One of our newsletter subscribers' favorite features has always been "Heroes and Villians." If you would like to nominate an organization or individual, please write to Heroes@ConservativeTruth.org or Villains@ConservativeTruth.org With the reasons for your nomination. Include documentation such as an Internet link if available. Please keep in mind that "Heroes" are not necessarily people who have risked their lives, nor do all the "Villains" belong in jail. We're looking for people we can admire (or un-admire) for this feature. So many of each have emerged since September 11 that it is difficult to choose the most deserving in each category. We'll give it our best shot.

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HEROES

PRESIDENT GEORGE WALKER BUSH for not rushing into hasty action following the Attack, and for his firm and calming manner which has helped avoid panic. This was confirmed by the recent national poll in which 72% of Americans said they were glad Bush was President during this crisis instead of Clinton. Only 20% said they wished Clinton was still in charge.

LISA BEAMER, pregnant widow of Flight 93 hero Mark Beamer, for having the courage to set an example for America. She recently flew on the same United flight on which her husband died.

THE HEROES OF FLIGHT 93 who saved so many lives by their selfless actions.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA for being the first nation ever to supply aid to the victims of war while attacking their rogue government. The food drops will go a long way toward convincing the Afghan people that they are not our enemies, that we are only after the terrorists.

THE EMERGENCY PERSONNEL who worked tirelessly at the Pentagon and the WTC. We usually find our heroes in the military when we go to war. So far in the War on Terrorism, the heroes that have emerged have been our firefighters, police, paramedics and EMT's.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT for making it crystal clear that perpetrators of terrorist hoaxes will be prosecuted and could get up to life in prison. These hoaxes divert precious (and scarce) resources from saving lives in real situations.

THE THOUSANDS OF ORDINARY AMERICANS who gave blood, searched the rubble, fed and sheltered victims of the Attack, gave to the relief funds, and generally acted like the generous people that we are.

THE BRAVE PEOPLE who overpowered the man who tried to crash the Greyhound bus. Thank God we are finally starting to realize that we can't wait for "someone else" to take action in a crisis.

MY 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER SARAH, for reminding me to pray for the President. During our morning prayers (which we call Buenos Dias Jesus, because she's learning Spanish), if I forget to pray for him, she always says, "The President!!" Let's all remember to pray for him and his family. They are under great stress.

VILLAINS

THE TALIBAN, for telling their starving people not to eat the U.S. air-dropped food, claiming it is poisoned.

THREE MIAMI FIREFIGHTERS (who, for some reason, don't want their names used) for refusing to answer emergency calls until the American Flag (which they called a "Symbol of Oppression") was removed from their fire truck.

THE BROKEN ARROW, OK., SCHOOL BOARD for removing "God Bless America" signs from schools because, "Someone might be offended."

THE MADISON, WI., SCHOOL BOARD for banning the Pledge of Allegiance because it mentions God. Public outrage forced these socialists to reverse their decision.

LONG ISLAND'S CHANNEL 12 TV, for ordering flags removed from the news room and from the lapels of reporters, because the owners felt that our nation's flag might give the appearance that "they lean one way or another."

THE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA CITY COUNCIL for issuing a possibly treasonous (and definitely despicable) resolution condemning our nation for fighting back against the terrorists in Afghanistan, and for banning U.S. flags from city fire trucks because they didn't want to "offend" anyone in their liberal community.

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON for drastically cutting funds for human intelligence in favor of technological gimmicks. If we had had effective human spies in Afghanistan and other countries where bin Ladin hides out, the Attack might have been discovered and thwarted, as many others have been in the past. President Bush is now actively recruiting agents who speak Arabic languages, which will help repair the damage done to our intelligence services.

THE HEAD LIBRARIAN AT FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY, who, in an "act of tolerance" ordered "Proud to be an American" signs removed because they might "...offend international students." (Whose country is this? And where in the Bill of Rights were we granted the right "not to ever be offended by anything?")

IRRESPONSIBLE MEDIA TYPES who jeopardize national security by revealing sensitive information on troop and aircraft movements which is helpful to the Taliban. These same "journalists", citing the public's "need to know" (where is that in the Constitution?), blabbed about the CIA monitoring Osama bin Ladin's cell phone calls. It is possible that, using information from those calls, authorities might have caught him prior to September 11.

THE HOLLYWOOD ELITE for canceling the Emmy Awards. Not that I missed them, but because it shows both their arrogance (they think they are so important that they would be a prime candidate for terrorists) and their cowardice.

PROFITEERING "BUSINESSMEN" who jacked up gas prices to as high as $5 per gallon on September 11 & 12, and others who today are charging outrageous prices for gas masks and American Flags. Shame on you.