9/11

Sept 11, 2001 was a sad day. On that day many regular citizens were killed in four coordinated terrorist attacks.

To prevent such future tragedies, we need Unity.

From the 9-11 Commission Final Report:
"We call on the American people to remember how we all felt on 9/11, to remember not only the unspeakable horror but how we came together as a nation—one nation. Unity of purpose and unity of effort are the way we will defeat this enemy and make America safer for our children and grandchildren."

Lincoln said "United we stand, divided we fall." At that time he spoke of just one nation.

Today unity just in our nation is not enough. We as a world must follow this same mantra if we, humankind, are to ultimately survive.

I highly recommend that every US Citizen read and re-read the full 9-11 report. It has many lessons for all of us. It can be found at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/Index.html

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

For families of soldiers at war, endless worry

Hi all,

If you have not already, I encourage you to read "For families of soldiers at war, endless worry" in the Sunday 1/6/2008 SJ Mercury News.

You can also read it online at http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion

Here is the letter I sent to letters@mercurynews.com regarding the editorial and the other letters so far:

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I am outraged when others tell me that I can only support our troops if I support the war. That is FALSE. It's falsity is proven many ways. The outpouring of letters from people supporting the troops but not the war proves it. Almost all taxpaying Americans support the troops but a large majority of them are against the war (as shown in numerous polls). I personally support our troops (through taxes and donations) but do not support the war. I salute Stephen Wright's son for doing his patriotic duty while at the same time I work to end this stupid war.

The waste of lives and resources due to the Iraq war is atrocious. 9/11 resulted in 2,752 people dead. The Iraq war has killed nearly 4,000 American troops, wounded 40,000 American troops, killed over 400,000 Iraqi civilians, and cost over 483 billion US dollars so far.

Furthermore, President Bush lied to fool the rest of us -- there were no weapons of mass destruction and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

Democracy is based on people choosing for themselves. Forcing democracy on others is so undemocratic and hypocritical it almost leaves me speechless. I want my country to be a noble role model for others, not a big bully.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA