DISSING THE VICTIMS AND HEROES OF 9/11:
When NetLoons Have Waaaaaay Too Much Time on Their Hands
Unfortunately, horrible tragedies like 9/11 seem to draw all sorts of kooks and nincumpoops out of the woodwork.
Such is the case with a truly weird web site, apparently authored by someone trying to pull our collective cyberlegs in order to push some lunatic-fringe political agenda. The theme of this site is that the "official story" (whatever that means) of what happened on 9/11 is a "hoax." (You know, just like the Holocaust, heliocentricity, evolution, and those manned landings on the moon.)
For a more detailed look at, and debunking of, this strange "theory" see our commentary at our Bullies 'N' Bozos web log.
"Any questioning of the moral ideas that prevail ...is received with the utmost hostility.
To attempt such an enterprise is to disturb the peace"
--H. L. Mencken
Saturday, September 13, 2003
Friday, September 12, 2003
MORE 9/11 RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS:
At the Catholic Web Log Heart, Mind, and Strength
Many thanks to HMS blogger Kevin Miller at that site for posting these accounts by his readers of their experiences on that awful day:
Among these are the following powerful and poignant accounts written by one of his readers, a New York City resident, during the first three days after that tragedy:
From Day Two, 9/12/01:
Yesterday
and
Overcoming Evil with Good
From Day Four, 9/14/01:
Life Goes On
Several more moving recollections and thoughtful reflections, including by Mr. Miller, can be read starting HERE
At the Catholic Web Log Heart, Mind, and Strength
Many thanks to HMS blogger Kevin Miller at that site for posting these accounts by his readers of their experiences on that awful day:
Among these are the following powerful and poignant accounts written by one of his readers, a New York City resident, during the first three days after that tragedy:
From Day Two, 9/12/01:
Yesterday
and
Overcoming Evil with Good
From Day Four, 9/14/01:
Life Goes On
Several more moving recollections and thoughtful reflections, including by Mr. Miller, can be read starting HERE
Thursday, September 11, 2003
"WHERE WERE YOU
When the World Stopped Turning on that September Day?"
Country Music singer-songwriter Alan Jackson's reflections on 9/11
Listen to the song and read the lyrics HERE
A profoundly moving piece, whether you're a Country-Western Music fan or not.
When the World Stopped Turning on that September Day?"
Country Music singer-songwriter Alan Jackson's reflections on 9/11
Listen to the song and read the lyrics HERE
A profoundly moving piece, whether you're a Country-Western Music fan or not.
"LEST WE FORGET: REFLECTIONS ON 9/11"
by Megan, a Catholic College Student in Chicago, Illinois
On the Eve of September 11, 2003: Lest We Forget
At the end of August, I was at the site of another memorial of another national tragedy. As I looked down into the crystal clear waters of Pearl Harbor at the remnants of the USS Arizona, I couldn't help but think of 9/11. And as I watched the images of the Japanese fighter planes bombing the naval base and the battleships, I could not help but remember 9/11. I was not alive during Pearl Harbor--so 9/11 is like my generation's Pearl Harbor. And ironically it happened during the 60th anniversary year of that day.
I think about my generation. We're starved for lack of heroes. Our teenagers look to Madonna, Eminem, and Britney Spears as role models. Let us take this time to remember and honor real heroes, the firemen and other workers that gave their lives to help their fellow men in trouble. Let us remember them and the ultimate sacrifice they paid. Lest we forget.
I'm proud to be an American. I know that America has her faults and her sins. But I also see alot of good in the USA and that good was shown in the heroic examples of her citizens who showed remarkable unselfishness and courage in the face of danger. Let us not forget the sacrifice they paid. Let us pray for their souls, for all of the souls of the dead that day. Let us remember the courage that led the over 300 firemen to their deaths that day. God bless them. They are true heroes. They deserve to be honored and remembered. God have mercy on their souls and God have mercy on our land.
And, once, again, in my mind I go back to the crystal blue waters of Pearl Harbor and lay a flower on the waters of the tomb of those men who fell, remembering at the same time my generation's Pearl Harbor. Aloha and God be with you.
by Megan, a Catholic College Student in Chicago, Illinois
On the Eve of September 11, 2003: Lest We Forget
At the end of August, I was at the site of another memorial of another national tragedy. As I looked down into the crystal clear waters of Pearl Harbor at the remnants of the USS Arizona, I couldn't help but think of 9/11. And as I watched the images of the Japanese fighter planes bombing the naval base and the battleships, I could not help but remember 9/11. I was not alive during Pearl Harbor--so 9/11 is like my generation's Pearl Harbor. And ironically it happened during the 60th anniversary year of that day.
