Sunday, September 11, 2016

9/11 15 Years After

While sipping my coffee this morning, I was watching the annual ceremony of the reading of the names of the 9/11 victims in the WTC.  I don't know why it surprised me to see as much crying as I saw, but I was struck by how raw the wounds from that day still are.  From the way most mass media talks about it, it's like dim distant past, something the country is completely over.  Easy to say if it's not your loved one, coworker, or other friend that died that day. 

In going over my years on this blog, I find I've written only a few posts on 9/11.  I suppose I try to contribute something that other people don't and with the superb writers that are here in the blogosphere, I'm not sure I have much to say that's worthwhile.  I find it's one of those few days in my life where I instantly can vividly recall where I was, what I was doing, and all of the things we saw and heard.  

On that bright Tuesday morning, I was out of the office at a company that we contracted to do some testing on our radios.  As the technician and I were setting up the test, the company's secretary/receptionist came in and said the radio had a bulletin that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center.  My first reaction, perhaps strangely, was that radio navigation systems can't be that wrong, it must have been a terrible accident.  Act of war did not enter my mind.  As the morning went on, a TV set was put in place and large antenna hooked up outside (there are no local TV channels).  We watched the second plane hit and quickly realized this was no accident.  That's when the thoughts of Pearl Harbor and other acts of war started.  I've heard it credited to Ian Fleming as his character Auric Goldfinger, but the saying goes, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action".  And so it appeared that day. 

In the days that followed, I learned that friends were affected by the events of 9-11, but weren't involved.  A co-worker was on business at Boeing, and had to rent a car to drive home.  A very close friend was waiting at JFK airport to fly home, and saw the attacks in real time.  He also had to rent a car and drive home.  A cousin lives within viewing distance and watched it. And now I have friends who have sons in the armed forces in Afghanistan, and others who have been in Iraq.  We need to remember we are at war, even if our enemy isn't a convenient nation-state.  You can pretend we're not at war if you'd like, but if someone swears to destroy you, it's prudent to believe them.

This post shouldn't be about me.  It's in memory of all those who died that day, and since then.  Let us really never forget.  This poster is several years old, but it'll have to do.  Remember the fallen

13 comments:

  1. War? Do the military facts justify that word? Set aside for the moment their threatening words, mere words will never hurt you. Consider the operational tempo of their attacks. One attack 15 years ago. One tiny attack every few months, with results of no military significance. Innumerable opportunities for attacks passed up: every church every weekend, every school every weekday, every nightclub every night. Defense against those attacks believed to be merely carrying the handguns we already have. Who prevents us from using this defense? Not this supposed "enemy". Mostly, this "enemy" tries to create some publicity, any publicity, in order to not be ignored as a backward irrelevancy.

    Compare to the law enforcement system. Set aside for the moment their soothing words, mere words will never help you. Consider the operational tempo of their attacks. Are those flashing lights in your rear view mirror? What's going to happen to you? Is your "president" a figurehead puppet out of some movie? Do you have any "representation" at all? Britain's government healthcare system just sent the overweight and the smokers to the back of the line. Will they take away your bank account? Your coal-derived electricity? Cash? Your food like the Soviet Union did?

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    1. Said the frog as the temperature slowly rose to a boil. There is an invasion. When the numbers are sufficient you will lose the country, simple as that. For those who pay the ultimate price of the Islamic terrorism it is a big deal and doesn't seem irrelevant.

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  2. "War" gets redefined each time there is a change in the locations or the combatants. It has evolved, mutated, as time goes on. This is not the open warfare the first Anonymous may be referring to, it is more of an insurgency, guerrilla warfare, and - to a greater extent here in America - "leaderless" warfare, where individual jihadis are encouraged to act on their own, by ISIS, by their imam at the local mosque, or by watching videos on the Internet.

    islam declared war on the world back in the seventh century, and it has never stopped fighting. (It captured a large portion of Europe at one point, but was stopped at the gates of Vienna by a Polish army that responded to join with the Emperor's army. Without the Poles, the Emperor's forces would have been defeated.)

    A large, perhaps even the most important, method of warfare by the muslims has been demographic - emigrating to areas in sufficient numbers, along with the birth of numerous muslim children (multiple wives), with the specific intent of becoming a strong enough presence that they can control that area politically and/or militarily.

    We are seeing that in Europe right now, but many Americans aren't aware it is happening here, also - Dearborn, Michigan's city council is composed entirely of muslims now. Its police chief (IIRC) is also muslim, as are many of the police officers.

    Just because there is no longer much open fighting being done by the U.S. military doesn't mean islam is not at war with us. They are, and the shouts of "Death to America" are often heard in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East, not as an empty expression of anger, but as a definite plan of action which is being carried out in the buried nuclear labs in that country, in war-torn Syria, and here in Orlando, San Bernadino, etc.

    islam will be at war with Western Civilization until the world is a universal caliphate or islam is eradicated. They have _never_ had any interest in "COEXIST"ing with any other religion, and they never will - because one of the strongest, most basic tenets of islam (an ideology, not a true religion) is that they will never accept anything less than the total conversion or subjugation of non-muslims, of "infidels". The literal, true meaning of the word "islam" is "submission". Submit - or die.

    If that isn't war, I don't know what is.

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    1. A large, perhaps even the most important, method of warfare by the muslims has been demographic

      Don't fall for the winner-takes-all voting ruse, with that route you have to police other people's family sizes and immigration. Stop doing winner-takes-all voting and the demographic attack vanishes.

      [Islam] has _never_ had any interest in "COEXIST"ing with any other religion

      1.5 billion Muslims, and only 20 attack on 9/11. That's a ratio of 75 million to 1. With that very same argument you can claim all Americans supported the Unibomber. If that's not true about Americans, then you shouldn't believe similarly about most Muslims. I know their religious writing say it, but modern Christians ignore a lot of bad laws in their religious writings, too.

      Who took 50% of every single American's income at gunpoint last April 15th? Wasn't the Muslims. Why is the percentage of Americans in prison so high? The Muslims didn't do that. But you're going to worry about one conflicted gay man in Orlando who snapped, not the millions of violent enforcers who prevented his victims from carrying a gun to shoot back.

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    2. For example sanctuary cities. This is a direct result of immigrant majorities in these cities voting their biases over the welfare of America.

      http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/03/2016-electorate-will-be-the-most-diverse-in-u-s-history/

      The U.S. electorate this year will be the country's most racially and ethnically diverse ever. Nearly one-in-three eligible voters on Election Day (31%) will be Hispanic, black, Asian or another racial or ethnic minority, up from 29% in 2012.

      No city of any size has an immigrant majority.

      If a crazy Christian kills you all Christians will stand together to oppose this violence.

      May I remind you of the historically recent Christian vs. Christian violence in Northern Ireland. Lots of Christian cheerleaders of crazy Christians out there.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

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    3. You fell prey to a common fallacy. You do not need 51% of the voters to get 51% of the vote. 99% of democrats will vote for the Democrat even if it were the devil herself (Hillary). All you need in a sanctuary city is a 15%-25% of a specific group to seize power and majority control. If you look at Detroit it has been run by Democrats for nearly a century and during it's terrible demise it was run by a cabal of black Democrat politicians who literally stole the city into bankruptcy. They are NOW a majority but during those decades they acquired and maintained power they wer not a majority. There will always be enough stupid people who will listen to the propaganda and vote the "Lemming" ticket.

      The violence in Northern Ireland is about England vs Ireland not as it has been twisted about religion. Sadly many religious leaders fell into the trap and made it about religion but it was and is always been about the British people who were moved into Ireland by the British. A sad situation to be sure. The Kennedy's actively supported this violence and sent money and arms to Northern Ireland but again NOT for religious reasons but for nationalism and anti-British reasons. If you are unaware of the support that moderate muslims eagerly provide to the radical muslims I probably cannot sway you. Time after time they survey Muslims, Moderate Muslims, if they believe Sharia law should prevail in the country (any country where they live including America) and by enormous majorities they say yes. Sharia law means YOU are a slave and Muslims can kill you without fear of legal penalty. Moderate Muslims give money to terror organizations and they do it knowingly and will lie to cover it up. Muslims in this country are actively working to destroy this country and bring Islam to everyone by force. As the 10's of thousands of Swedish women raped by Muslims if moderate muslims came to their aid.
      If you rape or kill someone I will condemn that as a Christian and a civilized human. If a Muslim does that and claims it is for Islam most moderate Muslims will not condem him and will still continue to send money to terror organizations. THAT is the difference.

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  3. Here is a recent event http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/british-teen-planned-terrorist-attack-elton-john-concert-911/

    Notice how the media seems to bend over backward to label it something other than what it is. It is a "British Teen" don'tcha know. Just some wayward "British" teen. Not a Muslim, not a terrorist, not someone who is motivated by the quran. Oh sure it does get mentioned in most of the reports but not the headline and not the focus.

