Today's MOZEN: NEVER FORGET

F LoBuono

Today, January 27th, has been designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Its purpose is to bring to light the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis against millions of people, the great majority of them Jews, and honor those lost. However, what ALL of us should take to heart is to NEVER FORGET.

Through those words, brought into focus by the horror of an exclusionary doctrine: fear thy neighbor - hate thy neighbor - kill thy neighbor - simply because they may be different, we must commit to not only NEVER FORGET but insure that it can NEVER AGAIN happen, as well.

Unfortunately, we may have not learned that lesson.

We are currently being told of a CRISIS at our Southern Border. Our President repeatedly claims that hordes of people, so-called Brown People, are assaulting the Country at the border. We have been told they are Bad Dudes who will take our jobs, rape our women, and destitute us in a wave of drugs and social dependency. In reality, the great majority of them are women and children desperately attempting to escape crisis in their own Countries (often exacerbated by US policies within that country). Furthermore, instead of a vicious, ignorant swarm, there is documented evidence that immigrant communities, regardless of the so-called legal status of its members, are almost always safer than those without a strong immigrant presence. In addition, still more studies prove that immigrants - ALL -immigrants - contribute greatly to our society overall.

So, our we making the same mistakes - over and over again - practicing exclusion instead of inclusion? Wasn't the American ethos to accept those whom everyone else rejected? Doesn't it say Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses somewhere?

Or, is that just so much more bull shit?

On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day let us recommit to tolerance, compassion, inclusion, and empathy so that we do, indeed, live the credo NEVER AGAIN!

Guest Blogger: Phil Sexton - MAGA, Catholic School Boys, and America

Although this is my blog and, obviously, the great majority of the posts are mine and mine alone. However, I have ALWAYS invited participation. And, so, I present the writing of one of my co-workers, Phil Sexton. As an African-American he offers us a unique and powerful perspective on what happened recently between a group of students from a Catholic high school in Kentucky and a Native American drummer. He wrote it in response to criticism of the way the media handle the whole event. It has not been edited in any way.

Phil Sexton

Whites and Christians are certainly free to express themselves as they please in America. Whites and Christians have always enjoyed those freedoms in America since America was America. It was the whites and Christians who Manifest Destinied America away from the Natives and denied them that freedom. It was the whites and Christians who Imported Slave Labor from Africa who made those black slaves convert to Christianity and denied them those same rights too. 
It's just that in today's 21st Century era, in this American political climate, Whites and Christians who run around America wearing Red MAGA hats are catching Backlash because the original slogan, Make America Great Again, was the cause of a very particular group of proud White Christians who called themselves the Ku Klux Klan. Non White Americans and Non Christian Americans are very sensitive to the racist undertones of those White Christian's right to free speech. Many of us today are descendants of the Americans who were brutalized for hundreds of years by freedom expressing Whites and Christians. Black Hebrew Israelites was a direct response to and consequence of White's and Christian's right to freedom. It's why the Black Hebrew Israelites exist at all. It's why the Black Hebrew Israelites are in DC expressing.
The current situation of Native Americans is directly tied to Whites and Christians. All Americans know what Whites and Christians did to America's Natives and are continuing to do to America's Natives. That's why Nathan Phillips and crew are in DC expressing.
What were the white Christian Catholic MAGA hat kids in DC expressing? They were attending the Anti-Abortion Rally... Another instance of Whites and Christians denying people a freedom over their own bodies....
Those MAGA hat White Christian kids had the misfortune of crossing paths with the Black Hebrew Israelites. You already know how the Black Hebrew Israelites feel about White Christians...
The Native Americans saw the MAGA hat kids outnumbered the Black Hebrew Israelites. You can imagine that the Natives and the Hebrews share a particular solidarity....Whites and Christians are Fundamental to both their Histories. So, imagine what happens when Black Hebrew Israelites and Native Americans encounter a group of Make America Great Again White Christians in the nation's capital?
Fascinating.



Walter . . ., what do you mean by "can't"? Who is saying people "can't" wear MAGA hats privately or publicly?
Who is restricting the sale of MAGA hats to the public?
What on Earth are you talking about?
Did you see the Video? Those kids are clearly wearing MAGA hats in complete FREEDOM. 
There is an OBVIOUS CONSEQUENCE to wearing MAGA hats. 
Don't you have one? 
Do you wear it out side?
What happens when you wear it publicly?
You don't have a MAGA hat? Why not?

