“You say you want a revolution. Well, you know. We all want to change the world … But when you talk about destruction. Don’t you know that you can count me out.”   -Lennon/McCartney (1968)

Barbarians at the Gate

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has placed some new ‘Barbarians at the Gate’ of the financial elite; that is if you can refer to peaceful protesters as “barbarians.” As many will recall, President Obama in early 2009 in a meeting at the White House with Bankers whose institutions received TARP Funds famously stated that “My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.”  The President no longer stands between the bankers and the “pitchforks”, and perhaps I mean that metaphorically speaking because it does not  seem that the protestors have come with pitchforks or weapons of any kind.  As the Occupy Wall Street anti-greed protests spread on the eve of the Rebuild The American Dream march on Washington, DC which is scheduled for the week of October 10-16 it is important to recognize and understand it for what it is.  Our people, the conscience of a nation is speaking to us in a rather uncomfortable way, reminding us that in this system we live in and under, we are all connected in some way.

The painful growing inequality in America is more than a transactional externality that can be ignored, dismissed or otherwise managed safely.   This is true whether you stand in support of these movements or think that these folks are seriously misguided and their mission unclear or disingenuous. The simple reality is that it is happening. You cannot ignore that. We simply just can’t lock everyone up and think that things will be ok. Capische?

One need be careful in misinterpreting the undercurrent in this wave formation before another false narrative develops. Whether you believe that the protestors are misguided, clueless, or even silly as does Nicholas Kristof (see: The Bankers and the Revolutionaries by Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times) because they have a less than clear or perfect understanding of how our capitalist system operates and who or what are to blame does not really matter. For I am sure that at these demonstrations you can find those who literally don’t have a clue about what truly got America into this mess and the solutions necessary for us to climb out of it. But why should that surprise anyone?

America: The Age of Disenlightement

We have created a culture of distraction feeding our citizens a steady diet of misinformation to baffle, confuse, fill and otherwise pollute the heads of our befuddled masses. Our media assists in creating false narratives, pseudo news and Reality TV programming. As a result our citizens are so drugged up on bad art and culture that as consuming automatons wide swaths cannot distinguish between a Chocolate Soufflé and manure. Many of our citizens are thus cajoled into voting against their own best interests and more importantly, the interests of our nation because they literally have no comprehension of what is truly happening here in America or around the world.

In a piece on the Daily Beast discussing Obama’s strategy to go after some traditionally Republican states in 2012, the GOP Strategy for 2012 (as summed up by the Daily Beast) is as follows: “Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the hope of capitalizing on Obama’s low support among lower-income, less-educated white voters.”

Does this not tell you all you need to know about the cynicism and the disingenuous posture of our political leaders? The people are seen as prey. If our elections have devolved into feeding red meat to the stupid unenlightened masses, that itself will be what brings about the end of our nation. And those dark forces that foster an un-enlightenment movement should be exposed in broad daylight by more than Lawrence O’Donnell and Jon Stewart. Is not our greatest challenge then in lifting all boats to make sure that all of us have the actual ability to drive the boat or at least have a basic understanding of how it is being driven? If we continue to allow for wide swaths of this country to decay structurally and intellectually, especially in places like Appalachia, we will reap what we sow. And whether you are a Democrat (Progressive or Centrist) or Republican (Right Wing or Moderate) you should keep that in mind. Our system is frayed and corrupted and those that protect the corrupt will perish peacefully or they will die in pain in the street. Pick your poison. Or stated more eloquently  by President John F. Kennedy in a speech at the White House in 1962: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. “

Zeitgeist Turning

The Zeitgeist may be turning. What is happening on Wall Street is an awakening that will have profound ramifications not just for the ruling classes but the future of America. It is grassroots.  It is Liberty. It is not Anarchy. It is Democracy in Action much in the same way that Ron Paul’s Revolution of ideas is.

As I heard one anonymous commentator state: “Real revolutions are always sad things. In the beginning the aristocrats laugh and the police arrest as many as they can. In the end the aristocrats lose their property and their heads? and the police become the hunted.”

Sure as the famed street remains the symbol of American power and American Greed, truth told the institution we know as Wall Street has been dispersed from downtown to midtown to Hedge Fund Row in Greenwich, Connecticut to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Denver, Colorado.  Wall Street or the idea of it still represents many things to many people, but in the post 9/11 world, it is also an increasingly residential community. Nevertheless the symbolism of those marching in Lower Manhattan and occupying Wall Street can not and should not be lost on anyone. The opportunity lays in rebuilding the foundation of American commerce, not in destroying it. Let the dialogue begin. To read Part II, click here.

HELPFUL LINKS

Occupy Wall Street Movement

-Occupy Wall Street
-Occupy Together
-Occupy Youtoube: Anonymous documents what the media blacks out.
-AnonOps Communicati0ns
-Anonymous Occupy Youtoube blog
-Global Revolution
-Adbusters
-OWS on Facebook
-OWS Livestream
-WaVe Movement (Facebook Page)
-Think Progress: The 99 Percent Movement
-Fair News & Opinion Portals: Truthout, Truthdig, Common Dreams, Think Progress, Mother Jones, The Nation, Media Watch, Media Matters, Countdown with Keith Olberman, The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur
-Paul Krugman: Panic of the Plutocrats, Fear the Oligarchs, not the Protesters, The Social Contract
-Cenk Uygur: “Washington is infested”
-Glenn Greenwald, “With Liberty & Justice for Some”

Key Editorial Perspective
-CBS News Coverage
-Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winning Economist with the NY Times
-Naomi Klein:  ”This is not the time  to be looking for ways to dismiss a nascent movement against the power of capital, but to do the opposite: find ways to embrace it, support it and help it grow into its enormous potential. With so much at stake, cynicism is a luxury we simply cannot afford.” read more about what the author of “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” had to say at Moveon.org, Rachel Maddow Show and on Huffington Post
-NY Times, Protesters Against Wall Street: “It is not the job of the protesters to draft legislation. That’s the job of the nation’s leaders, and if they had been doing it all along there might not be a need for these marches and rallies. Because they have not, the public airing of grievances is a legitimate and important end in itself. It is also the first line of defense against a return to the Wall Street ways that plunged the nation into an economic crisis from which it has yet to emerge.”
-‘A New Shift in Power’: Documentary entitled “Nobody Can Predict the Moment of Revolution”Offers an Intimate Look at Occupy Wall Street
-Elizabeth Warren: “The People on Wall Street Broke this Country”: Elizabeth Warren is a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She is running for the U.S. Senate against Scott Brown. See also the Brad Blog for Elizabeth Warren’s commentary on ‘Debt Crisis’ & ‘Class Warfare’ and Vanity Fair: The Woman Who Knew Too Much.
-Chris Hedges, Truthdig: Why the Elites Are in Trouble / Truthout: Why the Elites are in Trouble
-Truthout News Analysis (Dean Baker): When Being Rich Makes Us Poor, People Should Occupy Wall Street
-New York Observer: Jesse LaGreca Continues to Destroy Media Bias of Occupy Wall Street on ABC’s This Week.
-Firedoglake, Kevin Gosztola: Why Establishment Media & Power Elite Loathe Occupy Wall Street
-Raw Story (Kate Wickman): WATCH: ‘I Am Not Moving’ compares Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street
-The Guardian, Occupy Wall Street: if banks are too big to fail, are people too small to matter?

