George W. Bush Library Will Include World Trade Center Steel

George W. Bush at Ground Zero on September 14, 2001

Last year, ground was broken on the George W. Bush Presidential Library, located at the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Now, it's revealed that a piece of steel from the World Trade Center will be featured prominently.

According to the Daily News, "The 16.7-foot, 1.85-ton piece of mangled steel isn’t just any relic from America’s hallowed ground — experts say it’s 'impact steel,' struck directly by one of the hijacked jets that slammed into the Twin Towers on 9/11. Engineers who have studied the steel — known as a C-11 panel — say it’s the remnant of a triple-beam and crossbeam section from three upper floors." A library official said, "Analysis shows that it appears this piece of steel was affected by fire before a structural collapse, and that the torques and twists of the steel appear to have been caused by impact versus collapse."

The Port Authority, which has been housing various relics from the 9/11 attacks at a JFK Airport hangar, was happy to give the steel to the library. Another 9/11 memento at the library will be the bullhorn he used to speak to workers at Ground Zero after the attacks.

And a Texas state website says, "The George W. Bush library will feature a Decision Theatre, which will challenge visitors to put themselves in presidential shoes and consider various options to the issues the president confronted. When guests want a break from the rigors of executive branch decision-making, they can stop at a Texas Rose Garden, a facsimile of the original at the White House." What about the Western White House?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on November 25, 2011 4:25 PM

Comments [rss]

Jabberwiki

But will there be a copy of "My Pet Goat"?

bggb

He took a trophy from the World Trade Center? WTF is wrong with that man?

whiteiris

Learn to read dumbass.

The Port Authority, which has been housing various relics from the 9/11
attacks at a JFK Airport hangar, was happy to give the steel to the
library.

bggb

He's keeping a "memento" from something that killed 3,000 Americans. Something that he used to justify a war based on lies which killed another 4,000 Americans.

The hubris, egotism and self-centeredness of this man never ceases to amaze.

He doesn't want to remember 9/11, he wants to remember that he was president on 9/11.

HUGE distinction.

Tim Osman

Indeed only an evil and bloodthirsty murderer would want to celebrate such failed stewardship this way instead of respecting and commemorating all the people that died on his watch

Guest

It was just a dumb joke. Lighten the fuck up, America!

David

The fact that you all don't realize by now that the majority of political commenters on tons of websites are paid plants amuses me.

JacksBack72

Hey- Dat hip-hop presodent we done got- he be doin' alla right dings! Anythin' he do, he be doin; right fo' da peeppl! Like free health care, an' free dis- an' free dat! Eveytin' should be free fo' da peeppl- just like it be fo' da peeppl in Urop, an' even in Rush-a and stuff! He right- we be lazy! But das OK long as we got O-Ba-Ma. . . -da hip-hop pres fo' allda peeps!
Whoo be dis dawg Bush?! Whot he do fo' us peeps?! He be doin' shit- das whot?! GooBy Bush!
BTW- Make drugs be legal- Piece out! <-(Whaeva dat means!)

69GeorgeWBush69

I bet your kids and your wife hate you.

JacksBack72

You're totally wrong about that: They are rolling in the floor laughing when they read my stuff. . . <-(I'm so blessed!! Oh Yeah!)

JeremiahToo

It's hard to believe you're really this stupid....Please tell me you're from 4Chan....

JacksBack72

Yes- I am this/that 'stupid' !
I take special DNP/DNC pills for it! They come in supppository form to accommodate their entire membershit,
. . .er- I mean, membership, -and their 'con-stitch- en-cy' !!

Eggcream

Yeah, yeah, Obama sucks. But, does Stan_LS offer an better alternative.

No.

Good-bye, hillbilly.

Stan_LS

Right. There's no better alternatives than telling people that "yes, we can" and signing bills we don't read. You are right! One simply can't imagine anything else! Like cutting entitlements, not coming up with endless regulations to slap businesses with, cutting taxes, etc. You are so right!

As for the hillbilly part - yet another fail. I've been living in Brooklyn since '89. What about yourself?

