9/11 Memes

Subject: Why Schools are Closed

This is from a neighbor of mine who teaches in Hawthorne, NJ. Schools are closed there due to potential violence. Muslims were in the streets of Paterson cheering and waving Afghanistan flags... People started after them... some spitting, counter flag waving and then some gun shots were heard. Supposedly. Newspapers are keeping it all hush hush... but not a pleasant scene there... THAT IS WHY SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED. Not because they are honoring the victims as they would have all to believe. People are afraid to step outside their homes whether or not they are Muslim. Unbelievable...

Subject: Jackie Chan WTC Movie Delayed

Jackie Chan has indicated that he had been scheduled to shoot scenes for his film Nosebleed at the World Trade Center on the morning of last week’s attacks but that filming was canceled because of a late script. Chan told the Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily News, “Filming was scheduled to have taken place at 7:00 a.m. last Tuesday morning, and as I had to be at the top of one of the towers for one of the scenes, I would probably have died if the shooting had gone ahead as planned.” He added: “Well, I guess my time is not up yet.” The film concerns a WTC window washer (played by Chan) who becomes involved in a terrorist plot to blow up the statue of liberty. An MGM spokeswoman said last week that it was “too premature” to discuss how the script might be changed.

Subject: If You Fly

Hi all, 

I got this from a friend in Cleveland…and she actually got a plane last week and flew to Atlanta for a personal retreat she gives herself every year…

Gail

Read this and recall why we call him/her “Captain.

The following is from a letter by a professional and her return flight to D.C. this week.

“I just wanted to drop you all a note and let you know that I arrived safe and sound into Dulles Airport tonight [9/15] at about 6:00.  It was an interesting flight. The airport in Denver was almost spooky, it was so empty and quiet. No one was in line for the security check point when I got there so that went fairly quickly, just x-ray of my bags and then a chemical test to be sure nothing explosive was on them. Then I waited 2 1/2 hours to board the plane. What happened after we boarded was interesting and thought I would share it with you.

The pilot/captain came on the loudspeaker after the doors were closed. His speech went like this:

First I want to thank you for being brave enough to fly today. The doors are now closed and we have no help from the outside for any problems that might occur inside this plane. As you could tell when you checked in, the government has made some changes to increase security in the airports. They have not, however, made any rules about what happens after those doors close. Until they do that, we have made our own rules and I want to share them with you. Once those doors close, we only have each other. The security has taken care of a threat like guns with all of the increased scanning, etc. Then we have the supposed bomb. If you have a bomb, there is no need to tell me about it, or anyone else on this plane; you are already in control. So, for this flight, there are no bombs that exist on this plane. Now, the threats that are left are things like plastics, wood, knives, and other weapons that can be made or things like that which can be used as weapons. Here is our plan and our rules. If someone or several people stand up and say they are hijacking this plane, I want you all to stand up together. Then take whatever you have available to you and throw it at them. Throw it at their faces and heads so they will have to raise their hands to protect themselves. The very best protection you have against knives are the pillows and blankets. Whoever is close to these people should then try to get a blanket over their head—then they won’t be able to see. Once that is done, get them down and keep them there. Do not let them up. I will then land the plane at the closest place and we WILL take care of them. After all, there are usually only a few of them and we are 200+ strong! We will not allow them to take over this plane. I find it interesting that the US Constitution begins with the words “We, the people”—that’s who we are, THE people and we will not be defeated.

With that, the passengers on the plane all began to applaud, people had tears in their eyes, and we began the trip toward the runway. The flight attendant then began the safety speech. One of the things she said is that we are all so busy and live our lives at such a fast pace. She asked that everyone turn to their neighbors on either side and introduce themselves, tell each other something about your families and children, show pictures, whatever. She said “for today, we consider you family. We will treat you as such and ask that you do the same with us.

“Throughout the flight we learned that for the crew, this was their first flight since Tuesday’s tragedies. It was a day that everyone leaned on each other and together everyone was stronger than any one person alone.

It was quite an experience. You can imagine the feeling when that plane touched down at Dulles and we heard “welcome to Washington Dulles Airport, where the local time is 5:45”. Again, the cabin was filled with applause.

Last night I saw a program with college students where one of them said that at their campus there are no more hyphenated titles, everyone is just an American. No one will ever be able to take that pride away from us. ”

Subject: Ghost Leads People to Safety

A fireman’s deceased father used to work in the World Trade Center on the ventilation units and knew the buildings like the back of his hand. While inside, the fireman found himself trapped in a pitched black cloud of dust, unable to see and barely able to breathe. He then said to his dad, “This is your building, help me get outta here.”

Without being able to see where he was going, the fireman lead 30 people to safety.

Subject: Oops! Busted!

Check this out!!!!!!

