[Bobboau]

ok, so, let us for the moment, assume that there is not a prominent gay bar within the vicinity of this building, would it not be the very pinnacle of delicious irony if a gay bar were to be built near by and the people in the titular building cried about it's proximity?

can anyone think of a reason the cultural center should be built that can not be applied to the gay bar? other than, you know, fox news supports the gay bar idea apparently.

[karajorma]

Actually I'd far rather see them build a Jewish cultural centre next door.

[Bobboau]

they can build both, there are two sides to the building.

[Kusanagi]

Mayor Bloomberg summed it up nicely.

1) This will go away after elections.

2) No kidding, we can't build a church in Saudi Arabia. That's the whole freakin' point. Terrorists hate our freedoms so much that they want to destroy the very freedom that allows muslims to build a mosque in the states in the first place.

3) If you build it, terrorists will claim it's a victory mosque and be happy. If you DON'T build it, terrorists will claim that it's because they struck fear into our hearts, and will be happy. These fanatics spin it any way they want...so just build the damned thing. There's no legal precedence against it.

I think we should work out a compromise: No mosque near ground zero, as long as the catholic church agrees not to build churches near playgrounds.

[Bobboau]

"No mosque near ground zero, as long as the catholic church agrees not to build churches near playgrounds."

bwahahahaha 

[BlackDove]

Bravo, I lol'd.

[Nemesis6]

This is DELICIOUS!

Bigot starts ground zero church: Where's the outrage?

A bigoted pastor who has assailed gays and Muslims is launching the "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero" a mere two blocks from the World Trade Center site this Sunday, but so far the project hasn't drawn a peep of protest from those who are outraged by the "ground zero mosque."

Pastor Bill Keller of Florida said today he will begin preaching Sunday at the Marriott at 85 West Street (see proximity to ground zero here). A weekly service is planned at the hotel until the $8 million 9/11 Christian Center finds a permanent space. (Fundraising is going well, Keller told Salon today.)

To get a sense of where Keller is coming from, consider his project's website, which calls Islam a religion of "hate and death" whose adherents will go to hell. It also says: "Islam is a wonderful religion... for PEDOPHILES!"

Keller is the same pastor who hosted a birther infomercial that encouraged viewers to send him and a partner donations to advance the birther cause. His Internet ministry explicitly calls President Obama the new Hitler. He calls homosexuality a perversion. And in 2008, he targeted presidential contender Mitt Romney for being Mormon with a campaign called "voting for Satan."

In short, if critics of the Park51 Islamic community center, which is explicitly welcoming of all faiths, truly believe that there is a "zone of solemnity" around ground zero (as Gov. Pat Quinn put it), they should be horrified at Keller's 9/11 Christian Center.

Ditto for those who believe that religious leaders should not build "deliberately provocative" projects around ground zero, as another mosque opponent put it.

(An enterprising reporter could no doubt find some Sept. 11 families who are offended by Keller's project, just as an enterprising reporter did in the beginning of the Park51 controversy.)

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/30/bigot_establishes_ground_zero_church/index.html

[newman]

If I was a priest on the christian side of things, I wouldn't be so quick to accuse others of being pedophiles of all things..

[Scotty]

You know, that's almost exactly the same kind of generalization as saying all imams/muslim clerical position support terrorism.

[Nuclear1]

"Islam is a wonderful religion... for PEDOPHILES ME TO POOP ON!"

[NGTM-1R]

If I was a priest on the christian side of things, I wouldn't be so quick to accuse others of being pedophiles of all things..

You do realize that the rate of pedophilia in Christian churchs, and Catholic since we know that's what you mean but you won't come out and say it, is pretty much identical to the rate in public or private schooling?

But you don't get as much of a ****storm by pointing that out, though you should...

[mxlm]

Man this board's balls got sucked up into it's own body and disappeared in the time I've been gone.

You're a tool as well, and so is your face.

Nah, I'm just amused that bob's going to keep posting in this thread but not acknowledge or respond to questions directed his way. That's what makes him a tool, not taking shots at the board.

[Turambar]

You know, that's almost exactly the same kind of generalization as saying all imams/muslim clerical position support terrorism.

Except that there is a centralized authority in the Catholic church that systematically protects its child molesters.  There is no such overarching authority in islam.

[Scotty]

And there are indeed imams and clerics out there somewhere that can and will protect and direct terrorists.

The point is still the same.  Generalizations are bad.

[NGTM-1R]

Except that there is a centralized authority in the Catholic church that systematically protects its child molesters.  There is no such overarching authority in islam.

I believe you need to correct your verb tense.

[General Battuta]

And there are indeed imams and clerics out there somewhere that can and will protect and direct terrorists.

The point is still the same.  Generalizations are bad.

Well, Turambar's point is fair in that one can say that the Catholic Church as a whole protects child molesters, because it does. The same cannot be said of Islam because no coherent Muslim authority exists; unlike Catholicism it is not a centralized hierarchy.

Some Muslim clerics may promote terrorism, but Islam does not. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, has a history of protecting pedophiles, which is troubling even if it does not speak to every Catholic (including many priests) everywhere.

[newman]

You know, that's almost exactly the same kind of generalization as saying all imams/muslim clerical position support terrorism.

It was a joke.. sheesh.

...and Catholic since we know that's what you mean but you won't come out and say it, is pretty much identical to the rate in public or private schooling?

Oh noes, Sherlock here figured out my well hidden Catholic church reference. Now if he could figure out it was just a joke, we'd really be cooking..
Technically I'm a member of the Catholic church, which makes me eligible to make fun of it. The fact I'm not a practicing member is what makes me qualified (was brought up in the catholic spirit; mass every sunday, sacraments, all that jazz.. then I grew up and decided it's just not for me). So relax, Sherlock. No need to start foaming at the mouth for a small sarcastic quip. Not like they don't deserve to be made fun of here and there. Once they stop protecting pedophiles in their ranks, I'll stop making fun of them about it. How's that?

[NGTM-1R]

Once they stop protecting pedophiles in their ranks, I'll stop making fun of them about it. How's that?

You seem to be several years behind the times. And I say this as an avowed enemy of that Church and every other.