One Man's Eye View

The Check Is In The Mail

2007-02-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

The transition from California to New York has occupied quite a bit of my time recently as one could imagine. My time has been occupied with getting settled, finding a job, and all of the other myriad of things that come along with moving across the North American continent.

Anyway, one of the great things that comes along with Google's email, GMail, is their little blurb at the top of your inbox which routes you to information that might be of interest to you.

Among the things that appeared at the top of my inbox was a reference to Ask Yahoo and the question "What's the estimated land value of Central Park in New York?"

Rather than keep you guessing, the answer is, according to Jonathan Miller, head of the property-appraisal firm Miller Samuel and published in New York Magazine on 26 December 2006,
$528, 783, 552, 000.

That's $529 billion-with-a-B.

Don't you know that there's just some developer salivating with his checkbook open waiting for the opportunity of those 843 acres of prime Manhattan real estate to open up?

Ciao for now!
Mike

Family History

2006-12-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't discussed it a lot, but since returning to New York, I've gotten (for want of a better word) "embroiled" in helping my brother wrap up some family business, involving the sale of my mother's homestead. (This is property which my father, mother and I purchased in late 1977.)

While cleaning out the place, we've lucked into a treasure trove of family history. There are many photographs and old correspondence and just various things which bring back many memories of "The Journey". Hopefully, at some point, I'll delve into this further.

However, among the correspondence found, are numerous letters from my paternal aunt Pauli. Aunt Pauli did quite a bit of genealogical research on the roots of the Murray family, particularly on its roots in the Fitzgerald family of Durham, NC.

My nephew, earlier this week, tipped me off to a blog which has some historical information on the Fitzgeralds of Durham. It's called Endangered Durham and it includes the following references.

There's also another site referencing Pauli Murray Place that we have to look into.

I suppose, as one gets older, one's heritage becomes more important than it might have been earlier. I just wish I had realized that before now.

Ciao for now!
Mike

An Example Of Neo-Fascism

2006-12-03T12:53:00.000-05:00

News Item: from ABC News

Newly-elected congressman Keith Ellison, who'll be the first Muslim to serve in Congress, sparked a heated debate this week after he revealed his plans to use the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony.

Dennis Prager, Townhall.com

Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Amendment I to the Constitution of the United States
ratified 15 December 1791

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

Mikeylito comments:

I don't have much to add aside from the fact that had I chose to continue the quote from the Constitution, it would point out that Mr. Prager, by virtue of his exercise of free speech has as much right to say whatever he feels, however misguided. And, just so we're clear, Mr. Ellison has the right to freely exercise his religion, most especially during his swearing-in, insofar as the government does not have an established religion.

Frankly, the level of neo-fascism in America since 9/11 astounds me.

Ciao for now!
Mike

When Proclivities Collide: The Sequel

2006-11-14T00:21:00.000-05:00

Hidetoshi Nakata and
Alessandro dos Santos

I suppose one could never tire of watching futbol in Japan.

Say Goodbye To Hollywood

2006-11-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last
Some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye...

For thirteen years, The Journey took me to Southern California.
And, now, that leg of The Journey is over.
I'm now back in New York, The Empire State.

Say Goodbye to Hollywood.

For me, California meant freedom, independence.
Open skies. Good friends.
As Marlo said once upon a time, "free to be you and me."
For a time, anyway, that leg of The Journey is over.

Well, not all of it.
I'm still free to be me.
It's just that circumstances have made me return to The Big Apple.

The Apple doesn't hold fond memories for me.
In a past life, I wasn't free to be me here.
However, I don't see that changing.
It's just being in a place where I couldn't be happy.
Well... it's made me kind of melancholy.

The good thing about being this far along in The Journey is that I can't imagine ever being the person I was then. Then, when I was in New York the last time. Give a man a taste of freedom and he can never be satisfied with anything less. So, this is just a way station, a stop along the way. This is just a place to stop and get my bearings, before I return to California.

Go west, young man.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Race To Survive: Semantics

2006-09-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

This commentary is rated A for what could be construed as offensive language and for its lack of political correctness. It is an adjunct to the blog Race To Survive, which exists to discuss “the link between popular culture and race … a public forum to discuss, debate, bemoan, and perhaps even celebrate incarnations of race in American popular culture, starting with this fall's lineup of Survivor: Cook Islands and their division of tribes into 4 major racial categories.”

The usage of African Americans is the latest in a long line of monikers that have bothered me over the years. It is the semantic equivalent of the nomads trying to find their way out of the desert.

All of this began many years ago and not surprisingly with the institution of slavery. No one will ever know if Africans would have willingly migrated to America. Logic dictates that at some point, they would have. However, being forcibly migrated to this continent, it laid the groundwork for identity confusion which still occurs today.

I think it's only natural that people tend to want to self-identify. Whether you agree with it or not, that's one of the rationale for gangs: that they bring a sense of belonging to one which is greater than oneself.

In the case of African slaves, it started as soon as they landed on these shores. Take a look at the venerable Constitution of The United States. Slaves were codified as three-fifths of a person. That doesn't jibe with “all men are created equal.” Apparently, slaves weren't human since they didn't quantify in the same number as other Americans.

In the slave community, Africans started to categorize amongst themselves. The terms house nigger and field nigger were born in that time. These terms persist even today. There are others: high yellow, for one; one I note because it has been used on me. Yes, believe it or not, African Americans sometimes make judgments based on whether someone is light-skinned or dark-skinned.

Slave owners and others contributed to the phenomenon, not only with the term nigger itself as well as the term colored people. This term persisted into the 20th century when civil rights activists fought hard to establish and capitalize Negro. In the 1960s and 70s, activists morphed this term to black, which incidentally is the English translation of the spanish word negro. Alternately, some activists used the phrase Afro-American, a term I'm fond of. Yet, again, this term morphed into African American, which is the politically correct term in usage today.

It would be useful to note, as some other commentators have, that the phrase people of color is in common usage today even though most would agree that colored people is still considered a derogatory term. As Linda Ellerbee notes in situations like these: “and so it goes…”

What all of this signifies to me is a racial fragment that has been robbed of its culture. A popular book used in a lot of courseware (or at least I hope it is) is Before The Mayflower: A History of Black America by Lerone Bennett, Jr. It can help African Americans discover a great portion of their cultural heritage. What it cannot do is help us recover our racial identity. I find it somewhat disturbing that my roots in Ireland were more easily traced than my roots in Africa. I have no idea whether I am Senegalese-American or Ghanian-American or Nigerian-American or whatever. Consequently, I am forced to use some quasi-identification: African American. Thinking about it generates a lot of anger.

If you didn't get a sense of why I self-identify as Mike, maybe now you have a clue.

