Take a moment to observe this day, Patriot Day, to remember those who gave their lives, and to celebrate our freedom from tyranny. If you can, fly your flag at half staff.
911 reminder – Patriot Day
- Thursday, February 5, 2026
Take a moment to observe this day, Patriot Day, to remember those who gave their lives, and to celebrate our freedom from tyranny. If you can, fly your flag at half staff.
Excerpt from: GM on September 11, 2010 at 5:01 pm
It is pleasing to see you engage in freedom of expression on this day, of which your right to do so was secured by true patriots. I thank you for providing by demonstration such a fitting tribute, as we also remember, from among those who were lost, the selfless emergency responders who rescued whom they could without regard to the personal beliefs of those they helped.
Be at peace, fellow child of God.
I guess we always knew that there were some creepy people around the world .
But I just never really get over the creeps, misanthropes, and nutbars in our own midst.
It is sad.
PS Nice Vid Code Tech.
kadaka (KD Knoebel) says:
September 11, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I watched the towers burn, and said “They’re going to fall. Steel can only withstand so much.”
___________________________________________________
The fact that fanatics had flown hijacked commercial jets into the WTC towers shocked and stunned the nation. What REALLY shocked the nation was watching the towers fall live on TV. I know I was shocked.
A very good friend of mine is a mechanical engineer (and Distinguished Scientist) at Sandia National Labs. On the morning of 9/11/01 he and a few other engineers were watching the events on TV. These are guys who design containers to withstand being dropped from planes or hit by trains and keep control mechanisms in nuke plants safe from fire. As they watched the towers burn they just looked at each other and said “the towers are going to collapse”. I didn’t have a clue nor would I have believed it until I saw it happen on live TV. What an elegantly simple plot! All that was required to bring down the mighty towers was some structural damage and fire…and gravity. Once one floor collapses onto the one below it all structural integrity is lost and it implodes like an accordion. It was unbelievable…almost impossible for a non-engineer to comprehend. The devastating loss of lives within a span of mere minutes was even harder to comprehend.
People talk about the JFK assassination and the “loss of innocence” in America. I was not quite 7 years old that bleak November day but the details are etched in my memory. I can recall every minute detail of 9/11 as if it happened yesterday…from watching CNN with my morning coffee to driving the 2 hours home from a Navajo clinic late in the day and not seeing a single contrail in the clear, blue September sky. This event shook our nation’s sense of safety and security. From the perspective of a terrorist it was a complete success.
In the weeks that followed you saw American flags everywhere. Emotions ran very hot (as well they should). Alas…how quickly we forget. Recently a school kid in Colorado was ordered to remove the 5″ x 8″ American flag he had affixed to his vehicle’s antenna because it may “offend the sensibilities” of some of the other students. I agree with Mr. Watts. On this day, especially, we should proudly and defiantly fly our country’s banner…and we should NEVER forget.
GM says:
==============
Yet, it calls, to no avail.
I commemorated 9/11 this year with a day of prayer, silence and not dwelling on the details. I didn’t discuss it or blog about it or upset any strangers in the pub by mentioning it in any way, shape or form. And I stayed away from any blog or other medium where I judged it would be likely to be mentioned. And now I come here and Anthony spoils everything for me by posting a “reminder”, as is his right.
Charles the moderator’s comment “this is the kind of debate that could spiral out of control and is just not really where we want to take this blog” is well taken. We are in the midst of a propaganda war on the subject of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming, and I for one wouldn’t want to see 9/11 used as a wedge issue by the alarmist camp to split the skeptics or to discredit the excellent reputation of Anthony and this site.
At the same time, putting up a 9/11 reminder post is like a red rag to a bull. Asking people to remember those “who gave their lives” and at the same time forbidding discussion of whether those lives were given or taken, who took them, how and why, is simply asking for trouble. This is because the 9/11 issue is like the global warming issue on steroids. Lots of theories, lots of blatant propaganda, lots of misinformation, disinformation, obfuscation, fear, loathing and denial, with plenty of scientific questions thrown in for those who want to look into them and potential links to deaths of untold millions if the proposed agendas stemming from the acceptance of the “official consensus” (green taxes, carbon trading and massive reductions in energy consumption in one case and a bloated security state, militarization and an endless wars on the other) are carried out.
I’m not a particularly excitable chap, but see how it gets me going? And for that reason, at least on WUWT, I’m going to deal with 9/11 the same way the French used to deal with Alsace and Lorraine: “always think of it, never speak of it.”
