First responders decry exclusion from 9/11 ceremony

[alp227]

Source: CNN

New York (CNN) -- When debris rained from the sky in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, the first responders to the terrorist attack did not turn away. They rushed to the World Trade Center buildings while the world around them crumbled.

Yet now, after all the wreckage has been cleared and the rebuilding has begun, their path is again blocked -- not by flying chunks of smoldering rubble, but by space constraints.

The first responders are not invited to this year's September 11 memorial ceremony at ground zero, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office confirmed Monday.

It's a painful insult for many of the approximately 3,000 men and women who risked their lives, limbs and lungs on that monumental day, puncturing another hole in a still searing wound.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/16/new.york.911.memorial/index.html

[MineralMan]

1. Well, that sucks big time. I don't even understand the decision.

Moronic.

[Occulus]

7. sounds like something Obama would have done n/t

[leftynyc]

9. This is a Bloomberg decision

not an administration one. Save the hate for another outrage.

[Occulus]

11. my mistake, I'll edit

[MineralMan]

10. Is the Obama administration in charge of this deal?

I thought it was an NYC thing. I could be wrong, though.

[cstanleytech]

31. Dont know /shrug

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LanternWaste]

59. I imagine we here what we want to...

"sounds like..."

I imagine we quite often hear what we want to, and infer from them only those things which validate our own opinions.

[nykym]

2. It's time for the polititians to realize

nobody wants them there, this is in remembrance to those that did what needed to be done, not those who see it as a boast to their political standing.

[yellerpup]

23. +1

How right you are.

[DLnyc]

57. True that!

I think it's called 'waving the bloody shirt'.

It is nauseating how people, mostly politicians, continue to use this disaster to promote their own carreers.

[plumbob]

3. I'm sure there will be plenty of microphone-grabbing polticians

there, though.

Once again, I am ashamed for my country. Braves souls who were not stopped by fire, flame, or collapse being kept out for lack of a piece of paper.

Fuckers who designed this are just, well, fuckers.

[CJCRANE]

4. Jon Stewart should draw attention to this...

Just like he did with the 9/11 First Responders Bill back in the lame duck session of Congress.

[saras]

5. I understand it perfectly well. They might bring a tiny bit of reality to the proceedings...

...and that would wreck the theater completely.

[MissDeeds]

6. Unbelievable

To bar actual heroes from attending is beyond unconscionable and despicable. My god, these people risked their lives to save others, and many of their colleagues died. Hundreds are suffering from breathing toxic air on that day. What the hell has become of people to even consider this? Just wait and see how many pompous, bloated politicians are there, fighting for the limelight. This makes me sick.

[tawadi]

16. +1

[Bozita]

8. I'm betting Rudy will have no problem getting in

[valerief]

15. Mr. Save the Gold No Matter Who Has to Die. nt

[Jello Biafra]

17. Rudy...."terror terror terror terror terror terror terror terror terror terror

terror terror terror terror terror terror"

[think]

67. Rudy's mating call?

[laylah]

Yeah, that was MY first thought

also.

[laylah]

26. Yeah, that was MY first thought

also.

[DeSwiss]

12. Just get rid of all the F@#%!#*^& politicians.

There'll be plenty of room then.....

- K&R

[RamboLiberal]

24. According to this they were told not to come as well

Politicians were also told yesterday that only a limited number would be invited. Only representatives from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut got congressional approval to attend.

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) decided on Friday that the government would pick up the tab for representatives from just those three states.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) had sought to make the event open to politicians from across the country.
All lawmakers are allowed to attend the memorial


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2025661/Heroic-9-11-respondents-snubbed-denied-invitation-tenth-anniversary-New-York-terror-attacks.html#ixzz1VEmmQY4N

[Smilo]

13. Seems standard practice nowadays

... ignore those that risked life and limb and bring out the arrogant politicos and higher ups, who were nowhere near the incident when it happened.

This is just insulting - this is the time when ALL those first responders should be acknowledged and thanked. If nothing else, a simple ceremony at the site and then move to a larger venue would be a solution.

[valerief]

14. Enough time has passed for first responder illnesses to really blossom.

They might even want to discuss it and their problems with paying bills. Can't have that among the elites' festivity.

[susanwy]

33. +1

That was my first reaction too....right on the heals of this spectacularly stupid decision

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/first-responders-angry-91_n_911852.html

Susan

[DCKit]

40. +2 They just want to hide them away.

[truth2power]

60. My take on it, too. I was thinking

that some of the first responders might be tethered to oxygen tanks, or maybe so frail and debilitated that it would raise inconvenient questions.

