“Live for nothing or die for something”
-John Rambo

Who am I?  “Say my name! Say my name! If no one is around you, you can say I love you.”

I repeat, who am I? Bro, this ain’t no “Existential Crisis” here.  I know what I mean and I mean what I say. So you think I have a god complex? Let me tell you something, when you are alone reading my words in the quiet of your home or out in the public domain on say an iPad, between you, me and the truth I am god!

So, what is my perspective? Simple.  Stand on the middle platform in Times Square, stretch arms wide and hold on to the “Third Rail” on both tracks so I can feel the electricity of dissent.

You want a piece of me? “Go ahead,  make my day” and let the first amendment be your guide. I don’t censor unless you are a spambot. But I warn you if you come with a pop gun or water pistol of an intellect you will be destroyed like one of RAMBO’s victims below.

So who am I? The way, the truth and the life? I am…I said. I am said I.  I am what you get when Bridge & Tunnel American with Spanish, Colombian, Austrian, German and Italian roots meets the school of hard knocks followed by the Ivy League. I have sat in conferences along side of titans of industry,  CEO’s, soldiers, Generals and I have worked as a Wall Street Lawyer, delivered newspapers, mopped floors and was even the deep fry guy at Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips. I paid my way through college on scholarship, work study and money saved from selling t-shirts and souvenirs at Madison Square Garden. There is not a job that I was ever unwilling to do to put a few bucks in my pocket. If we had migrant farm workers in New York City, I would have been one. My dream job? To be a crew member aboard the Bob Barker Sea Shepherd. I aspire to affect the human condition not to line my pockets or be well known or famous. I am the anti famous and that is fine with me. In the words of Jane Jacobs, “I do not know who this celebrity called Jane Jacobs is. It’s not me. You either do your work or you’re a celebrity; I’d rather do my work”

I am safely and securely ensconced in the truth of my convictions and the experience of life at all levels of society.  I care to see and understand things that most don’t and my “small talk” is the human condition, freedom, democracy and the right to challenge bad ideas, the supremely misinformed and the punch drunk fame whores who stand atop a pile of mediocrity proclaiming their short list of non-accomplishment. No matter how perfectly polished and painfully posed, I am not impressed even if Andy Warhol predicted your retarded social climb. You are still a clown to me. “This ain’t no party this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around.”

Are you sure? Hold steady, ready, aim fire! Pump me full of shells and watch as I stand here like Crazy Joe Gallo dining at Umberto’s Clam House on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, except I would be at Puglia’s instead,  laughing until your little pop gun is empty. Then at least I could get back to finishing my Pork Chops Pizzaiola with Linguine. If you are not too tired maybe you can pour me another glass of Opus 1 before you get out of my sight.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon at Opening Day of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge at Blue Star Jets Field

Social Media-ites, please do keep in mind that it’s not really “journalism” if you are in essence covering yourself. In that case it’s called “self promotion”, “self dealing” or serving as your own publicist.

There is nothing wrong with infusing yourself and your brand into a story. These are after all strange and unusual times. Many are hurting and can use a little brand extension, but then if that case let someone else write about it and photograph it. For when you masturbate unless someone else’s hand, mouth or even feet are involved than no matter how you slice or dice it, it’s truly nothing more than an exhibition of self love.  Capische?

On Saturday afternoon, July 24th as my brother drove the two of us out to the East End of Long Island to cover events for the MacDella Cooper Foundation and The Watermill Center’s 17th Annual Benefit: Paradiso my email rant via blackberry to a select friends list ended up on Scallywag & Vagabond. I was almost going to ask the publisher Christopher Koulouris  to pull it down as I suspect it would not make me many friends, although what else is new right? But then after arriving at Mercedes Benz Polo Challenge, taking photos of many of the guests of import, I found it nearly impossible to get a clean photo of Kelly Killoren Bensimon from The Real Houswives of New York City who was also the July 4th cover model for Social Life Magazine, for which I write the Society column. You see Kelly Bensimon was too busy taking photos of and videoing herself on her own iphone while her team was also videoing her, to accomodate photographers who wanted to take her photo. On a blistering Saturday afternoon in the heat, the last  thing I needed to do was get in the way of Kelly’s self love at Two Trees Farms in Bridgehampton.

Truth told when this old man first leveled a critique at GuestofaGuest for its practice and promotion of self love, many dealers critiqued me for raining on their parade dismissing me as envious of the success of the Gen Y Social Networking site which has since, not surprisingly, given the history of their financial backers, morphed into Facebook Lite. Generation Y’s self absorption seemingly knows no bounds and has made them drunk with indifference, hooked on bad art/culture and thus the ideal consumers of the culture of distraction. While the country has gone to hell in a proverbial hand basket our best and brightest are consumed with everything Lohan, Hilton, Gaga, Kardashian et al etc.—wondering how they can in essence be like them and similarly cash in. Example of the culture of the social retard is no better exemplified than Micah Jesse and his following band of twit-idiots who represent nothing of character, substance or lasting value in our society other than I am here, I want to be famous and will stand next to be people who are famous and have my photo taken with them. By comparison, American Porntrepreneur,  Joe Francis and Girls Gone Wild almost seem to have redeeming societal value, even if merely attending one of Joe’s gatherings, in some states serves as a woman’s implied consent to be sexually molested, turning her into a veritable Samantha from Sex & The City or just another Christine Saunders. 

While the social whales referenced above search for the right price for their barren hustle, even famed game show host Bob Barker knows that The Price is Right when he donated $5 Million to the Sea Shepherd’s whale rescue missions.  Maybe if more of us were saving those whales, we could allow the Japanese to harpoon some of the social whales referenced above and rid our society of the social blubber, rather than the endangered species that they continue to hunt with abandon, and save the cause of humanity in the process.

Where prior generations asked questions about the state and future of humanity, this one doesn’t bother cause its too phucking busy looking at itself in the mirror, taking pictures of itself and jacking off on Facebook.  In America at the present time there is no Beat Generation to question whether society sucks, just one over run with narcissists beating off to their 15 Minutes of fame and hoping to turn that famegame into the cause of a lifetime. The tools of the trade for the new Social Journalist are a mirror and a camera aimed in their direction at all times. Critique of these folks can even potentially make one persona non grata at events where these exhibitionists are on display and allowed, if not encouraged to document and exhibit themselves with your event as their backdrop.

The engines of Capitalism churn through the work of sales, marketing, branding and public relations professionals and/or firms engaged in such work. All of the foregoing, who work in effect in a promotional capacity, are at risk of having their work attacked for issues related to competence and performance obviously. In uncertain times, where profit margins shrink and the creator having gotten use to a certain value for their service, product, including art, once they begin to experience reduced cash flow, lower status or a reduction of the value of their brand will look on with a greater degree of circumspection and even disdain at those professionals, often questioning the terms if not the merits of their contractual arrangements.

In the world of Fine Art , if having one’s work exhibited in an art gallery and being represented by any one of the city’s numerous elite gallery owners were unnecessary, artists would merely represent themselves and sell all their work on the street, on e-bay or to their personal network of friends via invitation to their studio or home. Notably throughout history many artists have died before their work was recognized, accepted or became value often enriching museums, visionary collectors and families and not the individual artist.  Perhaps in recognition of that fact and that the life of a starving artist is highly over rated, today’s modern artist, especially one who “seeks out” gallery representation to frame the story of their life’s work or their passion and form a narrative about its context in the grand scheme of humanity is looking for someone to represent them who is part Art Historian, Branding, Sales, Promoter and Public Relations professional with a cache of connections to the world of the affluent, high net worth and high society as well as the intricate world of sophisticated patrons, collectors and museums.

