A Good Day In New York City

A Good Day In New York City

Yesterday was a pretty cool day in NYC. We had the flyover of the space shuttle trainer that will be permanently housed at the Intrepid Museum along the Hudson River in New York City. Watching the Shuttle piggybacked onto a NASA 747 swoop through lower Manhattan glistening in the sunshine made me giddy as a schoolgirl and proud to be an American.

Yes, I am a child of the "Space Age". I remember watching with silent anticipation as numerous astronauts blasted off into space and being giddy at the final countdown as we all shouted "Blast Off" as the giant thrusters hurled these brave men into orbit. Knowing how important these events were to our young American minds, my elementary teachers brought small black and white televisions into the classroom, the lights were turned off, and we were allowed to watch the events unfold live before our very eyes. All other broadcasting ceased while these brave men risked their lives hurling themselves atop a giant Saturn V rocket. These men were our heroes - real heroes. President Kennedy, President Johnson, and, yes, President Nixon encouraged us to reach for the stars and every little boy wanted to be an astronaut (and even little girls too!). We were told that we were in a race for the future of the world and whoever wins would dominate. Who would win this race - the evil Russians or the Good Americans? These men and their rocketships were the key to a secure world for freedom loving people everywhere.

Twelve years after watching Neil Armstrong step on the Moon, once again I was sitting in a darkened room watching a small black and white television with the same child-like anticipation waiting for the Space Shuttle Columbia to make its first touchdown ushering a new era of space flight. It was still breathtaking. Since then we have had SkyLab, the International Space Station, unmanned flights to Mars, and the Hubble telescope which have all allowed us to see further into space with each new achievement and the benefits to mankind have been numerous.

We were indoctrinated as young children of the '60's to believe that we were the greatest nation on Earth and that we could achieve great things if we worked together. What our country has achieved though the space program with all the astronauts, scientists, engineers, and medical personnel is something that no head of state or politician has ever achieved without a war - global cooperation for the benefit of all mankind. It may be the indoctrination talking, but that makes me pretty darn proud to be an American.

Yesterday was a pretty cool day in NYC. We had the flyover of the space shuttle trainer that will be permanently housed at the Intrepid Museum along the Hudson River in New York City. Watching the Shuttle piggybacked onto a NASA 747 swoop through lower Manhattan glistening in the sunshine made me giddy as a schoolgirl and proud to be an American.

Yes, I am a child of the "Space Age". I remember watching with silent anticipation as numerous astronauts blasted off into space and being giddy at the final countdown as we all shouted "Blast Off" as the giant thrusters hurled these brave men into orbit. Knowing how important these events were to our young American minds, my elementary teachers brought small black and white televisions into the classroom, the lights were turned off, and we were allowed to watch the events unfold live before our very eyes. All other broadcasting ceased while these brave men risked their lives hurling themselves atop a giant Saturn V rocket. These men were our heroes - real heroes. President Kennedy, President Johnson, and, yes, President Nixon encouraged us to reach for the stars and every little boy wanted to be an astronaut (and even little girls too!). We were told that we were in a race for the future of the world and whoever wins would dominate. Who would win this race - the evil Russians or the Good Americans? These men and their rocketships were the key to a secure world for freedom loving people everywhere.

Twelve years after watching Neil Armstrong step on the Moon, once again I was sitting in a darkened room watching a small black and white television with the same child-like anticipation waiting for the Space Shuttle Columbia to make its first touchdown ushering a new era of space flight. It was still breathtaking. Since then we have had SkyLab, the International Space Station, unmanned flights to Mars, and the Hubble telescope which have all allowed us to see further into space with each new achievement and the benefits to mankind have been numerous.

We were indoctrinated as young children of the '60's to believe that we were the greatest nation on Earth and that we could achieve great things if we worked together. What our country has achieved though the space program with all the astronauts, scientists, engineers, and medical personnel is something that no head of state or politician has ever achieved without a war - global cooperation for the benefit of all mankind. It may be the indoctrination talking, but that makes me pretty darn proud to be an American.

A Good Day In New York City

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New York Update

New York Update

Earlier this week,  NYC Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced that henceforth there will be 50 words and concepts that would no longer be allowed on the many standardized assessment tests created by NYC's vast network of standardized assessment test creators. The Committee-That-Knows-Better-Than-You put their collective heads together to created this list because they fear that some student could be so traumatized at the very thought of the concept of "children dealing with serious issues" that they will not be able to perform at their best. They decided that this is the reason for the steep decline in test scores over the last few years. Of course, not learning how to read, write a simple sentence, and to do simple arithmetic may be more traumatizing when faced with a standardized test, but hey that's just me. Some of the forbidden words are predictable, but some are just baffling. Here is the full list:

***WARNING: SOME OF THESE WORDS AND/OR CONCEPTS MAY BE TRAUMATIZING***

FORBIDDEN WORD/CONCEPT LIST

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)

Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs

Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)

Bodily functions

Cancer (and other diseases)

Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)

Celebrities

Children dealing with serious issues

Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)

Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)

Crime

Death and disease

Divorce

Evolution

Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes

Gambling involving money

Halloween

Homelessness

Homes with swimming pools

Hunting

Junk food

In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge

Loss of employment

Nuclear weapons

Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)

Parapsychology

Politics

Pornography

Poverty

Rap Music

Religion

Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)

Rock-and-Roll music

Running away

Sex

Slavery

Terrorism

Television and video games (excessive use)

Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)

Vermin (rats and roaches)

Violence

War and bloodshed

Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)

Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.

My sample question: If traveling (oops, don't use traveling because some kids may not have the means to travel) for 40 miles (what about those kids who only understand the metric system?) going East (oops, what if they live on the East Coast less than 40 miles from open water?) at 40 miles an hour (oops there's that metric issue again) how long will it take you to get to get to your destination in the astral plane (oops, no parapsychology references allowed) ?

It must be frustrating for any test writers. I mean, yeah, before you couldn't write questions based on pornographic images or with those seven words you couldn't say on television, but now you can't write questions based on "parapsychology".  I mean what is up with that?  It's interesting that the one word they do not use is "ban". These words are not "banned", they are just "forbidden". "Banning" is bad, "forbidding" is just fine if done by the most liberal school system in the country. Okay, in all fairness, Chancellor Walcott backed off the "forbid" to a much softer "suggest" four days later, but the list went out and the damage was done.

Next week: Foods and donations that are now banned...er forbidden...er suggested strongly that one not use or do.

Earlier this week,  NYC Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced that henceforth there will be 50 words and concepts that would no longer be allowed on the many standardized assessment tests created by NYC's vast network of standardized assessment test creators. The Committee-That-Knows-Better-Than-You put their collective heads together to created this list because they fear that some student could be so traumatized at the very thought of the concept of "children dealing with serious issues" that they will not be able to perform at their best. They decided that this is the reason for the steep decline in test scores over the last few years. Of course, not learning how to read, write a simple sentence, and to do simple arithmetic may be more traumatizing when faced with a standardized test, but hey that's just me. Some of the forbidden words are predictable, but some are just baffling. Here is the full list:

***WARNING: SOME OF THESE WORDS AND/OR CONCEPTS MAY BE TRAUMATIZING***

FORBIDDEN WORD/CONCEPT LIST

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)

Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs

Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)

Bodily functions

Cancer (and other diseases)

Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)

Celebrities

Children dealing with serious issues

Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)

Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)

Crime

Death and disease

Divorce

Evolution

Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes

Gambling involving money

Halloween

Homelessness

Homes with swimming pools

Hunting

Junk food

In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge

Loss of employment

Nuclear weapons

Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)

Parapsychology

Politics

Pornography

Poverty

Rap Music

Religion

Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)

Rock-and-Roll music

Running away

Sex

Slavery

Terrorism

Television and video games (excessive use)

Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)

Vermin (rats and roaches)

Violence

War and bloodshed

Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)

Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.

