Proposed Mosque Near Ground Zero

[Toughy]

I keep trying to remember the 'average American' who has never walked down the street and heard at least 2 and usually 3 languages on a routine basis.........

or spent every friday night family dinner where at least 8 languages could be spoken at the dinner table...

[Isadora]

Here is what bothers me, in no particular order:

Media focusing and building the controversy over something that is not even new to the area...instead we should be worried about our economy, lack of jobs, no money in education, no money for updated books, and fascism invading our politics.

Government officials focusing on the horror of it while about 19% (2008 US Census) of our country lives in poverty and about 48% of that are children, bout 15 million children -- one out of every four live below the official poverty line, 22% of Americans under the age of 18 -- and 25% under age 12 are hungry or at the risk of being hungry. Children ARE Hungry In The US. Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless population, representing 40%.

After years of my career working with government agencies with nothing changing....it amazes me how little we truly care about each other and more about perceived terror with an unethical media. Compassion is not a media magnet.

[dreadgeek]

Saw this at Talking Points Memo a few moments ago.

The New York Police Department has confirmed to TPM that a cab driver in Manhttan was allegedly stabbed by a passenger who asked if the cabbie was Muslim, and says the incident is being treated as a hate crime. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes.

According to Detective Marc Nell, at 6:12 pm last night, the driver picked up Michael Enright, 21, of Brewster, NY, at the intersection of 24th Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. The cab proceeded to drive north, and Enright asked the driver, who Nell identified as a 43-year-old Asian male, if he was Muslim. After the driver responded that he was, Enright allegedly stabbed him repeatedly with a Leatherman tool, according to police.

"[Enright] stabbed the driver in the throat, right arm, left forearm, right thumb and upper lip," Nell said.

According to police, the driver called 911, and stopped the cab on 3rd Avenue between 40th and 41st streets, managing to lock Enright inside until police arrived.

Nell told TPM that the cab driver is in stable condition, and that Enright has been charged with "attempted murder two as a hate crime, assault with a weapon as a hate crime, aggravated harassment second degree because of race and religion, and criminal possession of a weapon."

Nell could not confirm that Enright had admitted to asking the driver if he was Muslim.

[betenoire]

Bloody fucking hell. This insanity is -exactly- what the universe does not need.

[chefhottie25]

i don't understand why there is a debate about this. the right to build the mosque is protected by the first amendment. the bill of rights doesn't just protect certain groups or people. it is the bill of rights for everyone.

[dreadgeek]

Originally Posted by chefhottie25

i don't understand why there is a debate about this. the right to build the mosque is protected by the first amendment. the bill of rights doesn't just protect certain groups or people. it is the bill of rights for everyone.

Yeah, no small number of conservatives appear to think that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." has a hidden caveat of "unless said religion is Islam or some other minority religion and/or that religion is globally practiced by brown people with names we have trouble pronouncing correctly." When this center is built (and for ALL our sakes I hope it is) expect to hear talk coming from the right-wing that perhaps it is time to 'clarify' the meaning of the First Amendment. As much as I don't think it needs any clarification (it seems pretty straight-forward to me) I would, after a fashion, welcome the proposal and subsequent debate. Why? Because I believe that what no small number of the Republican base *mean* when they invoke the First Amendment is this:

"Congress shall make no law respecting any Christian denomination over any other Christian denomination or prohibiting the free practice of Christianity..."

Since it appears that is what conservatives *mean* it would be nice if they would just *say* that is what they mean.

Btw. the reason I say that this center should be built for all our sakes is that if it isn't built then Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah will have all of their recruiting propaganda written for them for the foreseeable future.

Cheers
Aj

[SuperFemme]

I am confused by people calling it a Mosque.
Is it not an Islamic Community Center? Two blocks away from ground zero?
Should we not honor the Muslim victims of 9/11? Are they not American as well? Do they not deserve our tears as much John Smith?

Partial List of Muslim 9/11 Victims:
Samad Afridi
Ashraf Ahmad
Shabbir Ahmad (45 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and 3 children)
Umar Ahmad
Azam Ahsan
Ahmed Ali
Tariq Amanullah (40 years old; Fiduciary Trust Co.; ICNA website team member; leaves wife and 2 children)
Touri Bolourchi (69 years old; United Airlines #175; a retired nurse from Tehran)
Salauddin Ahmad Chaudhury
Abdul K. Chowdhury (30 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Mohammad S. Chowdhury (39 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and child born 2 days after the attack)
Jamal Legesse Desantis
Ramzi Attallah Douani (35 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
SaleemUllah Farooqi
Syed Fatha (54 years old; Pitney Bowes)
Osman Gani
Mohammad Hamdani (50 years old)
Salman Hamdani (NYPD Cadet)
Aisha Harris (21 years old; General Telecom)
Shakila Hoque (Marsh & McLennan)
Nabid Hossain
Shahzad Hussain
Talat Hussain
Mohammad Shah Jahan (Marsh & McLennan)
Yasmeen Jamal
Mohammed Jawarta (MAS security)
Arslan Khan Khakwani
Asim Khan
Ataullah Khan
Ayub Khan
Qasim Ali Khan
Sarah Khan (32 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Taimour Khan (29 years old; Karr Futures)
Yasmeen Khan
Zahida Khan
Badruddin Lakhani
Omar Malick
Nurul Hoque Miah (36 years old)
Mubarak Mohammad (23 years old)
Boyie Mohammed (Carr Futures)
Raza Mujtaba
Omar Namoos
Mujeb Qazi
Tarranum Rahim
Ehtesham U. Raja (28 years old)
Ameenia Rasool (33 years old)
Naveed Rehman
Yusuf Saad
Rahma Salie & unborn child (28 years old; American Airlines #11; wife of Michael Theodoridis; 7 months pregnant)
Shoman Samad
Asad Samir
Khalid Shahid (25 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald; engaged to be married in November)
Mohammed Shajahan (44 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
Naseema Simjee (Franklin Resources Inc.'s Fiduciary Trust)
Jamil Swaati
Sanober Syed
Robert Elias Talhami (40 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Michael Theodoridis (32 years old; American Airlines #11; husband of Rahma Salie)
W. Wahid

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Toughy

I keep trying to remember the 'average American' who has never walked down the street and heard at least 2 and usually 3 languages on a routine basis.........

or spent every friday night family dinner where at least 8 languages could be spoken at the dinner table...

I miss this average American, this was (still is to a degree) my life.