Public gets first up-close view of September 11 Memorial

The National September 11 Memorial in New York opened to the public Monday, offering the first up-close view of the gray, cavernous waterfalls that designer Michael Arad calls "voids."

The somber memorial features twin reflecting pools that sit within the footprints of the original twin towers. The pools are nearly an acre in size and feature the largest artificial waterfalls in North America. The names of victims of both the first World Trade Center attack in 1993 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are inscribed in bronze panels placed around the edge of the pools.

Hundreds of swamp white oak trees dotting the surrounding plaza are intended to create a canopy that will dramatically change with the seasons.

Timeline & Images on the Morning of September 11, 2001.

7:58 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 175 departs Boston for Los Angeles,
carrying 56 passengers, two pilots, and seven flight attendants. The
Boeing 767 is hijacked after takeoff and diverted to New York.

7:59 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 11 departs Boston for Los
Angeles, carrying 81 passengers, two pilots, and nine flight
attendants. This Boeing 767 is also hijacked and diverted to New York.

8:01 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 carrying 38
passengers, two pilots, and five flight attendants, leaves Newark, N.J.,
for San Francisco.

8:10 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 77 departs Washington's
Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles, carrying 58 passengers,
two pilots, and four flight attendants. The Boeing 757 is hijacked
after takeoff.

8:46 a.m. - American Flight 11 from Boston crashes into the North
Tower at the World Trade Center.

9:03 a.m. - United Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the South
Tower at the World Trade Center.

- U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all New
York area airports.

9:21 a.m. - Bridges and tunnels leading into New York City
are closed.

9:25 a.m. - All domestic flights are grounded by U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration.

9:45 a.m. - American Flight 77 crashes into The Pentagon.

10:05 a.m. - The South Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.

10:05 a.m. - The White House is evacuated.

10:10 a.m. - A large section of one side of The Pentagon collapses.

10:10 a.m. - United Flight 93 crashes in a wooded area in
Pennsylvania, after passengers confront hijackers.

10:28 a.m. - The North Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.

See Timeline Graph of the Hijackings Below.

9/11 Tribute

Today, my birthday but this post is not about celebrating me or my birthday. I live in New York City and nine years ago on this day, America was attacked. I just wanted to take this moment to remember everyone who lost their life on 9/11.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I worked the night shift at Maimonides, left the hospital at around 7:30 AM and got to my apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn after 8 AM. I did my usual routine at home: took a shower, ate breakfast, and turned the radio on to listen to the news. My roommate and I were moving out of our apartment and she took our only television set back to New Mexico. So, I did not have a television set. I did hear on the radio that a plane was on the World Trade Center and I thought, “a plane is landing on the World Trade Center, how odd? Planes can’t land there.” And then I drifted off to sleep. Not knowing what had happened in New York, Pennsylvania, or Washington DC.

I woke up at 1 PM, still unaware something had happened in my city. I turned on my phone to listen to my messages since it was my birthday and had none. I thought it was odd that my family had not called me yet on my birthday. I looked out the window and I saw a lot of people walking and talking very loudly on their cell phone and heard “I can’t believe what happened”. And I saw a lot of debris in the air. I knew something was wrong but did not know what. I turned on the radio again but just got bits and pieces of information. It was something about the World Trade Center.

I got dressed and headed for the nearest pay phone to talk to someone, anyone. I called my sister first and she told me the bad news. Both of the twin towers had crumbled to the ground. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. She also told me my cell phone wasn’t working since she tried to call me earlier and couldn’t get a hold of me. Apparently, my entire family tried to call me to see if I was okay and got a busy signal.

I headed to the nearest bar to watch the news and stood in complete shock. Everyone in the bar was silent. I couldn’t believe what I saw – people jumping out of the floors of the World Trade Center. People covered in soot. The entire twin towers gone. A plane crashing in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania. The pentagon. So many people dead. People looking for their loved one in hospitals and carrying a missing person sign. I just couldn’t believe what I saw.

9/11/2001 was the longest day in my entire life. I have never felt so alone in my life as I did on that day. I moved to NY in April of that year and really knew one or two people, but they were not in New York at the time. There was no one I could have spoken to that day to really vent my feelings. Since it was my birthday, I treated myself to a Thai dinner but took it home so I can go over the day’s events in my head. This day I will never forget.

9/11 Tribute

9/11 WTC

After 9/11: the Israel-US catastrophe

The 9/11 attacks had barely happened and the smouldering wreckage in New York and

Washington was still shocking America and the world.

Israel already saw an opportunity. Then former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked to express his feelings about the terrorist action in the immediate aftermath.

"It's very good," he said. He quickly added: ''Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy."

He argued that the attack would "strengthen the bond between our two peoples, because we've experienced terror over so many decades, but the United States has now experienced a massive haemorrhaging of terror."

In 2008 the Likud leader hadn't changed his views. He told an audience at Bar Ilan University that 9/11 remained a positive for Israel.

"We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq," Netanyahu said. The events had "swung American public opinion in our favour".

Israel's ambassador to America, Michael Oren, continued this deluded thinking last week.

The logic was clear; as long as Washington could be convinced (or hoodwinked) that Israel was fighting the same battle, Zionist expansion in the occupied, Palestinian territories and constant intransigence in the region would be rewarded by American largesse.

