Beyond Sept. 11, Cont’d
No one is really sure what the long-term consequences of the terrorist actions against the U.S. will be. Much depends on the way in which we respond. So far, Bush has taken a very measured course by isolating the Taliban from other nations and from the Afghan people.
There will obviously be much greater vigilance at our airports. El Al will likely be the model for airline security. If airlines are no longer the transportation mode of choice, I would look for increased growth in high-speed rail on the East coast, and perhaps here as well. There will be increased pressure for sky marshals,”Bubba the Flight Attendant?” It will take people time to recover, but the American people bounced back fairly quickly after John Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy was killed in November 1963, and the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan in February of 1964; Beatlemania followed.
I would imagine the WTC site will be cleared and the towers will be built back in some form, but the emotional scars will remain long after. There will be an upsurge in patriotism and, I would imagine, an upsurge in young people interested in pursuing careers in the once-maligned military and intelligence agencies. There certainly seems to be greater interest in the subject I teach, which is political science.
By the way, in the coming weeks Chapman will be conducting a scientific survey of 1,000 OC residents about the long-term impact of the terrorist bombings. Businesses that help to sponsor this effort will be able to include up to five proprietary questions in the survey. Interested parties should contact me at (714) 997-6610 or at smoller@chapman.edu.
Fred Smoller
Chair, Department of Political Science
Director, Ludie and David C. Henley Social Sciences Research Laboratory
Chapman University
There has been a considerable amount of discussion about the importance of community and faith-based nonprofits before and after the horrific attacks of Sept. 11.
Now, as Congress and the White House consider an Economic Stimulus Proposal, we hope that they continue to look to the nation’s 3,600 community development corporations. By making strategic investments in proven federal community economic development proposals that create jobs and help businesses grow, Congress and the President can ensure that all levels of the economy quickly benefit from the stimulus plan.
The National Congress for Community Economic Development has proposed a stimulus proposal that details the federal programs in housing, business development and job creation that will assist moderate- and low-income communities in urban and rural America. We urge Congress and the President to give NCCED’s proposal significant consideration.
Allen P. Baldwin
Executive Director
Orange County Community Housing Corp.
Santa Ana
I was looking forward to what Rick Reiff would say about the Sept. 11 tragedy and wasn’t disappointed. His Sept. 17 editorial, “A Bad Investment,” was powerful and thought-provoking.
My first thought was that we do a terrible job of deciding which regimes to back in other countries,Cuba and Vietnam come immediately to mind. The Marshal Plan was relatively successful, as long as we abided by its original premise of confronting “hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.”
When you think about it, each time we substitute weapons for humanitarian aid in our policy, it seems to backfire on us later.
Sandi Clark
Realtor, First Team
Irvine
I wish to express my objection to use of the following terms in the first paragraph of your Oct. 8 story, “PacBell Fighting Two-Front DSL War in OC”:
–Two-Front War
–latest salvo
–longtime battle
–taking the offensive
–one of the battlegrounds
Carol Stewart
Legal secretary
Rutan & Tucker
Costa Mesa
Editor’s note:
Military analogies, like sports analogies, are often used in business stories, particularly when describing something as intense as the competition in the digital subscriber line (DSL) market. However, in light of the current situation in the country, we appreciate that some people would be offended by the use of such terms, and we thank Carol Stewart for raising our awareness.
