Was it a Hate Crime? Or a young man in conflict?

The Council on American Islamic Relations, along with other groups, have been quick to condemn the stabbing attack of Manhattan cab driver, Ahmed H. Sharif, as a “hate crime”. According to reports, Michael Enright, a 21 year old Arts student, hailed a cab and, after asking Sharif if he's Muslim, began stabbing the Sharif through the partially open plexiglass partition between front and back seats.

Nihad Awad, CAIR National Exective Director, issued the following statement:

“As other American minorities have experienced, hate speech often leads to hate crimes. Sadly, we've seen how the deliberate public vilification of Islam can lead some individuals to violence against innocent people. It's time for responsible leaders to speak up to stop irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric”.

In a press release via the NYC Taxi Workers Alliance, Sharif promotes the idea that this was a hate crime related to the mosque:

“Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, a yellow taxi cab driver slashed across the neck, face and shoulders by a passenger during an anti-Muslim hate crime will stand with fellow New York Taxi Workers Alliance members, and community, immigrant and Muslim organizations to call for an end to the bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate around the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center, referred to as the Ground Zero Mosque.”

Tragic as this incident is- and I personally send my well-wishes to Mr.Sharif for a speedy recovery- I am forced to question the politicizing of this incident being related to the mosque situation and, in fact, question if it is even a “hate crime.”

Others have chimed in, even going so far as to blame all opponents of the Ground Zero mosque/center:

“ It was the Republican National Committee. From August of 2006, the RNC decided to demonize Muslims and Islam as a campaign ploy, to scare apparently easily spooked white Christians. ... Newt Gingrich and Rick Lazio may as well have kept [Enright] in their basements in chains and whipped him into a frenzy as to spew their hatred on the airwaves" (Juan Cole, Middle Eastern Studies Professor and blogger).

Further investigation into the incident, however, shows there's very little likelihood that Enright was a rabid Islamophobe nor that he did his crime because he was upset about the mosque at Ground Zero.

According to friend, Chris Capelluto, Enright is a “great guy” and good friend. If the reports are accurate, he spent time as a volunteer with Intersections International, an interfaith organization which supported, as did Enright, the building of the mosque/center at Ground Zero.

According to associates, Enright made several documentaries (which are on Youtube) but his latest video was filmed in what could be one of the most difficult places to film: a war zone.

Enright, with the help of a friend who was deployed to Afghanistan, spent several months embedded with the troops. Though he spoke little about the time, except to discuss the film and say the country was in chaos, Enright's friends noticed that he had a distinct personality change after his return. He had become insular, withdrawn.

A journal, alleged to have been found in Enright's possession at the time of his arrest, is said to have contained a reference to Afghanis as “...killers, ungrateful for the help they were being offered, filthy murderers without conscience.”

Enright, whom friends referred to as a “teddy bear” has a history of minor encounters with the police. One charge for disorderly conduct and two for underage drinking. But according to friends, he's been alcohol free for the past year. Until the day of the stabbing

That Enright's personality changed since returning from Afghanistan and this could be a clue to understanding what happened. Coupled with being profoundly intoxicated (according to police reports) could it be that Enright suffers PTSD?

According to Anthony Feinstein, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, journalists embedded in the Iraq war were susceptible to PTSD symptoms:

“To summarise the psychological findings: roughly 20% of the sample endorsed significant symptoms of depression (low mood, tearfulness, difficulties with sleep, appetite and sexual drive, a sense of failure and guilt) while a similar percentage were troubled by an array of PTSD type symptoms (nightmares, recurrent unwanted thoughts of episodes in which they had come close to dying or seeing someone die, flashbacks, an emotional numbing, a hypervigilance even when away from danger, a prominent startle response and so on).”

In a more recent article, published in SECURITY ZONE, the online journal of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, Rebecca Dolan points out that, unlike first responders and soldiers, journalists do not often consider themselves susceptible to PTSD, though they are susceptible. Dolan cites Bruce Shapiro of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma:

“The more I learn and understand about PTSD speaking as a journalist, the more I feel that the mechanisms involved in PTSD have a particular relevance to us as journalists.”

Friends of Enright claim that he told them that they “lost some guys” when he was embedded with the troops. Keep in mind, he was there making a film. He wasn't trained as a soldier and he likely didn't realize what he was getting into.

Unnamed associates are disclosing to different media outlets their experiences with Mr. Enright:

“What I can say about Mike is that he is without question a troubled person with a bad, bad drinking problem. He was my best friend's roommate in freshman year and would drink till he blacked out every single night. I remember on election night 2008 we were all downstairs outside of the dorm screaming and celebrating at Obama's victory and Mike came outside with tears streaming down his face. He pushed his way through us and when he came back five minutes later he had two 40's in his hands.”

This doesn't sound like a young man who should even have gone to Afghanistan in the first place.

There is a dichotomy with this young man named Michael Enright. He supported interfaith dialog and the mosque/center near Ground Zero; and yet he slashed the throat of a Muslim man, without provocation so we're told (though nobody has interviewed him as yet.)

If Enright is suffering PTSD combined with alcoholism, he may not be viewed as competent. But I think I can safely predict that this incident will be used to push for a national “hate speech” law in our country. And if that happens- and our government and courts allow it, we can kiss the Constitution goodbye.

By Robert Garcia

Is Pay-TV going the way of the dinosaurs? High unemployment, rising costs, poor service and increasing on-line viewer choices have officially begun to put a dent into the Pay-Television business. For the 1st time ever, the numbers of subscribers to cable TV, satellite and telecom services are down.

It’s not all economic, but this lingering recession may have been the match that started the forest fire. It’s not hard to figure out. When you get home after HR has just handed you your walking papers and you sit down to do your new jobless budget- what’s one of the first things to go? Cable. Satellite. Fios.

