New Site Plans: The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has come out with their six suggestions for rebuilding ground zero. While this is rightfully a touchy subject with victims' families, and, truthfully, none of the six will be as grand a statement as we all hope, they are certainly well thought out designs, and each has its own subtle allures. My own vote on the CNN page (you have to look for the link to view them) is the Memorial Park (concept #5), but it seems right now that the Promenade is getting the most consistent approval.

Regardless, it seems the architects did a great job of presenting the options, and the LMDC, oft criticized for their sluggish progression, can now lead the important civic debate in New York on how to rebuild as swiftly yet respectfully as possible.

Ancient History: President Bush claims that the Harken Energy issue has been "fully vetted", and is a closed case with the SEC. His Republican backers cry foul at the current press coverage, noting that the Harken deal has been a subject of Bush's 1994 and 2000 elections. While this may be true, it is obviously only the most vigilant news junkie could have explained to the average person the details of Bush's stock portfolio, prior to last week. This issue is one that is finally getting mainstream attention, and in constrast to Bush apologists, many, like Joe Conason, are asking why it took almost two years into the Bush Administration to have Harken-gate see daylight. Noting the 2000 election came down to "a story of wardrobe palettes and invented gaffes" instead of these types of important matters, Conason hopes to see the Harken problem receive media scrutiny at least on par with Whitewater, of which one should note the Clintons were absolved.

On a side, note, if you want the entire history of Bush's rise to glory, read Conason's exhausting Harper's Magazine article from two-and-a-half years ago. Well, at least some people were paying attention.

Don't Insult The Man!

Say what you want about me. But I'll be damned when you insult Jerry, even in passing.

For the record, Jerry has expressed many a time that he feels humor such as that expressed last night by Robin Williams is unnecessarily vulgar, and sees the challenge in maintaining a level of wittiness that doesn't involve swearing every three seconds.

A "Real Man"

Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals, hero to millions, has opted out of a 3-year, $3.6 million NFL contract to join the army. He's not talking to the press about it and has insisted on starting from the bottom of the military food chain. Apparently, moved by Sept. 11, he hopes to join the Rangers and fight them bad guys over in Afghanistan. Andrew Sullivan has called Tillman a hero, who personifies "masculinity." I call them both idiots.

I don't know what Tillman expects to find over there, but we've already killed far more Afghan civilians than we ever will al Qaeda operatives. Seriously, I don't know how we can even call this charade a war anymore. After quickly declaring victory over the Taliban (only after we defeated them had we decided that, indeed, we were fighting them too), we've shown how much we underestimated terrorists on their home court. There hasn't been a major successful operation in over half a year, no one knows where bin Laden is, yet we are continually asked to support this war effort. WHAT WAR EFFORT?

On December 8, 1941, thousands of men simultaneously enlisted in the armed forces, knowing they'd probably perish in a war for the nation's survival. Today, one semi-famous man with personal connections to September 11th decided to enlist, knowing he won't perish in this "war" for the Bush Administration's survival. Acknowledge the solemnity of 9/11 and be resolute in protecting the nation, but don't aggrandize this conflict into something it obviously isn't.