We'll go forward from this moment.
I't's my job to have something to say. They Pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock, when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing i can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown Author of this suffering.

You Monster. you beast. you unspeakable bastard.

What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?

Whatever it was, please know that you failed.

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial,social,political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes. Capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae--a singers revealing dress, a ball teams misfortune, a cartoon mouse. we are wealthy too, spoiled by ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent though--peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing...and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us...people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.

Some people--you perhaps--think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.

IN PAIN

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did. Still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States, and probably, the history of the world.

You have bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there is a gulf of difference between making us bloody...and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to it's bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard...the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain.

When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When prevoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in pursuit of justice.

i tell you this without fear of contradiction. i know my people...as you, i think, DO NOT. What i know reassures me. it also causes me to tremble with dread of the future. In the days to come, there will be recrimination, accusations, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent this from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revolking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad.

But determined. Unimaginably determined.

THE STEEL IN US

You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day the Family bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, We will rise in defense of all we cherish.

So, i ask again. What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of you hatred.

If thats the case. Consider the message received...and take this message in exchange. "You don't know my people. You don't know what we are capable of. You don't know what you started."

But you're about to learn.

Leonard pitts, Miami Herald

Had to share this with you folks. Be proud to be American.

 

I sure as hell am.

 

WOW, that's really awesome. I'm also very proud to be an AMERICAN.
Let us kick *** and take names. Later

 

let's mount up and kick some raghead ***.

Also, why don't we start a ban against all arab owned stores. This will mostly be convenience stores, but hey let's not give them any of our american made money. Maybe this will close them down and force them to go home.

 

Yeah, Chas but they own the gas stations too at least around here they do. So I guess I'll have to start using race fuel. DARN [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Just think of a fleet of Raptors and Banshees with missle launchers flying across the desert of Arabia. SWEET
My best buddy is in the Navy and he always wanted to do that to one of my quads. I never let him but he did rig up a couple tubes for launching fireworks off of it. Later

 

> America: The Good Neighbor.
>
> Widespread but only partial news coverage was
> given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast
> from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian
> television commentator. What follows is the full text of his
> trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:
>
> "This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for
> the Americans as the most generous and possibly
> the least appreciated people on all the earth.
>
> Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain
> and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by
> the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
> forgave other billions in debts. None of these
> countries is today paying even the interest on
> its remaining debts to the United States.
>
> When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
> it was the Americans who propped it up, and
> their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the
> streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
>
> When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the
> United States that hurries in to help. This spring,
> 59 American communities were flattened by
> tornadoes. Nobody helped.
>
> The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
> billions of dollars into discouraged countries.
> Now newspapers in those countries are writing
> about the decadent, warmongering Americans.
>
> I'd like to see just one of those countries that
> is gloating over the erosion of the United States
> dollar build its own airplane. Does any other
> country in the world have a plane to equal the
> Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or
> the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly
> them? Why do all the International lines except
> Russia fly American Planes?
>
> Why does no other land on earth even consider
> putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk
> about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios.
> You talk about German technocracy, and you get
> automobiles. You talk about American
> technocracy, and you find men on the moon - not once, but
> several times - and safely home again.
>
> You talk about scandals, and the Americans put
> theirs right in the store window for everybody to
> look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and
> hounded. They are here on our streets, and most
> of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are
> getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend
> here.
>
> When the railways of France, Germany and India
> were breaking down through age, it was the Americans
> who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
> the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them
> an old caboose. Both are still broke.
>
> I can name you 5000 times when the Americans
> raced to the help of other people in trouble.
> Can you name me even one time when someone else
> raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was
> outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
>
> Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
> Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them
> get kicked around. They will come out of this
> thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are
> entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are
> gloating over their present troubles. I hope
> Canada is not one of those."
>
> "Stand proud, America!"

Please share this with as many people as you can. This is as close as we'll ever get to any form of recognition. I must say, Watching Her Majesty's Honor guard play the American National Anthem in front of Buckingham Palace felt good. Damn Good. I would ask all of my friends in the Forum to refrain from racial slander towards Arabic, Muslim or Indian peoples.America is the melting pot of the world. We know who did this and it has nothing to do with the blood in their veins. They are madmen and will be dealt with accordingly.