This leads me to the curious case of graphic designer Paula Scher who’s paintings of maps I saw on exhibit at The Maya Stendhal Gallery in 2007. The openings at Stendhal Gallery always interested me, because in a comfortable but upscale environment in Chelsea I would often discover the work of artists that I was unfamiliar with, as was the case with Paula Scher. That is no indictment of the graphic designer who is a Partner with the Pentagram design consultancy firm, and one of the most famous graphic designers, famous for designing some legendary contemporary images for some of New York’s leading commercial and cultural institutions, including the Citibank logo. She also happened to design the first album cover for one of my favorite bands,during my childhood, Boston.

Recently, it was reported in the New York Post and referenced in sorted other blogs, including Scallywag & Vagabond,  post.thing.net and Hyperallergic (all of whom merely repeated the allegations of the plaintiff’s without any investigative reporting or perspective)  that a couple of artists one of whom was Paula Scher, the multimillionaire graphic designer represented by Wall Street’s Carter, Ledyard & Millburn LLP were suing Harry Stendhal of the Maya Stendhal Gallery, inferring that she was some kind of crooked “rogue” gallery owner. As one who covers society, philanthropy and cultural life (often with a camera in hand while I listen with my eyes) and also as a lawyer who received his legal training at the  University of Pennsylvania Law School and then having worked at top firms like Weil Gotshal & Manges and Bingham LLP in New York and Boston, something did not smell quite right.

CHARACTER:  Harry Stendhal

From a character perspective, I have found Harry Stendhal to be a visionary, an intellectual with a broad perspective of humanity and a man who is truly a creative person’s best friend. His openings are more like salons or exhibitions at a museum where the focus is on telling a story and enlightening press and art world patrons about the context or import of the works and the artist or the subject. Truth is many creative people who have had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Stendhal and learn from him only improved their own station in life and discovered economic opportunities that they never even contemplated existed for them and their work.

ARTISTIC VALUE: Graphic Art vs. Fine Art

Paula Scher, a graphic designer and typographer who is a Partner in the Pentagram Design Consultancy firm (a firm specializing in graphic design, architecture and industrial design) is the creator of so many award-winning iconic identities.  As a designer and entrepreneur in a successful design firm, she is living what amounts to the American Dream, regarded as one of the most successful graphic designers of our time,  her work having enabled the life of a multi-millionaire,  even prior to her exhibitions at Maya Stendhal Gallery, that include a Chelsea Loft in Manhattan and a country home in Salisbury, Connecticut.  But in an interview with the New York Times in January 2006 Ms. Scher rejected the notion that she is a Fine Artist:

[Ms. Scher herself rejects the idea that she has suddenly turned into a fine artist.] “I don’t want to be a new painter, but an old graphic designer,” she said. “The only thing I’m really good at is painting typography.”

This is relevant if only because there is a notable difference in between the culture and mores in the worlds of Fine Art and the worlds of Graphic Design/ Commercial Art. Projects in the latter world have a specific or defined time period for completion. Payment is often project oriented. As you create and complete you get paid. In the world of Fine Art, that is not exactly the formula and is in fact quite to the contrary.The branding process is longer and more complex to create a legacy and long term increase in economic value.

The truth is many creative people and fine artists starve because there is no “inherent value” to artistic creation, at least in my opinion. Value is subjective. The story tellers, those who develop a narrative help explain the world at large the import of great works are an extension of those great works and the artist themselves, perhaps necessary to extend the life, create a buzz and a brand behind said art and the individual artist and make them more relevant to collectors and museums.

Despite her professional success as a graphic designer which enabled a very comfortable standard of living with multiples residences in exclusive locations, Ms. Scher, who was herself 55 years of age around the time she contracted with the Maya Stendhal Gallery, even as a multi-millionaire, apparently needed or wanted, at least intermittent representation, by a leading gallery like the Maya Stendhal Gallery. Why? Was it a vanity play, a Famegame or was she after a financial windfall or some cross over appeal, further enhancement of her brand as a graphic designer relative to other mere graphic designers?  Fact is that gaining credibility and standing in the Art World would, could or may have led to greater leverage to obtain work for the Pentagram Design Consultancy, relative to competitors who were mere graphic designers.

Otherwise why obtain gallery representation? Why obtain the representation of Maya Stendhal Gallery and Harry Stendhal and have them work to promote your brand in the world of Fine Art for the better part of nearly five (5) years only to discard it as the economy headed south? Maybe the same reason perhaps that homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages decide to sell their homes without the services of a broker who will take a cut of the proceeds of sale.

THE PENTAGRAM CONSULTANCY: Exposure in World of Fine Art Increases Economic Value of Paula Scher’s Agency

At this juncture, Paula Scher’s work having been exhibited at Maya Stendhal Gallery is an additional feather in the cap of her otherwise extensive resume that has more than likely enhanced the economic value of her designs for existing clients, allowing her to bill at a higher rate but also likely assists in marketing herself for major projects from leading corporations, cultural institutions and museums, folks who became more and more aware of her work and the individual behind said work as a result of promotion and exposure in the Art World. It would be interesting to know, since the Pentagram Consultancy is referenced along with most press pieces referencing her exhibitions at the Maya Stendhal Gallery whether the gallery in fact served as a promotional vehicle and de facto public relations arm for Pentagram enhancing their balance sheet during the time period since she was represented by the Stendhal Gallery up to and after the parties found themselves in a dispute over contract terms.

As the economy tightened, your brand extended, one might be tempted to consider why they should still have said gallery and its ownership the benefit of the bargain for their representation, especially if you can manufacture a way out of your arrangements, terminate or breach a contract and be liberated from sharing of profits for your works. A rather effective way to do so is to smear your promoter (gallery owner) in the press with allegation of improprieties which apparently you had no issue with up through the last exhibit which ended March 27, 2010 , especially if some favorable contracts connected to Stendhal Gallery representation landed in your lap during that time for which said gallery may have a right to a share of proceeds.

You will forgive my cynicism if in the end, I suspect that this case will be one that is less about a rogue gallery owner exploiting a poor starving defenseless artist than it is about a contract dispute between two sophisticated parties and a fight for power, control and money and questions about whom is entitled to what percentage for putting the map lady on the map in the world of Fine Art.

That a couple of “artists” who benefited from representation by Maya Stendhal Gallery are only now taking pot shots at Harry Stendhal in recessionary times is to me, by implication only and the absence of specific proof of wrong doing, is no indictment of the man or his character but more a sign of the times and an effort to use the press to undermine a man’s standing to extract a settlement and release from contractual obligations. If the case were so air tight against Mr. Stendhal use of the press by “victims” who are rather sophisticated entrepreneurs themselves would not be necessary. When all is said and done, I suspect that those who seek to smear a man and destroy his reputation to get a contractual advantage may get a little mud on their shoes and their otherwise sterling reputation. Perhaps then the world may see whether the soul behind your art is non-existent or simply camouflaged by the mindsight of a mere commercial mercenary attempting to hold on to a greater percentage of the value of their  work, while depriving your representative of the benefit of the bargain, even if in truth, I must admit that one of the map paintings would look rather nice over my Maurice Villency couch in the living room. The sad reality in cases like this is that both parties are at risk of undermining the very value that they sought to create with the agreed upon representation. Cases like this are often better settled behind closed doors in the privacy of a lawyer’s or mediator’s office and not in the media or even a court of law. That is just my opinion.

