Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a moderate moslem

Mark Steyn was in Phoenix, AZ September 6, 2007 to address the Goldwater Institute and to promote his new book "America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It". Dr. Zhudi Jasser was in attendance. The AZCapitolTimes reported as follows:

One Muslim in attendance, Dr. Zhudi Jasser, a vocal critic of what he sees as Muslims' refusal to rally against its own virulent element, said he agreed with much of Steyn's discussion.....

But Steyn's message falls short, he said, and lacks an urging to ingrain upon Muslims America's "central tenet" of immigration, which he regards as the basis for the nation.

And after escaping at-home dictatorships and theocracies, arriving Muslims should feel free to keep their culture, but should also refrain from segregating themselves and falling under the strict direction of religious authorities, said Jasser, chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

A medical doctor and son of parents of Syrian origin, Jasser said he believes his outspokenness and sense of personal responsibility has left him with few allies. Muslim leaders, he said, seem more interested in either weilding faith to maintain followers or promulgating a sense of "victimhood that is monopolizing the media bandwidth."

"Within the Muslim community, the leadership pretends I don't exist because they want to maintain theocratic control," said Jasser, who calls for "liberty-minded thinktanks for Muslims.

"Outside the Muslim community, political correctness refuses to let anyone be crititcal of Muslims or Islam becuase that's a faith issue, and nobody wants to critical of a faith," said Jasser.

"But it (radical Islam) is not a faith issue. It is a political movement masquerading as a faith."

Wow! Never heard a moslem say that before! Well, that's one little step in the right direction.

The Clash over Arizona's 9/11 Memorial

I tried to find these viewpoints articles online at www.azcentral.com but after searching for over 30 minutes and finding nothing, I give up and will retype them here without the permission of The Arizona Republic Viewpoints Section of September 9, 2007....

NOTE - THE MALL COMMISSION WILL MEET AT 1:30PM, SEPTEMBER 28TH IN SENATE HEARING ROOM 1 TO RECONSIDER RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE MEMORIAL COMMISSION FOR CHANGES.

The Clash over Arizona's 9/11 Memorial
As another Sept. 11 nears, dispute comes to a head

Tom Smith, Governmental Mall Commission Chairman
Flaws in memorial must be fixed

For a memorial that was supposed to bring Arizonans together, the 9/11 Memorial still divides us.

A year after the memorial was unveiled featuring sometimes in appropriate, sometimes odd inscriptions, we still have not come up with a plan to appropriate remember the 3000 people who died six years ago.

Meaningless and political inscriptions fill the memorial.

"Gracie made kids giggle again", reads one. Few can explain who Gracie is, where is she from and how she made "kids giggle again." (Actually, I can. Gracie is a member of the Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission - Kirls).

"You don't win battles of terrorism with more battles" not only insults the current war effort but doesn't represent the view of the vast majority of Arizonans.

After meeting for a year, Arizona's 9/11 commission has approved the removal of two of the 54 statements. "Erroneous U.S. air strike kills 46 Uruzgan civil ans" and "Terrorist organization leader addresses American people" will no longer stand in the Wesley Bolin Plaza at the state Capitol in Phoenix.

The 9/11 commission also approved adding President Bush's name where it currently just says "President".

It also will include two panels to help explain the memorial, something sorely needed.

The biggest problem with the memorial is it seems to be a memorial to the 9/11 commission. Several of the inscriptions highlight random thoughts of members ("You don't win battles of terrorism with more battles" was something overheard by a commission member on a road trip) and each commission member is listed.

Each memorial should be self-explanatory.

A red flag should have been raised when the 9/11 commission found the needed a panel to explain the inscriptions.

Every day the sun shines on that travesty is a disgrace to Arizona's residents and the families of those who fell in New York and Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.

A working group of the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission has met and recommended that all inscriptions that do not pertain directly to the events of 9/11, as required by Govs. Jane Hull and Janet Napolitano, be removed.

In it's place, we should put a real timeline of events of 9/11 instead of a hodgepodge of unrelated sentiments. The working group also recommended that the two panels be placed inside the memorial so everyone who views it will understand what they are looking at.

The Legislative Governmental Mall panel also requests that the statement referring to international terrorists be changed to read radical Islamic terrorists.
The inscriptions on the memorial never mention that the planes were hijacked. Our timeline will include that overlooked point.