This symbiotic relationship has led both nations to share similar foreign policy goals but the results have been disastrous; America and Israel have contributed to a decade of unprecedented decline and imperial overreach, despite some wishful thinking within academia.

Not that such views are ever heard in the American Congress or Australian Parliament; our politicians are obsessed with displaying loyalty to Zionism at every conceivable opportunity. By their actions, they are killing any chance of Israel surviving as a Jewish state into the future without expanding apartheid against the Palestinians.

Witness the increased isolation of Israel in the Middle East, with traditional allies Turkey and Egypt turning away from the Zionist state's arrogance. It is a welcome realignment. America's ability to shield Israel from the consequences of its actions has diminished. Israel faces, in the words of Israeli editor of Haaretz Aluf Benn, a "political tsunami".

Not that this has stopped Israeli leaders praising the deep and expanding backing offered by the Obama administration towards Israel. Defence minister Ehud Barak recently told Fox News that, "I can hardly remember a better period of support, American support and cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us than what we have right now".

Although many American Jewish voters are reportedly concerned with the occasional criticisms uttered by Obama against the Zionist colonies in the West Bank (comments almost immediately retracted once Israel rejects the pressure), the US president has essentially followed the script written by previous American leaders; Israel is a nation that must be endlessly indulged.

There are a host of examples of this backing but a WikiLeaks cable confirms that the US actively assisted Egypt and Israel in its brutal siege of the Gaza Strip in the last years. One and a half million people in the Gaza Strip are being punished for daring to elect Hamas in the 2006 elections. This collective punishment is illegal under international law.

The catastrophe of the Israeli and American relationship over the last decade has been its wilful inability to engender any respect for its actions. Military might has actually caused wholesome rejection of decades of established order. There is a collective crisis of confidence despite overwhelming military might. Israel has never been better armed and protected by its super-power boss and yet almost daily in the Israeli press one reads paranoia about the country's current direction. Even the massive recent Israeli tent protests largely chose to ignore the Palestinians. Clearly a desire for social justice only goes so far.

Despite this, however - and the sentiment is blindly repeated in the Zionist Diaspora, including Australia - there's little awareness of why Zionism is on the ropes. Nobody dares mention the West Bank occupation - with houses rapidly expanding at twice the rate inside Israel proper - or how to be welcomed into the civilised group of nations without bullying friends into support.

The Middle East after the Arab Spring has changed but perhaps nobody sent the memo to the Israeli political elite.

September 11 offered a seductive narrative that allowed Israel and its backers to hitch a ride on the escalating war machine unleashed by America in the vein hope that the world would finally understand its own "war against terror". The opposite has occurred, with the strongest and most publicly proud backers of Israeli wars today the global, fascist Right.

Revealingly, such adulation is welcomed in many circles within Israel itself. Orthodox Jewish Knesset member Nissim Zeev told Newsweek in February: "At the end of the day, what's important is their [the fascists] attitude - the fact they really love Israel."

We are now seeing this fused nexus between the far Right and Zionist supporters in Australia, backing the Israeli-owned chocolate shop Max Brenner, accusing the backers of Palestinian rights of Nazism. This is coming from individuals and groups that loathe Muslims and love Israel for its racially discriminatory policies towards Arabs.

Shamefully some Greens MPs, such as Jeremy Buckingham in New South Wales and leader Bob Brown, are unwilling to wholeheartedly support Palestinians. Instead, they befriend those who abuse them.

Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) is a worldwide campaign that deserves support - the effectiveness of such moves are apparent when the Murdoch press, Labor and Liberal parties, Zionist heads and union leaders continually and offensively accuse backers of anti-Semitism - and yet only NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon bravely endorses the non-violent movement without shame.

Unlike many other Greens in the public arena, she recognises that it isn't enough to simply mouth platitudes about human rights; action is required that may well upset the Zionist lobby and conservative media. Bob Brown should understand this, as one of the legacies of 9/11 is the importance of giving voice to those victims suffering under our repression. Palestinians are the perfect candidates.

While most of the corporate media prefers to ignore the ramifications of blindly backing every military misadventure by America and Israel - Rupert Murdoch's The Australian last weekend comically referred to Western "values" being secure 10 years after 9/11, preferring to forget the millions of dead Muslims caused by unquestioning neo-conservatism - the Arab world doesn't forget. Perpetual war remains the default setting of Washington, rightly damned by Tariq Ali as reaching its climax with the cheering execution of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Non-accountable executive power is unquestioned by many in the years since 9/11 and even challenging its validity invites verbal and physical threats.

I should know, having been at the receiving end of this bile for daring to ask why "they" really hate us (it's not about our supposed Western freedoms) as well as refusing to believe that Israel is at the forefront of this "war on terror" and must be supported.

In reality, Zionist actions have made us Jews less safe than one decade ago.

In Palestine itself, the effect of the 9/11 attacks have been undeniably grim. Amira Hass, a journalist from the Israeli paper Haaretz, reflected on this week's anniversary:

My routine reporting laboured to remind the Israeli readers about our repressive military domination, and make visible the spiralling number of Palestinian civilian casualties, killed by the Israeli army. A doomed attempt. The Israeli vocabulary had space for Israeli pain and bereavement only. It made no causal link between supremacy and revolt, repression and revenge.

