Working Hard? Or Hardly Working?

On the day of September 11th, 2001, after spending most of the morning flying from one undisclosed location to the next, hiding, in fear of terrorists, President George W. Bush finally made his first statement. He promised, above all else, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

That evening, finally back in the Oval Office, Bush set into motion the plan that would eventually become his "War on Terror."

"I've directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Nearly six years later, has George W. Bush fulfilled his promise? Perhaps that's unfair. It was, indeed, a tall order. So let me instead ask, are we safer today from terror than we were on September 10th, 2001?

WASHINGTON (AP)- U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded al-Qaida has rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, The Associated Press has learned.

The conclusion suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on the United States has been able to regroup along the Afghan-Pakistani border despite nearly six years of bombings, war and other tactics aimed at crippling it.

Yes, of course the CIA is nothing but a bunch of communist baby-haters. And the media is their willing concubine. But Bush isn't exactly denying it.

Bin Laden is still at large. Despite all the power at the United States disposal, the ringleader of the organization that attacked us is free. And he is free because of a concious decision by the Bush administration. "I'm not to worried about him," Bush famously said.

What has Bush acheived? He's torn apart Iraq, destroyed America's reputation, and sent thousands of patriotic boys and girls to their deaths. And Al-Queda keeps growing back, every time its tail is cut off. Yet Bush still refuses to go for the head.

I'll never understand how Iraq became responsible for 9-11. How Bin Laden became Saddam. How "winning hearts and minds" turned into sanctioned torture and collateral damage.

But I guess it was all part of that vision George W. Bush had for America while he was flying to Nebraska on September 11th, afraid for his life.

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Yes, I interviewed a lot of moms. What about dads? Am I sexist? Maybe. There was one dad, that replied to my interview request, but too late to be included in the article. Paul's 11-year-old daughter wrote him a poem in an attempt to sway his decision:

Phone

Why can’t I get a phone?
A phone of my own,
Something to call you on,
Come on Dad,
Come on Mom,
It’s something I need,
I can not feed on it but,
When I go to middle school,
I need to call you,
If you are late,
or if you need someone to hate,
So please, please,
help me.

"When I first saw it, I thought the poem was pretty funny actually," Paul says. She is a real gadget kid, and I think feels some peer pressure to fit in as well. Funny because I brought an iPhone home from work yesterday, and as you can imagine she freaked out."

Her poetic efforts seem to have paid off.

"She is starting a new school this year and I think we've finally decided to get her and her sister phones," Paul says. "It's a convenience thing. It does feel strange, but from a fiscal standpoint, they've been operating and taking care of their nintendo gameboys (and now DS lites, which they bought with their own money), so I think they'll be able to take care of a phone."

What do you think? Is there a minimum age that's reasonable for a kid to own a cell phone? Or should kids receive phones immediately following their bris? Leave your thoughts below, or on the MSN discussion board.

A Quick JFB Update



At the All-Star break, it's looking like a difficult time to be the owner of an All-Jewish Fantasy Baseball team. Ian Kinsler joined David Eckstein on the disabled list, and I found myself in the difficult position of not having a second baseman. Who could I choose to replace him? JFB fans, welcome St. Louis 2nd Baseman Adam Kennedy. Yeah, I know. He sucks. And unless he's like Virginia senator George Allen, he's not Jewish. But his first name is Adam, and so is mine. And there's no other 2nd baseman in the major leagues who even sounds like he belongs to the chosen people.

That being said, the two weeks before the break saw their ups and downs. The Major League Mensches, led by Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilis and Lance Berkman, sheared the Fighting Sheep, 236 to 186. Week 9 Adam's Life Sluggin Semite: Ryan Braun (12 for 27, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB)

Week 10, with no one playing second base and minimal output by subs Kotchman and Geoff Blum, the Torah Team fell 147.5 to 56 to the costco fubars. Week 10 Adam's Life Sluggin Semite: You guessed it... Ryan Braun (11 for 30, 2B, 4 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, BB, 2 SB)

At the break, our brave minyan of baseball heroes finds itself at 3 wins and 7 losses, 6 games out of first place. But with injured stars returning, and the addition of prophet Moises "Moses" Alou, the future is looking as bright as the Shabbos candles.

Dream Date



A couple decided to dine and ditch at two expensive restaurants. The result is this rather bizarre news story, in which the author, in journalism terms, has "buried the lede." Meaning, the most interesting part of the story is mentioned way down in the piece. I think you'll see what I mean.

New MSN Article: Old Folks Remember College



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