Permanently removing the memorial and starting over is another viable option that should be put on the table.

As head of the mall commission, I am committed to seeing that we honor those who died, accurately reflect the views of Arizonans and memorialize that tragic day.
My goal is to have a 9/11 memorial that units Arizonans in a way that reflects the way all Americans were united on that terrible day.

Former state Sen. Tom Smith, a Republican from Phoenix, is chairman of the Arizona Legislative Governmental Mall Commission, which has oversight of all memorial at Wesley Bolin Plaza, across from the Capital.

And get a load of this timeline. It's all about the memorial itself, the politics, and the controversy rather than the lack of any timeline on the memorial.

TIMELINE

Sept 22, 2006 - Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil calls the memorial n insult to 9/11 victims and vows to tear it down and build a new one, if elected.

Sept 24, 2006 - The influential Drudge Report links to the valley news story on criticism of memorial. Conservative bloggers and Rush Limbaugh begin targeting the memorial as insensitive and unAmerican.

Sept 25, 2006 - Republican Reps. Laura Knaperek of Tempe and Russel Pearce of Mesa explore the possibility of a special legislative session to consider tearing down the memorial. Napolitano continues to support the memorial but says she never say the wording.

Oct 1, 2006 - Billy Shields, chairman of the Arizona 9/11 memorial commission, says he will recommend reconvening the commission after the Nov. 7 election to look at whether any statements should be removed.

Dec 15, 2006 - The 9/11 memorial commission meets to gather public comment. About 100 people attend. Chairman Shields says it's "highly likely" some changes will be made.

Aug 17 (2007) - Tom Smith, chairman of the Arizona Legislative Governmental Mall Commission, which has oversight of memorials at Wesley Bolin Plaza, recommends that the mall commission remove inscriptions that don't "specifically apply to the events on or of Sept. 11". Proposal is tabled, to be reconsidered.

Sept 28 (2007) - The mall commission will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 1 to consider recommendations by the memorial commission for changes.

And now for the opposition...

Billy Shields, Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission Chairman
We're addressing valid concerns (even the title is offensive..as if to say, we'll determine if your concerns are valid or not! - Kirls)

Never, never forget!

"On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States was victimized by a murderous terrorist attack. Hijacked commercial airlines were flown into the World Trade Towers in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C. A third aircraft crashed in Shanksville, Penn, when heroic passengers attempted to regain control of the plane.

"Nearly 3000 people lost their lives i those attacks, including an Arizonan. Among the dead were 343 New York City firefighters and dozens of police, Port Authority and EMS officers. More than 30,000 lives were saved at the World Trade Center in what is one of the greatest rescue efforts in history. These were the most deadly attacks by foreign agents on American soil in our country's long history.

"Most of the world recoiled in horror as video of airplanes flying into the World Trade Center were replayed over and over. American citizens were filled with both grief and anger. Most soon recognized that 9/11, as it soon came to be known, although a time-specific reference point, represented much more than just a date. It was an event that profoundly altered our sense of security and of ourselves.

The above quotation was taken from the proposed addition to the Arizona 9/11 Memorial. The words represent a literal narrative of the events of that tragic day. The words also represent the deep listening of a group of volunteers called the Arizona 9/11 memorial commission. (you hear that? it's not about you or the rest of the people of this state! it's all about the commission members - kirls)

The commission consists of a cross-section of Arizonans (including family members of those who perished) who worked for four years to plan, design, fund and involve the public in the Arizona 9/11 Memorial. More than 40,000 people were involved.
The result is a memorial that is unique to Arizona, reflecting Arizona's experience with 9/11, and honoring those who lost their lives in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.

Weeks after the memorial was dedicated and blessed (by an imam no less! kirls) a politician railed against it (a half truth. yes, a politician railed against it, but not until after public opinion had been galvanized against it - Kirls) and drew it into the ugly world of partisan politics. Horrified that the families were being victimized again for political purposes, the 9/11 memorial commission agreed to hear additional input on the memorial, but after the election, not in the carnival atmosphere of a partisan election. (my opinion is that the 911 memorial commission members were horrified that their work was unacceptable to normal people and that it might be forcibly changed! - Kirls)

In December, well after the elections, the commission listened again. After holding more than 50 public hearings in the prior four years, it held another. This hearing was for the sole purpose of taking additional public input on a completely public memorial. For five hours, the commission listened. (see? it's all about the commission members and how hard they worked. Well, guess what commission? you messed up! it's time to face that truth! Kirls)

In additional public meetings this year, the commission developed a list of recommendations that have been forwarded to the Arizona Legislative Governmental Mall Commission, which approved the original design and must approve any changes.

