I was among the last people in the New York- New Jersey megalopolis to learn of the death of the mass murderer- mastermind of the 9/11 attacks Osama Bin Laden. Last night I went through my usual Sunday night routine, catching Game of Thrones on HBO at 9:00pm and Treme at 10:00. I found myself nodding off at 11:00, and I started sawing logs soon afterwards About 4:00am I woke up and turned off the TV, still tuned to HBO.
At 7:00 AM I got up, made coffee.....I put on channel 11 where I saw anchor Laurie Dhue talking about the death of Osama Bin Laden. And my jaw dropped.
I watched the celebration at Ground Zero, and the party atmosphere in front of the White House, and the elation at West Point. This was one of the moments you remember for the rest of your life....the Boogie Man who killed 3,000 of our friends and neighbors was dead, shot through the eye like Moe Green, and sleeping with the fishes like Luca Brazzi.
Well done Navy Seals, CIA, and all who executed this operation. And well done Mr President, and to your administration, for getting it done with surgical precision.
To any clown that suggests that Democrats hate America and are soft on national defense, I have to say the only thing "soft" in such people are their brains.
In the afternoon I took a ride over to the municipal building to give East Brunswick (NJ) their check for the right to live there (aka "tax day"). Upon leaving I took a walk over to East Brunswick's 9/11 monument.
As you can see, the East Brunswick memorial consists of black twin towers. On the left the names Siew Nya Ang, Susan Blair, Paul W. Innella, and Hweider Jian are engraved. The right tower lists Alan David Kleinberg, Stuart Louis, Suzanne Passaro, and Kenneth W. VanAuken etched in the black granite.
They are the East Brunswick 8, township residents who died on that horrible day nearly 10 years ago. I knew none of them personally, but in a community like ours its easy to find people who knew them or their families. These eight, and nearly 3,000 others died in a fiery inferno that collapsed around them- if they weren't incinerated alive they were crushed by tens of tons of falling debris, squeezing the life from them. They must have died horribly. Osama Bin Laden met his demise instantly and literally never knew what hit him. It was much too quick....but at least he was gone.
And hopefully the sharks in the Arabian Sea are eating well tonight.
I snapped several pictures of the monument.....and paused for a few seconds of silence. And then I spoke to The Eight.....
As most of you must know by now, Sunday is "The Big Game".....it's not clear whether I can type the word that rhymes with "Duper Dole" without being busted for some kind of copyright infringement, and being required to write a check to the National Football League for more money than I have.
At any rate, prior to the game President Obama will be interviewed by FOX NEWS contributor and "#1 New York Times Bestselling Author"....(I thought the guys on FOx hated The Times).... Bill O'Reilly.
I won't speculate on the nature or outcome of the interview itself, but there is one thing I'd really like to see on Sunday. Hopefully the President of the United States will have a copy of O'Reillly's latest book. With any luck, the conversation will go like this.
Obama; "Bill, before you go on to your next question there is one thing I'd like to ask you."
O'Reilly;" What's that, Mr. President?".
Obama;" Well, your last book has a picture of me on the left on it's cover, and you on the right (he holds up a copy). The name of your book is Pinheads and Patriots. We're the only two people pictured on the cover. My question to you is....which one of us is 'the pinhead', and which is 'the patriot' ?".
And wouldn't 50 million people love to hear the answer to that one?
On MORNING JOE (on MSNBC) Joe, Mika, Willie and guests watched a clip of Greta Van Susteren's interview of Sarah Palin critiquing President Obama's State of the Union Address, complete with her use of the acronym "WTF" to describe areas of his speech. I'm pretty sure she knows what it means- and it's not "Winning The Future". Surely Palin probably got some yucks from the knuckleheads who think she should run for president in 2012. But what was really interesting was Palin's response to the term "Sputnik Moment", meaning that event that challenges America to get up, be more competitive, excel, and win, just like the US did after the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957 and America entered and eventually won the space race.
Hmmmm. That answer kind of reminded me of something I saw years ago. From another former pageant contestant.
Anyway....back to the original subject.
Wouldn't it have been merciful to all who still care about Sarah Palin to have Greta Van Susteren just stop Palin in the middle of her gibberish and say....."Governor Palin, you really have no idea what a 'Sputnik Moment' refers to, do you?".
But I guess the Fox News audience would have turned on Van Susteren, called her a "RINO", and demand her firing.
I guess Uncle Pat Buchanan deserves some high marks, however. At least he had the good sense as not to try to spin her words.....and the reaction from the MORNING JOE regulars was priceless.
OK boys and girls....I've been slacking off (NOT) for the past few days, and it's time to get caught up with some of the stories people are talking about, the one's that are keeping me up at night, and total fluff that maybe one or two of you have even heard of....plus a couple of personal opinions.
(1). To all parents who want to get your lazy teenage kids to remove snow from your driveway, here's a sure fire method; just buy them a car.
(2). The President's State of the Union speech last night was without a doubt a move to the center- about 90% was a message that even the Republicans couldn't rail against. How do you sit there with arms folded when Barack Obama calls for improvements to education, or new forms of energy, or a presidential veto of earmarks? His mention of a need for high speed rail and a cutting of oil subsidies met with a chilly reception for the Republicans, and a mixed review for another look at the Dream Act, as well as blank looks at the mention of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".
