The Years We Wasted

Mark Steyn; September 11, 2021

"There are honorable ways to lose a war. This was not one of them. We have dishonored the dead of 9/11 and insulted their sacrifice."

. . . "We shall not resume our anniversary observances today. The war is lost, at home and abroad. On the domestic front, we doubled the rate of Muslim immigration to the west and began assimilating ourselves with Islam's strictures on freedom of expression and the like. The decade-and-a-half since the Danish Mohammed cartoons has been one long remorseless surrender on core western liberties. When a school teacher gets beheaded in the street, there is no outrage at the act, just a mild regret that he should have been foolish enough to provoke his own fate. Even the milder jests from the immediate post-9/11 era - the cartoon of the woman trying on new burqas in the changing room and wondering, "Does my bomb look big in this?" - would not be published today:

"In the broader society, our rulers quickly determined that it was easier to punish us than our enemies. The post-9/11 security state surely helped soften up western populations for the Chi-Com-19 lockdowns, in which entire nations have been reduced to TSA-administered airports.

"As for the war overseas, it ended with a military that can do everything except win handing the keys to Afghanistan back to the guys who pulled off 9/11 - and apologizing for the two-decade inconvenience by gifting the mullahs with some of the most expensive infrastructure on the planet plus an air force, approximately five assault rifles for every Taliban fighter, and express check-in for the forty-seven per cent of the Afghan population that apparently served as US translators.

"The position of the United States is far weaker than it was twenty years ago. Around the planet, the assumption of friends and enemies alike is that the American moment is over and the future belongs elsewhere. They are making their dispositions accordingly. It is not a question of wishing "the post-American world", but of accepting the known facts.". . . 

Police seek woman in Larry Elder attack as his supporters claim a double standard

 "When a male aide confronted the woman who threw the egg and missed, she slapped him in the face."

Yahoo   "As the Los Angeles police investigators try to identify a woman wearing a gorilla mask who threw an egg at Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder in Venice, some of the talk show host's supporters are complaining that the Wednesday incident that forced Elder to cut his campaigning short is not generating more outrage.

"The gorilla mask prompted conservative commentators to suggest that the incident was racially motivated, given the white supremacist history of dehumanizing Black people with ape imagery.

"Two law enforcement sources told The Times on Friday that the department was working the case as a misdemeanor battery because the woman gave no indication she was moved by hate in a video taken at the scene. But they stressed that no decision will be made until she's identified and police get more details about what happened."

According to a police statement: "As the aide and Mr. Elder continue walking to their vehicle, the aide was approached by a male, white, bald, wearing a grey t-shirt yelling profanities at him, who struck him in the back of the head. During that altercation, an unknown individual approached the aide from the side and struck him in the face.”

VIDEO – Veterans, Educators, and Parents Stand Against Race-Shaming and Other ‘Critical Race’ Tactics

 Legal Insurrection

Video of our May 23 event. Asra Nomani: “What we are facing right now is a battle for the future of America. It is a national security battle. It is a battle for the hearts and souls of our children. And it is a battle for our own personal lives. It is very existential. And I want everybody to really feel the magnitude of what this moment is that we are in.”  

. . . "And we’re here to present an alternative view that may not be necessarily heard in Barrington or in Rhode Island or nationally, but is extremely, extremely important. There are a lot of parents’ groups rising up against what is loosely called Critical Race Theory, and there are different variations. And we’ll talk about that tonight. But one thing I want to emphasize to everybody is this is not a partisan issue. This is not Republicans versus Democrats. It’s not left versus right. This is what’s in the best interest of the children and what’s in the best interest of the country…"

In September 2020, our concerns are realized. A BLM banner was hoisted over our Memorial, and it was to grace our townhall skyline for the next five months. Subsequently, the town council shot down several Barrington United Veterans Council requests for compromises, from allowing us to move the flagpole or to move the monument itself…

9/11 - 20 Years Later

 

Stilton's Place: 9/11 - 20 Years Later (stiltonsplace.blogspot.com)

9/11 JUMPERS is a video which was quickly banned by the American and international media  Some on the American left - the "intelligentsia" - felt those victims deserved their fate, calling them "Little Eichmanns".

