Back to Basics

A simmering controversy surrounding the “Ground Zero Cross” exposes the intolerance and absolutism behind ongoing battles over religious symbols on public property. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not Christian conservatives who normally start these bitter disputes. It’s more often atheist activists who seek to alter the long-standing status quo by scrubbing the landscape of the most visible signs of the nation’s religious heritage.

American Atheists, an organization representing the civil liberties of agnostics, filed suit in 2011 to block display of the Ground Zero Cross anywhere on the grounds of the new memorial museum planned for the World Trade Center site. The artifact in question became the best known piece of debris recovered from the terrorist attacks, when workmen spotted it on Sept. 13, 2001. The huge cross beam, presumably detached from the collapse of the North Tower and hurled down with many tons of rubble onto the stricken eight-story structure to its northeast, somehow survived intact and almost immediately became an informal shrine for the tireless crews who labored to clear Ground Zero.

A Franciscan friar blessed the welded girders as a sign that “God had not abandoned Ground Zero.” Later, with the cross installed on a city-approved pedestal, millions of tourists came to pray or leave flowers, but as construction proceeded at the World Trade Center, a crane helped to move the giant welded girders to nearby St. Peter’s Church in 2006.

The lawsuit insists the relic must remain where it is, but planners for the new museum, supported by many 9/11 families, want the cross returned to Ground Zero as part of the permanent memorial. The lawsuit cites “mental pain and anguish” suffered by the plaintiffs due to “the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who were directly injured by the 9/11 attack.”

Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League, which often takes a dim view of religious symbols in government-owned locations, declared that it “fully supports” the inclusion of the cross in the museum.

On my radio show, Edwin Kagin, national legal director for American Atheists, denounced the potential placement of the cross as unfair because there would be no comparable display of atheist or Muslim symbols. But no one happened to recover atheist symbols (whatever they might be) from the rubble. The cross deserves its unique place of honor because of its powerful historic connection to the first dark days after the terrorist attack.

Moreover, America’s leading government-funded art museums all boast collections of sacred objects, including icons, crucifixes and altar pieces exhibited for their historical and artistic significance.

Had fate shaped the steel beams into any form other than a Christian cross, American Atheists would never think to object to its museum display. The group’s visceral hostility to the cross plays a role in a number of continuing controversies:

•In Woonsocket, R.I., the Freedom From Religion Foundation seeks to remove a World War I memorial topped by a cross that has stood without controversy on city property since 1921.

•In the Mojave National Preserve in California, officials are hoping to settle an 11-year dispute over a “desert cross” first erected on Sunrise Rock in 1934, also to commemorate the sacrifices of those who served in the Great War.

Unlike many of Breitbart’s friends and admirers who initiated a relationship with him, I was forced to relate with him. And I don’t like being forced to do anything.

I initially met Andrew Breitbart over the phone when I called him on September 8, 2009. That was the day before my daughter Hannah’s scandalous ACORN videos were released on the public’s head.

Andrew was on the road, and I was in Vail about to speak at a men’s conference and wanted to know, from a man I didn’t know, if he was going to make certain my girl would be “safe” in every sense of the word because the ACORNs were fixin’ to hit the fan.

Having seen several of Hannah’s devastating undercover vids and knowing the weight of what was about to land on my 20-year-old, I told Andrew that if he allowed anything bad to happen to Hannah that I would hurt him. And I did not mean that metaphorically.

Breitbart said he would defend Hannah with his life and treat her as if she were his own daughter. I thought, “good answer,” and with that we began a relationship and went through a tornadic, grueling, and thrilling war against a corrupt organization and a crooked media that covers and defends such sleaze.

Every step of the way, through vicious, non-stop media attacks, death threats to our family, and multiple lawsuits, Breitbart kept his word to me and ran interference for Hannah and the ACORN story like a champion. He made certain that the proper people got crushed and the truth tellers remained afloat.

As stated, I didn’t meet Andrew as a fan; I met him as a father who doesn’t give a rat’s backside about celebrity in the conservative movement-the reason being that I’ve met a lot of them and have yet to be duly impressed by most. (The majority are preening narcissists who’d skin their granny if it would get them on Hannity. Call me jaded.)

Therefore, when Hannah’s fantastic work propelled her into a world with a lot of Slim Shadies, suffice it to say my claws were out. Andrew, however, made my talons retract because he kept his word to me (and then some), which moved me from being a skeptic to an ally of that wild-haired heat-seeking missile named Andrew Breitbart.

Here’s my takeaway from a man I didn’t seek to meet but am sure glad I did:

1. As stated, Breitbart kept his word and stayed in the volatile fray with Hannah just like he promised. Few people keep their word nowadays.
2. To Andrew, crap was crap no matter how one framed it. Andrew was an equal opportunity offender. Everything smells, so attitude sells.
3. Breitbart was bold. Would to God more men who love God and country had his moxie.

His meteoric rise to prominence in the conservative movement came just at the right time for his work to have a maximum effect on the American Patriot movement… and change it forever. I didn’t know Andrew. I’d always hoped to. He and Drudge are two of my mainstay aids in following daily news trends. If you’re an op-ed writer, you cannot have too many sources.

