It's Been 4 Years Since 9/11...

[MarkDel]

Yes, I'm back for at least one day. After Hurricane Katrina, I started to wonder whether or not the posters on this forum (which I left long ago and very rarely read anymore) would be so low as to inject partisan politics into a national tragedy, so I spent much of the past week reading many of the threads I missed. While many of you on both sides of the political aisle did the honorable thing and put partisan politics aside in talking about the Hurricane, there were, as expected, the usual vermin who engaged in the political version of looting by attempting to score political points at this time of national tragedy.

So it is today, on the Anniversary of 9/11 when so many of our fellow countrymen, Republicans and Democrats alike, lost their lives, that I appeal to both sides to recapture the sense of patriotism and national unity that briefly guided this nation in the days immediately after 9/11.

Will any of you ever forget where you were that day? In a sad twist of irony, I myself was actually in Montreal, Canada on business that morning. I'll never forget the horrific images on TV. The pain of knowing that our nation had been attacked so viciously on our own soil. The hours of trying to place phone calls to my old college roommates who worked in the North Tower...the constant busy signals...how after 4 hours I finally reached one of my friend's wives only to find out that she had not yet heard from him, and that he had left for work a little late that day (which likely saved his life) because it was his daughter's 4th Birthday. How after 6 hours I finally find out that both of my friends had made it through alive, the one having to WALK all the way to New Jersey in the process. I'll never forget that day, and neither should any of you. Did any of you talk politics on that day? I know I sure as hell didn't.

After 9/11 and the months immediately following, I assumed that we as a nation would NEVER again lose that sense of unity and that people would not lose the resolve that filled us a nation to stamp out terrorism and build a better world in the wake of 9/11.

But here we stand 4 years later and this nation is more divided, more fractured and seemingly closer to civil war (don't laugh) than at any time in nearly 150 years. The behavior of far too many in the wake of Katrina is a sad, profound reminder of how uncivil and hostile the political environment in this nation has become over the past few years.

And so I urge you all to put aside your political ideology for at least the short term and focus on the fact that you are an American, with a responsibility to help your fellow citizens in time of need, and to do everything in your power to aid ALL government entities, local, state and federal by donating your time, money and energy to help the victims of this disaster. And a small part of that is to shut the  up about politics for at least a few months until everyone is safe, and the dead have been dealt with in a respectful manner as possible.

Many of you on this site are quite young and have your whole lives ahead of you, and thus have rarely if ever considered your own mortality or what it's like to lose a child, so you may not view these events in a complete perspective. So I urge you to think before you act or speak, as you don't want to do or say anything that you will regret later in life when the aging process gives you a better sense of decorum and a TRUE sense of empathy rather than the knee jerk, touchy feely, vacuous, bullsh*t empathy that often goes with the college experience.

So in summary, get your act together and contemplate what it means to be a human being, what it means to be an American, and at the risk of sounding corny, try and consider what your responsibilities are within that context rather than merely sounding off about what rights you have to do or say whatever you want.

Sincerely,

Mark D., former poster at US Election Atlas

PS--To my friends here, just an update on what I've been up to the past year. Business has been good. Hurricanes suck, hence I have taken the wife and two daughters and moved to the Metro Atlanta area. I've been very busy for several months designing and building a brand new home in Forsyth County, Georgia, where I have found that I was not nearly as right wing as I thought based on the people in this county! I really love it here, and our new home is what the wacko left wingers derisively refer to as a "McMansion" which has come in very handy over the past week. Unlike Florida, you can actually have a full basement here, and that's enabled us to open our home to a displaced family of 4 (father, mother, son & daughter) from St. Bernard's Parish just outside New Orleans. I thought it was the least anyone can do who has the means, and I encourage all of you who can afford it to do the same. Since the average of posters on this forum appears to be about 19, I realize that few of you have the option, but perhaps you have family or friends who can take such actions. I probably won't be around the forum for more than a day or so since I long ago grew tired of engaging in political debate with 18 year old leftists who know NOTHING about the real world, but it was nice dropping in to say my peace on this special day.

Also, for those of you who are actually interested in the REAL STORY of who is to blame for the failures in dealing with this Hurricane, and a virtual narrative of what went on in D.C. the past two weeks, I've got the non-partisan scoop. As you know, I used to work on Capitol Hill and have outstanding contacts in both parties (remember when I told you all about John Edwards being Kerry's pick 24 hours before it was announced?). While I worked exclusively for Republicans, I actually have an even better "in" with the Democrats because of one personal friend who tells me everything.

[MarkDel]

Thanks guys.

Phil,

When you get a chance, pick up a Pat's Cheesesteak and let me know what I'm missing since I became an adopted Southerner.

Alcon,

I read a lot of posts over the past week. You've done A LOT of growing up while I was gone. You sound a lot older than you used to and have a great deal of wisdom for a 15 year old.