A guy left home for work on Sept. 11 at about 6am to go to his office in the World Trade Centre (103rd Fl).

When he got to Manhattan, he decided instead to spend the morning at his girlfriend’s apartment in the Village. Upon his arrival to her house, he turned off the phones, TV & radio and spent the entire morning in bed having sex.

At about 11:00am, while still at her place, he turned his cell phone back on to retrieve his messages. A second later it rang. His wife who was on the phone screaming at him, “Where in the hell are you? I’ve been trying to call you for over two hours, I’ve been worried sick about you! Are you OK!!?” He unknowingly answered,  “Where in the hell do you think I am? I’m in my office!!!”

Subject: Man Rode WTC Roof

I heard that a man, a father of one of the student’s at a school where my father teaches, went up to the roof with two collegues to be rescued and ended up “riding” the fall all the way to the ground. His injury was two broken legs and the other two also survived and are in critical condition.

I later heard it was a police officer who rode the fall from the 85th floor and got one broken leg.

“A son and his father worked in the tower and they split up saying they’d meet on the ground. The father went to the roof and the son got out.

The father crawled inside a ventilation duct and rode the building all the way to the ground surviving with two broken legs.”

Sent Via Email:

Was watching C-Span last evening….the rumored person who rode the collapsing building down…..was a policeman on the 86th floor who was helping others when the collapse occurred…..he is critical with obvious broken legs…..so there was some truth to that story…at least as reported by C-Span last night…

Subject: Van Bomb To Blow Up Bridge

Radio stations reported that a van loadaed with explosives, enough to blow up the entire length of the George Washington Bridge, was stopped in the Eastbound lane in NJ the night of September 12th. We were later told it was “nothing.”

Subject: Stolen Phone Vans

I received this today from a friend in NY.  Be careful this weekend no matter where you live.

Hey everybody,

Sorry for the mass email, but I got important news tonight. My dad works for FEMA and he’s really involved with the goings on in NYC. He told me that within the last 24 hours, more than 30 Ryder, U-Haul, and Verizon trucks have been reported stolen across the country. The U-Haul and Ryder trucks were rented and then never returned, so they’re considered stolen. Many of them were rented by people of Arab descent. I don’t mean to make any assumptions, and I certainly don’t want to scare you, but I thought you all might like to know. Be wary of these vehicles, pay attention to them, and don’t walk or park near them. He said to stay out of major public places if at all possible because recreational sites would most likely be hit on weekends. I’m sorry to cause alarm, but he told me it was ok to share this information. If you’d like to foward it to anyone you know, feel free, as there is a possibility it might save lives. I hope everyone is doing well, and give those you love an extra hug.

Subject: Play in NY’s Favor

Rumor is Omar Olivares threw Mike Piazza a gift of a pitch tuesday night so he could hit a homer to win the game. All Major League baseball teams will fold purposely for the Mets so they can reach the playoffs and generate money for the city. The Atlanta Braves are willing to fold their games because they were suppose to be a “target” for terrorists and were just lucky they weren’t hit. And of course the Mets and Yankees will play in the world series wearing NYPD and NYFD hats.

Subject: Virus Scare

A t t e n t i o n: This is very scary and is not a joke.

Please read—it definitely is a serious threat to our lives and health. This is an alert about a virus in the original sense of the word…... one that affects your body….. not your hard drive.

There have been 23 confirmed cases of people attacked by the Klingerman Virus a virus that arrives in your real mailbox, not in your e-mail inbox.

Someone has been mailing large blue envelopes, seemingly at random, to people in the US and Canada. On the front of the envelope in bold black letters is printed “A Gift For You From The Klingerman Foundation.”

When the envelopes are opened, there is a small sponge sealed in plastic. This sponge carries what has come to be known as the Klingerman Virus and public health officials state this is a strain of virus they have not previously encountered. Those who have come in contact with the Klingerman Virus have been hospitalized with severe dysentery. So far seven of the twenty-three victims have died. There is no legitimate Klingerman Foundation mailing unsolicited gifts.

If you receive an oversized blue envelope in the mail marked

“A Gift For You From The Klingerman Foundation,” do not open it !!!!!

Place it in a strong plastic bag or container and call the police immediately. The “gift” is one you definitely do not want to open.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE THAT YOU CARE ABOUT

Subject: Virus Warning!!!

Hi…

I don’t know if this is true…........ There are so many stories going around…

Apparently, there is something being sent in the mail from Florida.  It is a blue envelope marked “GIFT”.  If you receive something like this in the mail, DO NOT OPEN IT!  It is filled with some kind of poisonous powder that will explode in your face.  Also that there was a sponge with some kind of virus on it that was killing people.  That’s all I know but I thought it was something worth passing on, just for safety’s sake.