Rebuild America: The Solution? Or one of them?

-Building America’s Future
-Our Future
-Rebuild the American Dream
-RAI
-Fareed’s Take: Obama should declare a jobs emergency
-Van Jones on Rebuilding the American Dream (see also: Van Jones)

Inequality in America: Basis for Revolt

-Inequality.org: The Program on Inequality and the Common Good focuses on the dangers that growing inequality pose for U.S. democracy, economic health and civic life. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies and based in Boston, MA
-The United States of Inequality
-Who Rules America?
-Vanity Fair by Joseph E. Stiglitz: Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%
-The Economist: The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them
-PBS, In Perspective: Tricia Rose on America’s growing inequality
-Robert Reich: Growing Inequality Is The Central Problem Of Our Age
-The Nation magazine:  Inequality in America
-The Nation Magazine by Robert Reich: Unjust Spoils
-Mother Jones: It’s the Inequality, Stupid

The American  System

-Nouriel Roubini: Marx was right about self-destruction of capitalism
-Vice Chairman of China’s CIC Says It’s Become Harder to Defend the U.S. Model
-Inside Job (trailer)
-Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (trailer)

The Danger

-The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (book) by Naomi Wolf
-The End of America (Trailer)
-“The End of America” Full Length HQ Film
-Bloomberg: Jobs crisis could spark riots here
-Kent State Massacre (Video): Could this happen in NYC? Will history repeat itself?

The Uprising

-Occupy Wall Street
-Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan: must-see site of the demonstrations
-In Protest the Power of Place (NY Times): As stated by Joe Mercurio on Facebook: “Just for background. Zuccotti Park, ironically formerly called Liberty Plaza Park was equally ironically renamed after John Zuccotti (Weil Gotshal & Manges) who was a deputy mayor under a Republican mayor of New York and company chairman of the owners Brookfield Office Properties on whose board the girlfriend of the current Republican mayor serves.”
-Global mass protests 15th October 2011
-Chris Hedges: [The Criminal Class that has seized power is scared but the]  Occupy Wall Street is ‘where the hope of America lies’
-My Great Depression (video)
-Nader, Ron Paul, Kucinich Speak to Occupy Wall Street
-The Huffington Post – Occupy Wall Street: NYPD Arrests 700 Protesters On Brooklyn Bridge
-The Guardian: Occupy Wall Street rediscovers the radical imagination: The young people protesting in Wall Street and beyond reject this vain economic order. They have come to reclaim the future
-Truthout: Wall Street Occupation Live Stream
-Occupy Wall St, SlutWalk, Hot Chicks, Van Jones by Zennie Abraham
-RT: Open-ended Wall Street occupation
-NPR by Joel Rose:  Wall Street Protests Stretch On, Reasons Vary
-Gothamist: Anonymous’s Occupation Of Wall Street
-UPI: Wall Street protesters morale ‘high’
-Michael Moore: The media ignores Wall Street occupation
-The Guardian, Occupy Wall Street: inquiries launched as new pepper-spray video emerges: NYPD officer Anthony Bologna faces two investigations as video emerges of a second pepper-spray incident
-NY Daily News: Pepper-spray videos spark furor as NYPD launches probe of Wall Street protest incidents
-Salon: Jon Stewart on the Wall Street pepper-spray attack
-Occupy Wall Street: ‘Pepper-spray’ officer named in Bush protest claim
-The Huffington Post: Anthony Bologna, NYPD Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Protester, Had Role In 2004 Incidents
-JP Morgan gave NYPD $4.6 million to strengthen security
-Truthout: Got Class Warfare? Occupy Wall Street Now!
-Greg Palast | Uber-Vultures: The Billionaires Who Would Pick Our President
-Trumka: AFL-CIO Will Support Occupy Wall St. Protest ‘In Every Way’ It Can

POLICE ACTION vs. OCCUPY WALL STREET: Evidence of Police Brutality: Premeditated and Orchestrated Assaults on Peaceful Protesters

-MSNBC on NYPD: Police Brutality during Occupy Wall Street Lawrence O’Donnell with “The Last Word”
-Keith Olbermann: “Police brutality” at Occupy Wall Street
-Shameful Police Action & Brutality at Occupy Wall Street
-BRAVE Occupy Wall Street Protester Speaks Out
-NYPD Violently Elbow Peaceful Female OccupyWallStreet Protestor Knocking Her To The Ground
-NYPD Caught On Camera Punching OccupyWallStreet Protestor In The Face
-NYPD officers give peaceful protester a concussion during OCCUPY WALL STREET
-Cops turn Violent: NYPD drag girl across the street at OccupyWallStreet
-Anonymous WARNING to NYPD
-Police Brutality? Like 100 NYPD Cops Slam Some 100 Year-Old Asian Man To The Concrete And Arrest
-Occupy Wall Street Brutality
-“I CAN’T BREATHE!” – Police Shoving at 10:30AM at Liberty Plaza Occupy Wall Street
-Police Arrest Protester for Drawing with Sidewalk Chalk @ Occupy Wall Street 9/19/11
-‘Occupy Wall Street’ – Young man brutally knocked down and arrested for talking to an officer
-NYC Citibank Occupation Arrests Customers for Closing their accounts.

SILENCING THE TRUTH

-THE SILENCING OF BANK WHISTLEBLOWERS:  Occupy Wall Street Sept 17: Protester speaks out
-Florida Congressman Alan Grayson on Occupy Wall Street
-Florida congressman Alan Grayson laughs in Ben Bernanke’s face
-Eliot Spitzer on Occupy Wall Street and fraudulent banking activities (on Olbermann’s show)
-OccupyWallStreet talks to Fox News & Crushes Them
-CNN Wants This Video Banned SEE WHY
-Nader, Ron Paul, Kucinich Speak to Occupy Wall Street – Original

Freedom to Fascism

-OccupyWallStreet George Carlin - Spreading The Truth!
-Charlie Chaplin
The Whole World Is Watching – Charlie Chaplin on Occupy Wall Street: Let Us All Unite!
Charlie Chaplin Speech – Occupy Wall Street! (Inception Soundtrack); see also United We Rise
-Aaron Russo: See Aaron Russo Memorial and Freedom to Fascism (Aaron’s last film)
-Anonymous Group: “We are Anonymous.  We are Legion.  We do not forgive.  We do not forget.  Expect us.” Yale Law refers to the group as an ‘Internet Subculture’. See: AnonNews.org, Why We Protest, AnonOps Communicati0ns
-Anonymous Educational Series: Freedom to Fascism (part 1)
-Anonymous Educational Series: Freedom to Fascism (part 2)
-Anonymous: Message to Ron Paul

According to Reuters – “Joseph Brooks, the Oscar-winning composer of the hit “You Light Up My Life” and who was awaiting trial on rape charges, was found dead in his New York apartment on Sunday having apparently killed himself, police said.”

The Academy Award winning composer, a suspected serial pervert, rapist and all around predator did the taxpayers of New York a great service.  Joseph Brooks, the monster of the Upper East Side, was an abomination to man kind –for writing the songs “You Light Up My Life” and “If I ever See You Again” and producing the films of the same name; both of which if examined closely resemble stalkers anthems, especially the latter which truly belongs in the stalkers hall of fame.  In My Life –a Broadway musical, however, Flopped on Broadway.  Brooks literally unlit the lives, hopes and dreams of so many aspiring young artists to feed his demented desires so you will forgive me if I am less than saddened by whatever pain he may have been in prior to killing himself and only wish that his demise had come sooner.

By turning off the lights on his less than noble existence and closing the curtain on this horror show before being convicted and sentenced to years behind bars, which the taxpayers of this state would in effect have to fund, and having his estate or what remains of it left completely bankrupt,  Brooks did the one decent thing he could do.  Brooks committed suicide and spared society the cost of maintenace for keeping yet another monster alive spending what likely would have been the remainder of his days behind bars. In addition, on a weekend where the world did not come to an end, the rapture not yet begun, it seems that a societal colonic of sorts has begun with some of its toxins being flushed into the great beyond.

Notably, Brooks is survived by his son, the accused “Soho Strangler”, Nicholas Brooks who is facing conviction for the murder of his former girlfriend, the promising young designer Sylvie Cachay at Soho House. This dynamic duo from the Upper East Side has literally reaked more havoc than any father/son team in recent memory.  Hey Nick, any interest in following in your father’s footsteps? If not, the positive is at least you will have some cigarette money in the joint now. And that may come in handy to keep folks from literally climbing all over your back, catch my drift?   If I [Never] see  you or your father again, it won’t be too soon.

NEWS ALERT: Police called to Central Park when a Crime in Progress was spotted by a local citizen. Entering the park, the Police witnessed a smoker, called a SWAT Team and had the smoker stand down and drop his cigarette. The woman screaming on the other side of the park while being mugged was left unattended. The suspect was wearing a Brooks Brothers suit, had just left a benefit at The Guggenheim Museum, had a couple of Martini’s and simply said he “felt the need to light up before calling it an evening.”  The young philanthropist, an associate at a major midtown law firm, is expected to plead guilty due to the overwhelming evidence (stench) of nicotine and a video of him captured by a vigilant citizen showing clearly that it was him smoking. He is  being held at the 61st Precinct awaiting arraignment and sentencing. Fox News  reporter Giovanna Drpic attempted to interview the stylish and forthright Charvet wearing, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly who offered only: “we believe the suspect to be a Marlboro Man but the cigarette in question appeared to be a female cigarette, a Virginia Slims to be exact, likely bummed from an accomplice at the Guggenheim Gala. The investigation is ongoing.”

Editor’s Note:  I am a non-smoker yet I have concerns with the breadth of this ban, given that cigarettes are not illegal.

Reuters reported yesterday that: “New York City on Wednesday moved a step closer to ban smoking in parks, beaches and other outdoor public spaces, amid grumbling that the city government may have gone too far in its war on salt, fat and smoke. The city council voted 36 to 12 in favor of the smoking restrictions, extending an existing ban on smoking in restaurants and bars.”

Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been committed to ridding the city of second hand smoke virtually since his elevation to the mayoralty from his perch atop Bloomberg LP.  In 2002, on the heals of the tragedy of 9/11 that destroyed the Twin Towers, the local economy and the lives of countless Americans and their families, Mike Bloomberg signed the Smoke Free Air Act of 2002, which banned smoking in indoor workplaces.  Not surprisingly, critics of the legislation included the local entrepreneurs and patrons in the restaurant, tavern and nightlife industries, or those hardest hit by this legislation in a crippled post 9/11 economy. Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s campaign did not end there. In 2010 Bloomberg, and the leadership of the NY City Council called for a ban smoking in New York City in public places, parks and beaches. The move was backed by the American Cancer Society.

The NYC Smoking Ban was met with shock and anger in many quarters of the city and beyond.  One might understand and suspect that  the New York City Nightlife Association and the Empire State Restaurant & Taverns Association and their respective membership may have become concerned if not consumed with how the livelihoods of their membership has been derailed more by the second hand smoke emanating from the Health Police at City Hall.

Critics including civil libertarians and other ‘fringe radicals’ (i.e., citizens) questioned the wisdom of sweeping totalitarianism of City Hall and the NY City Council. The administration’s unusual focus on nanny issues while a large percentage of the local population remains out of work or underemployed in a stagnant economy; one where local entrepreneurs and businesses struggle to remain afloat and barely turn a profit, is somewhat mind boggling. It is a veritable illusion of governance. Then I thought to myself what if the Mayor and exalted members of the New York City Council were to hold a straight forward and honest press conference(s)  or otherwise level with the citizens of the metropolis with earnest statements. Might it go something like this:

In a press conference at City Hall today celebrating passage of his PPC Initiative ( Progressive Programs for Citizens who can’t think or do for themselves),  the  mayor derided his critics for not looking at the ‘totality’ of his totalitarian tactics.  Bloomberg stated further, that in terms of his critics:  “they will live longer and being out of work they will  thus have more time to espouse their utterly irrelevant and inconsequential dissent.”  Besides which he continued, “anyone unemployed should not be spending $11 for a pack of cigarettes.”  As reporter Azi Paybarah of the WNYC Public Radio raised his hand to ask Mayor Bloomberg a follow up question about Bloomberg Beach, the Mayor said “you’re a disgrace .”

The Mayor, however, does have his supporters. Standing outside Gray’s Papaya (not Papaya King) on the Upper West Side, I recognized a homeless banker who used to workout at Equinox. Asked what he thought about all the recent legislation, he stated:

You know, on a cold winter day it is truly refreshing that I can enjoy the “Recession Special” without having to inhale the second hand smoke from the homeless guy standing next to me;  although we have been pals since our days together at Bear Stearns and then later when he was the lawyer who documented some of my transactions, before his law firm folded.  Now we are roommates in  a box over on Tenth Avenue.  The absence of second hand smoke makes me feel like when I bite into a York Peppermint Pattie, I get the sensation of sitting on a mountain top with cool breeze running down my spine.

The homeless banker acknowledged that the first time he felt that cool breeze, it was actually more a tingling sensation when he woke to being tasered after falling asleep on a bench in Central Park one night when he could not find his way back to his box.

We then had a brief discussion which resulted in our agreement that it was good to see that the Mayor and City Council have really kept their eye on the ball focusing first and foremost on issues most critical to New Yorkers, my homeless friend offered an interesting anecdote:

The Mayor is a good guy.  Bloomberg drove up in his SUV one day, the window opened, he asked me if that was a trans fat free hot dog I was about to eat. I said yes. He smiled and then offered me  some Grey Poupon for my remaining “Recession Special” hot dog. You know something? I never had a hot dog that tasted that good.  Gray’s Papaya only has  Gulden’s Mustard. The Mayor deserves a fourth term.

