Afghan war enters 12th year

38 minutes ago
Afghan war enters 12th year
By AMIR SHAH AND DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press
Published: October 7, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — Nobody wants a repeat of the bloody ethnic fighting that followed the Soviet exit from Afghanistan in the 1990s — least of all 32-year-old Wahidullah who was crippled by a bullet that pierced his spine during the civil war.

Yet as the Afghan war began its 12th year on Sunday, fears loom that the country will again fracture along ethnic lines once international combat forces leave by the end of 2014.

"It was a very bad situation," said Wahidullah, who was a teenager when he was wounded in the 1992-1996 civil war. "All these streets around here were full of bullet shells, burned tanks and vehicles," he added, squinting into a setting sun that cast a golden glow on the bombed-out Darulaman Palace still standing in west Kabul not far from where he was wounded.

"People could not find bread or water, but rockets were everywhere," said Wahidullah, who now hobbles around on red-handled crutches.

The dilapidated palace is a reminder of the horror of the civil war when rival factions — who had joined forces against Soviet fighters before they left in early 1989 — turned their guns on each other. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed.

Fed up with the bloodletting, the Afghan people longed for someone — anyone — who would restore peace and order. The Taliban did so.

But once in power, they imposed harsh Islamic laws that repressed women and they publicly executed, stoned and lashed people for alleged crimes and sexual misconduct. The Taliban also gave sanctuary to al-Qaida in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. When the Taliban refused to give up the al-Qaida leaders who orchestrated 9/11, the U.S. invaded on Oct. 7, 2001.
read more here

Soldier's son visits fire stations on 9/11 to thank firefighters

Soldier's son visits Rock Hill fire stations on 9/11 to thank firefighters
Published: September 15, 2012
By Andrew Dys
Herald columnist

Nobody made Makai Byrd go visit all six Rock Hill fire stations on Tuesday.

The 8-year-old went on the urging of his mother, sure, and she did the driving, but he wanted to go see these places himself after school.

His father was not around to go.

“My dad is in Afghanistan,” said Makai. “He’s in the Army. That’s his job.”

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, Eddie Byrd was in a place that time forgot, except the time that started with Sept. 11, 2001.

Eddie has been deployed to Iraq, twice, in the past decade. He was on a plane trying to get home eight years ago when Makai was born. Eddie did not make it in time.

People on the plane drank a toast to the soldier in uniform, cheered the birth. Eddie missed the birth of his son by two hours.

Capt. Eddie Byrd grew up in McConnells in western York County. He has been in the military for more than 20 years.
read more here

Marine Gunnery Sgt. was in Pentagon during attack

Marine, first responder donates personal 9/11 memorabilia, awards
Marine Gunnery Sgt. was in Pentagon during attack
Updated: Tuesday, 11 Sep 2012
Renee Dials
Photojournalist: La-Keya Stinchcomb

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A retired Marine from the Gulf Coast was at the Pentagon when it was attacked on 9/11.

Ronald Mix had an appointment at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, to talk with an official about his pending transfer from the Marine Corp University in Virginia to Camp LeJeune. He had no idea how the day would unfold.

"This was the day that I said I'm going to go in and take care of this, and as I was going in, the World Trade Center episode happened," Mix said.

Mix was a Staff Sergeant at the time. He and others were watching the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center when another unthinkable act occurred.

Mix was in a different part of the huge complex when the Pentagon was attacked.

"I went home. I couldn't.. I would just stare at the TV. I said I got to do something."

Even though he didn't work there, and he didn't even know if he would be allowed on site, he went back to do whatever he could.

Mix and another Marine were first to display a flag at the tragic scene.
read more here

Eleven years later: Marines remember 9/11

Eleven years later: Marines remember 9/11
2nd Marine Logistics Group
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Peterson

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - They saw the tragedy unfold through the windows of their childhood schools in New York City. They have grown, and all of them followed their own paths into the Marine Corps, but the images still burn in their memories.

Three Marines from 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group took a break from their daily jobs to meet here and remember the day 19 hijackers etched Sept. 11, 2001, into the collective memory of Americans.

“It was surreal,” said Pfc. Lawrence N. Ellington-Farley, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native and an administrative clerk with the battalion. “It was like the day before didn’t even happen.”

He was an 11-year-old student enduring another day of classes when he saw a plane crash into the World Trade Center.

