It was no surprise, really, when the hucksters and street vendors showed up around the site of World Trade Center buildings while the holes in the ground were still smoking in 2001. We don’t expect much in the way of decency when there’s a quick buck to be made. But the new 9/11 Museum that opened last week is also cashing in on the collapse, to the consternation of family members of those killed. Read more

Each speaker tried the impossible today: finding the rhetoric to describe meaning to the day two planes destroyed the icons of American financial power in the world. But words seemed to fail them all. Things don’t fail, however. The red bandanna Welles Crowther used to protect himself while he helped people out of the buildings and which was later used to identify his body. There are wallets and shoes that are now part of the museum. Read more