The changes include two new entrance panels. One panel would be the narrative of that day, which I began this column with. The second panel would describe the memorial and how to view it. This panel would describe the use of the sun, Arizona's most plentiful resource, in the design.

It would also describe the sacred artifacts that are the heart of the memorial: a piece of steel from the World Trade Center, rubble from the Pentagon, and dirt from the field in Pennsylvania.

Most of the constructive criticism we received on the memorial had to do with the thoughts that people in the future would not know the details of what happened that day as we do and that the memorial is unique and could be improved by letting visitors know how it is laid out in advance. (Did you see that? they decide which of your criticisms are constructive or not! Kirls)

In addition to the two panels, the commission recommended the removal of two of the original phrases. Gone would be the factually incorrect statement referring to the errant U.S Attack on Uruzgan civilians (isn't it lovely the way this is worded? they can call it errant but still call it an attack on Uruzgan civilians in this way. Kirls), as well as the notation that a terrorist leader addressed the American people in the horrible aftermath of the attacks.

The Arizona 9/11 commission listened. We have forwarded our recommendations to the mall commission. I believe these changes will be in improvement to the memorial in that they help meet our missions of making it educational for future generations.
But, I am most proud that Arizona will never forget 9/11 and of how we came together as a nation. And we will ever forget those innocent souls we lost that murderous day.


Yeah, well guess what Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission - I don't care about your recommendations! You have proven that you are unable to be trusted with a task of this significance without allowing the artists and other political activists to turn it into a manifestation of their hatred of President Bush and all things conservative.

Kirls

Great "at-home" vacation with more relatives!

Well, I just had a great stay-at-home vacation with my sister! She drove all the way from Northern California with her 6-year-old grandson (who she and her husband are raising) and her 16-year-old daughter. It took them 17 hours to get here. Yikes!

We spent a great deal of time in the pool. That first day they were here I think we were in the pool for about 10 hours getting out only for meals and biological imperatives! Fortunately, it's a salt water pool so you don't get as pruney as you would otherwise.

My nephew went from being afraid to get off the 18" big shelf step, to cannon-balling, diving, and swimming halfway to the deep end in about 2 days!

It was fun!

In other news, I have bone spurs in my right shoulder! I've had the cortisone shots and there's nothing left for it but the surgery. And, don't let anyone fool you, that's arthritis! People just like to call it bone spurs because it doesn't sound so middle-aged! LOL

And, let's not forget 6 weeks of physical therapy for my recently broken right leg.

And, the other medical conditions. Sheesh! I'm falling apart!

Oh well, let the remodeling begin. Why not? It worked wonders on my feet! LOL

Catching up...

So, I've been a bit lax (to say the least) in my blogging. I'm planning to end that very soon.

At the end of May/first week of June, I visited my new gentleman friend, Render. We went to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Annapolis. We ate at some of his favorite places. We had a great time just getting to know each other in person. He's a fine man. And brilliant.

Before my vacation trip, I had to travel for work for 4 days. Then, immediately after returning from my vacation, I had to travel for work 12 hours later! argh!

I got the hardware removed from my leg after only three months instead of the expected six. That was great. But, it did mean I couldn't go in the pool for 2 weeks.

My sister and her family visited for a bit. That was nice. Got to see one nephew that hadn't been over here in ages! He's planning to transfer to a California State University soon to get a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering! Of course I think that's cool since I have a BSEE from UCLA.

And just this past weekend, my wonderful gentleman friend, Render, visited. We drove through Sedona to the Grand Canyon. On the way back we passed by the Little Colorado River Gorge and then through Flagstaff. I just love Arizona. When he visits in the winter we'll see a bit of Southern Arizona.

Oh, all my pix have to move from Photosite! They're booting us all off! Look for an update to the pix in the next couple of weeks.

ARGH! Almost forgot! I do have to go to physical therapy for my leg! That's gonna hurt!