But for much of the speech, there was little that the Republicans could pounce on and yell "extremism", though that hasn't stopped the lunatic fringe in the media, the blogesphere, and even in Congress from doing so.
(3). As I type this on January 26, 205 Americans have been shot on this day alone. On a night when Gabrielle Giffords chair was left empty, and the family of little Christina Taylor Green were sitting in the gallery with Mrs. Obama, shouldn't the President have mentioned the need to restrict the sale of extension magazines for handguns? Even Dick Cheney has mentioned that maybe its time to re-examine the easy access to high capacity ammo clips. How much is enough?
(4). Representaitive Michele Bachmann.....oh brother! I confess, I didn't watch her personal rebuttal to the SOTU that followed Paul Ryan's official Republican rebuttal. But I can't take her seriously....not when she actually told a group that the Founding Fathers did away with slavery....and she can't say she was misquoted because, as they say in football, there is "indisputable video evidence" to the contrary.
Ms. Bachmann......go into your wallet. Take out a five dollar bill. Do you see the man with the beard? Excellent! Write down his name and GOOGLE it.
And write a 500 word essay due on Friday....then you can go back to Congress, or run for president.
Anyone for tea?
(5). I was supposed to be at the Rutgers-UCONN women's basketball game at The RAC in Piscataway at this very hour.....but the weather is not co-operating. We had four inches of snow so far today, then there's been a brief pause, and a second storm that will dump around ten additional inches is just starting. The game will not be postponed because UCONN is already in town, and so are the officials.
So anybody who's reading this can have my seat in section 104 tonight.....if you can get there. My guess- they'll be around 6,000 no shows tonight for a game that usually sells out at the 8,000 seat RAC.
(6). Jets go down in Pittsburgh. I guess the countdown to baseball season has officially begun.
(7). Speaking of COUNTDOWN......that Olbermann guy has turned into The Twitter King.
(8). You're not going to believe this.....but there's lightning and thunder outside in a winter storm in January! Nah, there's no climate change!
I just checked outside, and it's freezing rain....and it's driving.
(9). I swore I'd never watch Big Love after the disaster of a season last time around. But I'm back watching.....and I'm still wondering why.
(10). Finally....I'm getting concerned that we could lose power. So I'm outta here.
Just in case you were in a cave last night and didn't hear President Obama's speech at the memorial service in Tucson last night, here it is below in it's entirety.
The one victim of this senseless tragedy who has continue to haunt me, and millions throughout the world was nine year old Christina Taylor Green. Below are some of President Obama's remarks regarding the little girl who's short life was bookmarked on each end by tragedies, her birth being on September 11, 2001, and her passing last Saturday. (From a transcript found at cnn.com).
That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine, imagine here for a moment, a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just beginning to glimpse that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism, vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.
This was already mentioned, Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. 'I hope you help those in need,' read one. 'I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.'
If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here, on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.
May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.
The rest of the night I couldn't get this old song from The Moody Blues out of my head, "The Eyes of a Child", composed by John Lodge, and released on TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN (1969). I found this very appropriate video on YouTube.
Whatever you think of Barack Obama, he's the President of the United States and we're at war against the Taliban. I'd expect something like this from a soulless troll like Ann Coulter, but Sarah Palin is supposedly one of the leaders of the Republican Party.....and it appears a candidate from the presidency.
Click the link below for the story and see the photo from FACEBOOK that claims Barack Obama is "an illegally elected Taliban Muslim", favorited by the half term former Governor of Alaska.
So much for bi-partisanship. It lasted less than 24hours after the House was retaken by the Republicans in an old fashioned "shallacking', in the words of President Obama.
Today at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) admitted to the audience what anyone with an ounce of sense knew from Day One of the Obama presidency.........the priority of the GOP was to deny Barack Obama a second term in the White House.
Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office. But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things is to put someone in the White House who won't veto any of these things."
Do you think he was misquoted? OK, check this out....
OK, now I'm not a violent or angry person by nature......but when I saw the very smug Senator McConnell say that the priority of his party is to insure the defeat of Barack Obama while a staggering 9.6% of the population is unemployed and the economy is still in the early stages of recovery after the worst economic calamity in 80 years......my Inner Sipowicz came out.
You remember Andy Sipowicz, the tough talking cop Dennis Franz played in NYPD Blue? Andy had a way of getting people tell him what he wanted hear. And after hearing McConnell lay it out about the GOP's priority #1 was beating Obama when almost 10% of America can't pay their bills, feed their kids properly, or pay their mortgages.....leading to more foreclosures, more blighted neighborhoods, possibly to more bank defaults.....I thought maybe McConnell deserves the Sipowicz treatment.
I'm not saying smack him around (God forbid)....just scare the living crap out of him until old Mitch gives the right answer,which should be......
Priority #1 for America's leaders must be job creation. Period and end of story. What McConnell said today was politicking as usual and was a disgrace. Any words about working together with the President the previous day was a sham, or to be blunt, a lie.