But everybody manages a way to keep their internet access. Hello Hulu. Hello Netflix. Play Stations, Wii’s and X-Box’s put the shows and movies you want to watch on the big TV; the lap-top does the same and also serves as the portable alternative.

I say it’s only partly economic because it isn’t just the ever-increasing monthly bills for Pay-TV services that rub people the wrong way. Folks with dishes are fed up with losing their service every time it rains or the wind blows. And the only time anyone actually wants to watch a commercial is when the Super Bowl’s on. The old lament of 500 channels and nothing to watch is truer than ever; it is amazing the amount of drivel on cable/satellite/fios these days.

I would expect battles, particularly between cable companies and content-providers to escalate into full-blown wars. Pay TV is not in a position to keep pricing customers into oblivion. They are going to have to reduce the costs of their services to consumers if they’re to remain viable. More and more they will have no choice but to stand up to TV and Cable networks and their increasingly exorbitant demands for increases in their percentage of cable subscriber fees. As their game of chicken continues, inevitably, one or two or three networks just won’t be available on some cable systems anymore.

Somebody is going to have to figure out how to innovate their way out of this spiral, but I think it has definitely begun and you can mark the 2nd quarter of the year, 2010 as the moment Pay TV began its descent.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: garciamedialife

Trying to put out the fire about the Cordoba project may not be as easy as it's supporters think and now it's owners/advocates are having to find a way to soft-pedal it to the American people at large.

One of the ways to soft pedal the proposed mosque/center is to make it seem like it can never be built due to a lack of funding. An article in today's DAILY BEAST makes it look like a group of Islamic Soccer Moms are the only ones supporting the project:

“Far from a fundraising juggernaut with ties to Ahmadinejad, the planned Islamic center near ground zero has less than $9,000 in the bank—raised by a group of Muslim-American moms.”

The Politico has also entered the fray, downplaying the finances of the project. According to the above article:

“...Politico reported on a less-sophisticated operation—noting that the Cordoba Initiative's latest fundraising report shows just $18,255. The piece accurately concluded that the mosque remains a long shot, as fundraising for the $100 million project has hardly even begun.”

Hold it right there.

I thought they weren't disclosing their finances? Now suddenly there's access to their Paypal account? Something isn't smelling right here.

According to prior reports, there was $4 million donated already. The donor was Sharif El-Gamal who, back in 2002, was a waiter at New Yorks high class Sarafina restaurant. Somewhere between 2002 and 2009, when Al-Gamal forked over the 4 million for the purchase of the Burlington property, he and his brother (who was also a waiter) managed to save up $500,000 per year. Those are some really good “tips” Sharif was getting!

El-Gamal is CEO of the company which owns the Burlington building. My question is: why did it take three months of protests and questioning before El-Gamal came out of the woodwork?

Bill Warner, a private detective has disclosed that, not only were the El-Gamal brothers, co-owners of SoHo properties, suddenly made wealthy in time to donate $4 million to ownership of the property, they were also not property handlers. What they did was make money (aside from waiting tables) by renting apartments on commission- NOT SELLING THEM.

Does this matter? Talk to anyone who rents out properties. Ask them about the big money to be made renting out properties on commission..

Bill Warner also points out the strange money flow of the El-Gamal:

“In April 2007 Sharif El-Gamal and his wife buy a $1 million dollar apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In early 2009 Sharif El-Gamal as SOHO PROPERTIES spent $45.7 million for a 12-story Chelsea office building at 31 West 27th Street Manhattan NY.”

Sharif El-Gamal grew up in Libera, a known hotbed of Al-Queda activity. This is, of course, no crime unto itself and we cannot know for certain if the El-Gamal brothers were “in” with Al-Queda. But let's get real. There's no way in hell two waiters, working less than minimum wage plus tips, could save up so much money. Someone is funding them. But whom?

Probably the same people who are funding SoHo properties in general. If you go to their website,
http://www.sohoproperties.com you will find out that they're not a trusting group. You need a pass code to even get into the website. Just a note: I Googled up similar companies within Manhattan and they didn't have this type of “security” feature for their website. Even TRUMP lets you into his website! So what's up with that?

Another attempt to soft-pedal the mosque is to say it's not a mosque. According to Daisy Khan, wife of Sheikh Feisal Rauf, the “center” is not any different than a YMCA.

Now let me see. YMCA stands for Young Men's Christian Association. Well, aside from the fact that a mosque is hardly “Christian”, and aside from the fact that the YMCA allows men and women to swim in the same pools, workout in the same gym, and enjoy other events in a mingling of genders....what exactly is the similarity again?

Question: when is a coat factory a mosque?

Whenever Muslims use it for prayer. To say that the Cordoba building isn't a mosque is a total lie. In Islamic teaching, ANY building can be a mosque and, if people use it for prayer, that's what it is: a mosque. Of course, Muslims don't need to be in a mosque to pray. But if there's a gathering of Muslims in a specific building; and if they own the building, then yes, it's a mosque.

Muslims have been gathering at 51 Park to pray for the past eight months. Four times a day, every day. But no, it's not a mosque...

Renaming it from a name which evokes the worst of images for those who know what happened in history is also a way to soft peddle the mosque. The very naming of the project “Cordoba” was a lightening rod. Perhaps Feisal and Khan, et al, thought Americans were too stupid to Google “Cordoba”. But the cat was let out of the bag. So they decided that the the way to cover it up was to rename it to Park51. Yeah, right. Like it's just another building in a line up: Park49, 50, 51...

Though not broadcast much, the physical address for the Burlington factory is 45 Park. . So why call it Park51?

