Beverly Eckert Writes About Her Passion - Finding the Truth About 9/11
Sunday, February 15, 2009
All who read the news or listen to CNN by now know of a very special person who died in the plane crash in Buffalo last week. Her name was Beverly Eckert. Her husband was killed on that fateful morning when the planes hit the twin towers and within 2 hours, they both collapsed. Shortly after, she filed a suit rather than to accept a payoff from the 9/11 victims compensation fund. Since then, she has been fighting for her cause. Below is her story, published in USA today on December 19, 2003. I find it very interesting reading, and I hope it will bring a little more insite to this special woman who fought for her beliefs. Now that she is gone, and now that President Obama has been briefed on what the Federal Government actually knows about 9/11, will the real truth be ever known. President Obama openly admits 'transparancey' will be the law on his watch, but until we really know, read this special story below by Beverly Eckert......
Published on Friday, December 19, 2003 by the USA Today |
My Silence Cannot Be Bought |
by Beverly Eckert |
| I've chosen to go to court rather than accept a payoff from the 9/11 victims compensation fund. Instead, I want to know what went so wrong with our intelligence and security systems that a band of religious fanatics was able to turn four U.S passenger jets into an enemy force, attack our cities and kill 3,000 civilians with terrifying ease. I want to know why two 110-story skyscrapers collapsed in less than two hours and why escape and rescue options were so limited. I am suing because unlike other investigative avenues, including congressional hearings and the 9/11 commission, my lawsuit requires all testimony be given under oath and fully uses powers to compel evidence. The victims fund was not created in a spirit of compassion. Rather, it was a tacit acknowledgement by Congress that it tampered with our civil justice system in an unprecedented way. Lawmakers capped the liability of the airlines at the behest of lobbyists who descended on Washington while the Sept. 11 fires still smoldered. And this liability cap protects not just the airlines, but also World Trade Center builders, safety engineers and other defendants. The caps on liability have consequences for those who want to sue to shed light on the mistakes of 9/11. It means the playing field is tilted steeply in favor of those who need to be held accountable. With the financial consequences other than insurance proceeds removed, there is no incentive for those whose negligence contributed to the death toll to acknowledge their failings or implement reforms. They can afford to deny culpability and play a waiting game. By suing, I've forfeited the "$1.8 million average award" for a death claim I could have collected under the fund. Nor do I have any illusions about winning money in my suit. What I do know is I owe it to my husband, whose death I believe could have been avoided, to see that all of those responsible are held accountable. If we don't get answers to what went wrong, there will be a next time. And instead of 3,000 dead, it will be 10,000. What will Congress do then? So I say to Congress, big business and everyone who conspired to divert attention from government and private-sector failures: My husband's life was priceless, and I will not let his death be meaningless. My silence cannot be bought. Beverly Eckert, whose husband died at the World Trade Center, is the founder of Voices of September 11th, a victims advocacy group. © Copyright 2003 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. |
Move Over Joe the Plumber: Meet "Julio the Fry-Guy"
Saturday, February 14, 2009
President Barack Obama seems to have a way of turning people who ask him questions into overnight internet sensations.
First was Samuel Wurzlebacher - A.K.A. Joe the Plumber - who became a fixture of conservative politics after he asked then-Senator Obama how his tax plan would effect people like Joe, who said he was contemplating buying a business. Since then, Joe appeared on the campaign trail with John McCain, traveled to Israel as a war correspondent for a right-wing news outlet, wrote a book, addressed Congressional Republicans and their staffs, and now, is considering a bid for Congress himself. He additionally took the opportunity to repeatedly slam not only Obama (whom he labeled a “socialist”), but also John McCain, the media, liberals, and just about everybody in the world except Sarah Palin and anyone who falls to her right on the political spectrum. Of his pending Congressional campaign, Joe made this gem of a statement: “I don’t know if the American public deserves me.”
Julio Osegueda, it’s your turn.