Subject: Attention: Virus

DO NOT OPEN any emails with “WTC Survivor” as the subject. It is a virus that will erase your whole “C” drive. It will come to you in the form of an E-Mail from a familiar person.

Forward this to everyone in your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at all. If you receive an email called “WTC Survivor” do not open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic link libraries (.dll files) from your computer.

Subject: Don’t Go Shopping!

I received the following and thought I’d pass it on…

I’m sending this to anyone who may decide to go on a shopping spree this day…....Who knows but with everything that is happening I wouldn’t take a chance…..

FYI - I was very skeptical of this e-mail so I called the telephone number and it really was Laura Katsis at work.  She said that she did write and send the e-mail in reaction to what her girlfriend told her.  This could still be a hoax, but I am taking it a little more seriously knowing that Laura is a real person who admits writing the e-mail and who stands behind what she wrote.

Hi All -

I think you all know that I don’t send out hoaxes and don’t do the reactionary thing and send out anything that crosses my path.  This one,  however, is a friend of a friend and I’ve given it enough credibility in my mind that I’m writing it up and sending it out to all of you.

My friend’s friend was dating a guy from Afghanistan up until a month ago. She had a date with him around 9/6 and was stood up.  She was understandably upset and went to his home to find it completely emptied.

On 9/10, she received a letter from her boyfriend explaining that he wished he could tell her why he had left and that he was sorry it had to be like that.  The part worth mentioning is that he BEGGED her not to get on any commercial airlines on 9/11 and to not to go any malls on Halloween.  As soon as everything happened on the 11th, she called the FBI and has since turned over the letter.

This is not an email that I’ve received and decided to pass on.  This came from a phone conversation with a long-time friend of mine last night.

I may be wrong, and I hope I am.  However, with one of his warnings being correct and devastating, I’m not willing to take the chance on the second and wanted to make sure that people I cared about had the same information that I did.

Laura

Subject: Anthrax Warnings

Please take a moment to read the following attachment issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which advises on handling possible incidents of exposure to biological agents.

————————————

This is an official CDC Health Advisory

Distributed via Health Alert Network

October 12, 2001, 21:00 EDT (9:00 PM EDT)

HOW TO HANDLE ANTHRAX AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL AGENT THREATS

Many facilities in communities around the country have received anthrax threat letters. Most were empty envelopes; some have contained powdery substances. The purpose of these guidelines is to recommend procedures for handling such incidents.

DO NOT PANIC

1. Anthrax organisms can cause infection in the skin, gastrointestinal system, or the lungs. To do, so the organism must be rubbed into abraded skin, swallowed, or inhaled as a fine, aerosolized mist. Disease can be prevented after exposure to the anthrax spores by early treatment with the appropriate antibiotics. Anthrax is not spread from one person to another person.

2. For anthrax to be effective as a covert agent, it must be aerosolized into very small particles. This is difficult to do, and requires a great deal of technical skill and special equipment. If these small particles are inhaled, life-threatening lung infection can occur, but prompt recognition and treatment are effective.

SUSPICIOUS UNOPENED LETTER OR PACKAGE MARKED WITH THREATENING MESSAGE SUCH AS “ANTHRAX”:

1. Do not shake or empty the contents of any suspicious envelope or package.

2. PLACE the envelope or package in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage of contents.

3. If you do not have any container, then COVER the envelope or package with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove this cover.

4. Then LEAVE the room and CLOSE the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).

5. WASH your hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any powder to your face.

6. What to do next?

· If you are at HOME, then report the incident to local police.

· If you are at WORK, then report the incident to local police, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.

7. LIST all people who were in the room or area when this suspicious letter or package was recognized. Give this list to both the local public health authorities and law enforcement officials for follow-up investigations and advice.

ENVELOPE WITH POWDER AND POWDER SPILLS OUT ONTO SURFACE:

1. DO NOT try to CLEAN UP the powder. COVER the spilled contents immediately with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove this cover!

2. Then LEAVE the room and CLOSE the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).

3. WASH your hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any powder to your face.

4. What to do next?

· If you are at HOME, then report the incident to local police.

· If you are at WORK, then report the incident to local police, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.

5. REMOVE heavily contaminated clothing as soon as possible and place in a plastic bag, or some other container that can be sealed. This clothing bag should be given to the emergency responders for proper handling.

6. SHOWER with soap and water as soon as possible. Do Not Use Bleach Or Other Disinfectant On Your Skin.

7. If possible, list all people who were in the room or area, especially those who had actual contact with the powder. Give this list to both the local public health authorities so that proper instructions can be given for medical follow-up, and to law enforcement officials for further investigation.

QUESTION OF ROOM CONTAMINATION BY AEROSOLIZATION:

For example: small device triggered, warning that air handling system is contaminated, or warning that a biological agent released in a public space.