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh.”

-On the Road (Viking Press 1957) by Jack Kerouac

I never said that I am the way, the truth and the life but ye who believe and trust in me, well maybe, just maybe, we’ll live a new life.  Our metropolis. Our country. Quiet conversations in the shadows. Some in plain view. The comforting nods, a knowing glance, comfort. Brief verbal exchanges about nothing and everything. How you doin? We are not alone. You know. Our experience is shared, even when we don’t know it.   This blog, a farce or dangerous even maybe? Yeah.  What I express herein, it is not some vanity play or a famegame.  Hell no, I will not expose  fellow patriots who communicate in silence, in the dark or who walk away not to associate with me. Your concern and your defiance although shared,  it is yours alone to reveal in due course. If you want me to stand a post with ya I will.  Who am I?  Just a citizen, one of the  Ordinary People.  I expect to get few BRAVO’s along the way as I do not have some well styled Real Housewife from New York City to jazz me up and make what I have to say more palatable or attractive to the current generation. Lost and they will ignore me.

A simple man, weathered by my life experience?  Sure, I am. Yet at this point in time,  I believe, still in possession of all my faculties, if not all the worldly possessions and financial security that I once had before….before  9/11 turned my economic world upside down. The pain of that loss is a subtle reminder, whatever security I have I know it can be taken away, undermined or destroyed, if not by me by forces I have no control over in this universe.  The trade off of my journey through “The Dark Night of the Soul”, what keeps me going, is a rebirth as Jack Kerouac with soul of Paul Revere, assuming a Beat Generation leader could be a freedom fighter (of note, I am of the same age as was Mr. Kerouac in the year of his death).

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the lord my soul to take

Free spirits seek liberation not confinement and subservience for the greater goals of a collective. That quote’s mine, don’t forget it. You feel me yet? Somehow yes I do suspect that they, Revere and Kerouac, might have more in common than one might think.  This side of me I have tried to suppress,  to peacefully co-exist, as a pragmatic survival mechanism, even as I witness the slow erosion of what I once revered as the American Way of Life. That Indian with the tear, its me, so I am not an Indian but I am a native son.  While I was certainly no Superman, The Secret of my Success was always a simple belief in Truth, Justice and the American way.

My world, always full of those more successful, affluent and well connected making me what?; a veritable Sabrina looking through the glass, across the lawn or into the ballrooms and clubs: clubs which I was not a member wondering, wondering  how the other half lived. Beautiful.  A taste here and there? Yes, yummy, feels good and tastes nice. Envious of those who possess more and who are living the American Dream?  Absolutely.  Steal or destroy their dream? Or pray and hope for  Government Central Planning to dilute and redistribute their wealth?  NO. It’s not mine. They earned it.  An example of something to aspire to…the hunger to learn from the example of their life’s success? YES.

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

–Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (1532)

Masks worn by many in our society; that I am able to see through them  is not always useful or helpful. Often more of a curse than a blessing indeed. Feeling exposed knowing that they know that I know.   Islamic change agents make Machiavelli proud with their mission to breed greater interfaith and cultural understanding? Improving Muslim-West relations? Then why in an ever so subtle fashion do they work to unravel the Constitution and install a societal framework in the spirit of that designed by the  Warrior Prophet or the General of Islam? To provide greater justice, fair play and equality? No.  Democracy? No. Their terms? YES! How Prince like indeed.   But let us first discount the culture of intolerance and oppression that takes over wherever Sharia Law has been installed. The labeling of critics as intolerant of their religious freedom may stifle the PC Crowd but not me and hopefully not you.

Socialism, Marxism, Collectivism, Nazism all purport to come to liberate humanity but they kill the free and independent spirit of man. And ironically in this country, there was once a time that we sought to stifle the creative genius of the Beat Generation when it in earnest posed no threat but Sharia ironically poses a threat to the very idea of such a generation ever reconstituting. Then why, why why don’t those with the spirit who challenged our society then, why is that the alternative crowd insisting on more tolerance for this movement?  Oh I see, it is counter cultural so they ignore the oppressive aspects until they find themselves being ruled by it. Only then will it be too late.

The collectivism of Islam and Sharia Law, however, is plain; it’s simple and purely antithetical to democracy and the free will of man; as an anti-democratic force even arguably a form of terrorism on the freedom, independence and spirit of the individual. As a movement it must be challenged, questioned, subdued,  reformed or at least held  accountable for the more radical elements disguised in spirituality and ultimately forced to modernize to peacefully co-exist with  the modern world.  For in uncertain times the people hunger for spiritual fulfillment and will attempt to drink from an empty sand trap if it looks like an Oasis for their soul. If religion is the opiate for the masses, then is Islam cocaine or PCP?

Their agenda may be camouflaged from the masses who have been numbed, confused and stifled by the culture of distraction and mainstream media disinformationalists who steer them away from focusing in a manner which allows them to comprehend that their freedom, independence and democracy is becoming more diluted which each and every passing day and the American Dream vanishing before their Eyes Wide Shut.

My hope is that our people awaken before the coming Caliphate causes everything near and dear to your heart to evaporate in a puff of smoke. Make no mistake that a government which targets the affluent and turns its citizens against capitalists, free enterprise and silences its critics, while supporting those who preach Collectivism, is one which ought to be challenged. Ride with me. How far we get is not certain.

Dear President Obama (and those who are paying attention):   

Congratulations on the series of legislative victories you have achieved in your first 2 years as President. By any measure your political victories in gaining passage of the (i) Stimulus Act  (ii) Health Care Reform  and now (iii) Financial & Regulatory Reform designed to curb Wall Street abuse are significant achievements and evidence your ability to get things done. Were these any other times you could coast into 2012 your reelection virtually assured. These are not, however, ordinary times. The people can’t eat Caviar for policy wonks without bread or a spoon. Most citizens will not be able to hang a hat on your administration’s achievements, hence the reason that these legislative victories have not thus far translated into voter approval. Please know that in terms of full disclosure, I am but an ordinary citizen who supported, rather enthusiastically, your candidacy for President but I am concerned in a manner diffferent than those others who have written  letters offering encouragement or historically inaccurate  critique.

War on Capitalism & Free Enterprise

Whether the problems are of your creation or prior administration(s) no longer matters to the American people. Our country is divided, idle and angry. In fairness to you, the wind is not at your back largely because of the disinformation campaign to discredit you and your progressive agenda which only gained steam the morning after your victory in the Presidential election of 2008. Despite your legislative successes there continues to be considerable pain and suffering in the heartland as well as America’s urban centers from the used to have’s, nor long have’s and still have not’s which has eroded much of the “Hope” generated by your campaign. The Great Recession will continue to feel like a modern Depression until the vast majority of our unemployed citizens are put back to work in a substantive and constructive fashion to rebuild America. In  the words of Nouriel Roubini, the NYU economist credited with predicting the global financial crisis, Obama needs to “Treat Americans like adults”.

Of even greater concern is that in the push to create a more “equitable” society the successful entrepreneurial and investment classes, many of whom are highly philanthropic and have invested in America now feel under attack. Painting these folks as gluttonous, selfish, robber barons or villains who deserve to be more heavily taxed and scrutinized simply because they have succeeded and live the American dream may help score populist points but aside from being an unfair characterization, it is creating deep wedges in our Society from which we may never recover. Your administration’s rhetoric is dangerous in that it creates an environment where it is politically correct to demonize and condemn wealth creators, if not capitalism itself. My fear is that a continued rhetorical and policy assault will cause many of these people to hold on to their chips, remain on the sidelines and disengage if not bail entirely on further investments in the rebuilding of American society.

