Full post at TexasKaos.com
If you weren't disgusted enough with George Bush yesterday as he gave his State of the Union speech last night (assuming you had the stomach to watch), then perhaps this story will remind you just the immense harm that man has inflicted to this nation and its people.
| Traditionally, members of both Parties invite guests to the SOTU to make a statement. Sometimes, these people are just pawns used to score political points. George Bush (read Karl Rove) has used this strategy so often, you can't help but be cynical about these guests. Rarely do they honestly represent the simple, human story they are meant to invoke.
Last night's speech had such a rare and exemplary guest. His name was Cesar Borja Jr. and he was a guest of Presidential candidate and Senator Hillary Clinton. |
Note: Due to length & DKos, I had to trim quotes and remove photos for this diary. The full diary, with photos & fuller quotes, is located at here.
Mr. Borja, a 21-year old college student, was there to represent his father, 9/11 hero and police officer, Cesar Borja, who contracted serious health problems from the toxic 9/11 debris. In fact, Borja Sr was waiting on a lung transplant in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital.
At 6:30 pm, less than 3 hours before George Bush's speech, Mr. Borja learned that his father died.
Insisting that he had to make point for his father and the thousands of Americans suffering from toxic 9/11 debris, Mr. Borja still attended the SOTU address as Clinton's guest.
On 9/11, our nation was brought to its knees by a cowardly fundamentalist attack. In the weeks following the attack, it was the dedication and sacrifice of more than 40,000 Americans like Cesar Borja Sr that allowed our great nation to stand again.
This is the story of how our leaders, under Republican control, forgot our First Responders and neglected these heroes.
Mr. Borja knew about his father's critical condidtion when he flew to Washington for Bush's speech, and it indicates the desperation for the Borja's and similarly suffering 9/11 workers:
"It's a very emotional time, and it's very difficult," said the son. "My father is a symbol of those in need, in desperation."
The Hunter College student said he came to Washington to make the point that there are many more whose lives are threatened by their exposure at ground zero.
"9/11 is not over. It didn't end in 2001. It is still affecting my father and numerous other first responders," he said. "My father is an extreme example of what can happen and what may and will happen in the future."
In fact, that future may come sooner than expected and if the findings of the highly respected Mount Sinai Medical Center are any indication, Borja Sr. will be just the "tip of the iceberg" as one medical expert commented.
According to a Mount Sinai study of over 9,442 health care workers who worked at Ground Zero, seventy percent of the workers suffer from serious lung problems after 9/11. The study, which focused on the so-called "World Trade Center cough", produced these findings:
- Almost 70 percent of World Trade Center responders had new or worsened lung symptoms after the attacks.
- Among responders who had no health symptoms before the attacks, 61 percent developed lung symptoms while working on the toxic pile.
- One-third of those tested had abnormal lung function tests.
Almost 40,000 people worked at Ground Zero, and at least twice that number of people were exposed to Ground Zero debris the days on and after 9/11. These included New York area families and family members flying in from around the nation and world searching for news of lost loved ones as well as ordinary Americans and people from around the world who simply had to be there.
The severity of respiratory problems resulting from the toxis debris will vary due to the proxity and length of exposure. This explains the shockingly high incidence rate among health-care workers who spent several days and weeks even at Ground Zero.
I want you to understand what these American men and women exposed themselves to in service of their crippled nation. Remember, though the severity of the toxity wasn't yet known, most health-care workers knew they were endangering their health and lives possibly.
An estimated 40,000 men and women worked at Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City, and at the Staten Island landfill, the principal wreckage depository in the days, weeks, and months after September 11, 2001
...
