It's been eight years since the 9/11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed almost 3,000 innocent prople— enough time for two presidential elections; U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq; the fall of a dictatorship; the battle of New Orleans versus Katrina; the Great Recession; and countless other famous and infamous news-making events. However, none have supplanted the memory of that tragic morning when horrified Americans and our neighbors across the world watched the devastation unfold.

Throughout these eight years, many 9/11 memorials have been suggested. Some have been realized, some scrapped, and some are in development. Perhaps the most fitting to date, the USS New York, steamed into New York harbor Nov. 2 as firefighters, bagpipers, and those who lost loved ones on 9/11 watched. As reported on CNN.com, the new Navy assault ship's bow was fabricated using seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the wreckage of the WTC.

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Psssst. Hey … down here. I’m the headline about 20 column inches below the story about Balloon Boy. Keep looking down. Down. Just below that expose about Polanski. See me? Good. Don't tell anyone, but manufacturing's getting a bit better. In fact, manufacturing may be the thing that pulls us all out of the economic doldrums; at least that's how some are reacting to the Federal Reserve data released Friday.

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I'm not so naive that I believe The FABRICATOR is the only magazine metal fabricators read. If The FABRICATOR is the only one you read, than I applaud you for it and urge you to swing by our booth (No. 7034) at FABTECH International so I can give you a hug.

Because we do have competitors seeking to be the main source of metal fabricating technology information, I try to keep up with those publications. I check out the editorials and their feature subjects to find out how they entice their readers to spend a part of their busy day reading the publications.

One competitor recently redesigned the magazine and let the editor have almost two pages of editorial space. Could an editor really have that much to say? You bet your ironworker he does.

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I'm still recovering from a visit to Washington, D.C. It's not that I was taxed to death, even though I left with an empty wallet, or that I was roughed up during an angry AARP demonstration. It's just difficult to immerse myself back into the work world after being more than 750 miles away physically and 1 million miles away mentally.

But I come back with a new perspective. If you can't learn something on a visit to Washington, D.C., you're just not paying attention.

In several Washington museums and memorials, the story of Abraham Lincoln is front and center. This makes perfect sense as our 16th president is looked upon as one of the greatest leaders in this country's history. But the timing is special as well: It's Honest Abe's 200th birthday.

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The numbers popping up in the media recently draw an interesting, perhaps conflicted picture of the state of business in the U.S. Here's why.

First, there's unemployment. Like many, I expected the unemployment rate to continue its relentless rise past the symbolic 10 percent mark. It didn't. It fell a bit, to 9.4 percent. Dig a little deeper into the government's official release, though, and you'll find that 14,000 people in the fabricated metal products sector lost their jobs. Machinery-makers shed 15,000. And manufacturing overall shed 2 million jobs since this recession began.

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The metal fabricating industry is made up of highly skilled, hard-working individuals who are passionate about their work and proud of what they create. But every now and then, along comes a slacker who does a half-backside job and creates all kinds of problems. Such is the case with the Northrop Grumman welding inspector who falsified some inspections on eight U.S. submarines and an aircraft carrier. "Welding Wire" readers had plenty to say about this incident and how it came to light.

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That number bounced around the blogosphere this week as CIT teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. CEO Jeff Peek told news outlets that 760 manufacturing companies could shut down if CIT collapses. And then comes the ripple effect, which is even scarier.

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Yesterday's "Fabricating Update" lead item ruffled feathers, raised hackles, and had this editor ducking for cover as fabricators sounded off about comments from the Obama administration's recently released employment report.

The item cited an article that appeared in The Washington Post about President Obama's economic team releasing an upbeat employment forecast July 13. The forecast predicted robust jobs growth in the health-care and clean-energy sectors, and a recovery in manufacturing positions over the next decade. The report also addressed the need for improvements in education and job training.

The newsletter item concluded by asking readers what they thought about the report and whether it indicated that the government finally understands the need for better education and training programs—something manufacturers have sought for a long, long time. Be careful what you ask for; you might just get it, with both barrels.

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News stories come and go. Today’s topic of interest likely won’t hold many readers’ attention tomorrow, so every day reporters pick up the hot topics and run with them after dropping any that are more than a few days old.

Care to dust off a few aged issues? This isn’t the news. I guess you could say this is the “olds.” Whatever term you use, I think these stories are worth a look.

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"It's paid for" … three little words that have come to mean so much to so many. Could they have contributed to the automakers' troubles?

Case in point—yesterday my colleague, Tim, and I were talking about his recent new-car purchase. You may have read about the mishap involving his 11-year-old vehicle. Clouding his excitement about owning a brand-new car is the realization that he now has car payments. I understand completely.

My family has two vehicles, vintage 2000 and 2002. In spite of their ages and the fact that newer models look different and have more bells and whistles, we are quite fond of these automobiles. That they are paid for makes them even more attractive to us. I commented to Tim that I have less than 100,000 miles on my 2000 Jeep and intend to drive it for as long as it will run—or as long as I have someone to service it (we'll get to that).

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