The World Trade Centre

Martin Horn,
I think you are wrong about the Democrats' ineptitude. The Democrat side of the corporatist controlled push-me-pull-you duopoly party are paid to throw the fight so the GOP/FOX/TEA Party can win in what seems like a real election.

Think back to the last election.

GOP Candidate: an all American war hero who suffered torture for his country partnered with a FOXy [but dim enough to make the dimmest voters feel comfortably superior] soccer-mom partner.

DEM Candidate: a young African [looking] male [Danger, Danger Will Robinson!], with a Muslim name [Danger! Danger!], connected to Chicago Machine [Grrrrr.], highly educated [OMG an intellectual], and partnered with a quintessential Washington insider with known foot-in-mouth disease.

I do believe it was a set-up, and the GOP was supposed to win hands down. Between the economic crash, war-weariness and GWB side effects, the unexpected happened and Barack Obama became president.

Doesn't this also explain the wierd anti-Obama stuff floating around, they just can't believe this happened to their nice well planned [just like the Iraq and Afghan Wars, right!] winning campaign strategy.

doublehelix wrote: "Our very own Baader-Meinhof complex of leftist politicians, union thugs, liberally biased media, illegal aliens, race grievance mongers, and enviro-Nazis are working very hard to 'transform' our country."

You forgot to mention the marching morons of the FOX/GOP/TEA Party, Christofascists, Koran burners [who think that trying to PERSUADE them not to do something foolish, bigoted, and dangerous violates their freedom of speech], anti-Muslim activists who think the Constitution doesn't apply to non-WASPs, Limbaugh-Hannity-Coulter-Beck ditto-heads who say the President is undermining the Constitution when he is really protecting it, and others.

I thing the "enviro-Nazis" scare me the most.

*shiver*

And in the water. Don't forget the fluoride.

Good thing there's no monsters under the bed.

Yes, let us remember but let us also look ahead. Right now, we Americans have bigger problems than Osama bin Laden. Our very own Baader-Meinhof complex of leftist politicians, union thugs, liberally biased media, illegal aliens, race grievance mongers, and enviro-Nazis are working very hard to 'transform' our country. It is a perilous time indeed, but the threat is mainly from within.

9/11 Let US Always Remember
Commentary by Patrick McCormick
9/11/2010

Let US remember the sunny days that came before that tragic morning.

Let US remember all of those that perished, in the towers, in the aircraft, in the Pentagon and on the ground. Their lives were an unwilling sacrifice to our Democratic way of life.

Let US remember the members of our military, and the military of nations that supported our efforts, in the two wars that followed. They made their sacrifice in the name of honor, justice and peace.

Let US remember the rescue workers that perished, and the ones that are now fighting illnesses caused by the toxic air they breathed while trying to rescue the injured or retrieve the remains of the dead. They are still suffering and many of them need our help today.

Let US remember that we are a proud and just nation, one free and equal people, united under one Constitution.

Let US remember all of these things as we go about our lives free and peacefully. Most of US survived physically unharmed, but the pain and enormity of this event has touched US all.

Let US never forget it.

@mig^4:

"Remember, there are two strip clubs and a sex shop within the same radius as the community center."

Do the strip clubs serve halal foods? If these muslim parishioners are anything like the Fort Hood murderer, they'll receive plenty of business from that mosque.

It must suck to be a hero who gets sick or injured in one of those insignificant events that make up the majority of existence.

The September 10th press conference featured the President as Head of Government & leader of the Democratic party. In such a role essentially featuring the economy, he should have been flanked by his relevant Cabinet members, Commerce & Treasury, who in the rest of the G7 would go on to lead their debate in Congress. The US really must not only update but actually upgrade their 18th Century Constitution to the 21st Century so as to really enable a fully functioning & effective system of Governance.

I really need to edit my comments rather than do the stream of consciousness thing before heading out for the night.

Final try before logging off:
By contrast, the Democratic response to the failed vote was to have a few no-name Representatives give long-winded speeches on the issue, have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid issue press releases, and have Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York yell at Republicans on the House floor - something that probably entertained the 2 dozen viewers of C-Span who saw him. No real mention by President Obama on a national stage, and to my knowledge no campaign commercials cut using the vote. Pathetic.

I just wanted to use this post to point out the following truth:

The fact that a Muslim community center with Jews and Christians serving on the board that was approved months ago without any fuss has attracted more media attention than Republicans voting against a bill that explicitly gives healthcare to 9/11 first responders and other victims of the aftermath of the attacks is proof that Democrats are very, very, very bad at politics.

