Progressive Wednesday

This Wednesday: May We Never Forget

Problem:

Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Like nearly every American that day too far away to help, I sat glued to Peter Jennings' and Tom Brokaw's continuous broadcasts of that day's horrifying attacks well into the night, until weariness finally took hold.

As a nation, we swore that day never to forget the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings. We swore that we would honor their sacrifice by taking care of the families of those killed, by focusing our military and foreign policy on finding those responsible and preventing them from causing further harm to our country, and by providing the best medical care to those who were injured, both physically and psychologically, on that worst of days.

We have not done that–at least not to the extent that we should.

Make Progress:

Six years later there are still people suffering from the effects of the collapsing towers, Osama bin Laden has not been “smoked out– as promised, and others responsible are regaining strength in Afghanistan while our forces are tied up in Iraq, a war that was sold to the American people partly with a fabricated connection between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of September 11th.

Fortunately, there are still ways in which we, as individuals, can help. Here's how.

• Mail
• Sign
• Call

.

Mail:

As I'm quite sure you know, Osama bin Laden, well, he's still out there: not because of our service men and women, not because they don't want to hunt him down and catch him, but because our federal government has let us down, focusing the bulk of our military and (in all likelihood) intelligence agencies on Iraq and its surrounding countries.

At Progressive Wednesday, we believe there is, not only a strategic need to capture the maniac behind 9/11, but a moral obligation as well. In other words, we owe it to all Americans living and all Americans who died six years ago yesterday to find him.

So, we're asking that you ship this letter, or some variation if it, to your local newspaper.

Dear Editor:

The sixth anniversary of September 11 has come and passed, and as I'm sure all readers of this newspaper know, Osama bin Laden, the maniac behind that horrific day, remains free.

I believe there is, not only a strategic need to capture this man, but a moral obligation as well. We owe it to all Americans living and to all Americans who died six years ago yesterday to capture bin Laden.

What can we do? We can call our Senators and Representatives in Congress to do what's right: demand that the executive branch redouble its efforts to hunt down bin Laden, bringing at least some sense of justice to the victims of 9/11.

Sincerely,

.

Sign:

For nearly six years the official death toll at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was 2,749. More than half a decade later, that number has started to climb. According to CNN.com:

The death of U.S. Department of Education attorney Felicia Dunn-Jones, 42, five months after she became trapped in dust caused by the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower, is now being considered a homicide and her name has been added to the official list of World Trade Center victims.

There have been a few local efforts in New York and New Jersey to help people who are suffering as Ms. Dunn-Jones did. In September 2003, the World Trade Center Health Registry was created to obtain as much information as possible about the health of those who were in lower Manhattan when the towers came down, especially those valiant souls who were digging for days in the rubble. 30,000 have already signed up and regularly give updates to their condition so that health professionals can get a clearer picture of the consequences of exposure as well as what to do about it. (If you were there and haven't registered, you can do so here.)

Still, while the Federal Government has falsely used the September 11th attacks to sell a war in Iraq that has cost Americans nearly half a trillion bucks, not a single Jefferson, neither coin nor paper (he's on the two-dollar bill), has been spent to help the estimated 150,000 rescuers and civilians who may have need of medical attention due to the effects of toxins released when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

Here is a petition, sponsored by 9/11 Environmental Action, urging the President and Health and Human Services Secretary, Michael O. Leavitt to:

Create a federally funded program to screen, track and treat 9/11-related illnesses for all those who lived, worked and attended school in Lower Manhattan and other affected neighborhoods.

James Zadroga, 34, was the most recent to die due to toxic dust. Please take a minute, no, 30 seconds, to add your name to the list, or, as James father said, “They’re going to be adding to that (WTC Memorial) wall for the next 20 years.–

Photo credit goes here.

Call:

Now that you've signed the petition, your voice has been heard with the masses. Now I'll ask you to make it heard by itself. Last week, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY) took the first step toward providing that health care to those still affected by Ground Zero toxins. According to their press release, the bill would do the following:

• Ensure that everyone exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero has a right to be medically monitored and anyone who is sick as a result has a right to treatment.
• Expand care to the whole exposed community, including residents, area workers and students, and to the thousands of people who came from across the country to respond to the 9/11 attacks.
• Provide compensation for economic damages and losses by reopening the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
• Build on the expertise of the Centers of Excellence, which are providing high-quality health care to thousands of responders.
• Require the federal government to collect data about and research the extent and severity of WTC-related illnesses.
• Establish and fund Coordinating Centers of Excellence to collect and analyze data, coordinate outreach, and develop medical monitoring and treatment protocols.
• Require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct or support research, diagnose, and treat WTC-related conditions.

If you don't think that the United States government should provide these medical benefits for those who were there, whose lives were in danger, who spent weeks digging through the debris at Ground Zero, all while breathing in toxic fumes, then, well… do nothing.

But if, like us, you think that the government has a responsibility to protect its people from terrorism, whether the danger is immediate or long term, please call your congressperson and tell them to support the Maloney-Nadler-Fossella 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. You can find their contact information here.

Oh, and here's some help, in case you need it. It can be a bit nerve-racking to call your Representative.

• I'm a voter from [name your state], and I am calling to voice my strong support for the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The United States has an obligation to help all of those who risked their lives helping others on September 11th and in the days following. If Congressman/woman [last name] wants my support in future elections, [he or she] must support this legislation. Thank you for your time.

Photo credit goes here.