...9/11/02, Rememberance Day, or Day to Remember.

...flags will be flown at half mast...

...one year later, and we are still the land of the free, home of the brave!

...but; 1.65 million Americans have lost their jobs since that fateful day in 2001...

...will September 11 become the next federal holiday, Patriot Day...why?...or, if so, then why not Pearl Harbor Day, Gulf War Day & Oklahoma City Day?...

...9/1/02: Americans are divided about whether 9/11/02 should be a national holiday like Veterans Day or Memorial Day, according to a new poll...support for a national holiday on the date that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington has slipped a bit since March, according to a CNN-Time poll released Sunday...while 44% favor the idea, 51% opposed it, down from a 48-48 split in March...the telephone poll conducted during late August has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points...

...other findings from the poll...a third said they feel less safe in public places, and slightly more said they feel less safe traveling since 9/11/02...almost a third said they are worried that a terrorist attack will occur on the anniversary of 9/11...people were most likely to say an attack in the next 12 months would be carried out with a car or truck carrying a bomb or with biological or chemical weapons...two-thirds said the nation's intelligence gathering agencies failed in their jobs to obtain & utilize information about the attacks in a timely manner...

...and 344 fire fighters died in the line of duty...

...will the person(s) who switched the 9/11 American flag please return it to the rightful owners...the flag that the firefighters held was 4x6 feet; a 5x8 foot flag was returned to the owners of the ship where the flag had flown...the theft occured during the latter part of September...there will be tight security for all space shuttle launches...it is a very vulnerable target that is hard to protect, especially when it begins its ascent...the details are not released until the flight is about to lift off...

9/8/02: President Bush re Iraq: Action should take place sooner rather than later...these sentiments are reiterated by Donald Rumfeld...and VP Cheney says that just cause is there, Iraq is trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction...9/9/02: some allies said military action cannot be ruled out if Bush works through the United Nations to confront Saddam...9/10/02: VP Cheney is hidden for protection should the president be unable to perform his duties...First Lady Laura Bush urges Americans to turn off their TVs on 9/11/02...

...9/8/02: lit a virtual candle to remember those who died one year ago in NY, DC & PA...

...9/12/02: being referred to as the day after September 11, or the day after 9/11...which was the NY winning lottery number for Wednesday...9 1 1...President Bush will address the UN in the morning of 9/12 to persuade the Security Council that they have been lax in enforcing the sanctions against Iraq...he is basically stating that an ultimatum is at hand, and that the US does not need anyone or any country's approval to go to war with Iraq...the US will do it alone...then, aren't we terrorizing Iraq with weapons of mass destruction?...

...9/14/02: President Bush made it clear that the United States is willing to take Iraq on alone if the United Nations fails to show some backbone by confronting Saddam Hussein...Bush has hinted that Saddam tried to assasinate his father while the senior Bush was president...the U.N. will either be able to function as a peacekeeping body as we head into the 21st century, or it will be irrelevant...that's what we're about to find out...make no mistake about it; if we have to deal with the problem, we'll deal with it...Vice President Dick Cheney echoed Bush...we'd prefer to do this on an international basis with the approval and cooperation and support of other nations...this is deemed to be such an important issue and such an important problem that we will address (it) by ourselves if we have to...Bush spoke alongside Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has laid out a case in support of ousting the Iraqi president, but has insisted that any action be taken with the U.N's approval...the United Nations cannot continue to see its image undermined and its resolutions flouted...Italy will play a key role through its ties to European Union countries and through its special friendship with Russia...asked why Iraq deserved another chance to comply, Bush said the standoff was as much a test of the United Nations as of Saddam...this is the chance for the United Nations to resolve & confront the true challenges of the 21st century...

...the US is seeking a new U.N. resolution giving Iraq a firm deadline, just weeks way, to disarm or face dire, but unspecified, actions...discussions at the United Nations continue into this week on a range of issues, chiefly what action to take if Saddam continues to reject such an arrangement...the UN does not completely agree with Bush's actions...James Baker, a secretary of state under Bush's father, said weapons inspectors should be backed up with a United Nations security force on Iraqi soil, preferably under U.S. command, with the means (and under clear orders) to thwart all attempts by Iraq to block or delay the inspectors...acting alone or with a few key allies will make the undertaking more costly - politically, economically and in terms of other U.S. foreign policy interests...but sadly, doing nothing is potentially the most costly strategy of all...

