None of us knows for sure how President Bush makes his decisions, whom he calls for advice, or what he is thinking. We can only speculate and guess, but we do not know. And none of us knows for sure what we would be feeling or doing if we were in his situation.
I am greatly sorry if I offended anyone with my post. The fact is the president is going to be under scrutiny. It is going on not only on the board but on the radio and in private conversations all over the country. I will be the first one to admit that I don’t know a damn thing about politics. I still, however, feel the same way about his speech. That does NOT however mean that I am not 100% willing to stand by any decisions he makes. I was not the first one to mention the word “folks”. Someone else did and it prompted me to post because it had stuck out to me as well. Perhaps I am nit picking but I know for a fact that a number of people my mother knows also commented on it as well. It was something that stuck out to people, not just me. One last thing I would like to say:
I think that people need to stop expecting everyone to think the way they do. People are going to have different opinions. It is one thing to comment on someone’s post. But to imply that they shouldn’t be making it to begin with is NOT your right. We have moderators for that. They do their job well. Perhaps my post wasn’t what you wanted to hear. Perhaps I focused on something you didn’t think was important. I did. That’s my right. That is the right of everyone on this board. And to lump everyone who has a different opinion than you into a group isn’t fair either. Yes I had a problem with Bush’s speech but I now feel that I have been placed into the president hating group. I think it is fair enough to say I don’t agree with so and so. But to pick appart entire posts and point out every little thing you think is wrong it. And basically imply that it shouldn’t have been said in the first place is wrong. There are plenty of people who post who I do not agree with. But I think they have every right to their opinion.
Have I made the same mistakes that I am asking people to beware of. Yes. Have I posted posts that I regretted later. Of course. But I think that the greatest mistake we could all make at this time is to make people feel like they can’t speak freely on this board. Some people feel anger and need to get it out. Some people feel frustated and need to get it out. They should be able to.
>>>“Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken”<<<
Thank goodness, Gwen! Here in Southampton we are numb–so many of our neighbors are NYC residents…in fact, I can only see one house from my house that doesn’t belong to a “city” dweller…we are caretakers for a New York family, needless to say we are very anxious…
I just found out that my brother in law ( a pilot for American Airlines)just flew out of new york OVER THE WTC LAST NIGHT!!! He is now stuck on Florida…thank god he wasn’t flying this morning!!!
Barb 
I think that the actions going on right now are speaking louder than words. We have serious suspects and good leads in FL and MA, although the terrorists actually hijacking the planes are dead. It looks like a pretty strong coincidence that these people are linked to Bin Laden.
Please remember that this is a good time to look befor you leap. My worst fear yesterday was of a massive war. I do not want to be bombed, and there are innocent people on the other side of the ocean who will feel as badly as we do should we kill their friends and neighbors.
Culpability.
I just heard that the US SUPPORTED Osama bin Laden in earlier decades (when his hatred was focused on the Soviet block). So the US is not entirely blameless in this.
What makes the US a place worth living is that we CAN agree to disagree. Just as (with people) we can “hate the sin but love the sinner”, we can love the country without approving of every action of its leaders.
The resistance to the Vietnam War made this a STRONGER nation, not a weaker one.
SMC, be a “wuss” and take your kid out. I can’t imagine going through this without your family. My mom lives and works in Boston and I was freaking out, but she’s trying to get out of the city. I’m sure you won’t be the only parent.
to live somewhere where violence like this is commonplace.
While few cities in the middle east have buildings the size of the twin towers, remember there is an entire generation in that part of the world that has grown up with continuous violence … where family and friends are at risk of being blown up going to the market, to school, or while sitting in their own kitchens.
The total lack of regard for innocent civilian life is unforgiveable, and will certainly be met with a firm resolve to find and severely punish those who are responsible. However, I also believe that until the root causes of terrorism are eradicated, we will remain at risk for these kinds of attacks and will have to cope with potentially more devastating threats, such as the ones posed by biological weapons. Anthrax could easily kill many more thousands… and is probably easier to acquire and unleash than four commercial airplanes.
I am a native NYer and all my family still lives in the metro area. Thank God they are all safe - My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone whose family or friends have been injured or worse in this attack.
