On the topic of building a mosque at Ground Zero, Michael Bloomberg had this to say:
“THE SIMPLE fact is, this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship, and the government has no right whatsoever to deny that right. And if it were tried, the courts would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here.”
Naturally liberals and libertarians love him for this.
This is the same Bloomberg who has banned smoking in all workplaces, who has banned trans-fat from NYC eateries, and who is now leading the charge against… salt.
Apparently, the order of priorities is to insert the government into every tiny arena of people’s private lives and tell them what’s good for them. But on something truly important, like protecting us from a wave of jihadists? No, government could never do that; besides, it’s a private building those nice people have got. Telling them what they can do would be unconstitutional.