Andrew Breitbart was brilliant and fearless. He was also deeply feared and respected by not only the ObaMaoists, but by the Republican establishment we have all come to detest. Andrew went where many, who considered themselves to be conservative, hesitated. He took his issues directly to the murky world of leftist political correctness and defied them to challenge him. Most of those who tried usually came away lightly grilled… on both sides. An entire menagerie of Lame Stream Media morons took devastating shots at him, from the safety of the sidelines, and their vituperation rolled off him like water from a ducks back. He was never intimidated.

He never let up and he never failed to call the left on their lying prevarication. Others who knew him well write that he was a tireless worker for the causes of conservatism and American freedom.

His legacy, however, may be much more than his image of a strident warrior in the cause of freedom and the American way. He was a mystery to his adversaries as well as being a nightmarish gadfly to those on the left. He understood the left as few did. Having had two parents who were both Democrats, his conservative epiphany was even more profound for it and he was never once to look back.

He has encouraged and nurtured a whole new generation of conservative investigative reporters who never would be able to find a voice in the Lame Stream Media. Breitbart has shown what can be done by a few determined people with the strength of principle and righteousness on their side.

He turned one of the left’s big entitlement icons into garbage in the space of a couple of weeks. Acorn will never be the same, though it’s trying to morph and regenerate as we speak. I dare say it’ll be a long time before they give advice on pandering underage alien girls though. There will be more!

Dee and I wish to extend our deepest sympathy to Andrew’s family. His cause was just and his legacy will live on as long as there is one patriot to draw breath.
Semper Fidelis, Andrew.

© Skip MacLure 2012

Big Hollywood delivers the sad and stunning news that Andrew Breitbart, a courageous and relentless voice for conservatism and against out-of-control government, has passed away. He was 43.

Prayers for Andrew’s wife and four children.

Twitter is going bonkers with tributes, but the word those who knew Breitbart are using to describe him is “fearless.”

Breitbart most recently delivered a fiery speech at CPAC last month:

More stars were gathered in a church today than attended The Grammy Awards Ceremony. It was a setting where: star entertainers exhibited total respectful dignity…a film star riveting the audience with a moving tribute…a casket with a mysterious glow…and a global audience glued to their TV sets.  It was almost surreal.

What’s more, these stars were gathered in this church to participate in a service that fully acknowleged and glorified God.

When Whitney Houston unexpectedly died last week a shocked world grieved, and are still grieving. Whitney was a true star who never gave anyone the impression that she thought she was a star. Perhaps that is one reason she was so loved. She seemed accessible, approachable and huggable. She belonged to the people.

Her mother Cissy decided to hold the service in New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, the family’s home Church, rather than a large arena where thousands would come. That decsion could not have been better. The family and very close friends could have a private service while the world was able to watch. The church setting also greatly affected the overall decorum.

The best use of media ever observed was demonstrated as a CNN camera was allowed inside to televise the service live so that all of her fans could take part while her family and close friends were able to have a sense of intimacy and privacy. And in this setting, the entertainment world was at its absolute best with everyone focused only on God and Whitney.

The camera, in the balcony was not obvious as it zoomed in and out descreety. There was no impression of a media event. It was very subtle.

The almost 4 hour service, which began at noon EST, captivated the audience, both in the church and around the world, with time not even a consideration.

Speaker after speaker-all high-powered—mesmerized the crowd with humorous stories, touching stories and personal insights that were fascinating and informative.

Kevin Costner told how he too had grown up in the Baptist Church and how he wanted Whitney for his upcoming movie, The Bodyguard. She was afraid to try it, not knowing if she would be good in films. Besides, she had to go on a year’s tour.  Kevin put off the shoot for a year until her tour was over. He was that sure that she was the only one who could play the role effectively.

Another hushed observation entered the discussions. This story would focus on an inter-racial love interest. Costner related that one studio exec actually said that Ms. Houston is black and he should get a white woman for the female lead. Kevin answered that he had taken notice that she WAS black (laughter) and she is the only one to play the role.

And the theme song, “I’ll Always Love You,” originally recorded by Dolly Parton, almost didn’t make it into the film. Costner persisted and that song became an all time hit and identifying song for the movie.

Dionne Warwick talked about when Whitney sang The National Anthem for The Super Bowl, played a tape of that moment, and how the CD of The National Anthem as sung by Whitney sold over a million copies. Ms.

Is it time to vote these people out yet? Yeah, I know, nothing should surprise me anymore, but still…

The Obama administration is opposing congressional legislation to add President Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.

At a House hearing Thursday, Robert Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said a plaque or inscription of the prayer that Roosevelt read on a radio broadcast to the nation on June 6, 1944, would “dilute” the memorial’s central message.

In his prayer, President Roosevelt asked God to give our troops the courage to defeat Nazi Germany, praying, “with thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.”

Liberals love the “New Deal” aspects of FDR, but this crosses the line.

