Over the weekend, President Obama did something that all American presidents are called upon to do. Defend the Constitution of the United States.
One of those tenets is Freedom of Religion. Not amend section A: popular religion [this week] only.
It’s how and why I feel free to tell folks I’m an atheist – or introduce someone in my family as a student of Buddhism – or note in the course of a conversation about San Antonito Chapel down the road that most of my neighbors are Catholics.
But, right-wing nutballs and the proto-fascists who infest the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party go crap out of their mind if Christian godliness and morality ain’t the only way endorsed to fly straight to heaven. Much less catch a tax break from the IRS.
So, combine all the hypocrisy into one big ball of cigar-snot and mealymouthed punditry – and you get this weekend’s tempest in a teabag.
Here’s a copy of the dangerous sedition uttered by Obama.
I’m not getting into cutting and pasting and commenting line-by-line because, frankly, it’s just the usual straight-up rhetoric required of any official who’s trying to explain our Constitution to people who don’t think it’s worth defending. The whole point of having a standard by which to govern a nation is that it is a standard to be upheld – not amended every time someone asks a hard question or a tough challenge comes along.
Our Founding Fathers realized that and fought and died for it. Now, because some terrorist gangsters come along and say our standards are worthless – a certain portion of our population is willing to prove them correct.
LDA==you almost have it. If the Mosque is denied, it will be on a zoning basis and on that basis it will fail as violating the First Amendment. If the owners of the property go ahead and build a mosque the government would most likely use law enforcement to force the non-building of a non-conforming use. Its called “The Police Power” of the State for a reason and that power is completely that of the Executive Branch.
When the court order desegregation of Southern schools, whats his name said “Let the Court try to enforce it” meaning all they did was issue paper. Course, the President ordered the Army to go in and “Police” the SCOTUS order.
Its all interactive with each party playing their part.
Glad we agree.
The President is right.
Let the Burka wearing, sand troglodytes think they have some sort of silly victory in building a Mosque by the 9/11 site, knowing the fact it was a built is actually their loss.
I’m a red-blooded American, and think that the Middle Eastern jihad mongers are essentially the modern hill biliies of the world.
Let them build the mosque, the joke is on them — although they will not get it immediately.
As an atheist, I know their problem isn’t their religion but the resentment they have knowing every airline puts anal probes up their scrotum and for good reason.
Those ape people need to evolve to modern times, and if a silly little passive-aggressive victory is the best they can do, I pity them. We drops Daisy-Cutters on those people every day and they lash out by building a mosque. Who’s your daddy?
I pity them. We got ball-sack.
The only thing worse than an advocate is a person who advocates when it’s convenient.
Your political righteousness and fair-weather commentary on DU are old and boring and add noise with nearly no substance, Eideard.
bobbo
With apologies to Will Shakespeare
Cursor==I am not a number.
If you prick me, do I not bleed?
I think I should open a pulled-pork restaurant right next door to it. I will install fans to blow the smell of yummy goodness toward the mosque to make their stomachs rumble with hunger as I serve my delicious goodness of pork.
Friday nights will be two for one brat night and I will gladly sell brats to anyone who wishes to buy one.
Now to pick a name. How about Mohammad’s Pork BBQ?
It is my right to open a restaurant.
Ben: Will you have an image of Mohammad on each sandwich wrapper? An order of fries could be a 72 Virgins. And the triple decker sandwich the Big Mecca.
The President should then be asked his opinion of Greg Gutfeld’s planned Islamic gay bar across the street, or perhaps a butcher shop.
Their constitutional right?
#105 Counterweight said, “Ben: Will you have an image of Mohammad on each sandwich wrapper? An order of fries could be a 72 Virgins. And the triple decker sandwich the Big Mecca.”
I like the idea of a BBQ pork sandwich being called the Big Mecca. I also got to have a guy in a pick suit outside passing out fliers with coupons for the restaurant.
