9/11

I woke up around 7:30 am to a glorius blue sky.  The sun was shining and there were a few white puffs in the sky.  Picture perfect.  I was also 9 months pregnant.  I had to go take care of my grandmother, who chain-smoked and was senile (though she never forgot about her cigarettes), so she couldn't be left alone.  Oh, and we did try to take them away, but she ended up rolling up shreds of paper, lighting it on the stove, and trying to smoke it.  So, it was just easier to let her have them and watch her after all, she was 87 at the time.

It was pretty much my normal routine to get a cup of decaf and watch Good Morning America and this day was the same.  Until 25 minutes later, in the middle of broadcasting, Charlie Gibson had the same look of disbelief, shock, and dumbfoundedness that I saw on the faces of the newsman who told America John Kennedy was dead.  What I saw next made no sense.  I thought to myself what would a pilot be doing that he doesn't see that huge building?  Mind you, at this time it was only one tower that was hit.  As the GMA crew is gathering their thoughts and trying to get answers, as I and most other souls who were tuned into TV sat watching the first tower burn, we watched, horrified as the second plane came onto our screens, made that what seemed to last forever turn into the second building.  I dropped my coffee cup as I stood up screaming at the television..."NO!" 

But my voice didn't stop that plane.  And as they burned, I mumbled to myself they're gonna fall.  I knew the angle of the second plane going into the corner at the speed it was traveling.......there was hardly a way for the upper levels to be supported enough.  I didn't know, but assumed the first plane went in at about the same way.  I never thought, as most, that both towers would fully collapse.  When tower 2 began to cave in on itself, my prayers were with those outside the building as well as the lost souls inside.  When the second tower begin the same motion...I was numb.  I wanted to go and help.  I knew I couldn't. 

I don't think I took my eyes from the TV for a week, as long as they were discussing it, I was watching.  I wanted to get the people responsible and make them pay.  I was touched by how the country and the world responded and wanted to come together as if we were all humans and not this religion, or that ethnicity, or any of the common things that separate us.  I had no idea.

My daughter, Grace, was born on 9/29/01.  At the time, I was hopeful because America was in the thoughts and prayers of most nations, including our enemies.  These radical islamic terrorists are the target of the most powerful nations in the world.  The Al-Qaeda camps and its leader, binLaden won't be around long.  We will be loved by all.  I was wrong.

Now, most blogs I've read today are about the emotions of it all.  But mine is about the policies that we have made since then.

We started a war.  We started a war with the wrong people.  We started a war without justification.  We started a war without funding.  We started a war without a plan to Get Out!  We started a war on lies.  We started a war because Cheney and Rumsfeld wrote a book after Gulf War 1, stating how they're going to get Saddam Hussein, no matter what and laid the game plan to do it.

I am not one who pushes politics on anyone.  I have researched through the Federal Government's website and the Library of Congress.  Bush lied, soldiers died, and Osama is still out there planning more.

My reflections looking back now, those 3,000 people died in vain.  Our government is so hell-bent on Iraq, we all forgot about who did this act to us.

The Republicans are preying on our fears...listen to their campaign speeches, it's all about fear from an event 3 years ago.  No regard for all the jobs they let go out of the country.  No regard for our kids' educations.  No regard for any of us grunts struggling to make ends meet. Nothing but fear, fear, fear, blood, guts, and glory, in Jesus' name, Amen. 

People, please read the policies for yourselves.  The Arabs, Muslims, and Extremists DO NOT HATE our freedom, THEY HATE OUR POLICIES.  Iraq doesn't hate us because women are equal, they hate us because we sanctioned them and that made everyone sanction them, which made them very poor (except for Saddam).  Now, I am not a supporter of Hussein's.  I thought he was always wrong, but he never came after us and never had the power to do so.

So, I'm asking for people to study for themselves.  Read the 9/11 commission report, and although I haven't seen it, I was told Michael Moore's documentary, Farenheit 911 is good for stats.  Just don't follow Bush blindly,  because he is trying to convince people that we will be blown up again if he is not in office.  News flash people....it can happen again no matter who is in office.  Homeland security doesn't speak to the FBI or CIA any more than the latter two mentioned did in the first place.  That's the problem.  Fix that..and we'll have all bases covered.

Til next time......VOTE!