Kirls

Bill S1114 provides more oversight of state memorials and monuments

Retyped without permission from the Arizona Capital Times Vol. 108 Issue 24 of June 15, 2007

By Paul Davenport
The Associated Press

In the wake of controversy over the state's Sept. 11 memorial, the Legislature has approved a bill to tighten the approval process for new state memorials and monuments in the Capital complex and any changes to existing ones.
The House on June 8 approved, 44-12, a bill (S1114) that the Senate OK'd May 24. It was sent to Gov. Janet Napalitano, and would effect immediately if she signs it or lets it become law without her signature.
Under the bill, new or revised inscriptions and other design elements would be subject to approval by the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission. Also, proponents of a memorial must pay for any required alterations.
The Mall Commission is early 2006 previewed a gubernatorial commission's general plans for the Sept. 11 memorial, but the inscriptions and other aspects of the memorial drew criticism after it's dedication on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Memorial Commission members have said the Mall Commission could have reviewed in detail any aspect of their work, but the review it did came before inscription decisions were made.
The Memorial commission agreed recently to make changes to some of the inscriptions and add some interpretive panels to describe the memorial's design.
Financed through private fundraising by the Memorial Commission, the circular metal-and-concrete memorial itself is in a form of limbo.
Though dedicated last Sept. 11, the state Department of Administration's director has withheld formal acceptance of the memorial as state property, initially citing drainage problems and then because of the possibility of changes.

No more cast!

Ok, so I finally get out of the cast and I'm free to "walk as much as I want" per my doctor so, of course, my leg is swollen and hurts! gah! This hiking season is shot! And next fall will probably be shot too since that's about when they should take the hardware out.

But, the pool will be done and begin to fill Tuesday night! At least I will be able to swim!

FREEDOM!

I can now stand and walk without the roll-a-bout!

Still in the boot cast but this is so much better!

I can even drive!

FREEDOM!!!!

Finally! No hard cast!

I finally got rid of that awful hard fiberglass cast! I still can't walk though - no weight on my right leg for at least another 2 weeks.

At least I can use the shower again instead of trying to bathe and wash my hair in the bathtub. I nearly drown myself every time I try that! I try to rinse out my hair by leaning back and whoosh! my butt slides out from underneath me, I end up underwater, with my legs sticking straight up! argh!

The shower would be great except the shower stool which was left over from the years of foot surgery, is broken! So, I had the bright idea of just sitting in the bottom of the shower and using the handheld showerhead. Sounds great, right? HA! You get stuck in there! No handholds! You can't get out! argh again!

The pool is nearly done though. I'm sure there will be water in it by the end of April.

Speaking of April, I haven't done my taxes yet! Stupid broken bones!

Glow in the Dark cast

Well, it's been two solid weeks since I broke my leg. Still broken.

I saw the doctor today. They removed the cast, inspected the incisions for any problems (none), then applied the new cast. They also taught me to use The Bone Stimulator (yeah, i know there massive amounts of jokes just now popping into your head!). Warning, those pix aren't for the squeamish!

Oh, and they've laid out the forms for the pool decking this week.

Still Broken - but now i have Xrays to show!

Visited the doctor yesterday. They took xrays. The doctor described the mess he found inside as "a disaster". He had estimated that the entire operation would take about 90 minutes. Three hours later, he was done. There was one piece of bone that was sheared off at a very oblique angle which was difficult to reattach.

I also heard the story from their perspective. You see, while someone else called 911, I called the doctor's office. I said, "Hi, my name is Kirly and I'm a patient of Dr. B. I just broke my ankle. Please give me some advice." Yep, just as calm and cool as that. Of course, they all know me and so couldn't believe it was me and asked me who I was again! You can tell that I have great confidence in this doctor if I called him before I called anyone else. In fact, I wanted the paramedics to just put me in my car and I would drive over to the doctor's office. The break was so unstable the handsome men of the Phoenix Fire Department would hear none of that!

I also got the bad news that this break was so bad that I will be in this cast for a while. Next Thursday, 2 weeks after the breakage, they will remove the cast but only to see how the wound is healing and then right back into another fiberglass cast for another 2 weeks after which we repeat the process. Eventually, I'll get one of the softer, removeable boot casts but that will not be in the next three weeks at least.

