The Associated Press sent out a memo today to its writers and editors advising that they should no longer use the phrase "Ground Zero mosque" to describe the controversial Islamic cultural center and former Burlington Coat Center store, located in lower Manhattan two blocks (and out of view) from Ground Zero. While I applaud the Associated Press for its stance, this would … Read More
Mission Accomplished
So with the last combat troops leaving Iraq, I guess now is a good time to reflect on the war itself. Did the War in Iraq accomplish its goals? Get Saddam? Check. Return Iraq to a stable region, thus stabilizing the Middle East? *Ahem* well, actually… uh…. Find those weapons of mass destruction? Uh, heh… *cough*… hey, is that a rainbow? At … Read More
Kathleen Parker On Why The “Mosque” Should Be Built
She's a conservative, and she's making sense. This is why plans for the mosque near Ground Zero should be allowed to proceed, if that's what these Muslims want. We teach tolerance by being tolerant. We can't insist that our freedom of speech allows us to draw cartoons or produce plays that Muslims find offensive and then demand that they be … Read More
War In Iraq Is Over
Final U.S. combat brigade pulls out of Iraq. By the end of this month, the United States will have six brigades in Iraq, by far its smallest footprint since the 2003 invasion. Those that remain are conventional combat brigades reconfigured slightly and rebranded "advise and assist brigades." The primary mission of those units and the roughly 4,500 U.S. special operations … Read More
Hallowed Ground?
In most cities, including Washington, 13 stories constitute a very tall building. But in the environment of Lower Manhattan, Cordoba House will be just another structure—which is not exactly consistent with the view that it is a Towering Monument to Jihad. In short, people are overestimating the extent to which this building will interact with, or be noticeable from, … Read More
“Terror Babies”: The New Immigration Scare Tactic
These politicians are just making up shit now for political gain, and it's sad.
“I Mean, Come On” Clause Of the Constitution
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) chatted with National Review this week, and shared his thoughts on the proposed Cordoba House a couple of blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Cantor gave the kind of thoughtful, well-reasoned response we've come to expect from the GOP leader. "Everybody knows America's built on the rights of free expression, the rights to practice your faith, but … Read More
The Mosque Controversy: Partly Ginned Up, Partly Bigotry of the Worst Kind
Adam Serwer's link-o-riffic piece is right on the money, mostly: The New York Times has a new piece up on Faisal Rauf and Daisy Khan, the couple behind the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero that has brought rank Islamophobia into the Republican mainstream: "Daisy Khan, who immigrated, also as a teenager, to Jericho, on Long Island, from Kashmir, married Imam Feisal in 1997. They … Read More
Once Again, With Feeling
I can't believe the debate about the proposed "mosque" to be located "at Ground Zero" is still going on. So much of what you read from the anti-mosque-eteers is just plain wrong. So, at the risk of repeating myself: (1) This isn't really a mosque. There are going to be any minarets, for example. Or bells chiming at all hours of the … Read More
Unintelligent Intelligence
Everyone should read the Washington Post's recent effort in investigative reporting, Top Secret America. As a piece of journalism, it represents what actual journalism should be — not what passes for journalism in today's he-said-she-said creaming-heads world. That said, the subject of the piece is distressing. Since George W. Bush, we've had this reckless, ridiculous, uncoordinated expansion of intelligence agencies, all sucking … Read More
Palin Tweets Again (and Again) About Downtown Manhattan Mosque
The controversy, for those unaware, centers around the proposed building of a mosque "at Ground Zero". This has sent conservatives into an apoplectic fit. It doesn't seem to matter that the mosque is to be built three city blocks from Ground Zero, and not at Ground Zero. It doesn't seem to matter that the mosque is really more than just a mosque. Called the … Read More
Racism = Ignorance: A Case Study
As you may know, many on the right are upset that a mosque is being built within a couple of blocks of Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan. The thinking goes that Islamic terrorists were responsible for 9/11, therefore all of the religion of Islam is bad and evil, therefore mosques are evil. With such stupid logic as that, it's not … Read More
Here We Go Again: Another NYC Bomb?
BREAKING 1:34 pm….. 47th Street in NYC is being evacuated due to suspicious package…. UPDATE 1:36 pm…. CNN says all of Times Square is being evacuated UPDATE 1:55 pm… It's a suspicious cooler outside the Marriott…. or is it? UPDATE 2:18 pm… Opening back up. Must have been, well, a cooler. Apparently, a robot was deployed…. It was kind of … Read More
Demystifying Miranda
You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to the presence of an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. You know those words. They are heard on TV screens all the time. They are the Miranda warnings. … Read More
Thought For The Day
To those who wish to point out that that Times Square bomber guy was a Muslim-American immigrant, and that this whole episode should serve as a reason to restrict legal immigration of Muslims, can I point out something? The man who alerted the authorities to the car bomb and possibly saved dozens or even hundreds of lives was also a Muslim-American who immigrated … Read More