It's embarrassing that some local officials have lost their manners, respect for others and decency. The yelling and name calling is unacceptable and rude. Trumpism encouraged this bad behavior and some of the local politicians have embraced it. Voters need to tell them that they expect and demand better. Disagreements can be discussed politely.
This brings me to tears. I was teaching. We had teachers who were directly connected to the trauma and tragedy. Nancy's sister got out. Barb's daughter-in-law stayed home from work that day, but neither knew that until later in the day. I watched with a group of Juniors. They were in shock as all of us were. I have another friend who was descending the stairs as firefighters were walking up. The trauma was real and continues to this day. I'll reach out to her today.
The shock and horror of the moment were great. For everyone. Around the world.
For a brief moment we all came together. All Americans, but also people everywhere. For a moment in time nations were united in grief.
But that did not last long. George W Bush, loser of the popular vote, recently seated president after a dispute of a few hundred votes in Florida and a Supreme Court decision written in shame drove us inexorably into what was likely an unnecessary war in Afghanistan. A war without an achievable goal except to “get the bad guy”. He had no intent to hold the world together. He would brook no dissent. Either you were with us or agin us. He cleaved the world like a woodsplitter with wedge and maul.
And we invaded Afghanistan. We did not get the bad guy. We did overthrow the Taliban, but there was no plan for what to do with a win. No matter. GWB had tasted blood and he wanted more. His Vice President and Cabinet filled with Nixon era figures who were scarred themselves with memories of another war they thought we should have won - Vietnam - set to work on plans for more war. They set their sights on Iraq, a nation under US scrutiny and a no-fly zone since the end of the 1st Gulf war.
And it had oil.
Iran had long been an enemy of the US but even Iran was shocked at 9/11. They made quiet overtures to the US and they aided us in the fight in Afghanistan on their eastern border. They had some expectation that the US takeover could lead to a detente. But with the US set to invade the nation on their western border GWB gave his Axis of Evil speech defining the axis as running directly through Iran. Suddenly America was no longer the grieving nation simply seeking justice , it was a nation bent on military domination, and not halfway around the world but on their borders.
Everyone knows the rest. The lies to Congress, lies to the UN, lies to the American people. The bloodlust of a president who never won the popular vote relegating millions of anti-war protesters to ‘free speech zones,’ the torture memo, the black sites, the war crimes, Guantanamo Bay.
George W Bush took a nation united in grief and turned it to revenge, division, and for some, profit.
I had my phone tapped. The FBI agent I called told me that the government wasn’t tapping phones without a warrant. I was right, he was wrong. I was ‘randomly selected’ for further inspection every time I got on a plane. But that was just me, an individual American. Millions in Afghanistan and Iraq, became refugees, or were wounded, or died. The world became far more divided, far less safe. And we spent a lot of money making the world a worse place. A lot of money. A lot of waste. A lot more death than on that one day in September. And the Taliban is back.
Some people say Trump is the worst president in our history. No. He is a traitor to our nation, for sure, but measured by damage inflicted on the world and to America, to our reputation as a defender of freedom and democracy, to the immense debt incurred in creating waste and inflicting death, the title of worst president still goes to George W Bush. At least to my mind.
I knew people who worked in the Trade Center, friends, family, customers. By simple luck none of them died that day, but they know people who did. They have been memorialized. They will never return. I don’t think they would want what was done in their name.
Thanks for another perspective Mike. You are absolutely right, this did not end well. North Creek buried a native son four months after “Mission Accomplished” was proclaimed. We were still in Afghanistan 20 years later and you didn’t even bring up the torture.
I do remember the Iranians were sympathetic at the time and offered their help against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Maybe that was to suit their own purposes. But still. It seems like an opportunity for rapprochement between the US and Iran was lost there.
Maybe because of the hubristic attitude of those who planned to make Iran the next battleground after the “cakewalk” in Iraq. I remember the “real men go to Tehran” comment by one of the Bush people.
Yes, diplomacy is the art of building trust and avoiding situations that break trust. A lot of Americans have some sort of national inferiority complex. They think of us as being the underdog. They seem to think that talking tough is macho. They seem to think that because they don’t know much about other countries and other people that those people pay no attention to them. But they do. Lots of people learn English, watch our movies, listen to our music. And they consider what we say seriously.
Before GWB invaded Iraq the perception of the American military was of invincibility. But the Soviet military had a similar aura before their engagement in Afghanistan. The world is a far deadlier place when trust is broken and the perception of invincible force is shattered.
9/11 to those college kids is like what Pearl Harbour meant to us as kids. Our families had fathers and uncles sign up for war. Many didn't return. Today, evil is threatening our country again. Please remind them.
A field that will serve students playing in half a dozen sports, especially those often relegated to some vague patch of grass behind the softball fields (field hockey) is an excellent use of funds. Lighten up, Ken.
