Mosque at Ground Zero.

On Friday, July 23, 2010 I heard Sean Hannity on XM Radio Channel 166. He was saying that we must not allow a Mosque to be built in New York City at Ground Zero. He basis this decision on what the Iman of the proposed Mosque believes and what he might do. It has been said that the Imam wants America to become a more Sharia compliant society. He believes that America's actions are responsible for 9/11. During one conversation he also said that he wouldn't support a church for satanic worship. This gives evidence that Mr. Hannity does not understand the Constitution of the United States, freedom or liberty. Mr. Hannity gives as proof of his understanding of the First Amendment the fact that he makes a living with the First Amendment. I beg to differ. He makes his living as a talk show host. He told one of his callers that you can't yell fire in a theater. This is a false statement. You can yell fire in a theater if there is a fire. You can yell fire in a theater if the theater is empty. If you yell fire in a crowded theater and cause a panic is when the problems arise. The same would be true if you yelled tire in a crowded theater and caused a panic. The limit is not on the speech, the limit is on the results of the speech. With all rights come responsibilities. You have the freedom to say anything you want as long as you don't infringe on the rights of others. If you cause a panic with with what you say you are infringing on the rights of those panicked.

Before I continue, I must give full disclosure. The first Presidential election in which I was able to vote was between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. I voted for President Reagan. I've been a registered Republican since that first election. I don't always vote for Republican, I vote for the person that I feel will best uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Back to the Mosque. We were not attacked by Muslims or the Muslim religion. We were attacked by a group of radical criminals who, in my opinion, perverted their religion to justify their actions. There have been criminals in every major religion that haver perverted their religion to justify violence against others. Many Catholic priests have committed sexual violence against a great number of children over the years. We didn't rush to ban building Catholic churches anywhere. Many white supremacist groups , including the KKK, consider themselves members of the Christian church. We don't rush to ban their existence or the building of Christian churches based on these groups. Our founding fathers fought hard for this country. Part of the reason they did so was for religious freedom.
Mr. Hannity complains loudly about possible attempts of the Government to limit talk radio. There are people in this country that don't agree with what talk radio says so it should be okay with Mr. Hannity to stop it. After all, Mr. Hannity and other talk show hosts are okay with the the Patriot Act. Part of this act makes it okay for the Federal Government to do warrant less wiretaps in this country. Because this is in direct violation of the founding principles, we should be able to stop his and other shows.

The mindset of people that want to ban things amazes me. Even if Mr. Hannity and others were able to stop the Mosque, they won't stop the Imam from his beliefs. This country banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in this country in 1919. This ban did nothing to stop the manufacture, sale, or transportation in this country. Prohibition did more to increase crime in this country than the thing they attempted to ban. Because prohibition increased crime, the Government created the FBI, an agency with no basis in the Constitution of the United States. The increase in crime was directly responsible for the Gun Control Act of 1934. A law that is in violation of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The unintended consequences of banning something are usually more onerous than the thing being banned.

If the things said about the Imam are true he disgusts me. I will not, however, infringe on any of his rights. If he, or anyone else, does something to harm this country I will do everything with in my power to bring those people to justice. We can never live with freedom and liberty if we are willing to so easily deny it to others based solely on their beliefs.