Category: A Victory!
Todd Beamer – A true American hero if ever there was one.
This is the word-for-word transcript of Todd’s phone call reporting the hijacking of Flight 93.
Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?
Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?
Todd: No
Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?
Todd: There are three that we know of.
Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?
Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?
Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.
Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?
Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.
Lisa: Have they said what they want?
Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.
He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!
Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.
Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.
Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.
Todd: It’s United Flight 93.
Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?
Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?
Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.
Lisa: Has anyone been injured?
Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.
Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?
Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!
Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!
Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.
Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?
Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??
Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.
Todd: Oh God —help us!
Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?
Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.
Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..
Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-***3…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?
Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.
Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…
Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……
Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.
Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?
Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.
Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?
Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.
Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?
Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..
Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?
Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.
Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.
Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.
Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?
Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.
Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.
Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?
Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?
Lisa: Yes…What is it?
Todd: Would you pray with me?
They pray: Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…..
Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll.
A former Illinois high school student recently settled a lawsuit against her high school over allegations that the school violated her constitutional right to participate in a counter-protest to her classmates in 2018. Recent reports say that the school agreed to pay her $35,000 as part of a settlement.
Madison Oster, then 16, and her father Jeremy Oster filed the suit in July of 2018 alleging that the Hononegah Community High School violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to demonstrate against an anti-gun protest in March of 2018.
At the time, students were encouraged to protest gun violence and agitate for tougher gun laws following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida on high school grounds. However, Oster along with other pro-gun students wanted to counter-protest and promote the Second Amendment.
The group of students carried pro-gun, pro-life, and pro-law enforcement signs, but were directed to stand on the sidewalk away from the main protest on the high school football field. The lawsuit alleged that the pro-gun group was subjected to verbal abuse from other students and unfair treatment by the school staff.
When Oster asked Executive Associate Principal Chad Dougherty why the group would not be allowed to counter-protest with the other students he said he was afraid that the pro-gun students would “disturb the peace” and “start a fight,” alleged the lawsuit.
“One student yelled at Madison to kill herself. Another student took pictures of Madison’s group, one of which reportedly became an online meme and method of ridicule among the other HCHS students,” stated the lawsuit. “Finally and ironically, before allowing them to return to class, Dougherty warned the small pro-gun-rights group not to bully the students with different views.”
While the pro-gun counter-protesters were eventually allowed back onto the field the staff still separated them from the other protesters. When they asked Principal Eric Flohr why they weren’t allowed to join the others, he allegedly told them “You are the only ones who feel that way,” before walking off.
“It is unconscionable for school officials to allow this sort of thing, much less enable it,” said the Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb, who contributed to the lawsuit. “Students with different viewpoints retain their free speech rights. When school officials allow those students to be harassed and bullied, something must be done.”
“First Amendment rights are just as important as Second Amendment rights,” he said, “especially when being used to protect those Second Amendment rights.”
With the lawsuit settled, the Oster’s allegations against the high school along with Superintendent Michael Dugan, Principal Dougherty and retired Principal Eric Flohr have been dismissed.
“Ms. Oster is very glad the matter was resolved,” said the Oster’s attorney David Sigale. “I am very proud that Ms. Oster fought for freedom of speech in this case, and now, as a member of the U.S. military, is helping to protect everyone’s freedoms.”
The Biden administration’s plan to withdraw gun-control advocate David Chipman’s nomination to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) should be greeted with a huge sigh of relief for gun owners across America.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the decision told WaPo Thursday morning that Chipman’s nomination withdrawal comes amid a bipartisan pushback over his radical gun control advocacy.
Chipman, who worked at ATF for more than two decades and then joined major anti-gun organizations for years, was hugely opposed by Republicans and some Democrats.
Our latest coverage on Chipman comes from an Op-Ed via The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN), who last week penned a piece titled “No Path For Confirmation To ATF For Chipman? Biden Admin: “Not Over ‘Till It’s Over!”” which explains the former ATF agent’s willingness to ban average semi-automatic sporting rifles could hinder his nomination.
Responding to the Chipman news, TMGN said:
We expected Chipman to withdraw his nomination, as he had no path to his position after key democrats dropped support. We expect Biden to create some sort of “office of gun violence prevention” that would advise the president. Similar to Neera Tanden who we saw this year withdraw her nomination, yet still receive an appointment to a position in the White House.
This is a win for gun owners right now and a loss for President Biden, who has declared war on National Rifle Association and has demanded stronger gun control.
But as TMGN warned above, the administration will likely create some sort of gun violence task force that would advise the president.
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Some Good news for a change of pace
Yes I hate Cats! Grumpy Then there is this bit!
A group of Mississippi hunters took a monstrous 13-foot, 2-inch alligator weighing nearly 800 pounds. The five men spent hours trying to reel in the big predator from the Yazoo River on August 29th.
“We were on the Yazoo River north of Redwood,” said first-time hunter Ty Powell. “We probably saw 15 or 20 on the way up, but we had that spot marked and were headed there.”
Powell was one of just 920 hunters issued an alligator tag for this season. Thousands of prospective hunters apply for the tags every year. “They told me to go buy a lottery ticket because I was the luckiest man in Mississippi that day,” said Powell.
His luck was just picking up. Along with Kent Britton of Poplar Creek, Eli Frierson of Starkville, Adam and Bubba Steen of Ethel, Ty Powell, from Columbia, would catch a behemoth.
“We had known about this alligator a month before,” said Britton. “We had him pinned on our phones along with another alligator.”
Members of the crew spotted an alligator estimated to be at least 12 feet long and around 500 pounds, so the team started there. Seeing nothing but smaller alligators, they began to travel upriver in two boats in hopes of spotting their prize.
“When we got back down there, there was another set of eyes,” said Powell. One of the hunters managed to hook the alligator and handed his rod and reel to Powell.
The line snapped when the gator swam around a log. “It’s a little bit of helplessness,” Powell said. “You don’t know if you’re going to get another chance at him. When you feel that line loosen up real quick, it’s an ‘Oh, no’ feeling.”
Still, the hunters pressed on, and got their second chance.
“He popped up about 30 to 40 yards between us,” Britton said. “Me and Eli hooked him at the same time from two different vessels. As soon as I hooked him, we got the boats together and I passed my pole to Ty so they could fight him from the same boat. He popped up 20 minutes later and I got another line on him.”
The huge alligator put up some fight, with their gear slowly falling apart in the process. They had been wrestling with the gator for about three hours. Toward the end they only had one of their three fishing poles in fully working order, but they persisted.
“Just to get him from the side of the boat into the boat took all five of us about 30 minutes,” Powell said. “I think we floated a mile or two down the river trying to catch our breath after that.”
It became clear, fast, that this was not the same alligator they spotted earlier. “We were all in shock,” said Powell. “He was also missing part of his tail. I know 13-2 is huge, but at one time he was bigger than that.”
“We were off about 300 pounds and six inches,” said Britton. “The 13-2 was missing six inches of tail, if not more.”
“I’m still excited and shaking about it,” Powell said. “This is the first time I’ve put in for alligator tags or even thought about it and something happens like this. It was the hunt of a lifetime. These four guys that were with me, I can’t thank them enough for helping me get that gator. I really need to go buy that lottery ticket.”
Powell said they plan to use the entire animal, hide, claws, meat and all.
———————————————————————————– Frigging thing looks like something out of Jurassic Park to me! Grumpy
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The Quigley Shoot
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