9/11: 10 Years of Tragedy

September 9, 2011 at 11:45 am

This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks against the United States that leveled the World Trade Center in New York City, punched a hole in the side of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and left the burning remains of a commercial airliner in a field near Pittsburgh, PA.  The official death toll from that day was 2,975 including the hijackers of the 4 planes.  Those of use who remember the day will never forget it.  We will never forget where we were, or what we were doing when we heard the news.  We will forever have burned into our mind’s eye the image if the Twin Towers falling.  We will never forget. On Sunday, we should all take some time to reflect on the lives lost on that day 10 years previous, and on the lives lost since that day as a result.  Prayers and kind wishes go out to those who lost friends and loved ones in the attacks, and in the wars that followed.  When we heard the news, the foremost question was ‘why?’  Why would a group of people plan and execute such a horrific act against the United States?  We were told by our […]

Liberty For Security: The TSA and America

June 28, 2011 at 12:37 pm

For months now we have been hearing about the absurd and intrusive screening processes of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  First we had to all remove our shoes and belts, and then we had to be subjected to random pat downs, x-ray scanners, and “enhanced” pat downs for anyone who protested.  The horror stories of the TSA just keep coming. The latest headline involves a 95-year-old cancer patient.  The elderly Florida woman was traveling with her daughter Jean Weber, through Northwest Florida Regional Airport.  When they reached the TSA security checkpoint Weber’s mother was wheeled off to a screening area walled off with glass partitions where an invasive pat down was conducted.  A TSA agent reported to Weber that “something suspicious” was felt on her mother’s leg.  At that point the 95-year-old was taken into a private, closed screening room.  When the TSA agent emerged from the private screening room they informed Weber that her mother’s incontinence undergarment was “wet and firm” and could therefore not be checked thoroughly.  Weber was asked to take her mother to a bathroom and remove the undergarment, forcing the elderly woman whose name was not released to go through the airport without any underwear. […]