And so the emotional blackmail continues… The remaining 21 9/11 victims’ families who have chosen to not take Victims Compensation Fund money or settle their lawsuits (originally numbering 95), continue to fight for transparency, accountability, and, especially, discovery–the one thing they’re apparently not allowed to have.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein continues to allow defendants to stall and delay any real discovery in the case by making an unusual ruling that the case will now proceed to determination of damages before liability is even assessed. Of course, this ruling in pursuit of expediency conveniently circumvents the process of discovery, whereby the hundreds of documents requested by the plaintiffs would be disclosed to their attorneys. This strategy continues to be effective, with very few family members remaining with the perseverance to continue fighting this circumspect process. We challenge attorneys across the US to review these proceedings and find precedent for these questionable tactics. Is this really the state of our judiciary, that independent branch of government Constitutionally mandated, and all that’s left to these families?

Critics continue to assail the motives of these remaining 21 families, and accuse those who demand disclosure of, essentially, aiding “terrorists” on the grounds disclosure will make us “less secure.” As if not knowing about potential weaknesses makes us somehow more secure in the future… if we don’t see it, it must not be dangerous.

Given the current level of anti-US outrage in response to 1.2 million Iraqi deaths and 4 million Iraqi refugees, thousands of Afghani deaths, and current sabre rattling against Iran, it seems that correcting potential security vulnerabilities is certainly prudent now, more than ever. So why the reticence to honestly assess our situation?