Tuesday marks the 6th anniversary of the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil when 19 Al-Quida terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one in a field in Pennsylvania killing almost 3,000 people.
Tuesday will also mark the third time the Livingston County Teen Age Republicans (TAR) will use the anniversary to gather support for President George Bush’s failed policies, support for the Republican Party and support for the Iraq occupation/civil war. The event will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the lawn of the Historic Livingston County Courthouse in downtown Howell. We can be certain that there will be firefighters and Republican politicians. It has not been announced who will be there, but I can almost guarantee U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers will be there. He has been pretty scarce in the 8th Congressional District all summer, but I’m betting he will be there. He has been, apparently, hiding from his constituents who want an end to the Iraq occupation.
I think it’s great we remember those who died in the horrible attack and pay tribute to the men and women of the police and fire service who risk their lives everyday, but Sept. 11 and 9/11 has been used by Bush as justification for every unpopular policy and goal he was pursuing. It has been his justification for invading a sovereign country that posed no threat to the security of the U.S. that plunged us into a four-year bloody occupation, it served as justification for shredding the Bill of Rights, to spy on U.S. citizens, to institute a backdoor draft, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and to torture people. Bush has also used 9/11 to silence critics and to brand anyone who disagrees with him an unpatriotic traitor.
I fail to see why this event is more important than other important and watershed event in American history. Why aren't the TARS holding a rally to mark Pearl Harbor Day, D-Day, V-J Day, V-E Day or even the day the Berlin wall came down? I have heard the argument that they mark 9/11 because it happened in their lifetime, so does that mean we can expect this event to end in 10 years or so when those born after Sept. 11, 2001 enter the TAR ranks?
There have been, so far, 3,753 members of the U.S. Armed Forces killed in Iraq. In Livingston County, nine with ties to the county have been killed in Iraq, and that’s more the entire 12 years of hostilities in Vietnam. In July they put the names of two of those county residents killed in Iraq on the veterans memorial located on the same courthouse lawn the 9/11 event will be held, but there was no rally or publicity from the TARS. These are peers of the TAR members, but they prefer to memorialize people they never knew.
It seems scary that I would ever agree with Rush Limbaugh, but I partly agree with him when he pointed out the basic unfairness of the 9/11 victims' families being paid greater benefits than family members of American military personnel killed in action. It’s happening right here in Livingston County only the payment is not in dollars.
I went to two of these events in the past, but one was sponsored, or at least organized, by the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus held on the very same courthouse lawn the day after the actual attack. It was an amazing event. It was one of the most moving events I have ever attended. The next one I attend was little more than an attempt to rally support for the Iraq fiasco, and the solidarity of the country had long given way to Bush’s quest to invade Iraq at any cost. It had become what it is today, a partisan political event.
Prior to Labor Day I had heard some of my favorite liberal talk show hosts talk about rumors of a major PR campaign by conservatives after Labor Day to pave the way for an attack on Iran. Just like clockwork, Rogers had an OP-ED piece in the Detroit Free Press called “Beware of Iran,” and Kelster93 does excellent job writing about it over on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I’m sure we will here more about Iran on Tuesday.
I urge you to attend to pay respects to the people who died in the attack and to recognize and honor the sacrifice made by fire and law enforcement. Just ignore the political rally for Bush and Iraq. In fact, I would recommend you count how many times Iraq is mentioned, especially linked with 9/11 and the alleged “war on terror.” Also keep a county of how many times Iran is mentioned.
2 comments:
I fail to see why this event is more important than other important and watershed event in American history. Why aren't the TARS holding a rally to mark Pearl Harbor Day, D-Day, V-J Day, V-E Day or even the day the Berlin wall came down? I have heard the argument that they mark 9/11 because it happened in their lifetime, so does that mean we can expect this event to end in 10 years or so when those born after Sept. 11, 2001 enter the TAR ranks?
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!
If you’re warped Liberal mind will recall as with the rest of you Libs who are also in denial. 9/11 happened on AMERICAN SOIL. What does the Berlin Wall directly have to do with the USA. Indirectly yes, it is no comparison. Pearl Harbor YES. You need to snap back to reality.
World Trade Center Bombing 1993
USS Cole
Pan Am Flight 103
US Marine Barracks Beirut
Embassy Bombings – 1998
There is a war on Terror with or without you Libs.
There is a war on Terror with or without you Libs.
No, I’m not kidding, hate the USA. Instead of stoping to name calling, like you always do, why don’t you, for once, try a reasoned argument to prove your point. That would be something new for you.
I never said the 9/11 attack did not occur on American soil. So did Pearl Harbor. You must be kidding when you ask what does the “Berlin Wall directly have to do with the USA.” The Cold War lasted almost 50 years, and it claimed many, many more lives than the 9/11 attack. Two shooting wars were fought because of the Cold War.
You understand, I hope, that Iraq has nothing to do with the War on terror. Almost all of the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and Al-Quida was supported and based in Afghanistan. There was absouetly no link between Iraq, Al-Quida or 9/11. Yet Bush used 9/11 to invade Iraq, and that is biggest tragedy of 9/11 because more U.S. Servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq then civilians were killed in 9/11. No one even knows accurately how many civilians have been killed in Iraq. The number of both military and civilian deaths continue to rise every single day.
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