OK... I was hoping to ignore this stupid, stupid story, but I guess it is just going to simmer along and not go away.
For some time now, there have been plans to build a mosque near ground zero in New York City. Some are frothing at the mouth and complaining that this should not be allowed, under the assumption, I guess, that Muslims blew up that area and should not be permitted to build there.
Now I don't know how the folks building this thing acquired the land, but if it was all done above board, then why is anyone fucking whining. The location used to be a Burlington Coat Factory. Now... (w)hen completed, the building will incorporate a prayer space to accommodate 2,000 worshipers; a gym and pool; a 500-seat theater and galleries for exhibitions; and a catering hall for weddings and other social events.
The president has it right on this one. Our country provides freedom of worship and there is no reason to forbid any group from legally purchasing property and building a house of worship. PK, maybe a less incendiary location could have been chosen, but if you don't like it, you should have bought it yourself... or done something to turn the area into a park or something...
Monday, August 16, 2010
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This issue also exposes the hypocrisy of those who swear by the Constitution until it presents a stumbling block to their pet stances.
I haven't heard anyone arguing that it CAN'T be built. Everyone recognizes the legal authority to do so. The debate is about whether it's appropriate.
Unfortunately, there's so much misinformation coming from both sides that it's impossible to come to a reasonable conclusion.
One thing I WOULD like to see is an interview with this imam to let him answer the questions the opponents are asking.
One more thing. Personally, I think Obama was a fool to even enter into the debate. Why say anything about it? It's a no-win situation for him.
I just stumbled across this op/ed from Jonah Goldberg on the subject:
Lack of foresight let mosque controversy balloon
Well, G, perhaps the president's statements on the matter won't help him, but he showed leadership by taking a position - the correct one, by the way - and I laud him for that.
I don't consider simply taking a position that pretty much everyone recognizes (that they have a constitutionally protected right in this case) to be leadership.
But if he had been willing to go a step further and speak of religious freedom as a fundamental, universal right that needs to be recognized throughout the world, that would have been leadership. Yet alas...
Here is a nice editorial on this subject:
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_15818551
So let me see if I can summarize your position G:
(1) it is not leadership to take a position on this topic even when it could be costly to do so,
(2) the president was a fool to say anything at all
(3) and to be a leader the president should have talked about the whole damned world and not just the USA
Got it.
He once told us we should keep our tires inflated and our oil changed as we drive through our 57 states. Where would we be without this great hero who calls cops stupid, Muslims heroes and keeps the tourist industry vibrant by sacrificing his time with frequent vacations.
God Bless America
Build the Mosque; Help Defeat al Qaeda
@Hamosque - watch Fox News much?
I think from here on out I'm going to refer to this as "The Burlington Coat Factory Mosque"
Ron Paul on the Burlington Coat Factory Mosque
Ron Paul has a lot of baggage, but he sure nailed this one.
According to breaking reports on several news sites, at least one
Jihadist web site is proclaiming its intention to launch suicide
bomber attacks against the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville to protest their planned Q'ran burnings.
After all the posturing about a mosque in NYC being a rallying point for trouble, christians have found a way to start trouble even before it happens. Not surprising, I guess.
Other Jihadist sites are making unspecific threats of violence. One, quoted on
the WOKV.com web site, blustered: "By Allah, the wars are heated and you Americans are the ones who...enflame it."
The Gainesville church has been denied a permit by the local fire
department to have a Qu'ran burning, but has announced that it is going ahead with the project anyway. Typical christian mentality!
The church is organizing an "International Burn a Koran Day" for the September 11 anniversary, but so far no other churches have
announced similar plans. Good for them! That could change, however, as the 9/11 date approaches and this incendiary story gains more traction in
the media.
Just when I think this story could not possibly get more stupid, it does. I should have learned my lesson by now that things can ALWAYS get stupider!
Turning Our Back on Religious Freedom Hurts All Americans
This just about sums it all up... from The Onion
That guy looks like an atheist referring to Christians. Maybe those who fall under the category of angry atheist can see themseleves now.
Well at least Islam has shown itself to much more dangerous. Those who have dead loved ones due to the jihad have reason to be upset. How about some tolerance from Muslims on this one and move your mosque.
Lou, you crazy bastard! Why should anyone tolerate interference with the free exercise of religion - as is Constitutionally protected?
This makes just as much sense as what you propose: out of tolerance, christians should abandon and tear down any church in any town where a christian extremist killed a doctor because s/he performed abortions.
I think I posted this on another thread, but this one is more appropriate....
Hey Lou,
Did you know a mosque already exists four blocks from Ground Zero? I guess these Muslims had a lot of foresight, eh?
I love how the socially conservative right(SCR) likes to use the Constitution and their First Amendment Free Speech rights as a shield for their patently offensive(to the Constitution) ideas of Obama's race(I get the e-mails), his religion,his wife, gay marriage, immigration(as unChristian a thought process as I can think of)and Muslims in general, but when the other side Constitutionally wants to achieve an end; they(SCR) get apoplectic. Of course, it is their right to do so, but it looks soooooo hypocritical. The Constitution is for ALL individuals.
And I am far from any Obama apologist; I can't stand his politics, but I tend to keep it on a political level, not a personal one.(I did call him a slimy politician recently(and I still hold to that), but he is someone I feel is a genuinely decent person a la Jimmy Carter.)
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