But I suppose I'd better get used to it.....and give my Inner Sipowicz a rest. It doesn't take a soothsayer to read the leaves. It's going to be, to put it mildly, a very interesting couple of years.
This opinion piece is the start of a new series in which I'll attempt to state a case in support or in opposition to a topic or personality in the news. And neither The Left, The Right, nor The Center will be immune.
Sometimes a political satirist can make the point better than any long winded politician could.
On this week's Real Time on HBO, Bill Maher asked this question regarding the progressive and independent voters who cast their ballots for Barack Obama in 2008, and who vow to stay home and not participate in this November's midterm elections because of dissatisfaction with the President's performance.
I'll paraphrase what Bill asked.
"Who do you support- your disappointing friend or your sworn enemy?"
What is frightening, discouraging, and baffling to me (at the same time) is the logic some of those one time Obama supporters have for not voting in these Congressional races. Often it has to do with single issues that have not been resolved, like unemployment, funding for education, ending the wars in the Middle East, and the slow recovery from the Great Recession. Republicans and their allies in the Tea Party have an enthusiasm and are energized, and if the pundits are correct they will gain control of the House next month, and possibly the Senate as well.
And on the left there still is a sense of apathy and fatalism, and too many who are willing to let 2010 take us back to 1994 and it's aftermath- a Republican takeover of Congress, and nearly six years of investigation of the White House, plus government shutdowns, and a three ring circus involving the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
I didn't even mention the divisive and costly impeachment of a President of the United States over a matter that never should have been brought to trial, and was 100% about politics and had nothing to do about justice.
President Obama and Vice President Biden have chided The Left to "buck up" and stop whining. And many on The Left bristled and whined about being called whiners.
Please put me in the foxhole with Barack and Joe......and progressives, liberals, whatever you choose to call yourself- stop whining, goddammit!
A great analogy of what happened to this country during the Great Recession came today on Morning Joe from former "car czar" Steve Rattner about 13 minutes into this 15 minute segment.
Indeed, this country's economy did experience a "quadruple bypass" in attempt to save it from obliteration. No one likes the fact that we have unemployment at 9.6%, but imagine if there were no stimulus package to save job or there was no rescue of the auto industry- and thus saved it's hundreds of related suppliers and parts manufactures- we could be talking about unemployment in the double digits, just like the early 1930's.
This President and this administration deserves more credit than what they're getting. And this is not a sermon to convert those on the Right in a "Road to Damascus' moment; we know were you stand. I am preaching to the choir- but in every choir there is at least a couple of members who have nodded off, and need a poke in the ribs.
We have to return to being a nation that manufactures things people buy instead of manufacturing more wealth for the richest 2%. We can't allow Wall Street to dictate the fate of Main Street and return to the acceleration of exporting of American jobs overseas to support corporate America's bottomline. But in the worst case scenario for the progressive movement, this is exactly what could happen with a Republican takeover of the House and possibly the Senate.
If you're searching for a ideal candidate and perfect President, go check out the West Wing reruns on BRAVO. President Bartlett saved the nation every week in about 50 minutes for seven years....and he was a Democrat, albeit a fictional one. And maybe that's where we, in general, as a people don't "get it"; this is real life. There are no quick fixes. Recovery takes time, and there has never been a perfect man in the White House, no matter how much we want to deify our Presidents.
For instance.....
Harry S. Truman routinely referred to African Americans with the "N word". Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court with "friendly" appointees by expanding it to 12 justices. Woodrow Wilson said of the the film The Birth of a Nation in which the Ku Klux Klan were portrayed as heroes and African Americans as inferior, "It is like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true".
Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory but failed to tell Congress he was doing so. He also imposed a trade embargo during the Napoleonic War, which caused economic ruin in the young United States- New Englanders threatened to secede.
John Adams signed off on the Alien and Sedition Acts, and and dissidents were arrested and imprisoned. George Washington sent "Light Horse Harry" Lee into Western Pennsylvania to crush The Whiskey Rebellion- tax protesters two centuries before The Tea Party (Mark II)....they were an armed militia ready to take on the forces of the young republic.
And Abraham Lincoln? He suspended the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War. While civil war was fought in the South and in the East, the upper Midwest erupted in the Great Sioux Uprising. Lincoln signed off on the execution of 38 Dakota Indians for war crimes, murder, and rape. On the average each warrior had a trial that lasted five minutes. They were hanged en mass in Mankato, Minnesota.
And Barack Obama? He didn't take out his magic wand and end the recession fast enough. And then he told his onetime supporters to stop whining.
Do you remember long, long ago, when there was this hole in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, caused when an oil platform owned by BP....(wasn't it called the "Deepwater Horizon?).....burned down and which resulted in millions of barrels of crude oil spilling into the Gulf from April 22 to July 15, 2010? And do you remember the hundreds of millions of dollars lost by the tourist industry, and by the shrimpers, the fishermen, and hotels and restaurants the five state Gulf region? And how about the severe damage done to the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf, the extent of which is still not known nor will it be for years to come.
There was greed, thee was negligence, there was inaction, there was recklessness....there was BP, primarily responsible for the greatest ecological disaster in American history.
