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Re: Obama backs mosque near Ground Zero
This issue is ridiculously media driven. I'll admit Obama shouldn't have even mentioned it though.
It comes down to this, IT'S A LOCAL ZONING ISSUE!! The government has very little say in it, and the national government has zero say in it. If a building is properly zoned for Commercial purposes and likely in NYC needs to be zoned for religious practice purposes, then with that essentially anyone willing to pay the landlords rent can open up shop there. The backlash should be with the realty company leasing the building to them, however it could possibly be a discrimination suit if they refused, so I suppose they have to. But once a building gets a certain zoning variance it's difficult to "undo". For example, you can't just buy a house and open up a coffee shop there. Because your house is not zoned for commercial purposes. And you can't buy an old deli & change it into a bar, because bar & alchoholic services typically need different zoning than regular commercial businesses. However, once a owner successfully gets a variance and has his place approved for certain uses (deli, school, bar) it's there for basically the life of the property. So, if this building is already zoned for religious practice, then you tell me, how do you stop it?? Which is why the local resident s held the meeting to ask the city appeal it, citing extenuating circumstances. It's a tough spot to be in, block the mosque & face legal action, or allow it, since it is legal.
Seeing these nitwits on TV saying "Oh they're supporting it.' As if the government is putting it there is ridiculous. But is makes for good ratings.
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Re: Obama backs mosque near Ground Zero
Axlin08 wrote:And his rights are in poor taste, and a threat to public safety.
No different than a Klan rally at the Million Man march. They're exercising their rights too. Both of 'em.
How is it a threat to public safety? You say your not bigotted and your probably not, and you say you don't want to be perceived as one but then you say a mosque is a threat to public safety and building it is comparable with a KKK rally. What you're saying just sounds ridiculous.
It might sound ridiculous, but it's true. Ask anyone in law enforcement. In the United States, we only have Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of anything, as long as it's popular and/or tolarated. If your right, your freedom, becomes a threat to public safety, you lose it. Has happened time and again, throughout American history, and it will again.
In other words, if Fox News (as Bri put it) gets enough protestors down there, to make life a living hell for them, they are exercising their freedom of speech. The mosque attenders are exercising their freedom of religion. But if the NYPD get sick and tired of every day going down there and breaking out tear gas, not only will the protestors be shown the door, but the mosque will be shut down due to being a threat to public safety.
I did not compare the Klan to religious freedom. I compared the Klan to the Million Man march, a popular black rights, African-heritage parade. One will not, and cannot exist with the other, without becoming a risk to public safety.
The same thing could be applied to this mosque if it gets any further out of hand. Regardless of misinformation, or factual information, what was once in "poor taste" as I said, could be misconstrued once again into Islam or any Muslim heritage = terrorist. Which is bullcrap. But if enough people believe it, and go down there to make their voices heard with force, the mosque will have to pull out, regardless of freedom.
As the old saying goes in this country, "your free... to an extent"
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Re: Obama backs mosque near Ground Zero
The democrats are idiots to be playing this situation the way they are. They're allowing the Republicans (and those against the lower manhattan community center in general) to frame the issue as a cultural one. But the right wing's recent successes (in elections and polls predicting elections) have been due to their return to small government principles. Say whatever you want about the people who attend and plan tea parties, but they were started and remain founded in a simple belief that government shouldn't impede or support private companies an individuals.
Well then, allowing a company to sell property to another group of private investors is pure free market economics. The democrats that are allowing this community center to be built should be screaming 'hey, it's SMALL government. We're keeping our hands out of the private sector, like you WANTED' at their detractors, but instead they dance around and pretend like their hands are being forced by the law. They should be embracing this, not bemoaning it.
Some of those claiming to be for small government are actually for a big Christian government, but those are W. Bush votes that the Dems will never get. I can't believe how rarely they'll stand up to anyone.
