RE: America, Land of Heros -- Don't look back, don't look up!

Janet,

We only started corresponding a year ago, but I consider you an old friend,
somehow.

Thank you for forward the outstanding thoughts of Russell D. Hoffman and
Sharon Hoffman.  I have forwarded it to my Congressmen, with the comment
that, "While I do not agree with all the specific points, I agree completely
with the general principle."  I may, or may not, also send this reply.


The problem, as I see it, is that World War III has been going on for some
time now, unnoticed.  The second "Day of Infamy" was merely the formal
declaration.

And, while there are certainly many, many pros and cons regarding
dismantling nuclear plants, the question remains:  can individuals with
enough hate get their hands on implements of mass destruction.  The "people"
that perpetrated this crime, and Timothy McVeigh, have already answered that
one.

I believe...  I fear...  That no country has the resources to protect every
building against terrorism.  And no country can remain free, whilst
attempting to protect their resources to the degree that would be necessary.


I do, however, agree completely with both you and the Hoffman's that "we
NEED to come up with more constructive responses than just military
attacks."


War is horrible, but all attempts to outlaw it, to date, have failed.  Until
the time that war is outlawed, for good, the civilized countries of the
world must unite, to ban attacks on innocent civilians.  This is not so
simple, but it's necessary because it is impossible for countries to protect
themselves against these kinds of rabid individuals.

Unfortunately there will be countries, which are not civilized, which will
choose not to unite to ban attacks on innocent civilians.  And there will be
individuals, even within the civilized countries, who will not go by this
law (if established).

So I believe the question will become:  how to deal with these countries,
and these individuals.  And since individuals can get their hands on
implements of war, have enough hate to wage war, and can hide anywhere in
the world, this will be the far tougher problem.  Perhaps this can be
accomplished without military force, but I'm not seeing that as very likely.

America is going to have to find a way to deal with it's own terrorists.
Anybody who feels that people should die, because they hold views other than
there own is, in my mind, a terrorist.

But an equally tough problem is that it will be necessary to unite with
countries, that we have traditionally been enemies with, to defeat
terrorism.  And oppose countries, that we have traditionally been friends
with, if they cannot take steps to reduce the hostilities which just serve
to foment hate.


JMHO.  Glad to see your thoughtful comments.

jt



-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-nontech-admin@midrange.com
[mailto:midrange-nontech-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of
jkrueger@andrewscg.com
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 12:13 PM
To: midrange-nontech@midrange.com
Subject: America, Land of Heros -- Don't look back, don't look up!


Sharon Hoffman is a good friend of mine, and a good friend of COMMON.  Her
comments on the tragedy, and how the country should move forward, are worth
thinking about.

I'm not sure we should dismantle all our nuclear plants, as it would further
increase our dependence on Middle East oil, but we do need to look beyond
the
airports for locations terrorists might strike next, and we should be
investing
in far more than just rebuilding the infrastructure we had in place before
the
attack...

The thought of watching this escalate into World War III scares me to death;
we
NEED to come up with more constructive responses than just military attacks.
This is AMERICA; we can do better if we pull together and come up with a
true
American dream for the 21st century...

Janet Krueger
Rochester, MN


---------------------- Forwarded by Janet Krueger/dhagroup/US on 09/14/2001
10:47 AM ---------------------------

September 14th, 2001

America, Land of Heros -- Don't look back, don't look up!

By Russell D. Hoffman and Sharon L. Hoffman

Crushed under the rubble of the World Trade Center are America's
Finest.  Incinerated within the walls of the Pentagon are America's
Finest.  Smashed into the fields of Pennsylvania are America's Finest.

Every American knows someone who died or who lost a loved one in this
tragedy.  It shows how close we all really are to each other.  Every race,
creed, religion, and nation lost innocent people this week.  All of
humanity weeps.

An unspeakable horror has been perpetrated upon this nation and upon the
world.  But American heros stepped in.  Emergency personnel ran into the
wreckage to pull out survivors.  People helped strangers on the
streets.  They are still doing so.  There was an immediate nationwide
response to the call for blood donations.

