The Gateway (No, I Haven’t Changed My Mind About Bloomie Edition)

Bad pun of the day; the Board of Education has just approved a non-religious Islamically themed charter school originally conceived by Deborah Almontaser, on the condition that she be replaced by Eva Mosquekowitz　

If Ground Zero is "sacred ground," then some might call the political rally scheduled for near there on September 11 a desecration. However, the First Amendment right to free speech and assembly trumps any outrage some might have about what they perceive to be a monumental act of bad taste and political pimpery.

Or as the President might put it:

"I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of having a political hate rally there on that date. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about. And I think it's very important as difficult as some of these issues are that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about."

Beinart’s impassioned anguish and outrage speak volumes.

Money quote: "Once upon a time, the “war on terror” was supposed to bring American values to Saudi Arabia. Now Newt Gingrich says we shouldn’t build a mosque in Lower Manhattan until the Saudis build churches and synagogues in Mecca—which is to say, we’re bringing Saudi values to the United States."

Though somewhat tangential, I also can’t resist including this little observation about the limits of "The new Tolerant Intolerance":

I'm really dubious about the attached article, but it did generate an interesting thought. What if everyone who says their problem is ONLY the particular location (a group which may not constitute a majority of those complaining, given the well-documented opposition to mosques in other NYC neighborhood and around the country) pledged to finance the entire $100 million cost of this facility at a different Lower Manhattan location (and found the location).

The article notes: " Every year Jews emerge from the Passover Seder table with one indelible message — remember that you were strangers in the land of Egypt, that you were degraded and humiliated for no reason save that you were Jews. As Jews, we therefore must raise our voices and do all in our power to prevent such bigotry from being directed at any other people or faith. The empathy taught by our tradition demands that Jews neither be silent nor forbearing in the face of such injustice."

Forgetting for a moment about their role in local land use issues, I feel compelled to ask if Sufis are geopolitically the theological equivalent in the Near East to what the Kurds are ethnically–a group whose history has made them our greatest potential allies. The answer, I think is somewhat–the Sufis also have an ideological stake in our friendship.

I am also struck by the way they echo the divisions in my own religion. I'm not sure whether Sufis qualify as Reform or Reconstructionist, but one line of this article really hit home for me:

Bill Maher: “Maybe if America had BUILT SOMETHING in the last 9 yrs at Ground Zero people wouldn’t be so touchy about the mosque going up there.” Posted from twitter

Back in 77, when the Sex Pistols couldn't get into America to play their gig on SNL, Elvis Costello filled in the breach, so I guess it's only appropriate that Rotten has filled EC's void in Israel.

Lame video of the day. Gary Tilzer has the original idea of having client Doug Biviano imitate Paul Wellstone imitating Michael Moore (right down to Moore‘s scrupulous disregard for the facts).

I don't buy it the video’s premise. The NYC press has never covered local races, even before the national trend toward dumbing down set in. But that fact is neither here nor there, because the local press is less and less important over time. Article after article about this race would just not do it for Doug. What might is mail, and the elbow grease of door knocking. When the press (though generally not the dailies) sees evidence of that, they do tend to show some interest, and in actuality Dougie does better than most. Last year his Council race got a full blown profile in the Observer when that Paper refused to acknowledge some of the race's serious candidates (Dougie ran six in a field of seven).

Single most annoying thing I read daily on Facebook: “I should not have to Press 1 to hear a message in English…We are in America, learn the language.”

Folks, the fact that businesses offer phone service in multiple languages is not because they have been forced to by the heavy hand of government, or because they are politically correct. They do so because a cost-benefit analysis (or gut instinct) has proven to them that offering services in multiple languages makes them money. So much so, in fact, that they are willing to risk the occasional disgruntled jingoistic yahoo who takes offense.