Yep, my first thought.

[musette_sf]

18. Also excluded are

those who were at/in WTC 1 & 2 and escaped/survived.

hmmmmmmmmmmm

[emilyg]

38. Unbelievable.

[democrank]

19. "Painful insult" indeed.

[KansDem]

20. And don't forget: 9/11 First Responders have to prove their not terrorists...

...in order to receive federal health-care funds.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-26-2011/friends-without-benefits---9-11-responders

[spooked911]

51. indeed-- how much more evidence do we need that we are ruled by truly sick people?

9/11 was an inside job, also

[dgibby]

21. I hope the families boycott this year.

This is beyond despicable.

[No Elephants]

44. They may feel that would be letting down their loved one who was killed.

[dgibby]

55. I know, but it certainly would send a strong statement of support

for the first responders and disapproval for the PTB.

[awoke_in_2003]

22. Come on people...

we have an election coming up. Would you deny the candidates their opportunity for a photo op?

[BeFree]

25. Yeah well

If we were ever told the whole truth about 9/11 none of the last 10 years worth of politicians could get elected again. Maybe some of the first responders know too much?

[awoke_in_2003]

47. of course they do...

they were there in the thick of it.

[Bucky]

27. Well, the demagoguing over this issue should be fun to watch.

Wouldn't it be a great idea for the Ground Zero "mosque" to schedule a competing memorial service and invite the real heroes from September 11th to honor their courage?

[ThatsMyBarack]

28. Hope Dumbya don't show up

That is all.

[Earth_First]

29. Bush to Be in NYC to Mark 10th Anniversary of 9/11

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=14195235

You spoke too soon...

[BetsysGhost]

61. Good

They can cuff him there for all to see who the real Terrorist is.

[ThatsMyBarack]

68. Aw, man NO BOOO!!!!!

That is FUCKED! :mad:

[rpannier]

69. He'll be there. I figured he'd commemurate it by

flying around the country in an airplane for two days

[ManiacJoe]

30. Need some clarification.

According to the article, the first responders have never been invited to any of the ceremonies. "Invited" as in "space specifically reserved for". They have always been previously allowed as any other "general public" person just by showing up at the event.

So this year, is it the same "no reserved space for the first responders, first come first served" as all the other years? Or is it different this time where they are being specifically prohibited from attending?

[Historic NY]

35. Nothings changed just the rhetoric & media hype.

[No Elephants]

49. Untrue. First Responders have died since the first observance.

And are dying.

We now know they are victims of 911, just as are those who were killed in the towers by the planes. Not only do their families not get invited, as are the families of those who died in the towers, but they are not respresented at all, not even by one or two elected by the First Responders.

The people who died in the towers, other than the First Responders who entered after the planes hit, were not heroes, just people who got to work on time. The First Responders, however, knew they were risking their lives, or worse, when they entered those buildings and also when they dug in the rubble for someone's arm bone or wedding ring.

This is the tenth anniversary, so it seems more meaningful than, say, the seventh, though that is more symbolic than real. On the other hand, this may be the last time in a while that the nation as a whole focuses on the celebration. The last few observances haven't gotten the attention the few first observances did.

Besides, even if all the above were wrong or off base: There was a terrible omission made in the first observance, whether intentionally or not. That is no reason to perpetuate it on the tenth anniversary.

[Historic NY]

50. I know that, I'm talking about the ceremony....see live cams

they have planned 2 separate commemorations. I think the survivor families & the city responders should priority over others first.

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/

[No Elephants]

46. Why shouldn't a rew reps of the First Responders get an invite to the 10th commemoration?

They should have been getting invites all along.

[think]

32. The irony is surreal....nt

[Historic NY]

34. How do you pack a construction site with thousands of people?...

They city should just use both baseball stadiums to smilicast the ceremonies. The area has been shrinking in size....there are also stories that some 91000 first responders wanted to come from around the country. There has never been any formal invites and I've participated in several. There are seperate ceremonies to be planned at a later date. Of course people who don't know the area just like to fan the flames....

"The 90,000 or so firefighters, police officers, and civilian volunteers who rushed toward the burning twin towers will not be allowed to attend the ceremonies on Sept. 11.

Mayor Bloomberg confirmed that the day would be reserved for victims' families. "Family members only will be allowed to walk onto the plaza, look at their loved ones’ names, look down into the voids," he said, referring to the reflecting pools in the footprints of the two towers. "The first day, it’s reserved for those family members who lost somebody on 9/11.”

And, in fact, first responders have never been officially invited to the events.

