Ben BГhmer - After Earth

The wolf pack responsible for the otter carnage first swam to the island to begin hunting in 2013, subsequently causing the island's deer population to plummet. Yet after eliminating their main source of food from the island, the wolves (Canis lupus) didn't leave. Now, a study published Jan 23. in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab), has tracked the pack since 2015 to reveal how the wolves adapted to eat otters.

Ben Böhmer - After Earth

Instead of undermining civil liberties in the name of the fallen of 9-11, we should truly honor them by providing complete healthcare to the first responders and those that worked in the ruins afterward. Andrea - TX

It was the aftermath of 9/11 that moved me to join the ACLU, when I saw our nation willing to sacrifice our defining freedoms to try to secure a sense of safety. Freedom is far too precious, our civil rights are far too dear, to throw away in panic in a time of fear. It still stuns me that the greatest threat to our freedoms comes from our own government and its officials. Arthur - FL

I have read that the Roman Empire and many that came after it eventually fell apart because they overextended themselves militarily. The British saw this reality and gracefully returned its empire to its original owners. Will America continue on its present course of Permananet War, murder-by-drone or Special Ops corps, imprisonment without charge but with torture or will it learn from history? Bernice - MN

We must restore the Constitutional Rights lost after 09-11-2001. It's the right thing to do & Congress & the President MUST do IT ASAP! Thank you kindly for your time and attention and that of your staff. Yours truly, Brett - NY

If history has taught us anything it is that during and after times of crisis civil liberties are limited at best and denied at worst. As evidence may I point to the internment of the Japanese American citizens after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the communist witch hunts under Joe Mccarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee during the Cold War and most recently the limitation of rights and personal freedoms under the Patriot Act including the acts of rendition,enhanced interrogation techniques and the internment of political prisoners indefinitely at Quantanamo Base (Gitmo) as well as the actions perpetrated at Abu Garaib. It is during these times of crisis that we must be ever vigilant to the overstepping of authority and the defense of human rights and civil liberties. It is not a desire but a necessity to protect the rights of all. Carl

May freedom reign from sea to shining sea. Change is not enough. To embrace one's change and what one has left after the storm; now that's divine. I have 25 cents and I am ready for some more :) Carl - NY

I believe that the only ways in which our Constitution is violated is by our own government's use of FISA against its own citizens. Using FISA, which includes not only keeping track of email between and among U.S. citizens, and so-called "warrantless" searches (for which a FISA warrant may have been obtained, is JUST PLAIN WRONG. A photo of former President, George W. Bush taken while he was listening to calls recorded at his insistence, between husbands and wives in which one was deployed and the other in their home, were intimate conversations between people who, no doubt, believed that their conversation was between them alone - makes my stomach turn. I was not a fan of George W. Bush, but my comments about listening to couples thousands of miles apart, with the then-President listening to a tape recording of their intimate words and sounds makes me wonder why President Obama hasn't appointed a Special Prosecutor to review orders and actions (including waterboarding and listening to personal conversations between people married, committed to each other and in all other ways intimate with one another, as well as a plethora of other actions, orders and topics researched for former President, George W. Bush, AND THOSE IN HIS CABINET AND OTHERS PRIVY TO THE MYRIAD ABUSES OF U.S. CITIZENS, AND OF DETAINEES AT GUANTANAMO BAY, AND OTHER LOCATIONS AND, SURELY ON A MYRIAD COLLECTION OF POLICIES AND ACTIONS NOT COVERED BY POLICY, richly deserve review by a Special Prosecutor who is beholden to no one in his/her inquiries, who knows the laws of the United States, who cannot be "bought" and who will be relentless in the review of actions, policies, orders issued and all other aspects of the Presidency of George W. Bush, with the understanding that if the Special Prosecutor finds cause to do so, the Spec inquiry may lead to individuals, including, perhaps, George H.W. Bush, before, during, and after his Presidency, then the Special Prosecutor is empowered to go wherever the inquiry leads, without limitation. Catherine - WI

I am an OIF Veteran and after witnessing the harsh reality of the Iraq War first hand, I believe these wars will undermine this nation and also reduce our influence throughout the globe by undermining our citizens rights and freedoms to which the world has always looked upon as a beacon of hope. Charanjit - NY