I suppose the prayer to God might offend Atheists, and Obama needs every vote he can get next year, so they’ll not risk angering that voting bloc. The D-Day Prayer might also offend any Nazis who read it, and they wouldn’t want to burn that bridge, would they? Again… every vote counts!

I’ll bet the administration wouldn’t think it diluted the central message of the WWII Memorial if the proposed plaque read “PASS THIS JOBS BILL!”

Here’s the “central message diluting” D-Day prayer from FDR:

Brian Terry was a U.S. Border Patrol agent, former police officer, and Marine Corps veteran, a super patriot by any measure.

This brave, proud American was murdered by border-crossing criminals from Mexico. His killers used weapons ‘walked’ to Mexico from America via the scandal known as Operation Fast and Furious, a federal program that deliberately pushed American guns into Mexico and ultimately into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

Terry’s killers were armed with at least one AK-47 provided via Fast and Furious, the huge federal scandal that House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), is working to unveil. Issa’s efforts are, and have been, stonewalled by Eric Holder and his minions in the Department of justice.

So, a top-notch border-patrol agent was murdered by Mexican criminals using weapons ‘walked’ into Mexico by Eric Holder’s Department of Justice.

Amazingly enough, there is no record of a public apology or issuance of condolences to the family of Brian Terry. In fact, in a crude reminder of how callous and cold the Obama administration can be, there is even evidence that the Terry death was regarded as ‘collateral damage’ by federal authorities.

Brian Terry was an exceptionally-patriotic American hero who gave his life in defense of his nation.

Unfortunately, his sacrifice did not warrant honor or condolences from the federal thugs who shipped the weapons to Mexico that were used to end the young life of this agent.

Its not as though the Obama administration does not offer condolences to surviving family members of those killed by the government.

In fact, our government actually offered condolences to the family of Samir Khan, an al-Qaida propagandist killed in a U.S. drone attack. As reported at the reference, in part:

An official from the U.S. State Department has called the Charlotte family of al-Qaida propagandist Samir Khan to offer the government’s condolences on his death in a U.S. drone attack last week in Yemen, according to a family spokesman.

“They were very apologetic (for not calling the family sooner) and offered condolences,” Jibril Hough said about the Thursday call from the State Department to Khan’s father, Zafar. [...]

Khan published a pro-jihadi website from Charlotte, to the chagrin of his family. In 2009, he left the states to live in Yemen and head up “Inspire,” an English language al-Qaeda publication. “In one early edition,” reports the Charlotte Observer, “Khan said he was ‘proud to be a traitor to America.’”

In the end, Brian Terry was apparently just too patriotic and pro-American for Obama and Eric Holder.

Things might have been different if Terry had only been a card-carrying member of al-Qaeda with Jihad and murder of Americans on his resume!

How much more of this idiocy must we endure?

Starting my computer career on IBM mainframes and progressing to the IBM Personal Computer, I have always had access to high-powered computer technology. To me, the first Apple was a toy computer – which I regarded much like a calculator with a video display.

Of course I have used Apple hardware and equipment – mostly associated with desktop publishing; but never to the extent that I turned my back on IBM and later Microsoft — always declining to become an Apple fanboy.

To me, Woz – Steve Wozniak, the genius engineer – was the true face of the Apple if I cared to think about the company at all. A gentleman genius who was the mensch at Apple.

I recognized early on that Steve Jobs, much like Oracle’s Larry Ellison, was not a personally likeable fellow – but one who got things done his own way. This was reinforced by knowledge of his early life and the way he treated his wife and daughter Lisa.

And while I appreciate design simplicity, minimalism and the precision with which Apple packages their products, I still – to this very day – find nothing miraculous about Apple’s technology. People who find genius in a store layout should really consider the work of Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com or Tony Hsieh the founder of Zappos.com. Both revolutionizing, in their own way, the Internet marketing of products that far exceed the influence of an Apple store.

In fact, looking over their product line – Apple has never been a company with a first mover advantage and much of what they did was actually built on the work of others – and in some very famous instances — stolen from the work of others.

Other than a few people at Apple, like Guy Kawasaki – the Mac’s evangelist – I am not particularly in awe of their accomplishments. And as far as Pixar is concerned – this is a company that was the vision of one man, John Lasseter – not Steve Jobs — who was and is its creative soul.

So while I am sad at Steve Job’s passing, his personal contributions, as measured against the creation of the Internet, are quite modest. I do not consider the valuation of the company’s stock to be representative of Job’s worth to mankind and society any more than I consider the valuation of Microsoft to define Bill Gates or the valuation of Oracle to define Larry Ellison.

But the tribute that we owe Steve Jobs today is not so much a personal one of singular accomplishment – especially considering all of the fine engineers and talent at Apple – but one of the type of single-mindedness that gets things done – many times in the wake of abject failure or lack of funding.

So if there is anything you and I should give thanks for, it is for a Steve Jobs who, through his  personal vision, toughness and perseverance, gave the world the tools which empowered others to singularly and cumulatively pursue their dreams to change the world.

A creative genius. American original. Entrepreneur extraordinaire. His vision transcended politics. His success showcased the power of the free market and individual initiative.

R.I.P.

From Apple CEO Tim Cook:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time.”