September 11th, 2001 - 15 Years Later...

... the pain may be fading but the memories still remain.

President Obama's Weekly Address 9/10/16: Upholding the Legacy of Those We Lost on September 11th

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, President Obama marked the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and paid tribute to the victims, survivors, first responders, and those who have served our country. The President said that although a lot has changed over the past 15 years, the core values that define us as Americans have remained the same. As Americans we are resilient, we will never give into fear, and we will always look out for one another. Our strength is in our diversity, our welcoming of all talent, and our fair treatment of everyone – no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, or faith. The President said that’s part of what makes our country great – and if we uphold those values, we will carry on the legacy of those we lost and keep our nation strong and free.

Remarks of President Barack Obama as Prepared for Delivery

Weekly Address

The White House

September 10, 2016

Fifteen years ago, a September day that began like any other became one of the darkest in our nation’s history. The Twin Towers were reduced to rubble. The Pentagon was in flames. A Pennsylvania field burned with the wreckage of an airplane. And nearly 3,000 innocent lives were lost. Sons and daughters, husbands and wives, neighbors and colleagues and friends. They were from all walks of life, all races and religions, all colors and creeds, from across America and around the world.

This weekend, we honor their memory once more. We stand with the survivors who still bear the scars of that day. We thank the first responders who risked everything to save others. And we salute a generation of Americans—our men and women in uniform, diplomats and our intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement professionals -- who serve, and have given their lives, to help keep us safe.

A lot has changed over these past 15 years. We’ve delivered devastating blows to the al Qaeda leaders that attacked us on 9/11. We delivered justice to Osama bin Laden. We’ve strengthened our homeland security. We’ve prevented attacks. We’ve saved lives.

At the same time, the terrorist threat has evolved, as we’ve seen so tragically from Boston to Chattanooga, from San Bernardino to Orlando. So in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and beyond, we’ll stay relentless against terrorists like al Qaeda and ISIL. We will destroy them. And we’ll keep doing everything in our power to protect our homeland.

As we reflect on these past 15 years, it’s also important to remember what has not changed—the core values that define us as Americans. The resilience that sustains us. After all, terrorists will never be able to defeat the United States. Their only hope is to terrorize us into changing who we are or our way of life. That’s why we Americans will never give in to fear. And it’s why this weekend we remember the true spirit of 9/11. We’re still the America of heroes who ran into harm’s way; of ordinary folks who took down the hijackers; of families who turned their pain into hope. We are still the America that looks out for one another, bound by our shared belief that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. /p>

In the face of terrorism, how we respond matters. We cannot give in to those who would divide us. We cannot react in ways that erode the fabric of our society. Because it’s our diversity, our welcoming of all talent, our treating of everybody fairly—no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, or faith—that’s part of what makes our country great. It’s what makes us resilient. And if we stay true to those values, we’ll uphold the legacy of those we’ve lost, and keep our nation strong and free. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

September 11, 2013

12 years ago today - much like today - it was a beautifully, clear and sunny day. I took my son to school and by the time I returned life as we had known changed forever. I'll never forget that day or the days that followed and neither should others. They will be forever vividly and deeply ingrained in our memory.

May the good Lord forever bless the thousands of innocent victims and families of those that died that day and all the heros that have given their lives since September 11th, 2001, to protect us from harm and preserve our freedom.

Memorial Day - Faces of the Fallen

(www.davegranlund.com)

323 U.S. service members died during 2012 & 2013  in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, 6,648 since the War on Terror began following the September 11th, 2001 attack on our country. We should remember them all as well as all of those that went before.

Check out the Washington Post to search for the Faces of the Fallen of those heroes that gave their lives so that we may enjoy our freedom and to remember what the meaning Memorial Day really is. 

Lest We Forget; One Year Ago: The Death of Osama Bin Laden

From the White House Blog:

On this day last year, President Barack Obama made a historic announcement to the American people: Osama bin Laden is dead.

President Obama praises those Americans who carried out the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, tells the families of the victims of September 11, 2001 that they have never been forgotten, and calls on Americans to remember the unity of that tragic day.

From Tragedy to Citizenshi​p

Here's a tragic story with happy ending thanks to Congressman Rush Holt. This story was the subject of his latest newsltter: 

In my office in West Windsor last Friday, officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services joined me in hosting a swearing-in ceremony for five women who had traveled a long pathway from tragedy to citizenship.


When Waqar Hasan came to the United States in 1993, he did so in search of a better life for his family. His wife, Durreshahwar, and four daughters, Nida, Asna, Anum, and Iqra, followed a year later, and the family settled in Milltown.