Islam is nothing if not symbolic. Of course all religions have symbols. But the penchant for picking dates, creating names, etc., that have significance for Muslims or in Islam isn't uncommon. For example, the very name of the project, the Cordoba Initiative, is a direct reference to a historical event. And 911 was chosen for the date's significance.

Do you believe in coincidence? I don't. Not very often, anyway. And definitely not when people name things. So what could “51” be a reference to?

There's a passage in the Quran that has been of significant interest to those who have concerns about Islamists trying to change the face of American life.

“O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them.”

Just so happens, this is Sura 5:51 in the Quran. Now maybe this is a legitimate coincidence (which would mean Rauf doesn't know how to count very well) or maybe- just maybe- it's a symbolic faux pas, similar to; but certainly more cryptic, than “Cordoba.”

For the record, if this is the case, it's equally as ominous as naming the place Cordoba.

Coincidence or not, people are beginning to get irritated with those Muslims who show a total disregard for the wishes of a majority of Americans. Gratefully, there are some Muslims who “get it.”

Miss USA, Rima Fakih (also a Muslim, albeit, a very westernized one) has spoken out against it:

"We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion.”

While she agreed that there's a Constitutional right to build, Ms. Fakih has enough sense to realize that being able to do something doesn't always mean its right to do so.

Akbar Ahmed, a professor of Islamic Studies at American University in D.C. goes further:

"I don't think the Muslim leadership has fully appreciated the impact of 9/11 on America. They assume Americans have forgotten 9/11 and even, in a profound way, forgiven 9/11, and that has not happened. The wounds remain largely open. And when wounds are raw, an episode like constructing a house of worship – even one protected by the Constitution, protected by law - becomes like salt in the wounds."

Writing in the Ottowa Citizen, Raheel Raza and Tarek Fateh of the Muslim Canadian Congress said:

“The Koran commands Muslims to, 'Be considerate when you debate with the People of the Book' -- i.e., Jews and Christians. Building an exclusive place of worship for Muslims at the place where Muslims killed thousands of New Yorkers is not being considerate or sensitive, it is undoubtedly an act of 'fitna'”.

The argument is that if this mosque is built it will show the Islamic world that America is tolerant. If they haven't gotten it thus far, I doubt the building of this mosque will help. The very fact that we didn't round up Muslims and place them in internment camps after 911 shows the tolerance of not only our Government but of the American people in general.

The mosque isn't necessary to prove our level of tolerance in America. But as my wise father once said: “Those who demand your tolerance are the most intolerant of all.”

I bet seven Christian aid workers who used to give eye exams would agree.

By Robert Garcia

Everybody needs a break but politicians always seem to get slammed for taking vacations when the country is in crisis. The First Family is off to Martha’s Vineyard for 11 days. Congress is in the midst of six weeks off. Is one more excessive than the other? Beats me but I do know I don’t have the wealth or vacation time for either.

The Presidential Vacation

Now the facts and some history. The 1st family begins its 6th vacation of the year today, heading up to Martha’s Vineyard for 11 days of summer downtime. Some think this is a bit much, but for the President himself, his 5 vacations have totaled exactly 20 days. (It’s only five vacations for the President because he didn’t do that fancy Spain trip the 1st Lady went on).

George W. Bush averaged over 100 days off per year through his two terms. Obama also tends to get interrupted on his vacations having had to pull away once for the Detroit underwear bomber and once again for the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Last year, there was a great uproar about the 1st family choosing to go to Martha’s Vineyard as it was seen as too upscale for the average American to relate to. Ironically, Bill Clinton once commissioned a poll on where he should go on vacation. And he ended up going to Martha’s Vineyard too. I suppose 1st families could go to Six Flags and shop at Walmart if they really wanted to relate to “average” Americans but I do not foresee this happening anytime soon.

The Congressional Vacation

And then there’s Congress. One curious question about what is not happening this congressional break is crazy, out-of-control town hall meetings like those that spread like wildfire last Spring. As a stumped colleague recently told me, “It’s not like people are any happier.”

Here is a highly amusing, official explanation from the official website of the United States Senate on how these long summer Congressional recesses came to be. It all started, apparently, because of a lack of air conditioning and the dawning recognition that August in Washington, D.C., just plain sucks:

By tradition and by law, Congress recesses for the month of August. During the Senate's early years, members attempted to adjourn in the spring, before the summer's heat and oppressive humidity overwhelmed them and their small staff. When the Senate moved to its current chamber in 1859, senators were optimistic about its "modern" ventilation system, but they soon found the new system ineffective. Long sessions were plagued by hot and stormy weather. The 1920s brought "manufactured weather" to the Senate chamber, but even modern climate control could not cope with the hottest days, forcing 20th-century senators to escape the summer heat. In 1970, finally facing the reality of long sessions, Congress mandated a summer break as part of the Legislative Reorganization Act. Today, the August recess continues to be a regular feature of the Senate schedule--a chance for senators to spend time with family, meet with constituents in their home states, and catch up on summer reading

Not mentioned in the official explanation of what lawmakers do during recess- is raise money. Other than a short real vacation getaway here and there, that’s what members of Congress always do during recess. It has been well-documented that about 40% of a lawmaker’s time is spent raising funds for re-election. Spending time with family, meeting with constituents and catching up on summer reading is not quite the whole story.

There's also a good case to be made that while it may appear to be a bit of a disconnect that lawmakers vacation so much- we should probably all be grateful for the inactivity and the peace and quiet that comes with their long absences. It's just that much less damage that can be done to the nation.

Opposition to Ground Zero Mosque Sends Obama on a Vacation

If I were him, I would vacate, too. With his poll numbers slipping (faster than Bush's did in his first term of office, btw) Obama is taking off for another ten day vacation. It's hard work making a bungling idiot out of oneself. But Obama may well have tipped his hand on this one.

