9/11 video tape, The Hotel Bentley, and Another Word on Racial Politics
Today, the Department of Defense released a video of a plane crashing into the Pentagon. This is an important video, because its secrecy, up until today, formed the backbone of most 9/11 conspiracy theories. A few months after 9/11, a French book entitled 9/11: The Big Lie created quite a bit of controversy throughout Europe. Among other things, the book claimed that the Pentagon was actually hit by a missle. (I don’t understand why this was such a “logical” theory, but it convinced a number of people nonetheless). Richard Clarke said something about government conspiracy theories the other day that made a lot of sense to me:
1. They assume the government works.
2. They assume the government can keep secrets.
Both assumptions, he says, are foolish. Hopefully, this video will answer some of the questions people had about 9/11.
The Hotel Bentley:
Today, the Town Talk published a letter about Bob Dean’s relationship with the city. I’d written a long entry on Dean about a month ago; it was also an attempt at seeing things through his eyes. I should say this: Knowing what I know now, I don’t think there are any heroes in this saga. And I’ve always thought that 12.2 million is a ridiculous asking price, basically eliminating the possibility that any buyer could reasonably expect a return on their investment.
Racial Politics:
I caught some grief yesterday for copying what I consider to be racially inflammatory remarks on Cenla Antics. At least, I guess that’s what I was catching grief over. Well, instead of making the issue about me (which seems to be an increasingly popular method of debate), why don’t we make this substantive? I have some questions. I wasn’t living in Alexandria when the Sonia Quarters shooting went down, but I’ve heard some absolutely crazy rumors.
1. Who was this young man and what made him so imminently dangerous?
2. Is it true that there is a “memorial” for this young man in Sonia Quarters? If so, what type of “memorial?”
3. Who organized the protests against the APD and what was their motivation?
4. Did the APD have an arrangement with this young man? (This is the rumor most often heard: That he was a drug dealer and the police received kickbacks. It sounds completely ridiculous to me, but people continue to say this).
5. Can we heal from this?
CenLamar 
Lamar this situation is still in civil litigation. Here are the basic facts, as publically known. I think Tommie Cicardo could fill in a lot of blank spots.
The individual alledgedly had a long criminal history. The evening before the shoot-out he had fired rounds into a police car. The next day the police were attempting to serve a warrant. He was “holed” up in an abandoned house with a cast iron bath tub barricading the front door and “wasn’t going to be taken alive.” The SWAT team moved in to arrest/extract him. HE I REPEAT HE opened fire killing 2 policemen and wounding a third.
The usual mob of police haters gathered, blaming the police, blaming Cicardo, stating the police had it in for him and wanted to kill him. A make shift memorial was set up to commerate his gallant stand.
A side note – this, along with other incidents involving the police and the Black Community is what gave cfs the stroke to get Tommie.
Now the APD, as any organization, has misfits. The APD expects intelligent people to believe one lone little black fellow going to the store for a beer was going to pile up into a pickup filled with 4 policeman who just happened to be sitting in the truck (on Lee Street) watching the clouds float by. The four do not understand that blowing smoke up someones arse can cause rectal cancer. Another possibility is that the little black fellow is the baddest ass to hit Alexandria if he piled up into the pickup truck, no weapon, and try and whup 4 cops in order to steal the truck.
The beautiful part of this story is one of the cops (a white) is/was married to a Black. If so this could not be construed as a racial issue but as a revenge issue.
Tommie took the heat for this though he was constrained by Civil Service and law. The police involved wanted their rights.
2 seperate incidents one the fault of white police one the fault of a black “who was a good boy.”
“Can we heal from this.” Alexandria cannot heal from racial divide until such time as true equality is established. Each community should be treated fairly and equally from a policing standpoint, city service standpoint, etc. This Area has and has had many fine Blacks I am proud to call my frends. Joe Lawson, Amos & Gilda Wesley, Abraham Celestine, Smothers, Mr. John Burgess, the “Right Reverend Joe Green” – intelligent people, hard working people, just trying to get ahead in life and provide for their family. How many of us have enjoyed fellowshipping with Norman at Security. The man goes to mass every day he has to be a good God fearing person.