I didn't post an excuse for the Real Jews Black Hebrew Israelites. I know the Black Hebrew Israelite's history. I argue with them about Religion on Facebook and Twitter. My cousin in Louisiana is a Member. I was even approached by the NYC sect to join with them back in 1992. 
They are an American Movement created in America by Americans. 
They believe in the Old Testament Hebrew Bible. They believe the original Hebrew Jews of Judaism were African Black People and that modern day Black Americans are descendant from those Ancient Hebrews captured by Africans in Africa and sold into Dutch, Portuguese, British and Spanish Slavery. That's not an excuse, that's what they are. They think that American White Christians are everything that is wrong today with Blacks in America, especially Black Christian Believing Americans. 
The Black Hebrew Israelites have never been fans of American Christianity nor have they ever been fans of American White people. Why? 
The history of White Christians in North America and the History of African Slaves in North America. That stuff is well documented. 
Native Americans and American White Christians....nothing needs to be said about that History.
"America First" and "Make America Great Again" are both Old Slogans and Old Mottos propagated by America's premier White Christian Organization, the Ku Klux Klan. That's not an excuse. That's an OBSERVATION. The KKK, their struggles, their movements and their rallying cries are all documented, photographed and researchable.
I don't know what you're getting at Walter....I suspect you have some deep seated racism in you that you are struggling with. It's OKAY. You are an American. Americans in America have turned American Racism into an Art form. 
When other Nations looked for ways to Restrict, Demean, Devalue, Dehumanize and Marginalize a portion of their society, they study America. What America did to freed slaves and Black Americans for a century and a half after the end of American Chattel Slavery is Textbook examples of Racism at work.
What America did to Native Americans is Text Book examples of American Racism. 
Personally, I think ALL Americans are Racist. Racism in America is as American as Apple Pie....but Apple Pies are not an American Creation at all. Apples were Imported to North America from Asia and Pies came to North America from those English Settlers that brought Christianity to North America. We all know what happened to North America after those Settlers came with their Pies and Christianity...
Anyway, 3 diverse groups of Americans clashed in America's Capital, the Marketplace Of Ideas and not a bone was broken....no blood spilled....not a single punch thrown....nobody murdered.
This is what I love about being American in America. We are all DIFFERENT, but our Differences don't have to be violent DIVISIONS. And we Americans all will remain Racist until we OWN our American Racism. Only then can we change it....but, trash them MAGA hats...America has always been great for Christians and Whites...everybody else has had to struggle to achieve "great"....even White Christian Women....should I remind you of their American History too?

In Memorial: The Tappan Zee Bridge

All words and photos by F LoBuono

Bridges, for some unknown reason, have always played a special role in my life. My mother's family lived in Brooklyn, so we made countless trips over the legendary Brooklyn Bridge. I grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey where the awesome George Washington Bridge (a.k.a. The Busiest Bridge in the World) not only dominates the landscape but the very ethos of the borough, as well - the high school teams are named The Bridgemen.  And, lastly in my life came the Tappan Zee Bridge, where I currently reside.

The Brooklyn Bridge

The George Washington Bridge

Each has had a significant impact on my life. But, with the imminent demise of the Tappan Zee (if all goes according to plan, it will be gone by this time tomorrow, 11 a.m. 1/15/2019), I've chosen to focus on her.

The brand new, and impressive, Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is already in place with a plethora of wide lanes for speeding cars zooming past the skeletal remains of the rusting superstructure of the old one at 70 MPH. Explosive charges have been planted at the base that will sever the support columns and bring the remaining steel crashing down onto a specially designed net in the water below. The remnants will them be hauled away on huge barges to be recycled. I hope to be there to witness it.

My memory of the bridge is almost a mystic one. Growing up in Fort Lee, I never really had any connections in the area of the TZ (as it was nicknamed in the day) - Rockland County, New York. So, we simply never traveled there. We knew of it but it remained a far away symbol of The Country, even though it was less than 25 miles from my boyhood home! Being a kid with a City mentality, Rockland was Upstate - for Country folk. With the exception of the occasional trip to Bear Mountain, we had now cause to be near the bridge, much less drive over it.

