[AmericaUnited]

The greed of some of these people is quite appalling.

[LibKill]

1. I like your screenname. "Commie Basher" says it all.

2. These punks are commuist. Communism = slow, painful death.

[ladysusan]

Wow, she really told us! Aren't you glad we have such an enlightened individual to lead us out of the darknes of our own minds?

[chance33_98]

Where's the 'BARF until you pass out' alert :)

[Glenn]

I blame George Bush, et al, for offering money to compensate life in this deal. It should never have been done. Life can be short, brutal and nasty. Nothing in the Constitution guarantees it won't be.

[gcraig]

So, on September 11, I suggest that you not light a candle for the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Plenty of others will do so for you.

I disagree. Taking this logic to another extreme is the same thing as saying, 'don't join the U.S. military. Plenty of others will do the dying for you.'

[DB]

First, one's TV has an on/off switch. One does have the choice.

Second, My fellow citizens and neighbors were murdered. Not some remote destitute people.

Last, there isn't much I as an American can do about people killing each other in Africa. There is something I can do about my fellow citizens being murdered and I intend to.

[TiaS]

. . . a prayer . . . .

[Movemout]

She makes some good points. Human greed is once again on display. It is not new. It was there all along. The attack has created marketing strategies at the same time it has turned government on its collective head. Lisa Beamer lost a husband and the rest of us gained a hero. If Lisa can parlay her loss into a financially secured future for her and her kids then I am all for it.

The author totally loses me with the do something for the children in Afghanistan bit. She reveals her agenda which was to use 911 to advance a liberal cause. She has become a 911 shill which she allegedly abhors.

[Huck]

See the (paid) author cash in on the cashing in of others. A parasite with a parasitic host.

[hole_n_one]

Posted here, with the original title intact.

You know better, CB.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

..... and I thought I was the only one to hold this view!

Time to get over it and get even. Never forget, but stop the whining.

[Just another Joe]

we have not changed in the year since September 11.

It's my belief that we HAVE changed.

We, as a country, no longer believe that we are invincible.
We no longer believe that a terrorist organization will not be able to execute mass killings of American citizens on American soil.

Some of us have taken a long hard look at our borders and our immigration policies and have found them wanting. We have too many illegal immigrants in our country with no way of knowing whether they came to try improve their individual lot or whether they came to plot to kill citizens of our country.

Patriotism has been given a new lease on life. There are more flags still being flown now, at almost the one year anniversary of 9/11, than I can remember on any given day in prior years except flag day or Memorial day.
I see flag pins being worn on pockets, purses, suit jackets, and blouses.
I hear discussion of whether Jimmy, or Johnny, or Carl is going to enter military service not because they HAVE to but because they want to serve and defend their country.

Are there individuals that take advantage of this situation for private gain? Yes.
Are there individuals that take advantage of this situation to be hate mongers? Yes.
Are there individuals that have come to love and believe in their country more than they did before this situation? YES!

This attack by terrorists on our country is in the realm of many other catastrophes that our country has had to deal with over the centuries that we have BEEN a country.

Has this situation changed us?
Yes, I believe it has.

[poet]

I agree with much of what is written about the media morbidity overdoing a tragedy and the greed shown by the survivors in addition to Americans buying into the sob stories. As I type this, I see parents of a victim of 9/11 and I immediately turned the channel as I also am fed up with the sob stories, however, the writer of the article ends her story with a pitch to send money to other countries' victims, so. she is no different than the purveyors she rants against, IMO.

The media should be showing the planes crashing into the buildings so Americans are constantly reminded of what we are up against. I know, the political correct totalitarians say we can't do that because it may affect the physce of people watching it.

FTR, neither I, my family or friends have changed since 9-11. We will never forget. The only change in America is the new restrictive laws being accepted by many Americans in the name of "security". Section 802 of the p.a.t.r.i.o.t. act will come back to haunt America if it is not "sunsetted", which is to say, a date certain of its expiration as is the rest of the act.

Finally, I watched the gathering of the corrupt politicians and their sanctimonius speeches. It was a perfect example of double speak about bi-partisanship. The only bi-partinship these people showed is that they were gathered together in one place praising each other for something that does not exist! And we continue to re-elect these lowlifes who only care about themselves and the power they have over our lives. With a few exceptions, they are all corrupt.

FReegards

[Beach_Babe]

...It would be lovely if generous September 11 donors -- like you -- who are sending traumatized New York firefighters on their third and fourth trips to Hawaii and Disneyland...

Humm, my FDNY nephew and his family only got one free trip to Disney. He stopped by my house during that trip and complained non-stop that his NYPD brother made got more overtime pay than he did due to 9/11.

I understand that there is a rush of retirements in both NYPD and FDNY since pension payments are based on ones highest yearly salary.

[mewzilla]

Doesn't sound she's spoke to anyone who spent time picking body parts out of the rubble.

[Dave S]

The one thing she forgot to mention in her article is that now the survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing are bitching that they should get the same deal as the New Yorkers. Perhaps if the Murrah building had been hit by an airplane they would have a point but the settlement funds were created to avoid having the entire US aviation industry wiped out by the trial lawyers.

[Husker24]

I dont know, I never trust a columnist that used the word "jingoistic" to describe anything American. For some reason it remindes me of something great leader Kim Jong II would say. "Die you jingoistic, capitalist, imperialist dogs!!" Although she makes a few good points in this article, they come across in a tone that gives me the impression that her political views may be somewhat closer to "great leader Kim's" than to the average American.

[Arkinsaw]

We still remember and mourn the dead at Pearl Harbor. We still see men from the Arizona go back there and cry. We still toss flowers into the oily water. I saw an over 80+ year old woman talking mournfully about her fiance who was killed on D-Day. There is nothing wrong with a foundation designed to promote her husband and what he did on that day. If she doesn't the country will forget him. I suppose that some would prefer that she just shut up and get remarried. How dare she be dedicated to her lost husband's memory. Thats not "feminist" enough.

There is nothing wrong with mourning. The difference is that we paid back Pearl Harbor and justice was done. Thats not the case yet here. I say, we should get off the lady's back and stop being her judge. I'm not sure what it is that sets people off about her and the other widows and friends. I think people just want them to shut up so they won't be reminded or would prefer that she go out and get a real career and join NOW or something. I don't mind being reminded and I think she's doing pretty good for her husband.

[hoosierskypilot]

It's human nature. When someone's relation dies tragically (is there any other kind?) it's like the survivors have hit the lotto: Everybody's looking for a payoff.

Can't blame them, really. It's a sign of the times. Money is the measure of worth in America. Morals, values, ethics, manners, spirituality, etc., are archaic notions.
You're nobody without money.

It's the worst in California. A friend of mine went to San Francisco from Tennessee. He's walking down the street and a guy pulls a gun and says, "Give me your money or I'll blow your brains out." My friend says, "Fine. Blow my brains out." The robber says, "Why would you want me to blow your brains out?" My friend says, "Because, I learned that, in California, you don't need brains, but you can't live without money."