WTC Memorial still needs guarding.

When you saw The New York Times' headline
:
Pataki Bars Museum From World Trade Center Memorial Site

you knew George Soros and friends at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation had lost a round in their campaign to control of a major part of the World Trade Center Memorial ground on which they want to build a "shame-on-you America" museum called The International Freedom Center.

Once past the headlines, you learned how mad Pataki's "No" had made The Times. It's story cum magnum tantrum began:

After a summer of furious and steadily rising criticism, Gov. George E. Pataki announced today that he was evicting the proposed International Freedom Center museum from its place next to the World Trade Center memorial site. With that, the center declared itself to be out of business.

"The I.F.C. cannot be located on the memorial quadrant," Mr. Pataki said in a statement issued shortly before 5 p.m. That quadrant, at the southwest corner of the trade center site, contains the footprints of the twin towers. It is regarded by many as sacred ground, too hallowed for a museum dealing with 9/11 in the context of greater geopolitics and social history.

"There remains too much opposition, too much controversy over the programming of the I.F.C.," the governor said, "and we must move forward with our first priority, the creation of an inspiring memorial." Mr. Pataki said he had instructed the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to "work with the I.F.C. to explore other locations."

But 42 minutes later, the center said in its own statement that there was no other location to explore, since the memorial quadrant was "the site for which the I.F.C. was created, at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's request, and as an integral part of Daniel Libeskind's master site plan."

"We do not believe there is a viable alternative place for the I.F.C. at the World Trade Center site," the center's executives, Tom A. Bernstein, Peter W. Kunhardt and Richard J. Tofel, said in the statement. "We consider our work, therefore, to have been brought to an end." The Freedom Center was designated for the site in June 2004.

Oh, dear! Bernstein, Kunhardt and Tofel are taking their bats and balls and construction plans and going home. They'll no longer play with us.

The NY Times doesn't blame them. In fact, it agrees with them.

Of course, that's really no surprise. In a recent editorial, didn't The Times call people who objected to Soros and friends' museum plans "un-American?"

OK, enough about them? What about the rest of us? What should we do?

First, let's all seem downcast as we say to Soros and friends, "Can we call cabs for any of you or are you all waiting for your limousines?"

Next, whatever type of vehicle we help them into, let's all remember to say something calming like: "Forget what The Times says. You're not being evicted because you never moved in. Right? Anyway, you'll always have The Hampton's and Vail."

Then slam the door.

Once they're on their way uptown, let's have a day of celebration, and then return to days of pride and watchfulness.

We should celebrate a win in circumstances where people said, "But they're so powerful, and it's just about a done deal."

We should celebrate a victory made possible by people who spoke up.

People who said, "This is hallowed ground. No one shall dishonor it."

Those people helped persuade power-figures to do what they weren't planning to do; but should have done in the first place.

And they've reminded us of how important it is to keep faith with those who left us their legacy of service and sacrifice.

So a day of celebration is in order.

Then it's back to pride and watchfulness.

A George Soros and his friends and The Times have the power they have in part because they never give up. They lost today, and they'll whine. But they'll be back.

So let's draw strength from those The WTC Memorial will honor, and watch over the shrines and freedom they entrusted to us.

Never forget.