9/11 Commission and New York's Finest

[Bake]

I may be coming to this late, but I just saw this on CNN ...

It appears that the NYPD and NYFD came under some harsh criticism for the response on 9/11. I don't know about anybody else, but this is just almost blasphemy to me, and I have a big lump in my throat as I type this. Were the radio systems perfect? Was the command system perfect? Probably not.

But I cannot sit here -- in Jackson, Mississippi! -- and stomach any criticism of the firefighters and police who gave TRULY the "last full measure" of their hearts and lives to save as many lives as possible on that terrible day. The Commission wanted to know who was in charge? Rudy Giuliani may have been a Republican on 9/10, and Lord knows he's a Republican today, but on 9/11 he was THERE. A New Yorker. An American. Tireless. In charge. He stood tall when the fucking Chimp Boy King was running like a deer! And New York's finest stood with him, and they gave their all. Nobody ran that day, not in that city.

Can the system be improved? Sure. And it should, and must be improved. But nobody on the municipal level could have possibly been prepared, totally prepared on that terrible day. The only way they could have been prepared would have been for this traitorous criminal misAdministration to warn them that "we know it's coming, but we're going to let it happen anyway."

My daughter was in NY that day, just a few blocks from the Towers. I thank God each and every day for the firefighters, NYPD, and Port Police officers, for every emergency worker, and indeed for the mayor that day, who saved so many lives, and who to this day, I am convinced, kept my terrified little girl safe that day, and the days that followed.

I will brook no criticism of the brave men and women who served New York so selflessly in those awful days. None. Not the firefighters, not the police, not the mayor. And I say, shame on the commission members who so harshly criticized the NYPD, NYFD, et al. Shame on you. How many lives did YOU save that day?

I usually sign my posts as Bake. Tonight, I'll sign my name to this one.

David A. Baker

[Stephanie]

1. I don't think the Commission was harsh with them

From what I heard, and I didn't hear it all, it was a pretty practical sort of Q&A. It was about logistics and systems. As a New Yorker I fully endorse your sentiments about NYPD/NYFD/PA etc., and I even second you on Giuliani - but I didn't feel anyone was under attack today. I felt like it was more of an analysis. Systems did fail that day. The radios didn't work, there was poor coordination between departments. There were questions asked today about how much of a heads-up the city got from the Feds, with regard to Al Queda. It turns out, not much. What they knew they gleaned for themselves. I thought it was useful. I didn't hear all of it. You should look at the transcript and judge for yourself.

~S

[Bake]

2. Some of it seemed unduly harsh.

And I can only imagine what it would have been like in other cities, and I could name a few! Did the radios work perfectly? Obviously not. But under the circumstances, I am convinced that NYC responded waaaaaaay "above and beyond." Where technology and systems broke down, PEOPLE overcame.

Bake

[Stephanie]

3. Yes but the radios are still not fixed

The organizational problems are not all fixed. We are underfunded. I didn't hear it all so I believe you if they were too harsh, but I think it's right to ask the questions. We are still vulnerable here.

[Bake]

4. I don't doubt that there are still organizational problems.

It might be easier to fix them if our "President" didn't nickel and dime NYC to death. What I would give to be in NYC for the Puke National Convention!

Bake

[JSJ]

5. It may be pure rumour but....

...I had heard that in the immediate aftermath of the towers' collapse, cops and firefighters were scrambling and competing with each other to see how much loot they could expropriate from the site. In fact, I had read how some fire personel had loaded up a vehicle with new levi jeans from a clothing store- and were subsequently discovered in the act. Will try to find a link for that.