Gary Sinise, An American Hero

By Gary P Jackson

If all there was to say about Gary Sinise was that he was a great and versatile actor, that wouldn’t be a bad legacy, nor would saying he’s a great musician, but there is much more to the man.

Gary has a solid movie career, and has played some memorable characters, and has a hit television series as well. For many that would be good enough, but not for Sinise. When he’s not busy filming, Gary goes around the country, and around the world, playing with his band, the Lt. Dan Band, named for his character in Forrest Gump.

Sinise and his band use their talent to not only raise money for the troops, and other charities, they also go and play for our brave men and women overseas, following in footsteps of other patriotic American entertainers who have given back to those who keep us free and safe.

The video above shows the band letting off a little steam, as they entertain the cast and crew of Gary’s hit CBS show CSI-NY, and also talks about one of charities Gary helped create: Operation International Children.

From their website:

Operation International Children (formerly Operation Iraqi Children) is a grass-roots program founded in early 2004 by actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, CSI: NY) and author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) and joined in partnership with People to People International and its President and CEO, Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Sinise and Hillenbrand created OIC to give concerned Americans a way to reach out to the war-stricken children of Iraq by supporting our troops in their efforts to assist them. Working directly with troops, OIC has delivered well over a quarter of a million school supply kits, along with more than half a million toys and thousands of blankets, backpacks, pairs of shoes, Arabic-language books, and sets of sports equipment, all of which have been distributed to children.

While we remain committed to our work in Iraq, OIC has expanded its mission, sending school supplies to Afghanistan and other nations, where American troops are distributing them to children in need. In the future, we will continue to broaden our efforts across the world.

This is a wonderful project, something that will help these kids learn and become more productive. You can learn more and get involved with Operation International Children here.

For more info on the Lt. Dan Band, concert dates, and various ways to help Gary support the troops, check out their website here.

All of the crew over at CSI-NY are headed back to work, and one of our favorite actors Sela Ward will be joining the cast. We can't wait!

Pamela Geller: You Bet’Cha! Sarah Palin Joins The Fight Against The Ground Zero Mosque

Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugs) is one of the leading voices in America when it comes to speaking out against radical Islam, and the dangers this ideology poses world wide. Pamela has been fighting tirelessly against the proposed mosque the radicals want to build near Ground Zero, the hallowed ground where over 3000 people were slaughtered by radical Islamists.

Sarah Palin has weighed in on the issue as well, calling on peaceful Muslims world wide to refute the radical ideology, as well as this mosque. She also called on peaceful New yorkers to do the same:

From Pamela, via World Net Daily:

G-d, I love this woman! Palin nailed it. Here's an issue no politician will touch, even though polls show that most Americans oppose the construction of this Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero. The politicians – Mayor Bloomberg, Rep. Nadler, Andrew Cuomo and the rest of them – are so fearful of being labeled "bigots," they will throw their own people under a bus.

But Palin won't. When she resigned as governor of Alaska, I predicted that she would soon be leading a new revolution of American patriots. And she is doing so. She is not afraid of the jackals, hyenas and vultures who troll her home, her garbage cans and her most prized possession, her children. She is unbowed. She has spine, character, ethics, integrity and above all, true grit.

I am proud to be a National Advisory Board member of Jewish Americans for Sarah Palin. If she runs for president, I'll be right behind her.

Palin has sided with Americans and American interests. Palin, once again, does the right right. And it's wildly refreshing. The Left is twisted in knots. That's what she does. She twists up the morally bankrupt liberals. The Islamic supremacist mega-mosque that liberal politicians support is a stab in the eye of every American. The question is, why there? Why did the terror-tied Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader of the initiative to build the mega-mosque at Ground Zero, spend nearly $5 million in cash to buy the property for a triumphal mosque a mere 600 feet from the site of the largest attack – an Islamic attack – on American soil in our history?

There have been 15,644 Islamic attacks across the world since Sept. 11, 2001. Each one had the imprimatur of an Islamic cleric. What is being done to expunge the Quran of the violent texts that inspire jihad? If Rauf is really a moderate, why isn't he spending his time working on that instead of trying to build this mega-mosque?

Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, responded to Palin's statement with soothing words:

"We agree with Ms. Palin that it is time to heal from the wounds of the tragic events of 9/11. We peace-loving Muslims have a responsibility to lead the effort of rebuilding Lower Manhattan. We envision a community center for multi-faith collaboration that is focused on promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion. We welcome the opportunity to discuss with Ms. Palin how Muslim Americans have an added responsibility to create a counter-momentum against extremism by building institutions like this center, that will amplify the voices of the mainstream peace-loving Muslims."

Yet there is a great deal of evidence that Daisy Khan is not being honest: Rauf himself has been patently dishonest. Bloomberg and the rest should take note. They haven't. Yet Rauf dissembled about whether his 13-story "community center for multi-faith collaboration" at Ground Zero would contain a mosque at all.

While Daisy Khan speaks about "promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion," and Rauf has told American reporters that the mosque should encourage religious dialogue, he has told the Arabic media that he doesn't believe in religious dialogue. He told American media that the mosque would be funded only by Muslims in America, but he told the Arabic press that it was getting funding from Muslim countries worldwide. He portrays himself as a moderate, but openly supports Shariah (Islamic law) and recently refused to denounce Hamas.

Nonetheless, his response and the response of other mosque organizers to the overwhelming pain this mosque has caused has been ad hominem attacks. The opponents of the mosque are smeared as "racists," "bigots" and "Islamophobes."

I find the Cordoba Initiative's callousness toward the grief it is causing radically intolerant. But only Sarah Palin among high-profile politicians has dared to say so.

And even though Bloomberg and all the other New York establishment politicians have lined up in favor of the mega-mosque, the game is not over by a long shot. New Yorkers have witnessed how a tiny fish stalled and effectively killed a wonderful project for the rotting West Side Highway and wharfs. We have seen the city impose draconian smoking regulations, automobile and traffic regulations and even restaurant food bans (transfats). But this mosque is getting unprecedented rapid-fire action: cooperation from city officials who hadn't moved in 15 years before they started moving on this. There is more grease on these wheels than in the Gulf.

By contrast, Palin restates the obvious. She is unafraid, and so she just gets better and better – and she was brilliant to begin with. And Palin is onto Obama, and has consistently taken him on, again unafraid. It is no wonder that the post-American president and his left-wing thugs are scared to death of her.

This is what the leader of the free world should sound like. The woman is singular. She takes on all comers in defense of liberty and America's founding principles. She has more testicular fortitude than all of the GOP. The Left quakes at the mere mention of her name. No matter how the destroyers come at her, she never backs down, never gives up, never gives in. Is it any wonder that the New York Times ran a front-page story on Palin's emergence as the most influential figure in Republican politics? If the Times is admitting it, pigs are flying.

Obama's hatred of the good for being the good manifests itself in his contempt for Sarah Palin. His contempt is a badge of honor.

Palin is everything Obama isn't: quintessentially American, proud, patriotic, decent and good. Sarah has something Obama can only dream of – heart and soul. Her courageous opposition to this mega-mosque, while the politically correct flock to endorse it, shows that once again.

My organization, Stop Islamization Of America, is holding another peaceful protest against the Ground Zero mega mosque on Sept. 11. Be there.

It's now or never. This is a game-changer.

Pamela has more about this at her website here.

In case you are wondering, 52 percent of New Yorkers agree with Pamela and Sarah on this deal.

Pamela Geller is a true Patriot, and a defender of Liberty and Freedom. A real inspiration to the rest of us. Pamela’s lead in this fight is exemplary.We must all stand with her, just as Sarah is.

Pamela mentions the Cordoba Initiative in her writings. People need to understand the significance, to radical Islam, of placing a mosque on the site where so many people were slaughtered by their Muslim brothers on 911.

The Cordoba Initiative is named for the city of Cordoba in Spain. In 711 Cordoba was captured by Muslims armies. It became the capitol of the Caliphate of Córdoba. The Muslims ruled until 1031, when infighting caused the whole thing to collapse. To Muslims, the conquest of Cordoba was a great victory over the infidels. You can read more here and here.

Symbols are very important in the Muslim world, and to radical Islam, the Cordoba House, which is the official name for this Ground Zero Mosque and Islamic Center, will stand as a symbol of victory over the Great Satan, the United States. To radical Muslims world wide, having this mosque, built on the site of the worst attack on American soil, is the ultimate symbol of conquest.