    Here is the problem with Muslim immigration. They aren't coming to assimilate or for opportunites they are coming to impose their religious/political views on everyone. And if you don't roll over for them they will kill you.

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  4. You fell prey to a common fallacy. You do not need 51% of the voters to get 51% of the vote. 99% of democrats will vote for the Democrat even if it were the devil herself (Hillary). All you need in a sanctuary city is a 15%-25% of a specific group to seize power and majority control. If you look at Detroit it has been run by Democrats for nearly a century and during it's terrible demise it was run by a cabal of black Democrat politicians who literally stole the city into bankruptcy. They are NOW a majority but during those decades they acquired and maintained power they wer not a majority. There will always be enough stupid people who will listen to the propaganda and vote the "Lemming" ticket.

    No no no. Each and every "Lemming" voter with enough intelligence to drive an automobile is a human being with agency, and they chose to vote for a Democrat when they could have voted for a libertarian. That majority worked very hard for decades on end to produce the Detroit-type results they now have. They carefully and deliberately chose it, over and over, in opposition to libertarians screaming their dissent. They can't claim ignorance, and you are wrong to let them off the hook.

    The violence in Northern Ireland is about England vs Ireland not as it has been twisted about religion.

    Similarly, 9/11 was about 'American army get out of the Middle East', as people in the invaded countries have said over and over, not about the Muslim religion. At the same time, The Troubles remains an example of Christians doing bad things to Christians while other Christians cheered, which is why I brought it up. You are still happy that your American taxes go to strengthen the colonial occupying American army, right?

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  5. "colonial occupying American army"

    A very stupid meme. I would not disagree that we should not fight land wars especially to save people who are neither worth saving or the slightest bit grateful for it. Saddam was killing on average 20,000 of his countrymen every month, usually by gruesome methods. We took out Saddam and gave them a chance for some kind of a civilized country and they preferred the old ways of torturing their fellow countrymen and stealing everything that wasn't nailed down. IMHO if a people/country cannot make it by themselves they probably won't make it after we do everything for them and hand them everything on a platter. Screw them. Instead we shoudl focus on keeping them there. Let them stew in the mess they made, kill each other off if they must but keep them all in the living hell they made. No refugees, no escape, no lives spent trying to "help" them so that some ignorant nut can say "colonial occupying American army".

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    1. Both rescuing them and locking them in assume we get to mess with them for some reason. This is called being a colonial power, and it's wrong.

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    2. You mean as in when we whipped the Germans and freed all of Europe; like that kind of "colonial power"???

      Yeah we should have let France be pushed into the English Channel and then the Germans could have walked across on their bodies into England. That would have been SOOOOOO much better than us using our "colonial power".

      As for "messing with them" as I remember on 9/11 we were sitting quietly at home minding our business when these crazies brought their "colonial power" to our shores. Is it still misusing our "colonial power" to fight back???

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  6. You mean as in when we whipped the Germans and freed all of Europe; like that kind of "colonial power"???

    No, we were invited to help fight the Germans. However, Charles Lindbergh and the isolationists were correct, the US should not have entered WWI or it's continuation, WWII. War is the health of the State. The US never recovered its freedoms lost to communists doing central planning for war.

    As for "messing with them" as I remember on 9/11 we were sitting quietly at home minding our business when these crazies brought their "colonial power" to our shores.

    We were NOT we were sitting quietly at home minding our business:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motives_for_the_September_11_attacks

    And then, most of the hijackers had Saudi passports. Instead of sending policemen to Saudi Arabia to look for other conspirators, the US attacked the unrelated country Iraq. What?? That war was purely about enriching the US arms makers and increasing the US politicians' power.

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  7. Your history is incorrect. Iraq attacked Kuwait and we were indeed asked by Kuwait to save them. We repelled Iraqi forces and made Saddam sign a treaty. He violated that treaty numerous times, during Clinton's presidency and he did little to put him back into the box. Therefore when the military had to go into the Middle East they demanded treaty compliance from Saddam because they didn't want him at their back as they searched out terrorists. Saddam thought we were bluffing and doubled down. Therefore we had to comply with the treaty and take him out. We did NOT go to Iraq to punish them for 9/11 we went there to clean it up as unfinished business because of his failure to comply with the treaty. Was it a mistake? Probably. I would have simply bombed the shit out of anything that moved and once they sued for peace install a strongman to run the country. Trying to help them or rebuild the country was a mistake. The Muslims are stuck in the 7th century and it may take generations of living in the real world before they are able to survive on their own.

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