I think about my generation. We're starved for lack of heroes. Our teenagers look to Madonna, Eminem, and Britney Spears as role models. Let us take this time to remember and honor real heroes, the firemen and other workers that gave their lives to help their fellow men in trouble. Let us remember them and the ultimate sacrifice they paid. Lest we forget.
I'm proud to be an American. I know that America has her faults and her sins. But I also see alot of good in the USA and that good was shown in the heroic examples of her citizens who showed remarkable unselfishness and courage in the face of danger. Let us not forget the sacrifice they paid. Let us pray for their souls, for all of the souls of the dead that day. Let us remember the courage that led the over 300 firemen to their deaths that day. God bless them. They are true heroes. They deserve to be honored and remembered. God have mercy on their souls and God have mercy on our land.
And, once, again, in my mind I go back to the crystal blue waters of Pearl Harbor and lay a flower on the waters of the tomb of those men who fell, remembering at the same time my generation's Pearl Harbor. Aloha and God be with you.
"THE HOLE IN THE SKYLINE"
National Review Writer Rod Dreher's Reflections on 9/11
In his column at NROnline Dreher notes, in part:
It is, I think, good to be reminded of the tragic sense of life — good, because it reflects the truth, and having that front and center, day and night, helps one guard against blithe optimism, our American temptation. Forewarned is forearmed. Before September 11, I used to marvel at the Twin Towers and the lower Manhattan skyline. The morning sun glinted off the towers, twin diamonds in a crowning achievement of mankind: New York City, the breathtaking palace atop that shining city on the hill that is America. At night, the lights of the towers glittered against the scrim of night, a constellation of our own making. You cannot see the stars at night from New York City, but you didn't have to if you had the Twin Towers.
The last time I saw the towers as they were was one year ago tonight, I had a drink with a friend in the neighborhood, and said goodbye to him at my doorstep, watching him walk away with the towers over his shoulder. I next saw them on fire, and within two hours, saw nothing.
They were there and now they are not: that simple brute fact I still have trouble accepting. Video of the plane crashes and the two collapses doesn't bother me; rather, what I can't take are pre-9/11 images of the World Trade Center. Not long ago, my little niece showed me video of her visit to New York three years ago. At one point, there is a shot with the Twin Towers in the distance. As soon as I saw them there, my chest tightened, tears leapt to my eyes, and I had to leave the room. That video clip was a snapshot from a time and place when we could take things for granted, from a day when the mighty towers were mere background scenery. Of course, we never could, not really; but it was easy in our peace and prosperity, to forget that.
How true, and how very well said.
National Review Writer Rod Dreher's Reflections on 9/11
In his column at NROnline Dreher notes, in part:
It is, I think, good to be reminded of the tragic sense of life — good, because it reflects the truth, and having that front and center, day and night, helps one guard against blithe optimism, our American temptation. Forewarned is forearmed. Before September 11, I used to marvel at the Twin Towers and the lower Manhattan skyline. The morning sun glinted off the towers, twin diamonds in a crowning achievement of mankind: New York City, the breathtaking palace atop that shining city on the hill that is America. At night, the lights of the towers glittered against the scrim of night, a constellation of our own making. You cannot see the stars at night from New York City, but you didn't have to if you had the Twin Towers.
The last time I saw the towers as they were was one year ago tonight, I had a drink with a friend in the neighborhood, and said goodbye to him at my doorstep, watching him walk away with the towers over his shoulder. I next saw them on fire, and within two hours, saw nothing.
They were there and now they are not: that simple brute fact I still have trouble accepting. Video of the plane crashes and the two collapses doesn't bother me; rather, what I can't take are pre-9/11 images of the World Trade Center. Not long ago, my little niece showed me video of her visit to New York three years ago. At one point, there is a shot with the Twin Towers in the distance. As soon as I saw them there, my chest tightened, tears leapt to my eyes, and I had to leave the room. That video clip was a snapshot from a time and place when we could take things for granted, from a day when the mighty towers were mere background scenery. Of course, we never could, not really; but it was easy in our peace and prosperity, to forget that.
How true, and how very well said.
THE PRIESTS OF 9/11:
More Little-Noticed and Unsung Heroism on That Awful Day
Most of us know of the incredible acts of courage on the part of the hundreds of New York City firefighters and police officers who put their lives on the line on Sept. 11, 2001 helping those caught in the burning WTC twin towers to escape, often at the cost of their own lives.
We know also of the hundreds of rescue workers who, painfully and out of compassion as well as a sense of duty, risked their own lives searching for victims and survivors among the ruins of that calamity.
We know also of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Fr. Mychal Judge, the courageous Catholic chaplain with the NYC fire department who lost his life ministering to his FDNY colleagues as they lay injured or dying from the continually falling debri.