Critics of NYC Smoking ban who have been vocal caught the attention of  NY City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In an effort to quell the growing civil unrest over the pending legislation and other PPC Initiatives, Ms. Quinn issued the following statement:

In these times, passionate dissent among the citizenry can lead to heated rhetoric that results in motivating others to challenge existing authority and thus undermining our ability to govern the people, maintain order and continuity pursuant to the mandates manufactured by we the duly elected representatives of the people. Given the riots in the streets of Egypt, the recent shooting in Tucson and Sarah Palin’s big mouth, the City Council believes it is imperative that we take up the measure to ban contentious and uncivil discourse, in public and private spaces. Mayor Bloomberg has agreed to sign any such legislation passed by this body.

In subservience,

the Emperor’s duly own owned subjects in the New York City Council.

The Mayor,  addressing the declining tax revenue from all the restaurants and taverns closing due to a lack of patrons who actually have money in their pockets to spend, issued the following statement:

The City Council’s continuing capitulation (support) has been critical not just to my third term and keeping alive the illusion of my own Presidential aspirations but given me the opportunity to foster the illusion of governance on issues of import to New Yorkers. The ban on smoking, trans fats and the ban on uncivil discourse, do not, however, go far enough. As smoking as declined among New Yorkers so has the tax revenue on cigarettes, so we must consider alternative sources of revenue to fund the PPC Initiative . Under consideration is an Oxygen Tax. The Oxygen Tax will attach a levy to anyone over 200 pounds. Those over 200 pounds or in general ‘fat people’ who consume more than is necessary to sustain themselves and who have not followed the ban on trans fats are not paying their fair share of taxes. We should not be penalizing the skinny people, vegetarians and vegans who consume less air while rewarding the consumers of trans fats, meat eaters, and others who have a larger carbon footprint, consume more air and let loose more gaseous emissions into the atmosphere.  Fact is upon leaving Smith & Wollensky or Club Macanudo, men have been known to fart, sometimes rather prolifically. We as a society bear the brunt of these noxious fumes. Taxing farts is a societal imperative.”

CONCLUSION

I am a non-smoker who has also steadily reduced my consumption of alcohol and unhealthy foods, but did so of my own free will and volition and under the guidance of Dr. Fred Vagnini, listening to folks at Health Corps and some lessons absorbed from Dr. Mehmet Oz.  As a native New Yorker who personally benefits from the Mayor’s health based initiatives, specifically a smoke free environment,  I nevertheless  found myself wondering about life  in Bloomberg’s Urban Utopia or Animal Farm of stressed out underemployed and unemployed citizens regularly fed NYC Media’s NYC Life cable programming. This programming professes to “bring New Yorkers interesting, entertaining and educational content that embraces the energy and diversity of the City that never sleeps” –from our resident leader and Citizen Kane (who already owns Bloomberg TV) and his minions, rather than the views of a diversity of citizens or diversity of media who may offer a diversity of perspective; the operative phrase being diversity.  Included in this definition is not the governing elite controlling the levers of media.  In the end of this Orwellian fantasy or nightmare, depending on your perspective,  I simply wonder whether will it be the Mayor or actually some of our engaged citizens uttering our own versions of ‘Rosebud’ as we reminisce of a time before; before we closed our eyes and choked on the smoke.

The Associated Press reported today that Donald Trump, having reached an agreement with the union that represents the Tavern’s former employees is now seeking a deal with New York City to reopen Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

Tavern on the Green was more than simply a restaurant­. It is a truly historical property. A restoration to its original grandeur is important, in my estimation, to the cultural vibrancy of New York City and Central Park itself.  The venue had attained mythical and iconic status before the shuttering of its doors broke many hearts in this city.  There is no better man not just to simply restore Tavern on the Green to its original grandeur but perhaps even elevate its prominence and iconic status into the stratosphere. Tavern on the Green, under Trump’s leadership, will undoubtedly become the place to go again.

If you are looking for evidence, one only need take a look at  Trump Wollman Rink today to recognize that the man is a visionary business man who is able to find profit making opportunities where others often do not.  Trump is  simply a man who gets things done and is especially civic minded when it comes to understanding what is essential to maintaining and elevating the character and vibrancy of New York City. Trump is a billionaire who has never lost touch with that which concerns the average working man nor the humble roots of and work ethic instilled by his father Fred Trump. You see the commitment, discipline and fierce determination instilled in him by his father, passed down by Donald Trump to his children. You may envy their lives or their lifestyles but his offspring have also worked hard to pave their own way.

Donald Trump is a controversial figure who certainly has his  detractors; many of whom perhaps resent that he does get his fair share of media attention, not all of it flattering. But those quick to marginalize him, his accomplishments and his import to New York City are truly,  in my estimation, clueless.  As a New Yorker you have to respect the man, his entrepreneurial skills and what he means to this metropolis­. Trump is good for business. Trump is good for New York. As far as I am concerned you can rename it Trump on the Green. (Update: thank you Curbed for running with my title, a day later)

EPILOGUE: There is an unspoken wrinkle to this story which the media has not focused on and that is simply that Trump projects get done because the man, although he is a capitalist, does not expend a tremendous amount of energy demonizing the American worker or attempting to paint organized workers or their leadership as criminal. He bargains in good faith with all the leverage he can bring to bear.  There will always be tension between labor and capital in America, as there ought to be, as each fights for a better deal for themselves. Trump understands the issues and that “Unions fight for pay; managers fight for less; consumers win.” In this new age, as we begin to move forward to compete in a more competitive global economy, my hope is that we advance our society through productive discussions and negotiations that empower both capitalists as well as the worker.  That is the only way we will ever increase and sustain productivity.

My comment (or the full crux of it which had to be edited/shortened) on the story on the New York Daily News online:

I, like many New Yorkers voted for Mayor Mike Bloomberg three times based largely upon his perceived ability to build on the Giuliani legacy. His administrative expertise and much vaunted managerial skills (as CEO & Founder of Bloomberg LP), backed up by the most talented and capable people with public and private sector experience, would allow City Hall to run the metropolis with the smooth efficiency of  a well oiled machine, or at least this is what we hoped.   On paper this may have been one of the most skilled administrative teams ever assembled and given the opportunity to run City Hall and manage the city.  So then what gives?

The snowstorm on Christmas weekend was hardly a surprise and not without warning. So the central issue here is who among the mayor’s staff of deputies or quasi deputy mayor’s was actually still in town or even assigned to be in town? Did the Mayor in effect dial it in with all key deputies outside the metropolis on Christmas, including the Mayor himself who will not reveal his whereabouts, although most suspect he was at his retreat in Bermuda. All the while Stephen Goldsmith was in Washington and Howard Wolfson was vacationing in London and Bloomberg’s main deputy Patricia Harris was also out of town.   In a post 9/11 world, on Christmas weekend with a crippling snowstorm headed towards the metropolis, it is simply beyond unacceptable and perhaps literally criminal for New York not to have a leader or his assigned deputy in town. And with all due respect to political operative and deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson’s spin, it does matter who was here and who was not.  If it turns out that nobody was in town designated to be in charge and accountable at City Hall on the eve of this snow storm, it may end up being more than Bloomberg’s Waterloo.  Whether or not anyone was on hand to label this a snow emergency or if it was a result of a conscious choice to save money as a result of the looming budget crisis and a prayer that we could avoid catastrophe is something we ought to know before this storm gets used to undermine an undermanned work force to break a union. Because an administration which was derelict in its own duties and  responsibilities may hardly have the standing to hold accountable those they mismanaged. The rest of the New York press should be following the lead of the New York Times and Daily News with a similar vigilance on this issue and lead an inquiry.