My sample question: If traveling (oops, don't use traveling because some kids may not have the means to travel) for 40 miles (what about those kids who only understand the metric system?) going East (oops, what if they live on the East Coast less than 40 miles from open water?) at 40 miles an hour (oops there's that metric issue again) how long will it take you to get to get to your destination in the astral plane (oops, no parapsychology references allowed) ?

It must be frustrating for any test writers. I mean, yeah, before you couldn't write questions based on pornographic images or with those seven words you couldn't say on television, but now you can't write questions based on "parapsychology".  I mean what is up with that?  It's interesting that the one word they do not use is "ban". These words are not "banned", they are just "forbidden". "Banning" is bad, "forbidding" is just fine if done by the most liberal school system in the country. Okay, in all fairness, Chancellor Walcott backed off the "forbid" to a much softer "suggest" four days later, but the list went out and the damage was done.

Next week: Foods and donations that are now banned...er forbidden...er suggested strongly that one not use or do.

New York Update

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Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part IV

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part IV

So, now that the Winter is in full swing, what's happened to all of those Occupiers of Wall Street? When we last left them on November 15, 2011 they were being evicted by force from Zuccotti Park. They sued, they lost, they appealed, realized that they couldn’t win (and maybe didn’t want to win because, well, Winter was moving in), and finally gave up their appeal. Well, let’s just say that they’ve kept themselves occupied with indoor activities.

Following their November eviction, sympathetic churches and synagogues opened their doors and their facilities to the Occupiers. Let’s call it a modern day “sanctuary”. Fast forward to February 2012, and now the churches and synagogues have had enough. Sanctuary just isn't what it used to be. It seems our Occupiers were not civilized enough to not steal because, well, ownership is such an outdated 20th Century concept. They stole or "acquired without benefit of ownership" just about anything that wasn’t nailed down including an expensive laptop and very valuable 800 lb baptismal font. Rev. Bob Brashears from the West Park Presbyterian Church, noted on his decision to evict the OWS’ers that “not even the crack addict mess with [the baptismal font[“. I will not tell you what they did to the sanctuary of a Park Slope (Brooklyn) church, but suffice it to say, that several of them had "accidents" on or near a cross. You know, one of those accidents that 3 year olds have. But hey, they said they were sorry for the thefts and the "accidents' and paid the churches a stipend for their trouble.

Next, our OWS’ers decided to use their force for good to “occupy” a home that was about to foreclosed on by one of those evil banks. The owner was thrilled, hoping that they would help him pressure the banks and the MSM to save his family home. Well, while the owner was trying desperately to save his home, the occupiers moved a “homeless family” in. They proceeded to tear down walls and “redecorate” so that others could move in, about 12 in all. With no help from OWS, the owner was able to save his home, but when he and his family were to move back in, they found 12 strangers living in their house and walls missing. So livid did this owner become he used the MSM to publically rebuke the OWS’er and used the sheriff to have them evicted. Again, they said they were sorry and paid to restore the owner’s home.

This week, they joined forces with the UFT and AFL-CIO to “Occupy the DOE”. The NYC Department of Education held public meeting this week to discuss when and why the Board of Education wanted to close 23 failing public schools and to give public and parents a chance to discuss. The Occupiers took over and became so loud and disruptive that the board members had to put on headphones to even hear each other. Parents did not get a chance to air grievances; the public did not get a chance to hear an explanation. The board voted to close the schools because no one was allowed to explain why they should not close them. The OWS’ers didn’t apologize for this one.

So, if you thought they were gone, they are not. If anything, they are becoming more aggressive. But they sure are not making any friends along the way.

So, now that the Winter is in full swing, what's happened to all of those Occupiers of Wall Street? When we last left them on November 15, 2011 they were being evicted by force from Zuccotti Park. They sued, they lost, they appealed, realized that they couldn’t win (and maybe didn’t want to win because, well, Winter was moving in), and finally gave up their appeal. Well, let’s just say that they’ve kept themselves occupied with indoor activities.

Following their November eviction, sympathetic churches and synagogues opened their doors and their facilities to the Occupiers. Let’s call it a modern day “sanctuary”. Fast forward to February 2012, and now the churches and synagogues have had enough. Sanctuary just isn't what it used to be. It seems our Occupiers were not civilized enough to not steal because, well, ownership is such an outdated 20th Century concept. They stole or "acquired without benefit of ownership" just about anything that wasn’t nailed down including an expensive laptop and very valuable 800 lb baptismal font. Rev. Bob Brashears from the West Park Presbyterian Church, noted on his decision to evict the OWS’ers that “not even the crack addict mess with [the baptismal font[“. I will not tell you what they did to the sanctuary of a Park Slope (Brooklyn) church, but suffice it to say, that several of them had "accidents" on or near a cross. You know, one of those accidents that 3 year olds have. But hey, they said they were sorry for the thefts and the "accidents' and paid the churches a stipend for their trouble.

Next, our OWS’ers decided to use their force for good to “occupy” a home that was about to foreclosed on by one of those evil banks. The owner was thrilled, hoping that they would help him pressure the banks and the MSM to save his family home. Well, while the owner was trying desperately to save his home, the occupiers moved a “homeless family” in. They proceeded to tear down walls and “redecorate” so that others could move in, about 12 in all. With no help from OWS, the owner was able to save his home, but when he and his family were to move back in, they found 12 strangers living in their house and walls missing. So livid did this owner become he used the MSM to publically rebuke the OWS’er and used the sheriff to have them evicted. Again, they said they were sorry and paid to restore the owner’s home.

This week, they joined forces with the UFT and AFL-CIO to “Occupy the DOE”. The NYC Department of Education held public meeting this week to discuss when and why the Board of Education wanted to close 23 failing public schools and to give public and parents a chance to discuss. The Occupiers took over and became so loud and disruptive that the board members had to put on headphones to even hear each other. Parents did not get a chance to air grievances; the public did not get a chance to hear an explanation. The board voted to close the schools because no one was allowed to explain why they should not close them. The OWS’ers didn’t apologize for this one.

So, if you thought they were gone, they are not. If anything, they are becoming more aggressive. But they sure are not making any friends along the way.

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part IV

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Occupy Wall Street...Is Hazardous to Your Health

Occupy Wall Street...Is Hazardous to Your Health

It's been a bad few weeks for the Occupy movement - a homicide in Oakland, a suicide in San Diego, two drug overdose-related deaths in Toronto, and one unexplained death in Oklahoma City. Sad, but not unexpected for such a broad movement. However, there is something more disturbing rising from this movement...

Since at least the 19th Century, public health officials have fought hard to educate the public of the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation. It was observed that people living in cramped, unsanitary conditions caused the fast, virulent spread of deadly airborne diseases. As a result, cities and towns set about developing a system of public sewage disposal, indoor toilets, public parks, and the aggressive education of the need for proper hygiene. The simple act of washing one's hands has save more lives than all the antibiotics in the world. In the last 50 years, the Plague, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, tuberculosis and many other diseases have all but been eradicated from the "first world" because of these agressive public health systems. Airborne diseases like influenza, that wiped out nearly 16 million people in 1918, are, today, just inconveniences for healthy people.