Her despairing words ring true today. Too many Jews remain incapable of acknowledging the disastrous legacy of our religion being hijacked by fundamentalist Zionists who craved the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, endless occupation of Palestine, drone strikes in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan and never-ceasing threats against Iran.

The Jewish community has neither rejected destructive neo-conservatism from its ranks nor acknowledged that supposed protection of Israel was a stated reason for causing chaos in the Middle East and the 9/11 attacks.

Furthermore, Israeli public opinion has moved far rightward in the last decade, adopted and defended anti-Arab and anti-democratic legislation and justified brutal tactics against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The US and Australia support this apartheid in Palestine because their actions contribute to an atmosphere of unquestioning Zionist love.

A viable two-state solution is long dead and buried with the upcoming UN vote on Palestine mere window-dressing and desperation from a Western-funded and corrupt Palestinian Authority wanting to appear relevant.

This is our legacy and this is our responsibility.

When the American government, followed by dutiful Western allies such as Australia, crush any chance of Palestinian self-determination, we shouldn't be surprised that faith in Obama and Israel is rock bottom.

Working against Western exceptionalism and not excusing criminal behaviour of our supposed friends and allies is a great challenge of our age. If 9/11 taught us anything, it is that state terror always dwarves the actions of a committed bunch of extremists.

The victims know this well.

Small cities struggle to pay for 9/11 memorials

The memorial started with a steel beam salvaged from the World Trade Center — a

small piece of the terrorist attacks that the city of Pembroke Pines, Fla., was determined to honor in its own way.

Nobody from this coastal town died on Sept. 11. But plans for its memorial grew ever more elaborate — at one point projected to cost more than $1 million — as the years passed.

"It was a glass-enclosed, air-conditioned house," recalled the city's mayor, Frank Ortis. "With a reflection pool and water running down, hurricane-resistant glass. Obviously we couldn't do that."

Hundreds of small memorials to Sept. 11 have bloomed across the country in the 10 years since the attacks. But in many towns, what began as a simple tribute to the dead turned into an expensive headache as the cost of building such memorials ballooned and the economy deteriorated.

Still short of funds, some cities dramatically scaled down the scope of the projects, paid the outstanding bill with public money or abandoned a memorial altogether. Others remain unfinished with no completion date in sight.

The numbers are minuscule compared with what it cost to build the major national memorials: $700 million for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City and at least $60 million for the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pa. But like these small towns, even the Flight 93 memorial is still struggling to raise enough money to build its original design — organizers need to raise about $10 million to finish the memorial's first phase and maintain it in the future.

Jerry Sanford, a former New York City firefighter, has been soliciting money since 2004 for a granite memorial in the shape of an American flag to be displayed in North Naples, Fla. Through private donations, he has raised about $600,000 — but he still needs $800,000 more to pay for the granite.

Sanford had been hoping to unveil the memorial in time for the 10th anniversary, but now he doesn't know when it will be completed.

"Times are very different now," he said. "The unemployment is rampant. People are out of work. The economy is bad."

There was a nationwide rush to build Sept. 11 memorials in the first few years after the attacks that has since subsided, said Erika Doss, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of the book "Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America."

"Once the recession hit, the economic possibilities of doing so went away," said Doss, who discovered about 400 memorials to 9/11 while researching her book. "People still wanted to do it, but it became more and more difficult."

It's impossible to say how much money has been spent on the proliferation of memorials of all kinds across the U.S. — from makeshift crosses on the side of the road to massive monuments — because most are funded through a combination of private and public money.

Memorials weren't always popular in this country, though. In fact, after World War II, monuments were eschewed in favor of "living memorials" like auditoriums and swimming pools named in memory of veterans, Doss said. A construction boom began in the 1980s when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial opened on the National Mall to much fanfare, Doss said.

"It has ushered in lots and lots of other groups demanding that they be represented by a memorial in the public sphere," she said. "People think if they can make a memorial, they can come to terms with what happened."

In Oklahoma City, the memorial to the 1995 bombing of the federal building that killed 168 people receives visitors from all 50 states every month of the year, said Kari Watkins, the executive director.

"They want to remember, and they're looking for the reason why," she said. "They're searching."

After the 9/11 attacks, Dennis Stout, then the district attorney in San Bernardino County, Calif., began an effort to build a pair of memorials to the victims, one east of Los Angeles and a twin in New York.

His nonprofit group, called the Freedom's Flame Sept. 11 Memorial, had a solid start, raising more than $200,000 in its first two years. It picked a design, which depicts people escaping down a staircase at the twin towers while rescuers climb up. They paid for renderings.

But when Stout failed to win re-election, the donations dried up. Now, nearly a decade after the effort began, there is still no memorial. The money is largely gone, too, spent partly on organizing a temporary, traveling memorial exhibit made up of limestone cladding from the Pentagon, a damaged FDNY fire truck and World Trade Center steel. Today they have only around $20,000 left in the bank, out of nearly $262,000 raised.

Stout says he hasn't given up. But he is also realistic about his chances of building the two monuments, which had an estimated cost of $15 million.

"It's a wonderful idea," he said. "But, as you are well aware, there are wonderful ideas that don't get finished every day."

