A Few Good Men (see below) sums up my thoughts pretty well about 9-11, except for the fact that religious fanatics brought it on. Cheney, etc. overreacted with torture, the Patriot Act, renditions, Guantanamo, Abu Graib, warrantless wiretapping etc. However I have the heretical view that the downfall of Saddam Hussein, however poorly executed, helped bring about the Arab Spring. 9-11 made me develop a more negative view of the left (my side) as well as the right. In the link below, I think Ahmed Rashid is right that the advanced countries have failed to build up the institutions and economies of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

I celebrated 9-11 yesterday by attending the Onion A.V. Club's first annual blockparty at the Hideout. The headliner was 90s indie rock band Archers of Loaf who were amazing. Before them was the Tokyo Police Club who sounded great under the dusk sky and a full moon.