Equity vs. Efficiency: Individualism vs. Collectivism 

Truth told, the problem with equity vs. efficiency arguments in running a Capitalist Democracy is after a while, folks will begin to question who’s deciding what is equitable as the inefficiencies mount. The crash of free markets and the Madoff Economy provided the perfect  opening for the proponents of equity to come forth, preach for more economic justice and fair play.  To a certain degree this was necessary to resintill confidence in the markets. There is, however, a danger of going to far the other way in attempting to manage the capitalist system. Where the government serves as referee, judge and intervenes to create designated or preferred outcomes picking winners and losers, moving us further away from “survival of the fittest”,  that is truly when we all lose. My fear is that we will in essence create a society that punishes the strong and that props up the weak with entitlment programs, in effect reversing the laws of evolution and in effect the American Dream.

I will know that we are on the verge of better times, however, if the forces of efficiency take hold once again and fewer people are worried as much about equity as they feel empowered enough to create their own. Perhaps our country must go through these cycles so that the have-not’s look at the have-more’s with a bit less contempt when they come to the realization that their elevation is going to come not from the President or Congress but by the sweat of their own brow.

Symbols of Freedom Rendered Irrelevant By Elite Political Class  

In the words of Daniel Pipes: “Islam remains  the world’s leading anti-democratic force.” (See also: Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?). As we attempt to remake America, my concern is, however, with the unquestioned subtle seeping of Islamic Collectivism and creeping Sharia Law into the American psyche, which will lead ultimately to the destruction of individual rights, freedom and democracy. Criticising Islam is not racist. The myth of Islamophobia is however a way to stifle debate and is evidence of  the coming Caliphate and its effort to use political correctness to silence critique under the veil of religious freedom and to get the public  to ignore the warnings issued to the world’s democratic governments by the rise of Militant Islam. 

What kind of messages are we sending when the members of our elite political classes, incuding Mayor Bloomberg and Community Board 1 President Julie Menin, will not even listen to the majority of our citizens and (i) stand up to support the Rebuilding of the Twin Towers (which still have not been rebuilt almost a decade after their collapse on 9/11), and (ii) instead members of these same political classes expend more time and energy, with all due respect to arguments about religious freedom and tolerance, on fast tracking and expediting the building of a Mega Mosque at Ground Zero that is widely opposed by a majority of New Yorkers and Americans and even Muslim intellectuals.  The ruling political classes along with the mainstream media continue to paint the opposition as that of right wing fringe radicals,  Tea Party members, random  9/11 Families, Islamophobes or simply bigots. Fact is that the dissent is far more widespread and has been largely uncovered and the rationale for their opposition misstated.  Are a majority of New Yorkers really idiots or bigots? The Mosque project has also been condemned by some leading Muslims but that is irrelevant to folks like Julie Menin who was silent on rebuilding the Twin Towers, not seeing it as at all central or relevant to her mission at Wall Street Rising,  but outspoken on the building of a mosque at Ground Zero. Do we  even pledge allegiance to the same flag Julie?  With the growing Muslim population in Lower Manhattan, this is simply about votes, money, the branding associated with being the well styled voice of tolerance for the financially well healed community of Muslims downtown and to extend one’s media persona.  It would be harder ultimately to sell a nuanced position to that voting bloc and maintain your standing. Just like how London has become Londonistan, I hope you will always remember who was behind the creation of NewYorkistan.

How can it be considered so politically incorrect to question the sources, funding and motives of a quasi political organization called the American Society for Muslim Advancement spear headed by Feisal Abdul Rauf (a guy who is somewhat of a critic of contemporary American Society)? Furthermore, how can someone who claims to want to build bridges of understanding and interfaith dialogue with non-Muslims, not understand that building a headquarters near Ground Zero might actually open new wounds and otherwise be perceived as being an effort to erect a political symbol or planting a flag of Islamic conquest at Ground Zero? What would the Voices of September 11th be saying to us now, were they to realize what we had allowed to rise in their place 10 years after they died for no good reason at all?

A revolution is brewing because people have too much time on their hands and the government seems to be ignoring the will of the people and/or finding ways to de-legitimize it. Symbols of freedom, democracy and free markets need to be elevated and reinstalled where necessary, not sacrificed as inconsequential in the reinvention of an America. Have we no national pride? Are we ashamed to be “too” American?  Recreating a European styled caliphate state in place of American democracy is not the answer. Islam deserves critique. In my estimation, Political Islamists have no standing nor are they in any position to lecture the west about democracy. 

Dare I Ask? The Vulnerability of America 

Truth is that I do not believe our political classes are naïve. So I am left to wonder, do the Globalists really intend to bring about the collapse of America by suffocating the independent spirit of our citizens, free enterprise and our national pride and silencing those who dare offer critique? Have we (America) become so weakened financially, structurally and our value system so compromised by our thirst and dependence on foreign oil, particularly from the Oil Producing Export Countries in the Middle East and financing from the House of Saud, the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia that our leadership is willing to discard most of what America is based or founded upon to appease and accommodate NWO Globalists who have become empowered by the current state of the Global Economy and the vulnerability of the United States of America and the opportunities that it presents? Are we on the verge of a new paradigm rebuilt on Saud(i) House of Cards with an Islamic quid pro quo at Ground Zero? Is this the end of the American Dream for many of us? Perhaps the establishment of  a new currency is not so far fetched. 

REBUILD AMERICA: The Clock is Ticking 

The time has come to Rebuild America. If America’s political elites have not already cashed in their chips, we can still rebuild America’s future through rebuilding it’s infrastructure.  Doing so is the only thing that will unite laborers, entrepreneurs, architects, engineers and reinvigorate the nation’s economy by getting the engines of commerce, banking and finance working in concert with the American worker. 

We ought to Rebuild America with the same sense of urgency and determination that we have sought to Rebuild Afghanistan.  We are headed to the point where celebrities will head to Detroit to adopt abandoned children rather than flying to Africa. 

The clock is ticking on America. Mr. President, if you want to reinvent or re-engineer American Society through central planning you might want to do so while putting folks back to work, engaging entrepreneurs and financiers. Not every capitalist is a crook and I fear alienating them will be the End of America. Furthermore, sewing resentment of the entrepreneurial classes in America may misdirect some anger and score political points but in terms of the people who create jobs, we need to stop demonizing them.  

Like most Americans, I would rather get a paycheck from a “greedy capitalist” who built an enterprise than food stamps from Uncle Sam. Capitalism does NOT suck. Try not to forget that. If I were you, I would get more CEO’s, Business Owners and Investors on your side. That more are not worries me.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.  They got  no family.  They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to. With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”  “An’ why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

-Of Mice and Men (1937) by John Steinbeck.

Only an alpha male New Yorker could pull off what Miami Heat GM  “Pat the Rat” has in his attempt to recreate LA Lakers “Showtime”  in South Beach with the likes of Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the last minute addition of man child LeBron James.  That ownership team of the New York Knicks allowed this cool cat, a New Yorker by birth, depending on your perspective perhaps a veritable basketball genius with the DNA of a Champion who has a long track record of success and in depth experience in every facet of the game, to get away tells you what happens when you cast aside an ambitious hungry New Yorker and let him loose in some other metropolis. Were I the owner of the Knicks, allowing this man, Pat Riley, to sit atop New York basketball would have been a small price to keep Madison Square Garden the Mecca of basketball. In the end, it is hard to believe that Basketball’s Tony Robbins would not have led the Knicks back to winning basketball quicker than any of the alternatives pursued since he left.