[MarkDel]

Very well said, Mark.  I have a professor who is originally from Brooklyn.  He lost a lot of friends that day.  We were giving out rememberance bottons yesterday and he came by the table.  He picked up a botton and started to cry.  I don't know anyone, personally, who died that day, but something like that really brings it home for me, again.

Soulty,

I know from our past conversations, both on and off the forum, that there is no better person posting at this site...than you. Good to hear from you my friend. I'll give you the scoop as a private message, but might not get around to it until tomorrow night since it's getting pretty late. I think it's best that I tell you what I know in a private message rather than on the public forum...it could be construed as "political" by some and that would essentially negate the purpose of this thread. What I'd be saying was the straight story from members of both parties (neither side would look good!) but the "cool aid drinkers" would accuse me of being partisan by focusing on aspects of the story rather than the whole picture. I'll tell you in advance that EVERYONE involved from the lowest local officials to the highest federal officials and everyone in between really, really screwed up. Most of it is about "institutional failure" but there is a definite human screwup factor as well.

[MarkDel]

I have forgotten all about 9/11.  It was a long time ago, and hardly a suprising event, in context.

Opebo,

In all honesty, what the hell happened to you? When I first came on this forum a few years ago you were a completely different human being...

[MarkDel]

What a worthless thread.

I strongly disagree; I'm not a contemporary of MarkDel, on the board, but his post was excellent.

I agree. My favorite parts were where he said we should forget partisan politics and put that behind us today, and then went on to describe "whacko liberals." Hypocrites can be so funny.

Jesus,

I believe John Ford adequately described your inept reading comprehension skills. However, in the sake of bi-partisan agreement, I'll apologize for my reference to "wacko leftists" if you apologize to the forum for being a relentless troll, who has posted on several hundred (thousand?) occasions without ever saying anything that's even remotely probative or intellectually stimulating. And to the Democrat from Minnesota in this thread (who I can only assume is Better Red Than Dead in his latest incarnation) I will say go re-read my original post as John Ford suggested.

[MarkDel]

To the many people who have sent me private messages, sorry I have taken so long to respond. It will take me a few days to catch up as I'm not able to spend more than a few minutes at a time on the forum. It's pretty hectic in the house right now with my two kids, plus the two youngsters who are staying with us. I'll answer everyone eventually.

[MarkDel]

Mark is the real deal, I suggest that you try to learn from his wisdom.  The particular instance when he did inform me on something that was going on that was nto reported in the media, everything he said would happen did, or, at least, I could see that it had, since the media did not reprt what he had disclosed to me in full.

Correct me if I'm wrong here but Mr Del worked for his local Congressman in DC.  Now he owns a small publishing company in Florida.  While I agree that he probably has better insights into "how Washington works" ... I find it very hard to buy that he "knows the real scoop" about what happened with NOLA.

Maybe I'm just a cynic but I just don't believe everything I read on the internet.

Wakie,

You make a legitimate point. Normally, I would never put much stock into what someone posts on the internet in a forum like this. However, I have in the past proven that I have access to pretty good information. For example, I told you all a day before it happened that Edwards would be the VP choice of Kerry. See this thread... https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=5319.0

Also, I told John Ford, Supersoulty and a few others some other information that turned out to be true. And in one case (the Sandy Berger situation) I told them months before it (his sentencing) happened and why it would happen. I won't go into any more details, but let's just say I've proven my "ins" when it comes to the Capitol Hill scene.

But again, your overall point would normally make a lot of sense, so I can't really condemn what you've said. But here's a couple reasons why I get such good information...

1. In addition to working for a Republican Congressman I later worked for the R.N.C. at the Republican National Headquarters in D.C. This fostered many contacts.

2. Some of the people who were friends and colleagues may have been low level people 15 years ago, but some of them have now risen to positions of great prominence in both parties, not to mention those friends who went the "lobbyist" route. I have one friend who works on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' staff at a very high level...another who is an Under Secretary of Defense...another who reports directly to Ken Mehlman...etc, etc...in fact, the only important Republican figures in the executive branch who I don't have indirect links to are George Bush himself and Karl Rove! And I also have some GREAT contacts on the Democratic side, mainly due to personal and college friendships. One in particular is VERY, VERY useful.

3. There are a host of people I went to college with, friends and acquaintances, who are now very prominent in government. As much as I hated the Ivy League experience as a young man, I can still trade on it if I need to, or want to, as I frequently do to obtain information relating to business and politics. It continues to astound me how the Ivy League elitists (many of whom I personally despise) will continue to treat me as a friend and confide in me just because I'm "part of the club." I don't tell them anything of importance to my life, but these clowns will treat me like their best friend just because we went to Princeton together. Silly? Yes, but practical and useful.

So in closing, I'd say I understand your point and you're certainly free to believe what you want, but if I were you, I wouldn't let our political and philosophical differences cloud your judgement.