Welcome To New York Mahmoud

New York is going to be a little more painful in the next couple of weeks. The General Assembly of the United Nations is meeting for its annual session and you know what that means, traffic in East Midtown is going to be a royal pain in the ass. It also means that the President of Iran is coming to town today and traffic is an afterthought to many Americans that are examining his visit.

I am a little mixed on the subject. Sure, he is a holocaust denier, hates America and basically a certifiable nut. Yet when it comes to geopolitics and Iran, he has virtually no power when it comes to the religious leaders that govern above him. He is to Iran what the royals are to Britain, only uglier on the outside and inside. Standing in front of a "Death to America" banner on the eve of his trip while symbols of military power rolled by was a charming touch. That poor little ego needed a boost before coming to one of the richest cities in the world I assume.

Not only is he attending the General Assembly, he is being accepted for a talk with the students of Columbia University. Almost everyone is heaping scorn and criticism upon the University, including another certifiable nut named Bill Donahue. Of course Bill capitalizes on the same emotion that Ahmadinejad does which is hate.

So what do we do, meet hate with more hate? Bomb the Iranians for his appearance? Let his security detail composed of the Secret Service and the NYPD drop him off in Flatbush alone? Nah, I say just let him talk. Even if it is just more garbage, at least we can see that garbage up close and personal. I always feel that banning speech (no matter how worthless) gives that speech more power. And who knows, the question and answer after the speech at Columbia might actually be interesting.