Ciao for now!
Mike

For the record, the author's racial heritage is Irish (County Kildare), Cherokee, and – yes – African American.
For more of the discussion on race in the popular culture of the United States, check out Race To Survive.

Shakes On A Plane

2006-09-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

“[She was] biting her fingers, rubbing her feet and in a constant state of movement. She appeared very agitated...”

Submitted for your edification, a woman dressed in a Rolling Stone T-shirt, black pants, and socks without shoes – presumably kept by some overzealous TSA screener like the one Kathy Griffin plays in that Sierra Mist commercial – when she appeared in federal court last August [17].

Catherine C. Mayo

I'm referring to Catherine C. Mayo, 59, of Braintree VT who single-handedly set in motion a series of events which caused a trans-Atlantic flight from London to Washington DC to be diverted to Boston's Logan Airport, its 182 passengers and luggage off-loaded, and American cable news networks to shift into overdrive to out-scoop one another on what at first blush appeared to be a terrorist plot.

In defense of the "news" purveyors, all of this occurred in the aftermath of the alleged plot to blow up nine US-flag airliners over the Atlantic uncovered by British and Pakistani law enforcement and intelligence officals just days before. At that time, 23 people in the United Kingdom and 17 people in Pakistan have been arrested in connection with the alleged plot. The United Kingdom raised its terror alert level to "critical", its highest level. The US government raised its terror alert level to "red" on trans-Atlantic flights between the UK and the US and to "orange" on all other flights, including domestic flights. Both countries also severely restricted items which could be brought into airplane cabins, including liquids, gels, and electronic devices.

On the day of United Flight 923, CNN, MSNBC and FOX News Channel (FNC), bent over backwards to report "breaking news" on the diverted flight. We learned that the flight's captain requested F-15 fighter escort as the flight was re-routed to Boston. At least one of the three cable outlets, while displaying local news video showing the cargo hold being unloaded to the tarmac and examined by bomb-sniffing dogs, reported that carry-on luggage was being examined by those dogs. This despite the view that it was clearly checked luggage being examined. The cable news nets also reported a Logan airport official saying that Mayo had “a cigarette lighter, a screwdriver, and a note referencing Al-Qaida.” Some time later, federal officials denied that these items were found on Ms. Mayo. Approximately, six hours into the story, MSNBC revived the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder case and little was heard about United Flight 293 anymore.

Now, thanks to the Associated Press, eyewitness accounts published in The Telegraph of Alton, IL, and an affadavit filed in Federal court on 17 August and heavily incorporated into this essay, what happened aboard United Flight 923 has become somewhat clearer.

Carolyn Brown of Grafton, IL had the seat next to Ms. Mayo. According to Ms. Brown, “When I got on the plane, this person was already there. She was just sitting there. … After some time sitting there, [Mayo] said, ‘I think you ought to know I'm claustrophobic, ’” Brown recalled. “She said, ‘I'm going to have to get up, and I have a whole procedure I have to do to settle myself down.’ I said, ‘I don't sleep much on planes, so you won't disturb me if you have to get up.’”

According to The Telegraph, Ms. Brown said the flight left at 8 a.m. London time and that they ate breakfast about 90 minutes into the flight. She said that after they ate, Mayo got up.

“She went toward the back of the plane,” Brown said. “I saw her standing in the aisle with her hands on the bulkhead – kind of spread eagle. One of the flight attendants told her she had to sit down. She argued, ’I can't. I have to do this. I'm claustrophobic.’ They said, ‘Sorry, ma'am, you cannot stand here.’ They got her back in the seat, but she continued to banter with them. They said, ‘You have to sit down.’ She said, ‘If I can't stand up and do it in there, I'm going to do it on the exit door.’’

The Telegraph account continues with Ms. Brown saying that she didn't know what Mayo meant by “do it” but thinks Mayo's last statement is what raised the flight crews' security suspicions. Said Ms. Brown, “she was irrational.”

The affadavit, attested to by FBI Special Agent Daniel Choldin, assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston, essentially parallels Ms. Brown's account although it states that flight 293 left London at 8:29am, not 8am. When Ms. Mayo was deterred from pushing against the bulkhead, she asked the flight attendant, at that time, to speak to an air marshal. The affadavit states that Ms. Mayo made a statement to the effect, “I know you want to see what's in my bag.”

The flight attendant (named FA-1 in the affadavit) called the flight deck, requesting that the seat belt sign be turned on. The flight attendant went forward to speak with the first officer and the purser. This group came back to talk to Ms. Mayo, explained the regulations to her and talked very calmly to her. Ms. Mayo seemed calm at that point; however, she asked the flight attendants to turn her in to the air marshals. Ms. Brown was re-seated in first class by the flight crew.

The first officer, purser, and flight attendant apparently left Ms. Mayo seated and withdrew to the business-class galley. Some time later, Ms. Mayo passed a series of notes to the flight crew. One, to the First Officer, asked if Ms. Brown was moved because of her, Ms. Mayo. The First Officer said no and Ms. Mayo asked him to write that on the note and give it back to her. He complied.

Departure Time plus 2 hours 20 minutes

Ms. Mayo requested an unopened can of Pepsi®. After it was given to her, she went to one of the aft lavatories with the soda. When she emerged, she told one of the flight attendants, “I left the Pepsi can in the bathroom – there is something in it.” The flight crew found the open can of soda in the lavatory trash bin. When asked why she had done that, she had no explanation.

According to the Choldin affadavit, sometime later, Ms. Mayo asked flight attendant FA-1, “Is this a training flight for United 93?”, a reference to the fourth hijacked airliner on 11 September 2001 downed by a struggle between the passengers and crew and its flight's hijackers. FA-1 didn't know if Ms. Mayo knew what she was saying or misspoke and referring to flight 293.

During this time frame, the purser observed that Ms. Mayo was biting her fingers, rubbing her feet, and in a constant state of movement. She appeared very agitated. The purser, who ordinarily would have spent most of her time in the first-class cabin, decided to maintain her observation of Ms. Mayo as much as possible.

Departure Time plus 3 hours 30 minutes

Ms. Mayo was observed removing a bottle of water from an overhead compartment. One or more passengers, who had apparently become concerned themselves about Ms. Mayo's behavior, reported that fact to flight attendants. The bottle of water was not one that had been supplied by flight attendants during the flight. FA-1 confiscated the bottle from Ms. Mayo, because liquid was one of the items prohibited by the extraordinary security measures that had recently been implemented. Ms. Mayo put up an argument about relinquishing the bottle.

“[Mayo] had a tote, and I think a purse,” Brown recalled. “Half of the people in Heathrow had a complete body and bag search, but I didn't, and she evidently didn't either or they would have found the stuff prior to the flight.”

