#NeverForget #9-11-01 #AccessAndRespondAgain #ChangedMyMindOnPatriotAct

It wasn't the bureaucracy of our .gov that was attacked on September 11, 2001. The 19 Jihadists' attack was an attempt by tyrannical people to overthrow the American Way of Life. An attempt, through the creation of mass fear, to cower us into submission. The Islamic Zealots were betting that they would punch into the soft underbelly of our decadent culture and we'd beg forgiveness. They were wrong. While some parts of our culture reacted that way (this is our fault...we're Islamophobic...), most ordinary Americans didn't. Most Americans Love Our Country, and respond the appropriate way when attacked: We Fight Back, we assess and respond and ensure that our people are secured in their God Given Freedoms.

I've shifted my view of some of our national responses to this treachery since then. In an attempt to prevent a future attack, we expanded the federal bureaucracy's surveillance and police state powers, via the Patriot Act and more, so they could sniff out and put down future plots before they happen. What we didn't expect is that those new powers would be used, not primarily to surveil suspected Islamic Terrorists, but rather American Citizens who don't tow the line of what the intelligence apparatuses and Rich Men North of Richmond say. In this way, we are now Less Free than we were the moment those planes were abducted and used as weapons against the American People and American Way of Life.

Like the fight against a foreign adversary who means to end you, when a threat is revealed to us, we respond and take action. When Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned out the 9-11-01 attacks, they played the long-game, recruiting and training and doing Cy-Ops against their targets. It was an effective campaign and took great effort to thwart. The folks who are now using the apparatus of state to separate Americans, and put their thumbs on the scales of justice, and claw away God-given freedoms from the smelly Wal-Mart deplorables, those bitter Americans clinging to their guns and religion, are also playing the long game. And I'd say their campaign has been very effective.

Now that some of their cards in their hand have been exposed, it's time to do what Free People do: Assess and Respond, to ensure that our people are secured in their God Given Freedoms!

#NeverForget
#DoggedDetermination
#FreedomIsBetter