Residents complained about a memorial that was set to open Sunday in the horse-racing village of Wellington, Fla., where officials failed to raise enough money to pay for it and were forced to use about $300,000 from the town budget. Along with a steel beam from the towers, this memorial features a glass-paneled pergola and a fountain with a gas-lit "eternal flame" that will burn day and night.

Matt Willhite, the vice mayor who has championed the project from the beginning, acknowledged that the town has no discernible connection to the terror attacks, but he doesn't think that's the point.

"The comments have been made: 'Well, why would we pay to put this thing in our city?'" he said. "I say, well, why not in Wellington? It's become my life lately, trying to perpetuate the memory of these people."

In Englewood, N.J., which lost two people in the twin towers, Police Chief Michael Cioffi felt compelled to create a memorial in the center of town about two years ago because he was worried that people were starting to forget. He wanted to bring back that sense of unity that enveloped the U.S. immediately after Sept. 11 — that time when American flags flew everywhere, when the country was united, he said.

"It might just bring back a memory," Cioffi said. "It might keep the fire burning."

Yet Cioffi's project has financial troubles of its own: He still can't come up with the $30,000 needed to pay for the granite.

In Pembroke Pines, commissioners finally voted in May to spend about $167,000 on a steel gazebo near city hall that will shelter the World Trade Center beam. Even with private donations, the city was still forced to borrow about $80,000 from its general obligation fund, which pays for road repairs, parks and libraries, among other things.

Officials are hoping they can recoup that money with a new round of fundraisers. The memorial was unveiled to the public Sunday.

"I think it'll be easier to fundraise once they see it," Ortis said. "Some people say we should just forget about it and go on. We didn't think so."

Associated Press writer David B. Caruso and News Researcher Julie Reed contributed to this report.

Visitors find peace as 9/11 memorial opens to public

NEW YORK -- The plot of land known for a decade as "the pile," "the pit" an

d Ground Zero opened to the public Monday for the first time since that terrible morning in 2001, transformed into a memorial consisting of two serene reflecting pools ringed by the chiseled-in-bronze names of the nearly 3,000 people lost.

The 9/11 memorial plaza opened its gates at 10 a.m. under tight, airport-style security. Visitors walked among hundreds of white oak trees on the 8-acre site and gazed at the water on the exact spots where the World Trade Center's twin towers stood.

They also ran their fingers over the names of the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, as well as the six who died in the bombing of the trade center in 1993.

"It's so surreal. When we walked in, those images were popping in my head from 10 years ago," said Laura Pajar, a pharmaceutical industry researcher from Las Vegas. "But when I saw the memorial, all of that went away. This is so peaceful, and you kind of forget about what happened, and you look toward the future."

Jim Drzewiecki, a volunteer firefighter from Lancaster, N.Y., said he was shaking as he walked up to the memorial entrance and stood next to the pools.

"It makes it clear how devastating -- to see the number of people who lost their lives at this location," he said. He added: "I'm actually still shaking. It could have been me on that flight."

Eileen Cristina of Lititz, Pa., who a decade ago volunteered her services as a massage therapist to the landfill workers who handled the trade center debris, was moved to tears.

"For me, the water element is very important, because water is so cleansing. Water can cleanse the energy of the area," she said.

Visitors sat on benches and clustered for photos in front of the trees. Some wept, some embraced. Others made pencil-and-paper rubbings of the victims' names. Sun gleamed off the bronze parapets on which the names were inscribed.

The memorial plaza opened to the families of the victims for the first time Sunday.

Although thousands of construction workers have come and gone from the site over the years, Monday marked the first time that ordinary Americans without a badge, a press pass or a hard hat were able to walk the grounds where the victims were once entombed in a mountain of smoking rubble.

About 7,000 people were issued tickets for opening day. About 400,000 have reserved tickets for the coming months, memorial president Joe Daniels said.

Admission is free, but access is tightly controlled. Visitors need to obtain passes in advance, allowing them to enter at a specified time. No more than about 1,500 at a time are allowed in.

The museum portion of the complex is still under construction. The museum pavilion, a tilting structure that evokes the sections of the trade center facade that remained standing after the towers fell, is scheduled to open on the attacks' 11th anniversary.

9/11 Remembrance at Glencoe's American Legion

This morning, I will go over to our American Legion, Calaveras Post 376, here in Glencoe to prepare for a 9/11 Remembrance.  It should be nice and thoughtful.

Since I'm the post 2nd Vice Commander, I have the responsibility of putting together a small ceremony.   And I have a few ideas on what I'd like to see there. 

I figure that I'll open our ceremony with a few words about the 9/11 timeline.  Hopefully I'll be refreshing a few memories of what time what took place.  My memory too is not all it used to be, in fact I myself didn't remember how early in the morning it was for us out here on the West Coast.  For some reason I honestly thought it was around 9am our time, but it wasn't. It was much earlier that morning.

And yes, I've decided to read most of what President George W.Bush said to the nation from the Oval Office on the night of 9/11.  I've found parts of it inspiring and comforting. 

To me, it was the right tone for the moment.  It was meant to lift the spirits of our nation, while also calming fears.  I believe it did just that. 

It was 8:30 p.m., and President Bush spoke to the nation.  These are the main parts of his speech that touched me at the time:  

"Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate deadly terrorist acts.

The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.

Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.