This whole mosque incident has created some pretty strange bedfellows. ADL and Pat Robertson; the ACLJ and the American Atheists; Dean, Reid and Palin... who could've imagined that a day would come when we would see Atheists, Evangelical Christians, Jews, Republicans and Democrats all on the same page? A page, by the way, not shared with our President.

Just like his predecessor, whom the media castigated for sticking by his guns over the Iraq war, Obama is sticking to his “guns” (he said “no regrets” when asked if he regretted getting into the fray) over the building of the Cordoba Mosque.

And those Muslims who are arguing that it's their “right” (an argument the President made) could be seeing the Muslim “mystique” turn into a Muslim “mistake.”

Attempts to downplay the historic link to the Cordoba mosque by renaming it “Park51” aren't working. And most Americans, according to the most recent TIME poll, oppose the erection of the Center/Mosque. Today's TIME poll showed 61% of those Americans polled oppose it's building; 26% supporting it; and 70% see the building of the mosque as a slap in the face to the victim families.

That there was animosity towards Muslims after 911 isn't something in dispute. Post-911 polls reflected a general distrust of Muslims, in particular, those who were very religious. And more recent polling data shows that 28% of Americans feel that no Muslim should be able to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. Another 1/3rd of Americans polled had said they think Muslims should be barred from running for President.

Prior to the Mosque debacle, the Pew Research Institute poll showed that a growing number of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. The mainstream media reporting has tried to assuage the concerns by using a bias twist to reporting the poll. For example, ABC's headline read: “Growing Number Incorrectly Call Obama Muslim.”

So now the media determines the correctness of the American people?

Be that as it may, this recent commentary from the President showed his marked refusal to stand up for the American people in the face of Islamic pressure. On the back end of it, to send this Imam out as a representative of America, seems to be a backhand in the face of Americans.

Nearly one in five Americans now say Obama is Muslim. After this mess with the Mosque, it's possible that number could rise.

Obama came into office promising transparency. From the get-go, critics challenged that he was anything BUT transparent, citing his sealed birth certificate and university records. Others note a distinctive lack of transparency about his religious faith as well. Though claiming to be a Christian, Obama has offered little to convince people of his Christian ties.

Back in 2008, 55% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats and 58% of Independents polled believed Obama to be a Christian. Of those polled that year, only 12% of Republicans, 12% of Democrats, and 11% of Indepedents believed he was Muslim.

But the worm turn shows a significant shift in the data: 34% of those polled believe he's Christian, 18% believe he is Muslim, and 43% admit they just don't know what he is!

So much for transparency and yes, I think if a President is going to claim to be Christian he should at least attend church somewhere. To date, he hasn't been seen participating in a church. To date, Obama has downplayed the National Day of Prayer as well as Christmas (well they did have the White House tree, featuring Mao Zedong and drag queen, Hedda Lettuce).

But Obama did host the Eid and has taken time out of his busy schedule to support the building of a Mosque which is doing the one thing he claimed he would never do: divide our country.

And it is divisive.

For example, Jewish organizations are at odds with the ADL, which opposes the Mosque, comparing those like the ADL to anti-semites.

Atheists aren't standing together on this either. In a recent interview, Christopher Hitchens was asked about the mosque situation and summarily dismissed those who protested its being built as being jealous that the area known as the official ground zero (where the towers actually stood) is still nothing but a “huge, noisy, and dirty pit with almost no visible architectural progress...”

So while we're seeing strange bedfellows banding together, we're also seeing division.

This is how civilizations and nations get destroyed. Not from external attack, but from internal confusion.

While the President was right- technically- that we're a nation of tolerance for religious variety, we also have a limit. The early Mormons are an example. Prior to the westward move of the Mormons, polygamy wasn't illegal. The Corril Act of 1862, and several other legislations, would make polygamy prosecutable in the United States and any of it's territories, including western settlements. When the Mormons first practiced polygamy as part of their religious beliefs (Doctrine and Covenants, section 132) it was legal within most of the country. Marriages were subsequently dissolved as a result and the practice disenfranchised.

Just because something is legal, that doesn't necessarily make it “right” to do. Polygamy was repugnant to most citizens and therefore the law didn't address it. Freedom of religion doesn't allow a person to do anything they want, even if they're within the bounds and scope of the law. Communities can, and often do, have a say. And they should have a say.

Obama has now tip toed over the fine line of separation. He should never have personally addressed this. Imagine George Bush saying that the Westboro Baptist group could build a church where Matthew Shepard had been left to die? Can you imagine the media outcry? And gays would be rightly upset by it as well, even though the Westboro gang themselves had nothing to do with his death.

Obama is great about talking the letter of the law. He is right when he says the Constitution allows them to build any place where they have a legal right. That being said, I expect that the next time someone takes out billboards, rents bus and train space, or hands out fliers unfavorable to Islam, they'll be given the same consideration.

The Muslim “mystique” used to be the mystery of a land far, far away. It's people seemed strange but fascinatingly exotic to us. 911, and subsequent events, have changed all that and those Muslims who support the “in your face” of this Mosque better be careful, lest the mystique turn into a mistake.

click here to read the pew foundation recent polling data

By Robert Garcia

I don’t have an opinion on whether it’s appropriate to build a Muslim religious building near the site of Ground Zero in Manhattan and if I did, I wouldn’t state it publicly. But the President does have an opinion- a controversial one- and he sure is catching hell for it. It’s a politically damaging, principled position.

He really could have gone merrily along his way ignoring the issue as the White House had been doing for weeks saying it’s a matter for local authorities to decide. But, no, the President waded into these stormy waters twice- once last Friday night and again Saturday. His position is that Muslims have the same rights as any religious group in America, that they should not be singled out (no one would have a problem with a Christian church or Synagogue being built there) but he won’t say whether the ground-zero Mosque idea is specifically a good idea or not.

