I’ll be doing anniversary posts here with updates. The first is from Arynne Wexler, who is so much more than a comedian.
“Never Forget” has to mean more than remembering the date.
— Arynne Wexler (@ArynneWexler) September 11, 2026
But also – never forget why it happened.
We do no honor to the dead by remembering their deaths while becoming too uncomfortable to remember the hatred that killed them. A hatred that wants to kill or convert every…
He did well, but I'm pretty sure that I would have done the same thing. My very first thought after seeing the second plane hit was, "They need to ground every plane immediately." https://t.co/Zgl63A0YDH
— Not-So-OK Boomer (@Rand_Simberg) September 11, 2026
And then there’s this:
He lost the war right at its onset. https://t.co/XSAnMHXbbP
— FilmLadd (@FilmLadd) September 11, 2026
Either he didn’t understand the nature of the enemy, or he was too enamored of his Saudi buddies in the oil business.
[Update a few minutes later]
One of the most haunting visualizations of September 11, 2001: watch as the skies over the United States suddenly empty as the FAA grounds all flights. pic.twitter.com/XD0O4ziMgz
— Josh Barzon (@JoshuaBarzon) September 7, 2026
I was in Puerto Rico, about to go to the airport for a flight back to LA, and about to call a cab to the airport. As soon as I saw the second plane hit, I knew there was no point. If I’d been home, it would have been eerie to look toward the east from our balcony, where normally every clear night you can see the planes lined up for final at LAX all the way out to Palm Springs, and see an empty sky.
[Update a few more minutes later]
Yes, the war won’t be over until we actually win, and ending the monstrous regime in Tehran will go a long way toward that.
[Update a while later]
Thoughts on asymmetric warfare, from Supersonic Redhead:
The War Has Changed. Our Thinking Has Not. https://t.co/iPX6Jz4tE8
— Supersonic Redhead🛫 (@Supersonic_Red) September 11, 2026
[Update a while later]
Remembering the heroes of Flight 93, by Salena Zito.
And a related oldie, by Dave Barry a year after the event: On Hallowed Ground.
[Update a few more minutes later]
James Lileks, on the martyred towers.
Replacing them would have been a big FU to the people who cheered as they fell.
Back in those days I was enamored by a piece of WindowsXP (remember that?) software called “Flight Explorer”. I used to use it on my laptop on my outdoor deck to observe commercial flights coming in to land in the small city that is only 20 miles east of me and my house is right under one of the flight paths. Always interesting to know where a particular plane is coming from or going to.
But on 9/11 I had to break it out to observe. NOTHING over CONUS that eve. Since Flight Explorer would only show commercial traffic not military.
Err my bad. I meant Windows 2000….
I still use XP on my older machines and regard it as the pinnacle of Windows, and Word 2003 the pinnacle of Word.
Maybe. I found Windows 2000 to be excellent. In fact went straight from Win95 to Win2K skipping the Win98 to Win98 2nd Edition and Windows Vista fiascos entirely. I ended up using WinXP because it came with my next laptop. It was fine. But for me Win7 was the pinnacle. Win8 couldn’t decide if it was for handhelds or desktops. Win10 was definitely a step backwards in look and feel to Win7. It appears Win11 has finally caught up to Win7 in that dept. If you can put up with the AI encrapment. It is claimed it is possible to disable it on install. As easy as it is to edit the registry I presume. But I digress from the OP.
Well I meant WindowsME. But I also skipped the awkward Win7-WinVista-Win8 transition using the Nancy Reagan approach…
As a side note but related: Gas and Diesel prices have hit record highs.
The media likes to blame the wars but I disagree. This issue is more fundamental and has to do with the way international oil markets are arranged. The US already has enough domestic crude production, including shale, that exceeds domestic consumption of gasoline and diesel*. I’m all for free markets, until they become monopolistic or get hamstrung through bad treaties or contrived “market arrangements”. I call BS on the current pump prices.
This could be fixed and it has nothing to do with the Straight of Hormuz/Trump.
We should also increase our domestic refining capability. I’d put tax policy in place to make it so. If CA wants to tax their refiners out of business so be it. The rest of the US doesn’t have to follow. Sucks to live in CA. Sorry, but not sorry Rand.
Free markets are best, until they get to be monopolistic or hold *us* hostage. Bad trade deals or bad market arrangements are simply that, bad….
*Grok: (9/11/26) Yes. Recent U.S. crude oil production (including shale/t[l?]ight oil) already exceeds combined domestic gasoline and diesel demand on a volumetric basis. …