These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Right after I read those words that President Bush gave to the world back 10 years ago, I will follow it with a few words that I want to say about this 9/11.

I wasn't going to read anything until I received an e-mail yesterday on my 9/11 Cross article.  A women wrote me to say that that we should not have so much hate during this 9/11 remembrance. 

I didn't know there was so much hate going around until I received that e-mail.  In fact, I'm sorry to say that much of what Americans felt 10 years ago has subsided.   It's a shame to say that the fire may have gone out to some degree in a lot of Americans.

And while I agree with her that people in general should not hate, I personally can’t stop myself from hating those who are responsible for 9/11.  From those Muslims who hijacked the planes, to the wealthy Saudis who financed their attack, to those Muslim governments who housed and trained them, I can’t stop hating them.

I don't have hate for those liberal folks who are now saying that that was then and almost ancient history. I just think they're stupid.  And of course, there are some who are now saying that these days are different times because nothing as big as 9/11 has happened again.  Some call it a pre-9/11 mentality.

While in Jackson the other day, I stopped off for a cup of coffee at Mel's.  In walks these two guys who looked like they might have been from San Francisco.  Both were wearing sandals and shorts, and they started talking about 9/11,  One of them said that we haven't been hit by another terrorist attack because President Oblahblah is in office. 

That got a chuckle from a few tables around him, and yes he was shocked that it did.  And yes, that's for a discussion at another time.

As far as for 9/11, it seems to me that liberals have shown a lot of concern about providing rights for the Muslim terrorists, and how those same terrorist are housed in GITMO, versus their concern about the welfare of the thousands of victims of those terrorists.  The welfare of Muslim terrorist is something that most liberal types seem to care about, and the other they don't.  Why is that?

Just look at their concerns for the security of the American people versus their reaction to the Patriot Act after 9/11. There are those liberals who fight to the extreme whenever it's time to renew it, but thank God for smarter wiser men and women.

I guess folks would say that I don't like them much at all.  Extreme dislike maybe?  Maybe disgust, but I wouldn't say I have a hatred for them.  I try to save that sort of real emotion, the emotion of hatred, for individuals more than an entire group. 

It might sound strange, but I really don't hate all Muslims.  I only hate those who want to kill and murder all in the name of their religion.  The problem as I see it is that those who conduct themselves as merchants of death seem to be the majority among Muslims.  It seems indoctrination as children works.

I guess I do hate some people.  I hate those who support our enemies, are themselves enemies of America, and who for example wage a clandestine effort to attack and undermine the American people after 9/11.  Yes, they are those who have attacked both America's values and morale when upholding both was vital to our nation.

What I consider a real problem with liberals is that whether its the Muslim threat or some other issue, it is their stubbornness and self-righteousness that I have a problem with.  Simply put, liberals acting out their desire to hate America may result in getting Americans killed.

Knowing this, fact is that some liberals quit being so liberal after seeing what Liberalism unrestrained has brought to America over the years.   Some say that they were educated by what happened on 9/11.  For me, I have a lot of respect for those folks.  After all, it takes a big person to know when you've been wrong and change.

Common sense problems take common sense answers, and that includes fighting Muslim terrorists.

Friends, you can't fight an enemy correctly if you don't want to acknowledge their existence.  And because of that refusal to use some common sense and openly acknowledge the Muslim threat, something that would unite Left and Right, most liberals are in denial over the real threat to both America and Europe. 

I can't help but believe that Muslims want to destroy Western Civilization and instill their barbaric laws and religious doctrine of murder and hate.  Liberals should really grow up and understand that there is a vast majority of Muslims who hate us - and yes, they are really serious about killing us.

Muslims terrorists are extremely serious about it. They sit up nights thinking about it. They are sick with hate and they don't care what anyone thinks or says, they just want to kill.  That was a lesson taught to the world on 9/11!

And by the way, we're their targets. I don't like being a target, and I'm sure most Americans don't. Because we don't, our job is to understand what our enemies are capable of doing. Our job is to face the reality that the threat to us is real, and yes we must stay vigilant. 

We owe it to the victims of 9/11 to be strong and vigilant!  And yes, we owe it to them to never let another 9/11 happen again.  But it's not only to those who died on 9/11, fact is that we owe it to all of our wounded warriors and those who were killing in action fighting to defend us from the Muslim threat. 

We also owe it to all of their families.  Those who sit while others are away.  Those who are raising their children, and trying to make their life normal.  those who await their loved one deployed.  And yes, also those who know that their loved ones will never be with them again - other than in their hearts and dreams.

Right after my message, I'll turn it over to our Post Commander to say a few words.  Knowing our Post Commander, he'll definitely say it like it is.  He uses a lot of bigger words than I do, and he is a fine speaker.

After our Commander has motivated everyone, he'll then turn it over to a visiting Chaplain to add a few words and lead us all in the Lord’s Prayer:

"Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us for our trespasses,
as we forgive those who tress pass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever, Amen."

After it comes back to me, I'll call for a moment of silence. Then I will instruct our Honor Guard to fire a 21 gun salute.  I just got the word that our whole Honor Guard will be able to make it.  Yes, that is a good thing when you  need everyone for a 21 gun salute.

At the close of the ceremony, I'll ask everyone there to get out of the weather and join us inside for a pot luck and something to drink - maybe even some good conversation.