I am willing to give the Mayor a pass on many issues, but New Yorkers have a right to know whether they have a leader who is both local and accessible on weekends. Whether or not this ends up being Bloomberg’s Waterloo or his handling even defensible is beyond the point, what lesson will be learned here for citizens of the metropolis in terms of what they have a right to expect, is the bigger question. If not, maybe the next Mayor ought to be someone who sometimes is not to inconvenienced to spend some time with his or her family in or around the metropolis or even vacationing around the state, in say the Finger Lakes regions, the Adirondacks, the Catskills, say even scenic Town of Warwick in Orange County,  the Hamptons or perhaps like Rudy Giuliani, enjoying a cigar at Club Macanudo. Maybe there ought to be a few more born and raised New Yorkers who’s families are local, rather than transient political operatives and interim Manhattan transplants,  in the upper levels of management at City Hall so that there is a greater likelihood that a few folks are truly just a Bridge & Tunnel away during the holidays.  Say what you will but this never would have happened on Giuliani’s watch of the city.

EPILOGUE & REFERENCE LINKS (Updated): The pieces referenced and linked below by major media outlets on the brewing scandal over the Bloomberg administration’s handling of the 2010 snow storm continue to come in since the writing of this blog.

-NY Post by Fred Siegel & Sol Stern: Bloomy’s bubble burst
-Forbes by Jeff Bercovici: Bloomberg Explains Company-Foundation Crossover, Sort of
-NY Times (City Room): Mayor Wasn’t Told About Storm Response Goldsmith Says.
-Wall Street Journal: Bloomberg’s reputation takes a hit.
-NBC New York: Snow Response Puts Mayor’s Vacation Policy Back in Spotlight:NYT report confirms Air Bloomberg was spotted in Bermuda on eve of blizzard
-NY Times (City Room): Blizzard Mystery Solved? Air Bloomberg Was Seen in Bermuda
-Village Voice: Bloomberg Spent the Blizzard in Bermuda
-NY Daily News: If the Bloomberg administration won’t name names in the blizzard foulup, then we will
-NY Daily News: City Hall refuses to say who was in charge over blizzard weekend, Bloomberg or deputy
-Queens Chronicle (Anne Marie Costella): A blizzard of debate follows snowstorm
-NY Daily News: Sanitationmen tell their side of Christmas Blizzard – 15-hour shifts, faulty equipment, politics
-Reuters: Federal investigation underway on NY snow cleanup
-NY Post (Michael Goodwin): Emperor Mike’s Snow Blindness
-NY Daily News (Chris McKnickle): For Mike Bloomberg, the third-term funk is here: Like Koch, Wagner and LaGuardia, he’s losing focus
-NY Daily News (Erin Einhorn): Mayor Bloomberg Starts 2011 with a prayer and a vow to do better
-The Huffington Post (Dan Collins): Bloomberg’s Third Term Funk
-NY Post (David Seifman): Schedules Reveal Tale Of Two Mayors
-A Voice in the Wilderness: Mayor Bloomberg’s Snow Troubles
-News Real Blog: Mayor Bloomberg’s Snow Job
-NY Daily News (Juan Gonzalez): Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and his flaky ideas doom New York during storm
-NY Daily News (Michael Daly): Clueless Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith deserves blame for fiasco following blizzard
- NY Daily News (Michael Daly): Blizzard baby’s funeral highlights Bloomberg’s failure to effectively manage city during snowstorm
-Frugal Cafe Blog Zone: NYC Blizzard Chaos, Death, & Tragedy: Newborn Baby Dies, Subway Still Stopped, Buses Trapped, Mayor Bloomberg Criticized for Slow Snow Removal (video)
-Ben Smith, Politico: Who to Blame in New York
-The Washington Post (Rachel Weiner):  Sarcastic Michael Bloomberg: ‘I regret everything in the world’
-Capital New York: A Lindsay Moment for Bloomberg but not a Lindsay Legacy
-American Thinker (Pamela Geller): Mayor Bloomberg: An Abject Failure.
-NY Daily News (Mike Lupica): Mayor Bloomberg, intoxicated by power, rides coattails of New York City’s iconic greatness

Mayor Mike Bloomberg, in denying Presidential aspirations and having said no to a Presidential run in 2012 despite  the rumblings in the press to the contrary, and the widespread belief that he is right about the need to build America’s future, has gone on record that he wants to be remembered as ‘the greatest Mayor ever’ in the history of New York City, even despite the questionable wisdom of making such a statement.  The sheer confidence of Boss Bloomberg at the helm is as reassuring to the vast majority of New Yorkers as it is troubling to his detractors.  His record during a time of extraordinary upheaval and structural change in the history of the metropolis has been exemplary on many levels, and a mixed bag on others. On those occasions, despite voting for the Mayor three times, I have taken the opportunity to critique the Mayor on issues where I disagree with him.  One need only consider the symbolism of preemptively dismissing the idea of rebuilding of the iconic Twin Towers while exhibiting tremendous chutzpah in the fight for a west side sports stadium and then without hesitance using every ounce of his political will in his voracious over the top support of  Ground Zero Mosque; for a majority of New Yorkers this was all quite troubling.  Initially I thought  the symbolism was lost on him, but it has come to light that his judgment in assisting the establishment of one religion vs. another may have been influenced or clouded by self interest.

One might wish to consider 1970’s New York City during the administration of Mayor Abraham (”Abe”) Beame who came into office after the tumultuous years and in some quarters the perceived failures despite once great promise of the Lindsay administration and the liberal policies which left Beame with a fiscal crisis which consumed his tenure in office, a time period under which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy, after being flipped off by then President Ford. Beame was a competent administrator, but not a visionary, who finally left with a surplus to incoming Mayor Ed Koch. It is important to consider this period of  time in New York history, a place once referred to as ungovernable (see: Vincent J. Cannato. The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York ),  as a lens with which to evaluate the Bloomberg Administration. On many indices and evaluative data, including the most important one, the appearance of being a model of managerial competence and efficiency, Bloomberg can make a strong case.   His vision has in many respects been bigger and bolder on a number of key fronts in advancing the interests of New York City, than a number of his politician predecessors who prior to Rudy Giuliani seemed rather consumed with simple administration, oversight and/or maintenance of the metropolis in its pre-existing state or composition. Even critics not inclined to give the Mayor an inch, however, were they to view the state of the city through the lens of the times, might have to concede that New York would not be where it is today absent the Bloomberg Administration building, at least in part, on the legacy of the Prince of the City, Rudy Giuliani and his administration.

