memeorandum: Engineering Terror — They say they believe in freedom and share our values. (David Berreby/New York Times)

12:05 PM ET, September 11, 2010

Top Items:

Sept. 11, 2010: The Right Way to Remember — Nine years after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, a memorial and a transportation hub are taking recognizable shape and skyscrapers are finally starting to rise from the ashes of ground zero. — That physical rebirth is cause for celebration on this anniversary.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and City Room

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:

Solemn 9/11 ceremonies held at Ground Zero, Pentagon, Shanksville, Pa. — Solemn ceremonies are being held today at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa., to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. President Obama said Americans held true to their ideals in the face …

Discussion: Politics Daily, Associated Press and The Page

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:

Obama: U.S. not at war with Islam; ‘sorry band of men’ hit us on 9/11 — President Obama stressed that America was not at war with Islam as he decried the “sorry band of men” who attacked the nation nine years ago in memorial ceremonies at the Pentagon on Saturday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Erica Werner / ABCNEWS:

Obama Remembers Sept. 11, Calls for Unity — Obama tells Americans lesson of Sept. 11 is ‘we are one nation, one people’ — Amid an atmosphere of unease, President Barack Obama wants Americans to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by recapturing the sense of common purpose felt on that dreadful day.

Discussion: The Politico

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
Islam controversies cast shadow over 9/11 events

Discussion: American Power and JammieWearingFool

Ben Geman / The Hill:

Florida pastor will ‘not ever’ burn Qurans — Florida pastor Terry Jones said Saturday that he would never carry out plans to burn copies of the Quran, according to NBC. — Jones had planned to burn the Muslim holy text on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, but now says he'll never go through with it.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

CNN:

Florida pastor calls off Quran burning — (CNN) — The pastor of a Florida church says his congregation has decided to call off the burning of the Quran that was to be held Saturday — the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States by the al Qaeda terror network.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Infowars and WTVF-TV

Bernie Quigley / Pundits Blog:

Unremembering 9/11 — President Obama, whom Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger says is beginning to sound like “the most embittered American president this country has ever known,” will not remember 9/11 well this weekend, and it will mar his presidency. — He will be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Liberty Pundits Blog

Reuters:
Florida pastor's daughter says “he needs help”

Discussion: CBS News, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Mediaite, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com, Left Coast Rebel and The Political Carnival

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:

NRA backs Tea Party candidate in Delaware — The National Rifle Association endorsed conservative commentator Christine O'Donnell Friday in Delaware's Republican Senate primary. The Tea Party-backed O'Donnell is looking to upset Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Politico, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Riehl World View, DownWithTyranny!, Outside the Beltway, Weigel, Oliver Willis, The Other McCain, TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and The Eye

Jessica Taylor / The Politico:
DeMint backs O'Donnell, Lamontagne

Discussion: Power Line

CNN:
O'Donnell picks up another big endorsement

Discussion: The Politico

David Berreby / New York Times:

Engineering Terror — They say they believe in freedom and share our values. They say a few bad apples shouldn't bring down judgment on their entire kind. Don't be fooled. Though they walk among us with impunity, they are, in the words of Henry Farrell, a political scientist …

Discussion: Unfogged

Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Administration Tells Regulated Industry That There Will Be “Zero Tolerance” for Alleged “Misinformation” in Industry's Statements About Government Policy — From the Department of Health & Human Services: … The precise nature of the threat — as with so many threats — is not made entirely clear …

Discussion: TigerHawk

United States Department of Health and Human Services:
Sebelius calls on health insurers to stop misinformation and …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Cato @ Liberty and Hot Air

DeAnn Komanecky / Savannah Morning News:

Effingham deputies call feds after arresting Russians with shovel, wire cutters outside Georgia Power plant — SPRINGFIELD — Effingham County sheriff deputies have reported the early Sunday morning arrest of three men to the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The Politico:

PRESIDENT OBAMA GOES RINGLESS AT PRESSER — Sometimes, a White House press conference can be a chance for a president to take some weight off his shoulders ... but weight off his fingers? — Eagle-eyed reporters noticed that President Barack Obama wasn't sporting his wedding ring during Friday's White House press conference.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Althouse, Don Surber and Gawker

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Robert Spencer: Jesus Would Have Burned Qurans Too — Jihad Watch “director” Robert Spencer must be getting pumped up for the big day of rabble rousing tomorrow; usually he's more careful with his rhetoric. He just posted a link to an article arguing that Jesus would have burned Qurans just like psycho preacher Terry Jones.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Samuel G. Freedman / New York Times:

Muslim Prayer Room Was Part of Life at Twin Towers — Sometime in 1999, a construction electrician received a new work assignment from his union. The man, Sinclair Hejazi Abdus-Salaam, was told to report to 2 World Trade Center, the southern of the twin towers.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain, Runnin' Scared, Obsidian Wings and Little Green Footballs

New York Post:
One block between Ground Zero mosque and human remains

Discussion: The Mahablog, Weasel Zippers, No More Mister Nice Blog, Pajamas Media, Pundit & Pundette, Raw Story, The Awl, Gawker.TV and Salon

Tom Krisher / Associated Press:

New GM CEO's pay package worth $9 million — DETROIT - New General Motors Co. CEO Daniel Akerson will get the same $9 million pay package as the man he replaced, Ed Whitacre. — Akerson, a former telecommunications industry and private equity executive, will receive $1.7 million in annual salary …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:

Burris to high court: Let me run — CHICAGO - Illinois Sen. Roland Burris is taking his fight to serve out the final weeks of his appointed Senate term to the Supreme Court. — A federal court ruled earlier this year that only the candidates running for a full Senate term on Nov. 2 …

Discussion: Beltway Confidential and Wonkette

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Mississippi Congressional Race Shows Futility of Making Benefit Cuts to Social Security — RJ Eskow reported yesterday on a rumored deal coming out of the deficit commission on Social Security. It sounds like a really bad version of progressive price indexing, where benefits are cut …

Discussion: NEMS360.com and Hullabaloo

First Read / msnbc.com:

First Read's Top 10 Senate takeovers — From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** First Read's Top 10 Senate Takeovers: Chew on this: Right now, Republicans have a better chance of flipping West Virginia's Senate seat than Democrats have in picking up the one in Ohio.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Mother Jones