Remembering

It seems like just yesterday. I was sitting in a local restaurant having breakfast with our little girl when my cell phone began to ring. It was my husband, calling to tell me that a Boeing 767 full of passengers had just hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, and that it would be best for me to go home and stay there. Little did we know what lay ahead. The events of the next few hours would change the course of history.

The days that followed were both heart wrenching, as bodies were pulled from the rubble, and heartwarming, as the country rallied together like nothing I've seen in my lifetime. People seemed to actually care about their fellow citizens. Most Americans seemed to actually care about America. We were united.

The reaction that day of our President, George W. Bush, made me prouder than ever to be an American citizen. He vowed to do everything in his power to hunt and kill the terrorists responsible for the horrors of 9/11/01, and he held true to his word. Until June of this year, no act of terrorism by Muslim extremists took place again on American soil.

Thanks to Project 2,996, I was given the privilege of participating in remembering several of those who died on September 11, 2001. Eight years ago, not only were the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon attacked, there were passengers on four different airliners that were also killed. (American Airlines Flights 11 and 77 and United Airlines Flights 93 and 175). Many of those who so bravely raced to the scene that day to rescue the injured also lost their lives. John Joseph Florio and Thomas Richard Kelly were two such heroes. Florio was an FDNY firefighter with Engine 214. He was 33 years old, a husband, and father of two. As I read his memorial page, tears came to my eyes. You see, for some, September 11, 2001 was just another ordinary day. Their lives were seemingly unaffected by this tragedy. For others, life went on, and we too easily forgot that these were real people who left behind real families, whose lives would never be the same. John Joseph Florio was a brave firefighter who ran into a burning building to save his fellow citizens, and never made it out.

Thomas Richard Kelly was 38, from Riverhead, New York, and was also an FDNY firefighter. He was a lieutenant assigned to Ladder 105, and was last seen entering the South Tower just before it collapsed at 9:59 a.m. Just two days earlier, he and his girlfriend had decided to meet at a bar after a long bike ride through all five boroughs of New York. While he was waiting, he met a man who was also a firefighter, whose name also happened to be Tom Kelly. Sadly, two days later, both men were killed at the World Trade Center while trying to save lives. His memorial page paints the picture of a firefighter who loved life and lived it to its fullest.

Others who perished that day just went to work that ordinary clear, sunny September morning. It would turn out to be anything but ordinary. Thomas William Duffy, from Pittsford, New York, was one such person. Mr. Duffy was a devoted husband of thirty years, a father of two sons, and a senior vice president at Marsh & McLennan. It seems that Mr. Duffy didn't work at the World Trade Center all the time, but the trip he made that morning was one of many he made each year. Marsh & McLennan was located just below Cantor Fitzgerald on 8 floors near the top of the North Tower, which collapsed that morning at 10:28.

Karen Hagerty, of New York City, was 34 and single. She was a senior vice president for Aon Risk Services in the World Trade Center. Aon was located just 5 floors from the top of the South Tower. Karen and many of her colleagues were among the many trying to make it down the stairwell when they heard an announcement that all was clear. The last time witnesses saw Karen was in the stairwell on the 78th floor as she told her colleagues she was headed back upstairs. (read more here) It wasn't long until an airliner hit the South Tower, and Karen was among those who perished.

It's been eight years since the attacks of 9/11. It's hard to remember the emotions of that day, and the days that would follow, but I hope we never lose the passion we felt during that time. Americans from all walks of life came together as one: as Americans. On this day, let us put politics aside, and give honor to those who gave their lives. It would do us all a world of good to remember what happened on 9/11, rather than sweep it aside as some have demanded. That September day forever changed this nation. May we never forget that some have paid the ultimate sacrifice. May we never forget the price of freedom.

May we never forget.

May God bless our nation.

**Where were you on 9/11/2001? How did that day change your life? Leave a comment and share your story.

Excellent Article

Betraying Our Dead

Forgetting the vows we made

by Ralph Peters

New York Post

Eight years ago today, our homeland was attacked by fanatical Muslims inspired by Saudi Arabian bigotry. Three thousand American citizens and residents died.

We resolved that we, the People, would never forget. Then we forgot.

We've learned nothing.