GM says:
Historically, there have been disasters of the scale and greater all over the world on practically every day of the year, we don’t commemorate the vast majority of them. Why should that date be different? It’s been 9 years, move on.>>
While your comment is technically accurate, I for one shall not move on until the twisted, sick, and downright evil in which this attack was rooted has been defeated. When the ideology that led to this horrific act, a terrorist attack on civilization itself is nothing but a distant memory, then I would have some respect for such a suggestion. As anyone who flies frequently can tell you, the threat remains real and current, the cost to society to prevent another attack by similar means enormous, and those who died were the victims of a new and difficult matter for civilization to deal with, acts of war by none state actors.
We would be fools to “move on” while the war continues. Just because the latest fatalities are not on U.S. soil does not mean that the war is over, and brave soldiers put their lives on the line every single day to contain and hopefully some day eleminate the threat.
I have no flag pole on which to fly a flag at half mast, but I take as many as 50 flights per year. Every single time I pass through security I remember 9/11.
GM says:
September 11, 2010 at 5:01 pm
You made the choice to read the post.
For the life of me if people are so “upset” or feel the manner in which or even if Anthony should have posted this, why are you reading it?
I don’t care for the adult magazine rack at the local Liquor store, but I don’t review some magazines and then go bitch at the store owner about it!
For the record, the concept of a bearded man in the sky looks after you tops the list of the most ridiculous ideas humanity have ever made up in its ignorance about the way the world works. And it’s a very long list.
More than 5 million people died in Eastern Congo in the last decade and a half so that we can have iPhones and write these posts on blogs and message boards, more than a million completely innocent people were killed and two countries were ruined in retaliation (according to the official version, that is) to 9/11; you rarely here about them, yet compared to those numbers, the few thousands that dies on 9/11 while a real tragedy, are simply nothing.
davidmhoffer,
Thank you, Sir, for your comments.
Perhaps it’s easier for some to forget the events of 9/11. For me they are impossible to forget. This was an attack on MY nation and MY way of life and ultimately, on MY beliefs…and on MY fellow citizens. This cannot be swept aside nor forgiven.
The cavilers here are absolutely correct. This has nothing to do with AGW. This is an issue of the sovereignty of a nation. And for that I extend my sincere thanks to Anthony Watts.
It makes a lot of sense to exclude 9/11 discussion on this website. It would go on for ever and detract from the focus on the effects, or lack of effects, of carbon dioxide for which this site is famous. Anyone interested in the topic can easily move to places devoted to it, and I suggest they do so, rather than prolonging the discussion here. Here are a couple of good places:
http://www.scienceof911.com.au/
http://911truthnews.com/
GM says:
September 11, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Well GM then go do something about it rather than just bitch about it. Fly to the Congo, pickup a rifle and fight for what you believe.
For the record, people like GM just bitch, they never take up a cause and act. They are lazy whiners whose only goal is to find fault in anything and bitch about it. The most pathetic members of society.
[snip -over the top]
Frank Legge says:
September 11, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Those sites are laughable, void of logic, void of science, void of evidence and certainly void of relevance.
It’s a good thing all those cleanup workers have kept their mouths shut aabout all the primer cord they found. Also a good thing the planes hit exactly where they needed.
Serious are we really going to let the insane “troofers” post their BS.
Odd, that, GM, for an individual so concerned about humanity (in truth, contemptuous), you seem so devoid of it… Perhaps you can find a creative outlet for your bitterness. They say finger painting is therapeutic.
9/11 is my father’s birthday, may he rest in peace. He had died a couple of years previous. Its also the birthday of a colleague’s son, 16 at the time he was, should have been thinking of driver’s licences, cars and girls, instead of being glued to the TV, on his birthday, wondering if he would ever have a future.
Some of us are forever bound to 9/11. Moving on is not possible. Some years, the memories of my father come first, others, the memories of the horror of watching that day unfold, then follows the guilt of not thinking of him sooner. I was on the phone to a company in Iowa, chatting with a sales rep, when their office began to buzz with the news. I joked with the rep and made some inane comment, not believing what was being described. I was obliged later to call her back and proffer my apologies for my insensitivity, whch she graciously accepted.
GM, you need to deal with your own demons, the rest of us are busy with ours. As a first responder, I especially nod to the 343 firemen and city staffers who ran into that mess to help, and didn’t come out.
Oh, it comes as no surprise that RC doesn’t have a 9/11 day. Intellectually bereft that it is, its no surprise that its soul-less too. Doesn’t mind being paid in greenbacks, however.
If you haven’t seen my other posts on this blog, I stand “on the other side” of the fence on pretty much everything this blog writes about. I read it because I want to understand what the motivation of the people who post here is. So far I have seen a confirmation of what has been known before, i.e., there is a very significant correlation between the following:
1. Religiosity
2. Generally right wing political convictions and firm belief in free market ideology; “patriotism” falls somewhere here too.