Tappan Zee Sunrise

However, one of my family friends had a wonderful boat - a 45 foot cabin cruiser. And, when we got lucky the owner would invite my parents and brother and sister for a trip up the Hudson to the Tappan Zee. It was always cause for celebration. For city kids, it was a way to escape in luxury. And, as legend had it, once we reached the TZ it was safe to actually swim in the Hudson. Now, this was a BIG deal. Most of us would rarely swim in the river in Fort Lee - too polluted. But, once you got Upstate the water would magically clear and we would dive off the boat and swim all day long. Of course, I'm sure the water was not ALL the much purer there, but that didn't matter - we THOUGHT it was. And, I've lived to write about it so, it couldn't have been all that bad anyway!

The Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge

Little did I know then that I would spend most of my adult life in the shadow of the Tappan Zee Bridge. I moved to South Nyack, the Rockland terminus of the bridge, in the early 80's and never looked back. In fact, my current apartment, like most of my residences here, is within site of both the new and old bridges. I have witnessed, and often photographed, hundreds of sunrises and sunsets over that bridge. I have seen it on days so hot it seemed to shimmer in the heat. I have also witnessed winters so cold that huge masses of ice collected on its columns. And, there are those magic days when she appeared almost as a specter rising out of the morning mist. I was here when they officially made it the Malcolm Wilson Bridge. And, I've been here for the controversy over the new bridge's name. But, I think people need to get past that. It's a new day - a new bridge, with a new name. So be it.

The Mario M. Cuomo Bridge

The TZ was never a beautiful bridge. I suppose that's partially because it wasn't built to last in the first place. It was planned obsolescence, i.e. a stop-gap until a more beautiful and permanent structure (like the new one) could replace it.  It was dirty, noisy, and less than perfectly safe. The traffic jams sucked. It was time for her to go. And, the new bridge, despite the controversy over the name, is still a magnificent structure - a marvel of modern engineering. Yes, it is time.

Let us honor the past and celebrate the new.


Note: I use the feminine because the bridge has always given me a female "energy".

Today's MOZEN: The American Way

Words and photo F LoBuono

For readers of this blog, it is no secret where my sentiments lie when it comes to the current situation at our Southern border. I see no crisis as described by the President. There is no mass hysteria created by hordes of violent criminals rushing the border to attack our women and children. In fact, most of the people at the border ARE women and children.

However, to think there are NO issues with immigration is simply naivete. There are tens of thousand of people, mostly from impoverished countries in Central America, seeking asylum, refuge, and opportunity in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. And, since I believe that, through inclusion, immigrants only make our Country stronger, I feel we need to have a comprehensive, effective immigration policy to accommodate them. Right now, the system, what little there actually is of it, is being overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

And, that has led me to what I believe is a legitimate question that I think, frankly, most Progressives tend to ignore: How many immigrants can we actually include before we reach saturation? And, believe me, EVERYTHING in life has a limit. Everything - whether it's balancing your check book or finding seats at the dinning room table, all things have a ceiling: either you have the money or you don't. You either have room for the seats at the table or you don't. You can mix and match, transfer funds from one account to another, or add leafs to your table but, at some point, you simply run out of money and space. You've reached the so-called Tipping Point.

Now, I don't believe that we have necessarily reached THAT point. In my mind, there is still room at the table (pun intended). But, that can't last forever. We are rapidly approaching our maximum. At some point, the system will simply collapse under the weight of numbers. We cannot allow that to happen.

However, the solution can NEVER be high walls, barbed wire, police in riot gear, tear gas, and water cannons. That behavior is not consistent with what it means to be American. Or, at least it was before the Trump era.

How's this for an alternative; instead of spending billions on a structure that, from what I have read, most experts claim will be highly ineffective, let's put that money into creating a policy with corresponding infrastructure to handle the needs of those who are so desperately seeking a chance for a better life in what can still be the Greatest Country in the World. And, that label is still true - for now - THAT'S why they come by the thousands in the first place! We need to find a way - THE AMERICAN WAY. And, we need look no further for inspiration than the lady in NY harbor to understand EXACTLY what that means:

The New Colossus

BY EMMA LAZARUS

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Let's find that way - the REAL American Way!!!