The Decision vs. The Admission

Basketball historians will some day write about what it was exactly that allowed  Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade to lure LeBron James to the Miami Heat, other than the warm Florida sunshine and the opportunity to pursue his championship dreams as a role player on a basketball juggernaut rather than to be the King on the world’s biggest stage in New York.  “The Decision” by LeBron James telecast on ESPN will, however, ultimately be remembered by most Sports historian’s as “The Admission”—the admission that he was no Heir Jordan and not ready to assume the mantle of the greatest basketball talent that the pro game has ever seen or to assume the responsibility for being “the franchise” for a major market team.   Many will fault him and questions about his heart or lack thereof may dog him long after people forget how he quit on the Caveliers in the 2010 playoffs against the Boston Celtics, wherein he seemed almost resigned to lose, even after he wins what many project are several NBA titles with the cast assembled by Pat Riley, the GM of the Miami Heat.

When you rip the soul out of a community on national television there will, certainly be hell to pay; from critics, members of the local community, fans and even an angry owner all of whom claim abandonment. It is the perfect way to kill one’s own brand, in the words of blogger Matt Gonzales:

It just so happens that you also end up with one of the most egregiously mishandled PR situations in the history of professional sports. Tonight, after a long and dramatic build-up that came off so staged and ridiculous it must have had the creators of “The Apprentice” drooling in their leather chairs, Lebron James will commandeer ESPN for an hour-long “special” to announce which team he will play for next year. “The Decision” will serve as the final, backwash-heavy swig from a lethal cocktail of PR tone deafness and brazen, unmitigated narcissism that has quickly and decisively transformed Lebron from a widely beloved icon into an object of widespread disgust and derision.

The citizens of Ohio and and a town of gritty, steely men and plain dealers of Cleveland, including the loyal fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers deserved a better fate or at least more stand up treatment than they received from Team LeBron James. In a time of recession, where the heartland has been hit especially hard, the success of a local Akron boy elevated the psyche of a community.  Team LeBron James would have been well advised to consider an alternative approach to the one that they employed, with a tad more humility and reverence for his legion of fans. If nothing else,  that might have led to greater forgiveness by the local community for his decision to play elsewhere and made him less of a villain. Instead what they were treated to was weeks and months of an ill advised PR Campaign with the spectacle of suitors making their case to King James culminating in an announcement labeled “The Decision” in prime time on ESPN. If you want to serve as a role model and teach kids how to “Be Great”, maybe you ought to do more than to stick a check in their mouth (via The Boys & Girls Clubs of America) to have them provide cover for your team’s self absorbed marketing plan. Perhaps you could have looked your community in the eye and explained (a) your desire to explore living elsewhere having spent most of your life in this community and (b) the opportunity to pair up with your closest friend and mentor to relieve you from the emptiness and dispair of the prospect of pursuing your destiny alone. 

Team LeCon James waged this campaign while there was an under current suggesting that this was a preordained and preorchestrated maneuver hatched a few years ago via collusion by three of the NBA’s most elite players, whom made a commitment to become free agents at the same time to create the possible opportunity of their joining forces on the same team. If that is the case, one has to wonder, which NBA executives had prior knowledge of this arrangement and knew that once they got Wade and Bosh, they were likely getting LeBron James too. For Cleveland ownership and fans to  have to hear their star player talking about doing what’s right for LeBron James in the third person is akin to a bride being left at the alter while the groom holds a press conference in a posh locale discussing how he met a younger, more attractive and fit woman with bigger breasts and better child rearing hips that will lead to his immediate self actualization and greater long term happiness while further reminding folks that besides which she has a bigger house in a nicer part of the country than his small rural town.

Ultimately, the NBA is, however a business and our children ought to have better role models than a self proclaimed Jesus or “King James” or Messiah with basketball, who himself may not be the perfect role model.

MIAMI vs. New York & Cleveland

Truth told sometimes mountainous men of seemingly endless ability have a fatal flaw or shortcoming which undermines their security and stature; even as men often of lesser ability or gifts are able to rise to higher heights in life.  In the end, ironically is “that admission” that he could not win a title on his own and that he sought teammates in that battle for his championship destiny that may allow him to surround himself with men whom he respects, admires and trusts to elevate him, his game and his legend. But also in the process there is a good chance that this move may lead to the evolution of his masculinity and better understanding of himself as man. Team Lebron from Akron is ultimately one which will need to evolve with him or he will ultimately shed that skin as he develops or matures.

While I have little in common with LeBron James and am 100% a New York Knicks fan, and though I hoped that he might join the Knicks and recognized him as a valuable piece to the puzzle, I did not see in his eyes the killer instinct of a Mark Messier, or the testicular fortitude of a champion who craved the opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage.

Something in the eyes, manner and overall hesitancy of LeBron James, even the shiftiness of it all, reminded me of myself at his age. Despite more than reasonable academic success, a degree of comfort that my parents provided some good DNA, I wondered and at times was not quite certain whether I was “man enough” to face the challenges of life head on in the Big Apple or a city of this size and whether, I should make an end run around it by playing on a smaller ball field. It took a personal apocalypse, the death of my father, some earnest intimate conversations in the weeks before his death and then ultimately a journey through the dark night of the soul where I was stripped bear of all my material possessions, physical beauty and other superficial props in my life, when I found myself alone to realize why and how it was that I got here.

My mother and father gave me all the love a child could want and nurtured the belief that I could do anything I committed myself to doing.  I grew up believing in myself, although often somewhat tentatively, never 100% certain whether I necessarily had all the tools. They gave me great sensitivity, understanding and introspection but a killer instinct that I could not always muster at the appropriate time. Despite my father’s intellect and his thirst for knowledge instilled deep within me, doubts remained. I have come to theorize that they came from my father’s willingness to accept less even though through the force of his intellectual skills, he was often entitled to more.  He was the perfect #2 man enabling the wealth and success of others, often unwilling to take or seize his just rewards. The creative with a unique brain endowed by the gods but with the hunger of an anorexic in terms of rewarding himself. He executed for others but did not execute or take for himself. I did not have in my life the example of a bull’s stampede across the goal line as evidence that it was in fact possible. There were times I wanted to see my father rise like King Kong atop the mountain, rip the proverbial trophy from the grasp of others while beating his chest from the highest heights. Instead, the vision I had was of a calm, demure but passionate intellectual completing the NY Times Crossword weekly while listening to Bach, Beethoven and other great artists.

My father’s blessing was that he wanted me to be a better version of himself at least on some quantifiable level as measured by Society so that his brand was thus thereby extended. If I am able to do that I will make him proud as I know that he lives within me and is along side of me now in so many actions and aspects of my life. It’s as if when my brain goes on and some of the most provocative and profound insights come to me, I see him sitting there with a warm smile on his face knowing that he is still able to reach me and make me a better man each day that I choose to fight for myself in this life. I fight because I feel his love within me even in my weakest times and my times of greatest doubt. It is what earnestly motivates me, not to fail him, to extend him and not be as concerned or consumed with the judgments of others as I am with the standards and morality he instilled within me.