So why the public health history lesson? Well, as they say, when one does not understand history, one is doomed to repeat it. And when a group of people who have been raised in a world where major problems of public health have progressed to the dangers of "transfats" and "obesity", it is not even in their thought process that there is a reason for proper sanitation beyond the smell. Okay, I will get to my point - the Occupy movement has become a matter of public health! In the last few weeks, there has been an alarming rise in reported cases of airborne and sexually transmitted diseases running rampant through the Occupy camps. Respiratory ailments are so prevalent at the Occupy Wall Street camp that medical professionals have a name for it - "Zuccotti Lung". More disturbing is the antibiotic-resistant strain of tuberculosis that cropped up at Occupy Atlanta. And now, the occupiers are hunkering down for the Winter. Big military-style tents began to crop up at Zuccotti Park this week and it is rumored that there are bunkbeds coming to fill them. No running water, no proper toilet facilities, and cramped, closed quarters - the only thing left is a an outbreak of cholera, and we will be right back to the 19th Century. The health department has shut down businesses for not keeping soup at the proper temperature. Is it going to take a typhoid epidemic for our Mayor to do something?

It's been a bad few weeks for the Occupy movement - a homicide in Oakland, a suicide in San Diego, two drug overdose-related deaths in Toronto, and one unexplained death in Oklahoma City. Sad, but not unexpected for such a broad movement. However, there is something more disturbing rising from this movement...

Since at least the 19th Century, public health officials have fought hard to educate the public of the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation. It was observed that people living in cramped, unsanitary conditions caused the fast, virulent spread of deadly airborne diseases. As a result, cities and towns set about developing a system of public sewage disposal, indoor toilets, public parks, and the aggressive education of the need for proper hygiene. The simple act of washing one's hands has save more lives than all the antibiotics in the world. In the last 50 years, the Plague, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, tuberculosis and many other diseases have all but been eradicated from the "first world" because of these agressive public health systems. Airborne diseases like influenza, that wiped out nearly 16 million people in 1918, are, today, just inconveniences for healthy people.

So why the public health history lesson? Well, as they say, when one does not understand history, one is doomed to repeat it. And when a group of people who have been raised in a world where major problems of public health have progressed to the dangers of "transfats" and "obesity", it is not even in their thought process that there is a reason for proper sanitation beyond the smell. Okay, I will get to my point - the Occupy movement has become a matter of public health! In the last few weeks, there has been an alarming rise in reported cases of airborne and sexually transmitted diseases running rampant through the Occupy camps. Respiratory ailments are so prevalent at the Occupy Wall Street camp that medical professionals have a name for it - "Zuccotti Lung". More disturbing is the antibiotic-resistant strain of tuberculosis that cropped up at Occupy Atlanta. And now, the occupiers are hunkering down for the Winter. Big military-style tents began to crop up at Zuccotti Park this week and it is rumored that there are bunkbeds coming to fill them. No running water, no proper toilet facilities, and cramped, closed quarters - the only thing left is a an outbreak of cholera, and we will be right back to the 19th Century. The health department has shut down businesses for not keeping soup at the proper temperature. Is it going to take a typhoid epidemic for our Mayor to do something?

Occupy Wall Street...Is Hazardous to Your Health

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Occupy Wall Street...No More -1%'ers!

Occupy Wall Street...No More -1%'ers!

OWS in the Snow

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these...yada, yada, yada..."
- Me

They will never go away. In the beginning everyone with a sign and a gripe was welcomed. As one person described "If you put every liberal and progessive idea into a giant blender, the result would be Occupy Wall Street". As the Occupy Wall Street "movement" has progressed, so have the donations. Money and goods have been pouring in from all over the country. It was reported this week in the New York Post, that our intrepid Occupiers at Zuccotti Park have raised over $450,000 in cash plus about the same amount in donated services and goods like cold weather tents, clothes, and organic food. By my estimation, they have acculumated almost $1 million worth of cash and goods. [Doesn't that put them in the same category of the "rich"?] All of the goods are being stored in a large space donated by United Federation of Teachers and the cash is being stored in Amalgamated Bank. Imagine, they are using a bank to hold their money! A former hotel chef has been cooking all of their meals from the donated organic food (roasted organic chicken with rice and seasonal organic vegetables) at a donated kitchen facility at a local church. Kumbaya, My Lord...Kumbaya!

Well, I'm thinking that our Occupiers missed the Sesame Street episodes on "sharing". In the last few weeks, word has spread far and wide about all the free clothes, sleeping bags, and good eats available to anyone who wants it. So, lucky for the Occupiers, reinforcements to the movement have been arriving from all over the region to add their voices to the Peoples' Microphone. I call them the "-1%'ers". Yes, -1%'ers are not just the white, disaffected upper middle class Occupiers. These are the hardcore homeless looking for a meal, a warm sleeping bag, and maybe a some shoes without holes. You'd think that these -1%'ers would be welcomed as the living, breathing examples of the what the evil, rich 1%'ers have done to this country. Well, surprise, our little Socialists/Communists/Up With The Downtrodden Occupiers do not like their new compatriots one bit. How dare they want the free food and clothing that they have worked so hard to acquire! How dare these -1%ers want a free warm sleeping bag or tent to sleep in! It's THEIR free stuff, not for the homeless! It has gotten so bad that even the OWS kitchen crew went on strike. They are tired of feeding the undeserving homeless who are only there to get a hot meal. So, they put their collectivist feet down and will only be serving brown rice, beans, and PBJ sandwiches three times a day to the "real" Occupiers only. Who would have thought that the real people in need, the -1%'ers, would be such a nuisance? Of course, what's to become of all those donated organic free-range chickens and seasonal vegetables? I'm guessing that the next donation will be a warm place for the Occupying "management" to dine homeless-free.

And in other OWS news, the NY Fire Department went in yesterday morning and removed all of the gas powered generators citing safety violations. The Occupiers were using the gasoline and bio-fueled generators to power all of their Wall Street Investor/Inventor-made computers, heaters, cell phones and keep their food warm. Interesting timing as it was just one day ahead of our first hardcore Nor'Easter of the season. But all is not lost. A company in Massachusetts has offered to replace them with five bicycle-powered generators next week. I am hoping that the NY Buildings Department will move in next week and order them to take down the Shantytown tarps and tents. And so the Occupation continues...

OWS in the Snow

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these...yada, yada, yada..."
- Me

They will never go away. In the beginning everyone with a sign and a gripe was welcomed. As one person described "If you put every liberal and progessive idea into a giant blender, the result would be Occupy Wall Street". As the Occupy Wall Street "movement" has progressed, so have the donations. Money and goods have been pouring in from all over the country. It was reported this week in the New York Post, that our intrepid Occupiers at Zuccotti Park have raised over $450,000 in cash plus about the same amount in donated services and goods like cold weather tents, clothes, and organic food. By my estimation, they have acculumated almost $1 million worth of cash and goods. [Doesn't that put them in the same category of the "rich"?] All of the goods are being stored in a large space donated by United Federation of Teachers and the cash is being stored in Amalgamated Bank. Imagine, they are using a bank to hold their money! A former hotel chef has been cooking all of their meals from the donated organic food (roasted organic chicken with rice and seasonal organic vegetables) at a donated kitchen facility at a local church. Kumbaya, My Lord...Kumbaya!

Well, I'm thinking that our Occupiers missed the Sesame Street episodes on "sharing". In the last few weeks, word has spread far and wide about all the free clothes, sleeping bags, and good eats available to anyone who wants it. So, lucky for the Occupiers, reinforcements to the movement have been arriving from all over the region to add their voices to the Peoples' Microphone. I call them the "-1%'ers". Yes, -1%'ers are not just the white, disaffected upper middle class Occupiers. These are the hardcore homeless looking for a meal, a warm sleeping bag, and maybe a some shoes without holes. You'd think that these -1%'ers would be welcomed as the living, breathing examples of the what the evil, rich 1%'ers have done to this country. Well, surprise, our little Socialists/Communists/Up With The Downtrodden Occupiers do not like their new compatriots one bit. How dare they want the free food and clothing that they have worked so hard to acquire! How dare these -1%ers want a free warm sleeping bag or tent to sleep in! It's THEIR free stuff, not for the homeless! It has gotten so bad that even the OWS kitchen crew went on strike. They are tired of feeding the undeserving homeless who are only there to get a hot meal. So, they put their collectivist feet down and will only be serving brown rice, beans, and PBJ sandwiches three times a day to the "real" Occupiers only. Who would have thought that the real people in need, the -1%'ers, would be such a nuisance? Of course, what's to become of all those donated organic free-range chickens and seasonal vegetables? I'm guessing that the next donation will be a warm place for the Occupying "management" to dine homeless-free.

