T-Minus 16 days Until The Beginning Of The Trump Presidency (9/11)

Donald Trump will be sworn in in a little over 2 weeks.  As we ponder that panic, let's look back at a few episodes from the past 8 years - all with the understanding that Trump would never/could never be able to accomplish any of it.

After the panic, we should ponder what we're losing.

September 11, 2016.

At The Pentagon, President Obama had this to say about 9/11, terrorism and our reaction to it.

He opened with by quoting Proverbs 3:3:

Good morning. Scripture tells us, 'Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you…write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then after a bit, he takes a step back to look at the bigger picture:

The question before us, as always, is: How do we preserve the legacy of those we lost? How do we live up to their example? And how do we keep their spirit alive in our own hearts?

Well, we have seen the answer in a generation of Americans -- our men and women in uniform, diplomats, intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement professionals -- all who have stepped forward to serve and who have risked and given their lives to help keep us safe. Thanks to their extraordinary service, we’ve dealt devastating blows to al Qaeda. We've delivered justice to Osama bin Laden. We’ve strengthened our homeland security. We've prevented attacks. We've saved lives. We resolve to continue doing everything in our power to protect this country that we love. And today, we once again pay tribute to these patriots, both military and civilian, who serve in our name, including those far away from home in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Perhaps most of all, we stay true to the spirit of this day by defending not only our country, but also our ideals.

And:

Groups like al Qaeda, like ISIL, know that they will never be able to defeat a nation as great and as strong as America. So, instead, they've tried to terrorize in the hopes that they can stoke enough fear that we turn on each other and that we change who we are or how we live. And that's why it is so important today that we reaffirm our character as a nation -- a people drawn from every corner of the world, every color, every religion, every background -- bound by a creed as old as our founding, e pluribus unum. Out of many, we are one. For we know that our diversity -- our patchwork heritage -- is not a weakness; it is still, and always will be, one of our greatest strengths. This is the America that was attacked that September morning. This is the America that we must remain true to.

Across our country today, Americans are coming together in service and remembrance. We run our fingers over the names in memorial benches here at the Pentagon. We walk the hallowed grounds of a Pennsylvania field. We look up at a gleaming tower that pierces the New York City skyline. But in the end, the most enduring memorial to those we lost is ensuring the America that we continue to be -- that we stay true to ourselves, that we stay true to what's best in us, that we do not let others divide us.

And finally:

'Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you…write them on the tablet of your heart.' And how we conduct ourselves as individuals and as a nation, we have the opportunity each and every day to live up to the sacrifice of those heroes that we lost.

On the other hand, Donald Trump said this:

There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations. They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as that building came down — as those buildings came down. And that tells you something. It was well covered at the time, George. Now, I know they don’t like to talk about it, but it was well covered at the time. There were people over in New Jersey that were watching it, a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down. Not good.

Even when presented with the evidence that it just didn't happen, Trump said:

It did happen. I saw it.

Even though it didn't.

As for the Bible, we all know about Trump's "Two Corinthians speech" at Liberty University (a mistake which he, of course, blamed on someone else and not his own ignorance)

As a reminder, let me point out that he started with:

We're going to protect Christianity. I can say that. I don't have to be politically correct.

Hmm. Clinging to a false story about Arabs cheering the destruction of 9/11 and then a broadside about "protecting" Christianity in a definitely non-PC way.

Yea, that's living up to the ideals of America.  Equal protection for all?  Nah, that's too PC.  We have to protect Christianity instead!

Time now to ponder the America that we're losing.