The Birth of the Hot Dog: Was Famous Nathan a Backstabber?

There are those revisionists that would have you believe that the hot dog, as we know it, was invented by Nathan Handwerker, of Famous Nathan's. That just isn't the case.

It was another Coney Islander, Charles Feltman, who gave us the hot dog. As a young German immigrant, Feltman drove a pie wagon up and down the beach at Coney, and got a good business going. But he had a problem: His customers wanted hot sandwiches. Feltman resisted this as involving a lot of elaborate cooking and carving, but one day in 1867 (or 1874; accounts vary) he had an idea. He approached a wheelwright named Donovan and asked if it would be possible to put a burner in the pie wagon. Feltman could then keep a supply of warm sausages on hand and fork one onto a sliced milk roll whenever a customer called for a hot sandwich.

Donovan cobbled one together on the spot, Feltman threw some sausages in to boil, and in a little while, there in Donovan's shop at East New York and Howard Avenues in Brooklyn, the two men ate the world's first two hot dogs.

Some reckless people dispute these facts; what isn't disputed is that Feltman's delicacy was popular enough to build its inventor an enormous restaurant on Coney, a complex of beer gardens and breezeways that ran along West 10th Street from Surf Avenue to the shore. By the turn of the century, Feltman had 1,200 waiters working for him, serving as many as 8,000 meals at a time. His place became famous for its seafood, but throughout his immense restaurant, he kept seven grills busy turning out hot dogs for 10 cents each.

It was from Feltman that Nathan Handwerker learned about hot dogs. Handwerker, an employee of Feltman's hot dog stand, was encouraged by celebrity clients Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with his former employer. Handwerker undercut Feltman's by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging ten. At a time when food regulation was in its infancy, and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker made sure that men wearing surgeon's smocks were seen eating at his stand to reassure potential customers. The business proved immensely popular. And so now you know the rest of the story.

Heel!

Something stinks in New York and it ain't the Hudson River.

New York Governor David Paterson announced today that he will not be seeking re-election in light of escalating scandals surrounding him and his political team.  I can't say I'm very surprised, but after the Eliot Spitzer scandal broke, one hoped that his replacement would embody the ethics, morals and values we should expect from those who represent us politically.  But, I guess in the land of the morally challenged (see: Rangel, Clinton, Meeks, Monserrate, Parker) trying to find someone of worth might be like trying to find good grits and fried okra on 5th Avenue.

Anyway, I guess in the long run, Paterson simply heeded the request of his master in the White House like a good dog should. . .

How bout them Photoshop skills???  Booyah!

New York Governor to Tax Internet Porn

You may remember the old saying, "If you keep doing that, you're gonna go blind". One has to wonder after the governor's latest tax move, just how did he lose his his eyesight?

Talk of a New York tax increase just got a little, er, hotter.

It turns out that New York Gov. David Paterson's proposal on downloads of music and software would also apply to downloading pornography, an element unnoticed in the public debate so far.

The state Division of Budget confirmed to The Associated Press that the tax would apply to skin flicks, whether they are downloaded online or purchased through pay-per-view on television.

It's difficult to tally how much people spend for online porn, but TopTenREVIEWS.com, a sight reviewing products and ranking their quality, performance and revenue, says the industry brought in $2.84 billion in 2006. The cable, pay-per-view and phone sex industries brought in $2.19 billion that year, according to the site.

The so-called ``iPod tax'' would tax the sale of downloaded music and other ``digitally delivered entertainment services'' by 4 percent.

Escape from New York

Look at the taxes the New York Governor is trying to impose. Isn't this the same governor that said when referring to Obama that "once you go black you don't go back"? The same applies to taxes.

Gov. Paterson released a $121 billion slash-and-burn budget Tuesday morning that slams New Yorkers with 88 new fees and taxes - even on their iPods.