They epitomized the hardworking, optimistic spirit that immigrants have always brought to this country. And they were on their path to citizenship when Waqar Hasan lost his life for no other reason than he was a Muslim with a “Middle Eastern” face.

An angry young man walked into Waqar’s convenience store in Dallas, Texas on the night of September 15, 2001, four days after the 9/11 attacks, ordered two hamburgers, and then shot the 46-year-old father of four in the face with a .380 caliber handgun. Nothing was taken from the store. When asked by police why he shot Waqar, 32-year-old Mark Anthony Stroman expressed no remorse. “I did what every American wanted to do but didn’t.”

His death would have ended his family’s path to citizenship – but in 2004, Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill that I wrote to allow the Hasans to stay in the United States and to become American citizens.

Statement of Rep. Rush Holt, Oath of Citizenship Ceremony, March 16, 2012

Let’s not lose sight that this ceremony is, first, about five individuals. These five, like one million others each year, now formally tie their futures to the future of the United States of America. These five individuals – Duri, Nida, Asna, Anum, and Iqra – are taking the oath to be citizens of the United States.

In a real sense, though, this is about the United States of America as much as it is about these five women. These five were tied to America long before today. They have considered themselves American. And the United States of America has had an obligation to them for many years.

Today we see hope coming out of tragedy, a fair result out of an insane injustice, and compassionate concern out of impersonal laws and regulations. The USA intends to provide and strives to give hope, fairness, and compassion; but these are not automatic. Cruel fate or happenstance often threatens to crush hope and opportunity. Irrational human passions and prejudices can thwart justice and fairness. The demands of life in a busy, complicated society and the exigencies of a complicated legal code can crowd out compassion.

All across the country America reacted in dismay when they heard in September 2001 the news of the hate crime that took the life of Pakistan-born Waqar Hasan. When they learned that the murderer committed his brutality as a perverse retaliation for the attacks of September 11, as an act of twisted patriotism, they knew this was a blot on our country. And all Americans felt the pangs even more deeply when they learned that Waqar Hasan left behind a struggling widow and four little girls.

For most Americans that was the end of the story, as they went back to their busy lives. The wheels of justice will turn and take care of this, they thought. What they did not think about was that the United States had already incurred an obligation to the Hasan family. Nor did they consider how impersonal the law can be.

Duri Hasan and her four little girls were subject to immediate deportation because they had been in the U.S. legally only by virtue of Mr. Hasan’s working papers. He had taken the first steps to become an American citizen, but when he died, the family’s visas and their hopes of American citizenship died with him. He was building his future and theirs in America. They were already Americans in every sense but the legal sense. This was the country the girls knew. Mrs. Hasan was working hard so that her family could make it in America. The girls were studying in school and growing up like so many million other American girls. It was apparent to those of us who got to know them that these are brave, industrious people, the kind of people our country is made of. In the laws of this country there was no exception. It required a new law to create a place for this family.

Waqar Hasan was a victim of the hate of September 11 as much as the thousands of others we mourned then and now, but he and his family might have been forgotten. The law did not include a provision recognizing that obligation our nation had incurred. Still, many Americans did not forget this fine American family. They rallied to support them in their struggles and to make a place for them in our society and our country. Human rights advocates, religious organizations, and concerned neighbors and strangers from around the country pushed for special legislation that was eventually signed by President Bush in the fall of 2004. Today, finally, hope, fairness, and compassion prevail. It is wonderful and heartwarming to see this family here today becoming full-fledged, official citizens of the United States of America.

The people of the United States and our government have an odd attitude toward immigration and immigrants. Often forgetting our own origins, and even our own best interests, we resist diversity and even lash out against others, like ourselves, because we mistakenly think they are not like ourselves. Our country has a founding commitment and history of openness, however, punctuated with many instances of rejection, bias, and hatred. The historical record is very clear that openness toward immigrants and policies of inclusion have benefited us greatly. Yet human prejudices too often break through. We see it around the country even today. Today, here in New Jersey, though, we recognize and celebrate the realization of the aspirations of these five Americans—and the aspirations that Waqar Hasan had for his family – and we recognize the successful functioning—ultimately—of American law.

We must not forget that year by year over two centuries the United State of America has moved by means of laws to overcome these prejudices of humans and the impersonal forces of society to create opportunity and fairness and to build a compassionate and supportive society for each person. This is not a country that says, “You are on your own.”

We must lift our lamp by the golden door, but also keep the door and our laws and our hearts open.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt

Member of Congress