Sometime thereafter, Ms. Mayo handed a note to a flight attendant that made reference to her having been in another country illegally. The note expressed concern on her part about having to go through customs when the aircraft landed.

After another trip to one of the lavatories on her side of the fuselage in the aft of the plane, Ms. Mayo accused the flight attendants of going through her bags, asserting that she could tell because her blankets had been moved. She stated that in her bag was film with pictures of a Super 8 in Washington, D.C. and her trip to Pakistan, which she identified as the country she had been in illegally. She stated that the photographs would be awful, and she indicated that they related to the people that she had been with in the mountains of Pakistan.

The Purser informed the Captain of the aircraft that she believed that the aircraft should be landed as soon as possible. In response, the Captain decided to go speak to Ms. Mayo. He was accompanied by the Purser. In the ensuing conversation, Ms. Mayo made a number of bizarre statements to the Captain. Among them, she made reference to there being six steps to building some unspecified thing. The Captain and the Purser both thought she was referring to a bomb. She also stated that she had been in Pakistan, and she made reference to being with people associated with two words. She stated that she could not say what the two words were because the last time that she had said the two words she had been kicked off of a flight in the United Arab Emirates. The Captain and the Purser both believed that she was referring to Al Qaeda.

At the conclusion of his conversation with Ms. Mayo, the Captain returned to the flight deck area. He concluded from his interaction with Ms. Mayo that the threat presented did not just involve an unruly passenger, as he had originally believed, but instead involved a potential threat to the aircraft.

About thirty-five minutes later, Ms. Mayo again used one of the aft lavatories on her side of the plane. Afterward, another passenger used the adjoining lavatory. That passenger had drawn the Purser's attention because he had displayed what struck her as an inordinate interest in the Captain's earlier conversation with Ms. Mayo. Within a matter of minutes after that passenger exited the lavatory, Ms. Mayo got up to use the lavatory yet again. Before she could do so, the flight attendants locked both of the aft lavatories on that side of the plane. They informed Ms. Mayo that she could use one of the other lavatories just on the other side of the galley. After a brief exchange with the flight attendants, Ms. Mayo lowered her pants and urinated on the floor of the cabin just outside the locked lavatories.

The Purser immediately reported Ms. Mayo's actions to the Captain, who directed her to have Ms. Mayo restrained. The Captain also made the decision to divert the flight from its intended destination to Logan Airport.

In response to the Captain's directive, the Purser retrieved plastic flex cuffs and metal handcuffs, and she solicited the assistance of a male passenger. When she got back to the vicinity of the aft lavatories, where Ms. Mayo had remained, another male passenger was there, his assistance having been requested by another flight attendant. (Based on his own observations of Ms. Mayo's behavior during the flight, one of the two male passengers had become concerned that she might be acting as a diversion for a possible terrorist action; he had moved his seat so as to be potentially more useful should something occur.) The Purser informed Ms. Mayo that they were going to handcuff her. Ms. Mayo tried to get away. One of the male passengers restrained her and lowered her to the floor, at which point the Purser applied the flex cuffs to her wrists. She was then seated on the floor of the cabin on the other side of the galley, where she remained for the duration of the flight.

Upon flight 293's diversion to Boston, Ms. Mayo was ordered held without bail on charges of interfering with a flight crew, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. On 6 September, five days ago, the New York Times reported that Ms. Mayo was ordered held at a mental health facility in New Hampshire.

According to the Boston Globe, at a press briefing outside the courthouse after the 17 August proceeding, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan was asked how Ms. Mayo was able to get prohibited items, like the bottle of water, on board. He said, “I really don't have any idea in terms of how those items ended up on this flight.”

Postscript

One reason why this story is so curious to me is that very little has been reported about it since 18 August. In the month ensuing, we've rather been subjected to the media circus surrounding the false confession of John Mark Karr to the murder of Jon-Benet Ramsey, a story which I feel better appeals to the tabloid nature of our three major cable news networks.

In light of the ongoing debate about profiling young Muslim males when seeking out possible terrorists, I would ask you to glance at the family photo accompanying this essay. It's my assessment that Ms. Mayo is neither male or Muslim.

What could have been profiled was Ms. Mayo's behavior. According to an Associated Press interview, Ms. Mayo's son Josh described his mother as a peace activist and said she had been in Pakistan since March. She traveled there often since making a pen pal prior to 11 September 2001, he said. The pen pal hasn't been allowed to visit the U.S., he added.

According to the Boston Globe, Ms. Mayo, in March 2003, walked into the offices of the Daily Times of Pakistan telling editor Najam Sethi that he wanted to vent her anger at America in his pages. In an open letter to her granddaughters published on 24 June 2003, Ms. Mayo wrote: “Governments in the world right now have made terrible decisions and have caused a lot of fear and bloodshed.” She wrote for the Daily Times until July 2003 and then, according to Sethi, “disappeared.”

Several other questions arise. In addition to, apparently, not fully searching Ms. Mayo and Ms. Brown before boarding, why did it take over two hours of Ms. Mayo's strange behavior before she was finally secured? For the cable networks, what makes the story of John Mark Karr more compelling, more newsworthy than that of Catherine C. Mayo? And for my government, how secure can I feel when some of you are intent on profiling physical characteristics rather than behavior?

More thoughts to ponder before your head hits the pillow tonight.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Second Look: United 93

2006-09-09T04:36:00.000-05:00

[4½ stars]

Rated R for language and some intense sequences of terror and violence.
Running Time: 111 minutes

See, we have the luxury, it seems to me, of going home at night, turning off our TV, and ignoring the way our world is. The reality for the passengers on United 93 and crew was they were forced to confront this. There was no escape for them. They were compelled to answer the question – “What are we going to do?” – and live or die with the consequences.
Paul Greengrass, writer/producer/director, United 93

With less than a week before the fifth anniversary of the attacks on New York's World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, Universal Pictures released the film United 93 on DVD Tuesday [5]. I reviewed this film last April [29]. For that review, click here.

As I stated in my original review, this is a chilling re-creation of the events of the morning of 11 September 2001 from the perspective of the passengers, crew and hijackers of United flight 93, bound for San Francisco from Newark International Airport.

Unlike the recently Emmy-nominated A&E television film, Flight 93, which I have viewed, and Discovery Channel's The Flight That Fought Back, of which I have viewed a portion, this film is almost totally devoid of melodrama, which is extremely difficult considering the subject matter.

In addition to the outstanding film contained on the DVD, there are several additional features. An excellent compliment to the film itself is the sobering commentary of one of four producers, that of writer/director Paul Greengrass. The quote I opened this essay with is from that commentary. Many directors' commentaries tend to be about the technical aspects of filmmaking and this one has those elements as well. However, the Greengrass commentary also takes us behind the events of the day and how his cast and crew meticulously went about re-creating them.

