Subject to Change

“We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”
– President Barack Hussein Obama

Patrick asks: Your Thoughts?

Here are just a quick few:

• Someone seems to have forgotten that the plane which landed in a corn field was not actually targeting our ethanol production in an effort to increase our dependence on Middle-East oil.
• Something tells me the president is not prepared to personally absorb a terrorist attack. He doesn’t strike me as a team player. What do you say, Mr. President, would you take one for the team?
• Admitting failure already? I wonder if we’ll discover that Barack has a speech ready for the event. Nixon had remarks prepared in case Moonshot failed. They’re downright creepy.
• We’ve absorbed bad presidencies before and we are stronger.
• I can’t think of a single way to spin this that makes Barack Obama appear to be in control, prepared, or effective. It will be fun to watch liberals try.
• At least he shied away from suggesting possible targets. That will give Joe Biden something to gaffe about while he’s out doing damage control.

The Wisconsin leftosphere has come so unhinged at the notion of Scott Walker winning the GOP primary that they’re slamming him for using the word “hijack” on Twitter today.

You read that correctly. Opening a conquering mosque near Ground Zero is not inappropriate. You’re a bigot for finding that wrong. But, when a candidate running for office in Wisconsin uses the word “hijack” in the context of his campaign on September Eleventh: well, heck, we ought to string him up by his short hairs for trampling the memory of those lives lost.

This is an attack so thin you could fly a paper airplane through it, and hit the conquering mosque standing behind it. It’s false outrage, or to use the vernacular: horse shit.

And, another thing before the we end the anniversary of the worst day of a patriot’s life. When we honor the lives lost on September Eleveth, I find it offensive any time the hijackers are included among the dead. At the very least, they deserve an asterisk. There’s no way in hell I’m honoring them and I don’t want there to be any mistake about it. May they rest in pieces.

Do you want to know what one of the greatest sounds in the world is? It’s the constant thrum of activity at Ground Zero. “The City that Never Sleeps” is something of a misnomer, except at World Trade Plaza. New York’s streets quiet down by 6pm, and it’s quite a ghost town after 10pm. But, in lower Manhattan there are men and women working around the clock. They’re working in your honor and mine, but most importantly for those who lost their lives nine years ago.

I’ve had the priviledge of being able to spend more than three months of the past year in and around New York City. I have visited Ground Zero several times, and have even taken the time to light a candle there. In one year, the construction exploded from street level and is now well on its way into the sky. I look forward to visiting when the site is complete and hope that day comes soon.

If there’s one positive that comes out of these tragic events it’s the way New York has been transformed. We experienced none of the legendary rudeness associated with the people of New York. In fact, we found people there to be quite sociable and helpful. New York is a great city for talking to strangers. I’ve been told by several friends on the east coast that it was September Eleventh that really brought out the best in people. We realized that we’re all in this together. Thankfully, nine years later New York City still remembers.

God bless America.

I’m astounded by people who defend the Ground Zero mosque, claiming that it’s not an offensive idea. If you’re one of them do me a favor: the next time a “reformed” pedophile needs placement get your “enlightened” butt on the phone and volunteer your neighborhood. Maybe I’m comparing apples to rotten apples, but that feeling you just got in the pit of your stomach is what it feels like to be a New Yorker right now. Whether that feeling is justified or not, building the mosque blocks away from Ground Zero is just plain insensitive. I thought feelings mattered!

On the other hand, maybe I’m not entirely against building the mosque. It’s not as though Obama’s Homeland Security Department couldn’t use a little help gathering information. Maybe if we handed them suspects on a silver platter they might be able to prevent a few underwear bombs on planes or car bombs in Times Square. Anybody who would choose to worship at the conquering mosque is certainly a person of interest. Heck, we ought to encourage the mosque to put its worship services up on YouTube. That way I’ll know which hot dog carts I might want to steer clear of the next time I’m in Manhattan.

Luckily, it was probably a mistake.

It’s not smart to joke around about bombs on an airline, especially if you ain’t from around here…

In other news, starting this year the IRS will be reporting anyone who claims underwear or shoes as business expenses to the FBI.

President Obama has already figured out how to use his big-boy toys.

Barack Obama gave the go-ahead for his first military action yesterday, missile strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan which killed at least 18 people.

I doubt we’ll hear much out of the left defending this strike, which KILLED PEOPLE. Less than one week into his presidency Obama ordered a military attack. He used those unfair Predator drones, too. I’ll bet the poor targets didn’t even see it coming.

Fear not! Hillary called president Asif Ali Zardari afterward to help smooth things over.

One would suspect that the President’s announcement on the closing of Guantanamo Bay places today in the “change” category. When I had a chance to talk this over with my co-workers I realized something, though. The executive order to close Gitmo is probably the first major rope-a-dope of this administration. If there’s one thing Democrats are good at it’s saying one thing and doing another, the only way to keep their insane voter base coming back for more.

As it was reported the plan for closing Gitmo includes moving detainees to facilities within the United States, handing them over to other countries, or releasing them back into the wild. I’m actually in favor of all of that if it means moving them to gang infested maximum security prisons, handing them over to Israel, or releasing them in the wilds of Antarctica. But, that isn’t what we’re talking about. The Obama plan falls just short of giving the detainees honorary nuclear technician credentials and setting them free in downtown USA.

The left doesn’t realize that we aren’t dealing with a civilian prison at Gitmo. It’s a POW camp. The people being held there were caught conspiring against the United States in a time of war. That’s not necessarily criminal in the countries we caught them. Yet, it isn’t safe to have them freely wandering the world. President Obama needs to keep these enemy combatants contained just as much as President Bush did. There’s no better place to do it than Gitmo. A former co-worker of mine once explained it best:

• If they run for it the Cubans will shoot them.
• If they climb the fence the Cubans will shoot them.
• If they somehow make it through no-man’s land the Cubans will shoot them.
• If they escape into Cuba the Cubans will shoot them.

Obama’s probably biding time with his voter base by issuing this order, giving them false hope. Ultimately he’s got to leave Guantanamo Bay open or find some alternative that’s equally restrictive. Of course, there may be a way to sugar coat the whole thing so that we’re none the wiser.

Today was a day for hope: hope that the new president is simply playing political games and recognizes the need to protect our homeland against an unconventional enemy. If we’re wrong about them we can always pay reparations fifty years from now, right after we send them the bill, with interest, for their room and board.

I’ve mentioned once before that the world inside my head can be a strange and interesting place. I had a dream a few nights ago which proves my point. I’d like to describe it in detail because it was so vivid and odd, but I’m afraid of giving some sicko ideas. The dream involved a terrorist attack carried out without any weapons or explosives.

When I woke up I had a couple of thoughts:

1. I must need to get more sleep.
2. That could actually work. But, only a domestic crackpot would settle for something so bland.
3. How can I blog this without sounding nuts or attracting unwanted attention?

On the radio this morning I heard a reference to the three attacks seven years ago.

I hope they were counting the twin towers as one attack, rather than dismissing United 93.

Just a random thought: if America does manage to switch to gasoline-free transportation it may not be a good thing.

Gasoline is only one use for oil, and it’s not the most significant one. But, is the gauge that we monitor at the pump on a daily basis.

Without the constant reminder, we could easily lose sight of the fact that we’re still buying our resources from crappy countries full of people who suck very much. Better to solve that problem first.