Instead of cracking down on Islamist extremism, we've excused it.

Instead of killing terrorists, we free them.

Instead of relentlessly hunting Islamist madmen, we seek to appease them.

Read more....

A History Lesson

Sarah's Response To The Health Care Speech

Sarah released this reply to the President's speech on her Facebook page today: 

After all the rhetoric is put aside, one principle ran through President Obama’s speech tonight: that increased government involvement in health care can solve its problems. 

Many Americans fundamentally disagree with this idea. We know from long experience that the creation of a massive new bureaucracy will not provide us with “more stability and security,” but just the opposite. It's hard to believe the President when he says that this time he and his team of bureaucrats have finally figured out how to do things right if only we’ll take them at their word.

Our objections to the Democrats’ health care proposals are not mere “bickering” or “games.” They are not an attempt to “score short term political points.” And it’s hard to listen to the President lecture us not to use “scare tactics” when in the next breath he says that “more will die” if his proposals do not pass. 

In his speech the President directly responded to concerns I’ve raised about unelected bureaucrats being given power to make decisions affecting life or death health care matters. He called these concerns “bogus,” “irresponsible,” and “a lie” -- so much for civility. After all the name-calling, though, what he did not do is respond to the arguments we’ve made, arguments even some of his own supporters have agreed have merit. 

In fact, after promising to “make sure that no government bureaucrat .... gets between you and the health care you need,” the President repeated his call for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council -- an unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats charged with containing Medicare costs. He did not disavow his own statement that such a group, working outside of “normal political channels,” should guide decisions regarding that “huge driver of cost ... the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives....” He did not disavow the statements of his health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and continuing to pay his salary with taxpayer dollars proves a commitment to his beliefs. The President can keep making unsupported assertions, but until he directly responds to the arguments I’ve made, I’m going to call him out too. 

It was heartening to hear the President finally recognize that tort reform is an important part of any solution. But this concession shouldn’t lead us to take our eye off the ball: the Democrats’ proposals will not reduce costs, and they will not deliver better health care. It’s this kind of “healthy skepticism of government” that truly reflects a “concern and regard for the plight of others.” We can’t wait to hear the details on that; we look forward to working with you on tort reform.

Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag. 

Remember, Mr. President, elected officials work for the people. Forcing a conclusion in order to claim a “victory” is not healthy for our country. We hear you say government isn’t always the answer; now hear us -- that’s what we’ve been saying all along.

- Sarah Palin

Sarah's Response To The White House

This statement was released this evening on Sarah's Facebook page:

I'm pleased that the White House is finally responding to Republican health care ideas instead of pretending they don't exist.[1] But in doing so President Obama should follow his own sound advice and avoid making "wild misrepresentations".[2] Medicare vouchers would give everyone on Medicare the chance to decide for themselves which health plan to use, rather than leave that decision to government bureaucrats. Such proposals are the kind of health care reform that Republicans stand for: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven.

The White House talking points leave the rest of my arguments unanswered. They don't respond to the idea that all individuals should get the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; that we must reform our tort laws; and that we should allow Americans to buy insurance across state lines. The White House also fails to respond to the Nyce/Schieber study indicating that wages will fall if the government expands coverage without reducing health care inflation rates. 

One last thing: after President Obama's speech tonight, listen for which pundits use the words "false", "scary", and "risky" in describing the proposals I put forward. That's how you'll be able to tell who the White House counted as "allies" worthy of receiving its talking points. 

-Sarah Palin

[1] See http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/White_House_talking_points_blast_Palin.html.
[2] See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16obama.html. 

Sarah's Back!

In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today, Sarah weighed in on President Obama's healthcare plan, or lack thereof: 

Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care

By Sarah Palin

Writing in the New York Times last month, President Barack Obama asked that Americans "talk with one another, and not over one another" as our health-care debate moves forward.

I couldn't agree more. Let's engage the other side's arguments, and let's allow Americans to decide for themselves whether the Democrats' health-care proposals should become governing law.

Some 45 years ago Ronald Reagan said that "no one in this country should be denied medical care because of a lack of funds." Each of us knows that we have an obligation to care for the old, the young and the sick. We stand strongest when we stand with the weakest among us... 

To read more, see this link at the Wall Street Journal.