Today's MOZEN: We Are What We Drive

F LoBuono

Like the clothes you choose to wear, many people feel the car you drive also says a lot about who you are as a person. Others counter that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Well, both are a bit true. We shouldn't necessarily be judged solely by what we wear but, one's style is often the first and only impression we make on others. Therefore, it plays an important role in the beginning of any relationship. Style can also transcend budget and become a creative endeavor.

Taking that a step further, our vehicles also make a personal statement. And, with Americans' long love affair with the motor vehicle, the cars we drive often make a statement about the lives we lead. And, like those lives, there is almost an endless variety of choices - there are sports cars, sedans, coupes, SUV's, luxury vehicles, economy vehicles, pick-up trucks, and, even motorcycles. A *AAA report from 2016 said that Americans spend an average of 17,600 minutes in our cars every year. So, they certainly play a strong role in our lives.

With that in mind, I began to ponder what my own vehicle says about me.

One of the few cars I have purchased brand new, it's a 2003 Honda Element, now with 271,642 miles on the original engine. It's so square in shape that we immediately dubbed it The Box. The shape might be seen as a metaphor for its image. Some say it's so ugly that it's actually cool looking. The late/great Andy Rooney once said exactly that to me when he was leaving and I was pulling up for work one day at the CBS Broadcast Center. I even special ordered it to get the 5-speed manual transmission - a rarity in today's market.

THE BOX - my 2003 Honda Element

In other words, it's about as sexy as Ernest Borgnine.

But, it's also the best multi-purpose vehicle I have ever owned. It is incredibly reliable and sturdy. I have had to do limited repair work on the vehicle in the 16 years that I have owned it: maintain it, put the key in it, start it, and GO -always. It's also all-wheel drive and, so, I have never been stuck in the snow. Despite its boxy shape it has a fuel efficient 4-cylinder engine that provides plenty of pep while still averaging about 23 mpg. And, BECAUSE it's so SQUARE (another metaphor) it has room for almost ANYTHING in the interior. The seats in the back easily fold up and out of the way, making it almost like a mini-van. The interior is virtually all plastic so its easy to clean and practically indestructible. And, it's even easy to park!

Despite its awkward appearance, I could continue singing its praises on how efficient, dependable, steady, and, downright FUN, this vehicle is (and, has been). The Box may not be a hell of lot to look at but, damn, it does what it was designed to do - just like it's owner . . .


PS: Honda stopped manufacturing the Element in 2011.

*https://newsroom.aaa.com/2016/09/americans-spend-average-17600-minutes-driving-year/

When You Think About It: The Snake Oil Salesman

F LoBuono

These are the times that try men's souls. . . 

Thomas Paine wrote those immortal words in December of 1776 for his pamphlet, The Crisis. At a dark time in our history, he wrote it to rally men of conscience to oppose tyranny.

The same case may be made today.

With President Trump addressing the Nation this evening (1/8/2019) to make his case for building a wall at our Southern border, a choice must be made; support Mr. Trump in his effort to fundamentally change the American ethos, or reject his xenophobic rhetoric.

Mr. Trump will certainly use his brand of the truth, i.e. fabricate, obfuscate, and obliterate. Even when he quotes statistics, they are so skewed to make his point that any truth they may have contained is impossible to apply under those circumstances. He claims that there is a humanitarian and security crisis at the border. Well, let's give him SOME credit. He's at least half right. Thanks to Mr. Trump's draconian policies on immigration, there IS a humanitarian crisis. However, I, and most experts do not see the security one.

I could give you the statistics the support this claim. But, in the end, as important as they are, they are merely numbers. I would rather speak of what I KNOW - what I see and experience - what I FEEL.

And, this is it: I live in a wonderfully diverse place, a small town about 25 miles north of midtown New York City called Nyack. I also work in the City, a place or unequaled variation.  So, I'm exposed to a multitude of cultures and ethnicites. The great majority of these cultures are of so-called Brown People - the one's the Mr. Trump and his cronies seem to be so desperately afraid of.  And, what I see in both places are hard working, friendly, funny, family oriented people - the kind that I am proud to call friends. They attend to me at my favorite places to eat. They clean (with joy) my place of work. They keep my neighborhood clean tidy.  They serve the Country in the military and elsewhere. They teach our children. They smile back when I smile at them. In other words, they have everything that I desire in a neighbor. Their immigration status has no direct bearing on our relationship.