I think the sign will have a picture of Mohammad taking a bite of the sandwich. The sign will read, “Mohammad’s Pork BBQ.” I will have cloth napkins that look like head scarves as well.
#80, you got the point. The Romans converted buildings after conquest, etc. One side sees this as a matter of conquest. The proposed name, Cordoba House, comes from the capital of Muslim Spain after they conquered that corner of Christiandom.
The purpose of not establishing a religion was to avoid a Church of the United States (much like a Church of England). The separation of church and state was a one-way road until it was reinterpreted in the last ~ 50 years.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man spearheading the Ground Zero Mosque initiative, is about to take a month-long trip through the Middle East sponsored by the U.S. government.
Just because you can legally do something doesn’t mean you should in some cases. It’s a matter of respect. (i.e. The Japanese don’t have a monument at Pearl Harbor honoring the deaths of many brave Japanese).
A church in that area was DENIED the right to rebuild their church destroyed from 9/11 due to excessive red tape that the mosque builders were not subjected to. Double standard?
British Atheist commenting on Mosque at Ground Zero: http://tinyurl.com/38fonon
#109 Benjamin – Sounds like a winner so far. Make sure the staff are instructed to handle the food only with their left hands.
Our intolerance feeds their hate.
#113 Good idea
Guyver said,
“Just because you can legally do something doesn’t mean you should in some cases. It’s a matter of respect. (i.e. The Japanese don’t have a monument at Pearl Harbor honoring the deaths of many brave Japanese).”
While I think that building a Mosque at that location is a really, really bad idea, this is a faulty analogy. The Japanese government was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The vast, vast majority of people that follow Islam and are represented by this Mosque did not orchestrate the attack on 9/11.
FREEDOM – somebody else doing something you don’t like.
Posting on “sensitivities” or appropriateness shows you don’t understand the “basics” of what your own Bill of Rights represents.
And when the kiddies don’t understand the = sign, and the cream of the blogosphere doesn’t understand the meaning of FREEDOM. Cultures fail when they become too civilized to fight the barbarians who want their land. Happens over and over.
Silly Hoomans.
116, Steve S,
Most acts of terrorism come from one specific religious ideology.
When’s the last time you’ve seen American Muslims denounce Muslim terrorists in great numbers? You don’t.
The vast majority of American Muslims TOLERATE the behavior of the Muslim terrorists.
The mosque symbolically represents “conquered” land. This isn’t a trivial interpretation to Muslims.
Try watching the Atheist link I provided. That’s a guy who has no motivations to defend Christians in America and he’s telling you how he sees it by reminding people how ate up things are over in Europe over political correctness.
The Constitution also states we have a right to “keep and bear(carry) arms”, with no mention of which arms or where they can be born, yet we are told which arms we can keep and have to be licensed to bear them if we are allowed to bear at all. Those of you defending an Imam who is for the enslavement of women also going to defend my right to carry a grenade launcher into your child’s school?
bEAR
Bare?
#108 for the mega-win!
Muslims build Mosque next to 9/11 site.
Muslim gay bar is built next to Mosque!
LOL … a classic!
To me it all boils down to one question: Is the U. S. a free country, or not?
Exactly. the fact is that only in America could someone build a mosque near a place like Ground Zero. That’s why we are special. That’s why we are BETTER THAN THOSE WHO OPPOSE US.
The moment we use their tactics and beliefs we are the same as they are, and the only thing giving us right is might. That is not America.
You people who “believe” in the 1st amendment in theory but not in practive sicken me. Where is your spine? Did the terrorosts truly win? They do a few acts and freedom disappears.
Some say “most Muslims are peace loving people who want the same freedom as anyone else.” That admits that some Muslims are not that way: ie the Ayatollas/Leaders of the sheep who want to impose their religion on other people by any means possible–like building Mosque’s in target countries while not allow non-Muslim churches to be built in their own countries.
