There has been some recent news (actually for a while now) regarding the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. A very vocal group of people think the President should step in and do something to stop it. He has said he will not do so. In this case, I think he is right... for all the wrong reasons.
Don't get me wrong, the reasons he has espoused are correct. He first said it was New York's decision. This is true. Zoning is and always has been, with some exception, the right of a state passed down to municipalities. Of course, the other problem with the President intervening in this type of matter is that it would be a clear violation of the separation of church and state.
The problem is the President is only using the states' rights and church and state issue when it pleases him. To be fair, both parties do this fairly consistently. That is one of my biggest problems with both political parties. But did Obama care about states' rights when he forced a healthcare plan down our throats? Did he care about the separation of church and state when he had a Ramadan feast? No. He is duplicitous.
Should the people that bought the property be allowed to build whatever they want there? As long as it is not a violation the answer is clearly yes. New York has already approved the plan. After all, isn't what makes our country great that we allow people to worship as they please, where they please?
-J
Monday, August 16, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
In-flight magazine cover stories?
In the last two days there have been two pretty big news stories regarding airplanes. I will discuss them in reverse order.
Last night a small private airplane crashed into a mountain killing 5 of the 9 people on board including Sen. Ted Stevens. One of the four who survived was ex-NASA head Sean O'Keefe. Apparently, small plane crashes are not uncommon in Alaska as many areas are inaccessible by road and the weather is often bad. I guess the frequency with which bush pilots are used should not surprise me as I enjoyed Northern Exposure. Senator Stevens's first wife died in a similar manner. He of course, was disgraced and lost his seat after having been found guilty in a corruption trial (the verdict was later thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct). But, for many years he was one of the most respected men in his state and in the US as a whole.
The second of the two, which came first chronologically, was a male Jet Blue flight attendant. He did basically what many of us would like to do at some points in our lives... he gave his job a giant FU. After a passenger hit him in the head with his bag and refused to sit down, the flight attendant went on the plane's PA and dog cussed the guy. When the plane landed he grabbed two beers, pulled the emergency door, and slid down the slide. He has been arrested but has also become a hero of sorts. However, I hardly think what he did was worth celebrating. He flipped out because a passenger was rude to him? Give me a break! What if everyone who had had a rude flight attendant flipped out on the flight attendant? There would be anarchy. Get a life bro. Also, who knows how his antics affected the ability of some of the passengers to make their next flight? Hero? Hardly. Try short sighted and immature.
-J
Last night a small private airplane crashed into a mountain killing 5 of the 9 people on board including Sen. Ted Stevens. One of the four who survived was ex-NASA head Sean O'Keefe. Apparently, small plane crashes are not uncommon in Alaska as many areas are inaccessible by road and the weather is often bad. I guess the frequency with which bush pilots are used should not surprise me as I enjoyed Northern Exposure. Senator Stevens's first wife died in a similar manner. He of course, was disgraced and lost his seat after having been found guilty in a corruption trial (the verdict was later thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct). But, for many years he was one of the most respected men in his state and in the US as a whole.
The second of the two, which came first chronologically, was a male Jet Blue flight attendant. He did basically what many of us would like to do at some points in our lives... he gave his job a giant FU. After a passenger hit him in the head with his bag and refused to sit down, the flight attendant went on the plane's PA and dog cussed the guy. When the plane landed he grabbed two beers, pulled the emergency door, and slid down the slide. He has been arrested but has also become a hero of sorts. However, I hardly think what he did was worth celebrating. He flipped out because a passenger was rude to him? Give me a break! What if everyone who had had a rude flight attendant flipped out on the flight attendant? There would be anarchy. Get a life bro. Also, who knows how his antics affected the ability of some of the passengers to make their next flight? Hero? Hardly. Try short sighted and immature.
-J
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