Hopefully, we'll have a few folks show up for this. But if not, well then I can only pray that those souls who perished on 9/11, and since as a result on this War on Terror, all feel the sense of remembrance from every one of us there who is thinking about them.

Since today is the 10th year since the attack, I hope they know that they are not forgotten.

May God Bless them all!

Story by Tom Correa

Re-visited: The Face of Evil on 9-11-01

In 7 years of casual blogging, none of my posts have garnered more responses than the AP photo which captured the "The Face of Evil" on 9/11.

The photographer should have gotten a Pulitzer Prize for this take, but the personification of evil is denigrated these days and the elitists would most likely pretend an image like this is not even worth mentioning and indeed should not be mentioned because it implies evil may exist which would allude to the existence of God.

Well, we can't have that!

So people deny God and evil.

Still, many people are fascinated with good and evil because both are presented to us each and every day. It's how we react to them is what's important.

When you see the face of evil, is that the side you want to be on?

Melissa and the Freedom of Speech

This is not my normal sort of Blog.  This is different because it is in reply to a letter that I received from a great gal by the name of Melissa.  

She seems like a wonderful woman.  She wrote saying some pretty nice things about my use of our right to Free Speech. 

Our right of Free Speech is one of our most treasured rights.

It is one of the things that separate us from the people who live under Communist controlled Cuba or Venezuela or China, or dictatorships like that of Iran and Syria.  It is one of our tools against an oppressive regime. 

It is ours to use freely, and hopefully wisely.  Yes, we cannot use our right of Free Speech to yell "Fire" in a crowded theater.  Like all of our rights, it is ours if we use it appropriately.

Our right to Free Speech enables us to call President Obama a "jerk" and an "idiot" when he's acting like one.  It enables us to control President Obama, and anyone else, who abuses his or her power. 

Our right to Free Speech is one of our weapons against any attempt to impose oppression and tyranny by any elected official.  We use it for many reasons, but mostly to remind politicians that they work for us. 

Yes, be it Obama or a member of Congress, or the local district supervisors, they work for us.  Yes, we are their bosses.  It's not the other way around.  

When Obama was first elected, he could do no wrong in the eyes of the media around the world.  Of course our National Media, who is as biased as the day is long, covered for Obama every time he needed them to down play one of his gaffs.  

The liberals in America voted into office a man with no experience. None, zero, zip!

He never ran a business, or was ever employed to produce or work for a living, he had no resume - except being Black. 

No one likes being called a "Racist," and it became apparent that if anyone had anything negative to say about what Obama was doing - yes, they'd be labeled "Racist."

People are called "Racist" if they criticize Obama, and worse, those of us who voted for the more experienced John McCain were called  "Bigots!" 

Fact is Obama has done more is his short time in Office to separate American from American, and Blacks from Whites, than any other President.  Racial relations before Obama was elected was actually pretty good.  He has managed to undo all the good that was accomplished over the last 60 years.  I believe that he is the worse thing to happen to Blacks in America since the Jim Crow laws of the 1860s.

A friend of mine put it this way recently, "say something publicly against Oblahblah ... and you would think I was advocating human sacrifice, the evil stares I get, and the hateful things people say ..."

Yes, there are those who have set up alters to Obama.  It's a shame they haven't got the word yet that he can't speak without his beloved Teleprompters, and his behind the curtain writing staff. 

And yes, it's not just happening here.  Fact is that it's also happening in places like the UK. 

My wife has family in the UK, and I have friends who visit the UK pretty often.  They say that people there idolize Obama. 

But why? Why would they? What's Obama done for them, other than offend Great Britain? 

I guess the answer is fairly simple.  Fact is, its easy to consider Obama great when he's not your incompetent leader.  It's easy to drool over Obama's speeches when none of it has any bearing on your life or your nation.  It's easy to fawn over his so-called eloquence when you don't have to put up with his outright lies and lawyer speak.

It must be wonderful to see America with a President who is spending Americans into debt the way he is?  And yes, he has the nerve to say that it isn't his fault.  

It must be exhilarating to have some inept joke in the White House after 8 years of Liberal hatred for George W. Bush?  Was George charismatic?  Nope he wasn't.  Was he competent?  You can bet your ass he was!

But today everything is ass backwards!  Who needs competence when you have charisma, right?  Who needs a working knowledge of government and the issues that affect us when you have Teleprompters and writers, right?  Who needs a President that can answer a direct question when you have one that needs to be scripted all the time?  

I can't help but wonder why the English left loves him? By God, I wish he ran for Prime Minister instead of President.  Maybe then they'd understand what sort of idiot he is?

What can you say when his only real working experience in government is Chicago Politics of backroom deals and twisting arms? 

Someone once said, "Protocol is diplomacy." So what about some clown who doesn't understand basic protocol when meeting people, be it Saudi King or Japanese Emperor?

What happens if he doesn't understand America enough to realize that we Americans don't bow to anyone?

Americans stopped bowing to royalty over 200 years ago, when America got out from under the rule of the British monarchy.  But then again, knowledge like that is not always taught in liberal households - is it?

Anyway, who needs someone who understands protocol when instead you have a Black man who has a bunch of ultra-liberal extremely wealthy Democrat supporters who've all prayed to one day have a Black President, ignorant or not? 

