There's a unclosed 'a' tag around "eventually become bipartisan?" which is making the rest of the links unclickable ( at least on Safari, Firefox is ok).

What part will you play? "Ah," you say, "but I'm not a writer, or a hero."

I say no such thing.

Tony, thanks. I've fixed that now.

OK, I knew I would get upset today at some point and the Patti Davis quote did it. How beautiful. On 09-10-01, staff at the school where I worked were concerned about large groups of poor inner-city kids who were increasingly wearing gang colors to school. On 09-12-01 those same kids all showed up wearing red, white, and blue. I got a lump in my throat.

This is the day that we remember its our
duty to capture OSAMA BIN LADEN.

We redouble our efforts. The guy who
did this, the mastermind.. he's still out
there..

Lets get OSAMA. The 911 commission report
is the Key. As an ardent John McCain supporter
I am here to tell you that The McCain - Lieberman
bill is going to do more to capture Bin Laden
than anything else we've done so far,
and that We NEED TO CAPTURE OSAMA BIN LADEN

For their sake. Their deaths must be avenged.
Not a single Iraqi was involved in 911. Not ONE

I’d have to say today is a triple whammy for me. I was in Palisades on business when the attack on the WTC happened. On a beautiful clear day I could see the smoke rise from the center of NYC. It didn’t occur to me what my family might be thinking about my being anywhere near the incident at the time. It didn’t sink in until I heard the Pentagon had been hit and then my thoughts turned to my daughter and how she might have faired in that one horrifying moment. She didn’t work inside the Pentagon but she worked close enough to the building to heighten my anxiety. My thoughts turned to my son knowing his 16th birthday was all but ruined. As with any parent the moments of panic are fleeting when one’s family is involved. The moment of truth and realization sets in rather quickly.

To those that lost their lives on that day and to those that gave their lives willingly to rescue and aid those in need, I for one owe a debt of gratitude that somehow seems will never be marked paid in full. To those that serve and carry on the fight to protect this great nation and all of the citizens within its’ borders. My resolve is strengthened and my support is unwavering in all efforts aimed at eliminating and diminishing the threats of terrorism.

Thanks for sharing that information about Rick Rescorla. I'm so glad he was on my side and so sad he's gone. What a man. I agree that link is a must read. I can not wait to read the book about him.

Today my heart has been silent, remembering. Mourning as is right to do.

Not because I've forgotten to be angry - the anger from that day is deep in my bones.

Not because a relative close to me repeats again and again that America deserves whatever she gets, always citing collective European guilt vs. those of other colors. I know what I believe about guilt and innocence in all the complex history of the last centuries, although it saddens me to realize that this child of privilege cannot rise up to acknowledge the larger threat to all that is good and decent. No amount of partying will really leave her feeling safe and at peace, though. She knows what she doesn't want to admit.

It is the infants and small children, bayoneted and shot after days of cruel treatment in a small school, who have been with me today.

Those who jumped and fell 3 years ago are with me today.

Those who worked to rescue others and finally succumbed are with me today.

Those who suffered in Iraq, before under Saddam, during and after the major combat, are with me.

Our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are with me today.

But Breslan is with me the most, along with the attacks of 3 years ago.

Today I feel fire in my bones, anger deep in my soul, and a determination that I will remember and I will fight.

That the veneer of civilization is thin and fragile is a common aphorism, but an uncommon experience.

Most often our society is as solid as the ground we walk on, yet even this can be felt to tremble – especially by those such as myself who have spent some years in the American West. Seismologists can discern the structure of the “solid” ground by analyzing the waves of an earthquake.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the very structure of our civilization – its thinness, its fragility – could be felt through the waves which roiled in it.

The towers fell. Civilization did not, yet for me the memory of its tremors remains vivid and chilling.

Excellent post! Thanks.

Never Forget

Never Forgive

Never Again

What a wonderful round-up of the best the blogosphere has to offer.

Thank you for remembering and honoring my collegue, mentor and friend, Rick Rescorla.

It warms my heart to know he lives on by those of us who owe our lives to him, and by those who admire what he stood for.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for putting this all together. You've done an outstanding job. If bearing witness is all some of us can do, you've done the best.

Thanks for this roundup. There are so many great writers on the Web, I am humbled. I spent weeks attempting to perfect my 1st anniversary essay and pouring my all my heart and soul into it and I was proud of the result. But then I read the others and I'm not the least bit surprised or even very disappointed that mine has gotten lost amoung all the more worthy expressions.

Are you forgetting about the Iraqi who helped facillitate the meeting of terrorists in Malaysia?

