A few of these rescue workers have already died - a mere five years after 9/11. Thousands upon thousands more are suffering from severe respiratory problems - that they will never recover from, and will indeed eventually die from.
Common sense alone, would tell anyone - at least anyone without an agenda - that there has to be a connection between the unbelievable number of rescue workers who have already developed respiratory problems (most of the them being relatively young, fit NYC firefighters and cops) and the fact that two 110 story towers composed of steel, glass, asbestos - and Lord knows what else - were essentially reduced to dust that hung in the air for weeks.
And if common sense isn't good enough, medical tests and autopsies have confirmed that connection according to Sixty Minutes.
For many families, their medical problems have led to severe financial problems as well as 'twilight zone' government decisions. For example, one worker described how he was denied worker compensation benefits - as pathetically inadequate as those would have been.
It is an absolute moral disgrace how our government has abandoned these heroes. And since the entire federal government is controlled by Republicans - the buck stops with them.
The only reason Bush even stood next to the cops and firefighters at Ground Zero for a few minutes, expressing his 'solidarity' with them and proclaiming them "heroes", was for political reasons. That is the only reason Bush does anything. Bush doesn't, and never did, care about those men and women.
If Bush and the Republicans truly cared about these heroes, they would be outraged by some of the 'twilight zone' government decisions that have been made. But they're not.
If Bush and the Republicans truly cared about these heroes, they would set aside a relatively tiny sum of money and make sure that these heroes at least enjoyed quality medical care for the rest of their shortened lives. It's not like giving these people quality medical care is going to materially impact the gargantuan Republican fiscal deficits. But there are no plans for that.
Is it asking too much of Bush and the Republicans to at least give these heroes the peace of mind that their medical problems aren't going to bankrupt their families?
The answer is sadly yes.
Republicans are the ultimate hypocrites. They love to wrap themselves in the American flag and question the patriotism of their opponents. But when push comes to shove, when you look at nothing but facts, the facts are rather ugly.
The fact of the matter is that providing quality medical care to these heroes is a tiny fraction of the tax cuts that the Republicans have given to billionaires - without even taking into account the tax cuts to individuals who are 'only' worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
It is also a tiny fraction of the tens of billions of dollars that Bush and the Republican congress gave to the airlines - many of which were ineptly run, on the verge of bankruptcy to begin with - and that have since gone bankrupt. Talking about flushing money down a toilet...
Bush truly is a moral disgrace. He's the biggest hypocrite and back stabber in the world. When someone is useful to Bush for political reasons, he stands next to him, smiling, shaking his hand, telling him he's an American hero - but when the American hero finds out that this lungs are so full of tiny particles of steel, glass and asbestos that he can no longer work, and his disability pension doesn't cover his medical bills - Bush discards him like trash.
Anyone who knew a 'regular person' who had the ethics of Bush - who callously used people like Bush does - would be considered a complete sleaze bag - by everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike.
