9/11 officer dies as son attends 'Union'

[jefferson_dem]

9/11 officer dies as son attends 'Union'
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A former New York policeman died Tuesday night as his 21-year-old son prepared to appear at the State of the Union speech to symbolize the desperate health problems of some Sept. 11 workers.

Cesar Borja, 52, had been in intensive care, breathing through a tube, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, awaiting a lung transplant.

His son, college student Ceasar Borja Jr., was invited by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to attend President Bush's speech as a reminder of workers who were stricken with a host of illnesses after exposure to toxic World Trade Center debris.

The younger Borja learned of his father's death in a phone call while eating dinner around 6:30 p.m. EST. He still planned to attend the speech, which was scheduled to begin 2 1/2 hours later.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/state_of_union_clinton_s_guest_2

*EDITED TO ADD TEXT AND LINK BELOW.

****

After being asked to join the Senator tonight, Cesar issued this statement (printed by the Daily News):

"My father Cesar Borja is 52 years old and he is a retired NYPD police officer. He has served and protected the city of New York for 20 years, and retired in 2003. ... "I have two younger siblings. Evan, my brother, who is 16. But I feel sorry the most for my youngest. Her name is Nhia. She's my sister. She's 12 years old.

"I'm going tomorrow to Washington, D.C., with Sen. Hillary Clinton - and I thank her for that - for a chance to reach further more of the press and to promote that 9/11 did not end that year. It still continues now to the present day.

And I am not the only one affected. But I know that I represent them.

I hope that the government will pass legislation offering financial support for medical attention, proper health care, for all those heroes-turned-victims due to the fact that they did not hesitate on Sept. 11, 2001.

It's not just New York's Finest or New York's Bravest, but also volunteers. I remember coming here shortly thereafter to see what was going on. I probably first arrived here at the World Trade Center, at Ground Zero, perhaps Sept. 14, when my parents thought it was safe for me to come and visit. And I saw license plates from all over America, even Canada. They came to help. ...

I'm lucky to be 21, to have known my father as long as I have. I hope that with proper medical attention, little girls and young boys like my brother, 16, won't have to go through what my family's going through. ...

That is why I need the help of the government. Not just me, but everyone, everyone that's been affected, all the heroes, all of the families, all of the wives, the sons, the daughters, the brothers, the sisters, the grandmothers, the grandfathers, everyone that has been affected by 9/11. We need the help of the U.S. government. Please."

http://www.tortdeform.com/archives/2007/01/state_of_the_union_hillary_spo.html

[Mrs. Overall]

1. So sad and tragic.

[montana_hazeleyes]

3. This is heartbreaking.

How fitting paxmusa, that your post is 666 as Beelzebub** himself is spewing his lies, sorry, I mean giving his sotu speech tonite.

Too bad he cares nothing about this poor man and his son. Or anyone else for that matter.

[journalist3072]

2. I really don't feel like crying this evening...but after reading this...wow!

God bless Cesar Borja. And God bless his son for still attending the speech in spite of his tremendous loss.

Words fail me right now.

[stillcool]

4. A way more appropriate piece...

to represent the State of the Union.

[superconnected]

5. I hope the news focuses on this kind of important stuff and not dumb dumbs blood for oil speach.

[Imagevision]

6. And the money raised after 9-11 doesn't help this family out?

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Sept. 11 Cop Dies As Son Attends 'Union'

January 24, 2007

WASHINGTON -- College student Ceasar Borja Jr. wanted to attend the State of the Union speech to represent his father, a former New York police officer who worked at ground zero and lay in a hospital bed with life-threatening lung problems.

Only hours before the speech, the 21-year-old found out he would stand as a symbol of his father's sacrifice not just for the speech, but for the rest of his life.

A devastating phone call during dinner Tuesday night told him his father had just died.

Even though he got the news less than three hours before President Bush's speech, Borja insisted on honoring his father's memory by going ahead and attending the prime-time address. He had been invited by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., a longtime advocate for Sept. 11 health issues.

"He passed away right when I'm down here fighting for him. This is the most I've ever done for Dad," the Daily News quoted Borja as saying as he learned of his father's death.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-state-of-union-clintons-guest,0,7851076.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines


Too bad Bush is too big of a coward to even acknowledge his presence last night, despite the fact that Bush mentioned 9-11 numerous times.

[terip64]

8. Bush is a criminal and a coward. kick and recommend

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. It was the WH that fudged the EPA report and by doing so have taken more lives.

The people of NYC were victimized on 9/11 and then a few days later directly by their government.
If this isn't criminality, I don't know what is!!!!!