“If you looked out the window, you could actually see people jumping or falling out of the building,” said Ellington-Farley, whose father was one of the first responders at the scene. “That is something I don’t think I will ever forget.”

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people and stripped the New York City skyline of its iconic Twin Towers. The legacy of the attacks still troubles the Marines of 8th ESB who experienced the event within the city’s limits.

“I have a little girl and a wife back home, and it always worries me because you never know if something will ever happen like that to New York,” said Lance Cpl. Angel Anaya, an embarkation specialist with the battalion.
read more here

Looking for God in the wrong places on 9-11

Looking for God in the wrong places
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
September 12, 2012

Last night I was watching The Four Crosses at Ground Zero.

"As rescue and recovery began, fireman, police, and rescue workers would be forced to endure the nightmare of working and living inside Ground Zero. Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into hopelessness as the reality of what had happened sunk in. While working in Building 6 in the World Trade Center complex, workers discovered a cavernous type hole in the debris."

As I listened to some of the people there, while I thought it was a beautiful story, I kept thinking of what was missing from the program.

It is easy to wonder where God was on that horrible day as other people decided such evil acts were justified when they used everything in their power to kill. Where was He? Why didn't He stop it? How could a loving God allow it to happen?

We ask those questions all the time. We suffer in our lives, then try to figure out why God thought we deserved it. What did we do to make Him turn away from us?

If we search for Him in the dirt and debris we are looking for Him in the wrong place.

God was on those planes that hit the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as much as he was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. He was not the pilot but He was the comforter. When one hand reached out to comfort someone else, He was right there. Whenever people push past thoughts for themselves to think of someone else, He is there.

Many wonder why He didn't just cause the hijackers to suffer a heart attack an spare so many innocent lives. Others wonder why He just didn't stop them from doing it. The truth is in the Bible that God does not interfere with freewill so He would not have just snatched the hijackers out of their seats. Still how do we know He didn't try to get them to change their hearts?

It is natural for us to ask what caused other humans to do such horrible things but we miss the other question about what causes so many to do compassionate things afterwards.

What caused the police and firefighters to rush into the buildings after pure evil struck them? What caused them to climb the stairs over and over again trying to save as many lives as possible after others tried to kill as many as possible?

While the evil that man does is apparent, the good they do is inherent. It was not just public employees risking their lives that day, there were average citizens in the Towers thinking of others instead of their own lives. Some of them could have survived had they used the time they had to think of their own lives, but they had the lives of others in their thoughts and actions. It was God driving them to do for others and they had the freewill choice to allow His voice to guide them or not.

But then there were smaller miracles. Survivors reached out to help others. Strangers took the hands of other strangers, put their arms around people they would have normally just walked past under normal circumstances. Then people rushed to the area to give whatever help they could.

Days passed while more and more people showed up to help find survivors and recover bodies. God was still there hearing the prayers of the nation and comforting the weary as they refused to leave.

Families of the missing were comforted by others while the time of hope faded into thinking of funerals for when the remains were found.

Every street across the country became decorated with flags and so did our cars. We were all thinking of others glued to our TV sets and reminded to be kinder to other people.

Even members of Congress joined together on the steps side by side. And we know it took a miracle to do that.

Whenever we look for God in what has been lost, we miss where He was all along.

The Remarkable Untold Story of the 9/11 Surfer

The Remarkable Untold Story of the 9/11 Surfer
By Hillary Ossip
Mon Sep 10, 2012

Tune in to the premiere of The 9/11 Surfer on Tuesday, September 11 at 8 PM E/P.

The 9/11 Surfer documents what could be the last untold survival story from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. This documentary tells the true story of 9/11 survivor Pasquale Buzzelli, who rode a blizzard of falling debris from a 22nd floor stairwell of the World Trade Center’s North Tower and lived to tell the tale.

The firemen who rescued Mr. Buzzelli shared his remarkable story of survival with the media. However, Mr. Buzzelli did not come forward, and his captivating story became a myth, an urban legend, and an enigma that gave rise to much speculation.
read more here
PTSD After Trauma

Widow of 9-11 Flight 93 pilot passed away

Widow of 9/11 pilot dies 'peacefully'
By THE DENVER POST
May 26, 2012

DENVER — Sandy Dahl, who channeled the tragedy of her husband's death on Sept. 11, 2001, into a powerful campaign to honor his memory, has died.

Dahl, 52, apparently passed away in her sleep, said family friend David Dosch. Dahl's husband, Jason, was the captain of United Flight 93 on 9/11.