After listening to the commentary, one realizes that Greengrass has taken history and turned it into an allegory. (No personal insights here; Greengrass openly refers to it.) It would be disingenuous to suggest that Greengrass' commentary is apolitical, but he keeps most of his political commentary to himself. However, his thoughts on a post-9/11 world are – well… – sobering.

Separate from the film is United 93: The Families and the Film, a one-hour documentary by Kate Sullivan on how the filmmakers, actors included, collaborated with the families on the film and their perspectives before and after viewing the film. For those who say films about 11 September are "Too soon", watch this first.

Finally, there is Memorial Pages, forty written biographies of the passengers and crew of United flight 93.

The main title is extremely accessible with both Dolby Surround 5.1 and optional subtitles in three languages: English, Spanish, and French. There is the aforementioned feature commentary by Paul Greengrass. The film also contains a DVS (Descriptive Video Service) track for the blind or visually impaired. (Unfortunately, the DVS track contains some unintended humor.)

Early on in his commentary, Greengrass reminds us that it was not only four USA-flag airliners that were hijacked that day, but also the religion of Islam. We'd do well to remember what else can be hijacked as we enter the convergence of the political season with the fifth anniversary of our latest day of infamy.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Now Playing: World Trade Center

2006-08-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

[3½ stars]

Rated PG-13 for intense and emotional content, some disturbing images and language.

This is a lengthy essay and may contain spoilers.

At the end of April, British documentarian Paul Greengrass gave us a harrowing re-creation of the only one of four hijacked airliners which didn't reach its target in the docudrama United 93. Now, American filmmaker Oliver Stone recounts the memories of two Port Authority (PA) policemen who survived the attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001.

The name "Oliver Stone" conjures up thoughts of conspiracy theories and the like. However, in World Trade Center, Stone has given us a film based solely on the recollections of the two policemen (and their wives) that this story follows. It is a story about the human spirit. It is about fear and fraility as well as strength and courage.

Nicolas Cage plays John McLoughlin, a patrol sergeant with the Port Authority stationed at the authority's midtown bus terminal. On the morning of 11 September, McLoughlin awakens early to prepare for his day at work. Stone deftly lets us know without a whole lot of exposition that there's trouble in the McLoughlin marriage. The sergeant rolls out of bed without so much as disturbing his wife. He showers, dresses and checks in on his children. He then makes the drive into New York City to begin his day.

Through a variety of establishing shots and background radiocasts, Stone lets us know that it is what passes (then) as a normal day in New York. Meanwhile, rookie patrolman Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) jumps in his SUV and heads to work as well. After a time, Stone takes us to morning roll call at the bus terminal's police sub-station where McLoughlin makes routine assignments for the day.

Jimeno, after bantering with his buddy Dominick Pezzulo (Jay Hernandez), heads out to Eighth Avenue to begin his assignment. Our first inkling that something is wrong is when Jimeno hears a jet roar overhead and we see the shadow of an airliner against a nearby building. In short order, the various members of the squad hear a code on their radios which they recognize as an emergency order to report back to the substation. As Jimeno, Pezzulo and their colleagues return, they see newscasts of the crippled North Tower. Speculation starts to run rampant about what has happened at the Trade Center.

McLoughlin assembles a team and commandeers a city bus for his team's trip downtown. On the bus, the patrolmen speculate on what has actually happened. One of the patrolmen has talked to his wife and learned that a second plane has hit the South Tower. Meanwhile, in a department Suburban, McLoughlin and his lieutenant (Kassimatis, played by Nick Damici) discuss the rescue plan for the Towers. It's here where we learn that McLoughlin helped draw up emergency plans for the Trade Center complex after the 1993 terrorist bombing. However, McLoughlin lets Kassimatis know that there's nothing in their plans to cover the scenario facing them.

Once downtown, McLoughlin asks for volunteers to go into the Towers. After some hesitation, Jimeno, Pezzulo and a few others step forward. What follows is nightmarish as McLoughlin and his team set about gathering equipment to help rescue people in the Towers. There are sheets of paper everywhere, falling debris, and the frightful sounds of explosions and the buildings shuddering.

Just as McLoughlin's team has gathered all the equipment that they need, the tower above them starts to shudder and McLoughlin, realizing what is happening, shouts “Run!” McLoughlin and his team head for an area between the two towers which McLoughlin knows holds the best chance for their survival. However, we soon learn that only McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo seem to have survived.

From this point forward, we're watching what those three officers did to survive and what those above did to rescue them. Interspersed with these images are how the officers' families deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether their husbands are dead or alive. We particularly follow the tribulations of Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) as they wait for word about their missing husbands while trying to cope with their families around them.

What happens to McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo after the towers collapse is positively frightening. Stone doesn't spare us any intensity as we view what happens below and above the rubble.

I should mention the performance of Michael Shannon who plays ex-Marine Dave Karnes. Karnes, who was an accountant who decided to go to New York to help search for survivors of the attack. Karnes calmly leaves work, gets his hair cut, dresses in Marine fatigues, and heads for Ground Zero. Save for the fact that this part of the story is based in reality, this would seem incredulous. Karnes is single-minded in his attempt to find survivors. When he, along with fellow ex-Marine PFC Dave Thomas (William Mapother), finds the buried PA patrolmen, it brings one of the few uplifting moments in the film. When Jimeno pleads for Karnes not to leave, Karnes simply states “You are our mission!”

[The identity, until last week, of the second Marine was unknown to investigators and filmmakers. However, it is now known that he is former Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas. You can read about Karnes and Thomas in the articles cited at the end of this essay.]

World Trade Center is heart-wrenching while at the same time exasperating. Unlike United 93, which more or less took place in real time, this film takes place in compressed time. With the amount of narrative that Stone has to cover, that shouldn't be such a big problem. However, despite a running time of two hours and five minutes, I would like to have seen just a tad more exposition leading up to the critical events. Also, since a great deal of the narrative takes place beneath the rubble, the film tends to be claustrophobic and sluggish. The nature of the material also tends to make this film much more melodramatic than United 93.

All in all, this is a film worth seeing. It exposes the raw elements of human nature but also the triumph of human spirit. It makes an excellent bookend with United 93.

At the close of the film, we learn that 2,749 people died in the Twin Towers attack. Only 20 people survived.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Trailer

In the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster, hope is still alive. Refusing to bow down to terrorism, rescuers and family of the victims press forward. Their mission of rescue and recovery is driven by the faith that under each piece of rubble, a co-worker, a friend, a family member may be found. This is the true story of John McLoughlin and William J. Jimeno, two of the last survivors extracted from Ground Zero and the rescuers who never gave up. It's a story of the true heroes of that fateful time in the history of the United States when buildings would fall and heroes would rise, literally from the ashes to inspire the entire human race.

