(Originally posted on September 11, 2007, edited to post every year and today in memoriam. My other tributes with links are at the end of this post.)

Never to be forgotten:

Christine was the 2 1/2 years old daughter of Peter and Sue Hanson. She was born on Feb 22, 1999. She was the granddaughter of Eunice and Lee Hanson of Easton, Connecticut, and the great-granddaughter of Ok-Hee Kim of California. She was a beautiful, happy, outgoing little girl who loved to talk on the phone with her “Namma” Eunice, telling her of her time at day care and ending the conversation with “I love you, Namma.” She was attending Knowledge Beginnings in Chelmsford, MA.

On September 11th, 2001, they were on Flight 195 bound for California on their way to a Disneyland vacation and a trip to visit Sue’s relatives when their plane was hijacked and flown into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. Her father held her and her mommy in one arm while expressing his love and saying goodbye on the cellphone to her grandfather Lee.

Christine Lee Hanson is the youngest victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

An article about Cristine’s Lullaby.
Listen to Carl Schroeder’s beautiful elegy, Christine’s Lullaby.

Sources:
Peter, Sue, and Christine–In Memoriam.
Christine Lee Hanson Wikipedia.
September 11 Memorial Wiki.

My other tributes:
Thomas R. Clark, 37, Summit, NJ
Timothy Ward, 38, San Diego, CA
* * * * * * *

Technorati tags: 2996 Project, 9/11.

(Originally posted on September 11th. 2007. Edited to post every year and today in memoriam. My other tributes with links are at the end of this post.)

In remembrance of one who died that day:

Tim Ward was born on Valentine’s Day, 1963, the son of Susie Ward Baker of Rancho Bernardo and the apple of his mother’s eye. He lived in nearby Scripps Ranch with his companion, Linda Brewton. He was an IT project manager for the Rubio’s Baja Grill chain of restaurants. He was an accomplished chef who would pack a chocolate confection in a picnic basket, an animal lover with a West Highland terrier named Sherman, and a devoted San Diego State Aztec fan who would travel to their games.

He was a passenger on Flight 195 when it was hijacked by terrorists and flown into the second tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.

Sources:

Legacy.com
Timothy Ward Wikipedia
North County Times

My other tributes:

Christine Lee Hanson, 2, Groton, MA.
Thomas R. Clark, 37, Summit, NJ
* * * * * *

Technorati tags: 2996 Project, 9/11.

(Originally posted on September 11th, 2006. Edited to post every year thereafter and today in memoriam. Never to be forgotten.)

A tribute to Thomas R. Clark, 37, Summit, NJ

This year, I wanted to pay tribute to one of the 2996 persons who lost their lives on 9/11. I found the 2996 Project and signed up, wishing to commemorate that day, now in its fifth anniversary, in a more personal and positive way. In looking up information regarding Mr. Clark, I grew to learn of a man who was dearly loved and missed by his close family and many lifelong friends, a man of sincerity and soft-spokenness.

Thomas Richard Clark was Rich and Pat Clark’s son. He was born on December 13th, 1961, in Short Hills, NJ. He was Jim’s younger brother and Margaret Clark’s grandson. He had many playmates who became his lifelong friends. He played Little League with the Cardinals until reaching high school. I could just imagine his mom making team banners and bringing water and snacks for the team, his dad chalking the baseball diamonds and coaching the players, and the bleachers filled with family and friends cheering for him and his team. Little League was one of those things we had in common.

He went to Millburn High School, then on to University of Richmond, majoring in history. He was an active member of Phi Delta Theta. He went on to become the vice-president of Sandler O’Neill at the World Trade Center.

He was Lisa’s husband. They met at The Office restaurant in Summit. They were married for six years and have two little children, Matthew and Whitney. His greeting to his family when he got home from work was “Big Hugs!” He and his son, 2-year-old Matthew, would go to Dunkin’ Donuts to pick up pastries and watch the trains as they ate breakfast.

Tommy, as he was known, had a knack for storytelling. He had a memory for all the stories from his childhood, and loved telling them in his classic “Clarkism”. He reminds me of my brother-in-law (who also majored in history), who would tell funny stories until we were out of breath from laughing.

Tommy loved his family and friends and the things he did. He was loyal, sincere, warm, and witty. His death was a tremendous loss and I truly doubt that, through the years, that loss has diminished in any way. He was a blessing to those whose lives he touched including mine, and it is an honor to write this tribute to him.

Next time
you and I
will compare notes,
And what we’ve learned
will save us time
to learn more and
to love harder.

We are not thru,
you and I.
Pat Clark (Short Hills, NJ )

Credits:
September 11, 2001 Victims

Phi Delta Theta

Obits, Syracuse

Click image for the link to the 2996 tributes.