Shortly after this apology to Tony Hayward, Joe Barton was forced to to apologize for his apology by the Republican leadership. You'd think after this completely mindless display by Barton that he'd become a pariah, and forced to take a "timeout", or get to the end of the line....no way.
Joe Barton remains the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and all indications are that if the Republicans gain control of the House it's Barton who would become chairman of the committee.
That's right, the man who defended BP after the Gulf Oil spill will be chairing a committee that is responsible for overseeing oil regulations and sale, and other commerce in the United States.
And in his role as chairman of this committee, one of the things at the top of his (and the Republican's) agenda would be to repeal the Health Care Bill of 2010., the law that is derisively called "Obamacare" by the Right Wing and their minions. The repeal of the Health Care Bill is a cornerstone of the GOP's new gimmick, it's Pledge To America....and Joe Barton, will be leading the fight to undue reforms that have been needed in this country since the end of the Second World War.
We've already seen that Barton would (and does) carry water for Big Oil, and his uncompromising opposition to healthcare reform further paints a picture of man who claims to be of the people, but really isn't.
Opinion Yeah, yeah, yeah....."Those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it". And it appears that the same 59,054,087 Bush voters from 2004 are still alive, still voting.....and have the attention span of a gnat.
I've had the picture above stored on my hardrive....from London's DAILY MIRROR.....and I take a peak at it everytime I start having problems with President Obama and any of his "mis-steps". I have to take a look at the guy who set the stage for the mess the country found ourselves in, and who left it for his successor to lead us out of the abyss.
It appears that many in this nation want to take us back to The Daze of Dubya, and keep swinging it to the right. And it also looks like there are enough disenchanted independents and Democrats who will stay home and not vote in November's midterm elections, thus giving Republicans (read "Tea Baggers") the House and possibly the Senate.
And once again America would be in the hands of Republicans, guys who the man on the street would be happy having a beer with, just like Dubya.
And once again, the little guy will get stuck with the tab.It didn't work out so well the first time, did it?
Honestly, if asked if Barack Obama has been a complete success in his first two years, I'd have to say no he has not. But in saying that I'd say he was a vast improvement over his predecessor. His biggest fault, I'm sorry to say, was his wasted effort trying to establish some sort of bipartisanship with a Republican Party that tried to overtly and covertly render his presidency dead in it's infancy. He did a poor job explaining his healthcare bill to the public, and because of that the bill, which is needed to insure millions of those who have no health insurance or can't be insured because of an existing condition, is being sold as "Obamacare" and used as a weapon against Democrats in the midterms.
And sadly....but predictably....many Democrats are running from this President in droves. Probably something of not being able to pick the people you're in a fox hole with.
The so called "99'ers" are threatening to just stay home this November to punish the Democrats. That would probably insure a Republican takeover of Congress, and undoubtedly more gridlock, probably worse than ever before, at a time when we need it the least.
You can say- if you wish- the 59,054,087 people who voted for Dubya in 2004 did something that was either partisan, or else very dumb.
But there is dumb....and to paraphrase from a Grade B movie...."dumberer".
And in my eyes, the definition of "dumberer" is any reasonable person who, seeing how the far right loons and plutocrats have seized control of the once great Republican Party, does nothing to try and stop a catastrophic return to the policies that got us where we are.
My fellow progressives...real patriots get off their asses.
For weeks and months the American public has been told time and time again by Republicans that letting the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens lapse will only do additional harm to an economy that has been been struggling. In theory the richest Americans would spend the money or reinvest it in America.
But in a report appearing at Bloomberg.com there appears to be evidence that most of the money the rich save in tax cuts never channels back to the economy. Instead, as Moody's Analytics Inc has determined, the money from those tax cuts will be saved rather than spent.
Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the saving rate fell.
The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy. President Barack Obama wants to extend the cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and couples earning less than $250,000 while ending them for those who earn more.
So, when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and the rest of the Republican leadership in Congress go before the cameras and wag their fingers telling all who will listen that the extension of these tax cuts for the wealthy are necessary for economic recovery.....that may hardly the case.
More from Bloomberg
When the first Bush tax cuts were signed into law in June 2001, pushing the top rate down to 35 percent, the wealthy boosted savings. The saving rate climbed to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002 from minus 2 percent in the second quarter of 2001. The increased savings coincided with a 1.1 percent decline in the S&P 500 index.
Second Round
After the second round of Bush tax cuts in May 2003, the rich also increased their saving, with the rate climbing to 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004 from 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2003, the Moody’s data show.
The analysis found some similarities across income levels in the 2001 and 2003 data. The wealthy and the remaining 95 percent of Americans both saved more of their incomes after the Bush tax cuts. The saving rate is defined as personal savings as a percentage of after-tax income,
Some pundits were calling it a likely Republican tsunami for the Congressional midterm elections in November. Last week, a generic Gallup Poll had the Republicans leading Democrats by a whopping ten points, the largest gap in decades of polling for midterm elections.
But that was last week.....and as Lee Corso says on ESPN's College Game Day....."Not so fast, my friend". Before John Boehner can order his new Speaker's gavel the Republicans just might have a dogfight on their hands.....the latest Gallup Poll released today shows both parties are tied at 46%. Both of the Democrats and Republican faithful say that they will vote for their party (both at 93%), but as of now the GOP does lead for the Independent vote by 16 points (49 to 33%).