When Proclivities Collide.... or

2006-06-20T14:33:00.000-05:00

…Funny, He Doesn't Look Japanese

I decided to sleep in late Sunday. So, I missed the early Cup match featuring Japan.

As I'm watching the second match, I get a call from a straight friend of mine – Hey, I have scouts! – asking me did I see that player “Alex” in the first match?

“No”, I said, “but I have the match on TiVo.”

So, later, I went back to review the match and I learned about Alessandro Santos, a Brazilian-born man now a Japanese citizen and playing for their national team.

So, now I have something else to look forward to when I watch Japan's next match. :)

Ciao for now!
Mike

Playing Well With Others

2006-06-16T20:47:00.000-05:00

Europeans (and Latin Americans) have hooliganism.
Americans (as in citizens of the USA) have xenophobia.
More about this later.

In sports, as in "Real Life", it's becoming readily apparent that Americans don't play well with others. In a series of international sporting events this year, it seems that we, citizens of the USA, tend to forget that we are also citizens of the world as well.

Our story begins with the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin (or, if you prefer, Torino), Italy. The people we advanced as being our best hopes fell flat on their collective faces. These are the games that featured Jeremy Bloom, the 2005 World Cup freestyle skiing champion finishing sixth, the failure of America's sweetheart Michelle Kwan to appear and Sasha Cohen choking to silver in figure skating, the feuding of Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick in speed skating and the performances of Bode Miller. You remember Bode, don't you?
He's the one who said when his Olympic competition was completed:

The expectations were other people's. ... I'm comfortable with what I've accomplished, including at the Olympics ... I wanted to have fun here, to enjoy the Olympic experience, not be holed up in a closet and not ever leave your room. I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level ... I just did it my way. I'm not a martyr, and I'm not a do-gooder. I just want to go out and rock. And man, I rocked here.¹

In other words, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.

Fast forward to the inaugural World Baseball Classic. USA Baseball assembled a squad obstensibly equivalent to the first "Dream Team" assembled by USA Basketball. The roster included such luminaries as Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey, Jr., Johnny Damon, Chipper Jones, Derrick Lee, and Alex Rodriguez. There was even controversy. Rodriguez was roundly criticized for waffling between playing for Team USA versus playing for the team representing the Dominican Republic.

So what happens?
Team USA finishes the Classic with a record of 3-3, out of contention. In the first round, Team USA and American fans learned a lesson about international play. After the second game of the tournament, which Team USA lost to Team Canada 8-6, the Americans learned that they could be eliminated because of the rules of the tournament, which Major League Baseball and its players helped to draw up. In a three-way tie with Mexico and Canada with a record of 2-1, Team USA could be eliminated because they allowed too many runs.

Told the scenario, Mark Teixeria eyes widened, he turned, took a gulp of water and said, Ah, I'm not really sure how that works.²

Hmmmm...

Now comes, arguably, the biggest event in World sport:
the FIFA World Cup.
In Korea and Japan four years ago, Team USA surprised all by advancing to the quarterfinals. In the ensuing time, the team re-qualified for the 2006 tournament, playing a variety of international opponents and sending its players to a variety of professional leagues in Europe and the United States. Team USA was so impressive that it entered the 2006 matches with a number five ranking.

So what happens?
Team USA loses the first game of the opening round to the Czech Republic 3-0. Of course, panic reigns supreme. Manager Bruce Arena hired, after the 1998 debacle in France, to bring unity and not dissension to Team USA promptly fingers midfielders Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley for not being aggressive enough in the match versus the Czechs.

Against the Czechs, Arena said only three of his starters had good games. "I think our best players on the night were certainly Claudio (Reyna), I think Gooch (Oguchi Onyewu) had a pretty solid game. I thought Bobby Convey at least had the courage to attack. Everybody else, the performances were not good." ... As for the team's best young players, Donovan and Beasley, Arena said, "Landon showed no aggressiveness tonight. ... We got nothing out of Beasley."³

Bodes well for Italy, doesn't it?

Once the World Cup is over, we have the FIBA World Championships in Sapporo, Japan to look forward to. Once again, the American powers-that-be have assembled a world-class squad (Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, among others) and a world-class coach (Mike Krzyzewski) to take on Puerto Rico, China, Slovenia, Italy and Senegal in round-robin play beginning on 19 August. I shudder to think if this will work better than our last appearances in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, when we finished sixth in a field of 16, or the 2004 Olympics when we finished with a bronze medal.

xenophobia: n. An intense, abnormal, or illogical fear of that
which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.

I want to conclude with a story segment I read on the Washington Post Online . Camille Powell, the Post's soccer writer, participated in a chat prior to the USA/Czech Republic match last Monday. Here is a transcript of one of the exchanges.

Normal, Ill.: Reception of the US team has been hostile in recent tournaments-e.g. the US national anthem was booed all the way through [during] the 2003 Confederations Cup; in a qualification match with Mexico
fans were chanting 'Osama, Osama'. What sort of reception would you expect during today's match and future matches, based on your experiences so far? What are Germans doing to prevent or disencourage such activity?
Camille Powell: I don't expect the reaction to the US team to be overly or unusually negative today. However, if they happen to play Mexico.... The American fans in town seemed to be very well-received by the Czechs, German, British, etc. In fact, the only time I heard any boos today was when a man walked through the crowd carrying a Mexico flag. The Americans booed and shouted, "Go home!"⁴

As Linda Ellerbee is wont to say... And so it goes...

Ciao for now!
Mike

References

¹Shaun Powell, "Bode Miller: 0-for-Olympics, without regret", Newsday.com, 25 February 2006,
<http://www.newsday.com/sports/olympics/ny-spobode0226,0,4351876.story>
(16 June 2006)
²Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun), "USA gets wakeup call", slam.canoe.ca, 9 March 2006,
<http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/WBC/2006/03/09/1480030-sun.html>,
(16 June 2006)
³Kelly Whiteside (USA Today), "Arena blasts Team USA players after lackluster start vs. Czechs", USAToday.com, 14 June 2006,
<http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/worldcup/2006-06-13-team-usa-analysis_x.htm>,
(16 June 2006)
⁴washingtonpost.com, "World Cup 2006", 12 June 2006, group discussion,
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/06/09/DI2006060901292.html>,
(16 June 2006)

Coming Soon: The Avian Flu

2006-05-03T16:43:00.000-05:00

From the government that gave us duct tape and filter masks comes another safety device: yardsticks.

