Thursday, July 12, 2007

New York Firefighters Don't Like Rudy

It's about time New York Firefighters made their feelings known about Rudy Giuliani.

Ever since 9/11 all we have heard is how Rudy is the hero of the World Trade Center attacks. Jeebus, all he did was show up video cameras in tow near ground zero.

The raw truth is that Rudy Giuliani was negligent and failed to prepare the New York City Fire Department prior to September 11 for a potential calamity. In spite of his responsibility for the tragedy that befell the NYPD on that day he has shamelessly exploited 9/11 to make tens of millions of dollars and build a base of support through the media for a presidential bid.

So now it is payback time. The actual heroes of 9/11 - members of the International Association of Firefighters - have released a documentary, "Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend" - which features active and retired fire fighters, fire officers and families speaking out about the real Rudy Giuliani.

Here is an excerpt from London Times

Riches was one of 343 firefighters who died. His father spent every day sifting through the wreckage for bodies, eager for some sign of his son. In November, Giuliani ordered a halt to the work after the remains of 91 firefighters had been recovered.

"Giuliani told everybody the bodies were pulverised, but I was digging them up every day. It was grisly stuff, limbs, little bones - people were blown to bits - but the bodies were there," said Riches, 55.

The searchers refused to stop. An ugly clash between the firefighters and the New York police left 18 officers injured. Eventually Giuliani backed down and allowed the work to continue, but not before branding the firefighters’ actions as "sinful".

As late as March, clumps of victims - 13 here, five there, a couple more scattered around - were being found. One of them was Riches’ son.

Several months ago, the International Association of Firefighters held a town hall style forum where Presidential candidates from both parties were invited except for one.

In a letter explaining why the IAFF refused to invite Giuliani to their bipartisan town hall forum, union president Harold Schaitberger writes:

What Giuliani showed following 9/11 is a disgraceful lack of respect for the fallen and those brothers still searching for them. He valued the money and gold and wanted the [World Trade Center] site cleared before he left office at the end of 2001 more than he valued the lives and memories of those lost."

So now Rudy is going to get the GOP invented Swift Boat Treatment only this time there will one big difference. Unlike the liars who attacked John Kerry the Firefighters will have the truth behind them.

You can see the web video at the website set up by the Firefighters at Rudy-UrbanLegend.

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