And in other OWS news, the NY Fire Department went in yesterday morning and removed all of the gas powered generators citing safety violations. The Occupiers were using the gasoline and bio-fueled generators to power all of their Wall Street Investor/Inventor-made computers, heaters, cell phones and keep their food warm. Interesting timing as it was just one day ahead of our first hardcore Nor'Easter of the season. But all is not lost. A company in Massachusetts has offered to replace them with five bicycle-powered generators next week. I am hoping that the NY Buildings Department will move in next week and order them to take down the Shantytown tarps and tents. And so the Occupation continues...

Occupy Wall Street...No More -1%'ers!

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Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part III

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part III

There's an ill wind blowing near Wall Street and it's not just the stench of the unwashed masses. Our building is now officially under siege.   As of Thursday, One Liberty Plaza is surrounded by a double layer of barricades and a triple layer of security check points. As the Occupation goes into its fourth week, there is beginning to be less of a "kumbaya:" atmosphere and more of a rising level of violent rhetoric much of which the "movement" would just as soon you did not know about.

Well, let's just say that what is old is new again -

From #OccupyLA -

Oh yeah, this lovely lady works for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

And from #OccupyWallStreet right down at Zuccotti Park, there have been several incidences of ranting thuggery. Below is one example. Nobody stops it. Nobody questions it and it is explained away by the "Communications" table with a "They do not represent us, but, hey, they have a right to say what they want".

Seeing a theme beginning to appear?  About now I would be expecting our political leaders to be denouncing their hateful rhetoric, but they seem to be getting real kick out of it.

And just in case you were wondering who the Puppet Master of the #OccupyWallStreet movement really is...well, it's actually a Puppet a/k/a "Anonymous".

All kidding aside - This beginning to really scare me. With the Tea Party movement, I never feared that it would ever turn violent. We have always been clear in our purpose and focus our anger at the politicians who will not listen by voting them out and holding the ones left in office accountable for their legislation. But what is going on now, is just unfocused rage and it is not a matter of "if", but "when" the violence will begin. There is an element that WANTS the violence to begin. Even the MSM is prodding it on by stating that "what this movement needs is an element of Kent State".

A old friend of mine posted on his Facebook page that he was on his way to an Occupy 99 rally today. He proudly announced that his poster reads: "Forgetting Us Can Kill Y.O.U.". That made me sad. He used to an intelligent person, now he's a thug.

I closed today with these photo taken by David Webb on Thursday. David is one of the organizers of my Tea Party group - TeaParty365.org -  in New York City and host of The David Webb Show on Sirius XM Patriot 125:

Blatant Consumerism - Shame on him

Kumbaya, My Lord, Kumbaya...

I saved the best for last...

There's an ill wind blowing near Wall Street and it's not just the stench of the unwashed masses. Our building is now officially under siege.   As of Thursday, One Liberty Plaza is surrounded by a double layer of barricades and a triple layer of security check points. As the Occupation goes into its fourth week, there is beginning to be less of a "kumbaya:" atmosphere and more of a rising level of violent rhetoric much of which the "movement" would just as soon you did not know about.

Well, let's just say that what is old is new again -

From #OccupyLA -

Oh yeah, this lovely lady works for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

And from #OccupyWallStreet right down at Zuccotti Park, there have been several incidences of ranting thuggery. Below is one example. Nobody stops it. Nobody questions it and it is explained away by the "Communications" table with a "They do not represent us, but, hey, they have a right to say what they want".

Seeing a theme beginning to appear?  About now I would be expecting our political leaders to be denouncing their hateful rhetoric, but they seem to be getting real kick out of it.

And just in case you were wondering who the Puppet Master of the #OccupyWallStreet movement really is...well, it's actually a Puppet a/k/a "Anonymous".

All kidding aside - This beginning to really scare me. With the Tea Party movement, I never feared that it would ever turn violent. We have always been clear in our purpose and focus our anger at the politicians who will not listen by voting them out and holding the ones left in office accountable for their legislation. But what is going on now, is just unfocused rage and it is not a matter of "if", but "when" the violence will begin. There is an element that WANTS the violence to begin. Even the MSM is prodding it on by stating that "what this movement needs is an element of Kent State".

A old friend of mine posted on his Facebook page that he was on his way to an Occupy 99 rally today. He proudly announced that his poster reads: "Forgetting Us Can Kill Y.O.U.". That made me sad. He used to an intelligent person, now he's a thug.

I closed today with these photo taken by David Webb on Thursday. David is one of the organizers of my Tea Party group - TeaParty365.org -  in New York City and host of The David Webb Show on Sirius XM Patriot 125:

Blatant Consumerism - Shame on him

Kumbaya, My Lord, Kumbaya...

I saved the best for last...

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part III

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Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part II

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part II

"What do we want? WE DON'T KNOW!
"When do we want it? NOW!!

-from BevfromNYC



So they are now starting their fourth week of occupation and I am in my third week under seige. The unions joined the intrepid Occupiers this week and the fun really began (and the smell has gotten stronger...). Just in case you still can't figure out what these Occupiers of Wall Street really want, below is their official list of thirteen demands posted on the official Occupy Wall Street website (not to be confused with this site which is the astroturfin' version!):

• Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
• Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
• Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
• Demand four: Free college education.
• Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
• Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
• Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.
• Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
• Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
• Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
• Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
• Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
• Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.
- Occupywallst.org

I just don't know what to say. So let's discuss and see if any of these demands are doable.

P.S. Demand 11 is my personal favorite, but I hope they can wait in implementing this one until I can max out all of my credit cards and take out that mortgage on my dream penthouse on Park Avenue...

"What do we want? WE DON'T KNOW!
"When do we want it? NOW!!

-from BevfromNYC



So they are now starting their fourth week of occupation and I am in my third week under seige. The unions joined the intrepid Occupiers this week and the fun really began (and the smell has gotten stronger...). Just in case you still can't figure out what these Occupiers of Wall Street really want, below is their official list of thirteen demands posted on the official Occupy Wall Street website (not to be confused with this site which is the astroturfin' version!):

• Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
• Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
• Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
• Demand four: Free college education.
• Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
• Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
• Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.
• Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
• Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
• Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
• Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
• Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
• Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.
- Occupywallst.org

I just don't know what to say. So let's discuss and see if any of these demands are doable.

P.S. Demand 11 is my personal favorite, but I hope they can wait in implementing this one until I can max out all of my credit cards and take out that mortgage on my dream penthouse on Park Avenue...

Occupy Wall Street...sort of - Part II

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Occupy Wall Street...sort of

Occupy Wall Street...sort of

Never to be outdone by California, we in NYC have had our own protesters. The "spontaneous" protest called "Occupy Wall Street" has been going on for a little over two weeks now. First of all, this group of activists aren't actually occupying Wall Street, but are decamping at Zuccotti Park three blocks north and as it just so happens, is across the street from the building where I work.

