Who are the people of the Tea Party movement? Today I happened to be in Washington, D.C., at the same time as Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally on the National Mall. My brother and I went out to see what it was all about. Here are some photos of the crowd.
Last week a survey that found 18% of Americans, when asked to name Barack Obama’s religion, incorrectly said he is Muslim. That’s up from 11% in 2009.
How could a growing number of people get a basic fact so wrong? I don’t believe it’s because 18% of Americans are fools. I think it’s because we are just beginning to see the effects of a radically new way of communicating. The strategy involves a mix of broadcasting and the Internet. Here’s the formula:
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(Updated 8:19 p.m. ET) A producer from the BBC interviewed me Friday for a segment on the Islamic Center near Ground Zero. You can watch the video above or see it on the BBC News web site.
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I’m kinda exhausted after spending the day riding 100 miles through eastern Pennsylvania as part of the Livestrong Challenge Philly bike ride. This event raised over $3 million to fight cancer, including $1,310 from my friends and family. I was riding in memory of my mom, who died of stomach cancer in 2007, and in support of my friend Liz, a cancer survivor. This was a very hard ride due to hills and difficult weather, but also deeply gratifying.
Personal thank-you’s are coming soon. First I want to share a few photos and a map.
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Today I am traveling to beautiful Montgomery County, Pennsylvania for the 2010 Livestrong Philly bike ride. Tomorrow I will ride 100 miles to fight cancer. Wish me luck!
If you enjoy reading this blog, the best way to show your appreciation is to make a donation. The money goes to Livestrong, a support and advocacy group that helps people with cancer.
As of this morning I have raised $1,170. Will you be the one who puts us over $1,200? There’s still time to give! Go make a donation here now!
There’s a scene in “Twelve Angry Men” where Juror #10, having exhausted all his other arguments, starts to use ethnic stereotypes to argue why the accused is guilty. The other jurors, one by one, stand up silently and turn their backs to him.
That’s what I was hoping to do with yesterday’s post, “Hallowed Ground,” showing photos of things as close to the World Trade Center site as the proposed Park51 Islamic community center. One by one, all the arguments against the center are falling away, so the only argument left is anti-Muslim bigotry. People who want to make that argument are free to keep talking, like Juror #10, until it becomes apparent what their true motivations are.
A few photos of stuff the same distance from the World Trade Center as the “Ground Zero Mosque”:
Important announcement: If you enjoy reading this blog, you should make a donation to the Livestrong Foundation. I will be riding my bike 100 miles in Pennsylvania on August 22 as part of Livestrong Challenge Philly. Your generosity will improve the lives of people with cancer.
The goal of today’s bike ride was to go 60 miles and average at least 14 miles per hour. I chose a route for smooth, flat, uninterrupted, wide-open riding: The Belt Parkway greenway, continuing to the Rockaways and back. Rockaway is an eerie place, consisting largely of an empty, never-realized street grid of overgrown fields. It’s oceanfront New York City property waiting to be developed. It’s where the city might push if we run out of space. But we aren’t out of space yet.
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Here’s some of the reader feedback from my Wednesday post pitting the New York City Subway against the Washington Metro. (Hey, they started it!).
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From Washington, D.C., Gerritt sends this photo of a Metro poster. It says:
“Unlike some subway systems (which will remain nameless), you don’t see rats the size of house cats roaming Metro.”
Them’s fightin’ words.
First of all: You gotta problem with our rats?
Now, what else? Let’s see. Unlike some subway systems (which will remain nameless)…
Got another reason the New York City subway is superior to the Washington Metro? Send it to me using the Feedback tab on the left-hand side of your screen and maybe I’ll use it in a future post.