Technorati tags: 2996 Project, 9/11.

If you happen to pass this way, I am on Tweeter these days, especially the past few days over at #Iranelection; look to your right.

I will post a blog entry later. Right now #Iranelection in more important…

I know many of you have already seen this. But I just LOVE Ann Coulter’s reply about waterboarding to this ignorant bitch. Watch:

Bravo, Mr. McCarthy!!

With a courtsy to Paul Vallely and Stand Up America.

Andrew C. McCarthy

May 1, 2009
By email (to the Counterterrorism Division) and by regular mail:
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Holder:
This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.

The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants—or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.

Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.

Beyond that, as elucidated in my writing (including my proposal for a new national security court, which I understand the Task Force has perused), I believe alien enemy combatants should be detained at Guantanamo Bay (or a facility like it) until the conclusion of hostilities. This national defense measure is deeply rooted in the venerable laws of war and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 2004 Hamdi case. Yet, as recently as Wednesday, you asserted that, in your considered judgment, such notions violate America’s “commitment to the rule of law.” Indeed, you elaborated, “Nothing symbolizes our [adminstration’s] new course more than our decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay…. President Obama believes, and I strongly agree, that Guantanamo has come to represent a time and an approach that we want to put behind us: a disregard for our centuries-long respect for the rule of law[.]” (Emphasis added.)

Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.

For what it may be worth, I will say this much. For eight years, we have had a robust debate in the United States about how to handle alien terrorists captured during a defensive war authorized by Congress after nearly 3000 of our fellow Americans were annihilated. Essentially, there have been two camps. One calls for prosecution in the civilian criminal justice system, the strategy used throughout the 1990s. The other calls for a military justice approach of combatant detention and war-crimes prosecutions by military commission. Because each theory has its downsides, many commentators, myself included, have proposed a third way: a hybrid system, designed for the realities of modern international terrorism—a new system that would address the needs to protect our classified defense secrets and to assure Americans, as well as our allies, that we are detaining the right people.

There are differences in these various proposals. But their proponents, and adherents to both the military and civilian justice approaches, have all agreed on at least one thing: Foreign terrorists trained to execute mass-murder attacks cannot simply be released while the war ensues and Americans are still being targeted. We have already released too many jihadists who, as night follows day, have resumed plotting to kill Americans. Indeed, according to recent reports, a released Guantanamo detainee is now leading Taliban combat operations in Afghanistan, where President Obama has just sent additional American forces.

The Obama campaign smeared Guantanamo Bay as a human rights blight. Consistent with that hyperbolic rhetoric, the President began his administration by promising to close the detention camp within a year. The President did this even though he and you (a) agree Gitmo is a top-flight prison facility, (b) acknowledge that our nation is still at war, and (c) concede that many Gitmo detainees are extremely dangerous terrorists who cannot be tried under civilian court rules. Patently, the commitment to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was made without a plan for what to do with these detainees who cannot be tried. Consequently, the Detention Policy Task Force is not an effort to arrive at the best policy. It is an effort to justify a bad policy that has already been adopted: to wit, the Obama administration policy to release trained terrorists outright if that’s what it takes to close Gitmo by January.

Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from the United States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law.

I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.

Finally, let me repeat that I respect and admire the dedication of Justice Department lawyers, whom I have tirelessly defended since I retired in 2003 as a chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. It was a unique honor to serve for nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor, under administrations of both parties. It was as proud a day as I have ever had when the trial team I led was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award in 1996, after we secured the convictions of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his underlings for waging a terrorist war against the United States. I particularly appreciated receiving the award from Attorney General Reno—as I recounted in Willful Blindness, my book about the case, without her steadfastness against opposition from short-sighted government officials who wanted to release him, the “blind sheikh” would never have been indicted, much less convicted and so deservedly sentenced to life-imprisonment. In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.

Very truly yours,

/S/

Andrew C. McCarthy

Friday Quote Day 2

“There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims.”— Thomas Sowell

The Rose Conspiracy
By Craig Parshall

(With thanks to Stacy Harp of Active Christian Media and Harvest House Publishing for providing the book and giving me the opportunity to review it.)

The Rose Conspiracy is the story of a lovely but eccentric artist (anymore, what artist isn’t eccentric?) named Vinnie Archmont who is accused of murdering the president of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing pages of John Wilkes Booth’s diary. She is defended by a brilliant but flawed attorney (and what brilliant character isn’t flawed?) named JD Blackstone with the aid of his Christian uncle, an expert on occult religions. Yet in spite of the predictability and the stereotype of the beginning chapters, the story becomes riveting and the characters realistic.

