to build any particular structure at any particular place for any particular purpose. The right to conduct business as one exercises liberty to pursue happiness is just as protected as the right to the free exercise of religion and speech, but not anywhere at any time.

NYC would be within their rights to fashion zoning laws in particular places for an infinite number of reasons considering an infinite number of considerations, and one factor that would trump any challenge in a civil suit, would be the availability of other properties within the City available for mosque construction.

more later

I wonder how many of those in NYC govt approved of this building out of fear they would lose a lawsuit? They shouldn’t fear losing one if they have competent counsel.

Liberals in NYC are weenies again, despite 911 in their backyard and frontyard.

mosque have already been exposed as frauds.
They tell us the goals of the mosque are peace, understanding and acceptance. When given proof that it will instead lead to anger, opening old wounds and rejection and that if they are sincere they will move it to another site, their response is “screw you.”
Appealing to their sense of decency, or seeking a good will gesture from them is pointless. All we can do at that is put enough pressure on them to abandon this mini-jihad.

Your channeling of King Solomon is most excellent. Bravo, Sir.

……and don’t ask me what I’d do.

In the words of a famous boxer, “no mosque” from anyone on our side does nothing more than fuel the intolerant stereotype. I’m not going to lose any sleep over someone disagreeing with me, but the purpose of our politics and indeed the purpose of this site is to help win elections. Stuff like this and our philosophical responses to it just turns so many of the casual bystanders (aka semi-informed voters). I almost wonder if this whole thing would implode if our side just kept quiet….at least on a national level.

How we walk the fine line on this is beyond me… but in the grand scheme of things, Christians get ambushed while Islamists get building permits.

Maybe we can actually find a solution from our Federal Government…..we turned Pearl Harbor into a National Park didn’t we?

that when Democrats/Liberals are speaking about “religious freedoms,” they are NEVER speaking of Christianity! We cannot have a Christmas scene on the courthouse lawn or say Merry Christmas in our schools, BUT we MUST attend to freedoms involving muslims! The Federal Government is all powerful and knows what is good for us on the one hand–BUT cannot get involved in local politics on the other….just saying.

I’m not 100% sure, but I imagine something is getting cut in half.

didn’t want my church to build near their homes. It wasn’t anti-christian animus, but they just didn’t want increased Sunday afternoon traffic around their homes.

So they fought it every way they could — eventually winning when a mysterious “box turtle” was suddenly discovered, after years, in the “wetlands” area of the property. We lost $400K on that little episode, having to sell at a loss since now NO ONE would be allowed to develop the property (no, we did not get any compensation under the Takings clause, thankyouverymuch).

So, NO, you do NOT have the right to build anything anywhere at anytime just because you’re a “religious” organization. And even the government can oppose such projects with the full force of law, in pursuit of other goals (“preserve the precious box turtles”, “city planning”, … or “prevent urban strife cause by the deliberate provocation this edifice will represent”.)

Or do we have different rules for Christian churches and Islamic Mosques? If so, then we are already dhimmis.

his Friday night comments on the 9/11 mosque issue.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/08/obama_backs_away_from_ground_z.html

Friday night, the O said- “Muslims have the right to build the mosque, on a piece of private property, in lower Manhattan.”

Saturday, the O said- “It (his Friday comments) shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement of locating a mosque near Ground Zero.”

I wonder if the O was on or off teleprompter on Friday night? Someone messed up badly. As is speculated in the above article, his handlers pulled him by the ears, into a quiet room, and told him he just screwed up the November elections even worse for the Democrats. He tried to walk it back, but, only succeeded in screwing up the message even further. Now he has the Muslims mad at him. I don’t know who else is left that the O hasn’t peed off, or peed on, whichever way you want to look at it.

Or should it?

If they tried to do this a month or year after 9/11 what would people have said? Would people have made the case for religious freedom or would they have, rightly, said this was nothing but a provocation?

What was true then is true now.

I’ve heard stories that there are a lot of union guys in NYC who refuse to work on this project and they are putting heat on all other union members to likewise refuse to do it. It would be quite fitting if the clueless government in NYC wanted to build this but The People said, “Build it yourself, Bloomberg.”

Since when do liberals care about religious freedom anyway? Most liberals are athiest, empty souls.

This is not a serious suggestion, but if we wanted poetic justice, then we should let them build the mosque.