Joe, thank you for this beautiful entry. It took me most of the weekend to read all the links. That is one good thing about coming late to the party-- there are so many open bottles to sample.

Joe, thanks for the link and the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed my article, and I'm honored to have it here as part of the most stunning rememberance post I've seen.

-Matt, CA Yankee's son

I put out my flag today. I encourage everyone to fly their flag in memorial.

--Fred

Thanks for the links, Joe. I learned a lot about rigorous, transparent political thinking from Stephen Den Beste - agree or disagree, the guy's just brilliant at communicating his thoughts and explaining the reasoning behind it. Truly a Blogger amongst bloggers.

I have a short story about 9/11 I wanted to share about my uncle. He's a good man, a good American and a good Muslim (from the beer-and-miniskirts Indonesian Subud tradition, which is about as laid back as a faith can get), and works at an office near DC. His office was being renovated, and the management set up temporary trailers in the parking lot for the duration, and asked everyone in the department to move their stuff into the trailers. My uncle stalled and stalled, but one morning he decided he'd better get it over with, and filled a box up with his staplers and coffee mug, pictures of my aunt and cousins, etc. He'd just left the building when the plane hit the side of the Pentagon where his department (among many others)were. Lots of people weren't nearly as lucky, and he attended the funerals of his department head and many co-workers, many friends, that month.

Anyhow, I heard my uncle was safe before I even knew the Pentagon had been hit that terrible day, but understanding the truth of what happened to him has been remarkably helpful in understanding the war on terror.

Islam isn't the problem per se. The Enemy doesn't care how many Muslims they kill, and the pentagon attack wasn't staged. Whether we oppose Islamic extremists or not, they have declared war on us, on modernity, on classical liberalism, and innocent people will die in this war, often horribly. Many of the alternatives to opposing this extremism are nightmarish (a la wretchard's second conjecture), and yet it's arguable that we're still not serious about fighting this war.

Our borders are still porous, or bureaucracies and intelligence apparatus (and disaster responses) still seem woefully inefficient, and the spread of extremism seems like it's only getting worse - my uncle told me last winter about going to the big new Wahabbist mosque that Saudi money built in DC, and saw and heard things that would appall most people, sermons as bad as anything at memri.org or lgf. I have a Pakistani friend, and what he tells me he sees when he goes home to Karachi, well, it's going to get worse before it gets better, and as a people, as a culture, we need to be prepared for that. This war's a long way from over, but at least it's being fought, at least these monsters, who decapitate aid workers and reporters and electricians, who fly planes into buildings and kill busboys and officeworkers, these sad, evil people who've declared a holy war on us, are being opposed.

Thanks for the link and the flattery, Joe! I'm going to pull some of my most affecting links to post at WoC, too.

Tremendous collection. Great work putting together this "Carnival of 9-11."

BTW, the link for the Onion article is bad.

We believe there is a lack of (or maybe "ANY") 'appropriate' 9/11 memorials, anywhere. We've put our own 5 minute video memorial online. No burning buildings, no rubble, no explosions, no speeches, no screeches, no Bin Laden, no bodies. Just a remembrance of some people whose lives were cut short through no fault of their own, with poignant candid snapshots from their lives, and music.

Thought you might want to spend a few moments today, remembering.

http://mistersnitch.blogspot.com/2005/09/our-after-911-site-is-online.html

Forgive me if this is inappropriate to add here. But enough people have thanked me for posting this that I thought someone might be interested...

A firsthand account. From the 51st floor

Fixed that priceless Onion link, and a couple others too. Thanks for letting me know.

"The Coalition promotes a modern secular interpretation of Islam which is peace-loving, democracy-loving and compatible with other faiths and beliefs."

They're also in favour of the destruction of Israel. Not with fire and brimstone, perhaps, but it's little more than a variation on Gaddafi's "Isratine" lunacy.

Colt,

I poked into the site. I don't recall seeing the Israel-Palestine bit before, but it does raise serious questions. Ultimately, it's more or less like telling black people they can have a federated state partially run by the Klan.

Since I assume the Free Muslims Coalition cannot possibly be that ignorant of realities on the ground, the only explanations that remain are massive self-delusion (assisted by selecting interlocutors from the Israeli far left) or just a more genteel form of ill-will.

Ultimately, this issue is also a useful test of sincerity generally. Can Islam change so it can live with other faiths, or is war inevitable? Just as an Islam that justifies suicide bombing against Israelis will eventually justify it against Londoners, New Yorkers, Balinese, et. al., so an Islam that cannot allow Jews to live in a tiny state of their own outside the Dar-al-Islam has not really renounced the doctrines of war and supremacism at its heart. And eventually that, too, must find other targets.

