House leaders spar over resolution honoring victims of Sept. 11

[Pirate Smile]

House leaders spar over resolution honoring victims of Sept. 11

By Margaret Talev
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats can't agree on how to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks five years after the tragedy pulled the nation together.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on a resolution marking the anniversary, but Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California are at a standoff over the wording of the nonbinding, purely symbolic legislation.

As drafted, the resolution mourns the nearly 3,000 victims, condemns terrorists, praises the military and law enforcement, and vows vigilance.

But it also lauds several Republican-led legislative moves that Democrats opposed or sought to modify: the USA Patriot Act, which gives law enforcement officials tools to combat terrorism that some Democrats think infringe too much on civil liberties; and the House's border security bill, now stalled, which would charge illegal immigrants as felons.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/15474370.htm

[razors edge]

1. preparing flame resistant everything.

on second thought i don't even wnna go there.

[struggle4progress]

2. Apparently, nothing would honor the victims so much as Republicans ..

.. congratulating themselves for trashing the Constitution ...

[Rose Siding]

3. Hang in there, Nancy.

[JI7]

4. Republicans propping themselves up politically on 9/11 victims

what a bunch of disgusting pukes.

[krispos42]

5. EVERYTHING is viewed through a narrowly-focused political lens

My God, it does not end. I bet why Bush froze during 9/11 in that classroom was not because he was sounding out words but because he was suddenly overcome with what the attacks were giving him politically.

The Republicans, or so many as to be effectively all of them, are so obsessed with keeping power that they can't NOT see all events as how it will effect them!

They are completely convinced that they have such a clear (perhaps God-given) vision of what must be done, and that ALL other paths will lead to the end of America, that they use any means fair or foul to keep their power and follow that path. If it means election-riggins, fear-mongering, lying, fabricating evidence, destroying the US intelligence apparatis, stacks of dead soldiers, debt and deficits, destroying the middle class, shredding the Constitution (as amended), etc., then so be it. The ends justify the means. And that complete conviction leads to a complete policital viewpoint of all things.

[HuffleClaw]

6. "the American people should be very concerned that Democrats are...

...even trying to politically use the 9/11 resolution as a way to gain the majority in November."

WTF ???

wow. its not the democrats who are politicizing what is supposed to be a memorial.

[BattyDem]

7. Fucking Rethugs NEVER stop! They just can't do something nice!

Hey assholes ... IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! It's a MEMORIAL for the VICTIMS of 9/11! Say something respectful and keep all references to your legislative bullshit out of it! :grr:

[MaineDem]

8. What does the immigration issue have to do with a 9/11 memorial?

Good Lord!

[leesa]

9. Our government is simply worthless.

[pat_k]

10. Didn't you know? In a post-911 world. . .

. . .. .everything is about 911.

Tragedy can open our hearts to the suffering of others and bring out the best of our humanity.

Tragedy can bring out an ugly side. The impulse for revenge is just part of it. Many have who have turned the attack on the towers into the center of their patrionics. To them, the victims are abstractions. They appear to have little compassion or conception of what those affected actually face. Selfishness, fear, and hatred lie behind their obsessive nationalism. At the extreme are people like Ann Coulter.

Our best impulses are expressed in quiet ways.

The ugly side is loud and incessant. It can drown out the quiet goodness.

We must look for the quiet goodness, or fall victim to cynicism..

People woven into the fabric or our lives were ripped out. The horror of violent death compounds the pain. We feel helpless in the face of the suffering of the bereaved, the suffering of the people haunted by horrible images -- those who escaped and those who dealt with the aftermath. We offer what comfort and help we can. We are thankful to witness the healing that comes with time.

We can look for, and be grateful to see the people who have turned their pain into action -- people like Kristen Breitweiser who confronted members of Congress and motivated some to act to meet the needs of the victims, and who is now inspiring others to push for solutions to our common problems.