Then we could fly a few (unmanned) planes into it. Then build a Jewish Synagogue overlooking the crater — you know, to promote peace and tolerance.

King O, in his wisdom, decided for humanitarian reasons it would be better to let the bomber go free what with the terminal cancer thing and all…but wait, bomber still lives after killing over 250 people.

King O’s warm and fuzzies are going to doom us all.

Otherwise, well, let your mind roam over the possibilities. For starters consider the mountain of regulations.
The other arguments against this I’m sure have already been stated.
But it is good to see The O take another giant step out of the closet, showing himself as the swine he is, and where, again, his loyalties lie.
Way to be Hussien.

I find it difficult to trust Islam. The Koran says “there shall be no compulsion in religion”, but that appears to be interpreted by some adherents as meaning so long as they are Muslims. I’ve read the book, and quite frankly, there’s way to many exhortations to violence against “infidels” for me to let my guard down. Then again, I used to work in a state corrections system, and I know Ramadan is used by the aggressively proselytized inmates as a rich source of specious grievances. No other religion gets the acquiescence that Islam does.

I still believe this Mosque to be a symbol of triumphalism, now supported by the our first “cultural Muslim”, Barack Obama.

I’m not interpreted in Dhimmitude.

I’ll support the NYC Mosque as soon as a Cathedral is built in Mecca. Respect requires reciprocity.

Laws are a means to an end: justice. Justice is the mechanical means to another end: what is right. And we all know, deep down where it matters, that this is a horrible idea, born of the worst intentions on the part of some awful people. So we can debate the letter of the law all day, but it won’t matter. We can ponder whether Justice is truly served whether the mosque be built or not. But there is no getting around the fact we know this is wrong, and if there is any doubt, ask yourself: “Why wasn’t this idea put forth on 9/12/01?”

If it was unthinkable then, what has truly changed that would make the idea acceptable now?

Not a dam-ed thing.

“The First Fire-and-Brimstone Southern Baptist Church, K-12 School, and Community Center of Lower Manhattan” at 54-and-a-half Park. Seating capacity of, say, 6000+ parishioners.

On the other side of the Mosque, a nice Catholic Cathedral – with one of the largest pipe organs on Earth [cuz, this is the U S of A].

Ahhh, just think of all the bridge building we could accomplish!

I find myself thinking on the subject of Wisdom.

At what time does a person become wise. Is it based on experience or observations of what succeeded and what failed.

In my mind, the choice of building a mosque in that particular area is a desecration of the memories of those murdered that day and telling the survivors too bad for you.

Are the backers of the mosque project wise? No. Wisdom does not play into their view of life, living or belief. Any possible wisdom, which might have been gained, ceased and was frozen in time by their religion’s progenitor. No room for change or opinion.
No questions allowed. Only this way or die. Their hearts and minds appear stuck in the late sixth century even while utilizing current century technologies.

As humans, as Americans we question everything to gain knowledge and to make informed choices. Some of us seek out the truth or wisdom of the situation and find it insulting to be told we must not question anyone or anything from a specific group.

Especially when that group calls for total submission to their will from all other groups under threat of annihilation.

Where do you find wisdom when it has been outlawed.

This republic was not established by cowards; and cowards will not preserve it. ~~Elmer Davis

I am stone forged from the fires of creation into flesh ~~Pamela1631

The greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.~~Maj. L. Caudill, USMC (Ret.)

The Concord Project: Fighting for Freedom in the Fall

I think it’s perfectly fine for them to build their mosque.
IF—and ONLY IF—they allow Christians to build a cathedral
(multidenominational, Catholic, rotating, what-have-you)—in Riyadh, so as to pray for the souls of those lost on 9/11 and bring the promise of Christianity to Saudi Arabia. And allow free entry for all, without persecution.
It seems only fair, yes? I’m sure Muslims here and in Saudi will immediately embrace it as a just, fair and openminded solution.

…or, perhaps, not.

He is not taking the American side.
As usual.

…would probably depend on which religion you’re viewing Solomon from — the Muslims actually also venerate him. The story shares many elements with the Biblical version, such as Solomon’s great wisdom and the voyage of the Queen of Sheba. (Though I don’t recall any commanding of Jinns in the Biblical version.)

Just thought this an interesting coincidence.