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Russell A. Vassallo was born in Newark, New Jersey, on April 24, 1934. He graduated from Seton Hall University and Seton Hall School of Law. When depression threatened him after retirement, his wife, Virginia, also a attorney, encouraged him to battle back by writing. To his surprise, he discovered that growing older, maturing and becoming a senior citizen had given him the insight he’d always lacked. Now he hopes writing will not only cure him but will aid animal charities as well as people suffering depression. “You can fight back and win,” he laughs. Russ is retired now and he and Virginia live on a farm in central Kentucky where Russ works the land, rides horses and lives an active and productive life. Russ has written two books about his animal friends, but he is by no means limited to animal stories. Of his new found career, he has this to say: "As long as people read and enjoy what I write…I’ll keep writing."

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Why 9/11?

Why 9/11?


As I watched a documentary on the survivors and non-survivors of 9/11, I asked myself why we were attacked in such a devastating way. It’s horrifying to see people so desperate they were jumping one thousand feet to certain death. In terms of human toll, it is the worst violent attack on us that has ever occurred. I also asked myself why we were unprepared. The enemy certainly had plenty of reason to attack us and they had plenty of reason to suspect we’d give only a token response. I guess I also wondered how Ronnie Reagan would have handled things after 9/11.

Trying to understand why 9/11 occurred, I placed myself in the position of an Moslem. I’m Catholic and we are taught to love and forgive, so it’s difficult to understand the mind of someone whose religious fervor dictates that only by killing others in the name of Allah, can he reach heaven. But that is the tenet of the hard- core Moslem believers.

As I thought about the situation, I thought of all the things I ignored.
Somewhere in there, an attack on the World Trade Center occurred. Well I know it happened but I don’t really know much about it. After all, I live in rural Kentucky and we don’t get much in the way of bombings down here.

Then it seemed our President was so busy in the Oval Office with Monica that he didn’t really make a response when they bombed our ship in the Persian Gulf. And that was another thing I didn’t take the time to learn about.

I think something struck home when they dragged that poor marine’s body through the streets of Somalia, humiliated us, boasted about defeating the greatest nation in the world and our response was to pull our troops out of there. Do ya think maybe Ronnie Reagan might have leveled the place? Somehow it didn’t seem smart to be sending troops to Serbia and Albania when we were being attacked in other places a lot more threatening to us than Serbia. I guess we had to do something for political purposes.

So along comes George Bush, the most maligned President in the history of this nation. Oh, I’m not a fan of his. He’s done some things I absolutely disapprove of, BUT, like Clinton, he is the president and as Americans we should be unified and stand firm. I don’t like the death toll in Iraq. I lost a very good friend in Korea and that made a lot more sense than Iraq. But I know that if we had NOT deposed Hussein, we’d probably have another 9/11 on our hands RIGHT NOW!

I was seven years old when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. I could not wait to be sixteen so my parents could let me sign up to fight for my country. Today we seem to have no patriotism. The flag isn’t something we rally around. It’s something we burn and trample. A lot of fools classify this as freedom of expression and I’ll bet the Communist Liberals in our country just revel in that thought. But when we disparage the flag, we disparage ourselves and we invite attacks such as 9/11. This is what the kids call a no-brainer.

We showed the Moslem terrorists that we were afraid to fight, afraid to take them on, that our military was weakened and our responses were down. We HAD Osama Bin Laden in our hands and our then President did nothing. Didn’t want to lose the Moslem vote. A lot of people paid for that weakness. You can still hear their cries as they fall to the ground. You can still see the tears of the loved ones they left behind. No, you may not like what’s going on in Iraq and now Iran and you may not like all the security in place, but please do consider this… we have not had a single attack since 9/11. Not a single American has died in any attack on American soil.

Now do you think that’s an accident or a coincidence or do you think maybe the President and our Congress is doing something right for a change? If there is a change of Administration to a weaker Administration… well, I’m giving three to one odds we’ll have another major attack if that Administration is weak on foreign policy. And like all of you I do not like $3.00 gas and I do think Mr. Bush is paying off his big oil friends in Texas and corruption is never right… but it can be tolerable as long as we do not have people jumping out of windows and crying over their loved ones who aren’t coming home. It’s better than burning buildings and horrified people.

Russell A Vassallo is a retired trial attorney living in rural Kentucky. His book Tears and Tales, is a compilation of short stories about the animal friends he has loved and lost as well as some of the animals that are still with him. Not a single reader review under FIVE STARS has been listed on Amazon.com. It can be purchased on Amazon.com or directly at Russ@krazyduck.com. Website www.krazyduck.com Christmas is coming!

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