Now I'm sure someone out there just screamed, "See, he's a Racist!" 

But friends, I'm not.  In fact, there are many Black Americans who I would love to see become President instead of Obama.  In fact, here's my list of much more qualified people:

Condoleeza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State
J. C. Watts, former Congressional Representative from Oklahoma
Armstrong Williams, businessman and writer

Walter E. Williams, professor at George Mason University

Kenneth Blackwell, former mayor of Cincinnati
Janice Rogers Brown, U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge
Herman Cain, former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza
Stephen L. Carter, professor at Yale Law School and Christianity Today columnist
Larry Elder, the “Sage from South Central”
La Shawn Barber, columnist and blogger
Ken Hamblin, radio host, the “Black Avenger”
Roy Innis, chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality

Kay Coles James, member of the NASA advisory council

Angela McGlowan, former Miss D. C., USA and political analyst

Shelby Steele, fellow at the Hoover Institute
Thomas Sowell, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute

If Americans are looking specifically for a Black President, then I really believe that any one of these great individuals are much more qualified to be President of the United States than Obama is. 

In the meanwhile, let's hope America can find someone competent - of any color!

But wait! Melissa, my buddy, look at what's happening these days.  Even the die hard liberals are having second thoughts about Obama and his so-called "Change." 

Yes, they too are using our treasured right of Free Speech to take him on.  They too are tired of Barrack Hussein Obama's idea of Change. 

It's not only us Conservative who are tired of his spending our hard earned dollars on Socialism, or how about him allowing his Justice Department to run thousands of assault weapons into Mexico to arm those who know nothing but how to kill. 

Thanks to the Obama White House, the Mexican Drug Cartels now have top of the line assault weapons to kill the police and the Mexican troops, and yes - to slaughter whole families if they want to. 

Have you noticed how silent Obama is pertaining to his Attorney General breaking the law and arming those Mexican Cartels?   Remember how vocal he was in condemning the Arizona Governor for her attempt to stop the killings of American citizens along the border?

It seems dead Americans make no difference to Barrack Hussein Obama.  Maybe that's why he's creating a No Man's Land along the U.S.-Mexico border.  It appears that American lives mean nothing to him. 

The killings of Americans are happening more and more along our border, and the Obama White House doesn't do a thing to help stop it.  In fact, he is openly fighting Arizona who is trying to keep their citizens safe.  And now even the liberals are asking why? 

Yes indeed, even Liberals are now using our Freedom of Speech to express what they dislike about Obama.  I believe that many are going through withdrawals and buyer's remorse.  The left in America is now having to admit it  - Black or not, he's proven himself a horrible President.  

And yes, some of them are openly admitting that they should have asked Obama tougher questions back in 2007 and 2008 when he was running for office. 

One such liberal is far-left professor Drew Westen, wrote this in a piece for the New York Times:

“Those of us who were bewitched by his eloquence on the campaign trail chose to ignore some disquieting aspects of his biography: that he had accomplished very little before he ran for president, having never run a business or a state; that he had a singularly unremarkable career as a law professor, publishing nothing in 12 years at the University of Chicago other than an autobiography; and that, before joining the United States Senate, he had voted ‘present’ (instead of ‘yea’ or ‘nay’) 130 times, sometimes dodging difficult issues.”

Please remember, that this is from a liberal professor who was previously strong supporter of Obama writing this in the ultra-liberal New York Times. 

A writer who wrote about Drew Weston's piece, put it this way:

"Not only is he now questioning the 'disquieting aspects' of the President’s biography, but he is also calling into question the accepted myth of Obama’s 'brilliance.'  Maybe now more on the left and more in the liberal mainstream media will ask by what criterion did they elevate Obama to the level of  'brilliant?'  As Westen points out, beyond Obama’s 'singularly unremarkable career as a law professor' - or anything for that matter - is the very question of his actual competence.  Beyond the mandates of political correctness, how is a man who refuses to release the results of his SAT scores, his I.Q. test, or his transcripts from Occidental college deemed 'brilliant?'"

Where indeed?  Where did all this "brilliant" nonsense start?  Most likely the Media, or the Democrat Party to pump up his image to the American people.

But that's OK, because he hasn't been able to live up to the hype and now even liberals are questioning Obama's credibility.   

No Melissa, our freedom of speech is not owned by the Left.  It is not the sole property of those rampaging anti-War protesters in the streets of London or Washington DC and San Francisco who smash windows or set police cars afire. 

Our freedom of speech does not belong solely to the Muslim crazies who call for beheading Dutch cartoonists, or for American to observe Sharia Law that insane religious doctrine follows by barbarians and fools.  

No, it is not only meant for gays who want to marry boys, or for people who want to marry nine wives. or by some idiot those who want to marry their pets. 

It is not reserved for the fashionable wealthy elite, or the Hollywood leftist who think they're smart because they've learned how to regurgitate lines some writer puts in their mouths.

Our freedom of speech is also nothing to be afraid of, or be discarded, because you think your view might not be a popular one.  Our freedom of speech was hard fought for, by men against kings, by peasants against dictatorships, and yes sadly by women against men.  

So speak up Melissa!  Speak your own mind!  Tell the world what you think!  After all, your thoughts, your feelings, your adventures, your concerns, they're all as important as mine -  and anyone else in the world. 