I was working in retail in Albany on 9/11, commuting from Saratoga Springs 5 days a week. I usually watched the news before leaving for work, but didn't that day, for some reason. I was driving down the Northway, listening to WAMC, and NPR was reporting on it. When I got to work, I told my co-workers that something big was happening, pulled out a radio and started listening, and fired up my computer to see what I could find out. Saw a timetable that listed when each plane hit and when each tower collapsed. I felt shell-shocked. One of my first thoughts was "let's go get the people responsible!" Too bad that never really happened.
Thanks again for sharing your memories of 9/11, how it changed the nation and why it should never be forgotten. My wife Kathleen's brother Michael Lynch was one of the those firemen who ran into the Twin Towers to save lives, only to lose his own. He left behind his parents, seven siblings, a beautiful wife, two young sons and scores of friends and fellow firemen and women. I wonder to this day why it takes an vicious attack to bring our country together; since 9/11 we have fallen further and further apart. Michael's remains were some of the last to be identified at the WTC site and Mayor Guilliani spoke at Michael's funeral months after the attack. He touch the hearts of everyone in the congregation. Today, there is only one person I know that has done more to drive this great nation apart. Go figure.
Maybe a knee jerk reaction on my part. All while my children were in school I watched in dismay as each decision made by the school board or administration was challenged, mocked, ridiculed, protested. Because my husband was on the school board I was aware of the intense research and thought that went into every decision. Were the old fields creating a hazard? Was the school district vulnerable to legal action? Did the school get a grant to install the fields, a grant specifically for physical fitness?
And who says additional attention to physical fitness isn't an integral part of the solution to the woes of Covid? Who says engaging in sports isn't what inspires many kids to want to success academically?
I was working locally at a company with offices in the city. Some of those people were here in Glens Falls that day. We turned on television in conference room and watched in disbelief. Just my memory of where I was that day. Never forget.
Thank you!!!
Great column.
I agree 100% with your take on the artificial turf. The same could be said for the field at Glens Falls.
Janet Flinchbaugh
I just don’t see how the field, the facilities will make the experience better for the athlete.
So much money that could be spent in better places. Guess they didn’t seek our input.
In the past the local newspaper might have written and editorial about how the money was spent, but we don’t see any local editorials anymore.
Yes, a big problem!!
So much money that could have been better spent. It should be school, not a sports club.
Best column ever Ken! At this time in our history, best to get context, detail on grieving if appropriate, and yes, hope!
It's embarrassing that some local officials have lost their manners, respect for others and decency. The yelling and name calling is unacceptable and rude. Trumpism encouraged this bad behavior and some of the local politicians have embraced it. Voters need to tell them that they expect and demand better. Disagreements can be discussed politely.
We noticed the same thing at the newspaper right around 2016. Apparently, it is continuing.
Spot on! Well said.
Thank you Ken
This brings me to tears. I was teaching. We had teachers who were directly connected to the trauma and tragedy. Nancy's sister got out. Barb's daughter-in-law stayed home from work that day, but neither knew that until later in the day. I watched with a group of Juniors. They were in shock as all of us were. I have another friend who was descending the stairs as firefighters were walking up. The trauma was real and continues to this day. I'll reach out to her today.
Now for an Afghan American perspective on 9/11.
The shock and horror of the moment were great. For everyone. Around the world.
For a brief moment we all came together. All Americans, but also people everywhere. For a moment in time nations were united in grief.
But that did not last long. George W Bush, loser of the popular vote, recently seated president after a dispute of a few hundred votes in Florida and a Supreme Court decision written in shame drove us inexorably into what was likely an unnecessary war in Afghanistan. A war without an achievable goal except to “get the bad guy”. He had no intent to hold the world together. He would brook no dissent. Either you were with us or agin us. He cleaved the world like a woodsplitter with wedge and maul.
And we invaded Afghanistan. We did not get the bad guy. We did overthrow the Taliban, but there was no plan for what to do with a win. No matter. GWB had tasted blood and he wanted more. His Vice President and Cabinet filled with Nixon era figures who were scarred themselves with memories of another war they thought we should have won - Vietnam - set to work on plans for more war. They set their sights on Iraq, a nation under US scrutiny and a no-fly zone since the end of the 1st Gulf war.
And it had oil.
Iran had long been an enemy of the US but even Iran was shocked at 9/11. They made quiet overtures to the US and they aided us in the fight in Afghanistan on their eastern border. They had some expectation that the US takeover could lead to a detente. But with the US set to invade the nation on their western border GWB gave his Axis of Evil speech defining the axis as running directly through Iran. Suddenly America was no longer the grieving nation simply seeking justice , it was a nation bent on military domination, and not halfway around the world but on their borders.
Everyone knows the rest. The lies to Congress, lies to the UN, lies to the American people. The bloodlust of a president who never won the popular vote relegating millions of anti-war protesters to ‘free speech zones,’ the torture memo, the black sites, the war crimes, Guantanamo Bay.
