In Memoriam

I'm a couple days late with this, but I wasn't even a member when the actual date hit, so here's the belated tribute. Picture credit to www.law.umkc.edu, from the Moussaoui trial. That's all but 92 of the casualties of 9/11.

I know many of you will turn your eyes away when I say 9/11, and I loathe you for it. No, it wasn't the greatest tragedy to hit our country, but it was the latest. Those who are "tired" of hearing about 9/11 are the ones turning their eyes away, but are you equally as tired of hearing about Pearl Harbor? How about the first WTC bombing? What about the embassy bombings, and the USS Cole?

Our country has been at war, open or not, for close to two decades now. Osama bin Hidin' declared war on us, and we didn't take him seriously. Especially not Mr. Clinton- remember those speeches about *Clinton Impersonation Voice* "We will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice." He didn't do a damn thing. Some of you will say that he did. Really? Did he really do anything measurable? How many al-Qaeda plots did he stop? How many leaders did he arrest/kill/otherwise impede their ability to operate? I vaguely remember a training camp or two getting bombed, but come on.

I bet Osama bin Hidin' was really surprised when after 9/11 we went over there and started blowing his whole operation to hell. That's what we should've been doing after we found out who our opponent was.

This isn't about "let's play nicey-nice and hope everyone will love us". This is about survival of our way of life and our freedoms. Look at the natural world. If you don't have the means to defend yourself, you get eaten. Like it or not, humans are animals. We're more than animals, we're predators. Need proof of that statement? 90% plus of all predators have two forward facing eyes to better focus on their target. Humans are violent by nature- hell, we grew up in nature, and nature is violent.

The point of all that is "multinationalism" and "globalization" be damned. If we're under attack from a fly, we need to hit it with a sledgehammer. The only "moral" issue here is our ability as a nation to continue our way of life. Read Starship Troopers (no, its nothing like the movie). Or, here, let me quote the relevant passage for you.

"...To those who hang on to the axiom of 'violence never solved anything', allow me to say this. Anyone who clings to the historically untrue — and thoroughly immoral — doctrine that 'violence never solves anything' I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms."

So lets not forget that those who wish to end us and our way of life will use violence, and violence is the only sort of deterrent that they will recognize and respect.

In Memoriam - 9/11/01