America's #1 Online Cigar Auction
first, best, biggest!

"It is one thing for individual family members to invoke the memory of all 3,000 victims as they take to the microphone or podium to show respect for our collective loss. It is another for them to attempt to stifle the debate over the future direction of our country by declaring that the images of 9/11 should be off-limits in the presidential race, and to do so under the rubric of 'The Families of Sept. 11.' They do not represent me. Nor do they represent those Americans who feel that Sept. 11 was a defining moment in the history of our country and who want to know how the current or future occupant of the Oval Office views the lessons of that day....

Whatever these 9/11 families may think of the president's foreign policy or the war in Iraq, I ask them to reconsider the language and tone of their statements. We should not tolerate or condone remarks such as those of the 9/11 relative who, so offended by the campaign ads, said that he 'would vote for Saddam Hussein before I would vote for Bush.' The insult was picked up and posted on Al-Jazeera's Web site. In view of the sacrifice our troops have made on our behalf, this insensitivity to them and their families suggests a level of self-indulgence and ingratitude that shocks the conscience.

George W. Bush says that his presidency is inspired by an enduring obligation to those who lost their lives on that brutal September morning. The images of that day stand as an everlasting example of our country's darkest day and finest hour. They are a vivid reminder of the strength and resilience of our great country. They belong to us all -- including this president. Let the candidates make their own choices. I trust the American people."

--Debra Burlingame, Wall Street Journal
(**Debra Burlingame is a life-long Democrat, and the sister of Charles F. "Chic" Burlingame, III, captain of American Airlines flight 77, which was crashed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001

Just based on general demographics you gotta figure that about half the families of victims are democrats and half republican. The more vocal ones on both sides have their own agendas. I don't think the WTC site should be made into some kind of shrine. I think that the families and victims have been treated more than fairly by our government and our citizens. It's time to move on.

I don't have a problem with the use of the WTC images any more than I have a problem with Kerry using pictures from Viet Nam. They are events that shaped the candidates.

I think the families of the 9/11 victims have been treated like royalty. They have no room to whine about jack squat. Most of those families got millions in donations from the American public because their family members happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Military members voluntarily go into harms way and when they die, what do their families get? A small clip in the local paper, their burial costs and a maximum life insurance policy of $250,000. THAT my friends is tragic.

I don't know about your statement of the victims being treated like royalty MACS. I'd like to see some proof of that.

Also, I think its apples and oranges to compare civilians killed as a result of a lack of security by the government (and airports) to soldiers killed in action when the volunteered to be there in the first place. Not the I mean to trivialize the death and sacrafice of our soldiers. I just don't think it is the same thing.

With that being said I think the images should be allowed. Busch is just showing his record of past performance.

Just to compare the two tragedies, how much money did the families of victims of the OK federal building receive? I think it's a big "0". But the families from the WTC did receive millions in federal money and millions more in donations from private citizens. Why? Simply because the attack was initiated by a foreigner.

Both events were tragedies. So why the different treatment. What about the families of the victims of the DC sniper. What did they get? So, yes the families of the 9/11 tragedy were treated like royalty. We all grieved for their losses. But where do you draw the line? Does it have to be a major event that kills hundreds of people before the governemnt starts throwing around the big money?

Americans are killed fairly frequently by terrorists but the same standard of treatment isn't applied.