What exactly these Grandchildren of the '60's are protesting is not clear. Signs run the gamut of "F**k Wall Street" to "Four Day Work Week". They know that something is wrong, but they are not exactly clear on what. For the past two weeks, they have beaten drums, shouted indecipherable chants, and refused to go away.  To their great credit, they have managed to organized themselves like any good commune with a food distribution area, recycling area, first aid area, and a public P.R. Liaison area equipped with a gasoline-powered generator to keep protesters' laptops and smartphones powered up to post on Facebook and tweet each moment.   And it has been reported that people from all over the country are calling local area fast food joints to have pizzas delivered to the protesters as a show of support.

Visits from seasoned liberal protest icons such as Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon have shown up with their P.R. machines in tow as well. Ms. Sarandon showed up in her chauffeured-driven limousine to "educate herself" on her way to the airport to fly to Europe on her private jet for a vacation.  Here is what she had to say:



Though she didn't "personally lose any money", she is advocating what I interpret as a more physically forceful brand of protest because we shouldn't let "our Arab brothers and sisters" better us. Fortunately is was reported that many of these kids didn't have a clue as to who she was, but she did give them some sage advice - focus the protest on one topic, and register to vote. Actually she has a point - this protest lacks any real focus which is why they probably can't focus on any solutions either. They know something is wrong because someone is making lots of money and it's not them. But, as one protester responded when asked what his solution to "greed on Wall Street" might be by saying "I don't know? I'm only 23 years old, why are you asking ME that? What a stupid question." Let's hope he is not currently registered to vote.

As of now, this intrepid group of faux hippies plan to stay indefinitely. Probably until they actually understand why they are there, get bored, someone offers them jobs, or the snow starts to fall. To their great credit, they have been mostly respectful and peaceful. Only one reported incident of police brutality occurred during an unplanned march from the Wall Street area to Union Square at 14th Street. Several of the protesters did not take kindly at being forced to follow certain rules for which the cops responded with pepper spray. Sadly, in retaliation, the P.R. committee posted on Facebook the name and address of the cop who allegedly did the spraying putting his family at risk for a violent backlash. This caused them to lose the support of all the cops in the process. But a more disturbing devolpment threatens the peaceful and naive nature of this protest. Local and national union organizers have decided to join in to lend muscle and considerable financial support to this vague cause. Already the Transit Workers Union members have shown up with the SEIU and AFL-CIO to follow next week. Expect the numbers to grow and the violence to increase as a result.


Addendum: Yesterday the P.R. committee posted on Facebook that Radiohead had agreed to give a free concert at 4pm downtown to show their support.  The leaderless group that had swelled to a reported 2000 people on the promise of a free concert wandered around for an hour searching for the music.  Sadly it turned out to either be a miscommunication or just a plain  hoax.  Radiohead's management issued an official press release  insisting that they did not have any intention of showing up for a free concert.

Never to be outdone by California, we in NYC have had our own protesters. The "spontaneous" protest called "Occupy Wall Street" has been going on for a little over two weeks now. First of all, this group of activists aren't actually occupying Wall Street, but are decamping at Zuccotti Park three blocks north and as it just so happens, is across the street from the building where I work.

What exactly these Grandchildren of the '60's are protesting is not clear. Signs run the gamut of "F**k Wall Street" to "Four Day Work Week". They know that something is wrong, but they are not exactly clear on what. For the past two weeks, they have beaten drums, shouted indecipherable chants, and refused to go away.  To their great credit, they have managed to organized themselves like any good commune with a food distribution area, recycling area, first aid area, and a public P.R. Liaison area equipped with a gasoline-powered generator to keep protesters' laptops and smartphones powered up to post on Facebook and tweet each moment.   And it has been reported that people from all over the country are calling local area fast food joints to have pizzas delivered to the protesters as a show of support.

Visits from seasoned liberal protest icons such as Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon have shown up with their P.R. machines in tow as well. Ms. Sarandon showed up in her chauffeured-driven limousine to "educate herself" on her way to the airport to fly to Europe on her private jet for a vacation.  Here is what she had to say:



Though she didn't "personally lose any money", she is advocating what I interpret as a more physically forceful brand of protest because we shouldn't let "our Arab brothers and sisters" better us. Fortunately is was reported that many of these kids didn't have a clue as to who she was, but she did give them some sage advice - focus the protest on one topic, and register to vote. Actually she has a point - this protest lacks any real focus which is why they probably can't focus on any solutions either. They know something is wrong because someone is making lots of money and it's not them. But, as one protester responded when asked what his solution to "greed on Wall Street" might be by saying "I don't know? I'm only 23 years old, why are you asking ME that? What a stupid question." Let's hope he is not currently registered to vote.

As of now, this intrepid group of faux hippies plan to stay indefinitely. Probably until they actually understand why they are there, get bored, someone offers them jobs, or the snow starts to fall. To their great credit, they have been mostly respectful and peaceful. Only one reported incident of police brutality occurred during an unplanned march from the Wall Street area to Union Square at 14th Street. Several of the protesters did not take kindly at being forced to follow certain rules for which the cops responded with pepper spray. Sadly, in retaliation, the P.R. committee posted on Facebook the name and address of the cop who allegedly did the spraying putting his family at risk for a violent backlash. This caused them to lose the support of all the cops in the process. But a more disturbing devolpment threatens the peaceful and naive nature of this protest. Local and national union organizers have decided to join in to lend muscle and considerable financial support to this vague cause. Already the Transit Workers Union members have shown up with the SEIU and AFL-CIO to follow next week. Expect the numbers to grow and the violence to increase as a result.


Addendum: Yesterday the P.R. committee posted on Facebook that Radiohead had agreed to give a free concert at 4pm downtown to show their support.  The leaderless group that had swelled to a reported 2000 people on the promise of a free concert wandered around for an hour searching for the music.  Sadly it turned out to either be a miscommunication or just a plain  hoax.  Radiohead's management issued an official press release  insisting that they did not have any intention of showing up for a free concert.

Occupy Wall Street...sort of

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Chicken Comes Home To Roost

Chicken Comes Home To Roost

For those of you who might have thought that a liberal Democrat would wander off the reservation for long, Ed Koch (former New York City mayor) should put your minds to rest. Koch has been loosely credited with creating the margin of victory by which a Republican took a New York Democratic seat for the first time since 1923. His concern was Barack Obama's terrible record on Israel.

Koch says that he heard Obama's moral equivalency speech at the United Nations, and was instantly convinced that he had been wrong about Obama's dedication to the survival of Israel. While supporting Republican Bob Turner in the recent Congressional election, Koch said the following: "I am doing what I'm doing to cause President Obama to change his hostile position on the State of Israel and to re-establish the special relationship presidents before him have had." What it was about Obama's UN speech that was any different is mystifying to many. Polls taken since the UN speech indicate that Jewish support for Obama continues to decline.

Koch is very influential among liberal Jewish voters, so it remains to be seen how strongly he will back Obama and how much effect it will ultimately have on that particular demographic. Polls taken after the President's UN speech indicate that the President's views on the Israel/Palestinian issue have not changed voters' minds in the President's favor. Two years ago, Obama still had a clear majority with the Jewish vote on the issue, according to the polling of the American Jewish Commission. That poll showed that in 2009, Obama's favorables were 54% to 32%. After the UN speech, the same poll asking the same questions about Palestine showed that Obama's approval was at 40% against a disapproval rate of 53%.

On overall approval of the President's job, the Democrat-leaning Gallup poll found that Obama's approval rate among Jewish voters was still high at 54%. But even that is a dramatic drop. In 2009, his approval rate was at 83%, dropping to 54% in 2010, and staying there. Likewise, the AJC poll in 2009 showed that Jewish voters were 53% Democratic. The same poll today shows that figure to be 45% (the loss was to those registered as Independents or decline-to-state, while the Republican percentage has remained unchanged at 16%).