True to my father’s nature I have become a more inquisitive reader over the years. Reading books was one my father’s greatest passions. This is what led me to read books such as Robert Wright’s The Moral Animal and most recently Stu Webber’s The Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart in an effort to better understand the evolution of man and why we are the way we are. Notably, Stu Weber, in his book, Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart: Bringing Strength into Balance postulates that biblical masculinity rests on four pillars. The four pillars represent the four major facets of a man’s life; these aspects of masculinity are: king, warrior, mentor, and friend. Weber believes that when all four “pillars” are balanced, peace and tranquility will prevail in our marriages, our families, our places of worship, and in the community and the nation. These institutions rest on the balanced pillars of biblical manhood, and they all collapse when the pillars lean out of balance. The major problems our society faces, for example, are the result of many men having one or more of their personal pillars out of balance–leaning one way or the other. For some men, the pillars have fallen down.

A four-pillared man, however, is the kind of a man who builds a civilization, a small civilization that outlives him. The proverbial broad shoulders or wings of such a man serve as the foundation of a civilized society and from which we either stagnate, if they be weak, or can take flight if they are steady. We ought to note these kinds of men and learn from the lessons of their life, for in the example of their life work lies the future of humanity.

IN QUEST OF MENTORS FOR A “KING JAMES”

New York Knicks fans will likely forever be disappointed that LeBron James left us at the alter only to join the hated Miami Heat, but when you consider the intangibles of the organization and the masculine role models that LeBron James went in search for, he found a better cast in Miami than he found in New York; with the Knicks more corporate, if not disjointed, management structure holding little appeal. The basketball man child went on a quest for comfort, security, mentorship and companionship not to be King Kong or take on the responsibility of the franchise leader. In itself that says a lot about a man, although as a friend of mine from the Midwest stated, “after all the cold winters in Cleveland, who the hell would not want to live in the sunshine of South Beach?” It’s a no brainer.  Nevertheless, in the end, it is that admission that he is not “the man” and perhaps does not want to be “the man” but rather merely one of “the men”, which may allow him to liberate himself from the judgments and expectations of others, surround him self with men whom he respects, admires and trusts to elevate him, his game and his legend.  Ultimately, if I am right and LeBron made the choices for those reasons, there will be a tremendous opportunity to bear witness to the development and maturity of man who no longer poses as “King James” or travels with an entourage of sycophants who operate in a misguided fashion to undermine his brand, but one who develops into a quiet assassin that operates with Zen like efficiency on the basketball court.  In the process there is a good chance that this move may lead to the evolution of his masculinity and better understanding of himself as man.

Sometimes beyond the media spotlight, spin and promotion lays the truth about a man in his battle to evolve as a human being and self actualize. I do not profess to know that this is the essence of LeBron’s truth or to imply that he is mentally disabled like Lennie Small in Steinbeck’s Of Mice & Men, but it is no lesser an explanation than most of the arm chair speculation about his motives that exists in the mainstream media currently.

In a way, it’s all a matter of time
I will not worry for you, You’ll be just fine
Take my thoughts with you, and when you look behind
You will surely see a face that you recognize

You’re not alone, I’ll wait till the end of time
Open your mind, Surely it’s plain to see
You’re not alone, I’ll wait till the end of time for you
Open your mind, Surely there’s time to be with me

It is the distance, that makes life a little hard
Two minds that once were close, Now so many miles apart
I will not falter though, I’ll hold on till you’re home
Safely back where you belong, And see how our love has grown

–”You’re Not Alone” by Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth and performed byOlive on the 1996 album Extra Virgin (see also: Ruth Ann)

Please forgive me father. Last week I wanted so badly to forget that it was Father’s Day. I did everything that I could do to keep myself occupied so that I would not focus on how much I miss you and what you continue to mean in my life. That day is just a little hard. Not a day goes by that I do not miss you, your counsel, your advice and wisdom and the comfort of your hand on my shoulder reminding me that everything will be alright.

But now at this juncture of my life in the decisions that I make and those that I plan to make, I know, I am not alone. I feel your presence and your spirit. I hear your voice in my ears. Your tolerance tempers my passion and reminds me I need to stop, listen and think not be so easily persuaded by what seems popular or conventional at the time. Yes, I will continue to listen to the person that others may ignore and continue, persist in my quest for truth and understanding. I am guided by what I know you would have wanted me to do with my voice, my platform, my talents and I promise you that whether I have 5, 10, 20 or 30 years left on this planet all the intellectual horsepower that you have equipped me with will be used in a productive fashion. While you left too soon, you live on in me and I sense intuitively what you want me to do. When I am unsure, I close my eyes, hesitate and it comes to me. Yes, I feel you when I am confident and comfortably deliberate in my actions. It is then that I smile, not because I am being smug or coy but because I know, I am not alone. In time we shall be reunited. Until then my humble life shall be lived in your honor, of that you can be sure. I love you father.

-I’m Not in Love, 10cc (Gouldman/Stewart) 1975

I am not a photographer, so don’t forget it
It’s just a silly phase I’m going through
And just because I take your photo
Don’t get me wrong,
don’t think you’ve got it made
I’m not a photographer, no-no

I’d like to shoot you, but then again
That doesn’t mean you mean that much to me
So if I shoot you, don’t make a fuss
Don’t tell your friends about the two of us
I’m not a photographer, no-no

(Be quiet, big boys don’t cry)

(Big boys don’t cry)
(Big boys don’t cry)
(Big boys don’t cry)
(Big boys don’t cry)
(Big boys don’t cry)
(Big boys don’t cry)

I keep your picture upon my website
Photoshop hides a nasty stain that’s lyin’ there
So don’t you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn’t mean that much to me
I’m not a photographer, no-no
(It’s because…)

Ooh, you’ll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you’ll wait a long time

Ooh, you’ll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you’ll wait a long time

I am not a photographer, so don’t forget it
It’s just a silly phase I’m going through
And just because I take your photo
Don’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it made
I’m not a photographer, oh oh

Epilogue: As a journalist, I listen with my eyes, the camera being just one of the tools at my disposal.  While I found myself reflecting  upon the demands on my time, the attempts to define me, control or assign and designate me by those who still do not truly understand who or what I am and aspire to be, the lyrics of 10cc resonated with me.  Ironic as I put out a fire once yet I am not a Fireman. I saved a cat from a tree, helped to subvert a robbery and other forms of criminality yet I am not a police officer.  So, while I go through this process of creation and evolution,   I often encounter those who feel more comfortable with a designation of their own choosing in an effort to limit me or better understand me or what I purport to do. To those of you who attempt to do so, please know I will shed any and all labels by placed on me by those who seek to control, define or limit my perspective, even though there is little doubt that I am committed to the mission which I am in the process of defining.

As I wander the streets in my hometown, even though the skyline and the sidewalks look familiar to me as they did 20-30 years ago and even though urban gentrification has pushed Manhattan’ness into Brooklyn; the Upper East and Upper West Side have morphed into Harlem (all positive developments in many respects), the city nevertheless seems lost in transition.  Since 9/11 and the turbulent economic environment that ensued in its wake over the last decade, we have searched for our proverbial soul, often defending our culture and way of life rather than pronouncing our pride for the embodiment of the capitalist spirit that we once celebrated so enthusiastically here. Sure, I get it, in more humbling recessionary times that seem like a New Depression, a certain degree of humility and introspection is perhaps not only more gentlemanly and polite but also necessary for us to evolve as a people.  For a society that does not question where it went awry is destined only to repeat the errors which brought on the very problems which destabilized that society, bringing a way of life to the brink of extinction.

