Local Newsman Remembers 9/11

From Kris Ketz'Facebook page today.

"A personal note. 

Sunday. 15 years since 9/11. And on a day when the Chiefs open the 2016 season at home - for me - who could forget that first football game after the attacks. At Arrowhead. And it was the New York Giants in town. I'll never forget walking to my seats that morning and catching a glimpse of a sign hanging from the club level. 'KC NY.'

We all loved New York for all the obvious reasons. 

Anyone or anything from the big apple was a special guest that day. I don't know about the other 79,000 fans in the stadium that day but for me it was hard to think about football - yet - it was good to see it. It was more than a game. It was a step towards returning to some form of 'normal' and at a time when nobody knew what 'normal' would be. We all wanted to see how America and Americans would respond to what happened - long term. We were all so anxious to help in whatever small way we could. 

There was a big "fill the boot" effort in the stadium thanks to members of the KCFD (at least in my section 134) who were busy raising money for the recovery effort in NYC. I may be wrong on the numbers but I think Chiefs fans raised something north of $200,000 that day and then the Chiefs matched what was raised. The singing of the National Anthem that day meant more. 

Like most fans around us there was a lump in my throat and for once we all ended by singing 'Home of the Brave', Chiefs players & coaches had American Flags in their hands. Like I said we all wanted to help. We all wanted to do something. We all wanted people in NY to know that people in KC had their back. I don't recall the final score that day but I remember leaving the stadium thinking in any other environment this would have been just another football game. 

15 years later - KC still 's NY."

Quote of the day -- the "War on Terror"

And he wrote this a few years before Dubya' and Dick started both their illegal war in Iraq and our insane "war on terror" after 9/11.

Very prescient.

From the "Things We Allow Corporations to Get Away With" file

Perhaps you saw some of these headlines in the last few days?

West Virginians to be without water for days because of chemical spill

Tap water fix in West Virginia still days away, official says

Thousands Without Water After Spill in West Virginia

West Virginia chemical spill frustrates residents for fourth day

Which brings up this thought I saw yesterday on Facebook:

"If a foreign terrorist group poisoned the water of an entire region in the U.S. we'd likely be going into another war, but since it's just an improperly regulated company, well, that's just the cost of doing business."

--From a post on Http://Fb.com/TheMarmelPage

Additional link:  The Steve Marmel Page

Quote of the day--on good vs evil

“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

More of our nation's priorities

Quite a contrast to Boston.

We need to be far better than this, America

Already there are stories of Americans apparently, reputedly, I admit, attacking Muslims or people thought to be Muslims, because it's thought the 2 men who planted and set off the bombs in Boston this past week were Muslim:

Boston Marathon Bombing Fallout: Bangladeshi Man Beaten In Bronx For Being An 'Arab' - International Business Times

Link: http://www.ibtimes.com/boston-marathon-bombing-fallout-bangladeshi-man-beaten-bronx-being-arab-1201819

Man Beaten Outside Bronx Applebee's in Anti-Muslim Attack after Boston Bombing

Link: http://www.allmediany.com/news/8039-man-beaten-outside-bronx-applebees-in-anti-muslim-attack-after-boston-bombing

Hate Crimes Against Muslims Rising After Boston Bombings

There are so many ways we should be above this.

First, everyone is to be innocent before proven guilty. That alone should make anyone and everyone safe.

Second, violence should never be resorted to, naturally.

Third, how is it anyone could attack another on just the idea and assumption that they're some religion or ethnicity, as some kind of idea that this made any sense at all? Especially since the attacker knows the person they're attacking, in these cases, is totally and utterly innocent. They're only attacking them because they think them to be part of some religion. How do you do that? How do you justify that kind of act?

Fourth and finally, doesn't or wouldn't that make us, as Americans, or anyone who attacked others, just as bad as the original attackers? Sure, no one is killed but innocent people are attacked. It's wildly wrong.

Boston: In tribute

Quote of the day--on good vs evil

Cowardice of the worst and most vile

By now, you've likely heard that 2 bombs went off in Boston, Massachussetts today at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The people who did this, for whatever bizarre excuse (they'd say reason), there is not only no excuse for this but it must be said that whoever did it are cowards of the first order.

How anyone, anywhere, could do this to civilians, innocent civilians, whether in Boston or Afghanistan or Iraq or any spot on the planet, it's unconscionable and has no place not only in a civilized society but on the planet, period.

This makes us all citizens of the world. This should unite us all. Acts like these make enemies of the perpetrators to all the rest of the world.

I don't believe in hell, personally, but if I did, I would be of the opinion that the darkest, hottest place there would be reserved for the instigators.

Truly, whoever did this is of the lowest life form.

I also don't believe in capital punishment but this is one of those times and events that comes close to changing my mind.

Link:  Two explosions at Boston Marathon: reports

Quote of the day--on taxes

A note to the local, national and international Muslim Community

I just saw this local news online:

Local Muslims petition Obama to restrict 'hate speech'

The article:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - More than 300 local Muslims are petitioning the White House for change.

Members of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City tell 41 Action News they have good reasons for wanting to limit first amendment rights. They said their petition to ban language that defames, insults or provokes violence has been sparked by a video that has caused outrage across the globe.

From violent attacks, to angry marches, the "Innocence of Muslims" film has encouraged local Muslims to fight for change.