Workers were exposed to a complex mix of toxic chemicals and extreme psychological trauma that varied over time and by location (Landrigan et al., 2002; Lioy et al., 2002). Combustion of 90,000 L of jet fuel created a dense plume of black smoke containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs, including benzene), metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The collapse of the "twin towers" (WTC 1 and WTC 2) and then of a third building (WTC 7) produced an enormous dust cloud containing thousands of tons of coarse and fine particulate matter (PM), cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, lead, hydrochloric acid, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated dioxins and furans (Clark et al., 2003; Landrigan et al., 2004; Lioy et al., 2002; McGee et al. 2003). EPA estimates of airborne dust ranged from 1,000 µg/m3 to over 100,000 µg/m3 (U.S. EPA 2002). The high content of pulverized cement made the dust highly caustic (pH 10-11) (Lioy et al., 2002; Landrigan et al., 2004).
I've done environmental and mold remediation work. It's dirty work and because of its toxic nature, we were required to take precautions (bio-suits, masks, etc...). And we probably as much or more protection than many of these men and women did - and our work is nowhere near as dangerous in my humble opinion.
And yet these American heroes, like Cesar Borja Sr, remained so that they could find other Americans and rebuild the nation that had been brought to its knees with one terrorist strike.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT NATION OWES THESE PEOPLE?
"These first responders, volunteers and their families are living proof of our very real need to provide for their medical treatment, now and in the future. I hope that as the President presents the State of the Union on Tuesday night, he acknowledges their situation and provides the funding in the upcoming budget that is needed to take care of these brave and selfless people who never questioned their responsibility on 9/11 and are now paying a terrible price," Senator Clinton said.
"The President must act now or 9/11 health clinics are going to get foreclosure notices," said Rep. Maloney. "We cannot let that happen. More responders should not have to die before we finally do right by the heroes of 9/11. It is well past time for 9/11 responders and lower Manhattan residents to get the care they need and deserve."
Clinton and other New York lawmakers have been urging the government for years to pay for treating Sept. 11-related illnesses, putting the responsibility principally with the White House to provide leadership to address this issue.
Current Treatment Funds Run Out Summer 2007, 2008 Funds Nonexistent
Unfortunately, the previously Republican-controlled Congress, the current Republican mayor of NYC, and the Republican President has done little for these people. Given how much Bush and the GOP has used images of 9/11 to build power over the last five years, this hypocrisy shocked even me. I mean, even a cold-hearted political consultant can see it's a smart political move to support the police officers and medical officials who saved America that day.
How did the Republican Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, react to the five year study by Mount Sinai, one of our nation's premier medical institutions?
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cast doubt on the study's claims, saying, "I don't believe that you can say specifically a particular problem came from this particular event."
Really. How did over sixty percent of the people who never had any lung problems prior to 9/11 suddenly develop serious respiratory problems after working at Ground Zero?
I don't understand the Republicans refusal to support the police officers and medical officials who risked their lives doing their duty to their nation. Even if you could ignore their heroism and sacrifice, this would score huge political points for their Party.
So why not do it? How can you use images of the World Trade Center ruins for your re-election campaign, but forget, ignore, and flat deny the lives of those American heroes who where there on 9/11 and for weeks after?
Have these people no shame?
Now that the Democrats control Congress, they have a chance to put substance to their words and charges. They can implement efforts to take care of these people. Let's remind them to do it today!
"We certainly can't promise it," said New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, adding the issue would be decided by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "If I were the speaker, yeah, it would be in the budget."
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York City Democrat, was more optimistic but still could not guarantee the Democratic Congress would pass such a bill this year.
"I believe we will be successful," said Maloney.
The New York Democratic COngressional delegation has actually done a consistent job of pressuring this deaf Administration to do the right thing and support our First Responders. We shouldn't have to but let's put the pressure (polite but firm) to make sure it happens and that any resistence - from any Party - is overcome.
As for Mr. Borja Jr, he was in Washington though he was well aware of his father's critical condition and his attendance of the speech will be for me one of those rare moments in American political history in which the symbol and man truly were heroic.
These past six years have made me cynical and suspicious, and the words "American hero" have become satirical because of its extensive abuse. Mr. Borja, I just want to thank you, if even for a brief moment, for restoring dignity and heroism to the American character.