Avian flu, more technically known as H5N1, is coming.
This virus, first encountered in Vietnam and Thailand in 2004, is spreading across the globe and headed for the Americas. We've been told that if this virus mutates from one which affects birds to one which affects humans, it will create a world-wide pandemic.

pandemic: An epidemic over a wide geographical area
and affecting a large portion of the population

Scientists tell us that since the deadly virus for all intents and purposes doesn't exist (despite the deaths of 113 humans), they cannot develop a vaccine to protect us from it. Emergency managers, the people who brought us the response to Hurricane Katrina, tell us that even if scientists had a vaccine, there isn't enough manufacturing capacity in the United States to make enough vaccine to protect this country's citizens, let alone the rest of the world's population which might also need it.

All of which brings us to a news item I heard this morning on cable news. The United States government has recommended to employers that should avian flu indeed reach our shores that they should keep workers at least three feet apart during their workday to reduce the possibility of transmission from human to human.

I'm headed out, right now, to Ace Hardware to buy me a yardstick!

I hesitate to point out that, unlike those working in Washington, DC, many of us don't work in offices. Also, since we don't really know anything about the virus, there is a possibility that it could be transmitted by touch.

I think I'll pick up some gloves and toilet shields, too.
And, if any dates come over, bring your own toothbrush!

Perhaps the virus could possibly travel airborne beyond three feet.
(Filter masks, again!)

All of this to avoid, once again, telling the American people the truth.
In this instance, that translates to, "sorry, citizens. We really don't know what to do."

Well, at least in these times where all things retro are embraced, it will bring back a time-honored line from the 70's...

Hey, man! You're invading my space!!

Ciao for now!
Mike

Now Playing: United 93

2006-04-29T12:00:00.001-05:00

Do Not Go Gentle...

11 September 2001

For those of us too young to remember the attacks on Pearl Harbor, this is the day that will live in infamy for us.

In the ensuing weeks and months, there wil be a number of films released depicting the events of that fateful Tuesday morning in September. However, it's hard to imagine that there will be any as sober and affecting as United 93.

British documentarian Paul Greengrass has constructed a chilling re-creation of the events of that morning by focusing on the one of four flights that did not reach its target.

Greengrass and his collaborators interviewed over 100 friends and family of the crew and passengers of United Airlines flight 93. The result is an absorbing theory of what happened on that morning.

The movie opens with a rare, for this film, moment of melodrama. A man, presumably in a Manhattan hotel room, is praying in Arabic. His companions soon tell him, "it's time."

We quickly move to Newark International Airport where we view routine happenings. Pilots and flight attendants arrive for the flight. Passengers, including the soon-to-be hijackers, are passing through airport security. The plane is being loaded with luggage, food and, ominously, fuel.

We're taken to various other locations: Air Traffic Control in Boston and the FAA's command center located in Herndon VA. In Herndon, we're introduced to Ben Sliney. It's his first day on the job as National Operations Manager for the FAA. At this point, the day is normal.

Sliney meets with his staff as the plane is loaded and taxied onto the tarmac. Because we, the audience, know what is about to happen, there is palpable tension in the unfolding of routine events: the stowing of carry-on luggage, the taking of breakfast orders, a pre-flight checklist.

While United flight 93 waits on the ground for over 30 minutes for takeoff clearance, American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines flight 175 have taken off from Boston and are in the air. Greengrass takes us to Air Traffic Control in Boston where a controller notes a problem with American 11. It is off-course and he can't contact the pilots on the flight.

Back at Newark, the pilots of United 93 finally are cleared for takeoff. A familar command is given. "Flight attendants: prepare for takeoff." For United 93, the point of no return has been reached.

Greengrass masterfully unfolds the events of the morning taking us from the plane to the decision makers-turned-bystanders at air traffic control centers in Boston, Cleveland, and New York. Sliney and his crew desperately try to gather information as one hijack after another becomes apparent.

This is a docudrama.
However, what separates this film from the melodramatic fare that normally occupy this genre is the near-total lack of melodrama. Greengrass assembled a cast of largely unknown actors to dramatize his work. In fact, a sizable portion of his cast includes actual participants in the various ground locations to which we are taken, especially the aforementioned Sliney.

However, the key cast member, which goes uncredited, is our memory (, or in the case of those not alive on that day, history). We remember what happened that day: in New York, in Washington, and on Flight 93.

We sit and watch a meticulous and dramatic re-creation of what may have happened that morning on Flight 93. Since no one survived, we will never know what actually happened. However, Greengrass' interviews including anecdotal accounts of telephone calls from the plane, cockpit transmissions, and other events probably come the closest to giving us a sense of what happened that day.

It has been said and written that it is too close to the moment for a film like United 93 to be released. Rather, for a film of this quality, it's not a moment too soon. Perhaps it will give us the impetus to ask the questions that should be asked about what happened that day and what continues to happen in our lives.

Never forget.

[My rating: 4½ stars out of 5]

Ciao for now!
Mike

Trailer

Acclaimed filmmaker Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy) writes and directs an unflinching drama that tells the story of the passengers and crew, their families on the ground and the flight controllers who watched in dawning horror as United Airlines Flight 93 became the fourth hijacked plane on the day of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil: September 11, 2001.

Roundball Roundup: Musings On Playoff Basketball

2006-04-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

Don’t Cry For Me Argentina

So, as game one of the Kings-Spurs series began, Manu Ginobili decided to give Ron Artest a bloody nose. No foul was called.

As anyone at the Palace Of Auburn Hills could tell you, Artest was not about to take that lying down. So, later in the game, Artest whacked Ginobili with a forearm. No foul was called.

However, in the infinite wisdom of The Powers That Be over at the NBA office, they decided to assess Artest with a one-game suspension without pay. Ginobili was assessed with nothing.

Call this the NBA’s way of spreading their game internationally.

For his trouble, Artest got re-branded by the “It was only a matter of time” crowd as a thug and his team got royally spanked by the defending champions in Game One and, no doubt again tonight, in Game Two.

Hmmmmm…

He Got Game

For weeks and months now, observers of the Association have bemoaned the fact that #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers was a ball hog.

So Sunday, the man known as Kobe decided to adhere to his coach’s game plan to the letter. For most of 48 minutes, Bryant religiously got his teammates involved. It was the most balanced scoring attack that anyone has seen out of the Lakers during the 2005-06 campaign.

Lamar Odom had 21 points and 14 rebounds; Luke Walton scored 19 points and 6 rebounds and Smush Parker scored 22 points and 6 rebounds. Even Michael Jordan’s favorite whipping boy, Kwame Brown got 14 points and 6 rebounds.

So, what did #8 get for his trouble (and his 22 points and 6 rebounds)?
He got thrown under the bus by the author of the game plan, coach Phil Jackson.

