mosque at ground zero

You know what I find completely fascinating. The "debate" concerning the building of a $100,000,000 mosque and Islamic community center "near" ground zero. My perspective is different from most because I find the construction of ALL houses of worship completely revolting. Nothing makes me more disgusted than promoting belief in gods, ghosts and goblins in this day and age. Time wasted. Energy wasted. Money wasted.

Despite my utter contempt for all religions and cults (I've always been amused that people are readily able to distinguish between the two), I think the building of a mosque near ground zero is a demonstration of greatness and tolerance. First off, if they own the land, they can build whatever they want. But wait, it offends the sensibilities of Sarah Palin. Wait a minute, I love just about everything Sarah Palin finds offensive. BUT, I swear this issue is a winner for Republicans, Sarah Palin and Fox News. It resonates in the swing states. I haven't seen any reliable polling, but I'm guessing around here it would go 75% against, 25% for.

Bluntly stated, the majority of Americans have no interest in constitutional law. If this group of Muslims own the land and want to build a mosque, it's completely their right as long as they follow Manhattan zoning laws and associated building regulations. Case closed. I hate it when locals yap about "freedom." Freedom to do what? Just throwing out a question - "When is the last time you exercised this freedom you speak of?" Did you engage in a protest? Did you write a letter to the editor? Did you voice your concerns at a city council meeting? Your typical Wheelingite associates personal freedom with the right to:

A. Go to a Pirates game and buy the "all you can eat" tickets
B. Get a bunch of gullible Young Life kids to hand out bottled water at the Washington Ave./National Road intersection.
C. Choose from a variety of 50 different types of mustard at Riesbeck's.
D. Affixing your American flag bumper sticker to your Toyota Tundra pick-up truck.

This is how most people in these parts embrace their constitutional rights. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. But here's the real dilemma I have with Sarah Palin, aka the queen douchebagette...

She doesn't want a mosque "near" ground zero. Well ok. Would someone please ask her, "Well, how far away is acceptable?" 3 blocks, 4 blocks, a quarter mile, a mile, in any one of the five burrows (Sarah, can you name them without looking at your hand - for the record - Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island). Someone please ask her what the appropriate definition of "near" is? Wait a minute, she only takes questions from the "news" when they've gone through an exhaustive screening process. God, I hate this woman. And would someone ask her, "Sarah, how many mosques are there currently in New York City?" Back to the hand - "102" she proudly proclaims!* See, she's all over this controversial issue.

But like I said, this issue is a winner for her. She'd be wise to jump all over it. The talking points are easily memorized. Her trained minions love their freedom, but oddly enough can't discern between the 10 Commandments and the Declaration of Independence.

Here's what I believe... The ultimate tribute to the victims of 9/11 would be to construct a community center that promotes secular humanism, agnosticism and atheism. If only Sarah Palin had the "cajones" to understand this. Seriously, when's the last time a group of crazed atheists hijacked a plane and used it as a 500,000 lb. cruise missile.

* - I honestly don't know how many mosques are in NYC, but I'm sure there are plenty.