As you've probably heard, Republicans are currently  attacking the Obama administration for sending Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the "Ground Zero mosque," to the Mideast to discuss life for Muslims in America. The problem with this attack line, as many have noted, is that this Imam was chosen for this program by none other than the Bush administration.That's absurd enough on its own. But I wanted to highlight another interesting aspect of this: The attack has now been joined by diehard "Ground Zero mosque" opponent Liz Cheney -- whose father, of course, was a fairly high level member of the administration that originally sent the Imam to the Middle East for the same reason the Obama administration is now doing.The program in question is run by the State Department, which is sending the Imam on a speaking tour designed to explain to Muslims abroad what life is like as a Muslim in the United States. Republican officials such as Pete King have blasted the program. But the State Department has defended the move by reiterating that the Imam is well known for his "work on tolerance" and his "moderate perspective" -- and that the Bush administration sponsored a similar speaking tour.Now Liz Cheney's group, Keep America Safe, has responded, blaring on its Website that the State Department "ignores facts" if it thinks the Imam is a "moderate." It has also posted links to criticism of the move and approvingly posted video of a Fox News anchor hectoring a State Department official over the move:Amusingly enough, members of the administration presided over by Liz's father, such as Karen Hughes,  included this Imam in administration programs designed to improve relations with Muslim countries.The Cheney wing of the Bush administration, of course, was always further to the right than other administration insiders on national security matters involving relations with Muslim countries. So in a sense it's not surprising that Liz would break with Bushies over this.But what's key here is that the Cheneyite position is now the mainstream Republican one. The Cheneyite world view has supplanted that of the more moderate Repubican national security establishment -- not to mention that of many Bushies, who maintained that good relations with Islam is a desirable goal. The Cheneyites set the tone for the stances of many Republicans in high-profile national security political fights. California and New York’s early adopters have long gone and it’s time Vegas got the memo. Led by our local Downtown and on-Strip influencers, Las Vegas is poised for a new era of sophistication in style, arts and culture.Before moving forward, let’s admit that Christian Audigier is a branding genius. The designer behind Von Dutch, ed hardy shop and Christian Audigier deserves credit for his keen celebrity fashion placement. In the first half of the last decade Ed Hardy was the new “it” brand. Unique and creative, Audigier incorporated Japanese tattoo art into exorbitantly priced casual wear. Endorsed by Hollywood and professional athletes, the new trend caught fire.But even at its peak, tattoo art was rejected by much of the fashion industry and sensible individuals everywhere. The perception: Ed Hardy was for those more concerned with show than style.Five years and a billion dollars in revenue later, a once-original look has become replicated and oversaturated. There are still plenty of $209 V-necks available at christian audigier. “New” designs such as “Facing Panthers” feature updated graphics—now with two mirrored panthers instead of one! Originality has been replaced by half-hearted revisions.So what now? In post-Ed Hardy 2010, where is the creativity? What about the early adopters who wore Ed Hardy for its unique artwork and details—where can they shop to stand out without looking played out?