Ground Zero Mosque - Tolerance, Racism or Comedy?

No serious point really. If any of the folk passing on the spam had ever been to New York they would know that gay bars and strip clubs abound.As usual, it is mostly just repetition of the vast body of misinformation out there.The proposed "Ground Zero" mosque is not a mosque and is not at Ground Zero.There is already a Mosque in the area and has been since before the Twin Towers were built.Religion is a protected area under our Constitution, Gay Bars are not.The email seems like the classic example of really ignorant folk trying desperately to make a funny.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Certainly. In fact if you look at Columbia, MD one of the key design ideas was to discourage individual denominational churches and to create Interfaith buildings that not only served differing faiths but could also be used throughout the year for other purposes as well.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

So far it is working splendidly. Columbia, Md is only approaching fifty years old, getting into its second generation, but has consistently been named as one of the best places in the US to live.Jimmy Rouse has long been one of my heroes along with Charles and Joe Fraser when it comes to creating living environments.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

From the very beginning that was Jimmy Rouses goal. The town included the concept of neighborhoods that would include a broad range of housing from subsidized to multi-million dollar estates. The neighborhoods are all connected by walking and bike paths, parks and green spaces abound, even the idea of workforce availability was considered and the town now is home to more jobs than the total population. Shopping areas were planned to be close enough so that people could reach them on foot or bike.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Well, inside the actual planned community there is lots of data. The initial idea was to create a series of small villages, each one built around a central area, with a variety of homes, local shopping centers, jobs, a cultural center, interfaith centers, schools and health facilities all connected by walkways, bikeways, green spaces, mass transit.Of course, the idea worked and so there has been lots of growth surrounding the area, and it is relatively uncontrolled. It's getting harder to pull out the demographics for the planned community since the current census area includes many of the cities that predated Columbia as well as the growth outside the planned community itself.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Come on now.I try to speak out against all the jerks I find across the spectrum

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

that really depends on the society. There have been times when it was; there may be times in the future when it is.But what does all thins have to do with the topic?Lines change.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

And except for the very first Pink Panther, none of them were very funny either.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

But would serving Calamari rings in tomato bisque after the Bris be considered as crossing a line?

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Right now SCOTUS is also searching for the line.The issue revolves around the Phelps Family and their behavior at military funerals. Their speech is without a doubt hateful and down right nasty and they do typify Christianity at its worst, but here, in the US, is their speech protected.It's a tough issue. They are really obnoxious people saying totally nasty things to families and completely misrepresenting both the Bible and Christianity and doing so in a way that is totally irrelevant to the funeral or the individual being buried.Even for fundy Christians they are extreme and the god they try to market about as vile and evil a creation as imaginable.BUT...it is not the speech we approve of, that we agree with, that should be protected. As much as I hate everything the Phelps clan stands for and espouses, even though the god they market is vile, nasty, despicable and yet pitiful , I do have to come down on the side that says "Yes, their speech is protected."

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

And they are very careful to observe the letter of the law on where they demonstrate. But again, is there some right of privacy a in a public location? Is there some right of privacy that attaches to a burial?

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

However, their speech is protected two way. One is under under abridging free speech, the second is under free exercise of religion.Also, they are not harassing some protected class. The military is not a protected class, the US is not a protected class, even grieving parents are not a protected class. They follow the letter of the law but just that.You had said "I don't think the Phelpses should be able to invade the privacy of a funeral to tell the family members that their dead son/daughter/spouse/friend/whatever deserved to die as a punishment from God." That was what I questioned when I asked if there was some right to privacy attached to burials.I don't see where there is any right to not be harassed.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

They can of course provide an escort, but I hope you meant "and make use of their night sticks to any one protesting or interfering with the dignity of the departed" as some kind of sick joke.Edited by jar, : fix quote marks

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Who is Patrice, who is Sonia, what is O&A?

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!