So, WHY should I fear them?

Are there bad people among them? Shit, yeah! To think otherwise is naivete. But, it is so different from when my ancestors emigrated to this Country? You see, I'm of Sicilian descent. And, to this day, I still have to field asinine questions like, are you in the Mafia?" How absurd! Sure, the Mafia was, and is, a real thing - a thing to be despised - but, the VAST majority of Sicilians who came here were hard working, talented, family oriented people just looking for a chance to make a better life for themselves - and, they did. In doing so, THEY made this Country Great!

So, I ask you: what is so terribly different this time?

And, the answer is, it's not!

There is NO crisis at the border except in the mind of one man and of those who blindly follow him. As there has been for decades now, there is certainly a need for immigration reform. ALL of us acknowledge that. However, to create a calamity to appease the minority that is his fanatical base, the fact that he has gone so far as to grind our entire Government to a halt is the height of hubris. In fact, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, the man in charge is no more than a Snake Oil Salesman. And, when you listen to him tonight, you will either by his product or not.

Today's MOZEN: A Rebel Without a Clue

F LoBuono

You can tell just by looking at me to understand how into trends and fads I am. In fact, I live for them. First, my hair is done just so in the latest style. Then, my clothing can only be described as that of a hipster. And, I drive a flashy car that is so square, literally, that we call it The Box.

So, one should understand how I feel about the latest crazy sweeping the Country: The Bird Box Blindfold Challenge. Based on a new movie, The Bird Box, staring Sandra Bullock about a mother who must protect herself and her family from evil forces by keeping them blindfolded, people try to carry out everyday tasks while having their eyes covered. Oh, and it's producing wonderful results with people walking into walls, tripping over furniture, and falling down on moving objects like escalators. I even saw a video of a family who blindfolded their toddler who then preceded to walk face first into a closed door!

Brilliant!!

Like the Tide-Pod and then the Moving Twerk Challenge which involved ingesting laundry detergent and dancing next to a slow-moving car respectively, this is another moronic attempt to prove to others that you can be just as easily led to do stupid things as the next guy. It leaves me wondering: do we really need to belong to a tribe that badly that we will attempt virtually anything to do so?

Apparently, the answer is YES.

We all have a need to belong. We ARE social animals. And, to be an "outsider" often involves painful isolation from our peers. That's why GANGS can be so powerful and difficult to control. This mindset has also caused so-called outsider groups like the LGBT community to suffer many indignities. It is certainly easier to go with the flow than against it. Otherwise, we must suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. So, most become what is now commonly known as SHEEPLE, i.e. a combination of human traits with those of sheep, a herding animal easily controlled en masse.  So, simply put, they are willing to become involved in Mass Activities of Idiocy (MAI) just because everyone else is doing so.

Look, some mass activities are fun and harmless (mostly). Line Dancing and The Wave quickly come to mind. But, most are just plain stupid and are created by Madison Avenue just to sell us shit. And, sometimes that shit is just an idea that SOMEONE ELSE TOLD YOU of something that should be done in just such a way. In some cases, they can be downright harmful like ingesting harmful detergent, being run-over by a slow moving car, or walking into a wall.

On a personal level, I've never been much of a follower. I was always encouraged by my parents to live a fiercely independent life. And, mostly, I have. I was never a Boy Scout or joined a fraternity. I hold no memberships in ANY clubs, always living by the Groucho Marx mantra of - I would never want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. Perhaps, being so has cost me. I'm sure that in many job situations I may have gone further if I would have just played ball.

But, that's not me. Like another Jersey Street kid once said, "when they said SIT DOWN, I STOOD UP".

Well, I'm still standing . . .

When I Die

Words and Photo by F LoBuono

When I die

Bury me with my weapons -

Like the ancient warriors of lore

But, not ax nor sword nor club.

When I die

Bury me with camera, pen and pad instead -

Those I used to defend

What is right and good.

When I die

Bury me with love and affection –

For the deeds of my life

As I make no apology for them.

When I die

Bury me with respect –

For I have left the world a better place

And, rest easy for having done so.

When I die

Bury me quickly –

I have no great need to be remembered

But, not so easily forgotten.

When I die

Think of me-

And smile . . .