Obama supports "Victory mosque" - a useful reminder for the rest of us of the attitudes of both Muslims and Obama.

http://tinyurl.com/2ewoaog
Obama Defends Plan for Mosque Near Ground Zero... By DEVLIN BARRETT And JONATHAN WEISMAN
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama defended the plan to build a mosque near the site of the 2001 terror attacks in New York, telling Muslim guests at a Ramadan dinner at the White House that the nation's commitment to freedom of religion "must be unshakable."President Obama speaks at an Iftar meal, the breaking of the Ramadan fast, at the White House. Mr. Obama's remarks came after weeks of the White House sidestepping the debate that has roiled New York and the nation since developers announced plans to build a $100 million, 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center just two blocks from the World Trade Center site...
****Freedom of religion does not include the right to take a property off the tax rolls and convert it to some tax-free purpose without zoning approval. This is not an issue of freedom of religion since Muslims are able to build mosques equally with any other religion ( but subject to the same approval constraints!). It is, however, a matter of taste and sensitivity with demands for the latter coming from the most insensitive group one can imagine. Where are such freedoms as religion ( in Muslim-controlled enclaves) or speech ( even in our country) such that Princeton University Press doesn't dare publish the actual cartoons in a book on the controversy in Denmark? It is especially interesting that a nearby Greek Orthodox church that was destroyed on 9/11 has not yet received approval to rebuild.( "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." )

Nevertheless, this is merely another example of Obama's disdain for most of his fellow citizens as well as his overweening Islamophilia. The Victory Mosque may serve as a triumphalist symbol of a murderous success to Muslims all over the world; to Americans it will serve as a reminder of who committed the atrocity of 9/11 and those who support them.

One can only hope that the City of New York will not be responsible for the costs of protecting the 13-story structure. Since it will contain a Sunni mosque, one might expect that Shia Muslims might be interested in seeing this high-profile edifice come down. It might even be convenient for them to have 13-stories worth of Sunnis collected in one place.****
Obama further elaborated on his remarks to Muslims at the White House:
...The White House had not previously taken a stand on the mosque, which would be part of a $100 million Islamic community center two blocks from where nearly 3,000 people perished when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Press secretary Robert Gibbs had insisted it was a local matter.
It was already much more than that, sparking debate around the country as top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich announced their opposition. So did the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group.

Obama elevated it to a presidential issue Friday without equivocation. ****Yet again he panders to the world Muslim community while thumbing his nose r at a majority of Americans. Yet again, he chooses the path of divisiveness over community interchange. It is absurd to think that this will foster better relations between the American Muslim community and other Americans and Obama doesn't even pretend that it will. **** While insisting that the place where the twin towers once stood was indeed "hallowed ground," Obama said that the proper way to honor it was to apply American values.
Harkening back to earlier times when the building of synagogues or Catholic churches also met with opposition, Obama said: "Time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values and emerge stronger for it. So it must be and will be today." ****As an attempt at compromise, New York Governor Patterson offered equivalent state land nearby but further from Ground Zero for the 13-story structure. The offer was summarily turned down by proponents and supporters of the Victory Mosque ( insufficiently provocative?).****
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who has been a strong supporter of the mosque, welcomed Obama's words as a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion."
But some victims' advocates and Republicans were quick to pounce.
"Barack Obama has abandoned America at the place where America's heart was broken nine years ago, and where her true values were on display for all to see," said Debra Burlingame, a spokeswoman for some Sept. 11 victims' families and the sister of one of the pilots killed in the attacks.
Building the mosque at ground zero, she said, "is a deliberately provocative act that will precipitate more bloodshed in the name of Allah."
Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son was killed at the World Trade Center, said the president had failed to understand the issue. "As an Obama supporter, I really feel that he's lost sight of the germane issue, which is not about freedom of religion," she said. "It's about a gross lack of sensitivity to the 9/11 families and to the people who were lost."
Added Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.: "President Obama is wrong. It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero."
Entering the highly charged election-year debate, Obama surely knew that his words would not only make headlines in the U.S. but be heard by Muslims worldwide. The president has made it a point to reach out to the global Muslim community, and the over 100 guests at Friday's dinner in the State Dining Room included ambassadors and officials from numerous nations where Islam is observed, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
While his pronouncement concerning the mosque might find favor in the Muslim world, Obama's stance runs counter to the opinions of the majority of Americans, according to polls.
Opponents, including some Sept. 11 victims' relatives, see the prospect of a mosque so near the destroyed trade center as an insult to the memory of those killed by Islamic terrorists in the 2001 attacks.