Koch says that Obama's "words of support for Israel" during the UN speech, combined with his recent intervention in the Cairo attacks on the Israeli embassy and providing bunker buster bombs to Israel (in 2009) has changed his mind. Says Koch: "I'm now on board the Obama Reelection Express." It strikes me that Koch's mind is easily changed and his political stance easily modified.

I could understand Koch's change of heart if Obama had said "I will immediately supply Israel with all necessary military support for bombing Iran's nuclear facilities," or "I firmly support Israel's claim to Jerusalem--all of Jerusalem--as its capital, and reject any claims by the Palestinians to portions of Jerusalem." But what he did say was the usual blather about the longtime friendship of Israel and America, then launched into moral equivalencies, the "cycle of violence," and the "walk in their shoes" nonsense. In other words, "I sort of support Israel, as long as I don't have to do anything about it." With friends like that, who needs enemies?

In the ACJ poll, Jewish voters would elect Obama over Romney 50-32, over Perry 55-25, and over Bachmann 59-19. That's a hefty Democratic advantage among Jewish voters. It's also a hefty increase among undecideds. But is it that great? In 2008, Jewish voters chose Obama over McCain by 77-22. Herman Cain was not mentioned in the poll, but after his Florida victory in the straw poll, it will be very interesting to see how that plays with Jewish voters in the next poll.

Between now and the election, the polls I'm looking at tell me that Koch and Obama had better make appearances together, kiss a lot of babies, shake a lot of hands, and attend a lot of bar mitzvahs if they want to win back the formerly top-heavy Jewish vote. A real rejection of unilateral Palestinian demands might help too.

For those of you who might have thought that a liberal Democrat would wander off the reservation for long, Ed Koch (former New York City mayor) should put your minds to rest. Koch has been loosely credited with creating the margin of victory by which a Republican took a New York Democratic seat for the first time since 1923. His concern was Barack Obama's terrible record on Israel.

Koch says that he heard Obama's moral equivalency speech at the United Nations, and was instantly convinced that he had been wrong about Obama's dedication to the survival of Israel. While supporting Republican Bob Turner in the recent Congressional election, Koch said the following: "I am doing what I'm doing to cause President Obama to change his hostile position on the State of Israel and to re-establish the special relationship presidents before him have had." What it was about Obama's UN speech that was any different is mystifying to many. Polls taken since the UN speech indicate that Jewish support for Obama continues to decline.

Koch is very influential among liberal Jewish voters, so it remains to be seen how strongly he will back Obama and how much effect it will ultimately have on that particular demographic. Polls taken after the President's UN speech indicate that the President's views on the Israel/Palestinian issue have not changed voters' minds in the President's favor. Two years ago, Obama still had a clear majority with the Jewish vote on the issue, according to the polling of the American Jewish Commission. That poll showed that in 2009, Obama's favorables were 54% to 32%. After the UN speech, the same poll asking the same questions about Palestine showed that Obama's approval was at 40% against a disapproval rate of 53%.

On overall approval of the President's job, the Democrat-leaning Gallup poll found that Obama's approval rate among Jewish voters was still high at 54%. But even that is a dramatic drop. In 2009, his approval rate was at 83%, dropping to 54% in 2010, and staying there. Likewise, the AJC poll in 2009 showed that Jewish voters were 53% Democratic. The same poll today shows that figure to be 45% (the loss was to those registered as Independents or decline-to-state, while the Republican percentage has remained unchanged at 16%).

Koch says that Obama's "words of support for Israel" during the UN speech, combined with his recent intervention in the Cairo attacks on the Israeli embassy and providing bunker buster bombs to Israel (in 2009) has changed his mind. Says Koch: "I'm now on board the Obama Reelection Express." It strikes me that Koch's mind is easily changed and his political stance easily modified.

I could understand Koch's change of heart if Obama had said "I will immediately supply Israel with all necessary military support for bombing Iran's nuclear facilities," or "I firmly support Israel's claim to Jerusalem--all of Jerusalem--as its capital, and reject any claims by the Palestinians to portions of Jerusalem." But what he did say was the usual blather about the longtime friendship of Israel and America, then launched into moral equivalencies, the "cycle of violence," and the "walk in their shoes" nonsense. In other words, "I sort of support Israel, as long as I don't have to do anything about it." With friends like that, who needs enemies?

In the ACJ poll, Jewish voters would elect Obama over Romney 50-32, over Perry 55-25, and over Bachmann 59-19. That's a hefty Democratic advantage among Jewish voters. It's also a hefty increase among undecideds. But is it that great? In 2008, Jewish voters chose Obama over McCain by 77-22. Herman Cain was not mentioned in the poll, but after his Florida victory in the straw poll, it will be very interesting to see how that plays with Jewish voters in the next poll.

Between now and the election, the polls I'm looking at tell me that Koch and Obama had better make appearances together, kiss a lot of babies, shake a lot of hands, and attend a lot of bar mitzvahs if they want to win back the formerly top-heavy Jewish vote. A real rejection of unilateral Palestinian demands might help too.

Chicken Comes Home To Roost

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District 9 (in NY) - The Aliens Will Be Landing

District 9 (in NY) - The Aliens Will Be Landing

There are is a very important special election on Tuesday in New York for Congressional District 9. No, not THAT District 9, but just as alien. This District 9 is comprised of parts of Brooklyn and Queens (see map), and is from where the now disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner's privates were exposed. At first the local Democratic Political Machine thought this would be a slam dunk for them. I mean, why not? The election is in an overwhelmingly Dem district in an overwhelmingly Dem city in an overwhelmingly Dem state. The Democratic leadership thought all they had to do was to nominate any loyal Machine Democrat and there would be nothing left to do but wait until September 13. So without much adieu, they nominated their go-to guy for New York City - David Weprin. The Machine had already successfully nominated Weprin and won in slam dunk elections for New York City Counsel and state Assembly, so, by all accounts there should have been no problem. What they didn't count on was the mounting frustration with President Obama, the embarrassment caused by disgraced Anthony Weiner, and a surprisingly good Republican opponent - Bob Turner. It's being called a "perfect storm".

So who is this alien being? Robert "Bob" Turner is a 70 year old, retired TV executive whose claim to fame is as CEO of the entertainment division that oversaw the very lucrative productions of The Phil Donahue Show, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, and The Jerry Springer Show and also established a successful television motion picture company. So already on his face, he's media savvy. He ran against Anthony Weiner in 2010, but gained only 40% of the vote. Even though he lost, Turner already had exposure going into this special election and was well versed in policy. On substance, Turner is a fiscally conservative former business owner who has studied the issues and understands our economic climate.

It all started to fall apart for Weprin at an early press conference. When the candidates were asked questions about policy, it was clear who had done his homework. When asked about the amount of the deficit, Weprin confidently responded "I think it's about $4 trillion", a question that Turner had no problem answering correctly ($14 trillion and counting). It's been downhill from there. Major missteps by Weprin have further damaged his campaign. Things like when he failed to show up for a well-publicized local debate citing it was just too difficult in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Embarrassingly for Weprin, Turner arrived on time and prepared even though he had to evacuate from his home. And last week, Weprin's campaign had to pull a controversial TV ad with images of a plane flying over a city skyline. The image was supposed to paint Turner as an out of touch rich guy who regularly uses those evil private jets and hates Senior citizens and wants to take away their Social Security and Medicare. However, it ended up being a highly offensive image to use on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. But the real nail in Weprin's campaign coffin was reported this week by the New York Post - Dave Weprin doesn't even live in District 9 and has no intention of moving there if he wins the election!

