Speed of Life

By Gregg Chadwick "All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion." - President Thomas Jefferson Let's Define Our Terms About the Proposed Islamic Center on Park Place I. Is the Proposed Islamic Center at Ground Zero? No, the new building will not be at the the former site of the World Trade Center and cannot be seen from Ground Zero. II. What is the Proposed Plan for the Building? The Park 51 Group has proposed a thirteen story building which will include: 1. Recreation spaces and fitness facilities (swimming pool, gym, basketball court) 2. 500-seat auditorium 3. Restaurant and Culinary School 4. Cultural amenities: Art exhibitions, Musical Performances 5. Education programs 6. Library, reading room and art studios 7. Childcare services 8. A prayer area ( On the thirteenth floor will be an Islamic prayer room which will be run be run separately from Park 51 but open to the New York Community) 9. September 11th mem...

Bono and Edge appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross In the first segment check out Bono as he squirms "Stop! Oh, no!" when Ross airs a clip of U2 doing "Street Mission" on TV in 1978. The highlight of the second segment is the story of Barack Obama's witty comment to Bono at a prayer breakfast in DC when Bono attempted to evade then President Bush's photo op. Obama's words to Bono,"Nice work with the hug dodge."

In 4,214 words the editors at The New Yorker have endorsed Obama for President. The endorsement itself is not surprising but I am heartened by the ferociousness with which they go after Bush ("the Presidency of George W. Bush is the worst since Reconstruction") , McCain ( "John McCain, played the part of a vaudeville illusionist, asking to be regarded as an apostle of change after years of embracing the essentials of the Bush agenda with ever-increasing ardor") , and Palin ( "Palin has no business being the backup to a President of any age, much less to one who is seventy-two and in imperfect health. In choosing her, McCain committed an act of breathtaking heedlessness and irresponsibility"). In a piece entitled The Choice the editors begin, "Never in living memory has an election been more critical than the one fast approaching—that’s the quadrennial cliché, as expected as the balloons and the bombast. And yet when has it ever felt so urgently tru...