Has America collapsed?  Hell, no!  We remain resolved to make this a more
democratic and more peaceful world.

Now what?

Let's teach our children about tolerance and democracy.  Do not let them
become bitter from what they have seen.  Do not let their hearts be filled
with hatred, or a desire for revenge.  If democracy is to prevail, its
champions must not resort to barbarism.

Our fathers' generation liberated the Concentration Camps of Buchenwald,
Dachau, and Auschwitz, and what they saw horrified them.  But they did not
sink to their enemy's level.  We will find our enemies.  Despite our rage,
we must deal with them justly, as our fathers dealt with their enemies.

This is a time for swift but thoughtful action.  We need to look at all
possible threats against America.  We need to find better ways to do
things.  We need to remove as many weaknesses from our infrastructure as we
can -- weaknesses we know exist throughout the framework of our society.

We need to stop using fuel-wasting, dangerous, ozone-destroying air
behemoths (flying bombs) and switch to ground-based transportation systems
such as magnetic levitation rail lines, which are vastly safer than air
travel for the passengers and for everyone else.

We must shut down all nuclear power plants.  The horrendous damage caused
by Tuesday's events would pale in comparison to a nuclear power plant
accident.  Nuclear power plants are vulnerable to sabotage, natural
disasters, design failures, aging, and human error.  Their vulnerability is
significantly reduced (but by no means eliminated) the moment the reactor
is shut down, and continues to decrease thereafter.

We can close the nuclear power plants without significant disruption to
society, by building a worldwide energy grid, by using new pumps, motors,
and computer systems for increased efficiency, by investing in
terrorist-resistant, renewable energy solutions such as wind, wave, tide,
solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass, and by initiating prudent
conservation steps.

We must take full advantage of technology to improve communication and
education.  Knowledge is our best defense.

We know that we will never learn about all the heroic deeds that occurred
on September 11th, 2001, but we know they happened.  We also know that
technology helped and is helping to save lives.  Rescuers are using cell
phones to coordinate their efforts and to find buried victims.  On Tuesday,
cell phones helped passengers on board some of the hijacked planes figure
out that those planes were being used in a coordinated attack.

We don't know exactly what happened on United Flight 93 above Pennsylvania,
but we are now fairly certain that unarmed citizens took control away from
the hijackers.  As a result of communications with loved ones on the
ground, the passengers knew that other planes had been hijacked and flown
into the World Trade Center.  Because of technology, the passengers were
able to properly assess the situation.  According to relatives, the
passengers VOTED on what to do.  In a desperate situation, they acted in a
rational, democratic fashion.  Technology made their heroism possible.

We should immediately strive to finish the job of implementing the
technological revolution.  Let's make digital communications systems
universally available.  We should install video phone reception and
recording capabilities in all 911 offices.  We should finish computerizing
our schools.  We should make technology affordable for everyone.

We have a Nation of heros and we have plenty of good ideas.  Let's get to
work.

Sincerely,

Russell D. Hoffman
Sharon L. Hoffman
Concerned Citizens
Carlsbad, CA
September 14th, 2001
The authors were born in Connecticut and Pennsylvania respectively, and are
former residents of New York City, as well.  They are both computer
professionals living in Southern California, they are in their mid 40s, and
have been married for 24 years.  Together they have more than 40 years in
technology.

Please add your name to this document and forward it to your friends,
government, and local media.  Even in this great country, this message will
be censored by many, but it needs to get out.  Please pass this on for the
sake of all Americans.  If you need additional details on any point, please
ask and we will do our best to get the information for you.

Essay on renewable resources:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/geni/rh2000ge.htm


Sharon L. Hoffman
Senior Technical Editor
NEWS/400, an AS400 Network Publication

email: shoffman@techreflections.com
phone: (760) 720-5433
fax: (760) 720-7394

mailing address:
P.O. Box 1936
Carlsbad, CA 92018








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