Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Another Year

We've all had the conversation that starts with the question: "Where were you on September 11, 2001?"

It has replaced the questions about your location when Kennedy was assassinated (I was in first grade and they sent us home); and where were you when Nixon resigned (I was at the Clark's house on Seaverns Avenue).

As I've posted before, Mrs. Mac and I were working in London. Our return to New York was already planned, but everything went awry.

We eventually returned to our apartment in Manhattan on September 26th, more than two weeks after the World Trade Center towers came down. The city was still in shock. There were terrorism scares on a regular basis. The smell of pulverized concrete, burning plastic and human decomposition continued to waft through the air.

Today, New York is pretty much back to normal. The major difference is that huge sums of money (your tax dollars) are wasted on bogus security systems that keep nobody safe.

During the Summer of 2003, I had my nephew visiting from Boston. We were visiting Ground Zero when all the electricity in the city went out.

People took it in stride. People responded exactly how people will respond to any crisis. Irrespective of planning and signage and rules and laws and security forces, everyone does the same thing: they look after themselves.

People have contingency plans that are thwarted by logistics as soon as disaster strikes. No amount of readiness makes us immune from disaster.

The crimes committed on September 11, 2001, were beyond the pale.

We are not safe.

No amount of money funnelled from the Treasury to security contractors is going to make us safer.

The police do a good job. Any decisions, policies, or programs that divert resources away from local police departments' ability to protect their constituents is money poorly spent.

The criminals attempting to harm citizens are usually thwarted by local and regional police agencies, not international security contractors.

Support your local police. Resist those who would move our security money to a federal agency or security contractor: those people cannot keep you safe.

America is no safer today than it was on September 10, 2001. We need to defund the Department of Homeland Security. Eliminate it. We need to release the law enforcement agencies to do their jobs without the interference of those politicians.

Organizations like Giuliani Partners (who only exist to steal our law enforcement funding) need to be exposed as opportunists.

Stop the madness.

Don't be afraid.

Embrace life.

Get a passport.

See the world.

Let the criminals (Republicans and Muslims alike) see that we do not fear them.

Live!

Live well!

Remember September 10th (Published September 11, 2006)


Dick Mac Recommends:

America Alone
Stefan Halper, Jonathan Clarke





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