This morning I was watching some of the video from this years Podcamp, and felt as though I needed to write something for all the people who didn’t get a chance to attend. I have attended Podcamp 3 and 4. Both were GREAT experiences.

The question that I get asked is “What makes Podcamp such a big deal?” The answer is simple… Nowhere else can you get 500 people interested in social media in the same place. Yes, there are online forums and so forth, but this gives “geeks” the ability to meet 3-dimensional people.

Being there I met bloggers, podcasters, video-podcasters, social media folks. The thing I appreciate more than anything is some of the friends I have made, and the coolest thing to me was when someone came up to me and said, “I listen to you all the time, I am a big fan.” A fan… WOW… I have been involved in Podcasting in one form or another for four years and it was the first time I had met someone that listens to my stuff, and that was awesome. There were also people that wanted to get my picture, that was really odd, but very cool. Also I met people that invited me onto thier shows, and I invited them to mine.

I met lots of great people, and made some friends to be on my shows as well as appear on theirs. Podcamp 5 can’t get here soon enough!

Hope to meet you there!

Well now that the G20 is finally over, and things have gotten back to normal here in Pittsburgh I have some thoughts.

While the G20 was relatively quiet largely in part to the fantastic job by the Pittsburgh Police force and all the others that came to help out Pittsburgh’s finest in addition to the PA State Police and National Guard. Now the videos are starting to surface claiming police brutality. In my opinion the Police forces we VERY disciplined in keeping the peace without use of unnecessary force. The groups that are claiming brutality, are the ones that deserved much MORE brutality. Just remember civil disobedience is still disobedience.

Once again Pittsburgh weathered a potential storm and came out no worse for wear, because that is what we do. We take potential problems and turn them around.

I have a few open letters I would like to write while the G20 is still fresh in everyones mind…

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for selecting Pittsburgh to hold your G20 conference, in an effort to demonstrate how we turned around and have a thriving economy, and REALLY appreciate you shutting down that same economy for 2 full days. I hope that something constructive came out of this annoyance. Additionally, who is going to cover the losses to all the small businesses that had to board up and close due to all the protesters you knew this fiasco would attract? Next time one of these comes around please remember that we have done our duty, and leave us off the short list.

Thank you,

Dear Frat Boy Luke,

What the hell were you thinking? You KNEW the potential problems that accompany the G20, and yet you were all for it. After all the damage is counted up, and all the lost wages are figured out, I hope your photo-op was worth it.

Dear protesters,

The G20 is over, get out of my city!

In honor of Memorial Day:

This morning I was watching the news, and they were discussing the troop increase in Afghanistan, with a former command general. The general had previously spent time in Afghanistan. History has proven that a surge works to eliminate insurgents. The generals in the field have asked for a surge of 38,000 troops. Meanwhile, President Obama has said that we will send 17,000, 1/2 of what the professional military men have asked for. I am NOT a war monger, but I do believe that we should give our troops the best chance to win. After all the time, money and troops we have lost in Afghanistan, the least the troops deserve is a victory.

With Inauguration day 2009 upon us, I felt as though it was time to think about the future of our troops and their families. Michelle Obama has stated that her first priority will be the military families, and I hope that is true. However history has shown us that whenever there was a president that was a democrat the first casualty was the military. Democrats tend to try to save move by depriving our military of funds and equipment. Once again I truly hope that the Obamas prove me wrong.

Additionally, I hope the future president does not pull the troops out of Iraq without a declaration of victory. Our troops performed flawlessly in the face of tremendous adversity and they deserve a “win” as much as their fallen comrades who gave their lives for our freedom and the freedom of the Iraqi people.

While you are sitting around, enjoying the freedom afforded to you by the constitution, take a moment and say a quiet prayer for those who are right now living in a desert to protect that freedom.

It is Thanksgiving again in the United States. I would like to take this opportunity to wish ALL of our troops a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We often take little things like this for granted. I am sure that our troops would much rather be with their families than in the desert of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan, protecting our freedom.

Thank you, for everything that you have sacrificed for my family, my country and myself.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in our VI Day celebration. Whether you added a link to your blog, or pointed at min or both, thank you for supporting your country as well as the troops. Even if the major media outlets won’t admit to victory, still insisting we are STILL in a quagmire, and so on. The bottom line is we demonstrated how effective, the US fighting force is.
Our troops in Iraq took the 3rd largest army in the world apart in 30 days.
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank the US military.

Today is VI (Victory in Iraq) day. It is a day for us to stop for at least for a moment and thank the troops who have done an INCREDIBLE job protecting the freedom of this country. The media will NEVER admit that we won in Iraq, so WE must do it, you and I. WE MUST DECLARE VICTORY. Our troops deserve the right to say they have done a noble and honorable thing and deserve the right to decare victory. 

Please join me in offering our troops a heartfelt WELL DONE.