Clay Jones for September 11, 2023

Still no war crimes trials for Bush, Cheney et al? Hypocrites.

The January 6, 2001 attempted overthrow of the United States Capitol was just a continuation of conservative religious terrorists attacking the United States, trying to finish the job that was begun on September 11, 2001, only this time an inside job by DOMESTIC terrorists.

September 11 was a three-pronged attack against American life:

Our Economy: Two aircraft struck the World Trade Center in an attack against a potent symbol of our economy, but the Twin Towers represented only a tiny fraction of our whole economy.

Our Military: A third plane hit the Pentagon — an attack on our military, but it is heavily, heavily fortified and, in any case, like our economy, is widely dispersed at bases around the nation and the world.

Our Federal Government: The Fourth Plane — the one that heroic passengers brought down at Shanksville, Pennsylvania — was aimed by conservative religious terrorists at the United States Capitol building. Both houses of congress were in session that fall Tuesday.

The U.S. Capitol, with both houses of congress in session, was a heavily-concentrated center of government, with the Supreme Court building less than 300 feet away and the White House just a couple of miles down Pennsylvania Avenue. As on September 11, on January 6, both houses of congress were in session, trying to conduct a constitutionally-mandated pro-forma official counting and certification of the Electoral College results. It was not merely an attack on our Federal Government, but on the very process of our democratic elections and peaceful transfer of power.

As January 6 demonstrated, the Capitol building, open to the public and NOT heavily fortified, was a very vulnerable target. This was their “Reichstag moment,” but unlike Hitler in 1933, they failed. Or maybe it is more like their Munich beer putsch moment, when their first attempt failed, but later came back ten years later to succeed.

That last dude’s hat ought to be red and have ‘MAGA’ on it. But here’s a difficult truth: Some people know that the truth is complex and it bothers them to deal with over-simplifications. And folks such as that “Murica” guy, know that “nuance” or “complexity” is just another way to spell “lying”. And they hate people who insist on lying at them (“to” isn’t a good word because it implies a certain amount of connection).

Clay, I will take issue with one thing in the cartoon:

The 9/11 attack did not LEAD to any of those things.

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Republicans used the attack as a pretext to implement and execute ALL of those things you identified. The invasion of Iraq especially, was a TOTAL LIE from the beginning and Republicans KNEW it was a LIE from the beginning.

Even NOW, most of them still claim that invasion was totally justified. They also have NO knowledge whatsoever about the agreement Bush signed that mandated the withdrawal.

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And, of course, they still believe that Clinton’s affair was WAY worse.

And Obama was born in Kenya.

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And, again, there is NO ‘issue’ that Republicans do not weaponize and LIE about.

1,000% agree with you, Clay. The reasons we went to war were right, but definitely wrong too. We still got a lot of making up to do, but, if nothing else, at least we got the scumbag.

How many died by the towers attack and how many died from countries invading Iraq. There was so much BS concerning both tragedies. The first was not accepting that the Saudis were the instigators and the other was done by Bush. We learned nothing from Vietnam.

I’m surprised the christian right winger terrorists that support trump don’t celebrate 9/11 along with their taliban brothers.

60 Minutes aired a moving program last night regarding the incredible bravery of the FDNY on 9/11. It lasted the entire hour and was so inspiring, unlike the nasty, divisive comments displayed here.

I will never forget that day, particularly people making the decision to die by jumping versus burning, and also the immense bravery of the firefighters and police officers, many who gave their lives to help others.

Hey, you Americans voted for this and a country always gets the government it deserves. In 2000, you had the choice of a highly intelligent, highly educated man, very experienced in government as a senator and a vice president, a precient man who foretold and led the way for the Senate’s funding of the internet, a man who saw global warming years before anyone else did, someone who would have continued Clinton’s sucessful economic policies, and yet you elected a doofus frat boy baseball manager and got all the results Clay listed. So own it.

When we were attacked on 9/11 there was only one way that they could really win, and that was if their attack changed who we were.

And it did. The attack fundamentally changed our nation, our way of life, our fundamental character.

It didn’t have to. We could have, we should have made other decisions. We had difficult choices to make, and we failed. Repeatedly.

Not only did THEY win 9/11, we pretty much let them win without a struggle.

Weird that we are reminded to never forget what was a horrific event, but only killed about 3,000 people, and yet so many are willing to forget the way that event was manipulated into promoting the deaths of far more people including more than twice as many US soldiers.

It led to 2 unnecessary wars with concomitant regional instabilities as well as uncounted numbers dying, both soldiers and everyday folk.

Something that is never mentioned: the Bush family made much of their vast fortune through an alliance with a family in Saudi Arabia, a family by the name of Bin Laden.

I have to wonder if somewhere in the Bush mansions, buried under some chest of old paraphernalia, there is an old photo of little Georgie W playing with little Osama.

Of all days to spew partisan garbage, can we not give it a rest on this anniversary?

Revenge… came with many unintended consequences for which Americans still pay, 22 years later.

The genius of Mr. Jones comes through.

Espionage Act of 1917 – resulting in the arrest of Charles Lindbergh’s father – and thousands of others – for saying that Act violated the 1st amendment. Executive Order 9066 -resulting in the internment of over 100,000 American citizens because their ancestry was one of the countries the U.S. was at war with. The Patriot Act – doing away with the 5th amendment.

How can anyone turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to the damage being done to AMERICA! ???

Thank you, Clay, for acknowledging 9-11. ❤️

I’m shocked more aren’t recognizing this awful day in their strips today! Very sad! ☹️☹️

GW Bush started a war in Iraq and a war in Afghanistan after Saudi Arabia attacked the USA.

Saudi Arabia is decreasing oil production to raise USA gas prices to hurt Biden and help Trump.

Then there was ‘the shoe bomber’ and we all had to take off our shoes in the airport. This was followed by ‘the underwear bomber’ (I am not making this up – Google it) but we never had to take off our underwear in the airport.

Yes, yes, scanners, I know…beside the point.

The thing I remember most about that day was a firefighter. A report found him, covered in dirt and ash, clearly exhausted, head hanging down. The reporter went up to him and asked “What’s it like in there?” The firefighter replied with a single word, “Hell.” After pausing the reporter asked him “Are you ready to go back in?” Looking up the firefighter shook his head and said “No.”…then he got up and went back in.

To this day when I think about true courage that firefighter is the image that comes to my mind.

Kudos for not just stopping at Never forget

Everything which is noted in panels 4 through 9 (ISIS existed before 9-11, but it has been enhanced by 4-9) already has rebounded negatively against the US, and will continue to negatively impact the US (particularly in foreign policy-relations) — possibly to far greater degree — for the rest of this century and beyond.

No previous world empire has ever endured. All have grown, peaked, and then either steadily receded or been outright destroyed.

Best case, the US is never more or less instantly destroyed, but instead experiences the “luxury” (in the historical sense) of gradual waning of influence but remaining an independent and functioning entity.

Worst case: once the “waning” period is underway, and planetary military capacity steadily decreases, people with long memories seek revenge for Gitmo, enhanced interrogation, indefinite detention, Islamophobia, a 20 year war in a country wrongfully invaded (and a less lengthy but enormously destructive war in a second country wrongfully invaded), and ISIS.

Very good points today, sir.

Not to mention closing of public bathrooms.

‘They lack humanity’: Jon Stewart and 9/11 first responders excoriate GOP senators who blocked renewal of funding for 9/11 victims

Or that it was brought about by the military industrial complex.

G.W," It’s a tragedy that we can take advantage of."