Absent, however, from the spirit which led to the revitalization of Lower Manhattan and the building of The World Trade Center by David Rockefeller and company in the 1960’s and 70’s is a unified vision of how and why we shall remake ourselves for the next century. There is a hesitance or reluctance to assert the true American spirit, almost as if doing so is somehow politically incorrect, if not outright totally unacceptable.

While 9/11 was a horrific tragedy which deserves historical acknowledgement in terms of a 9/11 Memorial,  in the vacuum of leadership and perhaps because of that humility or the simple reality of a country in debt and facing less prosperous times, what has risen in its place to date are symbols which do not necessarily best represent the future of where New York is headed in terms of a global leadership position for the next 50-100 years. Do we hope to have one or are we ceding ground? What statement have we made to the world thus far with the continued emptiness in Lower Manhattan?

I find myself longing for a time before the “caricature of the city” that is represented by caricatures of the metropolis represented by shows like “Sex and the City” took over the public conscience representing what New York is to those less familiar with the history of our metropolis. Over the last few weeks, it’s as if this remake of an HBO Show made into a “Sex and the City” movie and a sequel is still projecting itself with assistance of the Fashion Industry as the most significant symbol of our metropolis. In fairness to the current administration of Mayor Mike Bloomberg, all critique be damned, it is one that has remained focused if not uniquely vigilant in understanding the business of the metropolis, working with NYC & Company to grease the wheels of the Tourism industry, making Times Square one of the most visited destinations in America and thus thereby insuring that New York remains one of the most visited places in America, if not the world. In post boom New York many industries are still licking their wounds from the economic collapse of 2008. That the Tourism industry is holding steady if not growing, is certainly no small feat. In the end “Sex and the City” is but an infomercial for the fashion industry, the design community and perhaps the stores that line Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue in New York City, so I will tolerate its existence even if I feel that the show is rather overly simplistic, hollow and superficial representation of one of the greatest metropolises that the world has ever known.

My concern, as it has been since September 12, 2001 is with the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. There are those, like Community Board 1 who believe that it matters not that an Islamic Cultural Center should rise in Lower Manhattan well before symbols of free enterprise tower over the Lower Manhattan skyline. Islamophobia is not the source or motivation behind my concerns, for I have friends who are Muslims and who practice the Islamic faith who are also very much Patriotic Americans and vital contributors to American society. Thus, I am not one who believes that the goal of each and very individual Muslim is to destroy America or see it come apart at the seams.

The strategic growth of Islam in American society appears, however, on a macro level politically calculated, designed to create an alternate political dynamic within America itself.  In his book American Jihad, researcher  Steve Emerson exposes the myriad of relationships of militant Islam in the United States, involving “charitable” foundations and fraternal organizations, benign-sounding front groups, and university-associated Islamic think tanks,  all working to advance the Islamic brand.  Even if the intent is not for purely militant ends, questions arise as to what that means in terms of conflicts between our Constitution, the American legal system and Sharia Law which influences the legal code in most Muslim countries. There is a growing debate as to whether sharia can coexist with secularism, democracy, or even modernity.

My critique here may certainly not endear me to those of my friends who are Muslim and for that I am sincerely sorry. While I do not believe that excessive Nationalism is productive to move a society forward, except perhaps to rally the masses during war time, America has done exactly the opposite since 9/11, often apologizing for who and what we are and our position on the world stage. Believe what you will, worship the way you will but Sharia Law and the political forces behind Islam will not establish a beach head around our national monuments and integrate Sharia Law without a struggle and without a fight from this man, so help me god.

The American Society of Muslim Advancement:Political Enterprise Promoting Islamic Supremacism?

The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative have and continue to use disingenuous PR Spin to obfuscate the truth about their agenda and the rationale for the building of a mega mosque at this point in the history of New York City and at this particular crossroads of humanity. One would think that said organization and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf,  might have chosen an alternate location, especially if their efforts were not designed to inflame the sensibilities of non-Muslims or test the limits of religious tolerance.  Advancing the Muslim brand worldwide could be more effectively achieved or accomplished by undertaking an outright cleansing and detoxification of the so called radical elements within the faith, not insisting that those who have been harmed by the militant elements within your  faith tolerate your establishment of a beach head near the epicenter of a tragedy inflicted on our metropolis in the name of your faith. Fix your faith before you seek to build more houses of said faith in or around monuments  or other strategic locations in America. Capische?

Ground Zero Mosque: Interfaith Cultural Center or Iron Fist of Islam in Velvet Glove?

The organizations and individuals behind this project ought to be a little more honest and straight forward about their true actual political agenda, the source of their funding and the quasi political statement that they are seeking to make by building a Mega Mosque at Ground Zero. The building of the mega mosque has been promoted or at least the PR Spin is that it will be an Interfaith Center. But yet this is being built and run exclusively by those who represent one faith, abhor interfaith dialogue and whose leadership (see: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf)  has been engaged in doublespeak, making one set of talking points about their agenda to the American public, and a local political body that does not wish to offend in any ways members of the local Arab community in New York City,  while making contrary statements to the Arab community locally and overseas.  This has led to some commentators asking whether the Ground Zero Mosque: Olive Branch or Soft Jihad?  Furthermore, ironically, no Christians, Jews or other religious organizations or leaders are behind this project, simply those tied to an Imam with questionable beliefs about American Society and the role of his religion in that society.

Ground Zero Mosque=Quasi Political Statement

Make no mistake, the building of a Mega Mosque at or near Ground Zero is far more than a religious statement, it is a quasi political statement because of its proximity to the World Trade Center, a location where radical elements of said faith inflicted a tremendous tragedy on American soil, and has been interpreted by many citizens across a wide demographic as being an attempt by Islamists to take a victory dance around one of America’s greatest tragedies and a slap in the face to those murdered on 9/11. And while I believe in religious freedom, I also believe that religions seeking to make an overtly political statement so close to where so many died on 9/11 is innately political and should be treated as such.  When religious bodies morph into political bodies they ought to lose their 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status and be taxed as free enterprises.  Some 501 (c) (3) entities are simply not doing God’s work but pursuing a political agenda in the name of spirituality and there is a distinction.   We as a people should not be in the business of subsidizing the spread of Islam in America. Ground Zero is a war memorial, a burial ground and a place for the rebirth of capitalist enterprise, not a zone for Global Islamists to imprint their brand, in a “killroy was here” fashion.

REBUILD: Twin Towers & A “World Trade Center”, Not A World Prayer Center

The rebuilding of downtown should be focused first and foremost on free enterprise and rebuilding something which truly resembles a futuristic ‘World Trade Center’ a place of international commerce that builds trade, facilitates the flow of capital between nations and increases productivity and employment. But ironically there seems to be more of a dialogue on the issue of building an Islamic Cultural Center than there is in rebuilding the Twin Towers. Is this truly “the vision” of post 9/11 New York City? Where is our resolve? Are we re-building a World Trade Center or a World Prayer & Tourist Mecca? Are we allowing for the long slow killing of the American spirit and American culture by forces committed to the installation of a new kind of society in America?