Lots of Muslim Terrorists’ names are on the “No Fly List” and on Obama’s Kill on Sight without Arrest List because it is in the Nat Security of the USA.
But all those same folks should be allowed to build a Mosque ((anywhere in the USA, not just Ground Zero)) and that is ok by Freedom loving people?
You all make fun of “Zero Tolerance” stories and then show the same absolutist/can’t deal with ambiguity or conflicting values mentality yourself on this issue.
What “value” is really being exhibited when you welcome an anti-democratic/freedom ideology into your country?
Lets all just “hope”/and not do anything unpleasant, to protect our liberty.
#124
Your entire argument is specious. This has nothing to do with rights has everything to do with tact and tactics. Technically, it is the right of the KKK to march down the streets of Harlem and yet no sane person would think this would be a good idea. Technically, the President has the right to say that the leader of Iran is a bag of shit. Just because you have the right to do something does not mean it is tactful or tactically sound.
While *you* might think that putting a Mosque near ground zero would be symbolic of freedom, the Muslim world would view it very differently. The would see it as an insult to us (as would most of the world) and would show us to be spineless. It will not help fight Islamic extremism. It will not help in any “healing” process. It will not help the President’s party get re-elected. There is just no good that comes from putting a Mosque there and there is plenty of bad.
Muslims *also* have a right to put a Mosque somewhere else. I suggest they avail themselves of that right instead of pushing to have a Mosque at ground zero.
#123
We are also a country of self-governance. Freedom does not mean that you necessarily get to do whatever you want whenever you want. We are still a country of laws.
While Muslims absolutely have the right to put a Mosque on ground zero, I think doing so would be in incredibly poor taste and does not serve the majority of the community. It is not like there are no Mosques in Manhattan or in the greater NY area. There are plenty of other places to build Mosque. The only reason for choosing ground zero is to thumb their nose at the US. IMO, the smart choice is not to build anything related to any religion on ground zero and let the Muslims build a Mosque somewhere else.
Thomas–the relevant issue is not what anyone might think about the “taste” or sensitivities of putting a Mosque at ground zero. The important issue is whether or not the USA should allow a fascist form of government free access to our society because it has a religious component to it.
No group of people should be allowed in the USA who imprison their women in cloth from head to foot or who support killing anyone who defames their group. We all knew in grade school you do not let bullies have their way–you stand up to them, or rat them out to the principal or the coach as per your comfort level. What you DID NOT DO is invite the bully into the bathroom to see how much lunch money you had.
To early to raise the issue? Ok. Lets wait until Muslims are 30% of the population and they are fighting for their rights to have Sharia law imposed on everyone.
Thomas==just because it is so glaringly WRONG:
“We are also a country of self-governance.” /// Thats not what self governance refers to.
“Freedom does not mean that you necessarily get to do whatever you want whenever you want. We are still a country of laws.” ” /// Thats exactly what freedom means, subject to the small print that has no application here. What the frick are you talking about??? FREEDOM exactly means one person’s actions being an affront to another group. Its the taste and the sensitivities of the group acting on their freedom that expresses freedom==not the self imposed censorship you confuse it with.
So bobbo, you are against all mosques?
/Tangent left
just ran across a rather interesting article: “The Purpose Behind Engineered Economic Collapse”
-s
#130–Mike==I’m not against buildings, but rather what fills them up.
Its really no different than the Communist Party from a few decades ago or what it looks like it is turning into now: a governmental system that wants to take our FREEDOM away. It does not recognize individual rights. It wants to subjugate us all and control what we do: on our knees 4 times a day.
If the commies tried to do this, we would not accept it. But slap a religion to it and the dumb ass religious people get all slap happy thinking Islam worhsips the same god they do so everything will eventually work out.
Maybe it will. But maybe it won’t. Make the a-holes sign a loyalty oath and as long as the religion “back home” won’t allow non Muslim churches to be built then they don’t get to either until they adopt a bible/Koran that excludes the offending passages.
Silly me, I take madmen at their word.