Tim Osman

I'm not calling you a hillbilly but hillbillies are everywhere - Brooklyn included

Stan_LS

I wasn't responding to you, so I don't see why you are getting defensive. Unless you are posting under two aliases and you messed up? Let me guess, "hillbillies" are those who's hero is not Che?

Tim Osman

I am not defensive at all just stating a fact - hillbillies are everywhere.

Stan_LS

You said you weren't calling me a hillbilly, yet I've never accused me of calling me that. You are very defensive. Or do you employ two aliases here?

Tim Osman

I was making an observation and stating an opinion. Knowing how antagonistic you can be and how you like to twist others' words I wanted to make it clear that I was not the one calling you a hillbilly.

Stan_LS

Whose words did I twist? Why not call me out on it when it, supposedly, happens? I suppose it's easier to throw around abstract accusations...

Tim Osman

Let's all play a game of blame the other side! Or instead we can all take a step back and question the game and see if it is really doing any good for the country.

splicernyc

There is no point low enough for this man to sink. If the blood of the victims could have been harvested, he'd bathe in it every fucking day. Same with that alleged human Giuliani. Same with that cyborg Cheney. Same with that half-human, half-pig Rove.

Stan_LS

You got some sick imagination there. Some people's hate knows no bounds, I guess.

Tim Osman

Some people's lack of morality knows no bounds

Stan_LS

You must be talking about people wearing Che shirts.

Tim Osman

Nope I am talking Bush, Cheney and the rest of their ruthless gang

Stan_LS

What about the guy who started the war in Libya without congress' approval?

Tim Osman

Yeah he is a war criminal too

Stan_LS

Oh, didn't see him mentioned by name..

Tim Osman

Maybe you had not noticed the article is about George W. Bush. Maybe you also had not noticed my comment about how it is hypocritical to attack Obama and his defenders when they blame Bush for Obama's problems but then turn around and then blame Clinton for Bush's problems.

Stan_LS

Funny, where did I blame Clinton? Feel free to cut and paste. I merely displayed that this statement "biggest failure of U.S. intelligence in modern time" is false.

splicernyc

Please. Your undying love is wasted on the undeserving.

Stan_LS

So's your undying hate.

splicernyc

For what these clowns did to this country? You bet.

Stan_LS

Well, we are on the right track now! No more 5% unemployment! Yes, we can!

Timon_8

We really can thank Bush for the high unemployment rate. The U.S. was losing jobs at the rate of 800,000 a month by the last month of his presidency. By the tenth month of Obama's presidency, he had turned that job loss rate around completely and was able to actually ADD jobs, something that had never occurred during ANY month of Bush's last year. The Bush/neo-con regime left us with a huge hole to dig ourselves out of indeed.

Stan_LS

What was the unemployment rate when Bush left office? What is it now?

sarah_palinn

you moron, the financial crisis started during the bush administration.

Stan_LS

And the failed stimulus was pushed through by Obama and the Dems... Without even reading it! What's more, while we are in crisis - Obama and the Dems decided it was a great time to create a brand new entitlement program - nationalized healthcare! Yes we can! Once again, rammed it through without even reading what's in the bill! Awesome!

As a side note, Bush inherited the recession from Clinton's administration, but I don't recall anyone going easy on him cause of that... In fact he was getting savaged because of the high unemployment in 2002-2003. And by high I mean 6%. How times change...

splicernyc

The Republicans have done plenty to derail any policy that might help the majority of people in this country. Any rejection of that truth is simply a lie.

Stan_LS

"Any rejection of that truth is simply a lie." - hah, that wouldn't even work at a jr. high debate club. Remember how dems pushed through stimulus without even reading what's in it? Without any GOP support. Who derailed them then? They couldn't be bothered to read what they were actually signing, cause ya know, if they didn't - unemployment would've reached 8%, they said. What is it now?

splicernyc

The alleged stimulus was a sad joke of what it should have been. The government should have put the money, all of it, into job creation starting with construction. That's what should have passed. But you can't do something like that with this GOP. Their stated goal is to derail Obama at every step and desperately try to get the Bush tax cuts made permanent so that they can pad their own wallets.