As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances.

That nuance will not be picked up by the President’s political enemies or those who don’t want a Mosque built on what is, essentially, hallowed ground. For Republicans in particular, Christmas has arrived a few months early. Since they can read polls that find almost 70% of Americans opposed to the Ground-zero Mosque, they are yelling from every street corner that this is all the evidence you need that Obama lectures and does not listen and is disconnected from the will of the people.

Roger Simon, in one of the most cynical political columns I’ve ever read, argues at Politico.com that this very intellectually smart President is a political idiot. Simon says you don’t take politically unpopular decisions even if they are morally and constitutionally correct. At least not in your first term. Simon maintains you do that kind of stuff in your second term when re-election is no longer an issue.

The President is a constitutional expert. It’s what he taught on the University level. He believes the document is pretty clear about religious freedom not being reserved just for those faiths Americans feel comfortable with. Most Americans are not constitutional experts and they will not understand the point.

I don’t believe him to be a fool. John F. Kennedy wrote a Pulitzer-prize winning book, Profiles in Courage, that catalogues rare instances in which politicians have risked all to take controversial actions or positions. Off the top of my head I can name several, courageous, unpopular decisions that Presidents have made. Dwight Eisenhower sending federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce racial integration. Lyndon Johnson signing the civil rights and voting rights acts, actions he accurately admitted to others would probably lose Democrats the South for generations to come.

Politico’s Roger Simon (speaking on behalf of many talking heads everywhere) argues and I quote:

You could not put the conventional wisdom more clearly: It is far better for a president to do nothing than to choose a side. Even if the side he chooses is the right one from an ethical or moral perspective, it is a “blunder” politically because inevitably it will upset some people.

Obviously Barack Obama does not care how many people he upsets. Is it a leader’s duty to follow polls and tell people what they want to hear- or does a leader occasionally take a stand, even if most of the people will vehemently disagree?

Sometimes, the men who have occupied the Oval Office have acted as poll-reading politicians and sometimes as leaders. This President, risking quite a bit, has opted for leadership. He obviously believes this issue- and the principle- are more important than the politics.

Not all people disagree with the President. New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, for one, supports the President’s position, calling it a “clarion defense of the freedom of religion.” Florida Governor Charlie Crist supports him on the same grounds. Note both men are Independents and not associated with either major political party.

And now comes the hard part for the President. There are consequences for taking nuanced, controversial positions based on principle. You can lose elections. Mid-terms and re-elections, alike. But at least he will have gone down for a principle he thought was important enough to fight for. Agree or disagree with the position, it did take guts to state it.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: Garciamedalife

My nieces' friend attended a protest against the Arizona Immgration Law. While there, she took some very interesting photos which reveal their real view of America and Arizona.

By Robert Garcia

According to the legend of JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, unhappy with snarling, angry passengers, he lived out everyone’s take-this-job-and-shove it fantasy- got on the inboard PA system, uttered a few choice profanities then slid off into the sunset on the plane’s emergency slide, with a few beers in hand.

About 147,000 Facebook friends and dozens of media interviews later, passengers aboard the flight are painting a different picture- that of a seriously unhinged, angry man who scared passengers the entire flight by continually slamming the doors to the overhead compartments, refusing to get a passenger who spilled coffee a napkin to wipe it up with- and then starting the fight with the young passenger that led to the PA announcement and his escape into notoriety on the emergency chute.

Read all about what appears to be the real story here in the Wall Street Journal.

I don’t want to paint all flight attendants with a broad brush, because the vast majority of them are very nice, kind people who understand their job is largely public relations and rarely, but sometimes, act as safety professionals who may be in a position to literally save your life.

But I have also run into surly flight attendants who act like they got off the wrong side of the bed every morning of their lives.

You also run into these surly, unhappy types working Burger King and CVS cash registers and you may have a few working at your own place of employment. These are folks who think they have crappy jobs, would love to be doing anything else, are constant complainers but through inertia, laziness or just lack of opportunity in a recession, are stuck.

These are the folks who really need to get a life and develop the cajones to do something about their existence. On one level, I will give Steven Slater points for at least doing something about the job he obviously despised. And for doing so in a manner that might even lead to some other livelihood, like writing a book or becoming a professional interview subject.

But, I, for one, am glad he is no longer in the airline hospitality business. And about 10% of his colleagues should activate similar emergency chutes and find themselves a way out of their miserable lives as well. It is only fair to them, since their jobs occupy one third of their lives- and to us- who will no longer have to put up with them.

So kudos to Slater for his unique career-change strategy…but a hero? I think not.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: garciamedialife

By Robert Garcia

He looks lost. His driver is leaving the ball in the woods. His irons are leaving the ball in sand traps and rough. The man who used to make 45-foot putts can’t hit from 8 feet. Five times he won at Firestone. He is in 70th place.

What everyone assumed would be the inevitable Tiger Woods assault on Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major titles now seems like an impossible mountain to climb. I don’t know exactly what Elin did on that fateful Thanksgiving night in Florida, but I don’t think it had as much to do with an 8-iron as it did- with kryptonite or some kind of very effective voodoo.

The human psyche is a complicated thing. Is he subliminally punishing himself? Does he need three different women a week or he loses his powers?

I think it’s control. He has lost control of his life, first personally- then professionally. His wife left him. His swing coach left him. If there was one overriding aura around the old Tiger, it was a man very much in control of everything; from his golf stroke to, apparently, his secret life. Now it is gone. All gone. It is as if the Gods waved their wands from Olympus and transformed him from one of their own to a mere mortal.