"Our game plan was to exploit the middle and do the things we wanted to, but he [Bryant] was still supposed to be a force over on that side of the offense," Jackson said. "I just felt he never really got in rhythm until the end, and we said 'Just go after it.' "

Now, I hate being the defender of Bryant almost as much as I hate him. Yet, if I were him, I’d go out in Game Two and score about 60 points and see where that got me. Invariably, the Lakers would be down two games to none and those same moaners who complained about his lack of scoring Sunday would be whining about Kobe The Ball Hog.

Proving as some unknown scribe wrote a long time ago – you can’t win for losing.

A Lesson Learned

Meanwhile, across the hall, the Los Angeles Clippers have taken a two- games-to-none lead in their series with the Denver Nuggets. They’ve accomplished this by playing tenacious defense for about 36 minutes.
In those other 12 minutes of Game One, L.A.’s “other” team learned a valuable lesson. There’s a vast difference between playoff basketball and the variety that passes itself off as professional basketball during the regular season. For those 12 minutes, they learned they can’t let up on their opponents lest they suffer the wrath of the basketball gods and end up with a tie score while one of the league’s most clutch scorers is still on the floor.

It was by the grace of those same basketball gods that allowed the Clippers to escape with their first playoff victory since 1997. So, there was little surprise when THIS Los Angeles team came out Monday and followed THEIR coach’s game plan to the letter.

If they continue to do so, they’ll win their first playoff series since coming to California and their first in 30 years.

The shoes? It’s gotta be the coach.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Dreams Are Made Of Such Stuff

2006-04-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

And, so, here we are.

Los Angeles, California is poised to become the professional basketball capital of the world. Some might say it already is by virtue of the fact that it’s the only city with two NBA franchises within its environs.

What’s that, Metro New York? (Knicks and Nets) Well, first off, you’d be hard pressed to say that the Knicks are a professional basketball franchise.

OK. How about this?

It’s the only city with two NBA franchises in the playoffs within its environs. (Oops! Sorry, NYC.) Anyway, for at a least a week, and if the roundball gods will it, possibly more, the arena known as Staples Center will be busier than at any time in its existence.

Both our beloved Clippers and our arch-rival Lakers will keep the building humming nearly every day next week. With some good fortune, the Clippers will defeat the Denver Nuggets and the Lakers will trounce the Phoenix Suns and we’ll see something the City of Angels has never ever seen before: a knock-down drag-out battle between the darling of the Southland’s bandwagon fans – the Lakers – and the little team that could, the aforementioned Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nuggets are priming themselves for their first-round series with the Clippers by playing that time-honored, now ubiquitous, “we don’t get no respect” card.

"It's going to motivate us," Carmelo Anthony said. "We're hearing a lot of stuff about them wanting to play us. We take that as motivation."

Added forward Ruben Patterson: "I've heard they've been talking a little trash or whatever. But it's the playoffs. It ain't the regular season. Everything will be totally different. We'll have Earl back. I'm looking forward to it. It feels good for me because I ain't been to the playoffs for a couple of years."

"They had our number during the regular season," Kenyon Martin said. "We played well a couple of times. Well, maybe a game and a half. The other two games and a half they took it to us. It's the playoffs now. It's a different story. Guys' focus is a lot better."

Referring to the blown lead against L.A. on April 4, Martin said, "It's probably the best first half in the history of basketball, (followed by) the worst half."

However, like baseball’s New York Yankees, the Clippers are being disparaged for playing by the rules. I like Coach Mike Dunleavy’s attitude.

"They can try to generate any kind of motivation they need at this point and time, if that's what they're trying to do," Dunleavy said. "I'm offended if they're offended."

Or, as Dallas’ maverick owner, Mark Cuban, said to Mike Tirico and Bill Walton on Wednesday’s ESPN telecast of the Clippers v. Mavericks final game, “[to get the sixth seed and home-court advantage in the first round,] I’d start me at center.”

To me, the Clipper-Nugget series comes down to coaching. Coach Dunleavy has to convince his team to play defense for 48 minutes, game in and game out. He has to convince Corey Maggette that the Lawrence J. O’Brien Trophy is the prize, not having a place in the starting lineup. He has to convince his team to run the offense through All-Star Elton Brand and future All-Star Chris Kaman. He has to convince Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley to play up to the level of their playoffs past. He (and Cassell) has to encourage Shaun Livingston to play under control, showing the promise everyone sees in him, while containing his youthful enthusiasm. He has to convince his team that the Nuggets are gunning for them and that the Nuggets aren’t and won’t be the same team they beat so easily during the regular season.

If he can do this, the Clippers will do something they’ve never done before in the state of California and not as a franchise since 1976: advance beyond the first round.

If the Clippers can do that and the Lakers can beat the Suns, we’ll see one of the most exciting things we’ve ever seen in our lifetime, the Clippers vs. the Lakers in a battle for the Southland in a time when it really counts: the playoffs.

But, that’s a topic for another time.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Thanks to the Denver Post and the Los Angeles Times for the players' and Coach Dunleavy's quotes.

To Have And To Have Not

2006-04-13T16:25:00.000-05:00

Author's Note:

This is my first essay since 11 September 2001.
If that date is familiar to you, you'll probably understand how my life has been in somewhat of an upheaval since then. If that date is not familiar to you, you have my permission to stop reading and to crawl back under your rock.

This essay was written on 5 August 2004.
I never got around to posting it anywhere.
However, with the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui in progress, the thoughts are still relevant.

I won't profess to have any insight into the mind of a terrorist.
I will profess into having some insight as a human being, since I am one.

Events of recent days has re-focused Americans on that fateful autumn day when our heads were forcibly pulled from the sand and we were introduced to terrorism on our shores. It's not the first time.

I can recall the FALN bombing of Frances Tavern in New York City in 1975.
Or the McDonald's Massacre in San Ysidro CA of 1984.
Or Ruby Ridge in 1992.
Or the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

I would classify all of these events, which happened in my lifetime, as incidents of domestic terrorism. What made the events of September 11th different is that it was the first incident perpetrated by foreign nationals in our country in modern history, which I would define as subsequent to the turn of the 20th Century.

These days, we seem to be -- if you will forgive the pun -- bombarded with daily reminders of impending terror from beyond our borders. What strikes me as odd is that we're focused on these terrorists when the danger would seem to be as much a threat from within as from without.

When my workday as a mainframe computer consultant ended on 7 September 2001, I was certainly much happier than I am today. These days, I'm happy to have a roof over my head and food to put in my mouth. I'm happy to be employed and to be able to get back and forth to work. That's about it. I'm lucky if I have enough leftover funds to work in an occasional movie now and then.

On that September 7th, I was making a five-figure salary and living a good life on coastal Southern California. I was comfortable with my life, having acquired nice things that many of us want. I didn't want for food or "stuff". I was starting to save money for later years in life. My main desire was to find someone that I could share my life with.