Fast forward to the last week of December 2010. The snowstorm of 2010 and the administration’s response to the weekend blizzard may, however, have been his Waterloo, with the NY Times evoking the image of Mayor John Lindsay’s handling of another storm. One could  argue from looking at the troubling pictures that even an idiot with a tripod, could see that this ‘Napoleon did surrender’ (you will have to excuse the reference, I am an Abba fan). If nothing else, it seems to have empowered his critics and emboldened political opportunists positioning themselves for the post Bloomberg era, even if others are more forgiving.  Nuance would remind folks that here  at the close of the decade, nine years after 9/11, 2 years after the financial collapse and in the midst of the most troubling economic data and highest levels of unemployment in post WW II America, New York City remains one of the most vibrant and important cities in the world. The world still wants to visit New York City.  Simply put:

New Yorkers have the highest standards. We expect so much and can be the most critical and unforgiving; a people willing to rip our heroes off their mantle, put some ketchup on them as we eat them for lunch with a bag of chips and wash them down with a Diet Coke.

The administration certainly has a lot of explaining to do why this snowstorm, despite the ominous warnings of its potentially historic magnitude, has crippled the metropolis.  Questions remain why better pre-storm planning, including salting and plowing the roads, more useful and instructive emergency alerts beyond ’stay home’ and engaging municipal workers sooner might have led to a smoother outcome rather than a slow recovery with many roadways blocked, train lines shut down and countless citizens literally snowed in. Some folks in the boroughs outside Manhattan still literally feel forgotten about.  The only perk seems  to have been endless overtime for municipal employees, who according to sources in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, were not even skimming the snow and leaving questions about overtime scams (Update See: New York sanitation workers union sabotaged snow cleanup & Sanitationmen tell their side of Christmas Blizzard – 15-hour shifts, faulty equipment, politics) .  I am not happy either as my eldest sibling found himself stuck in Detroit unable to get a flight to visit me before New Year’s Eve. As a Bridge & Tunnel New Yorker who grew up in Queens and Brooklyn, trust me, I feel your pain. And since the buck stops at City Hall, the Mayor will ultimately be the one held accountable as he should.

To the Mayor’s credit, he has not deflected criticism entirely but rather acknowledged that he is dissatisfied with the emergency response, even as the focus for his team is now on clearing the unplowed streets and “we’ll do the post-mortem afterwards”.  Should a future post-mortem on this blizzard lead to some uncomfortable questions about the efforts and overtime of municipal employees, consider that in an economic malaise a billionaire Mayor, painted as an elitist by some of the the very forces who may be to blame for the murky clean up effort, would place himself in  an uncomfortable position should he have decided to point fingers rather than wait for conclusive evidence of wrongdoing.  With all due respect to the elected officials who questioned publicly the preparedness of the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Sanitation, they need to balance their public advocacy vs. political opportunism, in terms of their future mayoral ambitions, before getting up on a soapbox.

To those who will view the snowstorm of 2010 as Bloomberg’s Waterloo, while I may see your point, with trepidation, I beg to differ.   Mike Bloomberg though inconsistent at times has seemed on some level to be a student of history who may have already learned a lesson of Mayor Beame’s mayoralty. Bloomberg  became a Partner at Salomon Brothers on Wall Street shortly before Beame took office. While Beame meticulously managed the books in a manner evading bankruptcy, Bloomberg came in with a broader vision to remake the metropolis; not merely to assume power. He had already tremendous career success on Wall Street and founding and serving as CEO of one of New York’s most prolific home grown companies in Bloomberg LLP.  Bloomberg himself ascended into office shortly after 9/11 and immediately began building upon the legacy of the administration of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, modernizing New York City in a visionary manner that has literally transformed the metropolis. (See:   The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life by Fred Siegel | Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City by Andrew Kirtzman)

Like any politico Bloomberg has had his setbacks and the handling of  the blizzard of 2010 and its full impact of the blizzard, will be remembered as one of them,  but what has often emerged from those setbacks has been a man and an administration even more determined to right the course and prove the naysayers wrong.  Any and all failure(s) or perceived failure(s) become temporary.  This is something that in future administrations charged with managing the metropolis we may come to miss enormously. The Mayor is at his greatest strength when he sheds the cloak of omnipotence and accepts and acknowledges interim failures or learning experiences that will make him and his team more efficient in the future.  Although candidly this is not something he has often been willing to do. Strong leaders recognize that it is not a sign of weakness to admit publicly that in hindsight one would have prepared differently, unless your leader is a bumbling fool in which case such postures taken too frequently will only serve to prove the obvious.  Bloomberg is, however,  not at the risk of being perceived as incompetent even by his greatest detractors. Being perceived as more humble and human can not hurt his standing with citizens, even with those who sometimes question his vision.

In recessionary times, where there is pain and anguish at the middle and lower levels of society there will rarely be sympathy for billionaires who have a lifestyle that most cannot identify with. Nor are we willing to consider perhaps the current economic climate may have left the city with budgetary issues.  When we examine the history of America and New York, robber barons, industrialists, builders and philanthropists 20, 50 and 100 years from now, Mike Bloomberg will be an interesting figure to examine. To not recognize Boss Bloomberg in this context and to consume oneself with class rage against the success of Mike Bloomberg will not advance the interests of the city or of our own individual lives even it if it is an interesting distraction and makes for heated discussions at your favorite watering hole. And even those who say Bloomberg’s ego is too large, you need to ask yourself, when in the history of the world have the people ever wanted a leader who did not have a strong ego and a decided vision for governance? The phrase “grow a pair” has never been rephrased to “your pair is too big”. In the words of Tony Montana, “Amigo, the only thing in this world that gives orders is balls. Balls. You got that?”

New York City gets rarely gets impacted by weather  in the manner that we have with  the snowstorm of 2010 and it has certainly showed some of the cracks in the perceived invincibility of our metropolis and maybe even our fearless leader, but this too shall pass and I suspect this administration and future ones will learn a lesson from it. We must also, however, come to appreciate that there are also limits to financial resources of any government entity and differences of opinion on the productive and efficient use thereof.  Waterloo? For me, its just a song. The best Mayor ever in New York history? The jury is still out, although one could argue that ultimately Bloomberg will be judged on how well he built on the Giuliani legacy, whether he went on a liberal Lindsay’esque walkabout in his efforts to rebuild and renew New York or did something else entirely.

EPILOGUE & REFERENCE LINKS (Updated): The pieces referenced and linked below by major media outlets on the brewing scandal over the Bloomberg administration’s handling of the 2010 snow storm continue to come in since the writing of this blog.