Remembering 9/11 and Biden's debacle - American Thinker  . . . "America is twenty years post 9/11 — twenty years in Afghanistan, over two thousand military personnel dead, and billions of United States dollars spent.  What did America get in exchange?  Nothing!  Now President Biden, incomprehensibly, after his ignominious retreat from Afghanistan with Americans and allies abandoned behind enemy lines, is talking about our Afghanistan partners.  Something is terribly wrong with this picture.  Whether traitorous or just plain corrupt, Biden has betrayed twenty years of sacrifice, the dead and maimed sacrificed for nothing, taxpayer billions up in smoke, and billions more in cash and weapons in enemy hands."

9/11, Twenty Years Later - Brian Stewart, Commentary Magazine  A new book highlights the enduring failure of liberalism’s approach to terrorism

Afghan Fallout: Biden Blows Up His Entire Case For Being President

Tony Branco

 Issues & Insights  "For most of the past week, in the fires of the worst foreign policy crisis of his young administration, the president who won the White House on a promise of competence and compassion has had trouble demonstrating much of either.”

"That’s not us saying that. This is how the New York Times described the Afghanistan debacle, which is as sure a sign as any of how much trouble President Joe Biden is in right now.

"But we’d go further than the Times. Biden’s backers – and Biden himself – didn’t just portray Joe as competent and empathetic. They said he was experienced, thoughtful, trustworthy, and had sound judgment. That he’d unite the country, and restore America’s standing in the world. That he was, unlike Donald Trump, presidential. It was the basis of Biden’s entire presidential campaign, in fact.

"As a reminder, here’s what 70 so-called Republican national security officials said when endorsing Biden in August 2020: “We believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation. We believe he will restore the dignity of the presidency, bring Americans together, reassert America’s role as a global leader, and inspire our nation to live up to its ideals.”

"Who can say any of that now with a straight face?". . .  Looks like Bruce the Boss can:

Lessons We Didn’t Learn from What We Were Forbidden to Say ›

  American Greatness

Twenty years after the jihadist terrorist attacks that redefined our country and triggered a global techno-security system with endless mission creep, we hand our security to the Taliban and China? 

"America has not learned the lessons of 9/11. The lessons were lost as they were being

learned. 

"Foreign pressure on political leaders in Washington, intellectual laziness or dishonesty in the intelligence community, and political correctness-turned-wokeness made it so.

"American society repeated those unlearned lessons as the global pandemic spread from China.

"The unlearned lesson goes like this: Trust your instincts about who was responsible for crimes perpetrated against you. Ask tough questions to find out who was behind them, and ruthlessly hold those top enablers accountable. Suspect those who deny the obvious and who discourage honest inquiry. Resist those who abuse their authority and erode constitutional rights in a misguided quest for “security” and “safety.” If you see something, say something loudly and ceaselessly.

"In both man-made cataclysms, powerful foreign interests imposed extraordinary pressure to prevent the American public from demanding that the obvious funders and state sponsors be held accountable. 

"Those “America Last” interests imposed forms of censorship and self-censorship. They did it to prevent the people from asking unwelcome questions and discussing inconvenient truths.

"The Trump Administration showed uncommon courage in stomping the establishmentarianism of both political parties by holding the Chinese Communist Party responsible for the pandemic. But it was stomped on in return—not by the Chinese regime as much as the president’s political opponents at home. Within months (and sometimes within days, as a chronology of the narratives proves), American leaders in journalism, politics, health, and science began echoing the Chinese party line. ". . . 

You said you wouldn't forget — but you do over and over again -

 American Thinker  . . . "You forgot why you were in Afghanistan in the first place because you are back to square one.  The danger that brought you to Afghanistan has resurrected itself.  Sure, the Taliban will prevent al-Qaeda and ISIS from reforming, and they have no interlocking relationships.  If you believe that, you are as ignorant and senile as President Joseph Biden.   