Our cousin (a flight attendant with United) isn’t listed as being one of the crew members on the hijacked flights.
edit
Starlady, 237 Park Ave is a fair ways away from the WTC so your brother should be ok. If you want to look for yourself go to Mapquest.com and type in the address. The zip code for that part of Manhatten should be 10017
Do you think I was personally concerned for myself? No, more for like my friends who may get drafted, or my cousins who are of age. God Forbid I show concern over what will happen next i:e drafting?
Do you WANT to go to war? My god, you can haul ass all you want to go blow up some people, but you will NEVER see me in line to get on a jet to go fight.
I am SOO SORRY I don’t want to go to war. REALLY. How stupid am I? Im sorry I don’t want to see fellow American’s get blown to pieces, but DAMN THATS HOW I FEEL.
Donning my flame suit.
~Insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting different results~
I can’t even think about this disgusting act any longer! It is so terrifying to me to think that we actually have people this sick minded walking our streets and we don’t even no about it! Watching that video of that plane flying right into the second twin tower was horrifying- it looked just like it came strait out of a movie! My heart goes out to everybody who lost a family member or friend or neighbor or fellow student and every inicent person who lost their life to these crack heads! I can not under stand how, with all the technology that we have today, that this could even happen! It is mind boggling! I can not wait until we find these idiots and punish them! 
I think a lot of people forget that America is a baby. Compared to other countries it is still very new. It has managed to become such a world power so quicky because we have been willing to make mistakes and learn from them. To me America is like a boyfriend or a husband. God knows they aren’t perfect and they do make mistakes. But when ever they are threatened you would willingly die for them. It isn’t really realistic to say one country is better than another. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think what does make America a beautiful place to live is that although we aren’t perfect we do strive for perfection and are willing to listen to the American people in hopes of getting as close to perfect as we can get.
>>>“Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken”<<<
Starlady, are people really celebrating? What is the feeling over there?
Midge- I saw RodeoGirl last week @ Clemson. She’s fine.
My observations, being someone who has studied quite a bit of terrorism/political science/etc-
It is most likely, in my opinion, that this was not an attack of an entire nation. (in other words- its not Palestine) I think this because of the fact that the countries issued statements saying hey… we think this is horrible… we send our condolences. Granted anyone can lie. BUT. In all reality it doesnt take that many people to hijack a plane. One to four at the most… if you think about it.
The lack of security @ our airports is frightening. Why in the world can someone get on a plane with a knife of any kind? even a pocketknife. I think it is safe to say that most likely you will not need it desperately during your flight. I believe that in the next few years our country will see quite a few changes as to how easily we get on flights. Obviously, the system we had until now didnt work for us.
We have to hope that through this the country’s leaders can see that HUMINT is crucial to our survival as a country and more money and resources will be put towards its betterment within the next few years.
Why were we not more aware that an attack of this kind was iminent? Threats of this kind are made fairly often. Whos to determine whats real and whats bogus? THAT is where HUMINT resources become crucial. But how do we get to the inside of it all? Practice Practice Practice.
Of course this is a declaration of war. But we have to ask, by who? It is unlikely that the major players in this act are still alive to allow for the US to stage a retaliation. Most of them probably gave their lives for their cause on the plane. So do I think they’ll ever even find the people that did it? Most likely not.
That is unless it is Bin Laden. But you have to ask yourself whether you think one person could conjure up such a thing. It looks to me as though whoever did this knew of his warnings and thought that people would immediately look to him, making it an excellent coverup. He is presently known as the biggest threat to the US. But I still dont think that it was him.
Do I think its over? My gut feeling tells me yes. But then again, anyone trying ot make a big statement on the US could be planning the same thing for a week from now. Could it be that they want to make us as miserable as many of those Middle Eastern countries? Maybe so.
Clip-clop…your post leaves me speechless.
Colin Powell rocks!
Pres. is en route to Washington (?) on Air Force One.
Scratch. They don’t know where he is. (Well, I’m sure they KNOW, but aren’t talking.)
Imagine:
Plane hijacked
Plane hijacked
Plane hijacked
Plane hijacked
North tower hit
South tower hit
North tower collapses
South tower collapses
Pentagon hit
Plane crash outside Pittsburgh
This turned out to be a reeeeally lousy day for America. 
JoHn (WiNgLeT)
“A horse runs with his legs, competes with his heart, and performs with his soul.”
-Tesio
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