She strongly believed Jason fought alongside passengers to keep terrorists from crashing the plane into the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

The plane instead crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania.

The couple lived in the Denver-area dream home Jason was renovating. Sandy moved out following the Sept. 11 attacks, but continued to live in Colorado.

After Jason's death, Dahl became a public face for all grieving 9/11 families.

She founded a scholarship in Jason's honor to provide funding for young pilots to receive their education. And she gradually warmed to public speaking, to make sure the heroism of Jason and many others aboard Flight 93 was not forgotten.

Survivors of 9/11 Remember God's Grace on 10th Anniversary

When you see so much horror and suffering it is hard to see God's love. If you look only at the suffering you just can't see how a loving God would ever allow it to happen in the first place. Yet if you look at the people around you, you can see love coming and then surround you. It all depends on what you're looking for.

How do people manage to rise above their own pain to put others first? How does someone battered and wounded care more for a stranger than they do for themselves? When you are suffering and someone comes to help you, who do you think sent them? When you pray for help from God and a stranger shows up, that is from God's love.

Reporters cover the anger of a riot but they don't cover the hope as people hang onto their dreams and rebuild their businesses and homes. They cover a tragic accident but never cover the funeral when hundreds of people take the time to offer comfort to the families. When they bother to cover war, they report on the deaths but never seem interested in the fact the men and women they served with set their own pain aside to support each other.

After 9-11 this is the picture that took my breath away.

Like most in the world, I was glued to the TV and reading whatever was on the Net but this is the picture that was proof of God's love when these men gently carried this man of God out of the rubble. The compassion they had was not damaged by what happened by the evil acts of others. The compassion the responders had for days piled onto days searching for remains was not weakened by the worst others had to offer. God was there every time someone reached out a hand. He was there every time a stranger showed mercy and He was there to hear the prayers of this nation for the sake of so many suffering and He sent so many to help in His place.

Buried, Burned Survivors of 9/11 Remember God's Grace on 10th Anniversary
By Eryn Sun
Christian Post Reporter

As Americans everywhere prepare for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, two survivors live to testify not to the brutality but the grace extended to them on that frightful day.

Sujo John and Brian Birdwell, though personally unconnected in their lives, share one similarity – September 11.

While John worked in the North Tower of the Twin Towers, Birdwell was employed at the Pentagon when the multiple suicide attacks occurred ten years ago, leaving one critically injured.

Both men, who are reminded daily of their life-changing experience, share another similarity: their remarkable faith in Christ, which to this day continues to grow.

In videos released on I am Second, a website featuring authentic stories meant to inspire people to live for God and for others, John and Birdwell tell their own story of personal struggle, transformation, and hope in honor of the 9/11 anniversary.
read more here

Almost 4,000 still suffering with PTSD after 9-11 in New York

9/11 -- Remembrance and Renewal: Thousands Still Coping with PTSD
(NEW YORK) -- A decade after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, thousands are still feeling the emotional impact.

After 9/11, a unified spirit helped Americans cope.

"There was a real sense of solidarity in the community which I think probably limited the [emotional] damage," says Dr. John Markowitz at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

But there are nearly 4,000 people who are still suffering with 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
read more here

Naval Officer Guilty in 9-11 Fraud

Naval Officer Guilty in 9-11 Fraud
August 30, 2011
Associated Press|by Nedra Pickler

A retired naval officer honored for his valor during the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon was found guilty Monday of defrauding the victims' compensation fund by exaggerating his injuries.

After a three-week trial, a federal court jury found retired Cmdr. Charles Coughlin of Severna Park, Md., guilty of making a false claim and stealing public money after he got $331,034 from the fund set up by Congress after the 2001 attacks. The charges carry maximum penalties of up to 15 years in prison, but prosecutors say they expect to argue for three to four years based on his lack of a criminal record and the nature of the offense when U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentences Coughlin on Nov. 21.

Coughlin's claim said he was in constant pain after being injured twice on Sept. 11, 2001 - first when objects fell on him when a hijacked plane struck the building and later when he went back inside to rescue others and hit his head. But prosecutors said Coughlin, now 52, continued playing lacrosse and ran a marathon after the attacks and lied when he claimed he needed surgery.

