Miss Eyre, Great Post

I'd like to say just a couple things.

I totally agree with you that the nation was of single mind after 9/11.

How did that sentiment evaporate so quickly?

I have to go with the fact that everything became political after that. GW Bush used a part of his involvement in the 9/11 tragedy in his campaign ads, fair enough, it was on his watch. But that pissed the Democrats off to no end.

To use a similar example from the other side, Bill Clinton gets credit for balancing the budget, even though most of that had to do with the Republican Congress. He gets credit for the booming economy, even though that was the product of the Bill Gates', the Larry Ellison's, even the Jeff Bezos'. The tech boom made a little nothing of a stock exchange, formerly the OTC, into the powerhouse now known as the NASDAQ. Clinton did that, it happened on his watch. Yeah, and Al Gore invented the internet. But he and the Democrats have no problem taking credit for the economic boom, and frankly, I don't either. He re-appointed Alan Greenspan, and that is good enough for me, Clinton can take the credit.

But I digress...

So the Democrats went on a mission of discrediting a president just so they could win an election. It was shameless.

Almost as shameless, but barely in the grand scheme of things, is what the Republicans did under the leadership of Newt Gingrich. We had a fairly polarized nation, our common ground was prosperity, and The Republicans shifted the focus to destroy Clinton.

That was wrong.

And it hurt them, and the nation.

Now The Democrats are going down that path, and look at the divide that we have in our country today.

Here is where Miss Eyre and I may disagree.

I agree that our PC BS is getting out of hand. She had a great example, we can't even agree on what to do with ground zero, because nothing gets done until all sides agree.

Of course, all sides will never agree.

On the PC subject, she says, 'airport security now watches Middle Eastern travelers more closely, lucky them.'

I say, when the majority of terrorist activity is not perpetrated by Middle Easterners, the scrutiny will end.

Until then, you have my apologies and sympathy, but the fact is, I want you checked out before I fly with you.

I have encountered, to a lesser degree, some profiling myself.

I work in the restaurant business, and drive home sometimes between midnight and 2am, the most common time people are driving drunk. And because of that, I have been pulled over by the police a few times.

The excuse is usually something like 'I saw you swerving', one was great, I was actually driving too calculated, I don't even know what that means. But either way, I have nothing to hide, and they see that I have not been drinking, and I go on my way.

Should I be upset?

Maybe, but I'm not.

I don't want to drive home and be hit by a drunk driver, so the police are actually helping me get home safely.

Likewise, when a Middle Easterner is scrutinized at the airport, as long as they are in the majority of people, and have no ill-intent, they will be safer once they board the plane.

So, lucky them?

Yes, lucky them, and lucky us.