The threat of new terror attacks is not only real, but has changed from a possibility to an absolute certainty. The politicization of our homeland and national security has guaranteed a second 9/11 style attack or worse. The lessons that I hoped were learned post 9/11 were quickly forgotten, ignored  and replaced with a homeland security strategy that targets political opponents.  The highly charged political environment has corroded many of our capabilities and defenses, making every man, woman and child the next potential terrorist casualty.

While the physical threats are real, the greater threat we face is a country that has lost its guiding principles and values. A country that glamorizes reality show personalities and forgets the blood and treasure of its fallen guardians… minimizes their memories and sacrifice.   The media and politicians have hijacked 9/11 as a political pawn in an attempt to rewrite history, simply to fulfill a narrative that fits each of their own personal agendas.

The consequence in forgetting 9/11 is that we will be forced to  forget the most successful rescue effort in history.

It wasn’t politicians that ran up the stairwells of burning skyscrapers, or took control of hijacked planes, or used their bodies as shields to protect a stranger. It was a cop, a firefighter, a medic, a flight attendant, a locksmith, an iron worker, who said ….”you go home today, I won’t let any harm come to you.” They said this as they gave their lives to fulfill that promise.

Two of my former partners were among those who sacrificed themselves so that others could get home on that fateful day.  Among emergency service members, the death of any first responder is a heartfelt loss of a brother or sister. On 9/11/2001, terrorists murdered (343) firefighters, (37) PAPD, (23) NYPD (6) EMS personnel (3) court officers, (1) FBI agent and thousands of additional first responders also died that day…who didn’t know that their death sentence was to be carried out over the next 10 years. Their exposure to the toxins at Ground Zero sealed their fate and that of tens of thousands of other exposed people. 1700 people were never recovered from Ground Zero, which became the only cemetery they will ever know. Ground Zero is much more than a piece of valuable real estate…it is sacred ground that contains the remains of fallen heroes to this day. Politicians use Ground Zero as a backdrop for their speeches, demonstrating their inner character of selfishness contrasted by a mural  of selflessness.  Barring 9/11 first responders is a badge of shame these politicians will wear for the rest of their lives.

The days that followed 9/11 were filled with an outpouring of support, kindness and generosity on a grand global scale. People forgot politics and self interest and America responded with compassion and resolve. My desire to capture that moment and to honor my fallen partners, brothers and sisters inspired me to author a book titled “Gone But Not Forgotten.”  Political obsession to forget diminishes us all and the people who stood up for us on that day.  The terrorists failed on 09/11 and all that remains of them is the stench of politics that lingers in the aftermath.

Politics have progressively encroached and overshadowed the honor and dignity that was exhibited that day.

For the first time ever, Politics will now prohibit first responders from standing at the graveside of their fallen brothers and sisters.

Politics has now removed God from a place that screams out for God’s hand of comfort.

Politics has desecrated the cemetery of Ground Zero, and finally;

Politics has the blood of the next 9/11 victims on its hands!

Amazingly, Congress is trying to Force Union Contract Rules like this onto States and Localities

The New York – New Jersey Port Authority (NYNJPA) union contract with the NYNJPA’s police union provides that officers suspended with and “without pay” will still be paid for unearned overtime during their suspension.

Amazingly, Harry Reid and congress are trying right now to force this type of workplace lunacy onto states and localities through the Police Fire Fighter Forced Unionism bills (S. 3194 & H.R. 413).  If passed this will bring union officials one step closer toward mandating forced unionism for every state and local government employee.  Take Action now and let congress know that you oppose this expansion of forced unionism through federal fiat.

(more background available after the bump)

Background regarding the NYNJPA No-Work Overtime Provision

The New York Posts’ Carl Campanile writes:

Port Authority cops have an unbelievable perk that other workers can only dream of — they can collect overtime for not working.

The bizarre benefit applies to officers suspected of misconduct who are suspended with pay and later cleared or found guilty of an infraction carrying a penalty that’s short of dismissal. Suspended officers can claim overtime if no formal charges are filed within 120 days.

The theoretical overtime these cops would have made during their suspensions is based on a formula in their union contract. [see video]

According to the contract, if an officer suspended with or without pay is not dismissed, then they will receive overtime for the period that they were suspended without pay using the formula below.

