Broadway Carl to NY Daily News Editors: Grow Up!

Here's today's cover of the NY Daily News:



Seriously, NY Daily News editors? Have we become so pathetic as a people that we can't even mention Osama Bin Laden's name on the same hallowed grounds where plans for the Freedom Tower include a shopping mall?

The editorial does go on to commend both Navy SEAL VI and President Obama for getting the job done and regretting that said military must remain anonymous. But come on, people, you want to see gruesome post-mortem death photos of Bin Laden but can't stand the thought of mentioning his name at Ground Zero? Grow a set.

A Classy Move

It was very classy of President Obama to invite former President Bush to join him at the Ground Zero ceremony on Thursday after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. It was also just as classy for Bush to decline, no matter what the reason.

I can't help but wonder however (yes, I'm a cynic), how this will be reported, or not reported as the case may be, by the conservative media. Will Fox News mention it? Will Rush Limbaugh short out his mic with spittle in berating the President for "taking credit" without Bush at his side and omit the fact that Bush was invited? We'll find out soon enough.

Shameless

NY Post Amps Up Anti-Park51 Rhetoric With "Human Remains" Map



The Rupert Murdoch owned New York Post ratcheted up the fearmongering and Muslim hate with this story, conveniently covered by the Rupert Murdoch owned Fox show, Fox and Fiends that same morning.

But hell, if we're going to show the proximity of the Not-A-Mosque-Not-At-Ground-Zero Park51 project to the still empty these nine years later World Trade Center site, well two can play at that game.

Here's my version:



Not only was Gournd Zero and it's surroundings littered with human remains, but it is still surrounded by multiple adult entertainment spots. Sacred strip joints, anyone? And the kicker is what they plan on the actual center of the WTC site because God knows we can't go without shopping. (See "E")

That's right. The very hallowed Ground Zero everyone is defending against a Not-Mosque-At-Not-Ground-Zero is the new site for a proposed mall under whatever the Freedom Tower turns out to be. So while you reflect on the horrible loss of life on September 11th, you can also swing by Zabars for some hallowed bread and grab a latte at sacrosanct Starbucks.

And none this begins to broach the subject of the possibility that human remains were used to fill potholes.  In the haste of cleaning up the debris after the attacks, "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani didn't want to seem like the weak, pathetic man he is, and demanded that the clean up happen as quickly as possible.  Obviously, that meant that the careful search for remains wasn't so careful and some of the debris that was carted away to the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island eventually became filler for potholes.

Hallowed ground indeed.

S#*! Sarah Palin Says

After reading a few @SarahPalinUSA tweets (yes, I know it's a bit masochistic) I thought I might make "Shit Sarah Palin Says" a recurring theme.  Hell, I could run a completely different blog on her ridiculous tweets alone.  But I think I'll just save the good ones to ridicule for an occasional laugh.

My apologies to William Shatner.








Huh... yellow journalism. Do you suppose Sarah is talking about all the pundits in the "lamestream" media appalled that President Obama didn't give enough credit to former President Bush's surge? Or is she speaking about Fox News and their constant "Ground Zero Mosque" bashing?  It makes you wonder what's up? What's the threat?

Too Close To Ground Zero?

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 700 miles away from Ground Zero.

...Still too close?

Colbert Is A Terrorist! Follow The Money

Classic.

Fox: The Parent Company Trap

Another awesome Jon Stewart segment.



So, do Fox News employees know that Murdoch's Newscorp partner is funding Park51 or are they really that fucking stupid? My guess is depending on the show, it's the former with a little bit of the latter. The little bit being the hosts of Fox and Friends.

Quote of the Week

So virulent is the Islamophobic hysteria of the neocon and Fox News right — abetted by the useful idiocy of the Anti-Defamation League, Harry Reid and other cowed Democrats — that it has also rendered Gen. David Petraeus’s last-ditch counterinsurgency strategy for fighting the war inoperative. How do you win Muslim hearts and minds in Kandahar when you are calling Muslims every filthy name in the book in New York?

