Commentary:
Look more closely at the sanctimonious urging to: "give until it hurts." It means you give and give but the moment it starts to hurt, you stop giving.
Now that the patriotic, flag-waving, God-Bless-America singing, patriotic outpouring has started to ebb; now that the truth about patriotism is starting to ooze out as "patriots" rush to sell their stocks and enlarge the economic slide it is time to look for the inevitable effect of the September 11th disaster.
The lawsuits are coming.
The deaths of more than six thousand people can't simply be attributed to mindless terror. Somebody goofed. A lot of somebodies goofed. Litigation lawyers who get rich fighting negligence actions will be stepping forward with claims in the billions.
(By the time you get to read this piece it may no longer be a prediction.)
America and Americans have suffered grievously. Millions have mourned and expressed grief. In the Cleveland suburb of Parma, for example, the firefighters collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from caring people. That is happening.
But there has been gross negligence. 60 Minutes on the 16th interviewed the man who worked for the FAA testing airport security. They were failing monstrously. One congressman speaking with the fire of anger referred to airport security as minimum wage rent-a-cops.
Our federal government, the most devout believers in privatization, have announced the "federalization" of airport security. Too late. The aggrieved will be suing. They will sue airlines and airports (like Logan in Boston) which nickel-and-dimed their way to failure. They will sue the FAA for not listening to their own investigators. They'll sue the U.S. government for deregulating and for not paying attention to the report by former Senators Hart and Rudman about imminent terrorist threats.
They can send troops or planes or threats to Afghanistan. They can mull over multi-billion-dollar aid to airlines. It is one thing to promise billions in family support to all those who died. It is another to dodge the truth about deaths.
Many will be offended by the apparently crass legal grasping for money. There will be accusations that the "vultures have landed." So be it. The victims deserve more than mourning.
Larry Solway and Straight Goods invite your comments on: the aftermath of The Attack and its expected victims and beneficiaries, if any.
Fill out the Straight Goods Cyber Forum survey and enter the draw for Straight Goods gear.
Last week's winner of a Wilno Express CD was Rob Cottingham of Vancouver, BC.
Check out previous Forums
Posted: September 24, 2001
[ Front Page ]
