Second Circuit Court Of Appeals Rules That WTC Cross Isn't A Religious Symbol

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the public display of the so-called WTC Cross is a secular remembrance of the 9/11 attacks and not a religious symbol.

“Thank God,” said Father Brian Jordan, the Franciscan priest who had the cross pulled from Ground Zero weeks after an excavator showed it to him. “In a way, we’ve been vindicated. I’m satisfied and gratified that this will go down as a piece of history — as a reminder.” American Athiests had tried to get the cross booted from the museum, claiming a constitutional church-state violation. “Atheists died on 9/11, members of our organization suffered in lower Manhattan on that day, and our members helped with the rescue and recovery efforts, yet we are denied equal representation in the National Museum,” American Atheists President David Silverman said in a statement.

American Atheists say they may seek an en banc review of the decision or appeal directly to SCOTUS.

Time Lapse: One World Trade Center

Starting with site preparation in 2004.

Bloomberg: Stop Saying "Ground Zero"

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants the media to stop referring to the site of the former World Trade Center as "Ground Zero."

"We will never forget the devastation of the area that came to be known as 'Ground Zero' — never," Bloomberg said as he heralded lower Manhattan's recovery from 9/11 at an Association for a Better New York breakfast. "But now, the time has come for us to call those 16 acres what they are: The World Trade Center and the National September 11th Memorial and Museum." Far from the smoking pile of rubble that filled the area in the fall of 2001 — or the languishing construction pit in the years that followed — the World Trade Center now holds two rising skyscrapers and an eight-acre memorial set to open this Sunday, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Bloomberg said.

Every single time I get stopped by tourists, they want to know how to get to Ground Zero. That name won't be going away soon.

LIVE VIDEO: Obama At Ground Zero

UPDATE: The ceremony has concluded.

Dubya Snubs Ground Zero Ceremony

According to the New York Daily News, Dubya declined to join President Obama at Ground Zero today because he feels he didn't get enough credit for taking down Osama Bin Laden.

Bush's visit to the rubble after the 9/11 attacks was the emotional high point of his presidency, but associates say the invitation to return with his successor was a non-starter. "He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it," the source added. "Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden. It rubbed Bush the wrong way." Bush spokesman David Sherzer said Bush "appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight." Associates familiar with his thinking say Bush does not believe Obama or his handlers wanted to exploit his presence. But the tag-team idea "was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it," a source said.

Since leaving office, Bush has maintained the presidential tradition of declining to criticize his successor.

Dan Choi On Bin Laden's Death

Starts at 7:40.

(Tipped by JMG reader Sean Chapin)

SPLC Brands NYC Anti-Islam Blogger Pamela Geller As Hate Group

The Southern Poverty Law Center has branded vile NYC-based Atlas Shrugs blogger Pamela Geller and her fellow anti-Islam protesters as a hate group. Geller came to national prominence last year when she led the attack against the so-called Ground Zero mosque.

Stop the Islamization of America was included in the civil rights organization's annual roundup of extremist groups - a rogue's gallery that includes everything from the Ku Klux Klan to white supremacists and Nazis. Geller's group was one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero. The group was also behind ads that were placed on city buses urging Muslims to leave "the falsity of Islam." Geller, who runs a blog called Atlas Shrugs, dismissed the Law Center as an "uber left" group that has "failed to address the greatest threat to our national security." "My group is a human rights group," she said. "And these people are taken seriously? This is the morally inverted state of the world."

Also making the new list is the Dove World Outreach Church, whose Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn a stack of Korans if the mosque wasn't stopped.

Loony Tunes Pam Geller: CPAC Was Infiltrated By The Muslim Brotherhood

In case you haven't been following along, nutjob Pam Geller is the Atlas Shrugs blogger largely behind the battle to block NYC's now infamous "Ground Zero mosque."

PhoboQuotable - Imam Abdallah Adhami

"An enormously, overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life. Again, not necessarily in their childhood. A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom on some level as well." - Imam Abdallah Adhami, the newly-hired senior adviser for the mosque proposed to be built near Ground Zero. Hit the link for video and reactions from David Mixner and Gay City News editor Paul Schindler.

Joy Behar: Why I Walked Out On O'Reilly

NJ Transit Fires Koran Burner

The man who ripped out pages of the Koran and burned them during the 9/11 protest at Ground Zero has been fired by his employer, NJ Transit. The incident was posted on YouTube and aired on television around the world.

