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Posted on 10/23/2001 9:05:06 PM PDT by VinnyTex

		y friends, I had the distinct privilege and honor of speaking to one of New York's bravest - firefighter Mike Moran – during Tuesday's program. He was the guy who told bin Laden what he could do, and where he could do it, last Saturday night at the Concert for New York held at Madison Square Garden.

		I played that clip of Moran's comments during the program on Monday, and he sent me an e-mail letting me know that both he and the brother he lost in the World Trade Center, shared an admiration for my program. The surviving brother of these two brave firemen told me to call him anytime, so I took him up on that offer Tuesday. You can hear Moran's now infamous choice words for bin Laden, as well as our interview, in the audio links below. I also asked him why he thinks Hillary got booed during the show, because the organizers still haven't figured it out. The Drudge Report cited a Hillary "confidant" asking how no one could know Hillary would be booed, as these firemen were all fans of right-wing talk radio. Well, my friends, Mr. Moran had something to say about just why they didn't want to hear what Hillary had to say. I wanted to make sure that all of you, as well as the media who scour this site when they want to quote me accurately, could hear and see this man's words exactly as he spoke them. So there's a transcript and audio available. Please, take the time to read them, because what the Moran brothers chose to do with their lives is a job most of us would never, ever consider doing.

		Moran described how his brother chose to stay with the burned victims of the WTC attack when he and his fellow firemen could surely have saved themselves. For this reason, Mike Moran said he couldn't allow himself to be compared to the others that lost their lives, calling them "the true heroes." Mr. Moran shared the story of what happened on September 11th, and how so many of his friends gave the ultimate sacrifice. I think that says a lot about his character. It's typical of people who are heroes to disavow it, and for that Mike Moran, my hat goes off to you. You are a true hero in my book, and I know I speak for the entire EIB family of which you and your brother made yourselves a part, when I invite you to call on us for any need you ever have. Don't be afraid to ask, because we're here for you, just as you and your brother were there for all of us.

RUSH: We now welcome with great pride and huge honor, Mike Moran, a New York City firefighter. He's on the phone with us from his home in Rockaway, New York. Look, I've got to tell you something, man - what you said in the midst of everything that you were surrounded by Saturday night has just captured the hearts of everybody who heard it. I mean there are what I call "the people who make the country work," and then you have people who are just hangers-on and trying to get some time in the flashbulb and so forth. You lost your brother in the situation. You've kept your composure about it. You run into buildings to rescue people and you place your life on [the line.] You do things that 99% of the people in this country won't do - and I'm not being critical of other people. Just most people do not have jobs where they will willingly risk their lives, and I'll tell you, my hat and everybody's hat is off to you. I was honored to get that e-mail from you, to know that you're in the audience, and I welcome you to the program, and I thank you so much. Tell us what Saturday night was like for you. Mike Moran: Thank you very much, Rush. It's a tremendous thrill to be on the show. Saturday night was -- it was nice to be able to go and see all the firemen and policemen that I've known throughout the years that I haven't seen since this. But it was a very emotional time. And my girlfriend turned to me and said, "You're not very much fun to go to a concert with," because I was kind of sitting there thinking that if I got a chance to say something, I'd like to say this. RUSH: Well, you said it. You don't have any regrets, do you? Mike Moran: Oh, no. The only... If I could just clear up two things, Rush. I'll be quick. I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea - RUSH: Sure.

		Mike Moran: - about my Irish ancestors. Ireland is where my family came from. I couldn't be prouder to be an American, and especially at this time, and I don't want anybody get the wrong idea. Okay. And just one more thing: people in my neighborhood and on the radio have been calling me a hero, and alls I can say is - if I could just tell the story what the men from my firehouse did - we know what they did. The captain, Patty Brown, gave a report from the North Tower, from the 40th floor, that they had 30 to 40 severely burned people that they were trying to get down the stairs. A few minutes later, he gave the most urgent kind of message a fireman can give: a May Day that the building was coming down around him. Now, that building didn't come down for ten minutes and the men from my house - Patty Brown, Mike Carol, Jim Sweeny - these guys were outstanding athletes. They could have got down those stairs in ten minutes, and they wouldn't leave those people. And I can't allow myself to be compared to those true heroes.

		RUSH: Well, look, I understand what you're saying, and I'm going to be the last person to argue with you over who's a hero or not. It's typical of people who are heroes to disavow it. And it's, I think, totally within your character to do so. The concert. Talking a little bit about the concert, it was ostensibly for you guys. Mike Moran: Yes. RUSH: Did you - and look, I'm not trying to stir anything up here. I didn't see it. Did you feel as though it was something that duly honored what you and your compatriots did, was it well done? Mike Moran: I thought it was very well done except for maybe some of the choices of some of the people who got up and spoke. The serious men at that time did not want to hear that babble.