~ Frank Rich

NY Daily News: Letter to the Editor

Dear Editors:

I used to be a Mike Lupica fan, that is until I read his column in your Monday, August 16th, 2010 edition, "Ground Zero mosque debate is about common sense, sensitivity to 9/11 vics, not religious freedom."

In and of itself, the title alone shows that Mr. Lupica could not be more wrong. I would write to him myself but he doesn't have the courtesy to leave leave an e-mail address or provide a comments section for responses as do most other opinion columnists.

Where do I begin?

If we are to make this issue about "common sense" and about "sensitivity" as Mr. Lupica states, then how much more common sense do we need to demonstrate than showing the world, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, that regardless of the tragedy of September 11th and its victims, regardless of the scar that remains a gaping hole in downtown Manhattan after nine long years, that our country and the resolve of its citizens is strong enough to refuse to allow our emotions to cloud our judgement and compromise our principles? How do we stand tall in the eyes of the world and more importantly, how do we look at ourselves in the mirror if we decide to abandon Constitutional rights of our fellow Americans when it is emotionally convenient?

There is no contradiction in President Obama's statements, as Mr. Lupica would lead us to believe. There was no walkback of his stance. President Obama was affirming our First Amendment rights when he said, "I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country." Whether or not it's a good idea is not for him to say, as it ultimately doesn't matter. Not commenting on the "wisdom" of the decision is irrelevant as it is a local decision. I find it interesting how those in favor of limited government and states' rights look for a federal response or intervention when it suits their needs.

If we forego our rights just this one time for sensitivity's sake, what is the next step? Do we forbid the building of a Roman Catholic church near the Oklahoma City bombing site because of Timothy McVeigh's religious upbringing? Should we prevent Muslims from worshipping just two blocks further north than the proposed site, as they've done for the last 40 years? Is that still too close and insensitive? Do we shut down the mosque at the Penatgon? After all, it's not two blocks away but in the very building that was hit on 9/11. Is Mr. Lupica suggesting we base our decisions on mob rule and not the rule of law? Is that how we should conduct trials as well? Should we have the families of rape or murder victims pronounce sentencing for sensitivity's sake?

The government has no authority or right to tell any religion where they can or cannot build places of worship as long as they adhere to local laws and ordinances. Not a church, not a synagogue and not a mosque. It's been this way since the founding of the country. It should be this way now.

And again, let's call this construction plan what it actually is: this is a community center equivalent to a YMCA, complete with a basketball court and culinary school, with Muslim prayer rooms in its upper two floors. It is not a mosque.

But where Mr. Lupica flies off the rails is in comparing the opinion of Obama's thoughts on LeBron James to defending a religious group's First Amendment rights. You know, because they're so equivalent. Maybe the President should create March Madness pool with all the world's religions and decide who'll be in the Final Four? We can call it  Mecca Madness.

But the topper has to be his last sentence.

Everything Bloomberg and Barack Obama say about this sounds right. But if the only constituency that matters here - the ones left behind by the victims of Sept. 11 - think they're wrong, they are.

So according to Mr. Lupica, two plus two equal four unless a majority disagrees, and because they're the only ones "that matter" (we'll just forget about the hundreds of American Muslims that died on 9/11) they'll just insist the answer is wrong. And Lupica will agree with them.

Stick to the sports pages, Mike. You'll embarrass yourself a little less.

So Much For The Libertarian

Isn't Rand Paul for limited government? Well, yes, unless it's politically convenient to side with Tea Party know-nothings who pick and choose which Constitutional rights apply to whom.

Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul says that he opposes developing plans for a mosque to be built in close proximity to "Ground Zero" in New York City.

Great job, hypocrite.

Quote of the Day

"Kebabs do not threaten our way of life." 

~ Eugene Robinson on the Republican politicization of the not Mosque not on Ground Zero

This Guy Wants To Be President

Newt Gingrinch: "Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington," Gingrich said on Fox News. "We would never accept the Japanese putting up a site next to Pearl Harbor. There is no reason for us to accept a mosque next to the World Trade Center," he said.

Equating Islam, a religion with 1.5 billion followers... to Nazis.