The case was not a slam dunk for prosecutors: It took three trials to convict him. Coughlin was first tried in 2009 along with his wife, also accused of making a false claim to the fund in support of her husband's application. The jury found Charles Coughlin not guilty on three mail fraud counts, but couldn't agree on a verdict on four counts against him or the charge against his wife. Afterward jurors said they thought Coughlin was the kind of man who would exercise through pain and seemed credible when testifying that he didn't lie.
read more here

Navy chaplain carries tragic memories of Ground Zero to Afghanistan

Navy chaplain carries tragic memories of Ground Zero to Afghanistan

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story by Cpl. Brian Adam Jones

U.S. Navy Capt. Rondall Brown serves as the command chaplain for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) in Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. In 2001, the chaplain shepherded families through the carnage in Ground Zero that took the lives of their loved ones, offering a first step toward closure. Brown said it was important to him to be in Afghanistan on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, working to eradicate violence in this once terror-stricken region.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - Though he’s spent the past 23 years in the Navy, Rondall Brown’s thick drawl, formed in the Blue Ridge Mountains, distinctly makes its presence known when one word crosses the chaplain’s lips – horror.

Brown’s introduction to horror came 10 years ago and 10,000 miles from here, it came to a lieutenant commander serving as a chaplain for a Coast Guard unit in New England. It came as thousands of innocent Americans lost their lives with a collapse and a cloud of dust.

Brown, who calls the mountains of Haysville, N.C., home spent several weeks in New York’s Ground Zero immediately following 9/11. The chaplain shepherded families through the carnage that took the lives of their loved ones, offering a first step toward closure.

“I remember one lady collapsing and just crying out, ‘Oh my God, my baby, I will never see her again.’ Her husband stood there, big guy, clenched fists, with tears streaming down his face. He never said a word,” Brown spoke with long pauses, successfully repelling waves of persistent tears.

“I apologize,” the chaplain said, running his fingers through his short crop of gray hair. “I’m not normally like this.”

Now far away from the wreckage that changed the world, Brown, a Navy captain, serves in Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, as the command chaplain for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
read more here

Stars and Stripes wants to know: Did you join the military because of 9-11?

Did you join the military in response to the 9/11 attacks?
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 25, 2011

Stars and Stripes: Servicemembers of 9/11
Did you join the U.S. military because of the September 11 attacks?

If so, Stars and Stripes wants to know your story.
go here to fill out form
Did you join the military in response to the 9/11 attacks

9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster

Can there be any doubt left that the people who used September 11 really didn't care? They didn't care about the heroes that day we watched rush to ground zero, stand silently in line as another body had been found any more than they cared about them spending countless hours searching, hoping, praying, covered in toxic dust. They didn't even care that this happened 9 years ago and still these men and women who took no thought of their own lives when they were needed now face no thought over their lives as a result of their actions from the government because some in the GOP only cared when they could use these heroes.


Thursday December 16, 2010
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
9/11 first responders watch as Mitch McConnell cries over a friend's retirement, and Jon Kyl explains why the Senate can't work the week after Christmas. (08:55)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

go here http://www.thedailyshow.com/

They should have never been asked to die like this, to suffer without the help they thought would be there but to have members of congress tell them they just don't deserve the same attention the rich have gotten from them, is too disgraceful to believe.

They were willing to die if a building fell on them. Willing to die trying to save the lives of someone else. To face death because they cared enough to go where others ran away from should have every American in this country screaming at the top of their own lungs that this is clearly wrong!

Congressman Roy Blunt for his vote against the 9/11 First Responders health bill

They can talk all they want about who they care about, who they claim to honor, but their votes are what proves how they really feel. What is happening in Washington DC is a political game and they think they can hide what they are doing to people instead of for them. Look at the bills they vote against and then ask yourself if any of the people who vote against the people of this nation really deserve to be there or not. Look at the GOP votes against veterans, against the unemployed, against small businesses, against the troops and against healthcare insurance they hide under "healthcare" as if it was to stop us from getting it instead of helping us to be able to go to a doctor without having to go deep in debt to stay alive. Look at the commercials playing across the country on how they claim the Democrats have cut Medicare. No one lost benefits. The cut was against waste and fraud, but the GOP run commercials as if they cut off someone's grandparent instead of making Medicare stronger. There used to be a time when people like this would be too ashamed of doing something like this against people who rushed into help after the Towers fell, but this man just doesn't care what the people of this country think. The election is coming soon and we need to know what the hell we're doing with our votes. They think we're stupid. We can either pay attention and prove them wrong or suffer for what we get when it's too late to fix anything.


