Give Me Liberty Or..... Eat This, Dick Cheney!

I hate running scared. That's why, despite the fact that I'm not particularly a Donald Trump fan, I've always agreed with Trump about rebuilding the World Trade Center exactly as it was, except 10 stories taller.

Yeah, I hate running scared, and that's why I was dismayed when Bush & Cheney locked-down the Statue of Liberty after Sept 11, 2001... in the name of security. Sure, we don't want the Statue bombed, but we also didn't want the Empire State building taken down either, and that was never closed. Nor was Grand Central Terminal. I think Dick Cheney simply wanted to frighten us. In fact, I think he still does. Did you see him speak yesterday? That guy's scary!

The good news is that Bush is gone, Cheney's (almost) gone, and the National Park Service is going to re-open the crown of the Statue of Liberty to tourists on July 4th to celebrate the nation's 233rd birthday. Now everyone can once again enjoy climbing the 168-step double-helix spiral staircase to get to the crown, and one of the best eyeballs on New York City.

According to Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, the government wants to give Americans, "a special gift," by re-opening the crown to tourists. "We're once again inviting the public to celebrate our great nation and the hope and opportunity it symbolizes by climbing to Lady Liberty's crown for a unique view of New York Harbor," he said. The Statue of Liberty will be open for the next two years, then closed again for work on a long-term solution that will improve safety and security permanently. Salazar said officials are "worried" about safety and "we have to take precautions."

Line-up everyone. Thirty visitors an hour is the new limit. I'm glad I've already been there (and done that).