How many people go to Pearl Harbor every year???? How many will go there for the 70th this year.

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-9-11-first-responders-snub-story,0,4230373.story

http://buzzlog.yahoo.com/buzzlog/94546/911-first-responders-left-out-of-10th-anniversary-event

[MrMickeysMom]

36. Perhaps there'll be too much COUGHING...

Anyone still following the outcomes of a huge number of firefighters, EMTs and Police inhaling fibers and dust?

Read up: http://www.mesotheliomasymptoms.com/news/2011/08/11/911-first-responders-cancer-denied-access-27-billion-zadroga-assistance

My Fox NY explains that in the recent report released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. John Howard, who is the physician “overseeing the program providing health aid to survivors and first responders of the 9/11 terror attacks” claimed that “‘Insufficient evidence exists at this time to propose a rule to add cancer, or a certain type of cancer,’ to the list of diseases that qualify for aid under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.” According to Fox, “The review supports keeping cancer off a list of Sept. 11 health problems including asthma, interstitial lung disease, and mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.” However, that report has been criticized by many since publication, including Sen. Charles Schumer D-N.Y., who cited the high number of rare diseases seen at people of all ages, indicating that there is an “obvious” link between September 11 dust exposure and these cancers cases.

[spooked911]

52. yeah, sick people just aren't photogenic, I supose

:(

[emilyg]

37. All the politicians need to

be kept out - not the first responders.

[jimlup]

39. Frankly I'll be holding back my gag reflex the whole 9/11 anniversary

The whole deal will be nothing but propaganda. There will be little attempt at actual reflection or introspection about what it meant. I'll find it vomit inducing.

I recall being scared that day. I was scared because I realized I wasn't safe from the stupidity my government had incited in the world. And I was and am still pissed off that my children have to live in this condition which I view as created by the wanton disregard for human's in the Middle East.

There is no doubt that the 9/11 hijackers or Al Quiada are fueled by hatred but ultimately that hatred is blow black from our government's Imperialist ends.

[No Elephants]

45. Osama said he began fuming when he saw children's blood running in the streets of Lebanon.

Then again, he said several things about his motives.

[jimlup]

58. I don't lay it all on one person

I think that also is part of the propaganda. They would like us to accept that it is one malcontent or a small band of malcontents. No - there is a very large segment of the Arab population who hate us and not because of our "freedoms". That segment grows terrorists. That growth continues to this day.

[grahamhgreen]

41. They are unAmerican UNION types. They hate America.

[99th_Monkey]

42. If played just right, this could blow the whole freaking lid off of the "Official 9/11 Narrative"

who knows? We might even find out who the "inside jobers" were/are,
if we can read between the lines well enough.

I hope this whole hyped-up 9/11 anniversary grinds to a conspicuous halt
until such time as these people -- the real heros of 9/11 -- are allowed
their day in the sun.

[No Elephants]

43. No Twin Towers survivors, No First Responders.

It's like excluding soldiers and veterans from a Memorial Day celebration.

I'd boycott the proceedings, but that's just me.

[musette_sf]

71. Of course not.

They know. They saw and heard things.

[woo me with science]

48. Why are we continuing to have these huge ceremonies anyway?

We should have rebuilt the Twin Towers immediately and shown the world we were moving on.

This is all beyond sick, to keep picking at and displaying this wound.

[Nihil]

62. People like wallowing in self-pity?

Can't think of any other reason for that sort of crap but YMMV.

:shrug:

[woo me with science]

63. It keeps the spectre of terror alive,

and hence the need for endless war and curtailment of our civil liberties.

[Doctor_J]

66. Like politicians need a reason to get their pictures taken?

If we really want to celebrate 9/11, there should be a speech by GWB and UBL's brother together. They're the two who made out like bandits because of 9/11

[spooked911]

53. 9/11 was an inside job, also

[Kalidurga]

54. They should have at least one representative.

I don't know how they would choose this person, but I think it would help a lot just knowing someone is there to represent the group of First Responders. Totally ignoring first responders is just sick.

[Dappleganger]

64. If that is the case I will boycott watching the ceremony.

Those first responders fucking earned their right to be there, many of them with blood, sweat and tears. No ceremony will be valid without them.

[Doctor_J]

65. The politicians have turned 9/11 into a pageant

It's no more about tragedy and bravery than the Super Bowl is about football

[bullwinkle428]

70. Plenty of seats available for all of the bigwigs, though!

:thumbsup:

[icymist]

72. What The Fuck???!!!

Bloomberg, this is so fucked up in so many ways. I still have the 9/11 flag that was in my newspaper on MY WALL.