Americans paused again Tuesday to mark the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks with familiar ceremony, but also a sense that it's time to move forward after a decade of remembrance.RELATED: Remembering 9/11: New York Ceremomy
Hundreds gathered at the World Trade Center site in New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., to read the names of nearly 3,000 victims killed in the worst terror attack in U.S. history. President Barack Obama was to attend the Pentagon memorial, and Vice President Joe Biden was to speak in Pennsylvania.
But many felt that last year's 10th anniversary was an emotional turning point for public mourning of the attacks. For the first time, elected officials weren't speaking at the ceremony, which often allowed them a solemn turn in the spotlight, but raised questions about the public and private Sept. 11.
"I feel much more relaxed" this year, said Jane Pollicino, who came to ground zero Tuesday morning to remember her husband, who was killed at the trade center. "After the ninth anniversary, that next day, you started building up to the 10th year. This feels a lot different, in that regard. It's another anniversary that we can commemorate in a calmer way, without that 10-year pressure."
As bagpipes played at the year-old Sept. 11 memorial in New York, family clutching balloons, flowers and photos of their loved ones bowed their heads in silence at 8:46 a.m., the moment that the first hijacked jetliner crashed into the trade center's north tower, and again to mark the crashes into the second tower, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama observed the moment in a ceremony on the White House's south lawn, and then laid a white floral wreath at the Pentagon, above a concrete slab that said "Sept. 11, 2001 — 937 am."
There has been quite a reaction to Paul Krugman’s instantly infamous 9/11 blog post entitled “The Year’s of Shame.” Donald Rumsfeld claimed it caused him to cancel his New York Times subscription, Fox News has been all over it like a hawk, and, even in a column entitled “Forgive Paul Krugman For Calling 9/11 ‘An Occasion For Shame,’” our own Tommy Christopher wrote that the post featured “several stupid, wrong things in that small space.” On The Five yesterday though, Greg Gutfeld took it upon himself to sum up what he believed was the nation’s collective response: “Go to hell, Paul Krugman, you bearded bitter buffoon.”
While not using such harsh terms, the rest of the panel seemed to agree. Of course, all of them except Bob Beckel don’t like Krugman on a good day, but it was notable seeing Dana Perino clearly taking the post personally as it featured large swipes at her former boss, George W. Bush. The conversation soon turned to whether or not the New York Times even reads Krugman’s stuff before letting it run considering both the content as well as some nasty typos.
After this, The Five‘s hosts changed gears and got equally passionate about the question of whether airplane bathrooms are even big enough for the “mile high club” which, I suppose, is a pretty good distillation of the show’s appeal.
“A Tribute to the Media,” a ten-minute video, honoring television coverage of the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This was shown at the Media Research Center’s “DisHonors Awards” held in Washington, DC on January 17, 2002 when we took a time-out for a few minutes to pay tribute to the patriotic work of journalists during the national crisis.
The video starts with clips of the breaking news reporting that Tuesday morning, moves to world reaction, memorial services and search efforts; then to the patriotism displayed by Americans, the U.S. military response, Dan Rather and Geraldo Rivera rallying behind President Bush.
It includes powerful commentaries from two leading journalists who have since passed away: Tim Russert and Tony Snow.
On Saturday, former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura honored the heroes of September 11th at the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial.
Shortly after, the Bush Center released a video in which the former President invited people to help commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks by contributing to a historical record for future generations.
A new street sign that reads “Seven in Heaven Way,” and that was recently unveiled in Brooklyn, New York, to commemorate seven local firefighters who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks has drawn the ire of some atheists, who say they’re prepared to go to court to have the sign taken down.
New York City Atheists, a group that opposes the public use of religious references, is challenging the new sign, which was erected in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood.
“We’re supposed to be a secular nation - there really should not be any religious symbolism or signage in public places,” said Kenneth Bronstein, President of New York City Atheists. “We feel that any and all people who died in 9-11 should be remembered and honored. That’s not the problem.”
Bronstein calls the sign a violation of the separation of church and state, arguing that the word “heaven” is a clear reference to Christianity.
Bronstein has contacted the city with his complaint and has proposed an alternative street name: “We Remember the 7-911.”
Groups dedicated to honoring 9/11 victims did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Bronstein’s campaign.
But some New Yorkers told CNN New York affiliate WPIX that they disagree with the New York City Atheists.
"That's nonsense,” said Anbriena Insausti, who lives in Manhattan. “The families should honor their loved ones anyway they want."
Former President George W. Bush declined an invitation from President Obama to join him on Thursday at New York City’s Ground Zero to meet with the families of 9/11 victims.The right gesture by Barry, but I'm not at all surprised that Bush turned it down, that's not who he is. This should also kill the noise that Barry's been trying to take all the credit for killing bin Laden. Barry knows that once he got elected to the high chair he had no choice but to see the world for what it really is: pretty f--king dangerous. It's why he, like it or not, had to continue with every one of Bush's war policies, including waterboarding, which is turning out to be the reason why we finally got the man responsible for killing thousands on 9/11.
Bush appreciated the invitation, but “has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight,” David Sherzer, a Bush spokesman, said.
Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by Al Qaeda that felled the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, has turned into a rallying site since New Yorkers learned Usama bin Laden was killed Sunday during a raid by U.S. Navy SEALs.