Ground Zero Zoning & Land Use: Free Enterprise Only

Zoning & Land Use regulations exist for many reasons, including to preserve the character of buildings and communities.  We have a Landmarks Conservancy because we do  not wash away the greatest aspects of our historical architectural achievements as a people merely because those committed to the global spread of Islam have investors empowering them to plant symbols of their faith  in locations they deem convenient, much in the same way that Prada or Gucci wants a store on Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue.  The American Society for Muslim Advancement for political reasons wants to have a monument to their faith at or near Ground Zero for branding purposes, and get this they want it completed to open on September 11, 2011.

The solution is rather simple: the blocks in or around Ground Zero should be re-zoned as commercial taxable grounds and not those used for religious non-profits who will proselytize one faith that in many respects is antithetical to the spirit of American Capitalism, Democracy and the continued existence of America itself, in its present composition. A line must be drawn in the sand against the Islamization of America.  Preservation of our culture and  the American way of life is more important than the political agenda of the forces behind Islamization of the planet.

Religious Freedom Is Not the Issue: Moderate Muslims Are Against the Ground Zero Mosque

Don’t let anybody fool you that this is a debate about religious freedom  It is not, even though it has been framed that way by an Imam with a questionable agenda. It is about the freedom to pursue a political agenda in the name of religion or spirituality, the establishment of a beachhead for political Islam and Islamic Supremacism, all with the support of taxpayers.  As a Society Editor who covers the 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt charitable fundraising circuit, I expect that some may take issue with my condemnation of  the forces behind The American Society for Muslim Advancement. Some 501 (c) (3) entities are simply not doing God’s work but pursuing a political agenda in the name of spirituality and there is a distinction.

In conclusion, do not let anyone persuade you that it is only Conservatives or those who are intolerant of religious freedom, who are against the building of this mega mosque.  Muslims are not being deprived of their right to worship freely and openly in America. In fact, even some moderate Muslims have questioned the timing of this project at this particular location, and have expressed misgivings about the Ground Zero mosque and the real agenda of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.  Likewise, a wide cross section of New Yorkers and Americans not limited to those affiliated with any one particular ideology are concerned, even if some outspoken conservatives are doing the heavy lifting and being labeled bigoted and intolerant.   This is why I will stand “in spirit” at noon time on June 6, 2010  with my fellow Americans, of divergent socio-political views, who are calling on our leaders to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero. In the end Capitalism and Democracy will save America before subsidization of the proliferation of Islam will.

*Note: The video included at the top of this piece is Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out on Broadway) by Billy Joel. Wikipedia has an explanation of the meaning of the song. Billy Joel also performed this song live at The Concert for New York City, a 9/11 Benefit Concert on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden.

Reference: For additional perspective on this subject, check out the following links:

-Twin Towers Alliance by Margaret L. Donovan:  “Death to America?” Memorial Day 2010

-American Thinker: A Sneak Preview of the Ground Zero Mega Mosque

-Atlas Shrugs blog by Pamela Geller

-PR News Wire: Is Ground Zero Mosque Founder Lying to NYC? Is Real Goal Sharia Not ‘Religious Dialogue’?

-A Mosque at Ground Zero? Moderate Muslims say no by Jeff Jacoby

- Hudson New York: Ground Zero Mosque: A Muslim View: Stop This Imam Now

-Brett Stephens (Wall Street Journal), The Mosque at Ground Zero

-NY Post Op-Ed: The Peaceful Jihad in America

-Mark Davis: Even So, Ground Zero Mosque is a bad idea

-FDNY: Stop the Ground Zero Mosque!

- SOIA Human Rights Group: Stop Islamization of America

-The Ground Zero Mosque Developer: Muslim Brotherhood Roots, Radical Dreams

-Jihad Watch: Geller: Mayor Bloomberg Submits, Sanctions 9/11 Mega Mosque

-Looking at the Left Never Forget Never Forgive: Stop the Mosque Ground Zero Rally

-Demonstrators Say No to Mosque at Ground Zero

Books & Video

-Terrorists Among Us – The Jihad in America (2001)

-American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us by Steve Emerson

-Militant Islam Reaches America by Daniel Pipes

The state of our culture and television programming in general has motivated me to follow in the footsteps of the flamboyant Bravo TV executive and reality television Drek Master Supreme,  Andy Cohen who creates programming to satiate the American consumer’s  coprophagiac appetite.  If you cannot elevate our culture then what the heck, you might as well cash in quickly on its disintegration, especially as long as banks have funds to finance production costs and advertisers, sponsors are willing to line my pockets with some substantial coin. As PT Barnum allegedly once said or better stated, had attributed to him, “There’s a sucker born every minute” and lets be frank, so many of them are perched in front of a television for hours on end on a daily basis.

It is thus accordingly my hope to launch a new celebrity reality show, inspired by the cage matches in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,  to be called: “Dancing In Front of [Moving] Cars”— with the idea being that the celebrity couple that avoids getting creamed at random local intersections across America,  get to dance for another day.  Think about the upside…..and about how much more challenging it will be for celebrity couples to survive from one round to the next. Anyone can “Dance with a Star” but who among you can “Dance In Front of Moving Cars” and live to tell about it?  That only means that “Dancing In Front of [Moving] Cars” is sure to be a bigger hit than the completely and totally non-dangerous simply “Dancing with the Stars.” In some cases, say that of Lindsay Lohan, who has so regularly found the white hot lights,  dancing in front of a moving car may in essence not only lead to peak stardom but may be the only challenge left for them to conquer before finding themselves six feet under.

It will be the rare star who lingers around to overstay their welcome. Expressions of viewer sympathy, wakes and “Sitting Shiva” will replace the extension of anyone’s 15 Minutes…..beyond literally their 15 Minutes. Everyone will have their 15 Minutes of Fame and only those 15 minutes before we say “next.”  This will do wonders for the funeral business. Perhaps the shows can be sponsored by upscale casket manufacturers and funeral homes, such as Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on Madison Avenue. Hell you know you have left you mark on Society if your wake is hosted at this fabulous locale.

Since their on screen lives resemble a car crash, I was sort of wondering whether some of The Real Housewives from New York City would “volunteer” to be among the show’s first guests. At this point, many folks in America would probably vote to have Jill Zarin or Kelly Killoren Bensimon run the gauntlet.  The remainder are perhaps willing to be patient to see if  Ramona “Crazy Eyes” Singer gets her big break to star as Charles Lee ‘Chucky’ Ray in a remake of Child’s Play,   that is if sociopath and New Jersey housewife Danielle Staub is not too busy using her own set of crazy eyes to star in a remake of Sybil to play Chucky herself.  After we run out of Real Housewives from New York, we can move on down the line to Atlanta, Orange County, New Jersey et al etc until our mission is complete.

Funds raised will go to Project Protect Runaway Dogs (to be distinguished from “Runway dogs” who get trampled on the run way by socialites who hold them at Pet related charity events), which shall be a new organization formed and devoted to protect run away dogs   who get hit and hurt by moving cars.  Cause in the end, lets be honest here, a stray dog’s life is probably and most certainly more valuable, even if that is not saying much about the denigration of our culture or what is on Television at night.

Finally if this show is a success, I hope to launch Mad Socialites Beyond Thunder Dome. After all, while “We Don’t Need Another Hero….some folks do not need to know the way home.”  Don’t even get me started about Rollerball with the Stars.

*Note: For those offended by the inference that Bravo Executive Andy Cohen is a drek master supreme, let’s be clear, if you stand at the crossroads of humanity and sell shit to consumers with a coprophagiac appetite, regardless of whether you are wearing Prada, Gucci or Armani you are truly a shit merchant. And these days, sadly,  it is a highly lucrative business.