Soldiers, Firemen, Policemen, and Flight Attendants?

Soldiers, Firemen, Policemen and Flight Attendants. Reminds me of the days when I would watch Sesame Street as a child.  During that time they would do a short skit called “One of these things is not like the other.” You may recall it. As the War on Terror progresses or digresses, as it appears, each one of these “jobs” is on the frontline of the battle. We all know the sacrifices that soldiers make to bring some sort of law and order to foreign lands that more resemble the planet Tattoine in Star Wars then 21st Century Earth. At least they have weapons and body armor. We know that policemen or women died on 9/11 saving lives and confronting the evil of terrorism. In the future the men and women who wear the badge will find themselves face to face with terrorists maybe even here on the streets of America or the malls or movie theatres. As we have seen in Russia, or Bombay, or even Fort Hood. We know that firemen and women took the brunt of the pain of 9/11.  Three hundred and forty-three died that day. And with the way Al-Qaeda sets up their attacks they hit a target once then wait for the first responders and then they hit it again. These men and women must know what they lay on the line on a normal day. Let alone when Al-Qaeda has you in their sites.

And then we come to Flight Attendants. It seems they may or may not know that the uniform they wear makes them targets. Why anyone would want this job beats the hell out of me. The payscale runs from $18,000 to $45,000 a year. They are not armed,they don’t wear body armor, and they are on the front lines. How could you sign up for a job where you give out pillows and drinks, then have to fight the lowest lives on this planet. It baffles me. What kind of union do they work for? They see people on Terrorist Watch Lists get on flights and then expect their union members with minimal pay and minimal training to fight some insane Muslim bent on destruction and death. Where is their leadership? Where is their protection? Who gives a voice to the voiceless? When does the leadership of the flight attendants and air personal say either get our people protected or you don’t fly with them! When does President Obama (More Pro-Union then Jimmy Hoffa) say it’s not fair to these people. That people doing their jobs under stressful and dangerous conditions, who get paid less than a manager at McDonald’s, don’t have to be locked aboard a submarine with wings with wannabe mass murderers! A Terrorist Watch List is not designed to watch terrorists get on board a plane. When a psychotic killer’s father comes to the U.S. Embassy and say’s my son is with religious extremists. It’s time to take things serious.

Americans learned a hard lesson on 9/11. For arguments sake we were sucker punched. No one was fired. No one’s head rolled. For Christ’s sake George Tenet of the C.I.A. was given a medal. It is up to President Obama to get the message out. Incompetence and ignorance will get you fired. Someone has to lose their job. No if’s, ands, or buts. Whether it was someone in the State Department or Homeland Security they must be out of the business of protecting Americans. President Obama must be the voice of the voiceless now. Every shift the people who work on those flights put their lives on the line. Not only do they have to deal with airlines that cut back on their own maintenance budget in the name of the bottom line. They also have pilot error, or people from other countries who want to slice their heads off in front of their customers. We were warned before 9/11 and we ignored the threat and we payed a horrible price. No more warnings. Americans deserve results. So do these flight attendants.

56 Rebels