Joseph Lawless, the airport’s director of security, who had formerly worked as a driver to a Massachusetts governor, was transferred two and a half weeks after the attacks. “So, when are you going to apologize for 9/11?” asked a man who called her desk years later. ‘This ain’t bean bag’It is impossible to understand this story outside the context of Massachusetts politics, which is famously rough-and-tumble. Swift recalled an old aphorism about politics: “This ain’t bean bag,” a standard response to those wounded by negative campaigning. It was a “dirty little secret,” for example, that the fastest land route to Boston required a brief detour over New York roads.

Source: International New York Times September 12, 2021 06:56 UTC