COLIN POWELL (VIDEO) & MAYOR BLOOMBERG ENDORSE PRES OBAMA 2012

COLIN POWELL AND MICHAEL BLOOMBERG ENDORSEMENTS OF PRES OBAMA IN THE 2012 ELECTION...

A Vote for a President to Lead on Climate Change

By Michael R. Bloomberg - Nov 1, 2012

The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast -- in lost lives, lost homes and lost business -- brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief.
The floods and fires that swept through our city left a path of destruction that will require years of recovery and rebuilding work. And in the short term, our subway system remains partially shut down, and many city residents and businesses still have no power. In just 14 months, two hurricanes have forced us to evacuate neighborhoods -- something our city government had never done before. If this is a trend, it is simply not sustainable.
Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be -- given this week’s devastation -- should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.
Here in New York, our comprehensive sustainability plan -- PlaNYC -- has helped allow us to cut our carbon footprint by 16 percent in just five years, which is the equivalent of eliminating the carbon footprint of a city twice the size of Seattle. Through the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group -- a partnership among many of the world’s largest cities -- local governments are taking action where national governments are not.

Leadership Needed

But we can’t do it alone. We need leadership from the White House -- and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.
Mitt Romney, too, has a history of tackling climate change. As governor of Massachusetts, he signed on to a regional cap- and-trade plan designed to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels. “The benefits (of that plan) will be long- lasting and enormous -- benefits to our health, our economy, our quality of life, our very landscape. These are actions we can and must take now, if we are to have ‘no regrets’ when we transfer our temporary stewardship of this Earth to the next generation,” he wrote at the time.
He couldn’t have been more right. But since then, he has reversed course, abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported. This issue is too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward.
I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man, and he would bring valuable business experience to the Oval Office. He understands that America was built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even running against the health-care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.
If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing.
In 2008, Obama ran as a pragmatic problem-solver and consensus-builder. But as president, he devoted little time and effort to developing and sustaining a coalition of centrists, which doomed hope for any real progress on illegal guns, immigration, tax reform, job creation and deficit reduction. And rather than uniting the country around a message of shared sacrifice, he engaged in partisan attacks and has embraced a divisive populist agenda focused more on redistributing income than creating it.

Important Victories

Nevertheless, the president has achieved some important victories on issues that will help define our future. His Race to the Top education program -- much of which was opposed by the teachers’ unions, a traditional Democratic Party constituency -- has helped drive badly needed reform across the country, giving local districts leverage to strengthen accountability in the classroom and expand charter schools. His health-care law -- for all its flaws -- will provide insurance coverage to people who need it most and save lives.
When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there. The two parties’ nominees for president offer different visions of where they want to lead America.
One believes a woman’s right to choose should be protected for future generations; one does not. That difference, given the likelihood of Supreme Court vacancies, weighs heavily on my decision.
One recognizes marriage equality as consistent with America’s march of freedom; one does not. I want our president to be on the right side of history.
One sees climate change as an urgent problem that threatens our planet; one does not. I want our president to place scientific evidence and risk management above electoral politics.
Of course, neither candidate has specified what hard decisions he will make to get our economy back on track while also balancing the budget. But in the end, what matters most isn’t the shape of any particular proposal; it’s the work that must be done to bring members of Congress together to achieve bipartisan solutions.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both found success while their parties were out of power in Congress -- and President Obama can, too. If he listens to people on both sides of the aisle, and builds the trust of moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our country toward a better future for my children and yours. And that’s why I will be voting for him.
(Michael R. Bloomberg is mayor of New York and founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.)
To contact the Bloomberg View editorial board: view@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-11-01/a-vote-for-a-president-to-lead-on-climate-change.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_content=Michael+Bloomberg+mayor+of+New+York+City&utm_campaign=em12_20121102_ft_act&source=em12_20121102_ft_act

Michael Bloomberg endorses Obama 1NOV12

MAYOR Michael Bloomberg I NYC endorses Pres Obama for reelection, mostly because of the leadership he showed in planning for and responding to Hurricane Sandy as well as fundamental social, environmental and gun control conflicts with mitt romney. From the Washington Post....

