Newt Gingrich (R-will to power) joins the amen chorus (amen to Jay-zus!) of teabaggers and wingnuts - that is, the majority of Republicans - in opposing the Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic mosque in Lower Manhattan. Once again, they prove that they have no idea of the meaning of freedom of religion. They narcissistically think that the Founders' great achievement was to codify the wingnuts' own special brand of Christianity as protected from who knows who - the great atheist-Islamist conspiracy, I guess. Just as many of them have missed the entire import of the gospels (Jesus was a liberal who ministered of love to the poor), they've missed the entire import of the First Amendment. And everything in between.
Gingrich can't help gilding the lily along with every other right-wing pundit. The mosque is "at Ground Zero." Or, as Newtie says, "overlooks Ground Zero." Most of the so-called straight news reporters give away their sycophant roles in pushing propaganda by adopting the wingy phrasing.
The truth is that the mosque is near Ground Zero - two city blocks away. (Click Google screen capture images for full-resolution aerial views.)
It just works so much better as propaganda to let your eager bullshit swallowers imagine that a mosque is going to rise in replacement of the twin towers. This is the sort of manipulation in plain sight that the Republicans know so well.
In any case, what distance toward the back of the bus would Republican opponents of religious freedom think appropriate? Maybe if the mosque were closer instead, they could think of its members as a human shield. The wingnuts' heads might explode from cognitive dissonance.
Wait til they find out how many other mosques there are in the area of Lower Manhattan!
Aaaieee! We're doomed. They're taking over! There's even an existing mosque four blocks from Ground Zero (though they appear to be having trouble keeping their lease).
Just leave out the context of how many churches there are in the same area:
I bet abortion clinics are feeling mighty nervous now! (Note: That's the wingnut logic of group accountability for the acts of a few other people who are superficially similar in some way.)
(Did I just commit journalism?)
Update (8/6): There's already a mosque inside the Pentagon! (h/t Jed Lewison on DailyKos)
Update (8/22): Updated in new item, When is a mosque not a mosque?
Update (8/22): I'm no New York Times, but I had the story of other nearby mosques almost three weeks before they did. In Manhattan, their own back yard. (h/t Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mosqued bawl
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3 comments:
I'm disappointed with Newt. I thought maybe he was one of the few good ones.
I've been visiting other blogs, trying to get a handle on the issues involved. It seems that some see this mosque as an affront to those killed, even all the while claiming they know the difference between Islam and Islamofascist terrorism. It supposedly has something to do with being reminded of the tragedy - in the way that one who has been attacked by a dog may develop a phobia of all dogs. I myself still fail to understand the difference between that and bigotry.
The only thing that gives me pause (though only for a moment) is the claim that in the Muslim culture, this is a sign that they have "conquered" us and that the mosque is being given the same name as the mosque built in Spain during the dark ages to signify the Islamic conquest of the Iberian peninsula.
Personally, I think a mosque near (or even in) ground zero can be turned into a great propaganda tool for the U.S. To me, it says, "We do not fear you." That's a powerful message.
Newt is in fact one of the worst. It's hard to imagine a more cynical political career than his. Yet people continue to esteem him.
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