Why I'll Never Forget That Day #NeverForget911

I was a sophomore in high school. I was in English class taking a quiz. Another teacher popped their head in the room and our teacher went to the door. All I heard was "and they've evacuated the white house." I knew something was wrong, but I had never imagined this.

Today marks the 14th anniversary of 9/11/2001, a date which will live in infamy. As I exited my class and entered the cafeteria TV's were tuned to a local station which showed live coverage of the aftermath of two planes crashing into the world trade towers. Shortly after the next period began, I remember my Principal, Jim McCann spoke over the speakers announcing what was known.

During my lunch hour I stared in shock as the first tower fell. I had never been to New York City. I had never seen these towers with my own eyes, but I knew that my country had been attacked in an unforgiving manner. The events of the day proceeded, all flights were grounded and the nation mourned an unknown number of lives that they knew were lost. Early estimates had the number as high as five or six thousand lives lost.

I stared in disbelief for hours as I returned home at news coverage. I was angry I was shocked, and I was in mourning. Over the next few days, weeks and months details emerged of the heroes and the villains of this attack. We learned of the police and firefighters who risked it all just to save one more life. We learned of the many who didn't make it out. The fathers and mothers, the sons and daughters. These innocent victims of a brutal terrorist attack on two symbols of our nation's prosperity.

Years have passed, and each year we are reminded on this day of that terrible attack on our nation's soil. I'll never forget what that day meant, and how I changed. The years have done little to fade my memory. This event has and will continue to shape our history as a nation, and our views on the world. We must not forget that day, or the lessons we have heard.



Comment with why you'll never forget 9/11

NSA and FBI Compel Verizon to Hand Over Phone Records How Much is Too Much?

By Tim Newton
Last night the Guardian reported that the FBI and NSA obtained a search warrant to obtain all telephone records of individuals in its systems on an ongoing daily basis. As you may know Verizon is a significant provider within the U.S. of phone service. This order was provided by the  Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) and was authorized on April 25th for a three month period until the end of July

Over the last few weeks I have not minced my words about government overreach. After trying to plow over the first and second amendments to the constitution, the Obama administration has set it's eyes on a new one: the fourth. It reads;  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." 

Now we do know that the Patriot act allows for both wiretapping and seizing of said records. This law was of course in reaction to the 9/11 terror attack. I understand why it was passed, but it has long been a great concern for many Americans, because we know that great power is often abused.

 The response from the White House was that laws governing such orders "are something that have been in place for a number of years now" and that they are vital to national security. I don't understand though, how my phone records are so vital to national security. The concerns of course come from how this information is used. Even  former vice-president Al Gore called the "secret blanket surveillance" as "obscenely outrageous".

In response to this news, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) said "Of course, keeping American citizens safe is one of government’s most important responsibilities, but there is a fine line between protecting our nation and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights. Our government continues to come close to that line and in some areas may have even crossed it. It is exactly these types of concerning reports that spotlight the need for transparency and access to information that I have fought for in Congress and will continue to work towards.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) also spoke out on this issue, he said "The Bill of Rights was designed to protect us from evil, too, particularly that which always correlates with concentrated government power, and particularly Executive power. If the President and Congress would obey the Fourth Amendment we all swore to uphold, this new shocking revelation that the government is now spying on citizens' phone data en masse would never have happened."

There is always in government a concern to balance the defense of the nation while maintaining the rights of the individual. I do understand that there is a concern for national security, something which we know is of continuing concern to many of us. After the Boston Bombing attack we all must have wondered if there were warning signs that might have been seen. I do not think however that millions should have their privacy eliminated by the actions of a few. Specifically where there is no just cause to do so. It not only sets up for possible abuse of power, but it also leads to continuing increased lack of privacy and more intrusion by government in the future, if they can seize your phone records, why not your email?Why not your facebook account? Why not all of your banking records? There was a reason we instituted the fourth amendment, so that government stays within the bounds of a set of laws, and does not exceed those bounds and infringe upon the rights of the citizens of our nation. 
 

Boston Bombing...The Plot Thickens.

By Jessica Keith
 About a week ago we found out new details about the Boston Bombers.  We learned that while Dzhokhar was stashed away in the boat, he left the authorities a little love note. There was some pretty graphic and unnecessary language, but the gist of it was that America is the great Satan and "when you attack one Muslim, you attack us all."  In said note, he claims that he is not sad about his brother being dead, "because he is a martyr in paradise."  He also states that the victims at the marathon were "collateral damage." (http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/16/us/boston-bombing-investigation/index.html)  This guy gets a top notch defense team yet four families lost their loved ones.  Hardly seems fair to me.

Well, the last time I checked, it was the Muslim fanatics who attacked Americans on 9/11.  You attack one of us, you best believe the full force of America is going to come after you, your children, your children's children, and your children's children's children.  To quote from Independence Day:" We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu).  

You cannot come into our back yard, break our toys and stomp on home and think we won't come after you.  WE WILL COME.  WE ALWAYS COME.

That all having been said, I pose this question, why, if America is so horrible, did you stay here for 15 years Dzhokhar?  Why, in 2012, did you decide to become an American Citizen and take all the rights and privileges given to you?  Why did you immerse yourself in your school and community?  I am sure Chechnya would have loved to take you back.  WHY DID YOU STAY if America is so awful? 