Twice as many Republicans are enthusiastic about voting (50 to 25%). And what should be a concern to Democrats is the lack of interest in voting in the midterms by young people, women, and African Americans, according to Gallup; those were demographics that swept Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008.
Also of note- Republicans seem to prefer a candidate who has not served in Congress, while Dems would rather have a candidate who has Congressional experience. Incidentally, neither Democrats nor Republican nor Independent voters are giving Congress a ring endorsement; only 38% of the Dems, 5% of Republicans, and 14% of Indies say that Congress is doing a good job.
Well...it is after Labor Day. Put away your white clothes, get your chimney swept and cover that above ground pool. It's unofficially fall, and it's time for America's three favorite sports; NFL Football, the World Series, and politics, politics, politics.
For more on the findings of the latest Gallup Poll, click here.
Tomorrow, Saturday August 28, Glenn Beck will lead his "Rally to Restore America", an allegedly non-partisan affair on the National Mall in Washington, DC on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. The rally is being held on the same location where Dr. King delivered that famous address.
To date Beck has been very cloudy as to just what he is restoring America from, but here's a clue. Take a look at the video below.
The first African American President of the United States will be vacationing and not in Washington when the rally takes place. But the symbolism of Glenn Beck's selection of the date and location of the rally is pretty clear. When one looks at the video above, and Beck calls Barack Obama a racist, a reasonable person can see where Beck is coming from, and what his intent is.
I just wonder what music will be played when Beck takes the podium.
I've got 5 to 1 that it's "Jesus Christ, Superstar".
I've made my position on the so called "Ground Zero" mosque clear in my past two entries; the Muslim group that wishes build a community center/mosque on the site has a constitutional right to do so.
Also....any responsible elected official must support that First Amendment right. And that for any elected official, no matter who it may be, to comment further on the propriety and wisdom of building at that site, is in itself inappropriate. It's about the separation of church and state.
And to create a wedge issue on the matter, as some are trying to do, is a slap at one of our most basic freedoms. Either you support the first amendment, or you don't.
Below, some opinions from on air personalities and guests on MSNBC.
Michael Smerconish Subbing for Chris Matthews on Hardball
One last comment regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wishy washy support for the right to build the Islamic center, just not at that site....Senator, you're a Mormon by choice. In the 1830's and 1840's members of your faith were run out of Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, and then forced to leave the United States for what was still officially Mexican territory- Mormon pioneers called their new home "Deseret", now the state of Utah.
They left to practice their religion freely.....their former neighbors believed they had that right......just not in their backyards.
Yes, Senator....you're in a tough re-election race. But since when is an election more important than defending the constitutional rights of others?
Above, members of the Westboro Baptist Church protest a soldier's funeral in Vermont, Undercoverage.net
Yesterday I published a blog entry about the building of a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, not far from where the September 11th terror attacks took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent victims. The entry took nearly eight hours to write, and it's composition took five writing sessions spread out over two days.
And I thought I had said everything I wanted to say....namely, that extreme Muslim terrorists, not Muslims, were responsible for 9/11.....and that building a mosque at the site was within the Muslim group's rights; I agreed with the position of President Barack Obama and Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
And I disagreed with the critics of those who questioned the reasons for building a mosque at the site; there is a thing called The United States Constitution that guarantees freedom of assembly, speech, and worship to all, not to a select few.
But at 4:00am this morning I woke up- it was a bad dream. I was seeing a Bizzaroland dreamscape, a New York City that didn't have a mosque two blocks from the former WTC site.
Rather, there was another religious group housed there.....The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, had opened a satellite church in New York; 8 million sinners, 8 million souls going to hell en masse.
But I'll digress for a minute....let's talk about those religious groups who could occupy the site, and have little or no objections.
No one would have a problem with Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or other Eastern Orthodox Churches at the site. Coptics? Well, they're Arabs, but they're CHRISTIANS...so they're OK.
Anglicans, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian.....heck, any mainstream Christian Church would be alright, even the ones who perform same sex marriage; this is New York, ya know.
Evangelical Christians and Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews can build at the site....
Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses? Well, there's enough doormen in NYC to slow down any door to door missionary work, at least limiting it to "normal business hours".
Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs....they're part of the mainstream.
Santeria? Well....maybe some trouble with animal rights people....but OK, they can build a church there.
Wiccans....they're "white witches", aren't they? Pantheism....like in AVATAR? Oh, what the heck, they're OK.
Scientologists? John Travolta and Tom Cruise can't be wrong, can they?
Atheists, Agnostics, and Unitarians? One group believes in nothing, another isn't sure, and the third believes in SOMETHING, but can't quite define what it is. They're harmless....let them build SOMETHING there.
Which leads us to the Westboro Baptist Church, and their pastor, Fred Phelps.....remember them? They are the ones who picket other churches, events, stadiums, funerals, and cemeteries with signs that say things like "God Hates Fags", "God Hates America", and "God Hates Israel". The WBC is not part of any Baptist conventions or associations, and claims to adhere to Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles. And to be fair, the WBC is NOT a representative of any mainstream Christian group
But- for argument's sake- what if the WBC moved into the same building that the Muslim group wants to turn into a mosque/Islamic cultural center?
