Memorial madness, cold weather and more weird crime.

Memorial Madness, Ad Nauseum

To be honest, we're sick of hearing about the WTC memorial. Still, after last week's unveiling of the winning design and the ensuing hubbub, a question came to mind. When, exactly, was it decided that every tragedy needed to be memorialized with a structure or sculpture of some kind?

We're not talking about war memorials or those erected to great individuals. No, the question is why, in recent years, have we decided that every disaster requires a massive, permanent memorial? Every time a plane goes down, a boat crashes, a bomb goes off or a cow runs amok, there are immediate calls for some extravagant memorial. There was a time when a little brass plaque on the site would do, whereas nowadays memorial committees need to be formed so design contests can be held and donations solicited. Everyone who had any connection at all to the event in question comes forward, demanding to have their personal concerns addressed and reflected in any final design. It all takes a long time and costs a whole lot of money.

Somehow, with the unveiling of "Reflecting Absence," it all started to make some sense.

We aren't saying that a memorial of some kind isn't deserved, nor would we trivialize the attacks. But it should have been clear early on that nothing good was going to come out of the search for a memorial design. There were too many cooks involved. Firefighters wanted their own memorial, various politicians wanted their say and the victims' families made it obvious they weren't going to be satisfied with anything. All the petty ugliness that dwells within us was put on parade.

After the nation recovered from the initial shock of the Pearl Harbor attacks, we were galvanized. People went to work to fix what had happened. The USS Arizona Memorial, while somber, is also majestic?it reflects a people who got back up again after being knocked down.

In contrast, the attacks on the World Trade Center seemed to focus and hone our national victimhood. The attacks became an excuse for anything and everything from insomnia and business failures to marital problems and bank robberies. Sometimes it was true; often it wasn't. It's still the case today.

We're not saying we prefer cheap flag-waving and ignorant nationalism; there was plenty of that for a bit, too. For the most part, however, the attacks were used as a justification for a lot of moping and self-pity. Not that there wasn't enough of that to go around before the attacks, but now we had a common source to point at. We no longer seemed capable of taking responsibility for our actions because "9/11 made us do it." Are we that weak? A quick look at daytime tv or a scan of the titles in the self-help section of any bookstore makes it pretty clear that we are.

Love it or hate it, this is why designer Michael Arad's "Reflecting Absence" memorial, which he explained expresses "feelings of loss and absence," is absolutely appropriate for what has become a nation of whiners who celebrate and cherish their own victimhood.

We can't wait to see what they come up with when they start planning the Staten Island Ferry memorial.

Lede of the Week: Thanks, Ti-Hua!

This past weekend, as temperatures around the region dipped into the single digits, most local news shows found it newsworthy enough to open their broadcasts with seemingly endless "Fuck It's Cold!" stories.

Between reminders to dress in layers and a low comedy bit about the Coney Island Polar Bears, Channel 4 sent veteran reporter Ti-Hua Chang to the Upper East Side to conduct some quick "chilly man on the street" interviews. And how did this Peabody and Emmy-winning journalist open his story?

"Anyone who's out on the street tonight will be wearing one of these on their heads. It's a hat!"

Give the man another award.

Diallo, the NYPD and the BLA

The New York police officer's union last week announced a letter-writing drive to keep two former members of the Black Liberation Army, now in their mid-50s, from being released on parole. Police Commissioner Kelley has endorsed the initiative, which last week presented 5000 signatures to the parole board. The targets of the campaign, Herman Bell and Anthony Bottom, were convicted in 1975 of killing two New York City police officers.

The same day the letter-writing campaign was launched, the city announced a $3 million settlement with the family of Amadou Diallo, who in 1999 was riddled with 41 police bullets. One conclusion that can be drawn from this unfortunate juxtaposition is that while some killings require life imprisonment?regardless of behavior behind bars, where Mr. Bottom has been commended for "good works" and has earned a degree?other killings are best atoned for simply by cutting a check. None of the officers involved in the Diallo shooting ever served time. Two still work for the force, and two are now with the FDNY.

And according to Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, that's just as it should be. After the settlement was announced, Lynch claimed that the officers have already endured punishment enough: "[The Diallo tragedy] was also a tragedy for those police officers who?were put in a very untenable situation and thought their lives were in danger and then went through the trial and were acquitted. It changed their lives as well."

By Lynch's logic, Herman Bell and Anthony Bottom deserve their freedom as well as our most heartfelt sympathy. Not only did they experience an "untenable situation," they've also served more than half their lives in prison?an experience no doubt as life-changing as being acquitted by a sympathetic jury.

The chances of Bell or Bottom getting parole in the face of organized police opposition are slim. But the fact remains that they have served almost 30 years on a 25-year-to-life sentence, while the cause that led them to commit their crime?armed revolution against the state?is history. If Diallo's unpunished killers can stay on the payroll of the NYPD with the full support of the city, then Herman Bell and Anthony Bottom deserve to grow old on the outside after nearly three decades behind bars.

CRIME BLOTTER Sometimes That's All It Takes.

Maybe it was the approaching full moon last week that had people on edge. Whatever the case, any little thing was setting off the mayhem. Let's take a stroll.

It seems they're still having those wild teen dance parties at the old Pseudo.com HQ. At the most recent one, which stretched into the early hours of Jan. 3, a guy saw someone dancing with his sister and went all Tony Montana. Bottles were smashed, people were bonked on the head with buckets, there was much stomping and stabbiness. In the end, five people were wounded, and one of the wounded was arrested along with the two instigators?20-year-old Johnathan Soto and 27- year-old Erihk Belis. (Those extra "h"s certainly can't help).

Only one was hurt after an early morning scuffle in the Bronx on the 4th, when two unidentified men were waiting in line at the deli. They began quietly debating who'd been on line first, when before you know it, the debate moved to the sidewalk. Out came the knife, and one of the men was stabbed three times. All of which leaves us thinking that that place must serve a damn fine cup of coffee.

It was slow traffic that set off an off-duty traffic officer in Riverdale early last Sunday. Of course, the booze didn't hurt either. A car was stalled or something, and traffic was getting backed up. The officer, Vente Durant, determined to take care of the clog, double-parked his car next to the stalled car (thus blocking traffic completely), grabbed a knife and began shrieking at the driver. He was still at it by the time the cops showed up, and is now being charged with menacing and DWI.

When the mother of a 17-year-old Cypress Hill youth, Eric Juarbe, told him no, he couldn't bring his girlfriend to the bedroom, the boy socked her in the face. Then he did it again. And when his stepfather tried to intervene, he socked him, too.

Roshawn Battle, 25, apparently figured that the parking in Crown Heights was so bad, he'd better take what he can get. Sadly for him, what he took was 68-year-old Baxter Floyd's reserved spot. It wasn't the first time either, according to neighbors. But this time Baxter, a kind-hearted soul by all accounts whose wife had recently passed away, wasn't gonna take it anymore.

He confronted Battle, and the two set to tussling. Baxter produced a gun, with which he pistol-whipped Battle before shooting at him.

Battle got away with only a graze wound to the head, but Baxter, he's in some trouble.

And as far as overused cheap excuses for criminal behavior go, our favorite was at play again this week.

Russell Bass, the PA cop who pleaded guilty to secretly videotaping an 11-year-old girl as she showered, is claiming he did it because he was so freaked out by the 9/11 business that he just had to videotape little girls in the shower.

He's looking at seven years.