September 10th: Then and now

Opening your morning newspaper a year ago Wednesday, you may have been greeted by headlines on the controversy over drilling for oil in Alaska, the latest on US Rep. Gary Condit (D) of California, or speculation that the Dow had reached rock bottom after closing at 9605.50 the previous Friday.

If you're a typical American, you likely did not attend a religious service that week, you weren't worried that the government would open the letter you sent overseas, and if "nine-eleven" meant anything, it was the number you called for help.

But the next morning, all this, and more, would begin to change.

Amid the color-coded warnings of more attacks and the anthrax scare, Americans prayed more, stayed closer to home, and tried to make sense of what has become known as the "New Normal."

A statistical snapshot of Anywhere, America, shows that while we studied the Koran and tried to adjust to having uniformed strangers search our shoes at airports, within a few months some things returned to the "Old Normal."

"...nine-eleven, ground zero, weaponize, homeland security, so September 10, evildoers, shoe bomber, axis of evil, let's roll!..."

Zogby International asked 1,000 registered voters, "Have you attended a church, synagogue, or mosque in the past seven days?"

Answered "yes" on:
July 2, 2001: 42%
Oct. 14, 2001: 60%
Jan. 31, 2002: 50%
(Margin of error: 3.2%)

Mayoral candidates crisscross city seeking last few votes

–New York Times

In Yukon, fears US drilling could upset delicate balance

–Washington Post

No longer intifada, not quite war –The Christian Science Monitor
Bears insist the bottom's yet to come

–Los Angeles Times

Jury selection to begin in [Ford] Explorer Trial

–USA Today

From bad to worse: Rep Gary Condit finally broke his silence.... –Newsweek
US pulls the plug on Muslim Websites

–The [London] Guardian

Five things the government can do now that it couldn't before:

• The FBI can spy on groups without any evidence of wrongdoing

• The FBI can spy on individuals for a year without evidence of wrongdoing, up from 30 days previously

• The Customs Service can open outbound international mail without a warrant

• The attorney general can incarcerate noncitizens indefinitely purely on the basis of suspicion

• 'Nonlawful combatants' are denied most of the trial rights granted soldiers and civilians

Source: ACLU

Ten things added to the list of forbidden airline carry-on items by the Transportation Security Administration since Sept. 11:
• baseball bats
• golf clubs
• pool cues
• ski poles
• corkscrews
• hockey sticks
• toy weapons
• portable power drills
• hammers
• toy transformer robots (which form a toy gun)

Percentage of people waiting 60 minutes or more (Nov. 2001/March 2002)

Denver Int. 53%/24%
Ft. Meyers, Fla. 35%/13%
Chicago, Midway 29%/8%
Portland, Ore. 37%/18%
Source: travelocity.com

... visit historic sites: 48% in 2002 vs. 42% in 2001

... attend a family reunion: 37% in 2002 vs. 25% in 2001

... travel by air: 19% in 2002 vs. 22% 2001

Source: Travel Industry Association of America

Before Sept. 11, seven US airports used Identix fingerprint biometrics, a system which recognizes the identity of a person by their fingerprints.

Today, more than 110 airports use the system.

Source: Identix

Immigration visas issued at Middle Eastern embassies

Sept. 11, 2000 to July 31, 2001: 23,561
Sept. 11, 2001 to July 31, 2002: 17,807

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