3. Rejection of AGW
4. Rejection of the existence of any limits to growth
5. Rejection of the theory of evolution
6. Rejection of a number of other well established scientific theories
7. Rejection of the authority of expertise, general anti-intellectualism and anti-science stance
The question is which of these is the cause and which the consequence, if a simple such relationship exists.
REPLY: What I want to know is why do biologists/life sciences people often get so swept up in this? – Anthony
Gm,
You are not trying to understand people, you are labeling them and putting them in boxes. “Rejection of the authority of expertise…” LMAO yeah that is my philosphy!
Oops I just found evidence to support the “troofers”
Government: We want to cause a tragedy so great the American people will blindly follow us into war… What do you think gentlemen…
Accomplice #1: Well, the Towers are a perfect choice.. It’s been bombed before. We can just blame Osama again. We’ve been priming the American people by having him blow up our warships and our buildings in other countries.
Government: Yeah, good idea! How will we do that?
Accomplice #1: We can hire Osama to get some of his friends to fly planes into it!
Accomplice #2: Wait… I have a better idea, We can BOMB the buildings!
Accomplice #1: Well, that means placing enough bombs into two 110 story buildings. That’s going to take a lot of man power and risk us being uncovered…
Accomplice #2: Yeah, but that way, you’re sure to knock them down. Besides, maybe the hijackers won’t make it to the target. Maybe they’ll be uncovered!
Accomplice #1: But you don’t need to knock them down, all you need is the horrific sight of the planes hitting the buildings. People will get the message. It’s an attack on American soil. We’ll also have people like the blind sheik to cover for us. We’ll even put a guy on a train with evidence.
Your plan isn’t perfect either, you know. Do I have to remind you of Operation Towel Pop? We already tried to embarrass Clinton by knocking it down and failed.
Accomplice #2: Yeah, our Bay of Pigs, but I say the only way they can get the message is if we knock them down.
Accomplice #1: Do not
Accomplice #2: Do too
Accomplice #1: Do not
Accomplice #2: Do too
Accomplice #1: Do not
Accomplice #2: Do too
Government: Gentlemen, gentlemen… Please… What the hell, we’ll just do both! :blink: How do we do that? I mean, how do you keep explosions from showing up on TV? We’re going to have to investigate this at some point. How do we cover up the scene?
Accomplice #2: But why not just knock it dow…
Government: I’ve made my decision. Continue…
Accomplice #2: OK.. We install charges on every floor so that after the planes hit, we blow each floor under the crash floor one by one, very fast to simulate pancaking. We’ll let the building burn a while just for effect. This will also give time for the trusses to sag making it LOOK like a fire caused the building to fall.
Accomplice #1: Nice touch…
Accomplice #2: Why, thank you. 🙂 …We’ll set a charge off in the middle of the building AFTER the top is on its way down so everyone thinks the puffs of debris coming from the windows are from the tremendous hypodermic needle like pressure blowing debris from the weakest point in the building.
Government: What about the sound of explosions? Isn’t that a dead giveaway?
Accomplice #2: No problem, We’ll just let them think it’s normal electrical explosions like transformers blowing up or the initial concrete and steel and floors hitting the floors below.
Accomplice #1: Yeah, it could also be the steel columns snapping like twigs from the tremendous weight of the floors above… Don’t worry, we have disinformation specialists in key internet forums.
Government: WOW, You guys think of everything.. What about Building 7? Can we take that out at the same time?
Accomplice #1: We won’t be able to fly planes into it, that’s for sure…
Accomplice #2: Leave it to me. If we set off the explosions just right, we can have one of the towers hit Building 7, missing the two next to it. After that, we can set fires on the bottom floors and let it burn for a while, you know, to make it look possible for a normal collapse. I’ll call my agent in the fire department to get everyone out before we blow it. I’ll figure a way to make the floors look buckled for effect as well.
Government: Amazing … I also want to take out the Pentagon. Any suggestions?
Accomplice #1: What we’ll do is hijack a plane just for effect, then fire a missile at the Pentagon. A bunker buster.
Government: But what about the people on the plane?
Accomplice #1: We’ll land the plane in area 51, then shoot them all.
Government: Why not use the plane instead of the missile? That way, you take care of all the evidence at the same time… People on the highway can also see the planes hit. If you use a missile, there’s going to be a lot of witnesses who saw a missile and not a plane.
Accomplice #1: Err… ah, don’t worry about these small details. I have an undercover op in the DC police department who will take the names down and shot them all.
Government: How are you going to get all the people involved in this? Bush isn’t exactly loved you know..
