Pirate's Cove

He can’t come up with an actual plan for getting the economy on track…..other than the same old worn ideas that have already failed, written on a cocktail napkin from the 19th hole, of course…..but, he can take time to tell government how to observe the 10th anniversary of September 11th, via the NY Times

The White House has issued detailed guidelines to government officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with instructions to honor the memory of those who died on American soil but also to recall that Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have since carried out attacks elsewhere in the world, from Mumbai to Manila.

Just to be clear, these guidelines are supposedly for federal agencies, not for state and local governments or private citizens, as the The Politico points out in their story.

The White House in recent days has quietly disseminated two sets of documents. One is framed for overseas allies and their citizens and was sent to American embassies and consulates around the globe. The other includes themes for Americans here and underscores the importance of national service and what the government has done to prevent another major attack in the United States. That single-page document was issued to all federal agencies, officials said.

That’s strange, the NY Times makes it seem as if Team Obama is attempting to set how Americans can celebrate 9.11. The Times’ article, which was the first, never makes it clear if these “guidelines” are simply for federal agencies, or for all Americans.

After weeks of internal debate, White House officials adopted the communications documents to shape public events and official statements, and they sought to strike a delicate balance between messages designed for these two very important but very different audiences on a day when the world’s attention will be focused on President Obama, his leadership team and his nation.

Weeks of debate, eh? If only he’d take the same time to deal with the economy. But, really, you know it will be President George W. Bush who will steal the show during the ceremonies. Obama’s the guy who expressed empathy with the Islamist animals who pulled off 9.11.

Some senior Obama administration leaders had advocated a lengthy program of speeches and events to mark the anniversary, but the final decisionwas for lower-key appearances by Mr. Obama and other senior leaders only on the days leading up to the anniversary and on Sept. 11 itself.

Obviously, we can’t let the 10th anniversary get in the way of golf and fund raising.

At the same time, Obama administration officials caution that public commemorations here should not cast the United States as the sole victim of terrorism, an argument underscored by killings and maimings from extremist attacks overseas.

Who the hell do they think was attacked on September 11th? Yes, there were citizens of other countries killed in the Twin Towers, but the attack was on America. Talk about tone deaf!

The domestic guidelines, entitled “9/11 Anniversary Planning,” are shorter and less prescriptive than the talking points created for overseas audiences. For example, they note that the ceremonies will honor Americans killed in the Sept. 11 attacks but also “all victims of terrorism, including those who had been targeted by Al Qaeda and other groups around the globe.”

That’s strange, I don’t remember any Pearl Harbor day ceremonies honoring “all victims of Japanese imperialism around the world.”

Anyhow, let’s wrap this up by returning to something from earlier

The other includes themes for Americans here and underscores the importance of national service and what the government has done to prevent another major attack in the United States.

I wonder if they will highlight things like enhanced interrogation, including water boarding, which has wrung lots of intelligence out of actual terrorists. Isn’t it funny how the waterboarding issue completely disappeared once Obama took office? Enhanced interrogation worked. It kept America safer. Deal with it, Liberals!

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU