The Department of Homeland Security says this is a motto for patriots, which is what I’ve always tried to be. After a lot of looking, I’m saying something.

I saw a large airplane crash into the South Tower, Building Two, of the World Trade Center—on television, live, at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001. Knowing that a large aircraft had flown into the North Tower a few minutes earlier, it was obvious that both crashes were intentional. I said: “They’d better be on their toes in Washington.”

Later I learned that people in the Pentagon who had TV sets also said something, namely “We’re next.” And they were. In about half an hour, 125 of them were dead at their desks. They trusted their superiors, as patriots tend to do, and they got double-crossed.

Let me tell you the story.

If the United States is not kaput it is certainly withering away even as a rich upper class enjoys all the things that money buys. There is massive, widespread economic pain inflicting a huge fraction of Americans who are unemployed, underemployed, relying on food stamps, losing their homes, and who are feeling totally insecure financially. This maintains sluggish consumer spending that makes necessary economic growth impossible.

The corporate bigwigs meanwhile are essentially using economic blackmail as they sit on trillions of dollars in cash, refusing to invest their capital and making great profits because they have cut workers and increased productivity. They want even more benefits from government that they think Republicans will give them.

No wonder that only 11 percent of people have confidence in Congress and most Americans are fed up with both major political parties. It is bewildering why more Americans are not openly condemning President Obama and his administration. Perhaps because there is no clear Republican that warrants support to replace him.

NBC’s David Gregory just interviewed General Petraeus on Meet the Press, and he totally failed to ask the tough questions about the Afghanistan War. Instead, he gave Petraeus a platform to claim we’re “making progress,” a well-worn message aimed at convincing elites to ignore the massive public opposition to extending the war. If the rest of the media fail to ask hard questions during Petraeus’ upcoming media tour, there’s a chance he could get what he wants: the freedom to extend this brutal, futile war.

Sign our

petition to tell the next journalists on Petraeus' media tour to ask tough questions and expose his effort to extend the Afghanistan War.

CBS’ Katie Couric, FOX News’ Jennifer Griffin, and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos are in line to talk to the general. Since Couric is next, we’ll start with her. Tell her to ask tough questions about Petraeus' claims of "progress" and his attempt to extend the Afghanistan War.

In July 1967, I met Lee Lockwood at the Mexico City ticket counter of Cubana de Aviacion. He had black curly hair, a confident almost smug look and he toted camera bags. “I loved your book, the best, most honest book on Cuba,” (Castro’s Cuba; Cuba’s Fidel which he later updated) I told him. “Brilliant photos,” which he had taken for Life Magazine. “Thanks,” he snorted.

He had recently returned from Hanoi. He told me he’d run into the street just before U.S. planes bombed to get shots of Vietnamese civilians heading for air raid shelters – man hole covers. (“North Vietnam Under Siege,” Life Magazine, April 7, 1967)

Lee had another assignment from Life and I, with Richard Moore and Irving Saraf, had a contract for a public television film on Cuba (Report from Cuba).