Here now, the first in a series of “hamina hamina hamina” moments in the life of President Barack Obama:
President Obama backslid Friday night on the Ground Zero mosque when he said,
“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there….”
Gee, I wonder why. The de-facto victory mosque, to be named after the location of a prior victory location in Europe, is going to be a burden to the Obama administration and his party. President Obama does have a bully pulpit; the question is, who is the bully’s target?
Bill-O’-Notes® Translation:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here’s the problem. This is NOT a freedom of religion matter. As I stated in my post, this is about the planting of a high-profile mosque (amidst 500 already in NYC), akin to their prior acts of co-locating them upon a place of “victory”. An Eastern Orthodox (Christian) church, demolished as the result of the 9/11 attack, remains unbuilt due to red tape and paperwork and no one even talks of it.
This is not a religious freedom issue; this is a seminal moment, a crossroads marker for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. To elevate this to a freedom of religion matter only serves to diminish the lives of the lost on 9/11 as well as what we deem freedom to exercise our faith without fear of wanton pulverization.
There has been open, notorious and pervasive violation the rights of others for a long period and there is now what presents as a conspicuous policy of nonenforcement or concern given the paradoxical laxity of the otherwise draconian City of New York authorities in this property matter. This desuetude is precisely what has given roots and a foothold for Islamic law in Europe.
As to President Obama, he took the issue and converted it to a national political football. Even his party members are angry that he hijacked the venerable Sunday talk shows during this fertile political time.
I disagree with you. He was not “backsliding”. He did not change his view which was supporting the First Amendment of the Constitution. They have a right to build a place of worship on their private land. He has clarified his position which has been misinterpreted. He said he did not (and would not speak) to the wisdom of building a mosque there. He only maintained their legal right under our Constitution to do so. There was a case in the Boston area where neighbors were fighting the construction plans of a Mormon temple. They weren’t able to stop it because of the same First Amendment. Our country was founded on the concept of religious freedom for all. When we stop supporting religious freedom for other Americans, we are at risk for losing it for ourselves.