-NY Post by Fred Siegel & Sol Stern: Bloomy’s bubble burst
-Forbes by Jeff Bercovici: Bloomberg Explains Company-Foundation Crossover, Sort of
-NY Times (City Room): Mayor Wasn’t Told About Storm Response Goldsmith Says.
-Wall Street Journal: Bloomberg’s reputation takes a hit.
-NBC New York: Snow Response Puts Mayor’s Vacation Policy Back in Spotlight:NYT report confirms Air Bloomberg was spotted in Bermuda on eve of blizzard
-NY Times (City Room): Blizzard Mystery Solved? Air Bloomberg Was Seen in Bermuda
-NY Daily News: If the Bloomberg administration won’t name names in the blizzard foulup, then we will
-NY Daily News: City Hall refuses to say who was in charge over blizzard weekend, Bloomberg or deputy
-Queens Chronicle (Anne Marie Costella): A blizzard of debate follows snowstorm
-NY Daily News: Sanitationmen tell their side of Christmas Blizzard – 15-hour shifts, faulty equipment, politics
-Reuters: Federal investigation underway on NY snow cleanup
-NY Post (Michael Goodwin): Emperor Mike’s Snow Blindness
-NY Daily News (Chris McKnickle): For Mike Bloomberg, the third-term funk is here: Like Koch, Wagner and LaGuardia, he’s losing focus
-NY Daily News (Erin Einhorn): Mayor Bloomberg Starts 2011 with a prayer and a vow to do better
-The Huffington Post (Dan Collins): Bloomberg’s Third Term Funk
-NY Post (David Seifman): Schedules Reveal Tale Of Two Mayors
-A Voice in the Wilderness: Mayor Bloomberg’s Snow Troubles
-News Real Blog: Mayor Bloomberg’s Snow Job
-NY Daily News (Juan Gonzalez): Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and his flaky ideas doom New York during storm
-NY Daily News (Michael Daly): Clueless Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith deserves blame for fiasco following blizzard
- NY Daily News (Michael Daly): Blizzard baby’s funeral highlights Bloomberg’s failure to effectively manage city during snowstorm
-Frugal Cafe Blog Zone: NYC Blizzard Chaos, Death, & Tragedy: Newborn Baby Dies, Subway Still Stopped, Buses Trapped, Mayor Bloomberg Criticized for Slow Snow Removal (video)
-Ben Smith, Politico: Who to Blame in New York
-The Washington Post (Rachel Weiner):  Sarcastic Michael Bloomberg: ‘I regret everything in the world’
-Capital New York: A Lindsay Moment for Bloomberg but not a Lindsay Legacy
-American Thinker (Pamela Geller): Mayor Bloomberg: An Abject Failure.
-NY Daily News (Mike Lupica): Mayor Bloomberg, intoxicated by power, rides coattails of New York City’s iconic greatness

You do not poke me in the eye, call me a bigot and then tell me that you seek interfaith understanding. In the words of Winston Churchill: “The hottest part of hell is reserved for those who, at a time of grave moral crisis, steadfastly maintain their neutrality.”

Thanks Julie for your excellent due diligence. You see when I envisioned Wall Street Rising I was not really hoping that from the rubble of 9/11 we might build a Mega Mosque, I was sort of hoping for Twin Towers. But then again, I might think differently if I were “Half Baked.”

Send Julie a Twitter: http://twitter.com/juliemenin

Community Board 1: http://www.cb1.org/cb1_board2.html

Card 2: Your First Amendment allows us to do whatever we want, wherever we want (even though we have no intention of adhering to your constitutional principles when they conflict with the higher Sharia Law and we look forward to the future glory of the United Caliphate States of America.)

Card 3: If you oppose us you are a bigot, intolerant of our religious freedom (even though we refuse to dignify your questions and concerns.)

When you look at The Ground Zero Mosque debate, the passionate stance taken by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, as well as other local political leaders, in support of the Three-Card Monte played by Feisal Abdul Rauf and political Islamists at Ground Zero, the true nature of what is really going on becomes clear. “It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” But one thing is clear: the will of the people is seen as an irritant and clearly irrelevant.  Political correctness has been used to disable a legitimate coherent debate.

Students of history, at least the history of the last century might recognize the quote mentioned above as being the words of Winston Churchill who uttered them the last disastrous time the cognoscenti under estimated a profound threat to our way of life and lured us down the garden path and over the cliff.   In the words of Winston Churchill, who was dismissed and ridiculed for his warnings about the steps necessary to thwart Hitler and the growing communist threat in Russia:

“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”

The man, who never ever raised his voice to support the rebuilding of the Twin Towers, iconic symbols of American achievement, ingenuity and possibility and instead whose vision or lack thereof contributed to The Great Enigmatic Compromise at Ground Zero, has become the most ardent and outspoken supporter of the Ground Zero Mosque. One has to wonder whether this is: (a) the fight of a principled man concerned about protecting First Amendment rights of a disenfranchised minority (b) a calculated strategic political gambit to preserve his standing among liberal elites and a growing fifth column of voters in Urban America who may be less forgiving of a nuanced position when he runs for President in 2012 (c) misguided passion of an elitist hypocrite, pure chutzpah or (d) something else entirely?

Bloomberg’s Folly: Ignoring Public Opinion & The Will of the People

Bloomberg in a radio address last week dismissed and denounced the mosque opponents as “a handful of people who ought to be ashamed of themselves,” This is a curious analysis by our Mayor given that the “handful of people” happen to be 60% of New Yorkers. According to a recent Sienna Institute poll six out of 10 New Yorkers oppose plans to build a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks [CNN Poll Update: 68% of American Voters Oppose Ground Zero Mosque.]  It is ironic to say the least that the same majority of New Yorkers, actually an even higher percentage, wanted to see the Twin Towers rebuilt. If only Mayor Bloomberg had been as passionate in his support of rebuilding the Twin Towers as he is of the Ground Zero Mosque, the Towers would be open for business  and the mosque would have none of its triumphalist appeal. Instead of ignoring and thwarting the legitimate will of the people Mayor Bloomberg and others might be wise to consider the words of President Abraham Lincoln.

“I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people, according to the bond of service — the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them.”

“Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.”

Or, as President Woodrow Wilson advised: “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”

The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove: Oil Money Influence & Islamic Concessions

Why would savvy politicians bet against the will of the people? One might surmise that from behind the scenes Oil money states and their political leaders may now be calling the shots in America with an ever increasing level of authority and influence. And why should they not when they have pumped billions if not trillions into our financial infrastructure? America’s dependence on foreign oil and the perceived vulnerability of an empire in decline as a result of the Economic Crisis of 2008, widespread fraud and distrust in the markets, the erosion of our manufacturing base, high unemployment with segments of the population restless, unsettled bordering on revolution, it seems almost a perfect time to extract a dividend in the form of some blood from the open wounds in our society. That blood may be to reform if not remake our culture in some way shape of or form as inducement to continued investment.

Among those reforms may be insistence on a kindler, gentler relationship with the Islamic community worldwide as well as within our own borders, perhaps even granting once unheard of concessions as a sign of a new détente with Islam. Further, one can also surmise from the growing insecurity of the Jewish community in America that Arab Muslim leaders want an equal seat at the table with AIPAC and the Israel Lobby including a right to dictate policy and placing the agenda of Islamists front and center in American life. A perception exists fairly or unfairly that America’s unique alliance with Israel and the Jewish Lobby makes America some how anti-Arab. Reversing that perception in the Arab Muslim world may require some retreat in American nationalistic pride, if not greater submission to elements of an Islamic system.