"You forgot in your colleges and universities that teach nothing about civic virtue but are mired in a cesspool of accusations characterizing your history as a story of rapacious oppression and exploitation.  Their notions of critical thinking are simply an assault on all that is good and decent about your country.  Your college and university administrators and their anti-American agendas are the enemy's front-line arsenal in attacking your society.  

"Your children are no longer taught how to think, but what to think.  Guardians of correct thought sit on powerful university committees to enforce not intellectual diversity, but intellectual conformity to an approved anti-American script." . . .

You forgot when you elected Barack Hussein Obama, not once, but twice ...

You forgot when you elected Ilhan Omar...

You forgot when you elected Rashida Tlaib...

You forgot when you elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,...

9/11 - 20 Years Later; Biden’s Afghanistan Speech Fails to Fool America

> Stilton's Place: 9/11 - 20 Years Later (stiltonsplace.blogspot.com)

"Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the fateful 9/11 attacks on our nation. For most Americans, it will be a day of mourning and contemplation. But not for all Americans; it seems likely that for Joe Biden and members of his administration the date is simply an annoyance on the calendar to be given lip service and then forgotten.

"Unlike in Afghanistan, where 9/11 will mark the seating of a new government comprised of Taliban war chiefs and the Al Qaeda terrorists who, 20 years after their initial attack, brought the US to its knees (and got an $85 billion windfall in weaponry from Joe Biden with which to renew terror attacks on the world).". . . 

The American Spectator

Biden’s remarks served as the latest instance of the president digging his heels in on Afghanistan in the face of an unprecedented wave of criticism from traditional allies in the Democratic Party and the media. In fact, Biden has appeared more resolute and defensive the louder his critics became, appearing convinced that voters and history will ultimately reward him for ending the war despite the chaotic withdrawal.… The drawdown of the war in Afghanistan represents the most significant failure Biden has confronted in his presidency — one where he repeatedly failed to meet his lofty promises and flawed predictions.

The post's author then concludes his post with this statement: 

. . . "According to the same ABC/Washington Post poll noted above, 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan pullout and 53 percent blame his bungling for the deaths that occurred during the August 26 terrorist attack. Combined with Biden’s disgraceful abandonment of Americans to the tender mercies of the Taliban, this is unlikely to fade in voter memories as readily as some arcane Beltway debate over the debt ceiling. Even before the withdrawal fiasco, millions were unhappy with the outcome of the 2020 election and anxious for another crack at the Democrats. Biden’s deadly Afghanistan blunders have provided them with infinitely greater motivation."

. . . "Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told a gathering of Kentucky voters last week,

The president is not going to be removed from office. With a Democratic House, a narrowly Democratic Senate, that’s not going to happen.… We’re trying to hold down the damage until next year and I do think we’re likely to see a typical midterm reaction to a new administration.… Only twice in American history — only twice — has the president gained seats in Congress two years into the first term. Typically, there is some buyer’s remorse two years in.… So, look, there isn’t going to be any impeachment, but I think they [the Democrats] have a very good chance of having a very bad election next year.

 As the Nation Readied to Remember 9/11, a Major University Student President Wished 'Death to America' – RedState  A Democrat voter, one is forced to assume. 

Followed by a smiley emoji, her morning message went thusly:

One would like to think that, for just one day, the perpetual victimhood brigade who cannot let a moment pass by without demanding the spotlight for their latest petulant delusional whine would step back. But no. Enter one Jenn M. Jackson, Ph.D. (so her Twitter bio says), published author and self-defined “Abolitionist+Writer+Prof Genderflux all pronouns.

 University of Kansas student body president shares ‘Death to America’ tweet | The College Fix

Biden Blasts Americans on Eve of 9/11: 'We Have Witnessed Violence in America Against Muslims - True Followers of a Peaceful Religion' (VIDEO)   "Did Obama write Biden’s 9/11 message?

"Joe Biden lashed out at Americans in a pre-recorded video released Friday on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack.