9/11 - 20 Years Later

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the fateful 9/11 attacks on our nation. For most Americans, it will be a day of mourning and contemplation. But not for all Americans; it seems likely that for Joe Biden and members of his administration the date is simply an annoyance on the calendar to be given lip service and then forgotten.

Unlike in Afghanistan, where 9/11 will mark the seating of a new government comprised of Taliban war chiefs and the Al Qaeda terrorists who, 20 years after their initial attack, brought the US to its knees (and got an $85 billion windfall in weaponry from Joe Biden with which to renew terror attacks on the world).

So what was already a dark day has gotten considerably darker.

Truthfully, recent developments have left us so slack-jawed that we can't really conjure any words which would be adequate for the situation. Which is why we've gone to the vault to bring back these commemorative columns related to the 10th and 15th anniversaries of 9/11...

(10 Year Anniversary)

 

We are only a few days away from the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. An event so huge and horrific that it is nearly inconceivable that anyone could have forgotten the nightmarish visions, the passions, the lessons learned, or the injury to the heart of our nation. 

Unless they wanted to. Or unless they're being lead to think of those attacks in a different way. Which is why Hope n' Change finds it so appalling that the White House has just issued talking points and guidelines to make sure that government officials all stick to the narrative that Barack Obama wants for the anniversary of 9/11. 

Did you think the events of 9/11 were an attack on America? Don't be foolish; it was equally about "New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London." In other words, it wasn't about terror...it was about alliteration. 

And as 9/11 approaches, are you filled with anger towards Al-Qaeda? Geez, let it go already - after all, the Whitehouse assures us "Al Qaeda and its adherents have become increasingly irrelevant." 

Moreover, Americans should avoid making a big deal out of 9/11 because we've subsequently annoyed the civilized (ie, Muslim) world with our policies "on detention, on interrogation, and the decision to invade Iraq." Damn, maybe 9/11 was just our chickens coming home to roost, right B. Hussein? 

In all seriousness...in grave seriousness...this White House should not be telling any of us how to think or feel about the attacks of 9/11. The exploding jets, the falling towers, the smoke and flames billowing from the Pentagon, the innocents leaping to their deaths, and the scores of lost heroes were not part of a Hollywood movie. Which is why it is an obscenity of the most despicable kind for Barack Obama's White House to create and promote a script to reinvent those events in a way more to their liking... and political benefit. ----

(15 Year Anniversary)

I can't believe the events of 9/11 happened 15 years ago. It feels no longer than a heartbeat. And despite the admonition to "never forget," too many have. They've forgotten the spirit of unity which Americans shared for a brief time. A spirit that transcended race, class, or political parties.

I apologize for even briefly mentioning politics today, but I believe that the beginning of the end of that unity occurred when newly-elected Senator Hillary Clinton took to the floor of the Senate, held up a tabloid newspaper headline, and declared "BUSH KNEW" an attack was likely and didn't stop it.

Years later as Secretary of State, for purely political reasons Hillary Clinton claimed not to have been aware that September 11th was a day of special meaning to terrorists, and a day when security should be at its very highest level. And four Americans serving in Benghazi paid the ultimate price for her recklessness and folly. This detestable woman must not become our next president.

But enough about that. This should be a day of reflection and contemplation. And to that end, I want to remind readers of heroic firefighter David M. Weiss, the brother-in-law of Jim Hlavac, a frequent commenter here on Hope n' Change.

Here's how the New York Times described him:

David Martin Weiss, a New York City firefighter, was built like a fireplug. He stood 5-foot-9 and weighed 225 pounds. He was all muscle, with biceps as big as the thigh of a medium-build woman.

He was bulldozer strong. He looked as tough as he sounded. His head was shaved and his body was covered in tattoos. He drove Harleys.

He was an ironworker before he became a firefighter 13 years ago. He blended both experiences to become a member of the Fire Department's elite force. He joined Rescue Company 1 in Times Square about six years ago after receiving a medal for a rescue attempt: a man's car careened off Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and plunged into the East River. Mr. Weiss, off duty, stopped his car, climbed down the iron trestles of the elevated highway and jumped into the river to rescue the driver, whose heart had given out.