It’s been nine years since those brutal attacks on our nation. It’s a real disgrace that we don’t already have a new World Trade Center: bigger, shinier, and defiant, constructed and filled with busy workers at Ground Zero. The fact that there isn’t, speaks volumes about the poor leadership in New York, but the fact that this same "leadership" is willing to allow this insult to all Americans to move forward is simply appalling and unacceptable.

God Bless Pamela Geller for what she is doing, and God Bless Sarah Palin for stepping up as well. There are some things that are so outrageous one simply must stand up and be counted.

One another note, Pamela has a great new book out, The Post American Presidency, a must read which is available from Amazon.com. Pick up your copy today!

Exposed Emails: The Media's Plot to Destroy Palin to Elect Obama

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

The Daily Caller has been shaking things up all week. Jonathan Strong's articles exposing the evil acts of mainstream media members, who went by the name of Journolist, have been both eye-opening and a confirmation of what many people already knew. This week has shed light on their commitment to playing the race card, their desire to oppose free speech and silence Fox News, and the latest, their coordinated effort to destroy John McCain's 2008 VP pick.

If anyone has seen John Ziegler's Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted, he has already seen evidence of the media's plot to affect the election. If anyone has heard this audio (via C4P), she's already heard of said plot. And if anyone has a heart and an ounce of decency, he has already felt the disgust that comes when witnessing the media's obvious disdain for Governor Palin.

2008 has been coined "the year journalism died." The exposed emails do nothing to belie that fact, and apparently the coffin was picked out the very day Senator McCain announced Governor Palin as his runningmate. Jonathan Strong writes:

But in many other exchanges, the Journolisters clearly had another, more partisan goal in mind: to formulate the most effective talking points in order to defeat Palin and McCain and help elect Barack Obama president. The tone was more campaign headquarters than newsroom.

The conversation began with a debate over how best to attack Sarah Palin.

[...]

Daniel Levy of the Century Foundation noted that Obama’s “non-official campaign” would need to work hard to discredit Palin. “This seems to me like an occasion when the non-official campaign has a big role to play in defining Palin, shaping the terms of the conversation and saying things that the official [Obama] campaign shouldn’t say – very hard-hitting stuff...

The media, therefore, so important in our free society to report the news, took it upon themselves to figure out how to shape the news so as to shape the outcome of an election. Yet they whine about being called lamestream.

Despite their relentless insistence to this day that Governor Palin poses no threat to their left-wing agenda, these emails tell the truth. Clearly, she was a problem who had to be done away with. This called for a plan:

As the morning wore on into the afternoon, some on Journolist came to believe the Palin pick had been shrewd. Palin was coming off as appealing and a maverick, they worried.

“Okay, let’s get deadly serious, folks. Grating voice or not, ‘inexperienced’ or not, Sarah Palin’s just been introduced to the country as a brave, above-party, oil-company-bashing, pork-hating maverick ‘outsider’,” Kilgore said, “What we can do is to expose her ideology.”

So we've established Governor Palin was deemed a threat. And in their campaign to destroy the threat that she was to the real inexperienced candidate--the community organizer--nothing was off-limits, not even dragging her youngest child into the picture:

“Her decision to keep the Down’s baby is going to be a hugely emotional story that appeals to a vast swath of America, I think,” Donmoyer wrote.

Politico reporter Ben Adler, now an editor at Newsweek, replied, “but doesn’t leaving sad baby without its mother while she campaigns weaken that family values argument? Or will everyone be too afraid to make that point?”

Of course, this was followed by Trig Trutherism, which exists to this day--yahoos contacting the Governor's doctor to demand proof that she actually gave birth to Trig, blogs that run several stories a day with before and after pictures of her belly, and gullible sheeple nodding, salivating, and saying, "Yeah...yeah..."

The Daily Caller is calling attention to the behind-the-scenes workings of Obama's "non-official campaign." I can't say for sure, but I believe that the President, as smart as he is, had to be aware of what was going on. My goodness, anybody with one eye could see it, one ear could hear it, and one nostril could smell it. But now that it's out there via these personal emails, I'd love to hear our Commander-in-Chief speak on it.

The actions of those who are supposed to represent our 1st Amendment rights are not to be obsessively partisan, not prejudiced, and certainly not election-deciders. They are to be honorable. Our society depends on it. What they did/do is inexcusable. If you're thinking, "Well, this doesn't seem so bad," first, you're a yahoo, and second, let me point you to the last sentence of Mr. Strong's article:

That was all on the day of the announcement.

