Essays by Congressman Manzullo

Rain. It finally came on the day of his funeral, the day we would say good-bye to one of the most significant figures in our history. It threatened the day before, as authorities pondered the impact of the massive thunderstorm on the tens of thousands of people waiting hours in line to enter the Rotunda to gain a glimpse of the flag-draped casket on the catafalque where Lincoln’s body had rested.
[more]

The English language has many adjectives. None can describe the New York I saw on Monday. One hundred eight members of Congress traveled from Washington to New York to visit Ground Zero. I really did not want to go, but I felt compelled to go. From Penn Station we traveled by bus to Pier 92 on the Hudson River, where Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani briefed us. [more]

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, started like an ordinary day. I rode to the Capitol with Congressman Lee Terry and at 9:30 a.m. crossed the 14th street bridge, a quarter mile from the Pentagon.

Ten minutes later, the airplane struck the building. [more]

The forecast was rain, sleet, then snow.Many of the same national media that were trying to prepare America for the day, had failed to report that a hand count had been concluded in Miami-Dade County, where 10,000 plus ballots had been contested, and by anybody's "standard" Bush had actually picked up votes. But Freda and I didn't need anybody to prepare us; we had been waiting since the spring of 1997, when we concluded it was George W. Bush that should be the next president. [more]