What were you doing on Aug. 6, 2001?

[Jane Eyre]

It was a Monday. Dubya was just beginning his vacation.

I was at work.

This is a date that will live in history. Will it become a footnote to 9-11-01, or a significant date in its own right? Is the mention of this date going to become the equivalent to Watergate catch phrases such as "Saturday Night Massacre" or "expletive deleted"?

And if it does become famous, will most people even remember where they were that day?

[swag]

1. President signs PDBs, doesn't he?

Will be interesting to see if his initials are blotted out for purposes of national security.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

2. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but I honestly

don't think that day will become historic.

I heard tonight that if the WH does declassify the PDB it will be redacted (sp?). The so-called "liberal media" will spin themselves silly and anyone that has the audacity to say anything to the contrary will be labeled as a wing-nut, an unpatriotic American or worse.

Face it, we don't have a free media in the US anymore. Back in 1973/1974 there were journalists that had some "cajones". Not anymore, they're all in debt to their "corporate masters".

As to Aug. 6, 2001, I was at work as well, but my focus at that point was about a Gaelic football club in Chicago winning their 11th North American Championship. Sounds silly, I know, but that's the truth.

BTW that particular team did win in San Francisco on Sept. 2, 2001 and when they arrived back in Chicago on Sept. 3rd a great celebration went on until the early hours of Sept. 4, 2001.

Looking back remembering what myself and other friends of mine were concentrating on seems totally silly. But wasn't the cover story of Time Magazine that week something about the shark attacks in Florida?

Bottom line, the American public and the families of the victims of the 9-11-2001 attacks were blind-sided that early fall day.

However, the frauds that are now in charge of the US government and the others that are as equally responsible for what happened that awful day will never be called on it.

[fujiyama]

4. I remember

the big stories at the time were shark attacks and Garry Condit. Here's what TIME magazine had on their cover on Aug 6th.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/0,16641,1101010806,00.html

The week before that was shark attacks and the week before that was Garry Condit.

[mykpart]

3. I was in the hospital

in a cardiac care unit. I had bypass surgery on 8/13/01, not quite a month before 9/11.

[MrSlayer]

5. Just starting my Disney World vacation.

Ah, the good old days when I actually had money to spend on such things.

[VolcanoJen]

6. I'm pretty sure I was on my way to a Dave Matthews Band concert.

Flame at will. We could all use a little stress relief with the deluge of bad news, and I can take it. I don't need to clear cedar to prove that I'm a man... ummm... err...

}(

I do remember having a really wonderful summer that year. Just magical. :-(

[coda]

7. Embryonic stem cell research was all that was being talked about.

He gave his 'life begins at 9.00 ET on 8-09-01" speech.

No more embryos to be used after that date.

For stem cell research that is.

He would not and he _ did _ not _ mention a policy that dealt with the "leftover" embryos from couples trying for invitro and he dodged it again in his interview the next night.


Remeber his interview, from Crawford on ABC the next night? (8-10-01)



======
Excerpts:


CLAIRE SHIPMAN: You talked a lot about prayer in this process. Did you reach out to God for guidance in this decision and did you get any?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I reach out to God every day. I pray every day, I read the bible every day. I don't see how I could do this job without prayer. And - and reading the scripture and — you know — your question's a loaded question.

Only thing I can tell you is that I do pray every day.

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: I didn't mean it to be a loaded question.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well …

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: But you — you talked a lot about prayer in, in reaching the …

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well I think, I think yeah, I think this is the kind of decision where it does require prayer. Prayerful consideration. And I'm very comfortable with the decision I made.


<snip>


CLAIRE SHIPMAN: You think it's consistent with your campaign promise -

PRESIDENT BUSH: Absolutely. I do. And I think the idea that the stem cell lines exist gives the country a good opportunity to determine whether embryonic stem cell research will work. The life and death decision's already been made. My decision is a very moral decision.



<snip>



(WATCH HIM DODGE THE INVITRO QUESTION)


CLAIRE SHIPMAN: There are a couple questions you posed last night that you said guided you through this process.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yeah.

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: One — the fundamental question, when does life begin and also what's gonna happen to all those frozen embryos that are used for in vitro fertilization. But I didn't feel as though we got your answer …

PRESIDENT BUSH: My answer.

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: … on what you think about the -

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well my point was, I wasn't telling you. And I'll be glad to tell you. I think life begins at conception but, but this was a decision …

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: Even in a petri dish. Even with a few cells.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, yes I believe that. And on the other hand, my decision - and that influenced my decision of course. The point I was trying to make is that there is widespread disagreement about that issue. And the truth of the matter is, if you really think it through - you know that's a decision that only the great creator could come and explain to us. Or an answer the great creator could explain to us. But my point I was making was that, those were the fundamental questions that people were debating. And I wanted people to know that I had thought through those.

And listened to people.




more....

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/shipman_stemcell_bush_trans010810.html

[VolcanoJen]

8. The Onion got it right: Remember what we were thinking about...

... that summer?

This, from the unforgettable Onion - September 26, 2001 edition:

[KharmaTrain]

9. I Was About To Go To Logan Airport...Condit, Condit, Condit!

My neice was married the last weekend of August in Boston. We traveled in and out of Logan in Boston...what a real trip that was...and stayed at a hotel with a view of Boston Harbor. Also outside my window I could easily see (and video) the runways at Logan...planes taking off, two at a time, day and night...and relatively open.

I couldn't help but notice now easy it was for someone with a sailboat to go right up onto the tarmac, and when we returned to Chicago, we ended up with a security mess...only two of five metal detectors were working and only one person appeared to know how it worked. We were rushed through the line, despite my wife setting off the detector with her nail clippers (they didn't have the time for us to open the bag...line was too backed up). Atta couldn't have picked a better airport.

I also remember seeing nothing but non-stop Chandra Levy and Gary Condit in our hotel room. My daughter, whose name is Shauna, got a message from the desk adressed to "Chandra". If that doesn't show you where we were at at the time.

No one seems to mention the media frenzy that was going on at that time. It dominated the news and talk shows...easy for Bunnypants to vanish onto vacation and Al Queda to get their plane tickets and box cutters. Ironically, one of the loudest talking heads was Barbara Olson.

[Eurobabe]

10. Living in Europe, shoulda stayed there?!

Actually I think I had just flown home for two weeks on 8/4 to start a motorcycle safety course in PA. Blissfully unaware that terrarists were planning on using planes as missles. Gosh now THOSE were the days!