Soccer Dad

Surprised? Naw, he's the "have teleprompter will speak President." Whoever is writing his speeches rules.

This isn't backtracking at all. The President should not be in the position of advocating for or against private conduct, which (for the benefit of the slow end of the class) is what this is about. Presidents should not give the appearance (again, to the careless reader only) of favoring or disfavoring religious construction projects, only of securing the constitutional rights that are his job to uphold. His clarification is no backtrack.

It is shocking to see conservatives - those who stand for private property and the non-intervention by government in the use of that property - get the vapors when it comes to whether a private organization can develop its own property. The conservatives who lost their minds over the Kelo decision - upholding the ability of New London to condemn by eminent domain private property for mixed public-private development - now feel free to impose a content-based restriction on the use of private property that the government hasn't even bothered to condemn by eminent domain.

To state that this mosque/Muslim community center cannot operate on the property that it owns is tantamount to dispossessing the private property of any Muslim organization anywhere. After all, there are Pentagon attack survivors in Montgomery County; they might be offended by the existence of one mosque on, I believe, Randolph Road in Burtonsville or Fairland (there are others). The existence of a synagogue in Olney offended a couple of neo-Nazis last month; maybe instead of spray paint they should have gotten the Montgomery County Council to vote it out of existence, since it is so clearly offensive to those passers'-by values.

Wait, instead of a robust respect for private property from conservatives, I am hearing crickets chirp.....

I will gladly debate anyone on this point anywhere within 40 miles of Baltimore, including the basement of any synagogue, church, mosgue, Tea Party pow-wow or Republican Party central committee. Name the time, date and address.

I would like to apologize for the tone of my prior comment, and I repudiate its substance. I was wrong. Period.

Please accept this as my failtering attempts at recovery from being a loud-mouth fool, a condition into which I find myself falling from time to time. While I am not Jewish, I ask forgiveness in the spirit of the season and wish Jewish readers and of course the gracious hosts of this blog a sweet, healthy and happy New Year - may you be sealed and inscribed.

There's nothing more dangerous than a proud man who is half-intelligent, as he will half-understand something and latch onto it. I am not the worst example of this, but might be the worst if I were a little smarter.

I have come to realize that Islam - whether I want to admit it or not - is totalitarian in its worldview, even if a majority of Muslims don't follow through on this conclusion. Islam doesn't have a grievance with Israel's conduct, but with its existence. Islam doesn't have a bill of particulars against American policies or actions, but against the very American model of governance.

It's easy for liberals like me to get confused from time to time by statements from some Muslims who try to place Muhammed at Independence Hall or make us believe that we are more Islamic than Mecca is. This is because we really want to imagine that Islam is part of the debate club, rather than an armed gang 50 yards away from the school yard - a gang you CANNOT leave. A liberal who won't take his own side in an argument may be a fool or coward, but one who won't take his own side in a knife fight is a corpse incapable of further foolishness or cowardice.

I do apologize again, and do repudiate my prior comment and express my disagreement with its substance. Count me in the Geert Wilders camp.