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Patriot Day 2021

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Leo the Patriotic Lion here. One question I am often asked is why the G-52s failed to stop the terrorism that struck the World Trade Center, 9/11/2001.  Well, the answer to that question is simple: Bendraqi.  The old version of him was furious at them for, as he put it, "stealing my best idea and beating me to the punch!"  Well, it wasn't his idea; it was theirs, and he wanted credit for it, just as his ancestors wanted credit for everything that wasn't their ideas.  (The best example is his ancestors wanting credit for Napoleon's idea of crossing the Rhine river, although history showed what a terrible idea that was; it ultimately led to his defeat, and the composition of the 1812 Overture, a piece the U.S. Lion Corps Band likes to perform with real cannons.)

But here's the most important thing to remember: if we had been battling the terrorists attacking the World Trade Center, the whole world would have been destroyed.  Why?  Bendraqi had established a base in outer space and was launching an assault of asteroids at the planet, which would have wiped out the entire world's population in seconds and only allowed wildlife to live.  So the truth was that he was, without knowing about it, helping Osama bin Laden carry out his plans.

Here we are now, 20 years later, and I made sure my people would never forget it.  But due to Mayor Bowser's concerns and other politicians who were concerned about my tendency to draw huge crowds which ultimately constitute a fire hazard, the parade was done without an audience.  Well, it wasn't really a parade.  It was just us doing ceremonial duty.  And unlike certain other Presidents, nobody ever got tired of seeing me on television, so the public didn't mind all programming be pre-empted on literally all the networks that chose to broadcast it (even PBS).  And we were at the site, so it marked the first time I had been to New York since I was elected.  (The state asked me to avoid it until they got rid of Cuomo, and now, he's gone.)

In the speech I gave, I put emphasis on what I said about how Bendraqi was thrusting deadly asteroids at the world, and thus, the G-52s didn't return to Earth until after all the damage was done.  "The miracle was that I didn't bellow," I said, "but it was the angriest I had ever been; the anger levels I have shown never topped that level before or since that day.  So it goes to show that while CNG created the global fear over me and my huge voice, it didn't stop al-Qaeda from doing the dirty deeds."

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Several others also commented on the day.  "I feel worse than ever," Bendraqi commented in his last interview, "now that I know I was helping somebody else do something like that.  However, being the old me, I told al-Qaeda that I should have been the one to do that because the only one worthy of conquering the world was me.  But I was stuck in a rut.  I always terrorized with my robots, powered by CNG.  Needless to say, I did send my robots after those people the next day, but this time the G-52s were there, and so they saved those terrorists for the law."

"I was only 11 when that happened," Cripto said.  "I remember doing math problems and then hearing over the intercom, 'Attention all school personnel!  This is an emergency alert!  Turn on your TVs at once!"  The teacher turned on the TV, and we ended up spending the rest of the day watching it.  What I couldn't understand was why it led to mass panic buying of gasoline, because there were long lines at the pump.  But I do remember telling my mom that I was furious, and I wanted every terrorist alive at that moment to die of a heart attack at the stroke of midnight.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  I fear I may have caused something like that if I had superpowers at the time; thankfully, I didn't.  I didn't get them until I was 15."

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The ceremony featured all the usual of what you might expect, so we had soldiers firing gun salutes, and pilots doing a flyover, leaving red, white, and blue streaks across the sky.  On my command, Zachary Chandler beat a drum roll that led to a bugle play "Taps" to honor the fallen, and later on, another one that led to the playing of our national anthem.  (The roll to play "Taps" was muffled; the roll to play the anthem wasn't.)  It was a somber day for us, but it would have been a sin to not do this.  We can never forget what happened on that day, even though we live in a society with left-wing-minded news media that want us to forget it.  (They know the public is going to side with me; yet, except for WBC's reporters and the rest of the world, they're still trying to dig up dirt on my past, and use it against me.  If it keeps up, CNG will use it against them; you can be sure of that.)

The ceremony took up most of the day, and by the time the networks returned to regular programming, my administration and I spent the next part visiting the new main building, the One World Trade Center.  One WTC is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

The building's architect is David Childs, whose firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) also designed the Burj Khalifa and the Willis Tower. The construction of below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began on April 27, 2006.  One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. The tower's steel structure was topped out on August 30, 2012.  On May 10, 2013, the final component of the skyscraper's spire was installed, making the building, including its spire, reach a total height of 1,776 feet (541 m). Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The building opened on November 3, 2014; the One World Observatory opened on May 29, 2015.

It was a fascinating visit, and it gave the citizens of New York their first chance to interact with me and my administration, asking me questions on various topics, ranging from who I consider to be the biggest threat right now (and the answer to that is the AIRAF, who now has their own space force), to what would be considered my biggest accomplishment so far.  That one I don't have an answer for yet because I'm not done with year one, but if everybody's already hailing me as the supreme galactic emperor of the universe, then it's quite possible that we can nominate some of the recent events that have happened, such as freeing the scientists from the AIRAF and bringing them to a much better life in the United States.  They still have to take the test and become naturalized citizens, though.

Anyways, that's my day in a nutshell.  Stay strong, my fellow Americans, and do not let the enemy tempt you into forgetting tragedies like 9/11; it's events like this as well as triumphs that bring us closer together as Americans.  (And by emeny here, I'm not just refering to the earhtly enemies; I'm also refering to Satan.  Why does he even bother?  He knows God has already defeated him!)

Thank you, and God bless every one of you.  Good night.

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