Accomplice #1: Don’t worry, psych-ops will take care of the brainwashing of the American people. As for the media, we control the left and the right!
Government: GREAT! Nice work all! Let’s make the target date Sept 11, 2001.
http://www.debunking911.com/meeting.htm
REPLY: What I want to know is why do biologists/life sciences people often get so swept up in this? – Anthony
I’m not sure that its fair to lump biologists (life sciences are another matter) in with those who are simply arrogant and contemptuous. That character flaw is shared by all learned professions. Look no further than the world of “climate scientists”. Not all of us (biologists) feel we’ve been ordained or anointed. Some of us remain, after decades, simply in awe of the chaotic splendour of life. Usually, those in the profession who conjure up lists like the one above are not especially good or even understand their field of study very well. Certainly, no chordate biologist worthy of his study would prepare a list as droll as that.
From: GM on September 11, 2010 at 7:23 pm
A bearded man in the sky? What primitive imagery is this? Do you likewise reject medicine because you can only envision bloodletting and tribal healers?
Indeed, my brother or sister, it is truly a wonder that it is not required that you believe in the divine being, as they know that you exist thus you may still be put to a good purpose. For as it is needed that evil exist so mankind may recognize what is good, you serve the master by providing a great example that others may compare their own behavior against.
As a wise and deeply spiritual man once observed about humanity, we find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. Also, as commented on by a man whose intellect and skill perhaps one such as yourself may admire, one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.
It wasn’t long after the towers came down, here in Canada, the planes started to arrive. Plane after plane of stranded Americans and visitors, told only that something had happened, the airspace was closed, they wouldn’t be flying back home anytime soon. The jumbos were lined up everywhere; shelter was having to be arranged for thousands of passengers. Bus companies struggled to find enough coaches to make runs south. People here actually drove some of the stranded across the US to get them home.
That’s a perfectly ridiculous analogy. Every intelligence agency in the world agreed that Saddam Hussein had chemical and probably biological weapons, plus a nuclear program aimed at a weapon; Saddam’s intelligence service was in cahoots with Al Qaeda. We had been at war with Saddam for a decade, halted for a few years by a truce which Saddam violated constantly. It was only logical to conclude that he would be only too happy to transfer WMD technology to the anti-American Islamist terror networks, and was therefore an imminent threat to vital American interests. That Saddam and his sons were about the nastiest bastards on the planet at the time made getting rid of him a service to his country and the rest of the world.
True, there is no evidence that atmospheric CO2 poses any threat whatsoever to anyone, so to compare the two is absurd.
/Mr Lynn
I was flying on September 11th, 2001. I don’t recall whether or not the route that day from Houston took us past New York, but it sometimes did when the Atlantic winds were right. We had just landed in London when the barbarian dogs began their slaughter.
My crew was stranded in England for a week, and we had no way of letting our families know that we weren’t the ones murdered because the transatlantic cables were overloaded with traffic. It was a grim time in my life, even grimmer for those crews stranded at more out of the way airports.
I take the attacks of Muslims against the more civilized world personally. That they would try to build a 9-11 Victory Mosque at Ground Zero to rub our noses in their triumph, I do not find surprising, but I do find the myriads who defend that insult offensive.
Because they have the longest history of facing the problems I listed, and they are involved in pretty much all of them (climate scientists don’t have to battle creationists), which means that they have had the most time to think about the origin of such idea and to connect the dots. The point is that it seems that for a very large number of people, what comes first is their religious and political convictions, to which the science is to be fitted, even though they may try their very best to make it look as if the opposite is the case. Which is why my alarm bell rings when I see posts like this one.
REPLY: Alarm bells ring because I made a post reminding people about honoring those lost in the 9-11 tragedy? How bizarre. – Anthony
This is what you posted:
Patriotism and freedom on one side, “tyranny” on the other. Key words indeed.
If the US wanted to free the world from the “tyranny” of religious fundamentalism, it would not respond with its own Christian brand of it, but would work very hard to loosen the grip that Islam has on societies in the Middle East. That means doing such things as investing in modern schools and education there and putting pressure on those countries to modernize their society, things that would achieve a lot more to solve the problem with terrorism (and at a fraction of the cost) than bombing Iraq and Afghanistan did and playing intricate geopolitical games so that its oil supply is secure.
REPLY: Well you are entitled to your opinion. I still think your reaction of “alarm bells” is bizarre. – Anthony
GM says:
September 11, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Have you made your flight arrangements to the Congo yet? Do you need a recommendation at the type of weapon you should get? How many more thousands are going to die from your inaction?
GM says:
September 11, 2010 at 9:28 pm
So instead of going to the Congo you are headed to Saudi Arabia or Iran to help build schools? When are you leaving?