"He just jumped, knowing that he was the person's only hope," said Thor Johannessen, a firefighter.

Mr. Weiss, 41, of Maybrook, N.Y., had a mean sense of humor. "If he saw a thread, he knew how to pull it to unravel the whole shirt," said Joel Kanasky, another firefighter. "He was the king of that."  

On 9/11, along with other members of the elite "Rescue 1" group, David raced into a burning tower of the World Trade Center to help as many people as possible. He was last seen on the 31st floor of Tower Two, climbing stairs and rushing towards the danger when the building fell.

The image below is from a commemorative t-shirt which is a prized possession of mine. A remembrance of both the tragedy and remarkable heroism seen on that day.



Let today be a day when we step back from the petty distractions and noise of the media, and think about more important things. About what this country is. About who we are. About what we've lost, and what we each need to do every day to live up to a legacy forged by our best and bravest.

Above all, let's remember the many heroes - living and dead - who have made this a country worth celebrating and defending.

Full

Oops! I actually didn't mean to make a Stilton's Place post today, but accidentally screwed up and posted today's Johnny Optimism cartoon. And since there are already a couple of comments here, I'll just leave it up - what the heck!

Comments and conversation are welcome, and no need to confine yourself to opinions about werewolves or puppet shows (unless you mean the one in Washington DC).

From The Vault: Labor Day Memories

Today is Labor Day, a national holiday on which we celebrate the labor unions which have improved working conditions and pay so dramatically that the actual jobs now go to illegal aliens, because that's the only way for many manufacturers to keep from going out of business.

Not that it's my intention to bash unions today! Over the years, they've accomplished many positive things and put an end to some horrific working conditions. If you doubt us, try looking up some vintage photos of 8-year old coal miners and then try to get their eyes and faces out of your nightmares.

That being said, my personal experience of working in a union shop left me with a highly negative attitude. It was in the early 1970's, and I had to join the United Auto Workers to work at a Ford factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a summer job to earn college money, and I was moved around from position to position in the factory to cover for vacationing employees.

My first position was a night shift driving a forklift. The work was simple enough - transporting pallets of materials from one place to another. The problem was that there wasn't nearly enough work to fill the hours. When I asked the foreman what I should be doing to put in 8 hours of productivity, I was A) glared at for being a college-boy asshole and B) told that I should find a place to hide and sleep through the shift like everyone else did.

It seems the other forklift drivers did all of their work in the first hour, then retreated to hideaways inside stacks of boxes where there were makeshift beds, Playboy pinups, and the all-important alarm clocks which told my fellow workers that it was time to wake up and go home. My Protestant work ethic wouldn't allow me to do this (not to mention my fear of being crushed by falling stacks of crates "accidentally" tipped by my coworkers) so I was soon moved to daytime work on the assembly line.

This particular assembly line was for building steering columns. Every nine seconds, a unit would roll slowly by and I'd perform one quick operation on it...then move on to the next and the next and the next. There was nothing challenging about getting my contribution done in nine seconds (the union had established that this was exactly the maximum amount of work a laborer could do)...but I soon learned there was a complication.

Every man on the line not only knew how to do his own job, but also his neighbor's job within that nine second window (and without breaking a sweat). And so one man would come in every morning, punch in for himself and the second worker (who was still at home in bed) and do both jobs until lunchtime. Then the second man came in and the first man left for the day - with both time cards punched out at the end of the shift. Management knew this, but didn't dare challenge the union.

The "half day, full pay" scam eventually reached its logical conclusion when two geniuses sharing job duties figured out that neither of them would have to come in if they simply had a third guy punching their time cards in and out. And that's what they did for a long time.

And it worked out great until people driving Fords started dying because their cars suddenly veered out of control owing to the missing part in the steering column.

A massive recall followed, millions of dollars were paid in liability settlements and, of course, the two workers who were to blame were fired.

Briefly.

Yes, the UAW got them their jobs back. So fire up your grills, have a great Labor Day and  for the love of all that's holy drive carefully.

AND ONE MORE THING...