RUSH: Why do you think Hillary got booed? I mean, you were there. Twenty seconds is about all she could make it before she had to leave the stage, and her organizers afterwards tried to make you guys - I don't know if you heard this quote - sound like right-wing kooks who listen to talk radio [and] that think she's still involved in all sorts of conspiratorial activity. Why do you think that she was so roundly booed by most of the people that were there? Mike Moran: I think when times are good and things are going well, people will sit there and listen to the kind of claptrap that comes out of her mouth. When things are going like this, when it's serious times and serious men who actually suffered losses, and she wants to get up spew her nonsense - She doesn't believe a thing she says. She says whatever she thinks will fit the moment, and I think that comes through. In serious times, people don't want to stand for it. RUSH: So you didn't detect any sincerity at all, that's probably a big problem, then? Mike Moran: I don't think there's ever been a sincere word that's come out of her mouth. RUSH: (Laughing.) Oh, yes, there has.

		Mike Moran: You're right. You're right. RUSH: She's been sincere a couple times. Well, look, you lost your brother. That has to be a devastating thing. This day you wake up, it's a normal day. It's, in fact, by New York standards, a very pretty day, and then this happens. I mean, even given what you do, this is probably something you've not seen on this type scale before. Some time has passed now. How are you dealing with it? Mike Moran: The men of Ladder 3, my brother's ceremony was almost a month ago. We never recovered his body but, you know, we had a real nice memorial mass for him, and, you know, the guys from Ladder 3, we're still burying their dead, and we have another couple weeks before we're done with that. And it really doesn't seem like life will be anywhere near normal until we get done with that. RUSH: Even beyond that I think it's going to be tough for life to resume in any way a normal fashion. It's just - when you look at what's happening now with the anthrax scare - two more deaths now in Washington, D.C. and people are talking about canceling Halloween - it just isn't the same. And your job! I imagine you're probably more on the edge of your chair in that firehouse every time you're there than you have been in a while.

		Mike Moran: It absolutely goes through the back of your mind a little more. You don't know what could be out there. The next time you're out the door, who knows? I mean we go to the subway emergencies all the time and, you know, smoking garbage cans and things like that, and they've always warned us, "Hey, that would be an excellent place to put something." So... RUSH: Well, the future for you, has this determined or firmed your resolve to remain a fireman? Mike Moran: Oh, yeah. I mean, I have 16 years of city fire and I was a policeman for two years before that. You know, you've got to do 20 years to earn your pension. I mean, I'm a single guy. I don't have any kids yet, and if I - I'm getting married, and hopefully I'll be blessed with children, and I'll have to work longer than the next three years in order to raise them. And I couldn't think of a better job to do it as. RUSH: When are you getting married?

Mike Moran: We're still working on the date. This - RUSH: Still working on the date. Well - Mike Moran: This made me realize that there's a lot out there bigger than - I was always a happy single guy, and I have a wonderful girlfriend, and I just wanted to make sure that, you know, something bigger than myself out there, have a family and be a little bit more of an adult, I guess. RUSH: Oh, I know, it's amazing how things like this can change your perspective. How old are you, by the way? You're making it sound like you don't have much time to get married. You can't be that old. Mike Moran: I'm 38.

		RUSH: Oh, a pup! A pup, you're doing everything just right. You're doing everything just right. I want to stay in touch with you, because you have captured the hearts of a lot of people. And I'll tell you what: I have a philosophy that evolved over the course of my life that I've had to learn. "Even in the worst things that happen, you oftentimes can find good." I mean, it's tough sometimes, and it's got to be really tough for you to look at everything you've seen, just what you've seen, what you've experienced, and to try to take something out of it that's good or positive. Just listening to you, you have. You're obviously adjusted to this as well as could be expected, and when you say things like you know that there are things out there that are bigger than yourself and that matter more than you individually? See, I think you've known that all along just on the basis of the profession you chose. You wouldn't have chosen to risk your life as a fireman if you didn't already think that. You may have just now realized it, but I think you and members of the military and police officers are some of the most under-appreciated people in our society. They do not get paid commensurate - you don't get paid commensurate - with the risks that you take, and yet you still do it, and what you do, as I said, is something that most of us wouldn't do. And we're just - I am - and I know I speak for everybody in the audience - happy to have the opportunity to say "thanks" in our own way for the contribution and the sacrifice that you make, and know that whatever help that you need at any time, I'm sure it will be there for you if you need it. Just don't be afraid to ask. Mike Moran: Thank you, Rush. I appreciate that. RUSH: Well, you bet. And thanks for the call, thanks for the e-mail, and I can't tell you, you know, it's a thrill to know you're out there in the audience, and everybody else at Ladder 3 as well. Mike Moran: Hey, Rush, well, thank you. RUSH: Thanks much. That is Mike Moran, who had some choice words for Osama bin Laden on Saturday night, the concert at Madison Square Garden. [End Transcript]

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