21Marshall Rupert studied the Statue of Liberty’s profile from a wood bench in Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan. The iconic landmark faced southeast welcoming vessels into New York Harbor. As he tossed sunflower seeds to pigeons gathering nearby he thought that if Miss Liberty knew who was coming into the harbor she would turn her back. The people tasked with running this country were impotent bureaucrats motivated by self-interest, worthy candidates for the Politburo. He watched the man he was waiting for approach and emptied his bag of seeds onto the pavement, attracting dozens of pigeons to an afternoon meal. He walked slowly so the man could catch up with him, scoffing at the other man’s expletives as he walked through the feasting birds. Rupert turned west toward an iron