According to NBC Nightly News (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51971493/#51971493) Tamerlan was allegedly involved in a homicide in a Boston suburb in 2011.  This coming from a suspected terrorist who later attacked FBI agents and was shot and killed, but nonetheless, this guy was serious bad news, and we failed to stop him from inflecting harm on Americans.

Can we go ahead and classify these fanatics as what they are? TERRORISTS. There does not seem to be any gray area here.  He [Dzhokhar] made it very clear what the motives were behind the attack on April 15, 2013.  Stop sugar coating what he is.  Call a spade a spade. Ronald Reagan said "Facts are stubborn things."  You cannot ignore the fact that this was and always will be a terrorist attack.  Plain and simple.

George W. Bush said "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.  These acts shatter steel, but they can not dent the steel of American resolve."( http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_w_bush.html#CpvZv4rtbB2LyLiQ.99  )

To Dzhokhar and Tamerlan, I say this, YOU LOSE.  We cannot be broken.  Americans are resilient people.  We will always come back stronger than before with a resolve to fight on.  We will live to fulfill our dream.  You won't.  America wins again. 

The RNC Benghazi Attack Campaign Ad That Never Ran.

By Tim Newton This ad was one which the RNC created but never ran during the campaign.
Why did the RNC decide not to run this ad focused on Benghazi, which could have put further heat on a president who was nowhere to be found in the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack on a Libyan mission?



The ad states:"It's 3am and your children are safe asleep but there's a phone in the white house that's ringing, something's happened in the world." It then says: “The Call Came … On September 12, 2012.”  After the screen goes black, the words continue: “Security Requests Denied. Four Americans Dead. And an Administration whose story is still changing. The Call Came.”

ABC News reported:”A source familiar with the creation of the ad says the RNC leadership approved the ad but it was scrapped at the last minute because of objections from the Romney campaign, which was concerned the ad would distract from Romney’s efforts to focus on the economy.”


Upcoming soon, one of our authors will cover the Benghazi story in depth, giving us some understanding of what happened, who's to blame and why it still matters now. But I leave you with one question: Should the RNC and Romney Campaign run this ad? Tell us what you think below.

Thank you, President Bush.

By Jessica Keith

Dear Mr. President,

Growing up my parents taught me what to look for in a leader.  Someone who always stands by their word, believed in the greatness of the individual, believed in the founding principles of America and all her greatness and most importantly, someone who never gave up. 

In 2000, I was just a little girl, but I knew there was someone who was a real leader running for the Office of The President.  I was too young then to really understand the politics of it all, but I understood there was a difference between the two candidates running that year.  I watched the debates, listened to the news, and read the papers.  I started to get a taste for the political process.

So on November 7, 2000, I proudly walked into my school with my Bush/Cheney sticker on my shirt and prayed for a win for the good guys.  As the weeks went on after Election Day, I would wake up every morning and ask my mom and dad if you were president yet.  The waiting was killing me.  Finally, they declared you the winner.  I could not have been happier. 

A few months later, things changed.  I will never forget where I was when I heard about what happened on 9/11, and the world stopped.  But, for some reason, I knew that having you and Mrs. Bush in the White House, everything would be okay.  When you declared from Ground Zero that you heard them, that rest of the world could hear them, and the people who knocked those buildings down would hear from all of us, I knew you meant it.  You would do what was right by the American People, and protect us to the core.  And you did just that.

As time went on, I began to really start to look deeper into politics and how it all worked, when it entailed and how I might fit into it all. 

2004.  I had some pretty vocal teachers at this point in my education and they were focused, pretty heavily on this election.  I decided this was my shot.  So, at the age of 16, I had my mom drive me down to the Burbank California official headquarters for your reelection campaign after school so I could volunteer for your campaign.  This was my official start into the political world I am now full immersed in. 

So come November 2, 2004, I marched into school with my Bush/Cheney sticker and again played the waiting game.  I had never felt more a part of something so important in my whole life then I did at that moment.  Even though I was not eligible to vote, I had a small part in helping to elect a President that I truly believed in.

President Bush, I know you had the toughest job on the planet.  You were the leader of the free world.  You were the captain of the shining city on a hill, a beacon of hope.  You were the President for the people.  You did what was best for America at the time.  You put aside your own agenda and fought for America.  

The love and dedication you showed and continue to show, for this country, the men and women who fought to secure our freedoms and the freedom of people all over the world is a true inspiration to us all.  Thank you for respecting what they do, and showing us all just how special and important they are to us.

For eight years I went to sleep every night knowing that you were in the White House making tough decisions to keep me safe.  You were praying for guidance on what to do, and how to keep us safe and to end the terror the world faced.  I never once worried where America stood in the eyes of the world.  You were and are a true leader.  A hero in my heart.  Then and now.

On November 20, 2009 I watched you and Mrs. Bush board Marine One for the last time, and with tears in my eyes, uttered the words “Thank you President Bush” in the hope that you felt the thanks and love we have for you. 

Watching the dedication of your Presidential Center, I again had tears in my eyes as I listened to you speak about your time in office and the tough decisions you were forced to make.  So many years later, I am still beyond grateful you made those decisions and kept your promise to keep America safe, and that shining city on a hill.

Thank you will never be enough, Mr. President.  I can never truly express to you the love and respect I have for you.  I am honored to call you my President.  Privileged to have chance to tell people that I volunteered for your campaign.  And eternally thankful to you.

May God continue to bless you and your family President Bush.