But most of us don't know about the dozens of Catholic priests who, alongside dozens of their colleagues of other faiths, went into that Hell on Earth to help others instead of run for their lives. After the dust and debris at Ground Zero settled, dozens more mobilized to help and comfort those hundreds of firefighters, police, rescue workers, survivors, and victims' family members who needed them.
This, and not the unfortunate sex abuse scandals on which the media seem so fixated, is what being a Catholic priest or any other cleric in any other religion is really all about, or at least should be all about.
More Little-Noticed and Unsung Heroism on That Awful Day
Most of us know of the incredible acts of courage on the part of the hundreds of New York City firefighters and police officers who put their lives on the line on Sept. 11, 2001 helping those caught in the burning WTC twin towers to escape, often at the cost of their own lives.
We know also of the hundreds of rescue workers who, painfully and out of compassion as well as a sense of duty, risked their own lives searching for victims and survivors among the ruins of that calamity.
We know also of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Fr. Mychal Judge, the courageous Catholic chaplain with the NYC fire department who lost his life ministering to his FDNY colleagues as they lay injured or dying from the continually falling debri.
But most of us don't know about the dozens of Catholic priests who, alongside dozens of their colleagues of other faiths, went into that Hell on Earth to help others instead of run for their lives. After the dust and debris at Ground Zero settled, dozens more mobilized to help and comfort those hundreds of firefighters, police, rescue workers, survivors, and victims' family members who needed them.
This, and not the unfortunate sex abuse scandals on which the media seem so fixated, is what being a Catholic priest or any other cleric in any other religion is really all about, or at least should be all about.
9/11 TWO YEARS LATER:
And the Nation Remembers Its Fallen Loved Ones and Fellow Citizens
But while we in the USA still live relatively free of terrorism since that awful day, terrorism continues in Israel, Iraq, and the rest of the world.
God help those for whom terrorism is a daily reality, and God bless and comfort those who have lost their friends and family members to terrorism.
And the Nation Remembers Its Fallen Loved Ones and Fellow Citizens
But while we in the USA still live relatively free of terrorism since that awful day, terrorism continues in Israel, Iraq, and the rest of the world.
God help those for whom terrorism is a daily reality, and God bless and comfort those who have lost their friends and family members to terrorism.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
ANOTHER O'HAIR-BRAINED ANTIC:
The American Atheists Want the Ground Zero Cross Removed
Shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, while Ground Zero was being cleared of debris, a segment of three joined steel girders was found which uncannily resembled a perfectly symmetrical Christian cross. At the urging of the men and women who spent weeks searching for survivors and body parts, the NYC committee in charge of establishing a memorial at the site may include that 20-foot tall artifact in its memorial plans.
But not if the perennially cranky American Atheist organization has its way, as we take a look at this silly outfit and it's equally silly complaint at our Bullies 'N' Bozos web log.
The American Atheists Want the Ground Zero Cross Removed
Shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, while Ground Zero was being cleared of debris, a segment of three joined steel girders was found which uncannily resembled a perfectly symmetrical Christian cross. At the urging of the men and women who spent weeks searching for survivors and body parts, the NYC committee in charge of establishing a memorial at the site may include that 20-foot tall artifact in its memorial plans.
But not if the perennially cranky American Atheist organization has its way, as we take a look at this silly outfit and it's equally silly complaint at our Bullies 'N' Bozos web log.
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
FROM THE SO-WHAT-ELSE-IS-NEW? DEPARTMENT:
The Church of $cientology Is at It Again --TWICE!
According to an on-line report by NBC News, members of the Church of Scientology, including celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Juliette Lewis, who want to move up into the upper ranks in their religion are now required to sign a contract which relinquishes to their "church" some key rights, "including a right to psychiatric care and the right to see their families."
Apparently this new requirement came about in the wake of a successful malpractive suit brought against the "church" by the family of a mentally ill member who died from dehydration and starvation while under the "care" of her colleagues.
And the Catholic Church's critics think we're the bad guys???
For a more in-depth look at this story, see our commentary at our Bullies 'N' Bozos web log.
The Church of $cientology Is at It Again --TWICE!
According to an on-line report by NBC News, members of the Church of Scientology, including celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Juliette Lewis, who want to move up into the upper ranks in their religion are now required to sign a contract which relinquishes to their "church" some key rights, "including a right to psychiatric care and the right to see their families."
Apparently this new requirement came about in the wake of a successful malpractive suit brought against the "church" by the family of a mentally ill member who died from dehydration and starvation while under the "care" of her colleagues.
And the Catholic Church's critics think we're the bad guys???
For a more in-depth look at this story, see our commentary at our Bullies 'N' Bozos web log.
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