This is the time of year when we look over the sad wreck the United States of America has made of itself after a ragged band of thugs incinerated a few of its planes and buildings and their occupants. Only now is any noticeable slice of its citizenry beginning to understand what sacred treasure they dumped, eagerly, on the victims' funeral pyre. The nation's courage, pride, scruples, myriad freedoms, thousands of its own heirs, its national credibility, its (howsoever tarnished) tradition of rule of law, and the hopes of a generation only served to help loft that pall of smoke out over the ocean. Will what is left of the nation ever wrest control back from the shameless criminals it still allows to pretend to protect us? I have seen nothing to suggest it.