"Jim Crow Islam" (aka. dhimmitude) is not an acceptable answer.

I'm leaving the link up, with appropriate caveats, insofar as I believe the rest of their program works to address the root of the problem in other ways, and lets forces in that offer hope of making a difference over time.

But neither should we be blind to the current realities. Which the subsequent El Fadl piece on Islam and the Challenge of Democracy highlights in Among Arab Reformers.

I'm wondering why GeneThug's uncle, the Muslim, is still in the United States if he's going to a Saudi-funded mosque and evidently doing nothing about getting it closed down.

Gee, offhand guess... he's going from a combination of religious obligation and curiosity re: what's going on there. Glad he did.

In terms of getting it closed down, (a) you don't know what he's done; and (b) one must first believe there is a possibility that reporting these things would have that result. Incidentally, I do not. This was the problem prior to 9/11. It still is. It wouldn't be a bad idea to make the FBI an offer of cooperation, but I wouldn't expect much from it.

One may also, if one is so inclined, seek to create changes within via the governing board. Having seen this process attempted in non-Orthodox Jewish synagogues, I would recommend that his uncle try to make us all safer by investing his time at the Pentagon instead.

Here is a link to the Defence of Rorke's Drift. Midway down the page is a MP3 of the Royal Regiment of Wales' Band singing "Men of Harlech" on the 120th anniversary of the battle of Rorke's Drift. This was the song which Rick Rescorla used on many occasions to rally spirits.
Men Of Harlech

I have not linked directly to the MP3 since those who remember the movie Zulu! may want to look around. Warning the song may aggravate your allergies especially around the eyes.

Men of Harlech

Let's try it again. It worked in preview the last time. Just in case, here's the raw url,
www.rorkesdriftvc.com/myths/myths.htm

NahnCee,

I'm wondering why GeneThug's uncle, the Muslim, is still in the United States if he's going to a Saudi-funded mosque and evidently doing nothing about getting it closed down.

Joe is correct. My uncle attended a sermon at the Saudi funded mosque in DC to see what was going on, and was appalled at what was being preached there. It isn't the church he regularly attends, and it isn't even his sect (Wahabbism is about as far from Subud as, say, the autocastrating Skoptsy or the racist genocidal fantasists of the Christian Technocracy are from Unitarian Christianity), but Islam is his religion, and America is his country, and he loves both a great deal.

My uncle's a civilian, with as much power to close down a church as you or me, and as a regular guy who happens to be a Muslim-American, with a job that requires a security clearance, drawing attention to himself (from the FBI, as well as the beneficiaries of Saudi money in the US Gov.) seems phenomenally imprudent in these times. If the government doesn't already have a clue about what's going on in a huge, Saudi funded Wahabbi mosque in Washington D.C., there's no hope, whatsoever, that we're competent enough to win the War on Terror.

What has he done to get it closed down? He told me about it, and now I've told you about it. What are you doing to get that mosque closed down, or to get it's preachers censured for preaching religious hatred? Why are you still in the United States?

Would seem more likely that the government is aware of what is happening in the DC mosque and either (a) sees more value in monitoring the sermons and participants than in shutting it down, and/or (b) has no legal basis for shutting down the mosque.

Rememberances -

To those who died on 9/11

To those who have died since, military and civilian and the innocent civilians killed by our military

To those whose lives are on the line daily due to the arrogance of a stolen Presidency and a "leader" who does nothing of the sort

To those recently lost by Katrina

To those who were lost in the tsunami

To those who are yet to be lost in Iraq and Afghanistan

To those who are yet to be lost again due to the arrogance of an Administration which cannot and does not lead but blunders along violating every International Law, plunging the US further into the hands of the corporations and stregthening the drive of terrorists around the world

You will never be forgotten, at least by me.

It is time for a change, a revolutionary way of thinking, and time to redirect this country's government back to being truly representative of the will of the people, not the desires of a minority.

Thanks for the reminder. A moment for grief.

To those who are too classy to use this memorial as a chance to take a cheap shot at a political adversary, thanks. You understand what a memorial is supposed to be.

An excellent post with excellent comments. The best that I have read today.

For anyone who wants to read and look at more links, I have posted a bunch of them on my blog at

[We interrupt this post to bring you an important announcement. The above poster has, for the second time, posted a pointer to a URL that is chock-full of advertisements and impossible for me to navigate satisfactorily. The generic compliments are another dead give-away.

Left as a warning. Victor, we prize substantive content here. What you just did doesn't count as such. Please see the comments guidelines for more information. --NM]