Tehran protesters die for democratic ideals our senators in Albany

Think of our do-nothing state Senators up in Albany, trivializing democracy. Then watch the video of Neda Agha-Soltan dying on a street in Tehran. See the life drain out of her. Listen to the anguished cries of the music instructor who was standing next to her. Consider that the person who shot the video was risking his life. Ponder the risk faced by each and every person sending pro-democracy messages out of Iran. Remember other brave believers at other times and places, heroes such as the lone man who stepped before a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Do not forget the many thousands of Americans who sacrificed all in the cause of liberty, in our city going back to the 400 young soldiers who charged into certain death in the long ago Battle of Brooklyn.

Think again of those 62 senators who sit in Albany. Each of those mutts owes his or her position to a system built on courage and sacrifice. Each took a solemn oath to faithfully discharge his or her duties. And there they sit in a disgraceful stalemate. As if they owed nothing to the gallant souls who made this democracy possible. As if liberty were the freedom to finagle and self-deal rather than a sacred right for which people in other lands are even now risking all. They are Republicans and Democrats who betray the republic and democracy. Compare their lame excuses and tired lies in the state Senate to some of the Tweets coming out of Iran Monday: "Clashes...street fires & tear gas - shooting heard - many militia." "Situation in Tehran very tense today - many roadblocks." "If you weren't old enough to appreciate the gravity of Tiananmen, pay close attention." "THIS IS THE DAWN - this is the new beginning - have hope and prepare." "Two young men injured...one dies...GRAPHIC VIDEO."

The video shows a young man who was shot in the upper thigh and another with grievous wounds in the back and head. As some comrades bend over them, others hold up cell phone cameras to keep the whole world watching. More shots erupt, but the comrades do not just flee. They pause to lift the wounded and carry them down a passageway, a camera recording it all. The young man hit in the head leaves a trail of red spatters. "If you want to help but are frightened of the streets - give blood - this is big help." To read these messages is to be taught anew childhood lessons about the universal human need for liberty and the nobility of those who place it before their very lives. The Internet was calling Agha-Sultan "the Fallen Angel of Freedom" and carried an interview with her fiance. "Neda wanted freedom and freedom for all," Kasamin Makan is quoted as saying. He said she favored no particular side in the disputed election and was just a bystander when she fell victim to a bullet. She was buried in Behesht-e-Zahra Cemetery yesterday as spiritual kin to the host of innocents who have died during other struggles for freedom, and to those sure to perish in the time to come.

Meanwhile, those mutts in Albany continued to behave as if such sacrifices meant nothing, as if there were nothing sacred about the votes that put them in office.The one action they have managed to take in recent days has of course been on behalf of themselves, ensuring they get paid. The mutts are due to get their regular paychecks tomorrow, along with a $160 for each day of a special session, a gross misnomer if there ever was one. The law says they have to be paid, but it does not say how. Give them pieces of silver.