In the last short while, articles & news reports of outstanding brilliance have been published and disappeared from view. It’s happened to all of us – but don’t let it happen to these. Indeed, if you know of great stories sinking beneath the waves of sex and teen-age starlets, let's try to save them.

KGIA & Almontaser If you haven’t already, stop right now and read Pulitzer-winner Andrea Elliott’s brilliantly researched and written reportage on the Kahlil Gibran International Academy and its founding principal Debbie Almontaser It’s long, thoughtful, a must read. I have a ton of things to say about it but – in summary – wow! (Past Daily Gotham items on point here and here )

Pentagon Manipulated Iraq Coverage Of course, I believe that everything that Mr. Bush and his servants say about Iraq is a lie. They’ve lied about causes, they’ve lied about costs. But how about journalists and analysts? As it turns out, Mr. Bush has been turning them into Pentagon parrots.

A travesty of justice has taken place in Brooklyn. Debbie Almontaser, the woman who created the vision of a dual-language Arabic-English school in Brooklyn has been forced to resign from her position as the principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) as a result of a smear campaign carried out by an organization known as “Stop the Madrassa Coalition” (SMC) with a great deal of support by the New York Post and a surprising dearth of support by the Department of Education.

Debbie is a woman who personifies peace and interfaith connections, yet articles in the Post and statements by the Stop the Madrassa group have portrayed her as supporting violence and wanting to create an Islamic school. Nothing could be farther from the truth.