Posted on 09/10/2026 7:10:22 PM PDT by MacNaughton
I was sitting in my home office not far from the Pentagon when it happened. The TV behind me had the sound lowered, but I suddenly became aware of a major development. I reached for the remote and cranked up the audio.
A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but a much larger plane struck the building, and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My son, who was a firefighter, later told me he pulled bodies out of the wreckage. He still doesn't like to talk about it, likely because of the horrible experience.
Later, United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, because of the bravery of Todd Beamer, who led other passengers and crew in a revolt that stopped the hijackers from possibly hitting the White House or Capitol Building.
I wrote six columns in a row and many others following that modern day of infamy. Here are some excerpts that ring true 25 years later.
A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but a much larger plane struck the building, and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My son, who was a firefighter, later told me he pulled bodies out of the wreckage. He still doesn't like to talk about it, likely because of the horrible experience.
Later, United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, because of the bravery of Todd Beamer, who led other passengers and crew in a revolt that stopped the hijackers from possibly hitting the White House or Capitol Building.
I wrote six columns in a row and many others following that modern day of infamy. Here are some excerpts that ring true 25 years later.
On the day of the terrorist attacks, I wrote: "It brings into clear focus the state of war that has existed for some time between America and those who oppose our values and way of life." I called for the expulsion of people and organizations with ties to radical terrorist groups. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and the threat from within remains and appears to be growing. There are still unanswered questions about how those attacks were allowed to happen.
It didn't take long before the "blame America first" crowd was heard from. They are still around, as we see in the current election cycle. The Mufti of Jerusalem had recently called on Allah to destroy America, which he said "is controlled by Zionist Jews." Nothing has changed, and antisemitism has gotten worse.
I noted that in many Muslim schools, hatred for Jews and the U.S. is drummed into children from the earliest grades. A 7th-grade Palestinian textbook said: "(Islam) will defeat all other religions and it will be disseminated, by Allah's will, through the Muslim Jihad fighters."
Something else died on 9/11 besides the deaths of 2,977 people. I wrote it was the doctrine of moral equivalency — the idea that people everywhere are just like us or can be made so by acquiescing to their demands. Unfortunately, that flawed line of thinking continues to exist (consider those making such a case in the Iran war). Unfortunately, that worldview is still alive. The moral equivalency crowd, I wrote, will try to wear down our resolve. They have lost all credibility, just as the "peace in our time" crowd did shortly after Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II.
Energy independence, I said, would free us from the grip of the Middle East. That, too, has not yet been achieved.
I was fortunate to be able to visit Ground Zero when others were barred. A friend knew the fire chief, who let us into a roped- off area. Three images I shall never forget: the blocks and blocks of store windows with pictures of the missing and pleas for help in finding them; the parked cars that were filled inside with dust from the collapse of the buildings; an unopened soft drink bottle lying in the debris. I have kept the hard hat they made us wear, on which I wrote "NYC 9/11/2001."
A New York City police officer gestured at the ruins and said: "Look at this. Here is the result of years of illegal immigration, softness on crime, cutting the defense budget, and lack of attention to right and wrong in this country." Not a bad summation.
It's easy to say "never forget," but each generation must be taught to remember, and one generation has been born since 9/11, and others were too young at the time. Most importantly, it depends on who is teaching the history and whether that teaching is based on facts or if it is filtered through the teacher's own biases.
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Oh most decent Americans will never forget. But in the twenty five tears since there has been a culture busting open immigration of people who palpably hate America, a bizarre Stockholm syndrome mentality of similiar hated has gripped a high percentage of native Americans. A Muslim immigrant who makes no secret of his loathsome hatred of our heritage and culture is now the Mayor of New York City. What has the country really learned and why?
It was post #89 by halfirish
I was asleep on the floor in Malibu Canyon helping my in laws remodel the house. It wa surreal that the roads were all empty and the skies were clear. We couldn’t believe it happened. Everyone wanted righteous vengeance and no one, but Bush and every caller to Limbaugh said, “Islam is a religion of peace.”
I was at home watching the news live, I am a pilot. I could not understand why an airliner could crash into the tower with clear and view and 10 miles plus visibility. The second plane hit and I knew instantly it was a terror attack.
The solutions are very simple; just kill them at every level they exist from the desert to high government. Just kill them. Relative to the desert and the Bedouins they just want to be left alone. I lived in Oman for a few years. The Bedouins are good people, just leave them alone.
They have their own and just laws. I know of a rapist and double murder of child and mother. Justice was delivered by the mother’s brothers by tribal authority. I doubt it was quick. The desert is vast.
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