Sherzer said Bush continues to celebrate this important victory in the war on terror with all Americans.
Iowa Congressman Steve King, a Republican, says there are a number of questions that need to be answered now that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden has been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. King says whoever emerges as the next leader of the terrorist group needs to be killed, too, and the U.S. needs to be “less forgiving than we’ve been” in terms of how Pakistan may have aided bin Laden.RELATED: Cheney Says Enhanced Interrogation Probably Led To UBL Death
The house where the 9-11 mastermind was staying was reportedly within 100 yards of a Pakistani military compound, and if that’s true, King says there had to be suspicions and secrets being kept.
King wonders if this episode may change President Obama’s mind about so-called torture techniques. King says the information on bin Laden’s where-abouts came from the U.S. compound at Guantanamo Bay and through the use of water boarding. He believes President Obama may change his mind on how to approach the War on Terror.
King also wonders if the U.S. government needs to reconsider its diplomacy with Pakistan and the billions of dollars that nation is receiving as the result of the War on Terror.
“We need to take another look at Pakistan and we need to rethink that,” King says. “They have a nuclear arsenal and if they’re working sometimes as our enemy and sometimes as our friend, we’re going to have to rethink that relationship. We need to rethink how we operate inside of Pakistan. It looks like it worked pretty good this time.”
Yielding to political opposition, the Obama administration gave up Monday on trying avowed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged henchmen in civilian federal court in New York and will prosecute them instead before military commissions.
The families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have waited almost a decade for justice, and "it must not be delayed any longer," Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference at the Justice Department.
Using strong language, Holder blamed Congress for imposing restrictions blocking any detainees from being tried in the U.S., saying that the "unwise and unwarranted restrictions" undermine the U.S. in counter-intelligence and counter-terror efforts.
Asked by a reporter if he thought he knew better than Congress on the matter, Holder aid he is intimately familiar with the cases, more so than members of Congress.
"Do I know better than them? Yes. I respect their ability to disagree but they should respect that this is an executive branch function, a unique executive branch function," Holder said.
Those comments prompted New York Republican congressman Peter King to call for Holder to step down. "If he feels that strongly about what Congress has done... then he has a moral obligation to resign," King told conservative talk show host Steve Malzberg Monday.
In November 2009, Holder had announced the plan for a New York trial blocks from where the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks destroyed the World Trade Center. That idea was thwarted by widespread opposition from Republicans and even some Democrats, particularly in New York.
Congress passed legislation that prohibits bringing any detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.
Standup comic and New York Times-bestselling author Sarah Silverman joked on Twitter that widows of the Sept. 11 attacks "give the best handjobs" on Oct. 6, attributing the quote to pseudonymous 19th century author and satirist Mark Twain.
"‘9/11 widows give the best hand jobs.' -Mark Twain," wrote Silverman, adding the hashtag, "#notcooltwain."
Later that day, the star of Comedy Central's "Sarah Silverman Program," appeared to amend her outlandish comment.
"Have remorse about last tweet," Silverman wrote on Twitter. "I'm sorry. Meant to be silly not mean. Should've quoted [Civil Rights activist and poet Maya] Angelou."
Silverman's racy brand of humor and left-wing politics has often been a source of controversy. In 2001, the comedienne came under fire for using a racial slur for people of Chinese origin during an appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
The comic has also been an outspoken critic of the conservative movement. In her New York Times bestselling book, "The Bedwetter," Silverman wrote that, "The entire Fox News Channel is a twenty-four-hour-a-day racism engine, but it's all coded, all implied."
Here is a never before-released video of the WTC attacks. This has to be the clearest and most detailed video surrounding the terrorist attack on the towers. The video is graphic in depicting the collapse of the first tower. Investigate 9/11 www.universalseed.org www.patriotsquestion911.com www.loosechange911.comNo matter what they tell you, never forget.
Fareed Zakaria warns in Newsweek that Al-Qaeda was significantly more incompetent that Americans believed in the aftermath of 9/11, and the result is a “national-security state” that threatens civil liberties. Any other time of year, comments like this would be controversial at best, especially from the mild-mannered Zakaria. So close to the anniversary of the most painful event in recent American history, it borders on the callous.
In one of his final columns in Newsweek (Zakaria will be soon moving to Time), Zakaria questions whether the American government should have increased spending in national security after 9/11, since “Al Qaeda is simply not that deadly a threat.” He notes that the US spends “more than the rest of the world spends put together” and that the Department of Homeland Security and it’s satellite organizations “produce 50,000 reports a year—136 a day!—which of course means few ever get read.” Imagine that– the United States spends more money on national security than other countries; given the open-endedness of his point, this means we should probably be shocked that the US is spending more money on national security than, say, Switzerland or Vanuatu.
He then tries to soften the edges around his argument by pointing out that, aside from that one time that they took down the World Trade Center and crashed a plane into the Pentagon, Al Qaeda is mostly a failure. “Today,” he writes, “Al Qaeda’s best hope is to find a troubled young man who has been radicalized over the Internet, and teach him to stuff his underwear with explosives.” He also highlights that he condemns Al Qaeda despite their incompetence (“I do not minimize Al Qaeda’s actions… I question its capabilities”) and rallies support from the texts of Founding Father– he quotes James Madison as saying, “of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded,” referring to the dangers of the War on Terror.
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