B Minus Blogs

Lt. Michael Patrick Murphy is our guy this week.   Often we think of sport stars or actors as heroes but that is all a bunch of BS when it is all said and done.  Don’t look at the back of a jersey to find the name of a hero.  Look on the chest of a veteran and you’ll find one.

Right now the the Debate is going on, Barrack and Mitt are going against each other at the University of Denver, Colorado.  I am not going to voice political opinion right now but I will tell you why Mitt Romney will “Win” the debate.  

We are over one month away from Election Day in the United States of America. If you work in media you know that one month is a LONG time in the world of ratings. Four weeks of ratings can make the difference of millions in adverts for a corporation.  Do you really think the media, who at times has been accused of being biased in favor of President Obama, would want to stick a fork in Gov. Romney?

Presidential Elections are more theatrical than they are informational.  That is truly a shame but that is the world we currently live in. 

Don’t be surprised if you see the unusual headlines and articles tomorrow stating “Obama lost debate” or “Romney roars back.”  The Media doesn’t sell information, they sell stories that boost sales and ratings.  Money is the bottom-line in all businesses, plain and simple

Fox News Radio - A school district in Rhode Island has ended the traditional father-daughter dance because the longtime tradition violated the state’s gender discrimination law.

Judith Lundsten, an assistant school superintendent in Cranston,  tells Fox News the move came in response to a complaint from a single mother after her daughter wasn’t allowed to attend a father-daughter dance.

“The parent felt it was not appropriate and filed a complaint with the ACLU,” she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the district demanding that all father-daughter and mother-son events be cancelled.

Lundsten said school attorneys found while federal gender discrimination laws exempt such events, Rhode Island’s does not.

“At this point, the law states that we cannot have these gender-specific type activities,” Lundsten told Fox News. “

She said the school district is going to try and work with lawmakers to amend the law – but until that time “We are following the law.”

Lundsten said the ban has caused a bit of controversy in the community.

(Read the full story here)

This week’s segment of “America Going to Hell In A Hand Basket” brings us to Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union.  So let me get this straight?  A single mom is up in arms because her daughter can’t attend a father-daughter dance and then the mom filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)?  What happened to finding the “closest” father figure to take her to this dance?  I do not think this school is stricter than a communist regime so I highly doubt they wouldn’t let you bring an uncle or grandfather.

I went to school with many girls who had fathers who were absent (through either death or dishonor) and they still managed to enjoy themselves.  This is nothing more than an attack on American family values.  Pretty soon we all will be like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (it’s a book..READ it sometime).

We’ll be back tomorrow with our normal posts.  Sometimes days like these need to happen.

Today is a very solemn day throughout the world.  As you know, many unfortunate souls perished due to the terrorist attacks.  I am spending this week “You’re My Guy” segment in memory of one of the unsung heroes of  September 11, 2001: Rick Rescorla

Rick Rescorla was born in Hayle, Cornwall, England, UK in the beginning of World War II.  He began his British military service at the young age of 18, followed by a brief stint in Northern Rhodesia as a paramilitary police inspector.  While he was there he met and forged a life long friendship with American G.I. Daniel Hill.  After a short time in civilian life back in London, Rescorla came Stateside to join the Army and eventually fight in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, he was in the Battle of Ia Drang.  Does the battle sound familiar to you?  Well it was described in detail in the book We Were Soldiers Once…And Young and the Movie We Were Soldiers.  He was calm, cool, and a hardcore wrecking machine while in battle.  He did this all for a country he had no allegiance to by birth.

He held a variety of jobs and lived all over the USA until he settled down in the tri-state area (NY-NJ-CT) and became the director of security for Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter.  He was stationed in World Trade Center Tower 2.  Before we get into all the heroics of Mr. Rescorla, I want to let you know that he predicted the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center AND the September 11th attacks.  

This video explains his thought process.

Why is Mr. Rescorla my guy?

• For starters, he was a British citizen that loved the USA and wished he had been born Stateside, yet still loved his country dearly. 
• He Served in Vietnam and was one of the toughest SOBs out there
• He saved all but 14 of Morgan Stanley’s 2,700 employees on September 11th by preparing them months and years in case of such attack.
• He went out a hero, and NEVER thought of it that way…he was just doing his job.

