Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

SPECIAL 9.11 ANNIVERSARY EDITION

As this Sunday marks ten years since the devastating terror attacks of September 11, 2001,  Team Wilkins dedicates this special edition of our Carolina-Canada Connections to the heroes of 9-11:  our law enforcement and rescue workers, U.S. and Canadian troops, and to the wonderful people across Canada who stepped in and stepped out, welcoming thousands of stranded passengers into their hearts and homes, those who held vigils in cities big and small, and those who rushed across the border to aid in the search, rescue and clean-up. 

In our country's darkest hour, Canada provided the brightest of lights.  We remember and we remain grateful.

Weekly Washington Wrap

• Despite the unity displayed in Washington, D.C. and across the country in the days and weeks following 9-11, ten years down the road it is politics as usual in our nation's capital.  Disastrous job numbers released on Friday that showed zero job growth in August set the tone for Congress’s return to Washington this week.  GOP presidential candidates, Republicans, Democrats, and the president all focused on their job creation plans.  Democrats are calling for another stimulus to kick-start the economy and Republicans want tax reform and to stop EPA, the Department of Labor, and other agencies from over-regulating American businesses.
  
  
• Tonight, the president will officially unveil his jobs plan and try to navigate a middle path between stimulus advocates and conservatives in a speech before a joint session of Congress.  Infrastructure spending and extending payroll tax relief are the two key provisions of the president’s job plans meant to appease the different constituencies, but it is doubtful the entire range of proposals will survive votes in the Republican House and Democratically-controlled Senate.  
   
• But before the president's address later this evening, we mark two kick-offs!  This morning, the “Super Committee,” will convene for the first time to kick-off its debt reduction effort and tonight the NFL season officially starts with a battle between the Saints and the Packers at historic Lambeau Field.  
   
• And while the politicians in Washington are slugging it out, Americans appear united on at least one front: no love for their elected leaders.  President Obama’s approval rating is at an all-time low of 43% and only 28% of those surveyed by ABC/Post approve of the job Republicans are doing in Congress. 

Wilkins Wings It

While most of us had Monday off to mark Labor Day, David Wilkins was winging it to Toronto where he met Tuesday with our favorite Airline CEO, Bob Deluce, and the board of directors for Porter Air. 

He then caught a flight back home and it was onto historic Charleston, SC for the rest of the week – Susan Wilkins by his side – to attend the annual National Speakers' Conference (NSC).  The NSC is a prestigious gathering of the speakers of the House from across the United States.  Wilkins is a past chairman of NSC and remains a lifetime member of the board.

Full Circle  

As so many of us recall where we were that terrible Tuesday morning a decade ago, the NSC is a bittersweet reminder of what Speaker David Wilkins was up to back then.  As that year's chairman of the NSC, he (and his staff!) was busily planning for the 2001 conference also slated for Charleston, SC.

As all will remember, the days in the immediate wake of the terror attacks were filled with fear and anticipation of follow-up attacks.  As NSC chair, Wilkins had to rule on whether he and his fellow speakers should still travel to the conference little more than a week after the attack, or cancel. Following a vigorous and thoughtful debate, the decision was made that the speakers should set the example, get on airplanes, and stop giving the murderers more than they had already taken.

As you might imagine, the September 2001 NSC meeting was both poignant and productive, and it seems most fitting that ten years later, the speakers should once again gather in beautiful Charleston and honor this profound moment in history. 

Speakers Talk Saskatchewan

Attending this year's NSC is a veritable pantheon of VIP pols and pundits and – we are most proud to report – also boasts top-notch Canadian representation. 

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is presenting remarks to the group tomorrow.  With the economy and energy being two hot button issues in the U.S., the premier of Saskatchewan has a lot to offer this gathering of U.S. leaders. 

As Ambassador Wilkins will tell this illustrious group in introducing his good friend, Saskatchewan has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada at 4.9%, is experiencing its highest population growth, and is predicted by many forecasters to lead Canada in economic growth this year and next. 

We might as well go ahead and mention that Wall's government has introduced four balanced budgets in its first term, lowered taxes, and recently received a credit rating upgrade to Triple A from Standard and Poor's. 

In addition to talking energy, Wall will be discussing the importance of the U.S.-Canada bilateral trade relationship as well as the key initiatives that have helped Saskatchewan grow and thrive.

Other Heavy Hitters

Other VIPs expected to make remarks following Premier Wall include U.S. Senators Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullin, U.S Secretary of Homeland Defense Janet Napolitano, and political analyst extraordinaire Charlie Cook. 

The conference is being hosted by Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives Bobby Harrell who was elected in 2005 when Wilkins resigned to accept the ambassadorship to Canada. 

Attendees will also hear from Congressman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley.  Both men have made state history, Scott as the first African-American Republican to be elected from the Palmetto State since the days of Reconstruction, and Riley as one of the country's longest-serving mayors.  Riley, a stalwart Democrat, has been leading Charleston for almost 40 years and under his faithful stewardship, the Holy City has thrived, becoming one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. 

One of the highlights of the conference includes a reception and dinner at the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point. 

Never Forget

David and Susan Wilkins will be home in Greenville, SC, on Sunday where they will mark the 9-11 anniversary at the First Presbyterian Church. 

In light of Ambassador Wilkins friendship with President George W. Bush, First Pres Pastor, Richard Gibbons, asked Wilkins to lead the massive congregation in prayer.  Most fittingly, Wilkins will read Psalm 27 – a powerful scripture that has brought comfort to the countless through the ages. 

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?  2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident…

Wilkins will also be privileged to deliver a personal message sent by President Bush.  That message is embargoed until this Sunday, but keep it here next week for all the details. 

A Decade of Service and Sacrifice 

In honor of the "9-11 generation" we close with a snapshot of the people and the quotes that have helped define a decade: 

"Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts…Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened." – President George W. Bush, Address to the Nation, September 11, 2001

"Are you guys ready? Let's roll." – United Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer's reported last words before working with other passengers to successfully overcome the murderers who gained control of the ill-fated flight. 

“Absent the bravery of those passengers…the U.S. Capitol or White House might have been set to flames…  They knew they were going to lose their lives, but they saw their duty – and they did it.” – New York Post editorial, September 2001

"The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear ultimately.” – Former NY Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, September 11, 2001

"I say to our enemies, we are coming.  God may show you mercy. We will not."— Senator John  McCain (R-AZ)

"Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must." – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"The people who did this have underestimated them. They have looked upon the most affluent and overweight people in the world, seen softness and not understood that underneath, there is iron and resolve and unfathomable will. They have seen the startling diversity of race and religion and ethnicity and heard the cacophony of voices in that remarkable country, and failed to grasp that beneath the heart of every hyphenated American, there rages the heart of an American, period." – Canadian Journalist Christie Blatchford writing in the National Post

"And as the events of September 11 so clearly illustrate, the horrors of the world will not go away if we turn a blind eye to them, no matter how far off they may be.  And these horrors cannot be stopped unless some among us are willing to accept enormous sacrifice and risk to themselves." – Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a 2006 speech marking the five-year anniversary of September 11

"As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe." – President Bush in his Farewell Address to the Nation, January 2009

"Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children."  -- President Barack Obama, May 2011

Where Freedom Dwells

Some seven decades ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic - have always blown on free men." 

May it ever be thus.    

On behalf of all of us here at Team Wilkins, may God keep watch over our defenders of freedom – those on the front lines even today, as well as their families.  We owe them a debt we can only repay by making it our sacred duty to safeguard and forever fan the flames of freedom. 

May God richly bless Canada and the United States of America.