Stan_LS

Ah, yes, we didn't waste enough money! I see!

splicernyc

Because putting people to work is a waste to folks like you.

Stan_LS

"folks like you" - another gem! Right, because gov't has to be "putting people to work" instead of getting out of the way of businesses. Sure, makes sense.

splicernyc

How far out of the way can they get for you to be satisfied? You mean these companies are chomping at the bit to hire people now but aren't because of some undefined regulation? Which regulation? Spell it out.

Stan_LS

Ofcourse not. They are not hiring because Obama is black and they are racist, right? Is that it? The problem is that the Obama administration has been all over the place with stimulus, healthcare, etc. Why would anyone hire or expand now when tomorrow some new policy might be announced? I wouldn't.

splicernyc

I would invest in my company and if that means hiring capable people to make my company better then that's what I would do. I think that businesses would do much better if they didn't have to worry about providing health insurance.

Stan_LS

Oh, really? I must have missed businesses lobbying for nationalized healthcare. When did this happen?

splicernyc

They should because it would benefit them to not have to worry about providing it for their employees. I think it's amazingly hypocritical of corporations to lobby against having a nationalized system of health insurance in this country even as they move their factories to countries that have nationalized health care systems.

Stan_LS

Ah, those silly businesses! Don't they know anything? Obama is doing what's good for them! All those people who've been worrying about their bottom line for decades know nil! Unlike our genius Obama who hasn't worked in private sector a day in his life!

splicernyc

That does not answer the point so is an irrelevant comment.

Stan_LS

Your claim that businesses don't know what's good for them while the man who hasn't worked a day in the private sector does is an irrelevant comment. Let's keep it reasonable, ok?

splicernyc

I never made the claim that businesses don't know what's good for them. I just said that unburdening businesses both big and small from having to provide health insurance would put them on an equal footing with countries that already provide it for their citizens.

Stan_LS

Businesses are not shy about lobbying for things that are good for them - can we agree about that, at least? Now, if they've never lobbied for nationalized care... As for equal footing - why do we get way more foreign investment than Europe? Don't they have nationalized healthcare?

splicernyc

My opinion is that so many companies, pension funds, banks, individuals, etc. hold so much stock in those insurance companies that they would rather they stay in business even if their level of service is lacking and their cost higher. Could it be that investors put their money here because this country has removed regulations that provide stability in favor of fewer that unfetter investment companies from doing as they please no matter its detrimental effect? I'd say that is a perfect example of the type of short-term thinking that permeates modern business.

Stan_LS

Insurance companies are not the problem. The problem is the high costs of healthcare. Insurance companies merely exist to mitigate the potential of having to cough up a large amount of $ if you get sick. Don't agree? Drop your health insurance, get sick, and see if you would have preferred that evil insurance company on your side or not.

splicernyc

They very much are the problem in one major respect. I give them money and expect to get a service for it at the end, not to have to go through hoops because the corporate "death panel" doesn't want to pay out. As for the cost of healthcare, again, it is the type of capitalism that people like these days -- unfettered. However, the healthcare system in this country is a de facto monopoly. They have no competition.

e non

the Decision Theatre ... good grief. let me propose one scenario:

you're on vacation at home base six months into the job, when your daily briefer reads you an alarming memo: Bin Laden Determined to Strike the United States. Your response is:

1. immediately drop your drink and order up a secure line to the nsa/cia/fbi.

2. call your dad to seek his counsel -- as former cia chief and ex-president; it should be useful.

3. tell the briefer -- 'all right, you've covered your ass' ... and go back to your morning nap.

GalBklyn

... and here we are. GWB gets a "16.7-foot, 1.85-ton piece of mangled steel" representing the biggest failure of U.S. intelligence in modern time - resulting in a direct attack on U.S. soil - killing innocent civilians who were just going about their lives.

And he is proud of it.

smorrebrod

At first, I felt outrage that he would put WTC steel in his library. Then I realized there are more important things to get my panties into a bunch. Now I say let him be, if he wants to define his presidency as a complete fuck up.

