And there were these footnotes to the story of America at war.
Former Clinton adviser Dick Morris writes in the New York Post that the former president was advised repeatedly in 1995 and 1996 to crack down on terrorism. Morris says Clinton was urged to use the motor vehicle laws as a tool to crack down on enemies inside our borders. One proposal involved a federal law requiring that drivers' licenses expire when visas do for citizens – and also that no permits be issued to illegal aliens. That way law enforcement officials could determine whether drivers pulled over were in the country illegally. If so, those people would be arrested and deportation proceedings would begin. That plan would've meant deportation proceedings would begin, if that plan had taken effect.Mohammed Atta – the alleged ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks – would've been thrown out of the U.S. three months before the killing. Over the summer, Florida police pulled him over for driving without a valid license.
A branch of the Days Inn hotel chain has reached a settlement with New York's attorney general – after being accused of price gouging in the wake of the attacks. After Sept. 11, all air traffic was shut down and many travelers were stranded in New York. Investigators found the Days Inn of Hicksville, in Long Island, began charging 399 bucks for rooms that normally rent for $139 a night. The attorney general declared a state of emergency following the attacks – which forbade raising prices for goods and services during the crisis. The hotel has agreed to make refunds to consumers who were overcharged. It also will pay nearly $10,000 in civil penalties and court costs.
Finally, coming to a Target near you – the New York Firefighter doll. The action figure was designed by G.I. Joe's creator, and had been sold in a shop by the city's fire department. Then came Sept. 11. Demand has been so great for the $25 F.D.N.Y. doll, Target is carrying it beginning today. Five dollars from each sale go to the New York Firefighters Foundation, for the families of the fallen heroes.