NJ Transit said that Derek Fenton's "public actions" violated its code of ethics and that he “violated his trust as a state employee.” It was not clear that Fenton was terminated because of his actions on Saturday. The NJ Transit statement indicated that he was fired on Monday.In response to questions from NewsCore Tuesday, NJ Transit released a statement saying: “Derek Fenton was terminated on September 13, 2010 from his employment at NJ TRANSIT. An at-will employee, Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics." It continued: "NJ TRANSIT concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore was dismissed.”

Here's the clip.

NYPD Braces For 9/11 Protests

Atlas Shrugged blogger Pamela Geller, also the founder of Stop The Islamization Of America, will be staging a massive rally tomorrow at Ground Zero. And the NYPD is gearing up for an ugly situation.

"We want to keep everyone in their corners. You don't want the opposing sides to clash," an NYPD official told The Post. "All eyes are going to be on New York City that day. No one wants to see a fight on Sept. 11." With as many as 4,000 riled-up demonstrators expected to pack into two blocks of Park Place between West Broadway and Broadway -- the site of the proposed mosque -- the department is sparing no expense to keep the peace, the official said. "There'll be an army of cops down there," the official said, estimating the number of officers at several hundred. The dueling rallies -- to be held tomorrow, on the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks -- will pit mosque supporters against those who believe that the site shouldn't be so close to Ground Zero. The demonstrators will square off on opposite sides of Park Place, the site of the controversial Park51 center, after 9/11 commemorations conclude at noon in nearby Zuccotti Park, off Liberty Street. But no matter where they stand on the mosque issue, some people questioned the appropriateness of protesting on Sept. 11. "My own view -- irrespective how you feel about the mosque -- I don't think you have it that day. It's totally disrespectful," said Tom Acquaviva, 70, of Wayne, NJ, who lost his son, Paul, 29, an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, in the attack.

Geller has asked her supporters to bring American flags rather than the signs such as the ones in the photo above.

Even In Iowa

The "Ground Zero mosque" nonsense has reached into elections in the nation's heartland as the GOP misses no opportunity to demonize a minority.

Tea Party Founder Mark Williams Calls Bloomberg And Stringer "Judenrats"

In a new low for a movement littered with new lows, Tea Party Express founder Mark Williams has labeled Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer as "Judenrats" for their support of Cordoba House. From Williams' blog:

How many times do I have to tell you…. the Ground Zero Mosque is a chest-beating pile of puke from the bellies of a savage, death cult culture, a throwback to the 7th century. Politically correct Judenrats like New York Mayor Michael Boomberg and Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President) and domestic enemies who are supporting the mosque – with open ties to Islamic Terrorist organizations and supporting states are doing nothing more than erecting a giant middle finger to be trust at the victims of 911… which includes all of civilized Mankind.

Wikipedia: "Judenräte (singular Judenrat; German for "Jewish council") were administrative bodies during the Second World War that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union."

Protest Rallies Over Cordoba House

Both sides rallied again yesterday in downtown Manhattan.

Howard Dean Compares "Civil Unions Compromise" To Mosque Controversy

Dean thinks the downtown NYC mosque should be located elsewhere, a "good reasonable compromise" he compared to the creation of civil unions when he was governor of Vermont.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: There Is No Ground Zero Mosque

Newt Gingrich On Ground Zero Mosque

About That Hallowed Ground

Today's NY Daily News points out that the "hallowed ground" surrounding the planned WTC memorial ain't really all that hallowed, what with all the titty bars, dirty bookstores, betting parlors and liquor stores also within two or three blocks.

Opponents of a proposed lower Manhattan mosque and community center speak in hushed tones about the sanctity of the "shadow of Ground Zero." Tell that to the patrons of the Pussycat Lounge, a strip club where a photo of a nearly naked woman marks its location just two blocks from where the World Trade Center stood. Or the Thunder Lingerie and peep show next door, where the marquee sports an American flag above a window display of sex toys and something called a "power pump." Many come to the scene of the worst terrorist attack on American soil to pay tribute to pain and unspeakable tragedy. They're welcomed by solemn memorials and a visitors center amid the noise of reconstruction. If they're so inclined, they can also buy porn, play the ponies and take care of all manner of personal business within steps of the former World Trade Center.

The area around the WTC also boasts ten churches, three synagogues, a Buddhist community center, and a place for whatever it is that Hare Krishnas do.

Today's New York Post