The Gods of Coincidence demand you stay skeptical

I'm recycling this story from the 10th anniversary of 9/11 as a reminder. Giuliani and George W, the two politicians who most effectively milked the disaster to revive flagging careers, are all over the television, taking their place among the galaxy of heroes. Christ, who wasn't a hero on 9/11? Today I learned that even the regular folks who did nothing more heroic than go to their office jobs that Tuesday morning are heroes. The politicians can stand there and laud the heroism of the first responders, even as several levels of government and the private insurance industry connive to deny them proper health care for terminal illnesses that are the direct result of their heroism at ground zero. And on it goes with the by now tiresome recitation of the names of the victims. Just the 9/11 victims, mind you. The good guys. The heroes. The office worker or the waitress or the prep chef or the janitor who just happened to call the twin towers their workplace. Well over 6,000 American servicemen and women have given their lives in the wars of vengeance that followed 9/11. When do we read their names? Six thousand Americans dead to avenge the deaths of three thousand Americans. The math doesn't really add up in my book. But at least we've laid some serious hurtin' on the towel-heads. They've been sent to heaven by the hundreds of thousands. That'll teach them to fuck with the big dog. Too bad the big dog had to go broke to teach them that lesson. So on this day-long celebration of heroism lets not forget to raise a toast to the Gods of Coincidence, who after all, had a very busy day on 9/11. Possibly their busiest day ever. How nineteen Muslim terrorists overcame the combined defences of dozens of security agencies is surely a coincidence of the highest order, especially when all of them had been on the radar of an alphabet soup of Western intelligence agencies for years. How indestructible flight recorders can be vaporized while Mohamed Atta's passport floats safely to earth. How hi-jacked aircraft can mosey through the most highly defended air-space in the world without being challenged. How massive steel columns hundreds of feet away from any impact or fire could spontaneously and simultaneously fail. Coincidence, coincidence, coincidence. A busy day indeed for the Gods of Coincidence. Stay skeptical, my friends