Navy Veteran, 9/11 Responder, Expresses Disgust with Roy Blunt in Stunning
New Television Ad
By VoteVets.org | Press Release
PUBLISHED: October 14, 2010

NAVY VETERAN, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER, EXPRESSES DISGUST WITH ROY BLUNT IN STUNNING NEW TELEVISION AD

ST LOUIS, MO - Daniel Arrigo, a U.S. Navy veteran who is also one of the now-seriously ill First Responders in Lower Manhattan following 9/11, expresses disgust with Roy Blunt for voting against the 9/11 First Responders bill in Congress, while voting himself a pay raise eight times, in a hard-hitting new television ad running in Missouri on broadcast and cable.
read more here
http://www.votevets.org/news/?id=0378

12 Republicans honor 9-11 responders with Democrats

House rejects bill to aid sick 9/11 responders


By The Associated Press
Friday, July 30th, 2010

As aid bill for sick 9/11 responders fails, court settlement may be workers' only option.

A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts.

The bill would have provided free health care and compensation payments to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers who fell ill after working in the trade center ruins.

It failed to win the needed two-thirds majority, 255-159. The vote was largely along party lines, with 12 Republicans joining Democrats supporting the measure.
read more here
House rejects bill to aid sick 9 11 responders

Rep. Anthony Weiner



But these are the people who forgot what happened 9 years ago and don't want to do anything for the people who were there!


These had the courage to care from the GOP

Yea AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Yea IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
Yea LA-2 Cao, Anh [R]
Yea MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
Yea NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
Yea NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
Yea NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
Yea NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Yea NY-3 King, Peter [R]
Yea NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
Yea PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
Yea PA-18 Murphy, Tim [R]

Vote
But these did not. If your state or congressman is not here, they voted yea.


Alabama
Nay AL-1 Bonner, Jo [R]
Nay AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
Nay AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
Nay AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
Not Voting AL-5 Griffith, Parker [R]
Nay AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]







Arizona
Nay AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
Not Voting AZ-3 Shadegg, John [R]
Nay AZ-6 Flake, Jeff [R]
Not Voting AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]



Arkansas
Nay AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
Nay AR-3 Boozman, John [R]



California
Nay CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
Nay CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
Nay CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
Not Voting CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
Nay CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
Not Voting CA-22 McCarthy, Kevin [R]
Nay CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
Nay CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
Nay CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
Not Voting CA-33 Watson, Diane [D]
Nay CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
Nay CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
Nay CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
Nay CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
Nay CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Nay CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
Nay CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
Nay CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
Nay CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Nay CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]


Colorado
Nay CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
Nay CO-6 Coffman, Mike [R]


Delaware
Nay DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]


Florida
Nay FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
Nay FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
Nay FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
Nay FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
Nay FL-7 Mica, John [R]
Nay FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
Not Voting FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
Nay FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
Nay FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
Nay FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
Nay FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
Nay FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
Nay FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Nay FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
Nay FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]


Georgia
Nay GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
Nay GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
Nay GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
Nay GA-7 Linder, John [R]
Nay GA-9 Graves, Tom [R]
Nay GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
Nay GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]



Hawaii
Nay HI-1 Djou, Charles [R]



Idaho
Nay ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]


Illinois
Nay IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
Nay IL-8 Bean, Melissa [D]
Nay IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
Nay IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
Nay IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
Nay IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
Nay IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]


Indiana
Nay IN-4 Buyer, Stephen [R]
Nay IN-5 Burton, Dan [R]
Nay IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]



Iowa
Nay IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
Nay IA-5 King, Steve [R]


Kansas
Not Voting KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
Nay KS-2 Jenkins, Lynn [R]
Not Voting KS-4 Tiahrt, Todd [R]


Kentucky
Nay KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
Not Voting KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
Nay KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
Nay KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]



Louisiana
Nay LA-1 Scalise, Steve [R]
Nay LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
Nay LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
Nay LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
Nay LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]


Maryland
Nay MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]




Michigan
Not Voting MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
Nay MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
Nay MI-4 Camp, David [R]
Nay MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
Nay MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
Nay MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
Not Voting MI-13 Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Not Voting MI-14 Conyers, John [D]



Minnesota
Nay MN-2 Kline, John [R]
Nay MN-3 Paulsen, Erik [R]
Nay MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]



Mississippi
Nay MS-3 Harper, Gregg [R]