But it's the $4 billion in new fees and taxes that are sure to aggravate everyday New Yorkers, who would be paying more for a host of services:

*
An "iPod tax" that charges state and local sales tax for "digitally delivered entertainment services" - in other words, that new Beyonce song you download.
*
State sales tax at movie theaters, sporting events, taxis, buses, limousines and cable and satellite TV and radio.
*
Costlier driving with the repeal of the 8-cents-per-gallon sales tax cap on motor and diesel motor fuel, plus and increase in the auto rental tax.
*
Tuition increases at SUNY and CUNY, $620 and $600 a year respectively.
*
A 50 cent tax on cigars. The current tax is equal to 37% of the wholesale price, or 34 cents a cigar.
*
No more sales tax break on clothes and shoes worth $110 or less, except during two weeks a year.
*
Higher taxes on wine, beer and flavored malt beverages. He would also impose an 18% tax on non-nutritional drinks like soda.
*
The rich would pay more for luxury items through an additional 5% tax imposed on cars costing more than $60,000, aircraft costing more than $500,000, yachts costing at least $200,000 and jewelry and furs costing in excess of $20,000.
*
In addition, a host of a fees, including those related to motor vehicle licensing and registration, parks and auto insurance, would go up, as would various state-imposed fines.

ISLAMISTS PLOTTING FOR JIHAD AGAINST UNITED STATES IN NEW YORK MOSQUES

Shocked?

This will come as no surprise to anyone who is aware of the 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum about that organization's "grand jihad" in the United States; Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani's 1999 testimony about 80% of mosques in America being under the leadership of extremists; and the 2005 Center for Religious Freedom report about the massive distribution of hateful jihadist and Islamic supremacist material in mosques in this country. It will come as no surprise to those of us who have noted the utter failure of the Muslim community in America to do anything to teach against the jihad ideology.

A young undercover city detective spent four years in the shadowy world of terrorist wanna-bes - taking part in jihadist discussions and training in parks in the dead of night - to get a handle on the homegrown threat. At great personal risk, he participated in everything from prayers at a mosque to martial arts training under cover of darkness to watching jihadist videos, with many of the activities laced with talk of killing, according to a source familiar with the undercover's investigations.

His experiences paint a vivid portrait of the potential for local terror. While the picture is in no way indicative of the city's Muslim population as a whole, it provides insight into its most radical element.

He reported that after prayers at a neighborhood mosque, there were often private classes that included discussions about bombing different areas. The men discussed violent jihad in bookstores, private houses and on buses en route to paintball and shooting-range events.

He was invited to join in "bonding" activities like working out at a gym and martial arts training in parks at night, during which the group discussed ideological justifications for killing Westerners. He also watched military movies and jihadist videos with groups of young men in private homes. During one such evening, one man got so excited he punched a wall.

The detective reported that some youths became extremists after they traveled to their home countries; others went on the hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca - and came back fired up by imams who encouraged violence as a religious obligation.

I reckon these fellas didn't get the memo on midnight basketball.

FOR SALE...NEW YORK CITY: MUSLIMS WILL OWN CHRYSLER BUILDING

Sad days indeed:

The latest Big Apple trophy being coveted by oil-rich sovereign wealth funds is the landmark Chrysler Building.

Sources say the super-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Council is negotiating an $800 million deal for a 75 percent stake in the Art Deco treasure that has defined the Midtown skyline since 1930.

The deal follows last month's sale of the GM Building and three other Macklowe/Equity Portfolio properties for $3.95 billion to a group of investors including the wealth funds of Kuwait and Qatar and Boston Properties.

Just part of a growing trend that is seeing NYC go the way of Rome.

Now a top Italian real estate investor has nabbed a crown piece of New York property, a sale that echoes the Japanese purchase of Rockefeller Center in 1989. Valter Mainetti has confirmed to TIME that his company, the Sorgente Group, has acquired a majority share of Manhattan's historic Flatiron building.

Only a matter of time before the French buy back the Statue of Liberty.