...politicians go unscripted. We get to see narcissism and ignorance blindly grandstanding as strength and wisdom.

What little Benito had done in NYC you can see in many 3rd world cities around the world run by oligarchs and fascists. In order to sooth the tourists and placate the middle class, the use the police to brutalize the poor and "undesirable" elements and kick them out of sight, as far away from the shopping areas as possible. The most violent example of that method is used in Rio, where juvenile beggars and street urchins are routinely murdered by cops, moonlighting at night as death squad assassins in the name of protecting commerce. Giuliani had visited Rio as mayor and obviously received advise on how to get rid of the poor without actually dealing with poverty.

Last year, at the funeral for a firefighter who had spent much time at Ground Zero (he died of complications from several lung diseases striking him quickly and together) I was more than amazed at what I heard as part of the eulogies. A high-ranking fire officer said that he was not trying to politicize the funeral, but he wanted everyone in the church to know that Sen. Hillary Clinton was one of the few people in Washington who were actually doing something to help the firefighters and other rescue workers who were developing lung and heart diseases after their work on the site. He went ton to say that, in the coming elections, many politicians would be trying to build their reputations on the deaths of 9-11, and he wanted us all to know that there was one person who had actually done something other than take a photo-op.

Not what I was expecting to hear... but what I was glad was being told. It was after the funeral, talking with some of Tom's friends that I realized how much the firefighters despised Rudy, blaming him for the radios that didn't work, for rushing the search for the remains of the dead and having them dumped into a landfill, and for "standing on the shoulders of the dead".

...that Giuliani, Bush, and all the GOP ilk got a ton of mileage out of white fear of Arabs/black folks/immigrants/whoever. Hell, without dark-skinned folks to freak people out over, half of Bush's platform would be gone.

>one blames whitey...<

Dude, if you have problems with reading comprehension, you really should get that taken care of before you try to talk with the grownups. Anyone who followed Giuliani's record knows he was racist scum. Just a look at how he handled the Dorismond and Louima killings (by denying, distorting, and--in Dorismond's case--trying to defame) was proof enough. He gave the NYPD free reign to treat black men and teenagers like crap--a problem the city is still suffering from today. And we won't even get into how he routinely shut out African-American city politicians and groups from having fair imput into issues that affected _their_ communities. Just because you don't follow the news, or have drunk the Kool-Aid...or just can't handle facts doesn't make the latter go away.

"No, Garry...he doesn't deserve a break."

For the love of pete! Read my letter again. Where in the world does it say that Il Duce deserves a break? Where was that even implied?

Nita, Nita, Nita. I'll give you a break this time for possibly skimming my letter and judging in haste. But honestly! I prefaced the whole letter and then reiterated that I have no love for Giuliani.

Now as for Kweberlit's idiotic reply, I am under no restriction of friendship to be even a little bit nice:

He said that I missed the point. Gah! and sweet love of Jesus! How much more clear would I have to make myself? Go for bold type? Kwe-less writes:

"The point is that GIULIANI CLAIMED to have spent as much time at ground zero as the rescue workers, which is total self-aggrandizing baloney. Clinton made no such claim."

Look, you choad. I wrote this:

" he was a fool for saying he spent so much time at GZ that he felt like one of the recovery and cleanup workers (The rescue itself being over long before)."

You missed that? How about this:

"Aside from Il Duce trying to make some cheap political point with his lie, ..."

You missed that too?

And you say that I missed the point? You are missing the cognitive ability to read and understand simple English.

Would anybody care to weigh in on my question:

What useful work could he (or any other politician) have done to make a difference down in that smoking hole in the months following the collapse? A highly visible public figure who needs security protection, like Il Duce, or Hillary, or any politician, is only going to halt or limit the recovery effort while they prance around in front of cameras. They really have no business down there other than a photo op. Neither one of them could lift as much as a 25 lb. chunk of concrete. What do you expect them to do there?

Chris Swart got it right. It was so easy for him to read my letter and understand what I wrote. I would expect nothing less from other readers, especially my friends here.

C'mon! If anybody needs a break around here, it's me!

Want a war that "will not end in our lifetime", an unending series of attacks and counterattacks? Want to be reminded daily of the dangers of Islamofascism and how we must continue to sacrifice our money and our children to fight it? Just vote Rudy Giuliani or just about any of the other Republican candidates into office. The hatred and fear they engender will provide the collective emotional fuel to keep the U.S. in perpetual war.

Want a candidate who has taken the trouble to understand the various situations of current conflicts objectively and from the other side's point of view, whose goal is reconciliation, not retribution.? Look into the campaigns of Republican Ron Paul and Democrat Dennis Kucinich. They offer a reasonable alternative to endless warfare that only serves the purposes of the already economically privileged and politically powerful.