that I do not have even as much confidence in my own government as I did prior to last Christmas. It is The People in whom I trust ability to make ethical and moral decisions based on fact. What we must do together is to dispel rumors, understand clearly how and why events occurred as they did, so we can each form a solid basis for personal action. Hope to see you again soon

groan ...

Amid blogs of trash talk and utter excrement, amid Bush bashing and American Idolaters, perhaps I have finally found something which justifies my putting up yet another blog - groan. I am just an "average joe" who has been 60 years a proud American, until now. Now I have got past being sick to my stomach, with a couple decades more time on my hands I hope, so time I think for me to do what my brain was created for.

In Viet Nam I played a minor Intelligence role - something I kid about once in a while. My head gets spooky sometimes. In 1968 I turned down an Army invitation of transfer to Monrovia, Liberia. After thinking about that opportunity for a week, I decided to extend my stay in Quan Loi for another six months - better the "devil I knew" it seemed to me at age 23, half a world away from home. A big part of my decision was knowing I would be "home" six months sooner (a lot closer anyway) ... so was it a cop-out or a smart decision ?

Both, is my answer.

In four decades since, there have been times I regret passing up the chance to spend a year in Africa, and I wonder will I ever get there ... whether at all there is any importance in my going there. That my life would have been much different had I taken the Liberia assignment is likely the biggest understatement in my life. The most nagging question I carry is how my mind and knowledge of surveying, among other things I possess, or possessed then, would have been used, and by whom.

Other gnawing questions are, which of my character flaws would have been exploited in attempt to compromise my "too high standards" ... and what sort of person might I have turned into with temptations I would most certainly have been offered. I will never know the answers, and I am okay with that. I do not sleep long at night, but I have no trouble sleeping at all.

Next month I will be 61. My soul is at peace, whatever comes next. At the same time, my mind is wrapped around knowledge I wish I never learned - yet for what I have been learning lately, I am determined to learn all I can about a subject that affects all of us. This blog is part of a larger project, then - a part-time project for me right now. Having been a Patriotic American, a supporter of the United States, a defender of Freedom, more centrally an advocate of Freedom of Speech, for over 60 years, I now find myself somewhat perplexed, since:

- What it means to be a Patriotic America seems to have taken on a different meaning - become twisted.
- Supporting the United States has come down to making a choice whether to support The People or the government.
- Defending Freedom in the United States now puts me at odds with my own government
- Maintaining my right to speak freely seems to be in violation of the Patriot Act

I like cowboys because they are quiet until they talk, and when they decide to speak, what they have to say is not to be missed. You learn to pay attention to a cowboy for that reason - listen when he is quiet to hear what he hears, and not disturb his thinking. A cowboy knows HOW to think if anyone in this world does. I yearn to hear a cowboy explain the Patriot Act to me ...

... 'cause a cowboy has his own unique view of what is American, how to care for land and people - a cowboy knows what the air smells like, and what is on the wind.