Missouri
Not Voting MO-1 Clay, William [D]
Not Voting MO-2 Akin, W. [R]
Nay MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
Nay MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
Nay MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
Nay MO-9 Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R]


Montana
Nay MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]


Nebraska
Nay NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
Nay NE-2 Terry, Lee [R]
Nay NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]


Nevada
Nay NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]



New Jersey
Nay NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]







New York
Nay NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]



North Carolina
Nay NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
Nay NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
Nay NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
Nay NC-10 McHenry, Patrick [R]
Not Voting NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]



Ohio
Nay OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
Nay OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
Nay OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
Nay OH-5 Latta, Robert [R]
Nay OH-7 Austria, Steve [R]
Nay OH-8 Boehner, John [R]
Nay OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Nay OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]



Oklahoma
Nay OK-1 Sullivan, John [R]
Nay OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
Nay OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
Nay OK-5 Fallin, Mary [R]


Oregon
Nay OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]


Pennsylvania
Nay PA-5 Thompson, Glenn [R]
Nay PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
Nay PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
Not Voting PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
Nay PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
Nay PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]

South Carolina
Nay SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
Nay SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
Nay SC-3 Barrett, James [R]
Nay SC-4 Inglis, Bob [R]



Tennessee
Nay TN-1 Roe, Phil [R]
Nay TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Not Voting TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
Nay TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Nay TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]



Texas
Nay TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
Nay TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
Nay TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
Nay TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
Nay TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
Nay TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Nay TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Nay TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
Nay TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Nay TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
Nay TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
Nay TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
Nay TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
Nay TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
Nay TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Nay TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
Nay TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
Nay TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
Nay TX-31 Carter, John [R]
Nay TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]


Utah
Nay UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
Nay UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]




Virginia
Nay VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
Nay VA-4 Forbes, J. [R]
Nay VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Nay VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
Nay VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]



Washington
Nay WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
Nay WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
Nay WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]


West Virginia
Nay WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]


Wisconsin
Nay WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
Nay WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
Nay WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]

Wyoming
Nay WY-0 Lummis, Cynthia [R]
here's the link

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2010-491

Events to honor 3-star killed on 9/11

Jacqueline Roggenbrodt / The Associated Press Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment soldiers carry the casket of Army Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude during his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 6, 2001. Maude, 53, a three-star general and the Army's deputy chief of staff of personnel, was the highest-ranking casualty of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Events to honor 3-star killed on 9/11

Staff report
Posted : Thursday Apr 1, 2010 16:10:28 EDT

Two coming events will honor the memory and legacy of Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude, the former Army personnel chief who was the highest-ranking service member killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

On April 30, the Potomac Chapter of the Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association will host the ninth annual Maude Foundation Golf Tournament at The Courses, Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

The popular tournament raises funds for cadets enrolled in the Green to Gold Reserve Officer Training Corps program, and the Maude Leadership Lecture Series at the Soldier Support Center, Fort Jackson, S.C.

read more here

Events to honor 3-star killed on 9 11

Why has Hamid Karzai forgotten 9-11?

It seems as if Karzai has forgotten how he ended up in power in the first place. Had the US not been attacked on 9-11, there would have been no invasion, no elections and Karzai would have no chance to be leader of Afghanistan. How many lives has the US and Coalition forces laid down to respond to the attacks and secure Afghanistan? How many sacrificed their lives while trying to do some good in Afghanistan? How many will need to be taken care of for the rest of their lives after they were wounded in his country? Does this man have a clue what this has cost the American people with all these years since 2001? How dare he get angry over the capture of someone responsible for what others have had to pay for what he now enjoys!

Karzai ‘Very Angry’ Over Taliban Arrest
March 16, 2010
Associated Press
KABUL -- The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.

The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar -- second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar -- has raised new questions about whether the U.S. is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harbored the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

Karzai "was very angry" when he heard that the Pakistanis had picked up Baradar with an assist from U.S. intelligence, the adviser said. Besides the ongoing talks, he said Baradar had "given a green light" to participating in a three-day peace jirga that Karzai is hosting next month.