For Blackstone, part of the difficulties in finding out the truth about the secret of the Freemasons lie on his own guilt-filled past over the death of his wife and daughter and his negative outlook on faith. Adding to the difficulties are his formidable and powerful foes across the aisle and a mysterious English lord. There are Christian undertones woven into the story, making it a matter of course rather than standing out like the preachy sore thumb. The story is an interesting historical suspense and one can’t wait what the next page holds. The book as a whole is also well-edited, which is a real plus for me; I’ve read books by better-known authors with dismal editing, making for a jarring reading experience.

This book is a pleasant read. I recommend it.

Friday Quote Day

“There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who remember what it was like when Jimmy Carter was President and those who are about to find out.” —Tom Gibson

Courtsey to FB friend JC Bowman

Hi, Mel,

Re: TEA Party Reports from the Field

I spoke to SanDiegoRepublicans.com and got these numbers for the TEA Parties in San Diego areas:

Ramona—160
Rancho Penasquitos–700
Escondido—5,000
Oceanside—3,000
Midway Dr.—2,000
El Cajon—300

Regards,

Elizabeth

Sunset at Dog Beach, Del Mar CA.

A lovely sunset yesterday at Dog Beach, Del Mar, CA. Rigel and I had a free afternoon so we took a drive down from the mountain. It was high tide and getting late in the evening so it wasn’t crowded. About thirty dogs of many breeds and sizes were doing what dogs do best: romping about, sniffing, chasing each other or catching balls and toys into the water. Rigel had a tremendous good time getting sandy but he was too busy chasing and playing with other dogs to get really wet.

Here’s a link of areas designated off-leash heaven for dogs in San Diego. Rigel and I aim to visit them all!

Photos by: Elizabeth M. Taylor

Many who voted for Obama were deceived into believing he’s a thoughtful, compassionate man who brings hope for our nation. His radical stance on abortion proved otherwise. He’s a heartless man who supported infanticide. Obama voted three times against legislation that would have saved babies surviving late term abortions. He was not “unaware”; he knew exactly what he was doing, and it is public record.

Here is a list of documents relating to Obama and both the Illinois and the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Acts .

Here is the text of the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Law (Public Law 107-207).

Here is the text of Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (H.R. 2175) as passed by the House of Representatives.

Obama is so radical, he’s more pro-choice than NARAL.

Gratitude from Annapolis.
Photo: anonymous

The Ramona, CA and Rancho Penasquitos Tea Parties

April 15th. Tax Day. The day of doing a yearly chore that many of us detest. This is also the a day when many of us gathered to peaceably assemble in protest to the bailouts, the (unread) stimulus bill, an ignorant Dem-lead Congress, and Obama’s socialist policies which are being shoved down our throats at breakneck speed. Here are some photos; new camera with a tremendous learning curve, but I thought they turned out good.

I looked online for the nearest Tea Party and had two choices: Escondido or Rancho Penasquito. I chose Rancho P because I had wanted to get my hair done before 5PM. While driving on Main Street I was delightedly surprised to find that Ramona had one! I cancelled my hair appointment and joined them.

The Ramona Tea Party.

This is Kathy. She’s mailing out her income taxes. I loved her T-shirt and requested her photo.

More Tea Party attendees arriving. Headcount done: 150 and growing.

Pro Obama counterprotest: 7. Their signs included congratulating Obama for “success” and the tired old “hate is not a family value”. One of ours, carrying the yellow Gadsden flag, went over to talk to them. It was peaceful. One sheriff was assigned to this Tea Party—he was told maybe 35 people will show up, but it turned out much bigger.

Onto Rancho P, on the intersection of Rancho Carmel and Black Mtn Road. The Tea Party was in full swing when I arrived.

“Real men live within their income. Girly men get bailout$. Total whimps (sic) call themselves legislators.”

Weatherbeaten moi, with my sign.

Self-explanatory.

Obama Express

An American patriot.

Traffic was very heavy. The support was heartwarmingly tremendous!! Only a handful of obscene gestures.

This was obviously bigger than the Ramona event, with more people arriving during the five hours I was there. I don’t know what the headcount is.

We were a noisy bunch! All four intersections were covered with people and lining down the block.

Across the street and starting to get dark but still going strong. I eventually joined and should have sooner; it was less cold and windy.

High school patriots. I have several pictures of the many young people who showed up and these guys are representative.

The late shift has arrived. It was past 9PM and I was getting ready to leave; I was hungry and it was very cold. The noise level did not abate!!

I anjoyed it! The Tea Parties were awesome, with great community support and no ACORN in sight; not one nut.

All photos by Elizabeth M. Taylor