the only effective action taken to counter the hijackings on 9/11 were not taken by the military, by the precursor agencies now in Homeland Security, by any part of the Administration, nor by any other public agency. The action was taken by a group of passengers on Flight 93, alerted by telephone contacts that made it clear what was going on with the hijackings, and determined to not allow themselves to be docile parts of such a scenario. The parallel I drew at the time (and wrote on a NY Times discussion board at the time) was with the biological immune system when it reacts to messages from the body and attacks disease organisms. On Flight 93, a group of Americans thrown into a critical juncture took action that may have saved the U.S. Capitol or White House. Had sensible lessons been drawn from this, we would not have as a nation embarked on a War on Terra, created a Homeland Gestapo, err, Security Department, undermined civil liberties, imprisoned and tortured countless people, nor thrown away lives, our economy, and our national reputation on an invasion of Iraq. The 'time' for Flight 93 won't have come until America is ready to learn from it -- if it is ever ready to do so.