The author will not be adding any entries from now until his return from New York City at the beginning of August!
I am taking my two sons back to NYC, their “roots” as well as mine, for the first time since we moved to Florida in 1989!
This is a wonderful family event, but I will keep up on the news and have commentary again when I arrive back online on August 2! 🙂
Good reading! 🙂
A major controversy developing in New York City is whether a giant mosque should be constructed a short distance from Ground Zero, where the Trade Center Twin Towers once stood!
There is discussion of replacing an historic building, going back to the 19th century, to make way for this Islamic house of worship. But is this site the proper one? The answer is NO! 🙁
This is not, and should not, be seen as anti Islamic, although it will be seen as such by many Muslims in America and elsewhere. There is no issue that mosques can be built, as much as churches and synagogues anywhere in America. But NOT at an historic site that includes the ashes of many who died on September 11!
This is too sensitive a matter, and the feelings of New Yorkers and Americans must be the prime consideration in this matter. The Landmark Preservation Commission must rule in favor of making the present building protected from demolition!
It is not the point of promoting Islamic phobia, which must be worked against. But this is a sacred location, and must be left as hallowed ground, as a memory of those nearly 3,000 people of all nationalities and religions who died there because of the dastardly deed done by 19 Islamic terrorists!
Build mosques in other locations, as happens all the time, but NOT at or near Ground Zero! This is sacrosanct territory, and must remain as a memorial to remind future generations of the greatest tragedy ever to hit US territory on the mainland of our nation!
With the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, that august body will now have, upon confirmation of Kagan, four members who spent their early years and much of their life in New York City, and ironically, in different boroughs of the city!
Antonin Scalia spent his formative years in Queens County; Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Brooklyn; Sonia Sotomayor in the Bronx; and Elena Kagan in Manhattan!
Also, the liberal bloc on the Court will consist of the three women and Justice Stephen Breyer, and that will mean the three Jewish members of the Court, along with its first Hispanic or Latino member, will be seen by the hinterland as out of touch with America. But realize the long range historical effect of New York City and State on American history, and one can understand why the city and state have had such an impact!
There has long been a tendency to favor New York for Justices, including, among others, Benjamin Cardozo, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, and John Jay.
So the New York and Northeastern influence on the Court is an interesting reality, particularly at a time when the Tea Party Movement seems to be striking out against modern America, which is primarily influenced by that center of culture and commerce!
After all, even the terrorists see New York City as the center of America in ways that cannot be matched anywhere else in the nation!
The fact that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg won a third term on Tuesday by only a five percent margin was shocking to many.
His Democratic opponent, William Thompson, faced a 14-1 financing disadvantage, as Bloomberg spent nearly $100 million of his own personal fortune, the most ever spent by any politician to win a political office.
Compare the five percent margin this time to the 20 percent margin that Bloomberg won by in 2005. It comes down to resentment over his personal fortune being used so aggressively, but also his pushing of the City Council to change the term limits law to allow him to run for a third term, something that alienated many voters as much as the personal financing.
The voter refusal to vote for him overwhelmingly is a good lesson in the need to limit personal fortune investments in political campaigns, and to have the guts to insist on term limits for mayors, as well as governors–that is, to follow the spirit of the 22nd Amendment for the Presidency of the United States. No one is indispensable, and good government requires that executives be replaced after a maximum of eight years in office.
The Republican victories in the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and the close reelection victory of Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City are testaments to the fact that all politics is local, except in a Presidential election year.
The reality is that, with the economy continuing to worsen regarding unemployment and foreclosures, and with the corruption problems in New Jersey, it was inevitable that the independent voters would rebel against the party in power in both states, and make for a closer margin for NYC Mayor than was expected.
Last year, the Democrats benefited from the poor economy. This time, the Republicans were the ones to gain from the worsening economy.
It is very obvious that what happens in the 2010 midterm elections will be based more on the economy than anything else, so this puts the burden on President Obama to bring about substantial improvement in economic statistics in the next year, and to accomplish passage of major health care reform legislation, with the belief that once it is accomplished, it will be an asset for the Democrats.
While this is not a good day for Democrats, to interpret two state governorship races as a mandate for the GOP and a slap in the face to Barack Obama is a tremendous exaggeration. But no one can debate that the 2010 midterm congressional election will be a judgment on the Obama Presidency halfway to the Presidential election.