I talked about these guys a few months ago. On April 14 the WBC was set to picket actress Dixie Carter's funeral, claiming Ms. Carter "...lived her life in adultery. She divorced her husband and married two other men along the way. God says that is living in adultery!".
In the view of the WBC, America is being punished for it's sins by being engaged in war in Iraq and Afghanistan, hence the protests at the funerals of military members killed in action....and they believe that 9/11 was more Divine Retribution leveled at America.
I could go chapter and verse about the Westboro Baptist Church and their hatred of Jews, Catholics, other Protestants, homosexuals, and a long, long, list of all they find sinful.....just check out some of these pictures. But the bottomline is the WBC, spewing hate and venom, could occupy the same space that Muslims want to use for a mosque, and little could be done to stop them. Their picketing (41,000 protests since 1991) could be curtailed by requiring them to have permits, but as far as having freedom of speech and assembly, and of religious expression, they are protected by the Constitution, even being as loathesome as they are.
I wonder how, in this Bizzarroland scenario, would the usual suspects react.....what would Palin, Boehner, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and the other voices with an opnion an everything, say about a far, far off the charts radical right Christian group occupying a building so close to Ground Zero, hallowed ground, and an event the WBC cheered as God's punishment?
Would those voices be as strong in repudiation as the one's we've heard in reaction to the building of a mosque? Surely there would have been fewer political ramifications.....and probably much less media coverage.
Part One-Prologue "I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.~~Colin Powell on his endorsement of Barack Obama for the presidency, October 19, 2008 on Meet The Press. The text was copied from the44diaries.wordpress.com.
Part Two- Fear The story told by General Colin Powell cuts to the chase more eloquently than I could ever imagine to. US Army Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, an American Muslim from New Jersey lies in a grave in Arlington National Cemetery. The picture above shows his grieving mother at his headstone.
Everyday we put on the news, and learn the name of yet another young American killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan. We're told they died defending freedom, and they fight so we don't have to. I'm sure Corporal Khan believed that when he entered the Army. And it's sad, and very troubling, to know that while he and others fight and die in the Middle East for this American Ideal we're told of from the day we enter kindergarten, there are some in this country who believe that some of these freedoms should not be made available to all of our citizens.
Freedom of speech, of assembly, of worship, and the separation of church and state are all guaranteed in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Yet there is an undercurrent in the United States of ant-Muslim sentiment; the proverbial "broad brush" is being used to paint Muslims the same color. It doesn't matter that the majority of Muslim Americans are good citizens, or that some, as in the case of Corporal Khan, died serving our country, killed by extremists who have perverted their religion. There is fear, there hatred, there is bigotry, and there is xenophobia.....and it threatens to undermine much of what we hold sacred in our country.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting.
In late June, in Temecula, Calif., members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a vacant lot nearby.
In Sheboygan, Wis., a few Christian ministers led a noisy fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim doctor.
At one time, neighbors who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic, parking and noise — the same reasons they might object to a church or a synagogue. But now the gloves are off.
In all of the recent conflicts, opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Koran and argue that even the most Americanized Muslim secretly wants to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law.
These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans, or to pull away the welcome mat from a faith seen as a singular threat.
“What’s different is the heat, the volume, the level of hostility,” said Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky. “It’s one thing to oppose a mosque because traffic might increase, but it’s different when you say these mosques are going to be nurturing terrorist bombers, that Islam is invading, that civilization is being undermined by Muslims.”
Feeding the resistance is a growing cottage industry of authors and bloggers — some of them former Muslims — who are invited to speak at rallies, sell their books and testify in churches. Their message is that Islam is inherently violent and incompatible with America.
Now I have a question....is this the America that our brave men and women are fighting and dying for everyday? Is it the America that Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, winner of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, of which he took an oath to serve and protect, and for which he ultimately died in battle? It is a country that he loved, but many of it's citizens, it can be implied by the examples above, did not love him back.
Part Three- Do the Right Thing; The President and The Ground Zero Mosque
On August 12, 1834, just after midnight, an anti-Catholic mob attacked the Ursuline Convent School in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and burned it to the ground as the nuns hurried the children out the back. Rev. Lyman Beecher had helped to incite the mob hours earlier, giving three anti-Catholic diatribes at three different churches in Boston. Beecher, whose children included educator Catharine and abolitionist and author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' Harriet Beecher Stowe, later expressed regret over the arson; but as is often the case, violent speech led to violent action. Those arrested for the outrage were quickly found not guilty and became heroes in Boston. After failed attempts to get the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pay for the damages, and amid threats of further violence, the nuns eventually moved to Canada, driven from the country by bigotry and hate.
The late former Speaker of The House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994) told a story in his bio Man of the House about growing up in "Old Dublin", the Irish- Catholic suburb of North Cambridge, Massachusetts. When he was a kid the adults always talked about how the Boston Yankees, all Protestants, had burned down the Ursuline Convent, a dark deed done to the newly arrived Boston Irish-Catholics. Below, his comments from Man of the House, page 8.
