9/11
September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). There are 111 days remaining.
1906 - Mahatma Gandhi starts Non-Violence movement
1941 - Ground broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
1962 - The Beatles record their debut single, Love Me Do.
BIRTHS
1967 - Harry Connick, Jr., American singer
1977 - Ludacris, American rapper
There is a lot of media coverage on this 5th anniversary of the terrorist attack. I would have been happier if the most remarkable thing about this day remained as the day that the Beatles recorded their first single – “Love Me Do”- in 1962. It’s also interesting that they broke ground for the Pentagon on this day.
The Media are asking if we are any safer. There is no way to answer that question. The only real information we get is filtered by whoever is spinning the data. The whole topic has been so politicized with the upcoming elections. I would rather see a unified patriotic front in this war. There are people out there who simply want to kill us because we don’t think like them. There really is no room to negotiate here. But I am a dreamer if I think our “leaders” will put our country’s security above their political and financial ambitions. They don’t know how to do it.
There is total agreement that 9/11 changed us forever. There is no more going back to normal – this is normal. On 9/11 we went from a people who, upon seeing and airplane intentionally crash into a building, wondered what technical problem could cause that, to being immediately suspicious of any anomaly as being caused by terrorists. On that day it took the 2nd airplane hitting the other tower for it to sink in that we were under attack.
They that know no evil will suspect none. ~ Ben Johnson
In a way I am pleased to see the replays of planes hitting the buildings and the towers falling. It is uncomfortable to see, but we need to be reminded about the type of people we are dealing with. They simply want to kill us. They are smart, patient, well financed and numerous. The 9/11 terrorists, learned to fly commercial aircraft. They studied the airline’s procedures and learned how the crew would likely respond. They trained in how to most effectively kill in a confined space with a small sharp instrument. Most of the teaching came from the infidels they planned to kill. The letter of inspiration they carried instructed them to make their weapon sharp so as to not discomfort the animal (infidels) they killed. They waited for a day when Allah provided perfect conditions. They used our commercial aircraft and brilliantly executed a successful attack – finally bringing down the towers they hated so vehemently. They have no government, no territory or population to protect and their enemy provides them with the training and weapons.
There are confusing issues in the mix. Why are we in Iraq and Afghanistan? Nobody really gives a logical explanation. Are we there for oil? Are we trying to “box in” Iran and have our forces in the area if needed? Are we simply teaching our troops how to fight this type of war? Are we safer because we are there? Every day some of the cream of our American youth is lost. I often wonder how different the world would be if those who were killed in WWII, for example, lived out their lives, made their contribution to society, had more children and passed their values to this Boomer Generation. Would it be any different? Ah, but I wander from the topic.
Are we safer? I don’t know. No one really knows. Our leaders try to reassure us, but if we have learned anything from history we know they will hit again. They waited 8 ½ years to hit the trade center again. Any attack will likely be something we didn’t expect. It will be more spectacular than 9/11. It will be well planned and unless we get lucky more effective in hurting this country. President Bush said we have to be right 100% of the time to prevent another attack and they only have to be right once. There are so many ways that a clever enemy can take advantage of our open society and freedom that it is impossible for us to protect ourselves completely.
So besides feeling hopeless what can we do? As in so many issues the only answer is “have faith”; faith that we will prevail; faith that the American people once again will defeat a difficult enemy, faith that there are a sufficient number of good people to defeat the terrorists and faith that much good will eventually come from this. Some good has come already. Most of us have a deeper appreciation for our loved ones. We better understand just how precious they are.
Happy September 11th!
September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). There are 111 days remaining.
1906 - Mahatma Gandhi starts Non-Violence movement
1941 - Ground broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
1962 - The Beatles record their debut single, Love Me Do.
BIRTHS
1967 - Harry Connick, Jr., American singer
1977 - Ludacris, American rapper
There is a lot of media coverage on this 5th anniversary of the terrorist attack. I would have been happier if the most remarkable thing about this day remained as the day that the Beatles recorded their first single – “Love Me Do”- in 1962. It’s also interesting that they broke ground for the Pentagon on this day.
The Media are asking if we are any safer. There is no way to answer that question. The only real information we get is filtered by whoever is spinning the data. The whole topic has been so politicized with the upcoming elections. I would rather see a unified patriotic front in this war. There are people out there who simply want to kill us because we don’t think like them. There really is no room to negotiate here. But I am a dreamer if I think our “leaders” will put our country’s security above their political and financial ambitions. They don’t know how to do it.
There is total agreement that 9/11 changed us forever. There is no more going back to normal – this is normal. On 9/11 we went from a people who, upon seeing and airplane intentionally crash into a building, wondered what technical problem could cause that, to being immediately suspicious of any anomaly as being caused by terrorists. On that day it took the 2nd airplane hitting the other tower for it to sink in that we were under attack.
They that know no evil will suspect none. ~ Ben Johnson
In a way I am pleased to see the replays of planes hitting the buildings and the towers falling. It is uncomfortable to see, but we need to be reminded about the type of people we are dealing with. They simply want to kill us. They are smart, patient, well financed and numerous. The 9/11 terrorists, learned to fly commercial aircraft. They studied the airline’s procedures and learned how the crew would likely respond. They trained in how to most effectively kill in a confined space with a small sharp instrument. Most of the teaching came from the infidels they planned to kill. The letter of inspiration they carried instructed them to make their weapon sharp so as to not discomfort the animal (infidels) they killed. They waited for a day when Allah provided perfect conditions. They used our commercial aircraft and brilliantly executed a successful attack – finally bringing down the towers they hated so vehemently. They have no government, no territory or population to protect and their enemy provides them with the training and weapons.
There are confusing issues in the mix. Why are we in Iraq and Afghanistan? Nobody really gives a logical explanation. Are we there for oil? Are we trying to “box in” Iran and have our forces in the area if needed? Are we simply teaching our troops how to fight this type of war? Are we safer because we are there? Every day some of the cream of our American youth is lost. I often wonder how different the world would be if those who were killed in WWII, for example, lived out their lives, made their contribution to society, had more children and passed their values to this Boomer Generation. Would it be any different? Ah, but I wander from the topic.
Are we safer? I don’t know. No one really knows. Our leaders try to reassure us, but if we have learned anything from history we know they will hit again. They waited 8 ½ years to hit the trade center again. Any attack will likely be something we didn’t expect. It will be more spectacular than 9/11. It will be well planned and unless we get lucky more effective in hurting this country. President Bush said we have to be right 100% of the time to prevent another attack and they only have to be right once. There are so many ways that a clever enemy can take advantage of our open society and freedom that it is impossible for us to protect ourselves completely.
So besides feeling hopeless what can we do? As in so many issues the only answer is “have faith”; faith that we will prevail; faith that the American people once again will defeat a difficult enemy, faith that there are a sufficient number of good people to defeat the terrorists and faith that much good will eventually come from this. Some good has come already. Most of us have a deeper appreciation for our loved ones. We better understand just how precious they are.
Happy September 11th!
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