They've proven their manhood; he never will

We have seen the face of cowardice, and it is Michael Wolfensohn. Worse, Mr. Wolfensohn is everything that's wrong in America.

A member of the town board in New Castle, New York, Mr. Wolfensohn (mbwolf@town.new-castle.ny.us) saw a great threat to his community last month. So, as Faulkner would say, he vanquished it, horse and foot.

The city councilman's victory, the great threat he defeated, the cancer from which he saved his poor, helpless, unsuspecting subjects, is astonishing. He beat down two 13-year-olds who were selling cookies.

More comical, and instructive of the character that we're dealing with, is the way Mr. Wolfensohn did it: He called the cops.

Kevin Graff, Andrew DeMarchis, Zachary Brass, and Daniel Katz, all young teenagers, demonstrated remarkable foresight and initiative, according to a local newspaper: The four boys started selling cupcakes, cookies, and other baked sweets in the park. They planned to use their earnings to grow the business, and eventually open their own restaurant.

It is unclear whether four 13-year-olds would have followed through to the degree necessary to run a restaurant. But we know these young men had already expanded their business to include beverages, and they'd made a capital investment, in the form of a cart for carrying product. The only thing that stopped them was a low-life politician and an (apologetic) police officer. Mr. Wolfensohn's words: "The police are trained to deal with these sorts of issues." Really? In 2009, more than 2,500 rapes were committed in New York state, and Mr. Wolfensohn would have us believe his state's police academies are teaching recruits to deal instead with black-market Rice Krispies treats.

The boys didn't have a license, said Mr. Wolfensohn. Neither did George Washington. It could have been dangerous, said Mr. Wolfensohn. Business, and life, are rarely not dangerous. A park use permit requires $1 million in insurance, said Mr. Wolfensohn. I wish I was exaggerating that number.

If this standard applied to all entrepreneurs, today we would not have Macintosh computers, television sets, McDonald's cheeseburgers (or, cheeseburgers), iPods, Napa valley wine, the forward pass in football (or, football), flight, or any of the other fine things that Americans have invented and sold for profit and fun.

These days in America, liberals go ballistic when conservatives want to put a 99-week cap on unemployment checks. They throw a hissy-fit when anyone suggests that a man's health insurance is his own responsibility. They whine and cry and jump up and down, stamping their feet like a misbehaving 2-year-old, at any suggestion that human beings are capable of living life.

In contrast, these kids wanted to work hard, to provide for themselves, to plan ahead, to build something they could be proud of by providing valuable products to consumers in their community. Better yet, they were doing it! And this blithering idiot reported them to the police.

Though just 13, these four teenagers have proven that their manhood; I doubt Mr. Wolfensohn ever will.

One headline about the story: "Michael Wolfensohn Hates American Dream, Cupcakes." That wasn't harsh enough. Mr. Wolfensohn, and his attitude, are killing the human spirit. According to the New Castle town government's web site, Mr. Wolfensohn is up for re-election in 2011. There have been few politicians in world history who more deserve to be thrown out of office (and that is saying something). If someone (anyone, actually) runs against him, I intend to contribute to their campaign.