Our heartfelt prayers and thoughts go out to everyone on the 10th
anniversary of September 11, 2001. It will forever be a day of
mourning our loved ones, friends, and colleagues we’ve lost and will
never have the chance to say, ”Thank you for making my life worth
living, I adore you”. Those of us who were not personally struck by
the WTC bombings offer our deepest prayers, thoughts, and compassion
to everyone suffering. The only solace that seems to come from such
tragedy is that we have the chance right here, right now to say it to
those we have in our lives.

Denis Leary is well-known for being a controversial, crass,
chain-smoking kind of comedian. He was very much a part of the
Blue-Collar Comedy trend that had its day in the early 21st century
and someone you may not take too seriously or find very funny. But,
what he may not be so recognized for is his deep commitment and
passion to helping our nation’s Fire Fighters receive the much needed
funding and equipment to perform their jobs in a way that makes them
effective and keeps us safe. He’s raised ten million dollars in the
last ten years providing critical services while we’ve watched federal
and local governments cut funding and shutter firehouses.

Mr. Leary and I share a lot in common I laugh at his bitter, cynical
humor because we both come from Worcester, MA and you have to be a
little tough to survive. But, in 1999, you may remember the loss of
six firefighters in a horrific warehouse fire that gained the
attention of then-President Clinton. At the time, it was the worst
loss of those who serve us day in and out. Mr. Leary lost a cousin in
that fire, my two best-girlfriends lost their uncles. We’re a small
community, everyone was touched by the tragic loss. No one could have
fathomed at the time the way our American community would become so
much smaller and closer two years later as we watched the World Trade
Center Towers collapse before our eye with the family and friends our
heart ached for, powerless to help. They are, mostly men, who put
their lives on the line everyday helping people who are complete
strangers. Their job, which is what we identify ourselves with as
being American, is truly helping strangers in need.

Why don’t we have a national communication radio frequency band and
guess who’s in the mix with this government hold-up? Our friends at
the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) if you’re starting to see a
trend. That’s right, the same folks who brought us Analog Sunset and
the White Space microphone headache are pulling the strings in getting
this to move forward. The current political wrangling over the first
responder’s broadband communication network is very similar to the
White Space issue thrust on the microphone manufacturers in 2009.
Both are about how wireless spectrum is allocated, who owns and has
use of it, and how much money is at stake. Us little citizens versus
big private business and which side our government will fall on. The
FCC, wireless providers, and politicians opposing the passage of the
government bills appear to want to auction the spectrum space to the
commercial industry for about 3.1 billion dollars and use the money to
pay down the nation’s budget deficit. That seems like pennies when
you consider the enormous risk to public safety and our
first-responder’s lives when they aren’t able to communicate when it’s
needed the most. Not to mention the sliver of a dent it would make to
our multi-TRILLION dollar budget deficit.

Unlike Analog Sunset and the White Space issue, the Broadband First
Responder’s Act of 2011 feels personal. While the former wreaked
havoc in our industry, the latter cuts to the heart of what it means
to be American and the job we expect our government to perform when we
cast our vote and what they assume of our civil servants ever day. To
serve and protect. As we ask our firefighters and police officers to
do for us every day, bills before Congress have bi-partisan support
and they should be able to come together to pass and FUND a national
communication frequency network for the people we’re asking to put
their life on the line for us. This is a huge issue of the 9/11
Commission recommendations that has not been addressed, why?

How can we help? Call and email your House and Senate
Representative. Tell them you want to know if they support bills H.R.
607 Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 and the SPECTRUM Act
(the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act).
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Thank you Mr. Denis Leary. I find you very funny and am more grateful
you have heart. http://www.learyfirefighters.org/
Photo by originalsbyweber.com