Obama Condemns Everyone – Except Terrorists
August 16th, 2010Ben Johnson, Floyd Reports
This weekend, President Obama pulled a John Kerry. First, he supported building the Ground Zero mosque. Then, trying desperately to distance himself from his own words, he claimed he was only dealing with the vague constitutional generalities of the case. He implausibly insisted:
My intention was to simply let people know what I thought, which was that in this country we treat everyone equally, in accordance with the law, regardless of race, regardless of religion. I was not commenting, and will not comment, on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country’s about, and I think it’s very important that, as difficult as some of these issues are, that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about.
Ah, he wasn’t dissecting the 9/11 mosque’s “wisdom.” This sudden reticence strikes me as strange. This is practically the only issue whose wisdom our blogger-in-chief has not publicly evaluated.
He had no trouble saying the Cambridge police were “acting stupidly” by arresting Henry Louis Gates last summer, although he acknowledged he did not have “all the facts” before he spoke. He had no problem calling the Gulf oil leak “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” more-or-less the instant it erupted. (We should hope he was right, since the vast majority of spilled oil has been dispersed, evaporated, or removed with minimal reported damage.) He found great wisdom in passing a stimulus bill that would never allow unemployment to reach the rate…it already has reached. His administration accused GM officials of playing chicken with the government in order to get a better bailout deal, with Obama advising them, Chicago-style, he was making an offer they couldn’t refuse.
He has certainly not shied away from controversies involving the wisdom of our relations with the Islamic world in the past. He cemented his national political career with a 2003 antiwar speech that called the invasion of Iraq a “dumb” war (certainly a wisdom-based claim). He said that alleged, undocumented excesses at Guantanamo Bay did not meet our national security objectives and accused his own country of torture. Publicly stating interrogators tortured innocent Muslims could subject U.S. soldiers to the International Criminal Court, an international institution he supports.
Meanwhile, he thought it wise to remove the word “terrorism” from the federal lexicon altogether, replacing it for some time with the phrase “man-caused disaster.”
Somehow, the idea of building a skyscraper mosque on Ground Zero is the only topic whose wisdom Obama has not addressed, the only topic that has not outraged him to the point of speaking out against it.
With his legendary thin skin, history of lashing out at everyone who crosses him, and passive aggressive defense of those hostile to the United States, one can only guess why.
What a Patriotic President Would Have Said about the Ground Zero Mosque
August 16th, 2010Ben Johnson, Floyd Reports
This weekend, Barack Obama endorsed the plan to build a mosque at Ground Zero, saying that allowing the site to go forward is “what our country’s about.” George Washington and the Founders had tremendous foresight, but they never could have imagined a day when an American president would say something so stupid. Below are hypothetical remarks the president might have made if his views were more enlightened by patriotism than by contempt for his country and sympathy for her enemies:
My fellow Amerians, as you know, a private Muslim organization has submitted plans to construct a mosque near Ground Zero. A great controversy has arisen over whether the mosque’s construction should proceed at this time, in this place, and under this leadership. Those who favor the Cordoba Mosque say we are not at war with Islam, that no one has tied its leadership to al-Qaeda, and that freedom of worship is one of our most cherished rights as Americans. Those who oppose building the mosque on that hallowed ground say that setting a Muslim prayer house on the ashes of the Twin Towers is unnecessarily provocative and will rub salt into the open wound of 9/11. They understand the triumph Islamic fundamentalists will feel at seeing the crescent rise from the ruins of the deadliest attack on American soil. And they fear under the wrong leadership, the mosque will serve as a recruiting grounds for jihadists plotting the next great act of domestic terrorism.
Americans are blessed above all people to live in a nation that respects the freedom of religion. Unlike so many nations ruled by the dictatorial clique of clerics and “holy men,” the United States has no enforced creed or compulsory church. The Christian men who founded this nation on the timeless values of the Old and New Testaments respected the freedom of conscience above all other considerations, and they enshrined the right to choose our own religion in the First Amendment of the Constitution. That means any religious group has the right to worship, in a house of worship.
That right does not imply, however, that they have a right to build a house of worship in every conceivable location. The sacred nature of this place, which became the final resting place of three thousand American citizens obliterated within minutes by 19 adherents of fanatical Islam, is not the place. I am asking the supporters of this mosque to withdraw the bid.
Should they refuse, I will take all actions available to me to assure the bid does not succeed.
The issue here is not freedom of religion but freedom to worship on the grounds of the World Trade Center. Each state and locality has the right to regulate and zone the area under its authority for its best use in accordance with the law. Churches, synagogues, and private Bible studies have sometimes run into the problems of harsh or prohibitive zoning laws. Our new Islamic neighbors could not expect to be exempt from this.
Before any construction goes forward, I have instructed the Attorney General to investigate these issues from the federal government’s perspective. I have ordered that all negotiations be halted until he has completed this comprehensive review with all the research and deliberation such a task requires. After the Justice Department has reviewed any federal interest in the property – including an assessment of purchasing the property through eminent domain – the state of New York must complete a similar review, followed by each appropriate level of city government in succession
Should each stage of the investigation allow the project to proceed, I will assure that any potential mosque is constructed in accordance with all relevant laws, regulations, ordinances, and codes – whether federal, state, municipal, or any other level of government – whether environmental, ergonomic, or handicapped. Severe fines will be meted out for each offense. Should the legislatures and governing bodies of Manhattan pass additional burdens during this process, I will see to it that they are fully enforced, as well.
Further, before negotiations resume, I am ordering a full investigation of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, examining his religious views, his associations, and any contact he has had with any person or organization on the U.S. terrorist watch list. The Justice Department will also investigate all donors and benefactors of the proposed site, tracking every dollar each of them has given to any charity or political organization, here or overseas. Their full tax records will necessarily be reviewed as this process continues.
Not one brick will be laid upon another until this investigation is complete.
And if ever this mosque is constructed, the investigation will not end.
The mosque’s belief in Islamic supremacy offends those who believe in the First Amendment for all non-Muslims, the vast majority of America’s citizens who embody her religious heritage. The U.S. Constitution is incompatible with Sharia law or the enforcement of dhimmi status. Any investigation that reveals the mosque is promoting or serving as an accessory in any way to Islamic terrorism or any terrorist will result in the forfeiture – and destruction – of the mosque.
Our Muslim neighbors are welcome to worship in the United States. In fact, there are already numerous mosques in New York City and its metropolitan area as it is – so many, in fact, one wonders why another is needed here. Nonetheless, Muslims who respect America’s religious heritage and character are welcome to practice their religion in peace. I have personally worshiped with Muslims in their lands, gone to their schools, and I welcome those who wish to pursue the American way of life peacefully on our shores. If this offer is removed and the mosque constructed somewhere else, they will find Americans are among the most tolerant and accepting of neighbors – sometimes to their own detriment. But Ground Zero has passed out of merely private hands into what Abraham Lincoln called “the mystic chords of memory.” It is our shared national ground. Those buildings that rest on it must bring us together, not further isolate us or inflame the American people. Protecting those lands and those memories is my charge. And this heavy responsibility is one I humbly accept and will wholeheartedly enforce
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
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