The 9/11 Commission Report

7/22/2004

The 9/11 Commission Report-a Holy Day

Sweet Kaitlyn Mae, in the day and era that you may read this, I beg of you to run, do not walk, from any suggestion by the congress of your day that they form a commission and study the problem.

Yes grandmother knows that such things as a 9/11 commission will likely be extremely boring to a happening Kaitlyn all dressed to go on her first date. So I’ll try to keep it interesting by making fun of everything in the process.

Beginning with, Kaitlyn, an explanation that any legislative decision to form a committee to “study” the problem means “get face time on the media oohing and aahing over the issue whatever it may be”.

I liken the 9/11 commission report to the time I had a blowout driving home from Florida. What happened, my brother and I were driving my father’s van home from his Florida home back to Maryland. He had passed away a week prior and the trip was made for us to clean up his belongings and drive that van home. We had no choice but to get in the van and drive it home as it was.

Boom, the tire blew around Virginia somewhere. My brother, who was driving at the time, kept calm and pulled the old van to the side of the road. We had a spare, thank God, and effectively changed the thing on I-95.

After, my father’s other heirs formed themselves a “commission” and one of their charges was to review the flat tire issue.

“You should have checked the tire before you left,” one heir said.

“You probably would have been better off leaving it there and selling it in Florida,” another opined.

“Is that flat tire the reason for this long-distance phone call charged to the estate?” another wise one offered.

Here’s what happened. On our limited time off from our jobs, my brother and I flew down to Florida, cleaned out our father’s trailer, got in the van and drove home. The tire blew. We handled it. Just like we handled everything else and did a good enough job to please the state of Florida.

There’s something very arrogant about a Greek chorus pointing fingers and placing blame. All with the benefit of hindsight and may I add, total non-participation in the events as they occurred.

So okay, we really do become better people when we peer closely at our past mistakes, ascertain how we could have done it better, make the changes necessary and move on.

This 9/11 commission report was the most unnecessary, politicized national drama coming down the Pike. Beginning with the so-called “Jersey Girls”, survivors of victims of the 9/11 attacks and the politically correct impetus for forming the commission. Once upon a time American hearts across the country bled pure hurt for these women but by the time the Democrats convinced them to lobby for the formation of a commission to study the attacks and, assumedly, prevent future ones, the country grew tired of them.

Kaitlyn, if I see any of these perpetual victim media hogs I’m thinking I might fly a snoopy plane into their homes that they get lost. Remember this grandmother lesson, Kaitlyn, everyone has a limit of time to gain sympathy and sorrow from their fellow man. And while the liberals would like to stretch this time span to forever, it’s that old bugaboo about making a living, providing food, living a life that, gets in the way.

So the commission is formed so okay, okay. Maybe something good will come of it.

And maybe something did, Kaitlyn Mae, though I am now an early critiquer of their report (I write this on the day of the report’s release) and for this day, all sides are patting backs and commenting on a job well done.

As usual Kaitlyn Mae, grandmother is ahead of the curve. None of the wholesome spin convinces me of anything.

Beginning with the partisan fact that, to the hoots of joy of everyone, neither President Clinton of President Bush, gets the blame for the attacks.

I mean, sweet Kaitlyn Mae, they beat the hell out of President Bush who was only president for 8 months at the time of the attacks. While the commission spread every lie fomented by the Clinton camp, no problem. Including, Kaitlyn Mae, the revelation this week that Sandy Berger, national security adviser for Bill Clinton, was found stuffing top secret documents in his socks.

President Bush attended his meeting accompanied by VP Dick Cheney and his White House attorney. The Democrats spread the word that Clinton attended by himself. The idea being to impress the American public with Bill Clinton’s swagger, going it alone while Bush needed help.

When, Kaitlyn, Clinton attended the meetings with his own lawyer, Bruce Lindsay and aforementioned security advisor, Sandy Berger. We assume Sandy Berger brought a proper brief case with him instead of his specially made socks backpack. No one on the commission denied the public lie that Clinton went by himself so the public was left with the impression that Bush was such a dope he needed his VP.

This is how these blue ribbon commission things get twisted and abused.

Here’s the facts the whole commission report overlooks: Bush was President and on 9/11, one plane attack was foiled due to the bravery of American citizens, the other three planes hit their targets as planned. Through all of the bureaucracy and however frantic it all was when it came down, all the planes in the air were immediately brought down, there were no frenzied and thoughtless firing down of any other civilian airplanes. The citizenry of the country were mostly calm and law-abiding. There were no lawless riots and business continued very orderly across the land.

We survived that day fairly unscathed when one considers what such an attack would have done to any other country.

After the attacks, our economy wobbled but recovered in an amazingly quick fashion. The President appointed a Director of Homeland Security. Our army took out the anarchic country of Afghanistan, the justice department immediately stemmed the flow of terrorist money across the planet, our army took down despot Saddam Hussein, whom grandmother believes, Kaitlyn, despite how the liberals don’t want it to be true, was very much a part of the September 11th attacks, even if only as financial provider or making Iraq a place of safe harbor for terrorists.

Our government survived, the economy is now prospering and Americans are, as even the 9/11 commission states, “safer”.

Which is not to say, Kaitlyn, that we are completely “safe” and we understand this out here in la-la land, that life is never completely safe.

Yet across this country, Kaitlyn, every day the local people are keeping a close eye on things. Through the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the localities are being trained and they are doing a bang up job of it. Today a Turkish ship was escorted back out of the port of Philadelphia out into the Atlantic Ocean when a report of a bomb on board was received.

The bureaucracies are moving and things are getting done. It’s all happening under the direction and leadership of a no-nonsense down-to-business administration.

There have been NO other terrorist attacks since 9/11. Since one hesitates to risk tempting fate, it’s not a fact we are comfortable mentioning. Yet it’s a fact and by the 9/11 commission report of my disdain, there HAVE been massive terrorist attacks thwarted since 9/11.

Somebody’s doing something right.

The 9/11 commission submitted a list of suggestions that they thing should be implemented as a result of their study.

Yeah, right. “Overhaul the bureaucracy,” is the basic gist of their suggestions, give me a break. Any idiot can say that; easier said than done.

One of the grandstanders on that commission today made the threat that “if there is another terrorist attack and these suggestions are not implemented, the people will hold their political representatives responsible”.

Well talk about trying to prove a negative. That little threat was only a way for the grandstanding commission to keep themselves relevant.

Again, Kaitlyn, run, do not walk, when your legislators want to “study” a problem.

Just have them call grandmother.