1. Turn off local fans or ventilation units in the area.

2. LEAVE area immediately.

3. CLOSE the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).

4. What to do next?

- If you are at HOME, then dial “911” to report the incident to local police and the local FBI field office.

- If you are at WORK, then dial “911” to report the incident to local police and the local FBI field office, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.

5. SHUT down air handling system in the building, if possible.

6. If possible, list all people who were in the room or area. Give this list to both the local public health authorities so that proper instructions can be given for medical follow-up, and to law enforcement officials for further investigation.

HOW TO IDENTIFY SUSPICIOUS PACKAGES AND LETTERS

Some characteristics of suspicious packages and letters include the following?

· Excessive postage

· Handwritten or poorly typed addresses

· Incorrect titles

· Title, but no name

· Misspellings of common words

· Oily stains, discolorations or odor

· No return address

· Excessive weight

· Lopsided or uneven envelope

· Protruding wires or aluminum foil

· Excessive security material such as masking tape, string, etc.

· Visual distractions

· Ticking sound

· Marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal” or “Confidential”

· Shows a city or state in the postmark that does not match the return address

Subject: True Tale of a Diverted Flight

True Tale of a Diverted Flight to Canada. Another great story of pulling together for our fellow world citizens…...

What follows is a note from an airline pilot’s perspective of what it was like to be flying on the 11th.

=====================

We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those “all business” looks on their faces.

The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and realized the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta,  addressed to our flight, and simply said, “All airways over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination.”

Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was 400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island of New Foundland.

A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller approving our request.

We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an immediate landing. While this was going on another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went about our business ‘closing down’ the airplane for a landing.

A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US. We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course.

We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world. After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason.”

Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief.

Local time at Gander was 12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST) Gander control told us to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts.

Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so all the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags.

We were told that each and every plane was to be offloaded, one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in the US category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 pm.

Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were either blocked or jammed and to try again. Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash.

Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament. There were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy. True to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning.

That took the last wind out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night on the airplane.

Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the terminal for “processing” We, the crew, were taken to the same terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we were isolated from our passengers and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going.

The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew that we were the “Plane people”. We all had a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM.

We made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about 4:30PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.) But that’s not what I wanted to tell you. What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing couldn’t have been better.

We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students HAD to volunteer taking care of the “GUESTS”.

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together.

All the elderly passengers were given no choice and were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility.

There were DDS on call and they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the crowd for the duration.

Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were available for every one once a day.

During the days the passengers were given a choice of “Excursion” trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to see the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests.

Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers.

Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time.

Absolutely incredible. When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It was mind boggling.

Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said “of course”.

The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers.

He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian.

The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them?

WHY NOT?

Subject: True or False?

Do you remember this?

Ollie made the headlines in 1987 and was laughed at by the News Media.

IT WAS 1987!

At a lecture the other day they played an old video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree. But what he said was stunning!! He was being drilled by some senator; “Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for home security system?”

Ollie replied, “Yes I did sir.” The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience,” Isn’t this just a little excessive?” “No sir,” continued Ollie.

“No? And why not?” the senator asked.

“Because the lives of my family and I were threatened sir.”

“Threatened? By whom?” the senator questioned.

“By a terrorist, sir.” Ollie answered.

“Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?”

“His name is Osama bin Laden sir.” Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn’t pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn’t. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued.

“Why are you so afraid of this man?” the senator asked.

“Because sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of,” Ollie answered.

“And what do you recommend we do about him?” asked the senator.

“Well sir, if it were up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth.”

The senator disagreed with this approach and that was all that was shown of the clip.

If anyone is interested, the Senator turned out to be none other than Al Gore.

Subject: American Companies

CNN Headline News did a short news listing regarding Ford and GM’s contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and Washington. The findings are as follows…...

1. Ford - $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The company also offered ER response team services and office space to displaced government employees.

2. GM - $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv’s, and trucks.

3. Daimler Chrysler - $10 million to support of the children and victims of the Sept. 11 attack.

4. Harley Davidson motorcycles - $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept.

5. Volkswagen - Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation, funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and victims of the WTC.

6. Hyundai - $300,000 to the American Red Cross.

7. Audi - Nothing.

8. BMW - Nothing.

9. Daewoo - Nothing.

10. Fiat - Nothing.

11. Honda - Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001.

12. Isuzu - Nothing.

13. Mitsubishi - Nothing.

14. Nissan - Nothing.

15. Porsche - Nothing. Press release with condolences via the Porsche website.

16. Subaru - Nothing.

17. Suzuki - Nothing.

18. Toyota - Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the website.

Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and/or American based company.

Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing at all to the citizens of the United States.

It’s OK for these companies to take money out of this country, but it is apparently not acceptable to return some in a time of crisis. I believe we should not forget things like this. Say thank you in a way that gets their attention.

Pass it on.