I spent last week in New York City. The last time I was there, the Twin Towers were standing. This time, I went to Ground Zero. As I stood at the edge of the hole watching the giant red cranes move cement blocks back and forth, my cell phone rang. I felt too sad to answer it and let it go to voice mail. When I checked the message, it was from Debra Burlingame. 

"I'm sorry to call you so early," Debra said, "but the John Doe legislation news is breaking right now and I'm going to write about this for a paper in New York…"

Debra's brother, Captain Charles "Chic" Burlingame was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77. A group of five terrorists from Saudi Arabia killed him, killed First Officer Dave Charlebois, took over the controls of the 757 airplane and crashed it into the Pentagon on September 11th. Standing at the edge of the Ground Zero abyss last Thursday, it was impossible for me not to think about that, and all the other human beings who lost their lives that day. And here Debra Burlingame was, calling to say that Congressional leaders were now blocking the John Doe Amendment — eliminating a provision of the 9/11 Security Bill that would protect Good Samaritans who report suspicious behavior from being sued. 

There are signs all over New York, in the subways and on the trains, that say, "If you see something, say something." The signs don't mention that for saying something, you could get sued. 

By the time I returned to Los Angeles two days later, it looked like the John Doe Amendment had been killed. Audrey Hudson wrote about this for the Washington Times, and Debra Burlingame's piece ran in the New York Daily News. Andrew McCarthy detailed some of the Congressional leaders sneaky cowardice in National Review Online. It seemed outrageous, tragic, typical. But then something remarkable happened: John Doe and Jane Doe and John Public and Jane Public got wind of what was happening and now it appears that John Doe is still kicking. The John Doe Amendment is not dead yet. 

Michelle Malkin has been covering the story, linking to today's newest report by Audrey Hudson on the status of the amendment. Hudson writes, "Democrats have been backed into a corner by public outrage over their efforts [to kill the amendment]." Malkin encourages John Doe supporters to "take heart and take action…In other words don't let up." Malkin lists these important numbers to call and voice support for John Doe legislation (officially called the Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act).

Be a Good Samaritan. Support John Doe.

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