Osegueda, a part-time student and McDonald’s employee, attended a town hall meeting with the President in Florida on Tuesday about the economic stimulus plan, and was called on to ask the final question of the day. I’ll let the video tell you the rest:
You have to admire Osegueda, if for no other reason than his incredible enthusiasm and graciousness.
The primary reason Joe (Sam) the (unlicensed) Plumber become the media sensation that he did was because of the perception that Wurzlebacher represented mainstream America. And to be fair, there are some elements of old Samuel that are shared by many across this country. Namely, he was worried about how much money is going to be taken out of his paycheck every month.
But here’s the big difference: Joe the Plumber is a pompous, obnoxious, know-it-all. He’s an expert on nothing who nonetheless pontificates his opinions on everything. He’s an opportunist, a hypocrite who thinks that although he deserves a bailout for tax liens assessed against him for his failure to pay (a radio station raised money to not only pay his taxes for him, but also pay for the plumbing license he didn’t have), he doesn’t think you deserve a dime of government assistance, no matter how bad your situation may be.
Contrast that to Julio the Fry-Guy. Julio is working to make himself- and by extension, the American workforce- stronger, more competitive, and more able to contribute to the economy of this country. He’s working hard in a job that pays little, and spending time bettering his education at a local state university. He was there at the forum to educate himself on the issues facing this country, and let’s be honest: I’d estimate that by attending that town hall, he’s done more to educate himself about the stimulus bill than 50% of the voting public. To top it off, he was incredibly positive and gracious. He didn’t slam Republicans, and I hope he doesn’t.
Of course, that didn’t stop the right from slamming him. Rush Limbaugh mocked him: “I don’t know how the guy got in college.” Keep in mind, Limbaugh failed out of Southeast Missouri State and never went back.
Already, Julio has gotten a call from a minor league baseball team asking him to help do color commentary on their opening day program. The communications major jumped at the opportunity, again, to jeers from the right. They seem to forget everything that Joe (Sam) the (unlicensed) Plumber is doing now that he otherwise wouldn’t be.
All in all, while Joe the Plumber might have represented what America once was, Julio represents what it should be. He represents the American dream, that anyone- if they work hard enough- can advance by doing their job, going to school, and reaching for the stars. But all along the way, he should never have to worry about being sidetracked en route to his goals because he can’t afford health insurance or because banks offer him sneaky loan packages and foreclose on his home.
Do your thing, Julio. Work hard, and inspire other people along the way. And when you have a minute, maybe you could give old Joe (Sam) the (unlicensed) Plumber a few tips on humility. Read more...
President Barack Obama seems to have a way of turning people who ask him questions into overnight internet sensations. First was Samuel Wurzlebacher - A.K.A. Joe the Plumber - who became a fixture of conservative politics after he asked then-Senator Obama how his tax plan would effect people like Joe, who said he was contemplating buying a business. Since then, Joe appeared on the campaign trail with John McCain, traveled to Israel as a war correspondent for a right-wing news outlet, wrote a book, addressed Congressional Republicans and their staffs, and now, is considering a bid for Congress himself. He additionally took the opportunity to repeatedly slam not only Obama (whom he labeled a “socialist”), but also John McCain, the media, liberals, and just about everybody in the world except Sarah Palin and anyone who falls to her right on the political spectrum. Of his pending Congressional campaign, Joe made this gem of a statement: “I don’t know if the American public deserves me.”
Julio Osegueda, it’s your turn.
Osegueda, a part-time student and McDonald’s employee, attended a town hall meeting with the President in Florida on Tuesday about the economic stimulus plan, and was called on to ask the final question of the day. I’ll let the video tell you the rest:
Obama says stimulus is 'major milestone on our road to recovery'; GOP's Murkowski says it's not
President Obama uses his weekly video/radio address to hail the late Friday passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus package that he and his fellow Democrats supported. And he says of the economic challenge the nation faces that:
"America, we will prove equal to this task. It will take time, and it will take effort, but working together, we will turn this crisis into opportunity and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future. After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men and women of this nation, I have never been more certain of that."
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivers the weekly Republican address.
