A former associate in Foley & Lardner’s Chicago office named Zafar Hasan is suing the firm for employment discrimination. Hasan, a Muslim of Indian descent stated that in 2004, his partners at the firm were pushed to fire him based on his race, religion, color and national origin right after the September 11 attacks.

Allegedly, the firm said that Hasan was getting the boot because of his poor work performance. However, positive work evaluations were later discovered, making the firm’s accusation false. The firm came back claiming that they didn’t have enough to keep him busy.

When the suit was presented to the U.S. District Court, they granted summary judgment to the law firm, saying that Hasan didn’t have “convincing mosaic” of evidence of the discrimination that could permit a jury to agree that Foley had discriminated against him. However, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision and gave Hasan the OK to proceed.

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Today is September 11, 2008 and the seventh anniversary of the dreadful day when America went under attack. Relatives of victims killed at the World Trade Center are observing a moment of silence in their honor. At ground zero, the gathering began at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., which are the times the two hijacked jets crashed into the twin towers.

And two more moments of silence were held at the times the towers fell. Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the ceremony by stating, “Today marks the seventh anniversery of the day our world was broken.”

Ceremonies in Washington and Pennsylvania are being held later in the day and Barack Obama and John McCain are due at ground zero to pay silent respects.

President George W. Bush plans to dedicate a memorial at the Pentagon that contains 184 benches.

On September 11, 2001, close to 3,000 people were killed when terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in NYC, the Pentagon in Arlington, and in a field in Shanksville.

We will always remember.

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While I haven’t been the biggest cheerleader for President George W. Bush these past eight years, my feelings regarding Bush’s controversial military trial system at Guantanamo Bay are mixed. As of right now, there are two-hundred and seventy foreign terrorist suspects being held in a prison without bail for six years before trial and this had the ACLU fuming. When Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11, faced a judge, insisting that he refuses representation and chooses to be a martyr and get sentenced to death, the ACLU tried to step in and offer him support. Refusing it, they still ranted and raved about how this form of detainment was unconstitutional.

Is it scary that our United States government conducts this type of underground jail in another country? Yes. However, did I feel passionately about backing the ACLU regarding the protection of terrorists? Hell no. Yet the Supreme Court did, ruling that Guantanamo detainees will have the right to be heard in civilian courts on the American mainland.

Although the 5-4 ruling did not order the military tribunal process to shut its doors, the U.S. Supreme Court has just begun a change-in-the-making. So, what now?

Both Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, and his Republican opponent, John McCain, said that they already plan to close down Guantanamo Bay. However, where, oh, where should we put our terrorists who killed thousands of Americans?

Although five alleged plotters of September 11 in total appeared in a Guantanamo courtroom last week with hopeful prosecutors pushing for a trial to begin on September 15, now it looks as if the first trial will not be focused on what the terrorists did to our country but what America and our President are doing to them. To them!

Now, there are always those circumstances where an individual could get captured and imprisoned under suspicion without proof, thus, turning out to be innocent. In fact, 775 prisoners were once held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp and 420 were eventually released without being charged. No, that isn’t good. However, terrorists who confess to the mass murder on September 11 like Mohammed make it real hard to feel OK with fighting for his rights.

The Supreme Court declared the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which is “To authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes,” unconstitutional because it denies the right of habeas corpus, an ability to seek relief from a court for unlawful detention of themselves or another person.

“We’ll abide by the court’s decision but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it,’” Bush said at a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. “It’s a deeply divided court, and I strongly agree with those who dissented.’

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion, “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force in extraordinary times.”

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