In the days after he withdrew from the The Player’s Championship back in May and Tiger’s coach quit on him, Jay Marioti at Fanhouse.com wrote a an insightful piece on the decline of Tiger Woods that had the ring of truth.

He pointed out that at 35 years old, Tiger’s not only getting physically creaky- the famous Tiger Zen has vanished:

Assuming he can piece himself back together and enter events, Woods has provided no evidence that he can regenerate the magic of yore. His physical problems now include the knees, Achilles, back and neck -- body parts urgent to a golfer's well-being as he swings, walks and thinks on his feet. Mentally, his marital life is headed to divorce, with speculation mounting daily about what type of child custody he'll retain, if any. All of which is pounding at his very soul. Time was when we thought nothing could invade the steel-trap psyche of Eldrick Woods, son of Earl, heir to Gandhi and Mandela. These days, he's half the golfer he used to be, and maybe one-tenth the man.

I remember what Tiger used to be as a golfer. When he was the best the sport had ever seen. We were witness to something truly special. We took the magic and the greatness for granted week in and week out. We had ten years of it but it still feels rather fleeting.

Tiger Woods is still alive, but it feels like little by little, we are all writing the very sad obituary of one of the greatest athletes of our times.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: garciamedialife

By Robert Garcia

I know I will eventually get back to being a serious person who actually cares about stuff, but for now my first day back at work reveals, without any ambiguity, that I had a real nice vacation, because I’m still on it.

I think I want to be a professional vacationer; perhaps a beach and restaurant reviewer. I’m looking for a situation in which people deposit bi-weekly checks in your bank account, but you don’t have to exert any actual energy on anything. I want to be Paris Hilton.

Signs You’re Having Trouble Readjusting to Work from Your Vacation:

1) You catch yourself asking one of your colleagues to go get you a banana daiquiri and a shrimp quesadilla.

2) You demand the security guard get you a clean beach towel.

3) One of your colleagues says they have something important to discuss and you look at them like they’re some kind of three-eyed, green alien with antennae.

4) You keep asking people what happened to the breakfast buffet.

5) Nappy-time comes easily at all times of the day.

6) I catch a glimpse of myself in the office bathroom mirror and see some guy in a suit who looks just like me but, for the life of me, I cannot recognize.

7) In the same vain, people all around you are wearing clothes and you wonder why.

8) You grab a bite to eat at the corner deli and you tell them to charge it to room 510.

9) You try to think of ten signs you’re having trouble readjusting to work from your vacation, but it soon becomes too taxing and you stop at #9.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: Garciamedialife

Just weeks into his leadership of the UK Government David Cameron has, on his visit to Turkey opened an issue that many of our European neighbours will find somewhat contentious – their entry as a full EU Member State!

Turkey's application for full EU membership was rejected at the time of their previous application because they did not fulfil all the criteria for admission. There was opposition to their entry from France, Germany and Austria, plus reservations by several other countries. They were told that the major barriers to their full entry were the economy, their issues in terms of human rights ( particularly related to the large Kurdish community), and their unwillingness to recognise the Greek part of Cyprus which is already a member state. Turkey were, however, granted preferential trading status.

Whilst the issues around the economy are on a way towards resolution there has been scant forward movement on the two other issues. In view of this why on earth is David Cameron supporting this application? I suppose the biggest motivator of all – MONEY through increased trade!
There is no doubt that David Cameron sees Turkey as a bridge between the EU and the Middle East, and the economic advantages of that are obvious. However, on the legitimacy of their claims to be part of Europe I am unsure that 3% of their land mass actually qualifies them. If this is the case then we'd better be prepared to take in Russia.

What amuses me is that David Cameron is not the hugest supporter of the EU. His stance, at least during the elections, was that the EU's powers and bureaucracy should not be extended, and the size should remain within manageable proportions. This would seem wise since the last expansion of the EU brought in countries which were very borderline in terms of their economies and this could be a serious strain on other established member states. Now he is suggesting the inclusion of a state that would rival other states in terms of population size, and therefore of influence in the general assembly. Given all the areas of non-compliance is this wise? Well, not in my opinion.

Mind you, I'm not sure whether I should worry about what David Cameron's wishes are at this point in time since rejection by one member state would derail the application all together. So, at the moment I am busy saying – Go France and Germany GO!

Top BP executive Tony Hayward is expected to formally announce his resignation from BP. The BP Board will meet on Monday in order to deal with the resignation.

This beleagured executive has shown signs of stress following his recent grilling before a US Senate committee. This lengthy grilling conducted by a group of Senators proceded to pose Tony Hayward many questions that were impossible for him to answer. To be honest, it wouldn't have made any difference what he'd said he would have been hung out to dry. Even saying he wanted the issue dealt with so he could 'get back his life' resulted in scorn being poured down on his head.

To those who were naive enough to think that the ills of a multinational company all lay in the hands of one man sorry, but you'll have to find someone else to castigate.

Still, Tony Hayward will be on his way with a well negotiated settlement and a lump sum, plus a hefty contribution to his pension fund.
When he's gone maybe we'll begin to get at those who were truly responsible - both for the Gulf oil spillage and the BP connection with the Libyan Lockerbie bomber's release.

But I won't hold my breath.

