9/11 - 7 Years Later

My memory is still clear of that morning when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and though I was not there, I watched it on a television in a hotel restaurant with friends from New York City. Their shock as well as my own is something I will never forget either.

The terrorists that attacked us were sent by Osama Bin Ladin and his organization, Al Qaeda are now household words. Back in 2001, he was just a shadowy figure in most people's consciousness. Now his face is familiar to everyone in the world.

The Bush administration feigned surprise even though they had a clear warning from the CIA and their intelligence officials. Immediately the White House began looking for ways to blame Iraq and Saddam Hussein. To use the tragedy of the four hijackings as a way to justify a war that need not have happened is immoral. Furthermore, the White House's attempt to now rewrite history and redirect the blame to a suspect already in custody rather than Bin Ladin would be laughable if it weren't so cynical.

It is time we stand up and let the Bush administration and the entire Republican Party including it's candidate John McCain that this madness must stop. The truth is not just a collection of factoids as presented by the press, but a sweeping story of an opportunist administration and a predominately GOP legislature who enabled them to line the pockets of big oil and defense with billions using the tragedy of 9/11 as the excuse.

John McCain represents just another chapter of the Bush legacy and though he and his VP pick tell interesting stories, the real story is that they supported the misguided and unjust policies of George Bush. Furthermore, they are continuing the tradition of lying over and over again expecting the American public to accept their empty words as truth. We are not that gullible.

McCain and Bush are cut from the same cloth and to elect John McCain and install another duplicitous Republican administration expecting anything but another 4 years of Bush is insanity. It is time for another path, one that leads to an America that is once again respected in the world and one that encourages growth at home through support and empowerment. As Americans, we are an empathetic people who value justice and freedom but also recognize that government must provide protection and empowerment. The authoritarian style of George Bush and John McCain runs contrary to who we are as Americans and we must not allow it to continue.