The few, gang bangers, drug dealers, loud rap music players (the highly visible ones) are the folks what cause the racial discord not the good family folks.
There’s a problem with this story, and I know it’s been talked about frequently: Why did it take them a full day to serve a warrant against someone who fired into a police car? Why didn’t they move in right away? It seems unbelievable to me that our police force would let someone get away with firing at a cop car for a full day. I’m sure that the reasons for this may come out during this civil litigation, but it seems to me that if the APD had handled the situation more immediately, there is a chance (albeit hypothetical) that we could have minimized the damage.
Second point: It also seems to me that (according to the way you’re telling me this story) a few people in the black community wanted to use this (exploit this?) situation and spin it into a Rodney King-type of incident. However, there are too many holes in this version of the story for me to come to any concrete resolutions.
Third, I suppose that people conflate the Sonia Quarters story with the Lee Street pick-up story, and perhaps that is where the confusion lies.
Thanks for the contribution. It was really helpful and informative.
I think – the initial incident occurred the evening (night) before – in fact a black policeman (I think) was the person in the car fired upon. By the time the police arrived to investigate the shooter had disappeared. It wasn’t until the next day when the shooter was identified and located when things began to happened. Again, all are I thinkers.
I think the “masses” were incited by just a few rabble rousers.
In my opinion this incident and a few more that were beyond the control of Cicardo is what opened the door for the Council headed by Mr. Smith to bring pressure on Ned to replace Cicardo.
the bentley is worth about a million cash. a good possible alternative is hot wells. its currently owned by the state dept of health and hospitals. the legislature’s capital outlay has slated around 500k for demolishing it. whats the story there? hell it has rejuvenating waters full of natural minerals and it would seem like and especially since its owned by the state some way to reopen hotwells again. but yet nothing that makes sense ever gets done.
I know more than I want to about the Sonia shooting. Three young men lost their lives. Two of them were friends of mine. One of them I had watched grow up and become as fine a man as you would ever want to meet. The city gov. caved in and took the “PC” route. Lets all bow to the squeeky wheel as they rule this country. When did drug dealers and pimps become the role models for our youth? What ever happend to personal responsibility? Don’t worry! It’s not your fault! It’s “insert your choice of excuses” fault!
Oh my aching arse!
Cicardo, like Ritchie before him, was rewarded for his social leverage gained during the Garden District Rapist investigation. Cicardo, as it turns out, had neither the intelligence, talent, people skills, administrative knowhow, public confidence, moral fortitude, or decency to be a good chief (or a good author). The shootout was a tragic failure of leadership, strategy, judgment, and reason. Some folks were buried and some folks rode it to glory.
Ritchie, who Cicardo replaced, was a smart talented guy who tried unsuccessfully to make progressive changes that were not compatible with the bullshit civil service strictures in the department. Ritchie good – Cicardo bad.
Have you seen this “footage” you speak of? I, for one, don’t see how the release of some piss-poor surveillance footage nearly five years after the initial event proves anything about a plane hitting the pentagon. One can say the government does not work, but it sure succeeded in confiscating every bit of surveillance footage from the Pentagon and surrounding areas. We shouldn’t take the government’s word that a plane hit the Pentagon with no real evidence.
The weapon used to fire upon the officer the night before was an AK-47. How much criticism would have arisen if the shooter had sprayed a clip and downed women & children. Would the good folks of Sonia Quarters be asking why an officer had not stood betwen them & harm? I think so. The truth is that two officers lost their lives doing just that and don’t forget the wounded ones. It was not a racial thing, it is that the danger to the public happened to be black. I dare a white person to pull the same stunt and see what happens. It would end the same way.
I guess you don’t call plane parts evidence? Such moronic thinking! Jet fuel? Where else could that plane have gone?