There are even some local Democrats who are using Weprin's campaign to voice their frustration with Obama. Former Mayor Ed Koch, a prominent long time Democrat, threw his full-throated support to Turner very early on in protest against Obama's Israel policy with others following close behind. And good for Republicans, Turner has turned out to be a very savvy, likable, and knowledgeable conservative candidate. As a matter of fact, his only noticeable drawback to many local liberals is his stand on the Park51 mosque project for which he adamantly opposes. Even the very liberal New York Daily News found this a minor issue when they endorsed Turner today.

The Democratics are now in a full scale panic. This special election is seen as referendum on Obama and his policies, so Dem party money has been pouring in. The DNC has kicked in at least $500 million to fund a blitz of TV ads and other boots-on-the-ground strategies. But, no matter how much money the DNC has committed, nothing seems to be working. Just three weeks ago, Weprin was leading by an uncomfortably close 6 points in the polls. As of this Friday, a Sienna poll announced that Turner is now leading Weprin by 6 points. So, come Wednesday morning, if Turner wins, this could indicate that we may be just that much closer to an Obama-free world.

One caveat: This may be a short-lived victory because New York lost two congressional districts as of the 2010 Census. The state Legislature has to decide which districts to get rid of and District 9 may be one of them. Ultimately it may not matter because the damage will already be done.

There are is a very important special election on Tuesday in New York for Congressional District 9. No, not THAT District 9, but just as alien. This District 9 is comprised of parts of Brooklyn and Queens (see map), and is from where the now disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner's privates were exposed. At first the local Democratic Political Machine thought this would be a slam dunk for them. I mean, why not? The election is in an overwhelmingly Dem district in an overwhelmingly Dem city in an overwhelmingly Dem state. The Democratic leadership thought all they had to do was to nominate any loyal Machine Democrat and there would be nothing left to do but wait until September 13. So without much adieu, they nominated their go-to guy for New York City - David Weprin. The Machine had already successfully nominated Weprin and won in slam dunk elections for New York City Counsel and state Assembly, so, by all accounts there should have been no problem. What they didn't count on was the mounting frustration with President Obama, the embarrassment caused by disgraced Anthony Weiner, and a surprisingly good Republican opponent - Bob Turner. It's being called a "perfect storm".

So who is this alien being? Robert "Bob" Turner is a 70 year old, retired TV executive whose claim to fame is as CEO of the entertainment division that oversaw the very lucrative productions of The Phil Donahue Show, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, and The Jerry Springer Show and also established a successful television motion picture company. So already on his face, he's media savvy. He ran against Anthony Weiner in 2010, but gained only 40% of the vote. Even though he lost, Turner already had exposure going into this special election and was well versed in policy. On substance, Turner is a fiscally conservative former business owner who has studied the issues and understands our economic climate.

It all started to fall apart for Weprin at an early press conference. When the candidates were asked questions about policy, it was clear who had done his homework. When asked about the amount of the deficit, Weprin confidently responded "I think it's about $4 trillion", a question that Turner had no problem answering correctly ($14 trillion and counting). It's been downhill from there. Major missteps by Weprin have further damaged his campaign. Things like when he failed to show up for a well-publicized local debate citing it was just too difficult in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Embarrassingly for Weprin, Turner arrived on time and prepared even though he had to evacuate from his home. And last week, Weprin's campaign had to pull a controversial TV ad with images of a plane flying over a city skyline. The image was supposed to paint Turner as an out of touch rich guy who regularly uses those evil private jets and hates Senior citizens and wants to take away their Social Security and Medicare. However, it ended up being a highly offensive image to use on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. But the real nail in Weprin's campaign coffin was reported this week by the New York Post - Dave Weprin doesn't even live in District 9 and has no intention of moving there if he wins the election!

There are even some local Democrats who are using Weprin's campaign to voice their frustration with Obama. Former Mayor Ed Koch, a prominent long time Democrat, threw his full-throated support to Turner very early on in protest against Obama's Israel policy with others following close behind. And good for Republicans, Turner has turned out to be a very savvy, likable, and knowledgeable conservative candidate. As a matter of fact, his only noticeable drawback to many local liberals is his stand on the Park51 mosque project for which he adamantly opposes. Even the very liberal New York Daily News found this a minor issue when they endorsed Turner today.

The Democratics are now in a full scale panic. This special election is seen as referendum on Obama and his policies, so Dem party money has been pouring in. The DNC has kicked in at least $500 million to fund a blitz of TV ads and other boots-on-the-ground strategies. But, no matter how much money the DNC has committed, nothing seems to be working. Just three weeks ago, Weprin was leading by an uncomfortably close 6 points in the polls. As of this Friday, a Sienna poll announced that Turner is now leading Weprin by 6 points. So, come Wednesday morning, if Turner wins, this could indicate that we may be just that much closer to an Obama-free world.

One caveat: This may be a short-lived victory because New York lost two congressional districts as of the 2010 Census. The state Legislature has to decide which districts to get rid of and District 9 may be one of them. Ultimately it may not matter because the damage will already be done.

District 9 (in NY) - The Aliens Will Be Landing

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New Tactics For The Ground Zero Mosque

New Tactics For The Ground Zero Mosque

If you're getting dizzy looking at the illustration to the left, wondering if it's an eye-deceiver, let me enlighten you. It is in fact the artist's rendering of the proposed Abbey Mills megamosque in London, close to the site of the London Olympics. Don't get mad at me, I'll tie it to the Ground Zero mosque below.

The controversial mosque/Islamic Center which is to be built within sight of Ground Zero doesn't look anything like the proposed London megamosque, and most of the stated reasons for their respective construction are quite different from each other. Those stated reasons are rarely in conformity with the true underlying purposes, but in each case, they share the lie that the purpose is to promote interfaith understanding with Muslim worship as a secondary purpose. Both style themselves as first and foremost educational centers. In London, the public has been far more successful in thwarting the construction than in New York City.

The proposed London megamosque is designed to accommodate 12,000 worshipers. The Ground Zero mosque is designed to accommodate 2,000 plus. The sheer size of the London megamosque was one reason why Londoners were more successful in blocking construction. Traffic problems, setbacks, height and footprint restrictions all made the job of the opponents easier. Meanwhile, in New York City, where the politically-correct idiots in City Hall keep raising the phony issue of the First Amendment, the mosque organizers have decided to avoid the confrontational issues that brought them so much negative publicity a year ago.

Whether it's called the Ground Zero mosque, the Cordoba Center, or the current Park51, the mosque has garnered immense opposition among even the most tolerant of New Yorkers. Few object to a mosque, and few are basically anti-Islam. The objection is to both the size and location-appropriateness of the building. Many have compared it to building a huge German WW II memorial adjacent to the Arc de Triomphe even now that France and Germany and been at peace with each other for over sixty-five years.

The Ground Zero developers have decided to try an entirely different approach. They now invite "community input" into the final design to fool the locals by feigning interest in what New Yorkers actually think. If you can get enough fools to "assist in the design," you might draw their attention away from the basic fact that most New Yorkers and most Americans don't want that mosque in that location, in any form.

The developers have also taken the radical imams behind the building of the mosque out of the public picture entirely. Instead, they have launched a website devoted entirely to praise of the "healing potential" of the edifice, requesting suggestions, and preaching tolerance. They likewise have linked to an allegedly independent website called PrayerSpace, that calls for input from Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Both sites claim Park51 will be a community center open to all, including a large interfaith space, library and public meeting rooms. The mosque, if they are to be believed, is a minor part of the proposed building.

The developers have now convinced themselves that they have been so successful in deflecting the anger and dismay of a gullible public that they have applied for a five million dollar federal grant designed to rebuild lower Manhattan in accordance with the intent of "community and cultural advancement" grants administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Project. In other words, they are asking for public funds to pay for development which would have been unnecessary if their friends and allies hadn't flown jumbo jets into the World Trade Center buildings. At the same time, the city authorities have denied building permits and grants for rebuilding the nearby Greek Orthodox church which was devastated from the fires and collapse of the Trade Center buildings.