I heard so much about the incident that one day, while in my teens, I decided to look it up in a book. To my shock, the burning of the convent took place in the summer of 1834! But to hear people talk about it, you'd think it happened the day before yesterday.
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The scars of hatred can run deep and last for generations, as the example from Tip O'Neill's childhood illustrate; the Irish were on the bottom of the pecking order in the early 19th century. They got the dirty jobs, like building canals across the East and the Midwest, and the new arrivals were hated primarily for their Roman Catholic religion. Here, in my home state of New Jersey, the Catholic minority were subject to persecution of the majority Protestants- in 1701 Queen Anne granted freedom of religious conscience to all in the colony, "except Papists". Later in the century, New Jersey Catholics were implicated in "The Negro Plot", in which they allegedly were accomplices in a slave rebellion; persecutions and executions followed.
As you can see, bigotry and religious intolerance have been part of America since before there was a United States. Every ethnic group or members of a "different" religion has met resistance after arrival on these shores; even the Pilgrim Separatists, who tradition tells us met friendly Indians when they founded Plymouth Plantation, met resistance from the Nauset after first landing on Cape Cod. The Englishmen found small mounds after landing, which they unearthed; they were graves. The Nauset came back to greet the New Arrivals with a rain of arrows.
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 was an act of mass murder, performed by deluded fanatics bent on destroying an America that they were told was waging war on Islam. What they did was as much a perversion of Islam as what the Japanese warlords did to the code of bushido in their wars of aggression, up to and beyond their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
"(the government) shouldn't be in the business of picking (one religion over another)I think it's fair to say if somebody was going to try, on that piece of property, to build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming. And the fact of the matter is that Muslims have a right to do it, too.
After weeks of silence on the matter, President Obama addressed the subject during a Ramadan dinner at the White House on August 13. Below, highlights from his address.
"That is not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.
But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure."
In an age of politicians being politicians, and doing and saying what is popular instead of what was right, President Obama gave us a real moment of political courage in his support of the right of those who wish to build the mosque. His poll numbers are sagging, unemployment numbers are stuck at 9.5%, and the partisan attacks on him continue to grow, as well as criticism from the Democratic Party's left wing. But the President stuck his neck out on this issue....a principle greater than politics is at work here, and it transcends the bumper sticker and sound byte talking points that are fed to the American public by those who believe most of our citizens have the attention span of a potted plant.
The question asked is not if Muslims can build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, but should they.
And the government's position must be they can, and offer no opinion if they should, because it's not the government's business, nor any of the elected or appointed officials business.....period. It's about the separation of church and state, and the practice of religion in this country. If any other religious group were to try to build a house of worship on that same site, and if all permits were in order, their would not and could not be any debate. One religious group cannot be singled out fro special handling.....it's un-American.
President Obama made his statement regarding the right of Muslims to build a mosque to a nation where 57% of Republicans believe he is a closet Muslim ( and 24% say he's the Anti-Christ, and another 45% of the nation's GOP believe he was not born in the United States. Supporting the rights of Muslims to build the community center/mosque was not the politically savvy thing to do....but it took principle, and it took courage.
Mr. Obama is taking political hits for his stance; some say that it may damage his popularity further, and even drag down the Democrats in this year's midterms.
But would it be better to say and do the popular thing instead of the right thing, and retain the House and the Senate, and sully the Bill of Rights in doing so?
Part 4-The Aftermath and Beyond
After the President addressed the mosque issue, the attacks from the Republican right were swift, immediate, and relentless. Below is a sampling.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)....
The decision to build this mosque so close to Ground Zero is deeply troubling, as is the president’s decision to endorse it. The American people certainly don’t support it.
The fact that someone has the right to do something doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do. That is the essence of tolerance, peace and understanding. This is not an issue of law, whether religious freedom or local zoning. This is a basic issue of respect for a tragic moment in our history.
Sarah Palin....
Mr. President, should they or should they not build a mosque steps away from where radical Islamists killed 3000 people?
Please tell us your position.
We all know that they have the right to do it, but should they? And, no, this is not above your pay grade.
If those who wish to build this Ground Zero mosque are sincerely interested in encouraging positive "cross-cultural engagement" and dialogue to show a moderate and tolerant face of Islam, then why haven't they recognized that the decision to build a mosque at this particular location is doing just the opposite?
Republican strategist Ed Rollins....
(Obama's remarks were) probably the dumbest thing that any president has said or candidate has said since Michael Dukakis said it was okay to burn the flag. And it was very similar.(CBS News)
Sen John Cornyn (R-Tex)....
It demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America. And I think that's one of the reasons people are so frustrated (POLITICO)"
And there was frustration from members of the President's own Democratic Party, particularly House members facing stiff re-election campaigns. Here's what one congressman told POLITICO
Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX)....
"I would prefer the president be a little more of a politician and a little less of a college professor. While a defensible position, it will not play well in the parts of the country where Democrats need the most help."
The comments above can be divided into two types. There are those who criticize Obama for not making the most politically expedient thing; namely question why the Muslim group wishes to build on that particular site, and for God's sake, don't defend their rights as Americans to do so!