Stewart and the Ground Zero Mosque

Funny that I would comment on the compromisers and nutbags of the sort-of-near-Ground-Zero-Mosque-but-not really-at-Ground-Zero ridiculousness and the Daily Show would cover it just minutes later. I've got my finger on the pulse, people!

Anyway, they do it a lot better.

Stop Catering to the Crazies

I knew New York Governor David Paterson was blind, but I didn't know he was dumb too.

Paterson agreed that there is "no reason" why the Cordoba House shouldn't be built at the site known as Park51. But in light of political response from conservatives, the governor is open to state intervention to help explore alternatives. "Frankly, if the sponsors were looking for property anywhere at a distance that would be such that it would accommodate a better feeling among the people who are frustrated," Paterson said, "I would look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need."

What the fuck, Dave? I know you're having a "can't we all get along" moment, but for fuck's sake, the argument against building Cordoba House is based on rage, bigotry, religious intolerance and irrational fear.

And where is this proposed property you'd look to provide? North of 14th Street? The Upper East Side? The Bronx? ...Buffalo? How far away from Ground Zero is far enough? Because the fact of the matter is that those you are trying to appease with your good intentioned idea will never be satisfied. They range from the politically opportunistic to the irrational to the just plain crazy. They will never agree to any cultural center or any mosque, anywhere. And to think that the overall problem of their intolerance will go away if only the site for the proposed center were further away from where hundreds of American Muslims tragically died at the World Trade Center along with the rest of the 9/11 victims is astonishingly naive.

Update: Giuliani - "I misspoke."

Sure you did, Rudy.

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Friday that he misspoke when he said he spent as much time, if not more, at ground zero exposed to the same health risks as workers combing the site after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I think I could have said it better," he told nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher. "You know, what I was saying was, 'I'm there with you.'"

..."He is such a liar, because the only time he was down there was for photo ops with celebrities, with politicians, with diplomats," said deputy fire chief Jimmy Riches, who spent months digging for his firefighter son. "On 9/11 all he did was run. He got that soot on him, and I don't think he's taken a shower since."

Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union that fiercely opposes Giuliani, said he doubted Giuliani misspoke.
"I think he was simply showing what his true character is — a self-absorbed, self-deluded promoter who got caught and is now just simply trying to backtrack," Schaitberger said.

Giuliani the Great: I worked with Ground Zero responders.

I've been meaning to catch up on the last weeks events and have been taking notes furiously, but I couldn't let this one go without commenting on it.

"America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani had the audacity to compare himself equally with Ground Zero 9/11 responders in terms of working at the site.

"This is not a mayor or a governor or a President who's sitting in an ivory tower," Giuliani said. "I was at Ground Zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them."

What a hack! No, Rudy, you weren't exposed to the same toxins they were, because you wore a respirator. The same kind of respirator that real 9/11 responders and rescue workers didn't wear because OSHA rules weren't enforced for fear of slowing down work.

Of course, the real 9/11 heroes, you know the ones who are now disabled because of lung problems and can't get medical treatment, are outraged.

Queens paramedic Marvin Bethea, who said he suffered a stroke, post traumatic stress disorder and breathing problems after responding to the attacks, said "I personally find that very, very insulting. Standing there doing a photo-op and telling the men, 'You're doing a good job,' I don't consider that to be working," said Bethea, 47.

Ironworker Jonathan Sferazo, 52, who said he spent a month at the site and is now disabled, runs a worker advocacy group with Bethea and called Giuliani's comments "severely" out of line. "He's not one of us. He never has been and he never will be. He never served in a capacity where he was a responder," Sferazo said.

Now, no one is saying that Giulani was manning a bulldozer, or cutting steel with a welder, but his claim that "I was working there with them" gives you the impression that that's what he wants you to think. The thought that Rudy was knee deep in rubble, arm sleeves rolled up, trolling through toxic dust with a big "S" on his chest is the disingenuous picture he's trying to paint.

Some people just have absolutely no shame. But what do you expect from a man that had his first marriage to his second cousin annulled and whose children from his second marriage are supporting Obama because they don't like his third wife. Nice family values, huh?