I listened with horror to the flat emotionless voice of Saiqa Akhtar from Irvine Texas as she told the 911 operator how she had probably killed 2 and 5 year old children. She explained to the woman that she had tried to get them to drink toilet cleaner, but they wouldn't, so she took a wire and wrapped it round their necks............ and the reason she committed this heinous crime? The children were autistic, and she didn't want autistic children, she wanted normal children.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

On the 5PM show on the Paltalk News Network we looked at the issue of child abuse in our society.
There's nothing so grabs the attention of both listeners and viewers as an emotional account – and to be honest the account of how baby Brianna Lopez from New Mexico was systematically abused, beaten and bitten till that small frail life expired did just that. I make no apologies for creating the emotional response that happened. We NEED to be shocked, we need to be horrified, we need to be reviled by the abuse of children, whoever they are or wherever they are.
It would be nice and cosy to think that as society becomes more sophisticated, and our methods of tracking and monitoring these aberrations we would begin to see a decline in the incidence of child abuse, not so. However many people are employed to look after the safety of our children and young people, it's not working.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

Kaira Ishaq died of an infection after being starved for months by her parents. This abhoration happened in 2009 in Birmingham England.

Photo courtesy of West Midlands Police/PA

WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

Some of us old timers got to small thrill when it came out about the coding in Cyber Commands logo. The code was 32 digits within the gold ring on the logo. The 32 digit code was translated with a md5 cryptographic hash.

Whats a md5, right? lol MD5 stands for Message-Digest algorithm 5, was a hash function which simply is any well-defined procedure or mathematical function that converts a large, possibly variable-sized amount of data into a small datum. MD5 usually 32 digits and was designed in 1991 but soon after it was discovered to have major flaws and really wasn't secure enough for SSL certificates or digital signatures.

But it was a blast from the past to some of us and to those of you that haven't heard about this don't read any further spoiler alert...!!!!

The code was 9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a now if you apply the hash equation md5 the mission statement of the Cyber Command is revealed to you,

Of course it would have been more fun if they had virtual fireworks or for you men; babes in bikinis, but alas no such perks, at least we now know the mission of Cyber Control.

What I haven't told you yet oh it's simple 9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a translates to:

Now I know some are disappointed that the code was really gave itself away the very nature of the string lent itself to be recognised as a hash, but maybe there might be a redeeming quality to the simple is if their {Cyber Command} mission statement is shared with some other bizarre encrypted message that no one is looking for, thats what the rumormill is playing.

At the very least coding aside we were shown this admin has a sense of humor and do try to involve the public in fun if not challenging ways.

So, Tony Blair will once again come under the world spotlight that he craved so much when he was Prime Minister in the UK. However, this time it will not be to tell us how wonderful his new plans and strategies are, but to be called to account for actions that MAY have taken place under his watch.

The release of the only man convicted for his part in the Lockerbie bombing, Abdulbasset al Magrahi, by the Scottish courts a year ago on compassionate grounds has come into sharp focus again. A Senate Committee has called for an enquiry into the possible involvement of BP oil in using financially persuasive arguments to speed up the prisoner release scheme in exchange for Libyan offshore drilling contracts.

The possible involvement of the British Government in these arrangements has, as one can imagine, caused a furore amongst the families of those who died in the tragedy and the politicians who represent them. As Prime Minister at the time of the suspected deal Tony Blair has been 'invited' to testify before a US Senate Committee. Jack Straw, Home Secretary at the time, has also been invited.

There is no denying that both these men would have been aware of the deal - Blair's attendance at the signing of the Libyan contracts between BP and Ghadaffi is well documented. The question that remains is, was there complicity, and if so, how do they reconcile the gains for big business with the functioning of a Government?

One thing that's for sure is that Tony Blair must be getting used to having his feet held to the fire for his actions as PM - surely he's still reeling from his 'interview' at the Chilcote Enquiry into the Iraq war. Let's hope he does a better job at this hearing than he did there, for his sake! Maybe he is now pondering on the maxim: Be sure your sins will find you out. However, with his ego I would think it more likely that he is most likely thinking: No good deed goes unpunished!

This whole issue arose at the time when David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, was visit President Obama. The demands for him to call an official enquiry were answered by him saying that a rigorous examination of the said deals would be conducted.

By Robert Garcia

Wow. I haven’t watched MSNBC or FOX or CNN for awhile and I haven’t really visited the Andrew Sullivan or Real Politics web sites much since the last election so I was stunned to see the swill that passes for political discourse here in the large news void that is July and August.

So conservative activist Andrew Breitbart posts an edited video tape of a black Agriculture department official saying something allegedly racist about a white farmer who then goes on CNN to say that, actually, she saved his farm and she’s really great and then the whole video tape gets released and the same Obama administration that fired her last week now wants to rehire her because it turns out her remarks were taken out of context and meanwhile conservative icon Glen Beck sides with the allegedly reverse-racist USDA official and comes down on the White House for firing her in the first place, while the NAACP, which called for her resignation a few days ago, now also wants her back.

Did you follow that?

And then there’s the Journolist flap in which it appears left-wing journalists using an e-mail listserv conspired to alter news coverage and counter conservative attacks based on race during the Presidential election cycle and some of the reporters involved in the effort get fired and then all the e-mails come out and it turns out most of the journalists on the listserv didn’t even participate in the discussions but independent-thinking blogger Andrew Sullivan joins forces with Sarah Palin to denounce the apparent liberal conspiracy.

Did you get that?

Meantime, everybody’s favorite affable broadcast news Uncle, Bob Schieffer, gets blasted by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly for failing to ask the Attorney General of the United States on CBS’ Face the Nation why the Justice department dropped a case of alleged voter intimidation against the New Black Panthers that was apparently a huge story on Fox and poor Bob Scheiffer goes on CNN to say he would have asked about it except he was on vacation the week before and hadn’t even heard of this latest political brushfire which the Fox News lady says he purposely ignored because either he didn’t think the story was important or Eric Holder demanded he not be asked about it.

Did you follow that?