Viewed in this light, submission to the Ground Zero Mosque without reservation and without investigation of its funding seems to be a de facto acknowledgment that America must change its ways, a quid pro quo if you will; but at what price?   Capitalism is the tie that binds us all across geopolitical lines in the civilized world. The House of Saud (Saudi Royals) and American friends in other OPEC nations need to understand, however, that forcing and Islamic culture on America will not necessarily lead to a more stable society as it has in their Middle Eastern Kingdoms. Even though Islam may help stabilize their nations, ultimately its clash with Western values may lead to a revolution in America and destabilization of our Democracy, which ultimately serves no one’s best interests.

The elites in our society refuse to explain this to the people, so instead they latch on to labeling citizens bigots and intolerant of religious freedom for opposing the Mosque, misappropriating the Constitution and misinterpreting the First Amendment to provide cover. Here is the rub: Say what you will about the moral compulsion of any religion, whether Christianity, Judaism or Islam as a check on man’s unbridled free spirit. Islam however, requires submission to “Collectivism”, which is antithetical to individual freedom, the rights of women, gays, minorities and the creative spirit of man.

ISLAMIC MARCH

Islam is on the march across the globe, forcing the leaders in Europe and the United States to wake up and take a second look to evaluate the agenda of this movement, its merits and the cultural divides and dangers to civilization, posed by an angry culture that is adamantly unwilling to assimilate;  while altering the demographics and overburdening the system in many countries as a result of very high birth rates among Muslims.

ISLAM IS NOT A RACE: Questioning Islam is not “Racist” or Anti-Arab

Islam is not a “race” and while many Arabs are Muslim, not all Muslims are Arabs. According to Wikipedia: “Arab identity is defined independently of religious identity, and pre-dates the rise of Islam, with historically attested Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes. Today, however, most Arabs are Muslim, with a minority adhering to other faiths, largely Christianity, except in those nations were by Sharia Law the observance of other faiths and construction of Christian or Jewish places of worship is illegal.

According to Dr. Peter Hammond’s book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat: Islam is not a religion or a cult. It is a complete, total 100% system of life. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social and military components. The religious component is a beard for other components.

In the words of  Seraphic Secret: “Islam is not just a religion. It is a social, political ideology whose stated purpose is to impose Sharia on all of humanity.” Thus, questioning the agenda of a an ideological  movement with an  imperialistic doctrine based on collectivism that is antithetical to and incompatible with Democracy, and a significant political apparatus infused with a warrior mentality, hardly makes one “racist.”  Instead it makes one a realist about Mohammed, the warrior prophet who was the  Founding General of Islam and the motives of those serving as foot soldiers and leaders in the multi headed fronts for its advancement  that have risen like a hydra as an assault on Western Civilization: The Muslim American Society, Muslim Brotherhood, American Society for Muslim Advancement and Cordoba Initiative and CAIR. Islamists are using liberalism itself to destroy liberal secular societies from within.

Ground Zero Mosque: Building Bridges of Understanding?

If the Ground Zero Mosque is truly designed to be an inter-faith cultural center to breed understanding between different communities, then perhaps the folks behind the American Society For Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative would have no problem with the installation of the following:

(a) LGBT Wing Honoring LGBT Community Members in Muslim countries who died resisting the spread of Islam or from the imposition of Sharia Law or were simply hanged and killed for being gay;

(b) A Women’s Center: to honor Muslim women who were stoned to death,  hanged or inflicted injuries on themselves to escape the cycle of abuse for for merely showing their face or illustrating disrespect for their owners (husbands) in Muslim States;

(c) Wall of Fame for Christians and Jews killed in the name of Islam; and

(d) Mohammed’s Wall: A special wall highlighting all of the Warrior Prophet Mohammed’squotes preaching love, tolerance and respect for non Muslims, women and the gay community and exhibits illustrating all of his “interfaith” life work and building bridges of understanding to non-believers of “the one true faith” (i.e., “infidels”). You could put his Mohammed’s Spear right next to this wall;

(e)Historical Mosque Conquering: A section devoted to the history of Islam’s destruction of Jewish and Christian temples of worship and the installation of Islamic Mosques in strategic locations throughout the world and an a further explanation of why Muslims in Europe are now demanding on joint use of Catholic Churches so that they may in effect expel Catholics from their houses of worship;

(f) Canyon of Islamic Heroes: A  Canyon of Heroes in a designated corridors of the cultural center for all the Leaders in the Muslim Community who have condemned the atrocities of 9/11 and have questioned Political Islam’s agenda on the world stage: Women and Children Die First.

In a building of the size planned by the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society For Muslim Advancement, one would think that they could fit all of the above in a 2×2 room or on the back of a stall in the Men’s Room.  Also maybe they would have no problem with the building of a Pork Plant or Sausage Shop right next door to the Islamic Interfaith Cultural Center? Or would building that so close to their center be considered intolerant or disrespectful (e.g., sort of like say the building of a Mosque near a War Memorial where Muslims killed Americans in the name of Islam?)  Nevertheless, you must forgive me if I do not understand the moral imperative to build a mosque at or near Ground Zero or the World Trade Center.

HEAR ME LOUD & CLEAR:  I am not a bigot. I am not intolerant. Liberal Piety won’t silence me. “Tolerance of the intolerant is not a virtue. It is suicide.” A society that stands for everything in the end stands for nothing at all. In a free society there is a danger of thinking that all ideas deserve equal recognition, respect, consideration or standing. Many of the so called “ideas” which serve as the underlying tenets of Islam have already been defeated in the marketplace of ideas. But if you sort through the scrap heap of human history, that is precisely where you will find the collectivist spirit of Islam on top of some broken office chairs once used by the Third Reich.

The First Amendment does not REQUIRE that the mosque be built at that location. There is room for a nuanced view. Even moderate Muslims know that the Ground Zero Mosque is designed to be a deliberate provocation. I do not need Mayoral pontification to dictate to me what the Constitution says, means or requires as he seeks to rationalize his unyielding support for the Ground Zero Mosque. Three years at the University of Pennsylvania Law School served me just fine to render my own analysis. Nevertheless, even if you cannot legislate or regulate against bad taste, you can choose to use your bully pulpit to honor the 60% of New Yorkers who are not bigots or intolerant but rather Americans of all faiths, and socioeconomic backgrounds and political affiliations that believe strongly that this is perhaps not the right place or the right time to erect political symbols or statements–especially in the name of greater interfaith understanding.  Opposition to Cordoba House crosses religious, ethnic and ideological lines.  Mr. Mayor, that you choose not to consider a nuanced view in light of the perspective of a majority of citizens of the metropolis you govern, opens up to inquiry and analysis your perceived agenda.

An interesting question raised by the evident pressure put on the  Community Board, Landmarks Preservation Commission, etc. is whether our leaders aren’t in effect violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by trying to establish the mosque?

I can hardly ride a horse and am no Paul Revere, but my friends, it is time to wake up.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

-The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The founders wrote the Declaration of Independence out of “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind” but our imperial government seems to have little or no respect for its own people. It is operating by fiat and, in the case of the mosque, misappropriating the U.S. Constitution for cover.

But in any case, the Constitution cannot be used to invalidate the founding premise of the document that authorized our country’s existence and thereby the need for a constitution: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

We do not consent.