George W Bush took a nation united in grief and turned it to revenge, division, and for some, profit.
I had my phone tapped. The FBI agent I called told me that the government wasn’t tapping phones without a warrant. I was right, he was wrong. I was ‘randomly selected’ for further inspection every time I got on a plane. But that was just me, an individual American. Millions in Afghanistan and Iraq, became refugees, or were wounded, or died. The world became far more divided, far less safe. And we spent a lot of money making the world a worse place. A lot of money. A lot of waste. A lot more death than on that one day in September. And the Taliban is back.
Some people say Trump is the worst president in our history. No. He is a traitor to our nation, for sure, but measured by damage inflicted on the world and to America, to our reputation as a defender of freedom and democracy, to the immense debt incurred in creating waste and inflicting death, the title of worst president still goes to George W Bush. At least to my mind.
I knew people who worked in the Trade Center, friends, family, customers. By simple luck none of them died that day, but they know people who did. They have been memorialized. They will never return. I don’t think they would want what was done in their name.
That’s what I remember on this day.
Thanks for another perspective Mike. You are absolutely right, this did not end well. North Creek buried a native son four months after “Mission Accomplished” was proclaimed. We were still in Afghanistan 20 years later and you didn’t even bring up the torture.
I do remember the Iranians were sympathetic at the time and offered their help against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Maybe that was to suit their own purposes. But still. It seems like an opportunity for rapprochement between the US and Iran was lost there.
Maybe because of the hubristic attitude of those who planned to make Iran the next battleground after the “cakewalk” in Iraq. I remember the “real men go to Tehran” comment by one of the Bush people.
Yes, diplomacy is the art of building trust and avoiding situations that break trust. A lot of Americans have some sort of national inferiority complex. They think of us as being the underdog. They seem to think that talking tough is macho. They seem to think that because they don’t know much about other countries and other people that those people pay no attention to them. But they do. Lots of people learn English, watch our movies, listen to our music. And they consider what we say seriously.
Before GWB invaded Iraq the perception of the American military was of invincibility. But the Soviet military had a similar aura before their engagement in Afghanistan. The world is a far deadlier place when trust is broken and the perception of invincible force is shattered.
9/11 to those college kids is like what Pearl Harbour meant to us as kids. Our families had fathers and uncles sign up for war. Many didn't return. Today, evil is threatening our country again. Please remind them.
We had better leaders during the Pearl Harbor attack.
A field that will serve students playing in half a dozen sports, especially those often relegated to some vague patch of grass behind the softball fields (field hockey) is an excellent use of funds. Lighten up, Ken.
I don’t know. Three to four million dollars could really broaden the curriculum at the school or address the problems brought on by covid.
Patches of grass make for the best playing fields for children.
I hope it is not going to take another 9/11 before this country comes together.
I hope you are right, but I wonder if that would even do it. The “inside job” conspiracies might be even more pronounced.
I was working in retail in Albany on 9/11, commuting from Saratoga Springs 5 days a week. I usually watched the news before leaving for work, but didn't that day, for some reason. I was driving down the Northway, listening to WAMC, and NPR was reporting on it. When I got to work, I told my co-workers that something big was happening, pulled out a radio and started listening, and fired up my computer to see what I could find out. Saw a timetable that listed when each plane hit and when each tower collapsed. I felt shell-shocked. One of my first thoughts was "let's go get the people responsible!" Too bad that never really happened.
Thanks again for sharing your memories of 9/11, how it changed the nation and why it should never be forgotten. My wife Kathleen's brother Michael Lynch was one of the those firemen who ran into the Twin Towers to save lives, only to lose his own. He left behind his parents, seven siblings, a beautiful wife, two young sons and scores of friends and fellow firemen and women. I wonder to this day why it takes an vicious attack to bring our country together; since 9/11 we have fallen further and further apart. Michael's remains were some of the last to be identified at the WTC site and Mayor Guilliani spoke at Michael's funeral months after the attack. He touch the hearts of everyone in the congregation. Today, there is only one person I know that has done more to drive this great nation apart. Go figure.
Maybe a knee jerk reaction on my part. All while my children were in school I watched in dismay as each decision made by the school board or administration was challenged, mocked, ridiculed, protested. Because my husband was on the school board I was aware of the intense research and thought that went into every decision. Were the old fields creating a hazard? Was the school district vulnerable to legal action? Did the school get a grant to install the fields, a grant specifically for physical fitness?
And who says additional attention to physical fitness isn't an integral part of the solution to the woes of Covid? Who says engaging in sports isn't what inspires many kids to want to success academically?
Re lawyers firing a client: Atlas is Shrugging.
I was working locally at a company with offices in the city. Some of those people were here in Glens Falls that day. We turned on television in conference room and watched in disbelief. Just my memory of where I was that day. Never forget.