As we approach a solemn and terrible anniversary, we pause to remember our heroes. I agree we should never forget those who sacrificed themselves so selflessly, but do not let our remembrance harden our hearts with hate. If we do, then the terrorists will have truly been victorious. Cynthia - CA
Sally to my daughter never forget that I love you life is filled with hard times shirt
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I find it appalling that Bush and Cheney brag about torturing people something our first president adamantly despised and forbid as was the way until these two step into power. I am hopeful that we will earn back our respect in the world but it's not going to happen with our current president or democratic leaders and if the GOP receives any more power it may never happen. The most disappointing thing is this may not happen in my lifetime. Since my birth I have watched the American dream, upward mobility and basic care for all Americans wideied away by ignorance and the greed that exploits and encourages it continuance. I thought we had hope for real change with this president but he's no better than the last and any good he did is minimized by all the backward compromises. David - NY
Too long have we lived a diminished life due to the threat of "the boogeyman." There are far more present threats against our well-being in this country. If we simply look at our leading causes of death, we can see that our obsession with smoking and burgers stacked four-high are claiming more lives than terrorists ever have. If we're going to fund a never-ending "war" against something, let's make it something practical. How about Big tobacco? Or perhaps the poverty that drives people to eat well-advertised garbage? It's time for us to learn from our mistakes, and move onward. Thanks for your time. Eric - NY
Never forget 9/11/2001. Never forget Bush at that instant: seven minutes of dumbfounded silence. Never forget the next-day words of Bush, "Go shopping", and EPA director Whitman, "The air is safe". Never forget "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US", the 8/6/2001 memo of actionable intelligence that Bush didn't act on, allowing thousands' deaths. Never forget where Bush invaded in response: Iraq, where Saddam truthfully denied WMD's -- not Afghanistan, where Osama went then and al-Qaeda still trains -- killing twice the Americans bin Laden did. Never forget the PATRIOT Act trampling the Constitution: warrantless wire-tapping, torture, detaining people without charges, etc., etc. Never forget two no-bid contracts: Cheney's with his KBR and Halliburton to get Iraq's oil, and Giuliani's with his Motorola buddies for the FDNY's and EMS's bad radios. Never forget on Election Day: these and other Republicans never got Osama; Democrat Obama did. J. Andrew - NJ
One of our founding fathers once said, "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty." JFK also said "There is little value in issuing the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment." Let us never forget. James - CA
Freedom is never free. It comes with great sacrifice. Peace is born where love is worn, but too many people harbor hatred instead of love. Let's remember the victims of 9/11 as great hero's who gave there lives to better protect our freedoms.No greater gift can one give than one's life for another. John - NJ
Our country and its citizens may have gone through times of hardship in the past, and I'm sure will in the future. The bottom line is that if our country must fight an enemy such as "terrrorism", why create more terror in the hearts of our citizens by disabling our Constitutional rights of privacy along with the encouragement to not trust our neighbors. This will only create more fear and division between our fellow citizens. Remember two great quotes. "United We Stand. Divided we fall." and "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Justin - MI
I would always make sure that I will treat and respect my neighbor, the same way I would like others to treat and respect me. My deepest and sincere hope for America after the attacks of 9/11 is that it will keep growing filled with prosperity, justice, freedom for all and love/admiration for its constitution. Maria - NY
While the attacks of 9/11/01 were a terrible tragedy and we should rightfully mourn for those who lost their lives and the devastating effects on the lives of their loved ones, we should never forget that the greatest loss we suffered came shortly after that day; the loss of individual freedoms and the increasing militarization of our once great nation. Playing on fear, we have brought to the police state we now live in. If we value those lives lost, this must be reversed, and our constitutional rights upheld. Mike - PA
