A prayer for all those that stand in harms way to protect what we hold dear, a prayer for families who have lost so much, and a prayer for peace in our time. Remember. Reflect. Learn.

I have this to say, and apologies to all those I offend: Four years. Four years after the horror of 9-11. Four years, and the bastards that committed their evil are still permitted to walk this earth, their message has spread, and they have committed more horrible acts. Four years and the unprecedented one party rule of our Senate, House, and Executive branch hasn’t sealed the deal. Four years, and it would appear, observing our response to Katrina, that we are no safer than we were. Four years. Four years. Four years. Don’t just remember and stew in anger. Reflect and learn. Then find a way and act. Three is work to be done.

PHOTO TAKEN- 0911901- of twin towers ground-zero

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “2005?!?! My god, fill me in. These last few weeks have been rough! Give me some hope, okay?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Come on! Four years! Where did they finally find Osama? And what did they do to him?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “I assume the Taliban are long gone from Afghanistan, right? This war we’re fighting can’t take too much longer.”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “And what with the outpouring of international support for the U.S. these days, there must be some wonderful achievements in global cooperation!”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Oh, yeah, now there are these bizarre anthrax incidents… Who was it, anyway? What a relief it must have been to find that out!”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “You’re not saying very much. What gives?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “You remember all that talk about Iraq at the start of the first Bush administration? They invaded.”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Yeah? Don’t tell me — Saddam was behind the anthrax!”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “No, no…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Or, what, did he finally find a way to launch his own terrorist attack?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Nope.”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “They caught him building a nuke!”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well, no.”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “So…?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “They told us Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. But we never found the weapons, even after we toppled him. Then they told us it didn’t matter because we were building a better democratic Iraq. Then they told us not to give up despite thousands of American casualties, because if we pulled out we’d be dishonoring the soldiers who’d already died.”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Damn. I guess that means Bush lost the election in ’04, huh?”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Anyway, the most important thing is that, four years later, the U.S. has had enough time to plan and prepare for another horror. The next time an American city is endangered, we’ll be all set, right? Swift response. Leaders who spring into action. Better communications. Organization. The can-do American spirit.”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Well…”

2001 Scott Rosenberg: “Enough! Get back to the future already! You’re just bumming me out.”

2005 Scott Rosenberg: “Hey, you’re bumming me out, too!”