The great debate

I caught the first debate. From the perspective of what the American people learned on issues and policy, I think it was essentially a failure as an event. And Trump could have been better, but frankly Hillary Clinton was not very impressive either.

It seemed as though her strategy that night, like her strategy since day one of her campaign, was literally to say as little as possible.

The end result, as reflected in both the polling and my personal view, is that Trump lost a bit of ground with two more debates and four weeks of campaigning remaining. The race remains a dead heat. The two remaining debates will be disproportionately important.

It is estimated 80 million people watched the debate, a new record. That is a good thing. I just wish more of what was said was worth the time of so many Americans.

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We are constantly reminded of the dangers our first responders encounter every day they are on the job. Fire Battalion Chief Fahy was not even in a building when suddenly an explosion resulting from activities at an illegal drug factory that he and his firefighters were responding to caused a large explosion with pieces of a roof striking and killing him, like shrapnel from a military attack.

Of course, Chief Fahy, like all firefighters, knew the dangers of his job and the possibility he could face injury or even death. Yet to have this husband and father of three die at the age of 39 due to an explosion at a drug factory makes the terrible tragedy seem all that much worse.

I know there is some sorting out being done on the charges against the two who have been arrested for being behind the operation in the Bronx that may have caused the explosion. As far as I am concerned, the two are murderers of Fahy, no different from someone who pulled a gun, and as such should be treated the same.

Although nothing can bring Chief Fahy back, his family deserves to know that those responsible were prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

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My compliments to Congressmember Dan Donovan for voting to override President Obama’s veto of legislation to allow Americans to sue, in the United States, Saudi Arabia for its involvement in 9/11.

Saudi Arabia has hundreds of billions of dollars invested in the United States so this could be a real threat to them as well as providing some measure of justice for those Americans directly impacted by 9/11.

The Saudi government has threatened in response to sell American investments. Good luck with that. First, it would become a fire sale in that buyers know the Saudis have their backs against the wall. And, two, where are the Saudis going to put their money – China, Germany, Great Britain, Greece? I do not think so because of foreign investment limitations in these countries or, in some cases, the increased risk of losing everything and/or lower return.

The Saudi government will most likely need to do something it never wanted to do — take American claims seriously.

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