In other words, that was just the beginning. Day 1. A portion of Governor Palin's Facebook note when the first email story emerged is ringing prophetic:

It really says it all – though more will no doubt be revealed in the future, no doubt covering the lamestream media’s coverage of other issues and people. May the light keep shining!

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, read the full Strong article here.

So what has Governor Palin said about all this? The Daily Caller reports on her exclusive remarks:

From a remote location on an island off Alaska’s coast, former Governor Sarah Palin is blasting what she describes as the “sick puppies” in the media who immediately and ruthlessly attacked her when Sen. John McCain picked her as his running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign.

In exclusive remarks to The Daily Caller, Palin described “hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’” descending upon Alaska in the days after she was picked by McCain.

She said the media became a key reason she decided not to finish out her term as governor and faults, in part, the McCain campaign for failing to vigorously defend her.

Palin chose to be a public figure at the highest level, as a candidate in a presidential campaign, arguably inviting the most intense scrutiny imaginable.

Yet TheDC revealed posts from Jounolist that show liberal journalists coordinating attack lines against Palin from the moment McCain picked her, suggesting she may have had the deck stacked against her.

Palin said she sensed the vitriol coming from campaign reporters at the time.

“It was too obvious to me, my family, my administration and anyone else who knew me (and my record) that we were in a defenseless position the minute I gave my acceptance speech and the hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’ had descended upon Alaska,” Palin told The DC.

Palin, whose conflicts with key McCain campaign staffers are infamous, said the campaign could have stood by her more firmly.

“To not have had the McCain campaign staff defend my record was an insurmountable challenge, because once a bell is rung, it’s impossible to un-ring,” Palin said.

Regarding a television interview with Katie Couric widely seen at the time as a turning point in the public’s perception of Palin, which critics argued illustrated Palin’s inexperience, Palin said the interview was selectively edited.

“It didn’t help, either, that the hours and hours of interviews with the likes of Katie Couric resulted in a few minutes here and there of selected snippets of my annoyed answers. (I naively had not believed at the time of some of the badgering questions [for example, questioning my pro-life position] that the editing process would fulfill their biased purpose),” Palin said.

Palin says the feeding frenzy culture of the media galvanized her political opponents in Alaska. “The media incentivized political opponents to file false ethics charges and expensive, wasteful, frivolous lawsuits against me, my family and my staff, in an obvious attempt to destroy us,” Palin said.

When those lawsuits — which Palin said she won, but the media didn’t cover — caused legal costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Palin had finally had it, she said.

“I said, ‘Enough. Political adversaries and their political friends in the media will not destroy my State, my administration, nor my family. Enough.’ I knew if I didn’t play their game any longer, they could not win. I would not retreat, I would instead reload, and I would fight for what is right from a different plane.”

[...]

“The lamestream media is no longer a cornerstone of democracy in America. They need help. They need to regain their credibility and some respect. There are some pretty sick puppies in the industry today. They really need help,” Palin said.

[...]

“I have lost all respect for the ‘mainstream’ media because they lied; and still lie. And they abuse America’s freedom of the press — because with freedom comes responsibility. My son chose to put his life on the line to defend that freedom, and I feel like his, and every good soldier’s, efforts are thrown in their faces when the press takes advantage of their sacrifices instead of respecting the freedoms they’re willing to die for,” Palin said.

Read the full article, "Sarah Palin strikes back at Journolist’s ’sick puppies,’" here.

Below is the video of Jonathan Strong talking about this on Fox and Friends this morning.


(h/t C4P)

Let the Light Shine!

-from Liberty's Lamp

Yesterday Sarah Palin tweeted Mark Levin and the Daily to thank them for doing what we in the Palinosphere have been working tirelessly to do for over a year and a half.

Thanks Levin, & thanks Daily Caller; let the light shine! RT http://fb.me/FczQhlKr

And so the light shines. Tucker Carlson is a hero to Sarah Palin fans everywhere after blowing the lid wide open on the media bias that slanted the information the public was getting during the 2008 campaign toward Obama and away from Palin.

There was, as we have all been saying here amongst ourselves, a concerted effort on the part of the mainstream media to destroy Sarah Palin. The facts are on the table. The argument is over. We are right.