She says that:
"Democrats, it seems, settled on a random dollar amount in the neighborhood of $1 trillion and then set out to fill the bucket. Republicans, on the other hand, thought that we should figure out what was at the root of the problem, and then see how much it would cost to fix."
Read more...
Stimulus Aims to Pump Life Into US Economy
13 February 2009
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
American lawmakers agreed this week on an economic recovery plan. Negotiators got it below seven hundred ninety billion dollars. They cut tens of billions from versions in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The compromise measure needed final passage in Congress for President Barack Obama to get his wish to have it by Monday to sign into law.
 |
| House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a news conference Friday after the House passed the final version of the economic stimulus bill |
The economic recovery plan is the largest since President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression in the nineteen thirties.
Republicans continued to criticize Democrats for not including more tax cuts. They say the plan contains wasteful spending that will do little to create jobs and will leave mountains of debt for future generations.
The Senate passed its version this week with just three Republican votes. There was no Republican support in the House, even for the final bill approved Friday.
On Thursday, President Obama said his plan will save or create more than three and a half million jobs over the next two years. To what extent that goal will be met is not clear. But that is the number of jobs lost since the recession began in December of two thousand seven. Unemployment has reached seven and six-tenths percent, the highest rate since nineteen ninety-two.
The president spoke in Illinois to workers at Caterpillar. The maker of earth moving equipment recently announced twenty-two thousand job cuts.
The president told the workers that the head of the company said the stimulus plan could save some of those jobs. Chief executive Jim Owens later told reporters, however, that even more jobs may go.
President Obama returned to his home state of Illinois to celebrate the two hundredth birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. But while he was away from Washington, his nominee for secretary of commerce announced that he was withdrawing.
The president nominated Judd Gregg, a senator from New Hampshire, last week to be the third Republican in his cabinet. But Senator Gregg said he had differences with the Democratic administration on policy issues including the stimulus plan.
An earlier choice for commerce secretary, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, withdrew because of a legal investigation. Two other Obama nominees withdrew over tax issues.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said it became clear that Senator Gregg was not going to support some of the president's economic aims. He said the senator offered his name for the job and "We regret that he has had a change of heart."
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember. Read more...
Stimulus Aims to Pump Life Into US Economy
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
American lawmakers agreed this week on an economic recovery plan. Negotiators got it below seven hundred ninety billion dollars. They cut tens of billions from versions in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The compromise measure needed final passage in Congress for President Barack Obama to get his wish to have it by Monday to sign into law.
|
| House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a news conference Friday after the House passed the final version of the economic stimulus bill |
The economic recovery plan is the largest since President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression in the nineteen thirties.
Republicans continued to criticize Democrats for not including more tax cuts. They say the plan contains wasteful spending that will do little to create jobs and will leave mountains of debt for future generations.
The Senate passed its version this week with just three Republican votes. There was no Republican support in the House, even for the final bill approved Friday.
On Thursday, President Obama said his plan will save or create more than three and a half million jobs over the next two years. To what extent that goal will be met is not clear. But that is the number of jobs lost since the recession began in December of two thousand seven. Unemployment has reached seven and six-tenths percent, the highest rate since nineteen ninety-two.
The president spoke in Illinois to workers at Caterpillar. The maker of earth moving equipment recently announced twenty-two thousand job cuts.
The president told the workers that the head of the company said the stimulus plan could save some of those jobs. Chief executive Jim Owens later told reporters, however, that even more jobs may go.
President Obama returned to his home state of Illinois to celebrate the two hundredth birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. But while he was away from Washington, his nominee for secretary of commerce announced that he was withdrawing.
The president nominated Judd Gregg, a senator from New Hampshire, last week to be the third Republican in his cabinet. But Senator Gregg said he had differences with the Democratic administration on policy issues including the stimulus plan.
An earlier choice for commerce secretary, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, withdrew because of a legal investigation. Two other Obama nominees withdrew over tax issues.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said it became clear that Senator Gregg was not going to support some of the president's economic aims. He said the senator offered his name for the job and "We regret that he has had a change of heart."
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.
Read more...
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