If Obama supporters give you a dirty look because you don't see him the same way they do, give them a look right back. 

And if they persist, then maybe you should ask them to put out their candles and remove Obama from the pedestal that they've placed him on.   Then, and maybe only then, they may be able to take an honest and non-biased look at Obama's record while in Office.  

You never know, maybe they'll be honest with themselves and see why even Obama's strongest liberal supporters are now seeing the light.

Remember, you are a good woman.  And yes, your thoughts and opinions are as important as theirs! 

May God Bless and keep you well.

Story by Tom Correa

Alan Jackson - Wow! What A Great Concert!

Among the wineries in the old gold rush town of Murphys, California, population 2,000, is the beautiful Ironstone Vineyards. 

On the way to the winery, you might find it interesting that a dirt road leads you to it when coming in off of Highway 4. 

If you come in from the town side of Murphys, you'll find neighbors out watching the parade of cars driving through their tiny streets heading out to Ironstone.  Some will wave while others will just shake their heads at all the traffic.   

Cattle ranches everywhere, right next door to Ironstone is a rancher who breeds what I was told are some prize winning Polled Hereford Bulls.  Actually there are a few great ranches surrounding Ironstone. 

Now as for the attractions at Ironstone, besides it's great wines, the winery also has the historic Alhambra Theatre pipe organ, and it has deep caverns which hold its many beautiful auburn colored wine barrels. 

The winery also has huge beautiful gardens, and all sorts of historic gold mining equipment from back when the town of Murphys was just a mining camp.  And yes, the Ironstone Winery also has its Heritage Museum - where the largest Crystalline Gold Leaf specimen in the World sits for the public to see. 

Of course, there's also the Ironstone Amphitheater. Its very large and surrounded by tree and rolling hills.  Well cared for, its just a beautiful outdoor setting that holds more than 7,000 guests. And by the way, the Ironstone Amphitheater usually has big-name world-class performers there.

In fact just last week Friday, on August 26, 2011, my wife and I, along with her parents, all went down to Murphys to see Alan Jackson perform there. We stopped off in Angles Camp for pizza before the concert, then made our way through the tiny town to Ironstone.  We were hoping to get there early.

I was going to put this in another blog, but I can do it now. And since I've never done a review before, I figure I'll just keep this short.

Since I wrote an article about why I don't like the Country Music that I hear on the radio these day, I'm sure someone will write and ask why I went to see Alan Jackson.

It's because he can sing! It really is as simple as that. 

He has a great voice that people love. He has a great way about him.  Yes, he has style.  He is a class act. In fact, he did something that a lot of us who live up here in rural America love - Alan Jackson said he loved our area and felt right at home "out in the country." 

And yes, besides a trip down memory lane, he was on top of his game that night.  There were the songs like "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" and "Remember When" and "Drive" that had folks in tears.  And yes, I'm so grateful that he doesn't let the sound of his band drown out his great voice. 

His songs run the range of being vibrant and uplifting, as well as soulful and touching.  He sang some new stuff, but he also sang some old stuff.  And honestly, he was outstanding to listen to and watch.

After I told someone that I absolutely loved his performance, he replied that it sounded as though I was thoroughly impressed by him. 

Well, yes I am! I'm definitely impressed by Alan Jackson. 

He appears to be a good man with his priorities straight in life.  He has his family, which he loves, and that's obvious to everyone there that night by the ways he talks about his wife and children.  And yes, it was great to see his children included his video that accompanied his song "Drive" while it played on a big screen.  

He has his work, and from where I sat, he looked like he was enjoying himself as well.  He delivers a great product while liking his audience, and that my friends definitely comes across when he took the stage.

His show has no fireworks and smoke, no tons of white noise coming out of the stage that detracts from his voice. He has a nice voice. Dear God, can he sing! 

Basically friends, it was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to.

I'm so glad that his voice wasn't lost in blaring noise that some bands try to pass off as music these days. Where Alan Jackson was great, fact is that his opening act wasn't.

His name is Shooter Jennings. 

On stage he looked a lot like a long haired Charles Manson with a guitar.  I guess, he's into a sort of drugger look. 

It was evident from the start that he apparently likes hard rock and roll - because he played a lot of it.  And yes, it was loud!

Heck, maybe he's another one of the many Heavy Metal musicians who have now decided to come over to Country Music because no one listens to Heavy Metal anymore.  

Who knows? But I can tell you this, when I hear young people in the audience yelling for him to stop playing his electric guitar "riffs" - that has to tell you something.

The ear splitting crap ain't worth a damn, and I just don't understand why people think that that is Country Music - when it ain't!  

And by the way, what is this whole thing about putting your back to your audience and focusing on playing with his band?  One young gal said that he was more focused on "jam'n" with his band than he was entertaining his audience.  She was probably right.  

He was too loud and really put on a pretty bad performance until his last four songs when he dropped the Heavy Metal crap.  But by then, it was too late.  

I hope I never go to one of Shooter Jenny's stage performances again - he is just that bad. 

And yes, I feel completely opposite about going to another Alan Jackson concert.  Friends, I'd go see Alan Jackson perform anytime.  And I'd recommend that you do to if you ever get the chance - he is just that great.    

Story by Tom Correa