God bless Tucker Carlson and Jonathan Strong for bringing liberty loving Americans the day we have so long yearned for since the trashing of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election.

Sarah Palin takes everything I have been saying, everything I have been feeling and everything that I have been fighting for and gives it a voice that shouts from the rooftops through the loudest of megaphones. "“I have lost all respect for the ‘mainstream’ media because they lied; and still lie. And they abuse America’s freedom of the press — because with freedom comes responsibility.

THE MEDIA LIED; AND STILL LIE

God bless you, Sarah Palin. God bless America.

Sarah Palin has been vindicated today. While it will still take time to undo some of the damage the media has done to her, today has undone a lot.

The American people get a new Sarah now, a new Sarah who will have the opportunity to re-introduce herself to a country that knows nothing about her except for the lies. Now that they know they are lies, they will have no choice but to step back and give her a second look.

God bless America. God bless those who took on the challenge to fight for what's right. God bless those who have pulled the string on a quickly unravelling media sweater that once covered their vicious agenda and their destructive intentions for America.

I could go running in the streets fist pumping, yelling "yeahhhhhhhhhhh!" at the top of my lungs.

Tucker did it! Tucker did it! Tucker did it!

This is a monumental day in our journey home.


Read more here.

Exclusive interview with AK’s Lt. Gov GOP candidate Eddie Burke

Manhattan-based conservative columnist and commentator Jedediah Bilah conducted an exclusive interview with Eddie Burke, she reported today. Bilah admires Burke's down-to-earth nature, a quality not often seen in politicians from the Northeast. Eddie Burke is a Reagan Conservative running for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and major Sarah Palin supporter. He is pro individual freedom and liberty, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, has a keen understanding of "peace through strength," the Tenth Amendment, and state sovereignty.

Retrieved from: An exclusive interview with Alaska’s Lt. Gov GOP candidate Eddie Burke | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment.

Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund "Flight" in Winnipeg, CA

US 4 Palin "Fly Sarah from Wasilla to Washington" Campaign
"Sarah" is now in Winnipeg, Canada

How to "Fly 'Sarah' from Wasilla to Washington"

• Select an amount you would like to donate to the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund to sponsor this "flight".
• Come to US for Palin, click any of the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund Images which appear on the site and make your donation.
• Follow the "flight" along as each segment of the journey is posted and enjoy.

There is no need to email us donation amounts or post them on comments. As long as you donate through an US for Palin graphic or hyperlink to the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund, we'll know about it, whether it's on the US for Palin site or a venue where its content is syndicated.

Let's help the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund reach new heights and get Gov. Palin to Washington!

The Long Night Ahead

While Laura was on one computer getting the weather, and filing her flight plan, "Sarah" was on her laptop feverishly typing out a Facebook Note, then picked up her Blackberry to Tweet the Note. Laura went out to do the pre-flight and get the plane ready. She placed a big Thermos full of "Sarah's" favorite caffeinated beverage iced diagonally behind her own seat and secured it. "Sarah" emerged. The one bad thing about these flights: no Facebook, no Tweeting, no calls enroute - against FAA regs because it plays havoc with the instruments. Laura did her usual safety briefing, did the run-up and got her clearance for the long night ahead. It was around 12:40 AM, when they hit the runway.



One Step Forward, One Back, One Forward....

The clearance took the flight to a navaid just west of the airport, but the flight departed to the east. So, Laura had to fly east, do a 180, reach the navaid and do another 180 to put the flight on its ultimate course. This time it was only a few miles, not 80 miles like at Beaver Creek. In the climb to 9,000 - which Laura filed for to get a little more oomph out of the non-turbocharged engine - the pair could not help but once again notice how this mirrored the requirement to form a certain Legal Defense Fund.

Just a year ago, "Sarah" had to make a leap of faith, to leave the darkness of having her job hamstrung by frivolous ethics complaints and suits. But her leap heralded a new era of accomplishment. In essence, her enemies had done her a favor, allowing her to unlock her highest potential.

They reached altitude and clear skies ahead, but Laura and "Sarah" were not fooled. The temperature and dew point spread were only two degrees apart, meaning conditions were ripe for clouds. Laura zoomed the GPS out. The Lower 48 appeared. The flight would be passing north of Montana and North Dakota.



