Do you remember where you were, 9 years ago today?  You were probably at work, like I was, when somebody told you to go find a television, because a plane had flown into the World Trade Center in New York City.  While watching Fox and Friends or whoever the TV was turned to, you watched in horror as a second plane came into view and hit the second tower.

Then, the realization hit us all that this event was no accident.  America had just joined the worldwide cadre of nations that had experienced an Islamic Terrorist attack on their home soil.   As the morning went on, President Bush was notified and whisked up into Air Force One.  Then, Americans watched helplessly as a plane struck the Pentagon, and another plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania, while en route to attack Washington, thanks to the heroic actions of some of its passengers.

Here is the tragedy of 9/11/01, broken down by the numbers.  Courtesy of nymag.com:

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819  

Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343 

Number of NYPD officers: 23 

Number of Port Authority police officers: 37 

Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60  

Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402 

Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614 

Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658 

Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 22 

Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115 

Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1 

Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39  

Bodies found “intact”: 289  

Body parts found: 19,858 

Number of families who got no remains: 1,717 

Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000 

Total units of donated blood actually used: 258 

Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609 

Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051 

Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20  

FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274 

FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661 

Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300 

Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200 

Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98  

Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124  

Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99 

Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100 

Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6  

Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81 

Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26 

Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714 

Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion 

Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million 

Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million 

Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion  

Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion 

Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion 

Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion  

Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million 

Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25 

Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million 

Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9 

Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40 

Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50 

Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered “inappropriate” to play after 9/11: 150 

Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26 

Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 30,000  

Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110 

Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million 

Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

Yesterday, I heard an American President in a Press Conference say that we were going to celebrate today as a Day of Service and Remembrance.  This statement followed Obama’s original plea for a National Day of Service last year that fell on mostly deaf ears, except for his Far Left Base and those Muslims who hoped that Americans would forget the slaughter of 9/11/01.  What the president did not understand then, nor does he now, is that Day of Service sounds conspicuously to Americans like Day of Atonement and Americans have nothing to atone to the Muslim World for, despite what Obama said on his World Apology Tour.

During  the last question of yesterday’s Press Conference, Wendell Goler of Fox News asked Obama about the wisdom of building a mosque at the site of 9/11.  The President of the United States refused to give a direct answer, instead launching into an emotional diatribe about the courageous Muslims serving in our Armed Forces.  While I salute the courage of loyal American Muslims serving our country, I wonder why Obama would not give a straight answer?  Could it be for some of the same reasons that he will not be at Ground Zero today for the second year in a row of his short presidency?  Instead, Obama will deliver remarks from the Pentagon.  His handlers have excused his absence due to safety reasons.  Funny, that did not stop President Bush:

President Obama, you’ve shown where you stand on the Ground Zero Mosque situation, even if you won’t give a straight answer.  68 % of Americans oppose your stance. 

9/11 was indelibly seared into the collective memories of Americans on that fateful day, regardless of the present-day wishes of a minority percentage of our population.  The victory mosque at Ground Zero should never have gotten this far and the appeasers (including Barack Hussein Obama) who back the building of this insult should be ashamed of themselves.

Have You Forgotten?