This whole mosque thing is seriously nuts.

[Jackpine Radical]

The country is sinking into an ocean of woes, Americans are dying every day in Godforsaken parts of the world, people are unemployed, losing their homes, losing their livelihoods, losing their families and losing their minds.

And 80% or so of the national-discourse bandwidth is fucking filled with chatter about where to build a mosque.

Get a grip, America!

[YOY]

1. No offense, but you just noticed that?

Whole thing smelt of fake controversy first time I saw it.

Not even at ground zero. Not even a mosque. Even if it were...city zoning/1st amendment.

Case closed.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. No, I didn't just notice it.

I just saw one too many threads on the topic & overloaded.

[Beetwasher]

2. It'll Burn Out Soon

n/t

[Unruly]

3. Multi-tasking

[zabet]

4. It is the

diversionary 'parishiltonlindseylohan' of the month. Stupid.

[Celebration]

5. loved the Jon Stewart take on it

What next? A Catholic church next to a playground?

[NNN0LHI]

6. Why hasn't George W. Bush came out to vouch for this Imam? He was a Bush advisor

That would shut up the wing nuts and put this all to rest.

That is the odd thing missing here.

Don

[Hepburn]

7. Terra, terra....er...mosque, mosque...er...born a Muslim....

...etc, etc, etc....:puke:

[DirkGently]

8. Someone here recently coined " Weapons of Mosque

Distraction" to describe this latest idiocy. I think she nailed it.

We're (as a nation) so easily led off into the bushes with these carefully crafted social wedge bombs. Sure, it's not the liberals starting it, but we get sucked in trying to do the right thing and pretty soon it's all anyone can talk about. Oil plumes flow, SS Commissions plot, and we have to argue pre-K level First Amendment issues with Fox News for the billionth time.

It's been painful watching otherwise admirable Dem leaders hop from foot to foot on this, as though there were some kind of "compromise" to made with naked religious hatred. Caught me off guard -- what's to "compromise?" A little galactically ironic religious intolerance in the name of opposing religious intolerance here ... a little there?

WHAT?

Watching Dean on KO trying to suggest that there was some "middle ground" between letting moderate American Muslims build a locally approved community center on their own private land and NOT was ... unbelievable. I think so highly of Dean, but he stuck doggedly to the horrible, indefensible position he had chosen (or had chosen for him). I was embarrassed for him, and for us.

We can't play their game like this every time. We just don't have the luxury of playing with race and religion bait every time rightwingers feel they're not getting enough attention. Newt and Co. must be laughing their soft, amoral behinds off at this point.

We have to do better.

[femrap]

9. It's August...a month

that is notoriously a slow news month so Murdoch decides to play something up. I'm glad that no young, pretty white woman hasn't been murdered or gone missing.

I'm sick of all of these damn organized religions....they much more trouble than they're worth.

The Elites probably created these religions so to SOCIALLY CONTROL the masses.

[and-justice-for-all]

10. Its just distraction...Freedom of religion and all that, case closed..nt

[BrklynLiberal]

11. You are 110% correct!!!

Tempest in a teapot
Mountain out of a molehill...etc etc etc

The repukes have successfully framed the debate yet again...
and many of the Dems are aiding and abetting them.

[woo me with science]

12. yup nt

[Quantess]

13. And it's boring, too.

[drmeow]

15. A building project which would

provide JOBS!!!!!

[USArmyParatrooper]

16. I had a debate with my First Sergeant and XO about the mosque

As I put it to them.... giving preference to - or putting restrictions on any religion fundamentally changes who we are as Americans. And when that happens the terrorists have won.

My 1SG still likes to poke fun but he quietly admitted he agrees with me about that. We've also debated Barack Obama and DADT.

[DirkGently]

18. Well done. It's basically American "Sharia law" the RW wants

[baldguy]

17. The RW mainstream corporate media will do everything to promote meaningless distractions.

As long as the GOP has nothing substantive to say.