Throughout the prior decade, from the day I watched the Towers get hit and thanking the Goddess or whomever helped my 35(at that time 25)year old daughter arrive home from Manhattan 2 hours before the heinous atrocity occured, I could do nothing but cry. She never came home unless she called me to say, "Hey Momma-do, coming home to see you and Grams, okay?", I'd answer, "of course it's okay, I love you, be careful and I'll see you in about an hour and a half!", you understand she never came home on a whim but on 9/11 2001 she did. Throughout this decade I've watched our Constitution become decimated, the Nuremberg Principles ignored by the Executive Branch, the Supremes turn Corporations into people, watch the EVIL DOER[cheney] add an adjective to "Rendition" giving us "Extraordinary Rendition", Yes, Virginia there is a difference between Rendition and Etraordinary Rendition and I suppose 97% of these Imbeciles may have realized this had they been disembarking from their flight, grabbed from behind on that however many feet of carpet that says, "This [however many feet] is NOT a part of these United States, then become hooded, then flown to perhaps Syria, put into a ?cell? that's the size of a grave, shackled, beaten, tortured, (nope it's not "Enhanced Interrogation" ), waterboarded, bones broken, electrical leads attached to your testicles and shocked for however long they felt or until you confessed you were al Qaeda. We had the John Warner Fiscal Act of 2007 allowing Posse Comitatus and habeas, the Great Writ from the 13th century to be suspended. Allowing Martial Law to be declared in the US of A, meaning the National Guard can be activated and allowed under orders from the Exectutive to arrest Joe Smith from Green Street because, that's all just because. The Fourth Amendment being decimated thanks to FISA with Retroactive Immunity albeit Chris Dodd amended that Amendment it still was passed, allowing AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, they were the first 3, now whomever else they hire to tap and trap our phones and email, thanks to #43! Now that bush et al are able to have a warrant for arrest thanks to ccrjustice.org, ACLU.org and the Nuremberg if they put a toe in Switzterland they can be tried at the Hague for violation of the Nuremberg Principles, ergo no more lil' book tour. Our AG has not done a thing but others have and I hope I'll see justice done in my lifetime. I thank the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights. Perhaps we'll see our Constitution restored and for that I would be truly grateful. Peace Rhoda - PA
I am a combat infantry veteran of WW2. I fought for my country, and I have never regretted it. Now, for the first time in my life, I am in fear for my country! Thanks to the so-called Tea Party, the Republican Party has become the Fascist Party of the United States! I will not tolerate this! And I will fight it, with my last breath! Richard - FL
With freedom comes great responsibility, and within that realm of responsibility, the need to protect ourselves and our loved ones sits high atop the list, so in order to truely be free we must be totally responsible for our actions as an individual and as a nation, never can we be free whilst pushing the responsibility of safety onto others. Russell - IL
I've been a member of the ACLU since FDR and HST... I am USAF veteran of WWII, Korean War, retired reservist...sworn "...to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic..." I am implacably opposed to the oligarchs, the neofeudalists who want to return the country to the dark ages, to the ancient evil lords and serfs society... The ACLU is one of the strongest forces in the land for Lincoln's vision... Theme A New Birth of Freedom People forget what an incredible revolution was the Enlightenment and the founding of our country. This was a truly fundamental change; the whole shape of human history was altered as by nothing before or since, not by wars, by art, by science, by religion. Until then people universally were governed by despots who oppressed them ruthlessly, supported by priests who told the people that the rulers were divinely empowered, that failures of fealty would expose them not only to the most brutal punishment but also to afterlives of endless torment. Most everyone thought it had always been that way and always would be. The founders drew from philosophers and historians of the Enlightenment this central, truly revolutionary idea: the only way people could live free of tyrannical governance was to govern themselves. And for the founders this was not just tavern talk. They declared independence, took up arms and went to war against the ancient tyranny, the superpower of the age. And at the cost of terrible privation and suffering, at home and in battle, they won the chance to bring our country into being as home of a free people. And they established the Constitution so we could work together for the common good with protection for each. For tyrants this was a defeat; but from the beginning they have worked to subvert our self-governance. Of late this effort has grown in strength and scope. They are attacking the Constitution; they intend no less than to reshape our country on the old tyrannical model of top-down rule over a subservient population. But understanding of this threat is growing. The very damage they have done has cleared people's minds to see what Lincoln saw in another time of enormous pain and destruction: it's time for "a new birth of freedom -- so that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." And I don't care much for "SAFE" I care for the Constitution Samuel - WA 2ff7e9595c
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