“9/11? Get over it…”

[originally posted 9/11/06]

I am taken aback when I hear that someone can actually utter these words.

It sickens me to the core. Anyone that is shallow enough to say such a thing should be dropped off in Iran or Pakistan for just a few days to see what life is like for the people that are trying to kill us. If they manage to keep their heads connected to their bodies they might develop a newfound respect for and awareness of the country that allows them to live comfortably enough to be clueless about the realities around them.

I’m not talking about those who are trying to cope with 9/11, trying to ‘get over’ their grief. I’m talking about the clueless twentysomethings (and even thirtysomethings) that care more about the big game, or who’s banging who on Big Brother, than they do about the security of our country and their own damned future. Maybe it’s because I’m in Texas, and deep down inside many Texans couldn’t care less about what happens up there in <>Texas accent> Ne-ew Yark Citay . Maybe they would think differently of 9/11 if 3,000 people were killed 80 miles up the road in Austin instead of 1,600 miles up the road. I grew up about a 90 minute drive from New York City, maybe my subconsious homing beacon is getting the best of me.

I’ve also hear people say that George W. Bush and his administration are responsible for 9/11. In fact, CNN posted a poll on the topic. (source) Yeah right. Let’s do some simple math to clear this one up.

Question: How long did it take Al Qaeda to fund, plan and prepare for the 9/11 attacks?
Answer: Probably more than eight months. A few years sounds more accurate.

Does that sound reasonable? If so, move to round two. If not, I’m surprised you are smart enough to read in the first place.

Question: How long was Bush in office when the 9/11 attacks took place?
Answer: Eight months.

There is no way that the 9/11 attacks are due to GWB or his adminsitration. Yet, the CNN poll shows that the number of people that think Bush is responsible for 9/11 is actually increasing. True, polls don’t mean much and the political bias of CNN has been recognized for years, but the fact that this poll question even exists is scary to me. Then again, CNN recently asked its viewers who would win in a debate between George W and President Anamanapea from Iran. I guess I shoudn’t expect more than this from the Crappy News Network.

My letter to TX Senators re: the lack of border security

[originally posted 9/10/2006]

Senator Hutchison,

I recently visited Ground Zero for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. I was most affected not by the lack of the towers but by the display of children’s paintings near the site. Two samples are included in this letter.

I wept out loud when I first saw these images. As a father of children aged three and six my job is to do everything humanly possible to protect my children from harm. The government is supposed to play the same role for its citizens. Failure to enforce current laws and thus allow, and even encourage, the open flow of illegal aliens from many nations into our country is a slap in the face to the founding fathers, our soldiers and our patriotic citizenry. Why isn’t our border being secured?

There WILL be another day like 9/11. To think that this is paranoia is blatant denial of an obvious truth. While officials meet to discuss what else citizens cannot carry onto a plane, people from middle-eastern countries that want to kill us (irregardless of our political affiliation) are entering our homeland unabated. They are planning their next attacks on our water supplies, sports arenas, shopping malls and office buildings.

How can you sleep at night knowing that when, not if, but WHEN the next disaster takes place that you have done nothing to make our nation safer? Do you realize the political, personal and legal wrath that awaits all currently elected politicians that will have American blood on their hands when the next 9/11 happens? I literally lose sleep thinking that there is NOTHING I can do as a citizen of a country whose government is supposedly OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people.

In March of this year you stated “We need to enhance security along the border and in the interior, but we also need comprehensive immigration reform.” Apparently it appears that the Senate views border security and amnesty as a single issue. This is NOT an immigration issue and should NOT be tied to amnesty or other Mexican-related topics. This is about NATIONAL SECURITY.

Why must bills be passed with strict dependencies on other topics? Current immigration laws are sufficient but our law keeping forces are not. On this you and your constituents agree. But, to ignore our porous border and suffer another attack while trying to figure out how to appease the Mexican population and those unpatriotic businesses that fuel the flow of illegal aliens would be analogous to a doctor ignoring a severed limb and trying to save the patient by offering him an aspirin and some water. The continuing flow of blood or illegal aliens will kill each victim.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE draft and pass legislation that secures our borders before we suffer the pain of another 9/11. It is not impossible, it is not difficult, and it is not a campaign issue. It is a matter of time, a matter of life and death. Let the citizens of other countries take a back seat for the time being and focus on the citizens that put you into office in the first place.

My letter to TX Senators re: the lack of border security

[originally posted 9/10/2006]

Senator Hutchison,

I recently visited Ground Zero for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. I was most affected not by the lack of the towers but by the display of children’s paintings near the site. Two samples are included in this letter.

I wept out loud when I first saw these images. As a father of children aged three and six my job is to do everything humanly possible to protect my children from harm. The government is supposed to play the same role for its citizens. Failure to enforce current laws and thus allow, and even encourage, the open flow of illegal aliens from many nations into our country is a slap in the face to the founding fathers, our soldiers and our patriotic citizenry. Why isn’t our border being secured?

There WILL be another day like 9/11. To think that this is paranoia is blatant denial of an obvious truth. While officials meet to discuss what else citizens cannot carry onto a plane, people from middle-eastern countries that want to kill us (irregardless of our political affiliation) are entering our homeland unabated. They are planning their next attacks on our water supplies, sports arenas, shopping malls and office buildings.

How can you sleep at night knowing that when, not if, but WHEN the next disaster takes place that you have done nothing to make our nation safer? Do you realize the political, personal and legal wrath that awaits all currently elected politicians that will have American blood on their hands when the next 9/11 happens? I literally lose sleep thinking that there is NOTHING I can do as a citizen of a country whose government is supposedly OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people.

In March of this year you stated “We need to enhance security along the border and in the interior, but we also need comprehensive immigration reform.” Apparently it appears that the Senate views border security and amnesty as a single issue. This is NOT an immigration issue and should NOT be tied to amnesty or other Mexican-related topics. This is about NATIONAL SECURITY.

Why must bills be passed with strict dependencies on other topics? Current immigration laws are sufficient but our law keeping forces are not. On this you and your constituents agree. But, to ignore our porous border and suffer another attack while trying to figure out how to appease the Mexican population and those unpatriotic businesses that fuel the flow of illegal aliens would be analogous to a doctor ignoring a severed limb and trying to save the patient by offering him an aspirin and some water. The continuing flow of blood or illegal aliens will kill each victim.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE draft and pass legislation that secures our borders before we suffer the pain of another 9/11. It is not impossible, it is not difficult, and it is not a campaign issue. It is a matter of time, a matter of life and death. Let the citizens of other countries take a back seat for the time being and focus on the citizens that put you into office in the first place.