On the ninth, my brother called from my native New York and suggested that I come home and visit with my elderly mother who appears to be in the mid-stages of Alzheimer's and often doesn't know where she (or anybody else) is or what she's doing. Since I'm not really close to my family and haven't had much regular contact with them since I left New York in late 1993, I thought it significant that my brother made such a request. So, being able to easily afford it, I immediately booked a flight home on the 17th.

Of course, my life turned topsy-turvy on the morning of the 11th, although not as severely as some. I awoke early and was watching Good Morning America when I saw the coverage of the North Tower in flames. Like all the major networks, ABC started continuing coverage of the crash. I held the same common notion as most others that morning that a plane had mistakenly hit the tower. As the minutes past and the image of the second airliner taking aim for the South Tower came into view, it became apparent that what I was seeing was not an accident. It was an act of terrorism.

Needless to say, I remained glued to the television screen for days on end. I could watch nothing else. Like many others, I made calls to family and friends to confirm their safety, especially that of my niece who worked in the area. I didn't leave my apartment for days, worried about what I was seeing and also about my impending trip home.

Now, I consider myself to be one of the most unprejudiced people I know. However, when the evening of the 17th arrived, I headed for Long Beach Airport, quite naturally apprehensive. I went through the increased security at Daugherty Field, yet felt still quite disquieted. I scanned the airport waiting area, counting the number of people I considered to be Middle Eastern, having firmly made up my mind that if the number reached five that I wasn't boarding the plane. My count reached four.

In retrospect, what I find most laughable, is that I convinced myself that numbers three and four, both women and on opposite sides of the waiting area talking on cellular phones, were talking to each other.

The flight home was uneventful, save for the fact that our flight path took us over lower Manhattan Island in the early (and eerie) morning darkness. When I lived in New York, I worked at the World Financial Center and walked through the Twin Towers complex every morning at around the time the planes hit. My father and I had both worked at the foot of Liberty Street although many years apart. So, I promised myself I would venture into the City to see what I could see. I never did, either in 2001 or on a subsequent visit home in 2002.

Little did I know when I returned to California that my life had started a slide that would end with the loss of nearly everything that I had accumulated since I arrived in 1993. I was unable to find work. By December 2001, any reserve funds that I had accumulated were exhausted. One month later, I was forced to move from my apartment. I secured a storage unit and placed my belongings there. I was able to pay for it with a portion of the unemployment insurance benefit I was receiving. The balance went to food. Shelter was provided by friends who put me up (and put up with me) for eight months. When my benefits ran out, I left Southern California and my stored belongings behind.

For two months, I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law in New York. November 2002, I returned to California and secured a near-minimum wage job working for a national discount retailer, which I work for today.

My lifestyle is quite different. 50% of my net pay goes to child support, set at my former income level. I live paycheck to paycheck, as do many Americans. I've taken odd second jobs just to be able to have something to eat. I don't have health insurance. I can't afford to be ill. I don't have a social life to speak of since I don't have the money to afford one. I don't have a lot of clothes, basically what I wear to work and a pair of jeans.

The only upside is that I've lost a lot of the weight I had gained.
Poverty and physical labor tend to do that.
I'm nearly back to my drivers' license weight.

Of course, ideologically, I'm still the same person.
However, it occurs to me when I watch the news, which is rare, that while we're told to fear terrorism from beyond our borders, there's far more danger from those of us within it. When I look at "insurgencies", I see conflict carried out on those who have by those who have not.

Children are starving... in this country.
Children are sick and dying... in this country.
While I don't doubt there are ideological reasons to fear those from outside our nation, I'm still uneasy because there are native-born Americans who don't have "the American Dream" and don't foresee a future of being able to attain it in their lifetime.

Should we assume that these people don't have or aren't able to acquire the logistical wherewithal to carry out a terrorist act against those perceived to have something that they can never have? It's not an assumption that I'm comfortable making.

Think about that before your head hits the pillow tonight.

Ciao for now!
Mike

Mission Statement

2004-07-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

This essay has been adapted from one originally published 8 February 1996 on MIKEYMKM.COM

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment I to the Constitution of the United States
ratified 15 December 1791

205 years ago, the founders of this land saw fit to institute this and nine other protections for American citizens into the supreme law of this land. The Constitution of the United States and its amendments are, if I'm allowed to use the Star Trek universe as a metaphor, like the Prime Directive of the United Federation of Planets. It is the rule that we and our government are supposed to follow in dealing with others around us. Our adoption is voluntary, but the compulsion on the Government to follow the directive is incontrovertible.

The Internet is a creation of the Government which had spread beyond its borders and beyond its control. In an attempt to regain control, the Government is now running the risk of violating the founders' prime directive.

Like many things today, the Internet is a tool. It's a tool for freedom of information, for freedom of expression. Like all tools, the Internet can be abused. However, what's abuse to one person can be of use to another. Who decides? It's up to the individual. Hit the BACK button. Turn the channel. Change the station. Turn the TV/computer/radio off. That's your first line of defense if you don't like what you see or what you hear.

What about the children?
Who decides for them?
Don't abdicate your parental responsibilities!
If you're allowing your kids on the Net,
you should either trust them or be aware of where they're "surfing".
Or, how's this for a novel idea.
How about both?

In this age of political correctness and the loss of domestic security, it's fashionable to want the Government to protect us from ourselves. That's what the continuing debate about the Internet, V-chips, the Patriot Act and more is about.

The United States is supposed to be about freedom.
Not just any old freedom, but personal freedom.
That's what makes this country special.
I realize that also makes this country a scary place to live sometimes.
Because it means that we have to work at it a lot harder than we'd like.

Those are the breaks.
It's the price we pay for freedom.
If we don't pay it, then we get fascism, not freedom.

Ciao for now!
Mike

One Man's Eye View

The Check Is In The Mail

Family History

An Example Of Neo-Fascism

News Item: from ABC News

Dennis Prager, Townhall.com

Amendment I to the Constitution of the United Statesratified 15 December 1791

Mikeylito comments:

When Proclivities Collide: The Sequel

Say Goodbye To Hollywood

Race To Survive: Semantics

Shakes On A Plane

Departure Time plus 2 hours 20 minutes

Departure Time plus 3 hours 30 minutes

Postscript

Second Look: United 93

Now Playing: World Trade Center

Trailer

Related Links

When Proclivities Collide.... or

…Funny, He Doesn't Look Japanese

Playing Well With Others

References

Coming Soon: The Avian Flu

Now Playing: United 93

Do Not Go Gentle...

Trailer

Roundball Roundup: Musings On Playoff Basketball

Don’t Cry For Me Argentina

He Got Game

A Lesson Learned

Dreams Are Made Of Such Stuff

To Have And To Have Not

Mission Statement

Amendment I to the Constitution of the United States
ratified 15 December 1791