And the second group chastises the President for not joining them in the chorus denouncing the construction of the mosque; a private citizen should voice their opinion if they desire, but any government official at any level who does so may very well be infringing on the groups First Amendment rights.
That's not how we should be doing things in this country.
On the day of the September 11 attacks by early afternoon you could smell the faint odor of smoke here in my town, nearly 30 miles south and west of New York. We lost several of our residents in the inferno; the attackers didn't care about the age, sex, race, marital status, or religion of those they murdered....there were Christians and Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, non-believers and agnostics......and Muslims in the Twin Towers.
The smoke and the ashes brought all to a common end, and they entered eternity as one.
Most of the opponents of the mosque say that two blocks is too close to Ground Zero. My question is how far away would be far enough. Three blocks? Five? Ten? Or how about miles.....five miles, or 10, or 20?
Maybe the mosque should be moved to Route 3 in New Jersey, or possibly off of I-80 in central Pennsylvania? Does Lewisburg sound good?
The bottomline is the opponents of the mosque have no real solution that makes any sense other than "we don't want it", an emotion based on pain and possibly by fear. And maybe it's time to get beyond that, and think about other possibilities; like building an Islamic community and cultural center may be a viable bridge to understanding, and reconciliation, and possibly our better angels will prevail, and the broken and hardened hearts may heal.
Through it all, the United States is still a nation worthy of our love and our allegiance, and worth fighting to defend. A young corporal who lies in Arlington National Cemetery with the star and crescent on his grave believed that.
After seeing the reaction from the usual suspects on the right to the passage of a $26 billion bill that would save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers, police officers, and firefighters- most of the righties want them to take big(ger) pay cuts, and "curses be those damned unions"- I thought I'd examine their reasoning by searching for the answer to the question....
"Was it really that bad before unions?"
When I need answers to life's questions, I know who to turn to......
Stephen Colbert!
Here, from way back in March 2006, Stephen talked about the "good old days", before those damned Bolshevik trade unionists destroyed America.... forever!!!.
Ahem!....if America was already destroyed in 2006, how is Barack Obama destroying it now? Or was there a glorious Golden Age that lasted all of two years that came crashing down in September, 2008?
Saying that accepting New Jersey's $670 million share of the emergency $26 billion from the Feds for aiding Medicaid and preventing the layoff of several thousand teachers in the Garden State was "ill advised", Governor Chris Christie decided to take the money just the same.
Mike Drewniak, spokesman for the first term Republican governor, said the following....
"(Christie) believes that using this type of non-recurring funding for operating expenses is ill advised because it will disappear after one year."
Christie will apply for the money so that the state can distribute the money and not the federal government. But according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, the funds would reach New Jersey even without Christie's application. The law is written so the Department of Education could “bypass the state government and make awards directly to other entities within the state” if a governor doesn't wish to submit an application.
The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate last week, was was approved in a vote along party lines, 247-161. Democrats say the bill will help to save the jobs of 300,000 teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees who would otherwise be laid off due to state and local fiscal woes.
The $26 billion would be paid for by closing a tax loophole used by multinational corporation, and reducing certain foodstamp benefits.
This afternoon, President Obama signed the bill into law.
Republicans railed at the bill.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)- "Where do the bailouts end? Are we going to bail out states next year and the year after that, too? At some point we've got to say, 'Enough is enough.'"
OK, Le Grande Orange....let's say $26 billion doesn't go to the states to help 300,000 public employees keep their jobs. Remember the the Good Old Days of Ronald Reagan, and the "Trickle Down Effect"? Well, it can work both ways.
For example, here in New Jersey 10,000 teachers, cops, firefighters, librarians, sanitation workers, and others would all lose their jobs; with this bill maybe 3,900 could be retained. We would add all 10,000 to the rolls of the 9.5 million unemployed nationally, many of whom would be picking up unemployment checks from the state. Some would have college loans that have federal guarantees that would be in danger of default. Mortgages need to be paid; those laid off could default, leading to more foreclosures. And those who aren't paying a mortgage are renting, and paying off car loans, or supporting aged parents. Those 10,000 might have families; what if they had to go on foodstamps, at taxpayer expense? And those 10,000 won't be spending as much money at the local restaurants, grocery stores, or clothing shops.
And those 10,000 won't be paying local, state, and federal taxes so there would be less money going into those coffers.
Remember....it's all about trickle down.
And while these 10,000 are being laid off, class sizes will get bigger, school bus service will be contracted and less available, full day kindergarten will be half day, sports in middle and elementary schools- and even in some high schools- will be cut back or eliminated, security at schools will be privatized (at taxpayer expense), programs will be eliminated....and say "goodbye" to art and music; if you're shocked at the cultural illiteracy of many young people, it could get worse without access to creative activity.
Rudolf Flesch once wrote a book titled Why Johnny Can't Read- And what You Can Do About It. This bill may not give us any answers. But one thing is crystal clear; laying off 300,000 educators surely isn't going to help educate a nation that is falling behind the rest of the world in math and science skills, where the dropout rate in the inner cities continues to rise, and the functional illiteracy of our youth inches upward.
And Republicans say.....just let it happen.....it costs too much.
But the cost isn't the problem....that would be the price we all would pay by not acting.
