Moments of silence, months of scare tactics

I glanced at Fox "News" early this morning, just out of morbid curiosity. Next to the ever-waving flag in the corner was the banner headline

"THE COST OF WAR:
STOCKS READY TO MAKE AN ALL-TIME HIGH!"

Just after this came an update on Paris Hilton. Not quite what you might expect from the Defenders of Freedom (TM) on the fifth-year anniversary of Sept. 11. The Mercury News did little better (at least on its Web site), burying its coverage of the anniversary under a mountain of information about the kick-off of the NFL season.

Meanwhile, at the law school this morning, very few people seemed to remember that the bells were tolling for 60 seconds so that we could spend one minute silelntly reflecting on the significance of the attacks, the lives lost and the wars spawned. Apparently, that was too long to ask people not to talk about themselves. Special shame goes to the rep from Sidley Austin LLP who kept right on going with her pitch to some hopeful job supplicant during the entire minute.

Luckily, for those of us who have forgotten the significance of the day, Karl Rove is going to remind us, as only he can.