[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="The Freedom Tower as photographed from street level in July 2009"][/caption]

As I was reading some 9/11 anniversary material I came across a sad discovery. Construction on the Freedom tower, which had it’s cornerstone laid in 2006, is being continually pushed back. The estimated completion date is 2013, but by some accounts may not be until 2018!

By comparison, the original twin towers were erected simultaneously in just 6 years, and this took place in the late 60’s through early 70’s. That’s two towers in 6-7 years. And 40 years later it’s going to take us twice as long just to build one? How depressing!

In the powder-keg of emotions following 9/11 I remember feeling like we needed to rebuild as soon as possible. I almost felt like we wouldn’t just be erecting a replacement building, but raising a giant middle finger to the religious zealots that perpetrated the attacks, and everyone that sympathized with them. Rebuilding strong and fast would be a testament to American superiority of engineering, technology, and fortuity. Instead, 8 years later, we have a pile of steel beams that stands all of 105 feet tall.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="126" caption="Dubai Tower"][/caption]

In the meantime, the United Arab Emirates have started and finished building the tallest man made structure on the planet, the Dubai Tower. It stands at 2,684 feet, over 900 feet taller than the Freedom Tower’s planned 1,776 height. Frickin’ Dubai! If they can do it why can’t we?

If anything, we’re proving to the rest of the world that America is the biggest bureaucracy on the planet. While the 9/11 attacks are clearly attributed to Al-Queda, the mess concerning rebuilding can only be blamed on ourselves.

Attention homies/wiggers:

1. Take the stickers off the brim of your hat. I have read that leaving the stickers on proves the authenticity of the hat, validates the wearer’s financial security, or validates the “newness” of the hat.

Should I leave the tags on new dress shirts I buy to prove this? Should I leave the sticker price on a new car that I buy? I could always post my W-2 on the internet to prove how rich I am. But why does nobody do any of these things? BECAUSE NOBODY GIVES A SHIT! You are a 17 year old wanna-be gangster: nobody cares how much money you do or do not make. Nobody cares that your hat - which 9 times out of 10 is not even an accurate representation of what players really wear on the field - just came off the shelf.

2. Bend the brim. I really don’t get this. Why would one leave the brim flat? Bend the brim - make the hat your own. It’s the first thing a real man does when his hat comes off the shelf. 

3. Wear your hat straight. Combined with the flat brim, putting your hat on crooked doesn’t make you look cool - unless you think that appearing like you participate in the Special Olympics is cool. You look like Corkey. Derrrrrrrrrrr.

In case you thought those steps were too long to read: stick your poppin-fresh hat wearing habits up your ass.

Where did rennagade.com go? until the transition process is complete, please access all the old stuff at www.rennagade.com/oldindex.php

Thanks!

I cannot help but observe the similarities between Bruce H. Smith Jr. and the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was an esteemed teacher who promoted persistent questioning as a means to obtain true knowledge, as is Mr. Smith.

In 8th grade when I had Mr. Smith as a teacher, he catalyzed our path to inquiry by asking us a simple question: “Isn’t it possible that the content of history books doesn’t cover the whole story?” If so, the only way to find out the full story is to ask questions; to dig deeper. To not accept the world as it is presented to one at face value is by far one of the most useful life lessons that I have ever received.

So then, why would one want to discourage free thought and inquiry? The answer: A weak, unquestioning mind is easy to manipulate. In the middle ages the church ensured the public was largely illiterate as a means to profit from and control them. Indeed, an unquestioning public is really only asking to be fleeced.

We also see these tendencies demonstrated as a method of child rearing. The intuition to protect one’s children from the “real world” is natural, and I certainly sympathize with it. Unfortunately, a sheltered child often lacks the fundamental ability to effectively process real world scenarios, and understand other’s perspectives.

Both Socrates and Mr. Smith strived to give these abilities to the youth in their lessons.

Perhaps the most unfortunate similarity between Socrates and Mr. Smith: They were both put on trial for corrupting the youth. Socrates was put to death.

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