Bloomberg Fails 9/11 Heroes Again

You know that old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?" Well Mayor Bloomberg really needs to check that one out after supporting Charles Hirsch's decisions regarding the heroes of 9/11 who worked on that wretched pile. Officer James Godbee was a well-fit ex-Marine and an NYPD cop, but after working on the pile, he suffered a fatal heart attack caused by sarcoidosis at the young age of 44.

It sounds like he was one of the many victims of the toxic stew that engulfed lower Manhattan in the days, weeks and months following September 11th. Yet when his widow talked to Hirsch, he told her that his death would remain "classified" and marked as "natural causes" because he wasn't there on the pile on September 11th. Instead, he was there on September 13th. Big @#%$& difference!

For the Mayor to support this man and not a blue ribbon commission is outright absurdity. The victims and their families deserve better than this. Hirsch was already taking fire over Officer Zadroga' death a few weeks ago and now we have him in the news yet again for similar reasons. I guess this was better because he didn't accuse Godbee of injecting prescription medication....nevertheless, Hirsch insulted both families and he is a stain on this city. Bloomberg should have him removed or at the very least investigated, not a man to be commended.

Shame on Hirsch and shame on Bloomberg.

It Isn't Hard To Say "I'm Sorry"

Even though thinking of uttering those two words can be anxiety-ridden for many, it is generally a good thing to do when you have made a mistake. When politicians make mistakes (which is all the time) it is even harder for them to own up to their actions. Yet with enough public pressure and especially from those offended by an elected official, you can get an apology, even with Mayor Bloomberg...well, sort of.

From NY1:

After a very public battle with the mayor over his late son's reputation, Zadroga says he finally got an apology and that he was satisfied.

"He admitted that he was misquoted and that he may have mis-said it," said James' father Joseph Zadroga. "It didn't come out the way that he wanted it to come out and obviously the press ran with it the wrong way."

Calling the mayor “gracious,” Zadroga’s father said Bloomberg also told him he would try to find a way for the September 11th victims’ memorial to also include those who have been sickened by the toxic dust and debris at the WTC site.

Admitting you were misquoted is not an apology, but mis-stating something is a little bit closer to what we usually deem an acceptance of responsibility. We are talking about a politician here, not a real human being or anything like that.

Zadroga's father was also very humble in return and was satisfied with the Mayor's statement that he would look into adding the heroes of 9/11 into the Victim's Memorial. In political-speak that sounds like placating to me, but who knows what could come out of all this bad press for Bloomberg. Maybe all of the victims of September 11th will get their due, we'll just have to see.