"Insulting somebody else or putting somebody down can insight violence and lead to people losing their lives. We’re trying not to give these people a chance to misbehave," said Mohammed Kohia, who started the petition along with the executive board of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City.

First things, first here--sure, I'm all for a bit of limitation on true "hate speech." Millions of Jews were killed all across Europe due to the inflammation of this type of speech, sure, as just one example.

But what we're talking about here is limiting our Constitutional right of free speech OR ELSE MUSLIMS WILL KILL THE PEOPLE THEY SEE AS OFFENDERS.

It's patently not the same thing.

This is what happened in the last few days in Bangladesh. (see 2nd link below) Someone reportedly put a picture that offended some followers of the Muslim faith on their own Facebook page so thousands of followers of Mohammed took the law into their own hands and burned down Buddhist Temples and 40 people's homes.

And now, apparently, the local Muslim community wants us to limit our free speech, just so they won't have to--what?--go all crazy on us?

No. No, I don't think so.

It's as I said yesterday out on the internet--the entire, rational, educated, peace-loving Muslim world out there needs to come down squarely on the side of logic, sanity and reason and say that the radical Islamists must not, ever again, kill, maim, torture or otherwise go all looney on people just because they perceive Mohammed was defamed in some way. That, ladies and gentlemen, are what judicial courts are for. No one--no one--is supposed to take the law, immediately, into their own hands, as the radical, terrorist Muslim community has done, repeatedly, time and again, across the world.

We need an end to the terrorism and torture and killing, not an end or limitation of free speech.

So, in response to your request to us to limit our speech?

Oh, hell no.

Links: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/lifestyle/local-muslims-petition-president-obama-to-restrict-freedom-of-speech

http://photos.denverpost.com/2012/10/02/photos-thousands-of-muslims-go-on-rampage-burn-more-than-a-dozen-temples/

Muslim- and Islamist-extremists are a threat to the world--and to Islam

So now we're mourning a US Ambassador to Libya--a friendly nation we just helped liberate, thanks very much--along with 3 other Americans, all because some ignorant, religious, right-wing zealot in our country made and posted a movie some other ultra-conservative, way-overly religious zealots in that nation didn't like.

Where--and when--does this end? How soon?

I was going to approach this post today with a list of just some of the different people Muslim- and Islamist extremists have killed in the recent past but figured we're all extremely aware of them and secondly, that we know there are so many of them.

For what it's worth, you can go here to see a list of Muslim extremist attacks just since the 9/11 attack:

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks

Here we are one of the lead nations that helped liberate this nation--Libya--from its dictator yet these lunatics got emotionally riled, went out and attacked the US Embassy and killed 4 people who just happened to be working for Libyan citizen's freedoms.

And this is the man they killed:



Of course, we have to keep in mind, too, that the idiot, Right-wing, Christian "Pastor" who did this--one Terry Jones--is the same small-minded, ugly leader who publicly burned Korans in order to get attention for himself. And with that situation, again, people died because of his actions. Clearly this is a man who refuses to learn his actions have ugly and utterly unnecessary consequences on others.

I stand by the headline, above. That is, the Islam nation and the Muslim faith around the world is hurt to a great degree by all the Muslim extremists in the world and their repeated and repeating attacks that leave so many dead and wounded.

If Muslim is a faith and religion of peace, the rest of the Muslims across the world must stand up and demand this insanity cease.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/florida-pastor-terry-joness-koran-burning-has-far-reaching-effect/2011/04/02/AFpiFoQC_story.html

Quote of the day

“Terrorism is the war of the poor and war is the terrorism of the rich”.

--Sir Peter Ustinov, English actor, writer and dramatist, filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ustinov

Right wing violence seems to be escalating

A blogger points out that, this past week, there were 3 separate incidents of "violent intimidation" of Democrats "by Republican Extremists in One Single Week." He assumed Republicans and I cannot and do not but I do assume they are "Right wing" and I think that is a very fair assumption, agree or no. Those 3 incidents were: 1) A campaign manager for a Democratic congressional candidate in Arkansas came home to find his family's cat killed, with the word "LIBERAL" painted on it. His 5-year old son made the gruesome discovery. This is clearly the sickest one of the three, I think; 2) Five Democratic Missouri state Senators --- four of them African-American women --- discovered rifle crosshair stickers placed on the door of their capitol offices. (Maybe they're just "surveyor's marks" though. Right Sarah Palin?); and finally, 3) A veteran 14-year police sergeant from Peoria, Arizona (near Phoenix), proudly posted a photo he took of a bunch of guys with automatic rifles holding a bullet riddled t-shirt featuring an image of Barack Obama on it. My reason for pointing this out is twofold. First, it's to create awareness of some of the sick things that are taking place nationwide so we are aware of it and maybe so we tone it down, ourselves, if we're getting overly emotional about what's going on in our country. The 2nd reason for pointing it out is to ask if maybe this will increase--heavens forbid--in the months to come, as we get closer to the November election. Hopefully these don't get more prevalent--or worse--as we get closer to the election. Here's hoping cooler, calmer and more thinking and intelligent minds prevail. Link to original post: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9095

Among others, none other than Missouri's own Todd Akin

With thanks and a tip of the hat to The Osterley Times.

Have a great week, everyone.