September 11, 2001 Remembered - Again

ANOTHER SAD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Once again we reach a milestone - another anniversary of September 11, 2001. It's hard to believe that nine years have passed since a handful of Islamic extremists hijacked four airplanes, crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and were foiled in their attempt to crash the fourth into another building in Washington - perhaps the White House or the Capitol Building - by brave passengers who took back the plane but not in time to avoid crashing in a field just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

PREVIOUS POSTS
I've written about this several times in the recent past. Here are links to three of my previous entries, if you care to revisit them:

Putting 9/11/01 In Perspective (9/10/07)
Observing Patriot Day (9/10/08)
A Day Of Remembrance (9/10/09)

CNN MEMORIAL SITE
In addition, CNN.com has created a permanent memorial site which I've had posted on this page for several years. This site provides information on victims of the 9/11/01 attacks - folks like Todd Beamer, who helped lead the charge of passengers on Flight 93 with his rallying cry, "Let's Roll!". You can view that site HERE and visit it in the future at the link on the right of this page.

PATRIOT DAY
Today, as we plan to mark Patriot Day tomorrow, our world remains in turmoil. We continue to fight bloody battles in the Mideast, trying to root out the evil that perpetrated the 9/11/01 attacks. Thousands of young Americans have lost their lives in these battles. Ironically, the first from Orange County was an illegal alien from Costa Mesa named Jose Angel Garibay, who hoped to gain citizenship through military service and later to become a police officer. Brave young Garibay is buried in the Riverside National Cemetery.

LUNATIC THREAT PENDING...
As I write this Terry Jones, the lunatic pastor of a 50-person church who had threatened to burn a copy of the Qur'an on 9/11/10 because he thinks a mosque planned for a site near the World Trade Center location in New York City is an affront to Americans, changed his mind, then changed it again. According to early news reports, he's negotiated a deal with the Imam in New York City to move the location of the mosque in question. Subsequent reports are more than a little sketchy and he still may burn a copy of Islam's holy book.

MUSLIM REACTION
Regardless, his threat has unleashed uprisings among Muslims around the world and our political and military leaders have expressed concern for our troops and embassy's in hostile lands. I'm tempted to shrug off those concerns, but history tells us that Muslim extremists have no patience nor tolerance. That simple act of stupidity on the part of the pastor could, indeed, foment violence against Americans at home and abroad. We live in a very troubled world.

A VIDEO REMINDER OF THAT DAY
Lest we forget what this is all about in the first place, I leave you today with this video clip - one of dozens found on YouTube - commemorating the attacks of September 11, 2001.

NEVER FORGIVE - NEVER FORGET