Whether you agree or disagree with their policies is irrelevant.

I'm not a fan of what most Republicans are offering this election cycle - the few promising proposals out there made by Republicans have not been endorsed by the majority of their caucus the way the 1994 Contract with America was.

Still, if Republicans were trying to pass this bill and it failed to get the required a 2/3 majority due to Democratic obstruction, it would be game over for the Democrats. The attack ads write themselves. "Democratic Congressman X voted against funding healthcare for 9/11 first responders and victims. Because of his vote, the death toll from the terror attacks will continue to rise. In my opinion, there is NO GOOD REASON to vote against ensuring America's heroes proper healthcare. I'm Republican Y and I approve this message because I care about America too much to let Representative X and the other Democrats in Congress get away with this." And the Republicans would repeat that over and over and over until November, until every single American would tell a pollster that they knew about the Democrats voting against the bill.

By contrast, the Democratic response was to the failed vote was to have a few no-name Representatives write give long-winded speeches on the issue, have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid issue press releases, and have Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York yell on the House floor. No real mention by President Obama on a national stage, and to my knowledge no campaign commercials cut using the vote. Pathetic.

@migs^4

Thank you for your extra effort. Mayhaps I'll review your accompanying links tomorrow.

Doug,

As Tzi and mig^4 note, the Democrats wanted a "clean" bill that focused on the business at hand: health care for first responders. Evidently that requires a 2/3 majority (?)

My understanding is that Republicans wanted to ensure that all of the heroes were well-documented, since undocumented heroes are, well, not so much "heroes" as "illegals". Evidently it's a bigger problem than I would have thought, since it was worth preventing thousands upon thousands of documented heroes from being recognized as such and having their health needs taken care of by a citizenry deeply in their debt.

The other main objection, as I recall, was the funding mechanism involved. Rather than use deficit spending for the additional $7B over 10 years (context: 0.019% of the federal budget), Democrats proposed generating revenue from closing tax loopholes for multinational corporations who shelter tax on US earnings in tax-haven countries.

Some Republican comments about the proposed bill:

* Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL): "What this is is enfranchising a bunch of New York City hospitals."

* Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) said the rest of the nation should not be paying to help New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of 9/11.

* Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI): "By making this a new mandatory program, you jeopardize the financial health of the United States of America."

And perhaps the saddest of them all:

* Kevin Brady (R-TX), referring to the first responders: “…They went there to save survivors, not to raise taxes”

If the Democrats collectively share as much as a monkey's brain, October will be blanketed with ads comparing Republican priorities with what they just cannot accept.

Priority: Extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at a cost of $6T over the next decade, paid for by your descendants for the next dozen generations or so. Photo of a rich guy on a yacht drinking champagne.

Can't Accept: Health care for 9/11 first responders at a cost of $7B (i.e., ~1/1000 as much), but paid for by tax-evading multi-national corporations. Photos of sick responders and graveyards.

SOCIALISM!!!!!!

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

@k.a. gardner:

http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3A...

http://daryllang.com/blog/4421

http://www.politicususa.com/en/ground-zero-strip-club

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0824/Sex-shop-and-strip...

I haven't been to NYC since I was 22 and applying to medical schools.

However, there's lots of blog traffix on all of the other things that would, in the stated worldview of the ultraconservative christianofascists, also "violate" the "hallowed ground" of the WTC site. There's also bars, off-track betting, etc etc.

There's also plenty of.....
(well, you know, I don't have to scream it here)

@whaleyboy

Correction: side-street 'strip clubs'.

@whaleyboy:

"I lived about a block from Ground Zero for a few years (a few years before 9/11)..."

Do you know if those same side-street sex shops are still there? Next time I'm touring the WTC area I can critique them. I'll report back at this thread with my findings.

migs, that's kind of what I was afraid of. It's why I try to with-hold my righteous indignation for nonpartisan complaints, like that congress is so full of muttonheads that sheep in Delaware parse the polls.

@k.a.gardner:

"So then you've been to the Wall Street financial district and have seen, or have been to, two strip clubs and a sex shop?"

I lived about a block from Ground Zero for a few years (a few years before 9/11) and there were indeed several strip clubs and sex shops in the neighborhood. I can't comment on the quality of entertainment at the clubs and shops - only that they were there. They aren't on the major streets (like Broadway or Wall) but on the side streets that intersect with those more famous names.