The Port Authority union contract overtime formula: 

where “a” is the average overtime earned per pay period by the suspended Police Officer during the seventy-eight (or the actual number if less than seventy-eight) pay periods immediately prior to the pay period during which his suspension commenced;

“b” is the average overtime earned per pay period per Police Officer during those seventy-eight (or the actual number if less than seventy-eight) pay periods at the Police Command to which the suspended Police Officer was assigned during that period. If the Police Officer was assigned to more than one Police Command during that period, then the average overtime for the period shall be determined by using average overtime earned per Police Officer at each Police Command to which the Police Officer was assigned during that period for the pay periods he was assigned to that Police Command;

“c” is the initial estimate of the Police Officer’s missed overtime earned per pay period to be determined, and

“d” is the average overtime earned per pay period per Police Officer at the Police Command to which the suspended Police Officer is assigned during the same pay periods of the Police Officer’s administrative suspension.

Upon determination of “c”, that amount shall be multiplied by the number of pay periods that the Police Officer was on administrative suspension, provided that any pay period during that suspension in which the Police Officer was absent due to sickness or injury incurred in the line of duty on at least half of his scheduled work days shall not be used in that multiplication. Then, from that amount shall be subtracted all overtime, if any, earned by the Police Officer during the suspension. The resulting balance shall be paid to the Police Officer as and for missed overtime.

If a Police Officer who is suspended without pay is changed to administrative suspension or returned to full duty he shall receive payment of his full pay for the period during which he was suspended without pay except payment for missed overtime opportunities. If such Police Officer is not dismissed from employment the calculation of missed overtime opportunities shall be made in accordance with the method set forth in paragraph j (ii), above, except that the period of suspension shall include the period during which the Police Officer was suspended without pay. [Emphasis added]

As fellow BG blogger Warner Todd Huston writes in Investors Business Daily last week, through the benignly named Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (H.R.413), Sen. Harry Reid “wants all first responders represented by collective bargaining rules emanating from Washington D.C.” He adds: Naturally this legislation is being pushed as a matter of ‘national security.’”

The problem is that the law not only is a giveaway to unions that would increase the cost of services for local and state governments, but the bill is just plain badly written. It would force significant changes in state laws for at least 16 states.

You know the bill is bad when the Washington Post editorial page is coming out against it — and the Post clearly sees through the attempt by Big Labor to leverage the public’s respect for firefighters and police.

The editors warn:

We share the bill sponsors’ esteem for first responders. They should be adequately, even generously, compensated. Still, many outsized pensions now threatening state and local governments were awarded by politicians to curry favor with public-safety unions. To be sure, the bill includes a compromise provision assuring states that they don’t have to bargain over pensions. But it hardly matters. The bill further empowers an already strong lobby that could use its additional clout to pressure state legislators to allow pension-bargaining anyway — or to enact such benefits by statute. This bill is a bad idea whose time, we hope, has still not come.

Photo credit: Flickr user trommetter

This week, I wanted to make you aware of a growing concern about the U.S. Census and illegal aliens and how the two could drastically affect congressional apportionment and possibly your own state’s congressional representation. 

In the past, some states have included illegal aliens in the collection of census data, and this has often resulted in the allocation of additional congressional seats to those states – at the expense of other states that lose seats because of the skewed data. 

Illegal aliens shouldn’t be included for the purposes of determining representation in Congress.  I don’t believe that this is what our founding fathers had in mind when they laid out our current system of representation.

Illegal immigration is a very real and significant concern for our country.  We shouldn’t let these states be rewarded for skirting our federal laws.

That’s why this week, I introduced an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill that would require questions in the census regarding citizenship and immigration status. The amendment is, of course, designed to help us identify illegal aliens, primarily to prevent states from counting them for the purposes of determining population levels and other data associated with the census.

The data collected during the census is used by Congress to determine multiple issues of importance beyond apportionment, including government program spending levels.  Essentially, my amendment would prevent funding from being used to collect census data that does not include a question regarding United States citizenship and immigration status.

It’s a very simple and direct amendment that can help us bring about a very positive change.  It obviously won’t help us identify all illegal aliens, but it’s a step in the right direction.