Bush ended with this statement...we must choose between a world of fear, or a world of progress...we must stand up for our security and for the demands of human dignity...by heritage and choice, the United States will make that stand... the world community must do so as well...

...President Bush sent a letter of thanks to the Australian leader for supporting America's efforts in the war against terrorism...

...9/15/02: the Bush administration insisted Sunday that the U.S. military is able to fight terrorism and confront Iraq, as White House officials said Congress and the United Nations must act quickly to show resolve against Saddam Hussein...but members of Congress, however, were split on whether it was wise to act within four weeks on an undefined resolution about Iraq, as Secretary of State Colin Powell called for...

...9/15/02: Arabs sought on Sunday to head off a war between Iraq and the United States, but also pressed the United Nations for action on another destabilizing dispute in their region, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict...Arab countries joined other nations that have called on Iraq to comply with U.N. resolutions to avert a showdown with America...and Saudi Arabia, the richest Arab state, signaled a policy shift likely to put more pressure on the Iraqi government...the kingdom's leaders previously had ruled out any use of Saudi bases by U.S. forces to attack Iraq...but Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said that if the U.N. Security Council authorizes military action against Iraq, everybody is obliged to follow through....Saud urged Saddam Hussein's regime to quickly allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into Iraq to head off a new Security Council resolution that could open the way for military action...

...9/17/02: Iraq says it will allow weapons inspectors to return without any restrictions in their investigation...the US says that this is a stalling tactic...the UN says let us proceed with their request...and then decide the next move....this opinion is shared by Russia, the Arab states & the EuroUnion...these country advise a road towards peace, not war...9/18/02: President Bush addressed Congress to get their support...the US has expanded its forces into Yemen in the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorists....

...now with 0% financing (does that mean that they are not going to provide you money to buy the car?)...

...NY firetrucks are built by a company in WI...these vehicles were strong enough to protect people against falling debris...

...Bosque Farms mayor & wife part of an arson scam...shut off alarms, then set fire to their own property, submitted fraudulent claims then received a check for $2.7 million from their insurance company...

...9/8/02: marijuana bust...police found crop near the mountains...it was between 7 - 8 feet tall...then another harvest was discovered in a greenhouse plantation at Puerta del Agua in Torrence County...the drug has a street value of $125K...9/8/02: more plants are found, bringing the combined street value of the raids to $250K...

...9/7/02: John Travolta landed at SunPort to refuel...he is on a world tour to promote his latest movie release...

...the miners who were trapped underground near Somerset, PA will be extras in the Disney movie based on thier experiences, plus being paid for the rights to the story itself...after 35 years, the last Chevrolet Camaro rolled off the assembly lines...where did La Vida Loca go, eh, Ricky?...the TNT station will not renew Witchblade for another season...

...9/8/02: road rage; a man was attacked while driving on US 76 in Rio Arriba County by another driver who though the victim's headlights were on high beams, thus blinding the second driver...this person got out of his vehicle & slashed the victim on his wrist & ear...9/9/02: Capitol rage: Congress passed a $6 billion drought recovery bill, which President Bush opposed...

...on 9/11/02, the ABQ bus routes bypass the downtown area...Mike & Brad got off at Lomas & Broadway, to board the respective buses bearing the same names as the intersection where the get off the Central bus...it was slightly confusing...by the time we got out of work, the routes were back to normal (more or less)...Mike had to wait 20 minutes for the Lomas bus in the morning rain, which was quite steady...the temps remained in the upper 50s' & low 60s'...58 degrees at noon...very cool & damp...1 inch of rain has fallen in ABQ this week; the city is still 2 inches below normal...one more good chance of showers &/or storms on 9/12/02...

...PS...one of the survivors of 9/11/01 was an ABQ resident who was on the 61st floor of the second tower...