Atta: “We have some planes. Just stay quiet and we’ll be ok. We are returning to the airport.”

Boston Sector: “American 11 are you trying to call?”

Atta: “Nobody move, everything will be ok. If you try to make any moves, you will injure yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.”

This is the audio tape of 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta speaking with an air traffic controller in Boston on that terrible morning. Atta and four others, armed with just box cutters, had taken over American Airlines flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles. Air traffic controllers knew there a was problem on board after losing contact with the plane shortly after takeoff. They had gotten a call from American Airlines saying they were on the phone with a flight attendant who was telling them the plane had been hijacked and people were stabbed and bleeding. These were the first moments that changed everything.

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“Why do you want to be president?” It sounds like a very basic question of someone who is thinking of running for president. CBS correspondent Roger Mudd asked Senator Ted Kennedy that question on a CBS Reports on November 4, 1979. Kennedy paused, then said,”Well, I…um…” he continued with a long rambling answer that gave the distinct impression that he really didn’t know why he wanted the job. Most people believe that question, and that answer, doomed Kennedy’s chances of ever becoming president. It showed the power of a simple question that went right to the heart of the matter. I don’t think many reporters would have asked that direct question to one of the most famous politicians of our time. Mudd knew Kennedy carried much personal baggage, having seen his two brothers assassinated, and having to live up to their accomplishments. Mudd forced Kennedy to make a case for himself, and Kennedy failed.

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“He has no decency.” The words of Khizr Khan talking about Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention. Khan is the father of Captain Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Khan was calling out Trump for his discrimination and ranting against Muslims. He accused Trump of never sacrificing anything for his country, and being a bigoted bully. With the passion that can only can come from the soul of a parent who has lost a child, Khan had the courage to stand up to the man who has appealed to our worst instincts. Khan said Trump has “a dark heart”.

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The song says “Summertime and the livin’ is easy”. August is the height of summer vacation season. We call it the “Dog Days” because the dog star Sirius rises at the same time as the sun. The ancient Greeks figured it out. August used to be called “Sextilis” because it was originally the sixth month on the Roman calendar. Then the Romans added January and February pushing August to the eighth month, and it only had 29 days. Julius Caesar decided to create his own calendar, the Julian, of course. He did give August two extra days. Maybe to try to make up for the push back, or maybe to give us two more days before we have to go back to school. It finally got the name Augustus from the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. Emperors can do that. We use the term to mean the hot, humid, let’s jump in the pool days before we have to go back to work and school. Even presidents go on vacation in August.

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The two weeks of Republicans and Democrats telling us what’s wrong with the country, who is to blame, and how they are going to fix it have left us with the tale of two countries. As the two gladiators climb into the ring for the ultimate prize, they will be fighting not only for our votes, but they will be making us look at ourselves to determine what kind of a society we want. We have never had two candidates for president like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both are the first of a kind with dramatically different views of what it means to be an American, and how we should view ourselves and our role in the world. Their showdown comes after the first 16 years of a new century where our national sense of self has been shaken to the core.

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One of the big stories to come out of the bizarre Republican Convention was Melania Trump being accused of plagiarizing Michelle Obama, of all people, in her speech on the first night of the convention. It just snowballed and got more bizarre. First an out of work Tampa journalist discovers the word for word lifting of phrases from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech. Then the Trump campaign denies it. Then the two former George W. Bush speechwriters, who were asked to write a speech for Melania Trump, say their speech was completely changed, except for one phrase, and they were never consulted. Then finally, Meredith McIver, a former ballerina, who is a writer for the Trump organization, says she was responsible for the plagiarism. She claims Melania Trump had read Michelle Obama’s speech and liked it, and asked her to re-write the speech using some of the phrases. McIver says she never checked Obama’s speech herself.  She admitted she made a terrible mistake, and offered to resign. Trump refused her resignation, saying everyone makes mistakes. This was a big one. (more…)

It cost five dollars. It was five feet across and a foot deep. It was plastic and blue. I bought it last year for our four little granddaughters to play in at our house at the Jersey shore. Last Fourth of July our two sons, their wives and their daughters were all here together for the holiday. The kids played in the pool. We took pictures. This past weekend my older son and his wife were here, and their girls played in the pool. We’re looking forward to my younger son and his family coming next week. But his girls won’t be able to play in the pool. Someone stole it.

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It’s been just over 31 years since the worst day in Philadelphia’s history. It was the most difficult and frightening day for one local television news operation that stood up to the challenge, and upheld the highest standards of journalism under tremendous pressure. If you are old enough, and from Philadelphia, you probably know about MOVE. It’s been described as a back to nature cult lead by a man named Vincent Leaphart who called himself John Africa. They believed in revolution against authority. They ate raw fruits and vegetables. They didn’t use soap. Wouldn’t kill animals, even bugs. They wore long dredlocks. They believed John Africa was god.

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Rory, Jordan, and Jason. They may not be known just by their first names yet like Arnie, Jack, and Tiger. But Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day are more than just the three best golfers in the world. They’re the refreshing, youthful face of sports. Three exceptionally gifted athletes from around the world we can root for and admire. Every golfer is amazed by their strength, accuracy, and steady hands as they play a game at the highest level. While the rest of us play a game with the same rules, but that’s about as close as we get to what they seem to do so effortlessly. But, there is much more we can learn from these three guys.

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It’s unofficially the start of summer, and we feel frustrated, helpless and angry. The only happy person seems to be the laughing  woman in the Chewbacca mask who became the latest internet sensation and even got to ride to work with James Corden. A recent poll of voters by AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs says seventy per cent of us say we are frustrated with the presidential race. Over fifty per cent of us say we feel angry and helpless. There is some good news. Sixty five per cent of us say we are interested in the race, and thirteen per cent say we are proud of what’s going on. Although, I think it may be hard to find the proud ones.  With all this interest and frustration, can we get more than fifty per cent of eligible voters to actually go to the polls?

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