Tim Osman

If it wasn't reality it would be very easy to laugh at all of this

Stan_LS

Give me a break. The first WTC bombing happened under Clinton's watch. The only reason those buildings didn't fall down was because they didn't pack enough explosives. Not because of anything Clinton did.

Tim Osman

Avoiding the issue as usual

Stan_LS

You might want to follow up the thread to see what my response was to. Unless your intent was to avoid the issue. As usual.

Tim Osman

If you want to push the idea that Obama can not blame Bush than you can not hide behind the idea that Bush can blame Clinton

Stan_LS

Funny, where did I blame Clinton? Feel free to cut and paste. I merely displayed that this statement "biggest failure of U.S. intelligence in modern time" is false.

Tim Osman

Also, just by indicating the 93 WTC bombing did not bring down the towers does not have anything to do with proving true or false the statement "biggest failure of U.S. intelligence in modern time"

Stan_LS

Do you feel that the first WTC bombing was a lesser failure of US intelligence? Or that 1993 is outside of "modern time".

Tim Osman

Yes, the plot was much simpler in 93 (pack van full of explosives and detonate under towers) and involved fewer people and did not involve hijacking 4 airliners, striking the Pentagon in addition to the WTC and whatever the 4th target was intended to be.

Tim Osman

"Right, so he wasn't responsible for anything yet. How long does it take
for the President to be responsible for what happens under his watch? As
for invading - yea, he only dropped bombs on Yugoslavia. As for Iraq,
Clinton did sign the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 which made replacing
that regime our official policy. "

Stan_LS

Also, no where in my counter did I mention that Bush can blame Clinton.

Tim Osman

So then Bush should be blamed for 9/11 right?

Stan_LS

The intelligence community should be blamed for 9/11

Tim Osman

Yes they should share the blame

Stan_LS

Uh, you might want to read the thread from the start. I've made my point that we've previously experienced an exactly the same attack (intelligence failure). Somebody decided to deflect the blame from Clinton, so I countered. My original point stands.

e non

clinton took office january 20, 1993; the first wtc attack was on february 26, 1993.

the perpetrators of that bombing were hunted down, arrested, tried (by federal prosecutors - the horror!) and convicted (in nyc by a jury - the horror!). they are now serving life in U.S. based maximum security prisons. and, he didn't invade iraq to accomplish this.

Stan_LS

Right, so he wasn't responsible for anything yet. How long does it take for the President to be responsible for what happens under his watch? As for invading - yea, he only dropped bombs on Yugoslavia. As for Iraq, Clinton did sign the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 which made replacing that regime our official policy.

marco_esquandolas

I will never stop thinking the words "George W. Bush" and "library" look strange together.

JeremiahToo

Stacks filled with copies of "The Pet Goat" and other fine early childhood literature will lend the man gravitas as he passes into his second childh.....errr.....third childho..........uhh......as he grows ever more drooly and incontinent.

JacksBack72

Deep. real Deep. . . for a moron!

Guest

"he George W. Bush library will feature a Decision Theatre, which will challenge visitors to put themselves in presidential shoes and consider various options to the issues the president confronted."

As opposed to the Obama Decision Theatre, in which all the answers conclude with "Blame Bush."

Now where'd I put that flameproof suit?

Tim Osman

I have no interest in defending Obama, he has made his own mess. It is not a defense of Bush to change the subject by attacking the next president. Bush will go down in history as one of the worst presidents in American history and as more time passes his legacy will be one of death and destruction and little else.

Eggcream

You left it at the trailer park next to the empty cans of beer.

Guest

That you made assumptions based on race, class and lifestyle speaks far more about you than me making some throwaway political line. Congrats on being the narrow minded bigot you think you're better than!

Eggcream

It doesn't speak nothing. lol. Have another beer.

Stan_LS

A double negative. How cute. Have another crack at the 8th grade.

Stan_LS

Not at the projects next to some empty 40oz?

xXxMExXx

The Obama Decision Theater choices would be the same for every scenario... Blame somebody else (Bush, Congress, etc.), or differ the question until a later date so nobody can hold you responsible.