One of the most biting ironies of Sept. 11 was that the terror attacks led fearful authorities to ban visitors from the United States' most enduring icon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty. Though the pedestal and lower observation deck re-opened in 2004, the statue itself has been off-limits since the Twin Towers fell barely two miles away. Last week Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that, beginning July 4, 2009, intrepid tourists would again be welcomed into the statue and up the 168 narrow, twisting steps to the crown and its breathtaking views of New York Harbor.