Earning Trust

Not long after reaching 9,000 feet, the clouds indeed started forming, and the plane received three large jolts of turbulence. Laura requested clearance to climb to 11,000 away from the turbulent air beneath the forming clouds. Laura was not going to give her passenger a rough ride. At 11,000 the ride was smooth. "Laura, I'm going to catch 40 winks," "Sarah" said. Laura was flattered. It meant that "Sarah" really trusted her and her judgment. Laura paused then said, "yes, you have that meeting later this morning. You need to be fresh and ready."



A New Day...

But, "Sarah" did not sleep too long. She is extremely attuned to her natural surroundings and well aware that a new day was dawning. She could not resist the beauty that was about to unfold before her. The faint light ahead gave way to a pinkish, purplish hint to the north and east.



At least half the flight would require reference to instruments, as it traveled in and between cloud layers.



Winnipeg drew closer, and the clouds thickened.



From the Darkness, a New Beginning

Laura was given an instrument approach to the northwest facing runway and instructed to descend to 2700 and turn to a heading that paralleled the approach. A jet was sequenced ahead. The sun started to rise, and the controller turned the flight east, affording "Sarah" and Laura a brief command view.



Shortly after, Laura had to turn to the airport.



The time had come to begin the approach and land.



The sun was now almost completely over the horizon as Laura smoothly landed.



During the long taxi to parking, "Sarah" drank her iced coffee, fuel that would carry her through the trade conference where she was to speak. Winnipeg would be the last stop in Canada. The next leg would take them to Duluth, Minnesota, about 275 miles away. "Sarah" is now 2,055 miles from Wasilla and nearly two thirds of the way to Reagan National.

If you enjoyed this journey, please sponsor it by

donating to the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund

Last year, the Alaska Fund Trust was established to raise money to defend Gov. Palin against frivolous ethics complaints and lawsuits that were filed against her in a coordinated effort to drive her out of office. On June 24, 2010, the Alaska Fund Trust was replaced by Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund. Those of you who donated to the Alaska Fund Trust will be receiving refunds within 90 days from June 24. You will have the option to re-donate these funds to the new Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund, which is the official, and legitimate fund now in existence. Please re-donate those funds to the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund.

Sarah Palin: An Intolerable Mistake on Hallowed Ground

Ed. Note: Governor Palin's Facebook Note: An Intolerable Mistake on Hallowed Ground was originally posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 2359 EDT. Daily Beast author Brian Ries launched a campaign to have the Note removed as "hate speech." The Note was removed. Reis said he undertook the campaign as an experiment "to see where the lines are drawn."

Governor Palin re-posted the original Note on July 22, 2010 at 1147 EDT, erasing Reis' short-lived "victory."

The Ed. Note was written July 22, 2010 at 1651 EDT.

---

Ovenight, Governor Palin posted via Facebook Note why the proposed mosque near the WTC site is wrong, and why religious tolerance is not an operative factor in the debate.

Earlier today, Mayor Bloomberg responded to my comments about the planned mosque at Ground Zero by suggesting that a decision not to allow the building of a mosque at that sacred place would somehow violate American principles of tolerance and openness.

No one is disputing that America stands for – and should stand for – religious tolerance. It is a foundation of our republic. This is not an issue of religious tolerance but of common moral sense. To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks. Just days after 9/11, the spiritual leader of the organization that wants to build the mosque, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, suggested that blame be placed on the innocents when he stated that the “United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened” and that “in the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.” Rauf refuses to recognize that Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of our ally, Israel, and refuses to provide information about the sources of funding for the $100 million mosque. Rauf also plays a key role in a group behind the flotilla designed to provoke Israel in its justifiable blockade of Gaza. These are just a few of the points Americans are realizing as New York considers the proposed mosque just a stone’s throw away from 9/11’s sacred ground.

I agree with the sister of one of the 9/11 victims (and a New York resident) who said: “This is a place which is 600 feet from where almost 3,000 people were torn to pieces by Islamic extremists. I think that it is incredibly insensitive and audacious really for them to build a mosque, not only on that site, but to do it specifically so that they could be in proximity to where that atrocity happened.”

Many Americans, myself included, feel it would be an intolerable and tragic mistake to allow such a project sponsored by such an individual to go forward on such hallowed ground. This is nothing close to “religious intolerance,” it’s just common decency.

- Sarah Palin

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin?v=app_2347471856#!/note.php?note_id=411073718434