Caving in to fear is the same as caving in to cowardice. We are ashamed at how far our country's government went after 9/11/2001 with its reactionary "security" legislation. We see it as "the terrorists" won. How do you wake up a complacent country especially when people here live in fear of their own government? Cynthia - MA

It's too bad we've all bought into the lie that we can't be safe without being treated like criminals just for showing up at the airport. Between that the huge debt we're accrued through two wars waged in the name of security, I'm not so sure Bin Laden didn't win after all. David - MO

When you have a RENEGADE federal government that has the attitude of Rahm Emanuel who said (in 2008): "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before" - then I believe that Rahm Emanuel was merely vocalizing the already widely held belief that was seized upon after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I believe that 9/11 and the federal abuses of our rights and liberties since then have marked the greatest departure from our Constitution and the worst attack on our rights that have been perpetrated against the citizens of this once great Republic. If this downward spiral is NOT STOPPED and soon, then I believe that the current Police State we are now in will sink into a total Dictatorship. David - MA

The saddest of events, the aftermath and the turn of direction away from respecting our individual rights may even be sadder, it certainly is not a fitting way to respond to the crisis and leaves a false legacy to the inheritors of our once proud and free society. Frank - AR

Not since the Cold War ended has a U.S. President looked so hard for enemies as after 9/11; and when the Bush Administration couldn't find them, they created them with the above-stated strategies. It's way past time to utilize our Constitutional freedoms to win back our international allies, to win over our previous enemies, and re-establish everyone's safety on Earth. Irene - WA

I was a volunteer various times for long shifts @ St. Paul's Chapel. This began some two weeks after 9/11 while flames were still burning and the air was enflamed with toxicity. While at Ground Zero, I felt that I was at the intersection between good and evil. The rescuers and subsequently recoverers, were all doing sacred work. Our society must do better! We can do better. We must do better; and we can and must do this in ways that enhance and protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all of us! Jack David - NY

While I was not surprised when it happened, while educating students, I was surprised that it took so long, both for the same reasons- when the beginning the ways the Capitalists and right after being crowned Dictator Bush have treat US and The World. Yes, I do completely believe 09/11/01 was not created to ratchet-up the destroying of the poor in The USA and The World ways of The Capitalist. Thus, WE NEED TO CHANGE 9/11 from what the Capitalists have made it to be, greater money and power making racket, into instrument of spreading understanding, appreciation, peace and love!! Jason 'Great White' (Shark: Beings Right - FL

While I was not surprised when it happened, while educating students, I was surprised that it took so long, both for the same reasons- when the beginning the ways the Capitalists and right after being crowned Dictator Bush have treated US and The World. Yes, I do not completely believe 09/11/01 was not created to ratchet-up the destroying of the poor in The USA and The World ways of The Capitalist. Thus, WE NEED TO CHANGE 9/11 from what the Capitalists have made it to be, greater money and power making racket, into instrument of spreading understanding, appreciation, peace and love!! Jason 'Great White' (Shark: Beings Right - FL

The USA is a land of diverse peoples and their diverse religious beliefs. It is difficult to think of a single spiritual belief extant on earth that is not shared or held by some one person in the USA, or instead, a concept of ethics for those persons who desire not to be associated with organized religions or spirituality. The term "Islamic Terrorists" and "Islamic Extremists" are terminologies I have strongly opposed since the inception of their usage--by our politicians and by our news media--anywhere. One does not hear of the Italian Mafia referred to as "Catholic Extremists" or "Catholic Terrorists," even though historically that is the religious background of the upbringing of Italian persons. We need to use the correct terminology for criminals anywhere on this planet: Criminal, Thug, Outlaw--see following entries for synonyms for these types of organized criminals (which are not, and should be not, associated with any particular religious or ethnic group): "Main Entry: organized crime Part of Speech: noun Definition: coordinated criminal organization Synonyms: Black Hand, Cosa Nostra, Mafia, gangland, mob, organized crime family, the Syndicate, the mob, the rackets, the syndicate, the underworld..." From Thesaurus.com. Jean - CA 041b061a72