Mayor Bloomberg defends mosque in emotional speech

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100803/pl_yblog_upshot/bloomberg-defends-mosque-in-emotional-speech

In an emotional speech this afternoon, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the proposed mosque and community center two blocks away from Ground Zero. (http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/bloomberg-stands-up-for-mosque.html#ixzz0vZVn5l80)

(snip)
"Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here," he said. (You can watch the video here.)

When speaking about the September 11 attacks, Bloomberg "choked up," according to a transcript from The Daily News:

On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked, 'What God do you pray to?' (Bloomberg's voice cracks here a little as he gets choked up.) 'What beliefs do you hold?'



(video)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2010b/media/pc080310_govisland512k.asx

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probably lived their entire lives there. They were victims of 9/11, right beside every other New Yorker.

every morning ar 8:46 am? Common decency would be to stop blaming millions of people for what a few did.

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Kudos to him on this one.

Let the heads at ADL and Faux explode!

gives clarity and definition on this one, and I say good for him.

Oz Sultan, the programming director for the center, said the complex was based on Jewish community centers and Y.M.C.A.'s in Manhattan. It is to have a board composed of Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders and is intended to create a national model of moderate Islam.

“We are looking to build bridges between faiths,” Mr. Sultan said in an interview.

City officials, particularly Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, have forcefully defended the project on the grounds of religious freedom, saying that government has no place dictating where a house of worship is located. The local community board has given overwhelming backing to the project, and the city's landmarks commission is expected to do the same on Tuesday.

“What is great about America, and particularly New York, is we welcome everybody, and if we are so afraid of something like this, what does that say about us?” Mr. Bloomberg asked recently.

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/07/31/the-defamation-league/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0vIfS1g3b