The adviser, who had knowledge of the peace talks, spoke on condition of anonymity because of their sensitivity. Other Afghan officials, including Abdul Ali Shamsi, security adviser to the governor of Helmand province, also confirmed talks between Baradar and the Afghan government. Several media reports have suggested that Baradar had been in touch with Karzai representatives, but these are the first details to emerge from the discussions.
read more here
Karzai Very Angry Over Taliban Arrest

Navy Veteran on Trial for Fraud In Disputed Sept. 11 Compensation

Navy Veteran on Trial for Fraud In Disputed Sept. 11 Compensation
Washington Post - United States

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 11, 2009; Page B08

Charles E. Coughlin is either a hero or a crook, according to two portraits of the former Navy commander that emerged yesterday at his trial on charges that he lied about injuries he suffered Sept. 11, 2001, to collect tens of thousands of dollars from a victim's compensation fund.

Coughlin, 49, of Severna Park was indicted in October on charges of mail fraud, theft of public money and filing false claims in the scheme. Coughlin's wife, Sabrina, 47, is also on trial, charged with stealing government property.
click link for more

Sept. 11 responder gets help at University Community Hospital

Sept. 11 responder gets help at University Community Hospital
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg,FL,USA

By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
TAMPA — The Bronx cop was watching the morning news when United Airlines flight 175 exploded into the second tower of the World Trade Center.

"I have to go," Ivan Castrillo told his wife.

The police van headed into ground zero. The tower had just collapsed. Papers rained from the sky. Survivors wandered, dazed.

"It's like you left a city as you knew it," Castrillo remembers, "and entered a different world."

An eerie quiet blanketed lower Manhattan, along with a blizzard of grey ash — a cocktail of cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, pesticides, lead and other dangerous material.

Castrillo breathed it in.

So did more than 91,000 others. In 2001, they had no idea of what it would do to their bodies.

A Tampa Bay area hospital is now part of a national effort to assess and treat the damage.
click link for more

Aftermath of 9-11 leaves PTSD legacy

A few hours on one September morning shattered the city of New York, the state and the entire nation. One morning. We read about what happened that day along with what came after with PTSD cases, illnesses and yes, even suicide cases. We read about broken families. Why is it so easy for us to understand what came after 9-11 when we cannot seem to find the same level of understanding when it comes to the police officers the rest of time on duty, the firefighters the rest of their time on duty or the emergency responders the rest of their time on duty? Where is this understanding when National Guardsmen come home or the troops, or the veterans years after they were exposed to traumatic events over and over and over again?

Let that sink in a moment then read the following.

Ground Zero workers 'six times more likely to be stressed'
InTheNews.co.uk - London,UK
Monday, 02 Feb 2009 08:02
Workers at Ground Zero six times more likely to suffer from serious stress disorders, study shows Printer friendly version Ironworkers at Ground Zero are almost six times more likely to suffer from serious stress disorders than the general public, a new study showed today.

Research published today revealed that 18.5 ironworkers situated at the ruins of the World Trade Centre suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In comparison, the national average in the United States is 3.5 per cent.

Of the study's 124 participants – all of whom attended the World Trade Centre mental health screening programme in New York City between 14 and 17 months after the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks – 60 per cent displayed symptoms of psychiatric disorders.

As well as establishing a causal link between PTSD and working at Ground Zero, researchers, publishing their study in Psychiatric Bulletin, revealed near double rates of anxiety and panic attacks among participants. click link for more

Here you have us in the year 2009 but we're still talking about what happened that one morning on September 11, 2001. We still want to hear about the police officers, firefighters, the survivors and what happened to family members. We find it so easy to look at how their lives changed from this one morning but we don't want to look at how the lives change of those we send into combat or their families.

As bad as that is, yesterday I posted about how to normalize PTSD when it comes to the troops and veterans. That's because PTSD is a human wound caused by traumatic events, like this one morning in September. We need to help the troops and veterans let this sink into their own brains. New York experienced the horrific images of carnage but the troops and veterans experience this type of event over and over again. They cannot understand that sooner or later it does get to them simply because they are still human despite all the training, planing and equipping they receive. No matter how hard the military may try, they cannot prevent the men and women serving from being human. PTSD cannot be prevented unless somehow someone manages to stop all crime, stop all natural disasters, stop all fires and stop all wars.

As much as we claim to value the troops and the veterans this one fact is what makes them just like the rest of us and it's about time someone got the message thru to them that they are in fact still humans and they suffer like any other human. They need help like any other human. Would they think the people that responded to ground zero are weak or would they understand? Would they think the firefighters and police officers rushing to the Twin Towers were cowards because they didn't walk away the same as they rushed in or would they admire their courage in the first place? Then why can't they let those facts translate into what they go through? Why can't we make sure they look at themselves as a human first and a warrior second?