And a major Tea Party organizer gets disowned by fellow Tea Partiers for blogging an offensive post he claims was just a joke in which he allegedly “satirically” recreated a conversation between a black person and Abraham Lincoln saying they want to be slaves again because they’re not up to being responsible American citizens and all this comes the day after the NAACP criticized racist elements of the Tea Party which the fired USDA lady says is the real reason why they called for her resignation in the first place to sort of even things up and show they’re fair and balanced.

Did you catch all that?

Excuse me, but I’m going back to watching baseball and American’s Funniest Videos because I’m having trouble understanding the nuances of the new American political landscape. I get the distinct sense people are really angry about one thing or another and they’re all giving me a royal headache.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedalife.com
Twitter: garciamedialife

By Robert Garcia

The Boss is dead. George Steinbrenner; controversial, outspoken, occasionally ethically-challenged, but inarguably, one of the most successful owners in the history of sports has passed away on All-Star day. For the record, his legacy includes 11 American League pennants and 7 World Series championships.

From the family’s statement:

He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.

That, he did, though, sometimes, I have to say, he was infuriating. His decision to get rid of Reggie Jackson the year after he hit those legendary three World Series homers lost me as a Yankees fan. I’ve never really been loyal to any one baseball team ever since having spread my loyalties around to the Baltimore Orioles, the Atlanta Braves, the Yankees again and now the Washington Nationals.

Goodbye, George. You were hated by most baseball fans across America but mostly because you revived the evil empire and brought the Yankees 7 more rings. More importantly, in the end, you were beloved by New York fans and the Yankees players. I am sure, besides your family, that’s all that ever really mattered.

I heard a great saying the other day. I hope I get to heaven a half hour before the devil knows I’m dead. Not knowing the particulars, I’m just going to assume Bob Sheppard is making a special announcement at the pearly gates any moment now.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: Garciamedialife

By Robert Garcia

It doesn’t sound like too difficult a job being a stadium announcer. You talk into the public address microphone, proclaim someone is coming up to the plate, say their number, their name and the number once more. But when you do it for half a century, the venue is Yankee Stadium, and you pull off this simple task with such grace and style- you are Bob Sheppard.

“Mr. Sheppard,” as most ballplayers called him, died Sunday at the age of 99. He started this job April 17, 1951, announcing, among others, the presence of a rookie taking his place in Centerfield for the first time, a young kid from Oklahoma named Mickey Mantle. The game against the Red Sox that day included both Dimaggio brothers, Dom for Boston and Joe for the Yankees. And a sharp-eyed left fielder, the greatest pure hitter of all time, Ted Williams.

There was nothing modern, showy or overtly spectacular in the way Bob Sheppard did his job. He had a deep voice that delivered words in a deliberate cadence with perfect articulation and diction.

More importantly, it mattered not whether you were in the Yankee pinstripes or in the uniform of the visiting team, when it was your turn to bat and Mr. Sheppard announced your name, it was your moment in the big leagues- the confirmation that the voice you heard as a kid decades before was now validating your sweat and toil in all those creaky dusty minor league ballparks and confirming your presence in “the Show.” Mickey Mantle said he always got goose bumps when he heard Sheppard announce him. And when Mantle told him this one day, Sheppard is reported to have responded back, “Mickey, so did I.”

It was Reggie Jackson who anointed Bob Sheppard the “Voice of God.” But it was God, in fact, who often heard the voice of Bob Sheppard. From a wonderful article by Ronald Blum of the Associated Press:

He often read at Mass, and was subsequently greeted by parishioners noting he sounded exactly like the announcer at Yankee Stadium.

"I am," he would reply.

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Sheppard, while proud of his work with the Yankees, also was known for his speaking as a church lector. He taught priests how to give sermons.

"I electrified the seminary by saying seven minutes is long enough on a Sunday morning. Seven minutes. But I don't think they listened to me," he told The Associated Press in 2006. "The best-known speech in American history is the Gettysburg Address, and it's about four minutes long. Isn't that something?"

Elegance in simplicity. It’s one of my favorite phrases and reminders in life. Bob Sheppard epitomizes the notion.

The AP’s Blum sums it up nicely, and simply:

Babe Ruth gave Yankee Stadium its nickname, but Sheppard gave the ballpark its voice.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialfe.com
Twitter: Garciamedalife

It was the most riveting hour of live national television since Geraldo Rivera breathlessly described the opening of Al Capone’s vault 24 years ago.

Instead of dirt and an empty glass bottle, we got Lebron James talking in the third person about all the talent he brought to Cleveland for 7 years before telling us he was now going to bring all that talent to Miami, where everybody thought he would go in the first place.

It was a stilted and awkward setting at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America in Connecticut as he sat down before a silent audience of, uh, boys and girls with an ESPN reporter who tried his best to drag out the painful proceedings by asking about a dozen inane questions before finally getting around to the BIG ONE.

By the end of the show, it was clear Lebron’s ego had left the following in its wake: One very happy American city, five other cities shrugging their shoulders and one really pissed off Cleveland, Ohio where his uniform was burned in effigy and the owner released a statement calling Lebron selfish, heartless, callous and cowardly.

As for the Lebron James brand- I suppose he could have damaged it more by, say, bringing guns into a locker room, but he did not help himself a lot. He had always touted himself as the kind of player that would not thump his chest and taunt opponents after a slam dunk. This was an hour of boring chest-thumping that has won him the enmity of at least six NBA cities where he is sure to be booed and reviled in the coming season.

One thing I think we can breathe easy about is that this strange, uncomfortable, melding of sports, entertainment and news is not likely to be repeated. It was horrendous, anti-climatic television likely to be parodied and mocked for decades to come. I can’t imagine why any major broadcast company would ever want to repeat such a mind-numbingly vapid proceeding.

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Robert Garcia blogs at: http://garciamedialife.com
Twitter: Garciamedialife