Now for the similarities in true intent of the two large mosques. The "small prayer space" at Ground Zero which will be entirely Islamic and which comprises the main portion of the mosque itself is designed for over two thousand Muslim worshipers at a time. That makes the "prayer space" alone equal in size or larger than the worship areas of St. Patrick's cathedral, the largest religious building in New York City. St. Patrick's is also the largest gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States.

It goes without saying that the London megamosque which is designed to hold 12,000 worshipers would be the largest mosque in Europe, and would dwarf not only all the other religious buildings in London, but is so large it would compete with the buildings of Parliament. And that is the very point. The largest religious building that Olympics visitors would see on their way to the stadiums would be a Muslim mosque.

The largest religious building that visitors to New York City would see when visiting Ground Zero (and later the Freedom Tower) would be the Park51 "Islamic Center." It's pure in-your-face "my religion is superior to yours, and our grand mosques prove it." As with real estate developers generally, for Islamic zealots it's "location, location, location."

Succeeding in putting this Islamic Center 350 feet away from where 9-11 human remains were found is an intentional poke in the eye to Christians, Jews, secularists, the citizens of New York and the entire American nation. No matter how they try to dress up this pig, they are never going to convince most Americans (including me) that it's a cuddly puppy.

If you're getting dizzy looking at the illustration to the left, wondering if it's an eye-deceiver, let me enlighten you. It is in fact the artist's rendering of the proposed Abbey Mills megamosque in London, close to the site of the London Olympics. Don't get mad at me, I'll tie it to the Ground Zero mosque below.

The controversial mosque/Islamic Center which is to be built within sight of Ground Zero doesn't look anything like the proposed London megamosque, and most of the stated reasons for their respective construction are quite different from each other. Those stated reasons are rarely in conformity with the true underlying purposes, but in each case, they share the lie that the purpose is to promote interfaith understanding with Muslim worship as a secondary purpose. Both style themselves as first and foremost educational centers. In London, the public has been far more successful in thwarting the construction than in New York City.

The proposed London megamosque is designed to accommodate 12,000 worshipers. The Ground Zero mosque is designed to accommodate 2,000 plus. The sheer size of the London megamosque was one reason why Londoners were more successful in blocking construction. Traffic problems, setbacks, height and footprint restrictions all made the job of the opponents easier. Meanwhile, in New York City, where the politically-correct idiots in City Hall keep raising the phony issue of the First Amendment, the mosque organizers have decided to avoid the confrontational issues that brought them so much negative publicity a year ago.

Whether it's called the Ground Zero mosque, the Cordoba Center, or the current Park51, the mosque has garnered immense opposition among even the most tolerant of New Yorkers. Few object to a mosque, and few are basically anti-Islam. The objection is to both the size and location-appropriateness of the building. Many have compared it to building a huge German WW II memorial adjacent to the Arc de Triomphe even now that France and Germany and been at peace with each other for over sixty-five years.

The Ground Zero developers have decided to try an entirely different approach. They now invite "community input" into the final design to fool the locals by feigning interest in what New Yorkers actually think. If you can get enough fools to "assist in the design," you might draw their attention away from the basic fact that most New Yorkers and most Americans don't want that mosque in that location, in any form.

The developers have also taken the radical imams behind the building of the mosque out of the public picture entirely. Instead, they have launched a website devoted entirely to praise of the "healing potential" of the edifice, requesting suggestions, and preaching tolerance. They likewise have linked to an allegedly independent website called PrayerSpace, that calls for input from Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Both sites claim Park51 will be a community center open to all, including a large interfaith space, library and public meeting rooms. The mosque, if they are to be believed, is a minor part of the proposed building.

The developers have now convinced themselves that they have been so successful in deflecting the anger and dismay of a gullible public that they have applied for a five million dollar federal grant designed to rebuild lower Manhattan in accordance with the intent of "community and cultural advancement" grants administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Project. In other words, they are asking for public funds to pay for development which would have been unnecessary if their friends and allies hadn't flown jumbo jets into the World Trade Center buildings. At the same time, the city authorities have denied building permits and grants for rebuilding the nearby Greek Orthodox church which was devastated from the fires and collapse of the Trade Center buildings.

Now for the similarities in true intent of the two large mosques. The "small prayer space" at Ground Zero which will be entirely Islamic and which comprises the main portion of the mosque itself is designed for over two thousand Muslim worshipers at a time. That makes the "prayer space" alone equal in size or larger than the worship areas of St. Patrick's cathedral, the largest religious building in New York City. St. Patrick's is also the largest gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States.

It goes without saying that the London megamosque which is designed to hold 12,000 worshipers would be the largest mosque in Europe, and would dwarf not only all the other religious buildings in London, but is so large it would compete with the buildings of Parliament. And that is the very point. The largest religious building that Olympics visitors would see on their way to the stadiums would be a Muslim mosque.

The largest religious building that visitors to New York City would see when visiting Ground Zero (and later the Freedom Tower) would be the Park51 "Islamic Center." It's pure in-your-face "my religion is superior to yours, and our grand mosques prove it." As with real estate developers generally, for Islamic zealots it's "location, location, location."

Succeeding in putting this Islamic Center 350 feet away from where 9-11 human remains were found is an intentional poke in the eye to Christians, Jews, secularists, the citizens of New York and the entire American nation. No matter how they try to dress up this pig, they are never going to convince most Americans (including me) that it's a cuddly puppy.

New Tactics For The Ground Zero Mosque

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Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Preparedness

Hurricane Irene

In the run-up to the storm of the century, I have been running around collecting supplies:



1. Fresh batteries - check

2. Water - check

3. Friction powered radio - check

4. Friction powered flashlight - check

5. Cash - check

6. Shelf staples - check

And most importantly:

7. Vodka - check and double-checked!



I have to say, New York does a great run up to a disaster. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make up for the complete screw up of the blizzard in December, by taking control early and actually staying in town to do it! I guess since he couldn't get to Bermuda anyway, he might as well do his job! Okay that was mean, but...



Anyway, I have to say everyone is in a very jolly mood. Even the people in the long lines at the grocery stores who otherwise would be harrumphing and moaning have been good sports about it all. I guess impending doom will do that - bring out the best in people. Since there is a very good possibility that I will lose my internet service and I may have to leave you Commentaramians to fend for yourself, I thought I'd open the floor to anyone who has any survival tips for me. But let's start the ball rolling or the waves rolling (ha!) with this burning question:



What kind of wine does one serve during a hurricane? White or red?

Hurricane Irene

In the run-up to the storm of the century, I have been running around collecting supplies:



1. Fresh batteries - check

2. Water - check

3. Friction powered radio - check

4. Friction powered flashlight - check

5. Cash - check

6. Shelf staples - check

And most importantly:

7. Vodka - check and double-checked!



I have to say, New York does a great run up to a disaster. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make up for the complete screw up of the blizzard in December, by taking control early and actually staying in town to do it! I guess since he couldn't get to Bermuda anyway, he might as well do his job! Okay that was mean, but...



Anyway, I have to say everyone is in a very jolly mood. Even the people in the long lines at the grocery stores who otherwise would be harrumphing and moaning have been good sports about it all. I guess impending doom will do that - bring out the best in people. Since there is a very good possibility that I will lose my internet service and I may have to leave you Commentaramians to fend for yourself, I thought I'd open the floor to anyone who has any survival tips for me. But let's start the ball rolling or the waves rolling (ha!) with this burning question:



What kind of wine does one serve during a hurricane? White or red?

Disaster Preparedness

View Detail