I find myself with journalistic ADDH. There is so much going on in so many different areas, some of it mildly encouraging and most of it ranging from moderately depressing to utterly terrifying, that I’m having difficulty deciding on any particular topic worthy of extended focus. Aside from that, my primary concern, as always, emanates from the known center of the universe…me. Since I’m heading to New York in a few days, I’m increasingly wary of the many dangers of the big city. NYC isn’t just any big city. It’s the veritable center of civilization as we know it, and along with that concentration of commerce, entertainment, education, transportation, technology, politics, and diversity comes a commensurate volume of corruption, crime, intrigue, and illness. NYC isn’t just a destination, it’s a target.
When ISIS talks about bringing the jihad to the US, they mean to start in NYC. When there are threats of attacks on subways and infrastructure, it’s New York that’s in the crosshairs. ISIS is having a hard time keeping themselves at the forefront of the 24 hour news cycle. It’s not their fault. They’ve got plenty of hostages to behead, and the next in line is sadly a Hoosier, Peter Kassig, who was kidnapped while acting as an aid worker in Syria. His parents posted a three minute video begging for his release, including the mother wearing a modest head scarf, which to me seems like a pointless capitulation to the religious fanatics. The plea will almost certainly fail, and when it does, Kassig’s demise will be relegated to a relative footnote…because truth be told, there are more terrifying international fish to fry. Even as our “coalition” continues to rain death from the skies over Iraq and Syria, the national consciousness has moved on. We no more consider the ongoing air war over Syria and Iraq than we do the “non-fighting” in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s all “over there” and all being done by someone who isn’t “us”, thank you very much.
No, ISIS lost the terror franchise when Ebola came along. Guys in black balaclavas with serrated combat knives in hand are nothing but pussies when compared to a curly ten micron virus that will have blood pouring out your asshole ten days after you rub the sweat from your eyes. Make no mistake. Ebola is getting worse, and it’s going to get worse still before it gets better. Eric Duncan, the Liberian who brought Ebola to Dallas, is in critical condition. A Spanish nursing assistant who cared for an Ebola patient in Madrid has now come down with the disease. Officials at the World Health Organization are quietly admitting that there will inevitably be more cases in Western Europe, but just as in the case of the CDC declarations here in the US, they are maintaining that they are well prepared to contain and control the disease. I’m unconvinced. The people so far who have been most prone to contracting Ebola, outside of West African villagers, are the health care workers caring for Ebola patients…the experts who are sealed into high tech biohazard gear and exercise every caution in maintaining sterile protocol. That doesn’t provide a lot of comfort or confidence to ordinary civilians, who might encounter this virus on any surface that might have been touched by someone with the disease.
Which brings me back to New York…where airports at JFK, La Guardia, and Newark unload tens of thousands of international travelers every day, including untold numbers from Africa. It’s only a matter of time before a case lands in NYC…and as I said before, gets on the subway, goes to a restaurant and a show, and when he gets sick, just figures he got a bad falafel from a street vendor. There’s more to worry about in New York than pickpockets and muggers, although those are pretty scary even without the added threat of global pandemic.
But listen, it’s not all bad news. We might all end up barricaded in our homes with the windows sealed with duct tape and the bottled water running low, but we’ll at least know that if we want to get a same sex marriage, we can do it. With so many of our freedoms being eroded and outright reversed, this is a big win, at least for now. This is one of the few instances where our government’s proclivity for doing nothing resulted in a benefit. The Supreme Court declined to consider five state’s challenges to lower courts’ injunctions against the states unconstitutional bans on gay unions, and by doing so, essentially made gay marriage legal in those states…including Indiana! The only part of this more fun than seeing the smiles on the faces of all these folks getting their licenses at the county court houses is the red-faced-about-to-rupture-an-aneurysm outrage of all the bible-thumpers who can’t quite believe they’ve once again been thwarted from legislating how the rest of us blasphemers are to live our lives. Priceless.
The federal courts gave us one other glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak tableau. A US Chief District Judge in Missouri ruled that the police in Ferguson violated the constitutional protections in the First and Fourth Amendments when they arrested protesters for failing to keep moving rather than standing still. I was wondering when some jurist would come to this inevitable conclusion, and it’s about damned time. Just for your review, here’s the oft-quoted text of the First Amendment: 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. When they talk about the right of the people to peaceably assemble, it doesn’t say anything about having to be in motion. So there’s that.
Like I said, good news and bad news. “May you live in interesting times.”
BW
Kibbitz Corner 