Do yourself a Favor and pick up this book:

A biography of Rescorla, Heart of a Soldier by James B. Stewart (Amazon), was described by Time Magazine as “the best non-fiction book of 2002.”

God Bless you Rick….watch over us today and the rest of our days.

Today marks one of the greatest days in American History.

Now before you jump down my throat hear me out.  While we lost several thousand of lives and had million more affected on that day by cowardly acts of terrorism, we achieved something no one thought we ever could: Love.

I am a firm believer in the phrase “everything happens for a reason” and I try to take the positive from a terrible situation.  It may seem easy for me to say that being that I did not lose anyone close to me in the Towers, Pentagon, or in the field in Shanksville,PA.  I was hurt just as much as any other American, I saw my country under attack against an enemy in the name of Allah with no definite boundaries.  Looking back on the day, eleven years later, it is one of the greatest days of my life.

Without September 11, 2001 we do not have that brief time of national unity where a stranger became a friend and a friend became family.  Why is September 11, 2001 one of the greatest days in Modern American History?  

It taught me…

Fox News - Add another half marathon to the list of things Lt. Cmdr. Justin Legg has overcome.

The retired Navy SEAL competed Sunday in the 13.1-mile Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon in Virginia Beach, the latest example of his success in recovering from the leukemia that nearly killed him. Every breath was drawn by a set of lungs from the 19-year-old man who inspires him, even in death.

Legg, who received the double-lung transplant just two years ago, knows a thing or two about endurance.

He spent a decade in the elite military unit and was in Iraq six years ago when he was diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Over the next several years, he endured endless rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. His body rejected a bone marrow transplant, causing the new blood cells to attack his skin, liver, lungs and eyes.

Finally, both of Legg’s lungs collapsed and he slipped into a coma in summer 2010. When he awoke, not only did he have to learn to walk all over again, he found out he had only months to live if he didn’t get the life-saving transplant.

He did, and eight months later, Legg walked a half-marathon.

Sunday’s half marathon, however, held special meaning for Legg. For a long time, he didn’t know who was behind the lung donation, as organ donors are kept confidential. Then he got an email that gave renewed focus to his recovery.

“I was just sitting at home playing on my laptop,” he said, “and a little message popped up. It said, ‘Hi my name is Julie McCarthy, I’m the mother of your lung donor.’”

The relationship that ensued prompted Legg, who now trains with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, to raise his goals and redouble his efforts. He took on Sunday’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon in honor of McCarthy’s son, Jared McKinley Carter.

Legg completed the race Sunday in a time of 3 hours and 5 minutes, but his larger goal was to inspire people to donate to a fund he set up honoring Carter. If he can raise $50,000, the Society will name a research grant in honor of McKinley. 

“Jarred Carter died and in doing so saved my life,” Legg wrote recently on his blog. “If we can all come together to raise this money and name a project after him, he will, in turn, be helping to save the lives of so many more.”

We tip our cap to this retired SEAL and we applaud his finest mission to date.  You are the fighting spirit of America and you my friend are what we need more of today.  We wish you the best of luck and health as you raise money for such a terrible disease.

Superior Telegram - Kid Rock has helped surprise an injured soldier with a new, custom-built home that the musician helped finance.

Rock and others were on hand Saturday to present the suburban Detroit house to Army Sgt. Davin Dumar and wife Dana. Dumar was released Friday from a military hospital.

Dumar lost a leg and injured his arm in Afghanistan in 2011

The house was built by Pulte Group in Macomb County’s Macomb Township. It’s a gift to the Dumars from Pulte, Rock and the New Braunfels, Texas-based nonprofit group Operation Finally Home.

The Detroit News says Rock told Dumar the donors are grateful to him for his “service to our country.”

The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports Dumar says the gift fills him with “shock and amazement.”

Kid Rock just doing the damn thing.  The fact that he is willing to donate his money to provide housing for our veterans is just top notch.  Every musician now is so worried about themselves, they never take time to thank the people that protect us.

Unreal play here by Kid Rock.  No surprise this hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention.  A musician doing something good for once instead of getting arrested and haven’t heard a peep about it.  We here at B Minus Blogs tip our hats to you, Mr. Rock.  Well done…well done indeed.

PS - Can’t go without notice - Tim McGraw also does similar things with vets.  I’m sure there are plenty of other celebrities and average Joes out there doing the same thing - and we salute you all for providing such a selfless service.