At the Guardian, Lila Nordstrom writes:
The dust that hasn't settled
As a 9/11 victim and part-time community organiser, I know that the memory of this event does have a place in this election. But, instead of being used as a rationale for the continuing "war on terror," as an excuse for decimating the Bill of Rights, or a segue into a discussion about the "successes" of our war abroad, the events of 9/11 should prompt a conversation about this government's failed health policies. That conversation should not be limited to 9/11 alone but must include other national disasters like Katrina. Instead, any discussion of these disasters, man-made and natural, provides the basis for the argument that America needs a healthcare plan that covers everybody. Now.
"Small government"-style social policy has not served 9/11 victims well. Community groups have had to fight tooth and nail for often meagre funding that comes in one-time bursts. There are still no medical monitoring and few treatment programs available to the thousands of people who were exposed to the toxic dust both on 9/11 and during the clean-up.
Disaster victims should not have to waste their time fighting for access to basic care and worried about the excessive cost of treatment. Community groups should be identifying what special needs require additional funding, not wasting their time making sure that poor families can get their child with the "WTC cough" to a doctor without putting themselves in debt. ...
As somebody who suffered through the events of 9/11 and as a representative of many students who were impacted by those events, I have spent a good bit of the last seven years being betrayed by a government more concerned with war than the welfare of its citizens. We were ones who were put at risk to promote the revitalisation of downtown Manhattan after 9/11, despite the potential cost to our health and our futures. We did our part, willingly or not. It is time that the national discussion of those events focus on how the government can do its part to repay our effort. This election year is the perfect time to begin that discussion.
The Overnight News Digest is posted and includes a story about four Democrats asking that the nationalized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae halt all foreclosure proceedings for 90 days in order to modify loans to help owners keep their homes.