6 YEARS LATER - What Have We Learned?

The world was a very different place during the early morning hours of September 11, 2001. Terrorism was something that happened in far off middle east deserts on CNN, not in the largest city in the United States of America, before our very eyes. Based on what we have learned in the past six years, we shouldn't really need to wonder how this happened, but instead how very easy it was for this to have happened.

What took place on 9/11/2001 has long been recognized as more of a disgrace than a mystery. The President of the United States and his closest advisers were asleep at the switch. They arrogantly assumed that since US soil hadn't been attacked in nearly 200 years, that it wasn't necessary to heed the warnings that could alter that fact in an instant. Why pay attention to clear and present warning signs through constant vigilance, when you have that much history on your side. That turned out to be the specific miscalculation that Osama bin Laden and his large network of terror would exploit and therefore murder 3,000 innocent people and cause billions of dollars in damages, while our leaders helplessly stood by unable to respond.

There's no real need to rehash the criminal negligence of the Bush Administration. It's an established fact that their lax attitudes made conditions conducive for this catastrophe to have occurred. It's done, it's over, it's history. But what about today, tomorrow and the days ahead. Many terrorism experts agree that the same lack of awareness and attention to detail that was so rampant in 2001, has slowly but surely returned six years later.

Every kid in America has heard one or both of his/her parents tell them on more than one occasion, that money doesn't grow on trees. Perhaps George H.W. and Barbara Bush never conveyed that epitaph to young Georgie. The "War With No Sign of Ending" in Iraq has conservatively cost nearly half a trillion dollars thus far. That money may be gone, but instead of increasing security, it has actually increased our need for additional security. A direct result of this Iraqi occupation motivates young Muslims to give up their lives in order to contribute to their "DEATH TO AMERICA" campaign. You don't win the hearts and minds of people by pointing the business ends of guns at their heads.

George W. Bush wants you to forget Osama bin Laden is still alive. But whereas Bush lies, the videotape showing the mass murderer inspiring his minions doesn't. Why hasn't the greatest military power in the history of the Planet Earth been unable to catch Osama, DEAD or ALIVE? Speaking of our all powerful armed forces, they're near the "breaking point." In this politics over policy administration, it seems far more important to MISLEAD, than LEAD. If the US were attacked this 9/11, and Bush went on television to boldly threaten retribution, the offending party would be most justified to respond with the classic "yeah, you and what army" smack-down. When you accept reality, all our "eggs" are frying in one Iraqi basket.

It's bad politics mandating a draft to "hire" soldiers to fight these wars. It's even worse politics to raise taxes in order to pay and arm these draftees to fight for their country. The United States Treasury that prints "GREENBACKS", should relocate their offices and printing presses to the Red Sea. Yeah that was meant to be cute, but regardless, it's all too accurate as well. The current National Debt recently surpassed $9 Trillion. That averages out to nearly $30,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. So if you're a family of five people, take out your checkbook and write out a $150,000 check made payable to the US Treasury.

TWO OF THE MORE UNAPPEALING FORMER ROCKETTES

Last week we all heard our president tell the APEC Conferees how "we're kicking ass" in Iraq. If any of you honestly believe that to be true, "you're kissing ass" in America. Our Rockette Administration can't keep track of how many people are illegally penetrating our porous southern border, or why more than 90% of cargo ships docking in the US go uninspected, or how vulnerable we are to attacks on our food supply, or why our medical insurance coverage is so unaffordable, or why so many of our friends and neighbors are helplessly watching their homes foreclosed and why every time somebody notices an unclaimed lead Barbie Doll, our airports are shut down for hours, while security gives Ken's sweetie a colonoscopy. The airports will be addressed at another time, just be thankful that when your plane takes off four hours late, you can take comfort in knowing Barbie's colon is as clean as her "mascara-less" eye lashes.

Much like a trained parrot, Bush likes to repeat over and over and over again how we're fighting "them" over there so "they" don't follow us over here. I have this feeling that these terrorists really don't want to live in a country that won't allow them to freshen their Lead Barbie's mascara in flight......