So, of course, the pool will be done before I'm healed.

I broke my leg / ankle!

You'll never believe this story....

First, I'm finally getting a pool. So, I told the pool company I'd make a decision about the color of one of the materials by Saturday. And, I've been working at home all week spraying down the shotcrete because you have to keep it wet. so, i decided to go ahead and run the errand to determine my color decision thursday afternoon about 1pm. well, by 1:30 pm I'd broken my ankle.

As I was leaving the business, I walked down a step that I had just walked up a few minutes before. Well, you know how you get that unexpected jolt when you step down something that is either taller or shorter than you expected? Well, it was sort of like that except my right leg went left, my right ankle rolled left, and my right foot went right. I fell to the ground on my behind without even dropping my purse or water bottle while hearing snapping, crunching, and popping. I looked over at my foot and it was at a 90 degree angle to my leg and I thought, that can't be right! So, I reached for my ankle, which was I noticed was also hurting, and noticed that the leg bones were poking against the skin pretty agressively. About this time I realized how much it hurt and that this must be the cause of it. So I instinctively grabbed my ankle and shoved the bones back in place. and held it there until the paramedics arrived. Now, I can honestly say that I never thought I'd ever say/write anything like that!

They insisted I go to the ER because they were unable to stabilze it so off I went in an ambulance. At the ER they ultimately sent me to the happy place of morphineland and they set the bones and casted me all the way above my knee so I couldn't even bend my leg. Boy, was that difficult to get around.

Friday morning I called my doctor and told them what happened. they said come right in so I did. As the doctor looked at the x-rays from the night before he said, "wow. ......... WOW!". Then he started asking me if I'd eaten that morning or had anything to drink and we determined he could do the surgery that very afternoon. Which he did but which took far longer than he expected because when he got in there he saw even more bone damage. Nothing else though so that's good. He said it was the worst ankle break he'd ever seen since he was assisting way back when. WOW! Oh, it was broken at the bottom of both the leg bones.

The doc said I can't put any weight on it for at least 5 weeks. Yikes! Maybe longer.

Almost forgot this part. I had already pulled a muscle in my left calf a few weeks before so you can imagine that using crutches was a rather difficult thing. So, the doc told me about this thing called a wheel about. It is sort of like a walker but only about 1/3 as wide. And it has a place to rest the knee of your injured ankle. And you use your other foot like you would on a skateboard! I've been zooming around the house ever since I got it yesterday!

Anyway, long story short, I'm broken and I'm getting a pool which will probably end up being ready to use before I am ready to use it. haha

I've added some pix to http://www.kirly.photosite.com/ of the pool construction, of me, and of NZ. Soon I'll also add a picture of my lovely purple cast!

Update: Photos of my lovely purple cast and the Roll-a-bout are now on http://www.kirly.photosite.com.


Kirly

AZ 911 Commission to change memorial

From the Arizona Republic of Friday, March 2, 2007 which can be found here (but only temporarily) and which I've quoted below.

However, the only change known at this time is the removal of a blatantly false accusation against the US Air Force ...

07 01 02 ERRONEOUS US AIR STRIKE KILLS 46 URUZGAN CIVILIANS

However, notice that they don't accept that the accusation is false. This in spite of meeting, at the December 2006 AZ 911 Memorial Commission meeting, the Air Force Officer who was in command of the investigation which concluded those killed were Taliban.

I wonder if they'll do more than remove the words "erroneous" and "civilians".

No, they're going to add "introductory panels" to "explain" the abomination to us knuckledraggers since we were all too stupid to figure it out on our own.

Well, don't think that I won't be here to report it all. Just because it's been quiet does NOT mean it's over.

Sept. 11 commission votes to change state memorial
Associated Press
Mar. 2, 2007 12:00 AM

Reacting to criticism of the state's Sept. 11 memorial, a state commission decided Thursday to add introductory panels to explain the terrorist attacks and the memorial itself. It also began a review that could see at least one controversial inscription removed while others are retained.

The governor's memorial commission voted unanimously Thursday to remove an inscription regarding an "erroneous" U.S. airstrike that purportedly killed 46 Afghan civilians.

Commission members said circumstances of the U.S. airstrike are still in question. Some said the inscription prompted criticism that it impugned the United States and its military.