Posted by Rachel Weiner 

@MikeBloomberg

This November, vote for a president who will lead on climate change: bit.ly/U1nzb8

1 Nov 12

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama on Thursday, citing climate change as the primary factor and Hurricane Sandy as the event that impelled him to make a choice. 
“The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast — in lost lives, lost homes and lost business — brought the stakes of next Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief,” the political independent wrote in an op-ed on Bloomberg View, part of his media empire. “Our climate is changing. … We need leadership from the White House.” Obama, he said, “has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption.”
Many experts say that the increasing likelihood of extreme weather due to climate change and the prospect of future sea level rise means a rising risk of floods for much of the country.
Bloomberg turned down an offer from Obama to visit New York City this week, saying he didn’t mean to “diss” the president but was simply too busy dealing with storm fallout.
The billionaire mayor, who is serving his third term, praised Romney for his business acumen and past moderation.
“If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing,” he wrote. And he accused Obama of embracing “a divisive populist agenda focused more on redistributing income than creating it.” But, he said, Romney has “reversed course” on all of his “sensible positions.”
In 2004, when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, his administration came out with a detailed plan to combat carbon pollution. As recently as mid-2011, he spoke of the importance of reducing emissions. But since then he’s suggested that combating rising temperatures would hurt the economy. He’s attacked Environmental Protection Agency regulations as harmful to the coal industry. At the Republican National Convention, he mocked Obama’s attempts to tackle global warming as grandiose, saying, “President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet.”
Obama hasn’t made global warming a priority, though he has taken smaller steps to combat carbon pollution. His advisers have frequently said that they would like to do more on climate change but think the politics are impossible.
The mayor also cited the education competition Race to the Top, health-care reform, gay marriage and abortion rights as reasons to vote for Obama.
Bloomberg was overheard this year saying he would stay neutral in the presidential race. In a private conversation at a charity event in June, he said he thought Romney would be a better manager but that he couldn’t endorse the Republican’s positions on gun control and abortion. He has criticized both candidates for not tackling gun control legislation.
Bloomberg, a rare independent who champions his own set of issues, attracts a lot of media attention. (He’s also started throwing money around in downballot races.) It’s doubtful that the endorsement of the wealthy mayor of a liberal big city will sway voters in swing states. But the endorsement does bring climate change, an issue almost completely ignored in this election, back into the debate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/11/01/michael-bloomberg-endorses-obama/?tid=pm_pop

 

VICTORY!!!!! BREAKING: Bloomberg Backs Down! 13OKT11

HERE'S the update from MoveOn.org on the decision by Mayor Bloomberg not to evict the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park. (When you watch the video you will notice the old Shaker method of singing, call and response, being used. This is because the NYPD will not allow the protesters to use bullhorns.)

Huge news! This morning at 6 o'clock, MoveOn members, union members, community organizers and thousands of others gathered in Zuccotti Park to stand in solidarity with the people who are occupying Wall Street and to defend them from eviction by Mayor Bloomberg.

They were supported by hundreds of thousands of people from around the country like you who signed petitions and flooded the city with calls.

And they won!

We've got video of the scene as the announcement was read and, well, you've got to watch it.

Watch the Video

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Lenore, Marika, Daniel, and the rest of the team

VICTORY!!! NYC official says cleanup of protest site has been postponed; demonstrators consider new march 14OKT11

VICTORY for First Amendment rights and the Occupy Wall Street protesters! 

By Associated Press

NEW YORK — The cleanup of a plaza in lower Manhattan where protesters have been camped out for a month was postponed early Friday, sending cheers up from a crowd that had feared the effort was merely a pretext to evict them.
Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said the owners of the private park, Brookfield Office Properties, had put off the cleaning. Supporters of the protesters had started streaming into the park in the morning darkness before the planned cleaning, forming a crowd of several hundred chanting people.
“I’ll believe it when we’re able to stay here,” said protester Peter Hogness, 56, a union employee from Brooklyn. “One thing we have learned from this is that we need to rely on ourselves and not on promises from elected officials.”
But protester Nick Gulotta, 23, was jubilant.
He originally held up a sign referring to Mayor Michael Bloomberg that said: “Bloomberg Don’t Evict Occupy Wall Street.” People cheered and clapped him on the back when he scratched out the “don’t” and replaced it with “didn’t.”
“It shows when people work together, you really can make a difference and make justice happen,” Gulotta said.
A confrontation between police and protesters, who had vowed to stay put through civil disobedience, had been feared. Boisterous cheers floated up from the crowds as the announcement of the postponement circulated, and protesters began polling each other on whether to make an immediate march to Wall Street, a few blocks away.
“Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park — Brookfield Properties — that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation,” the deputy mayor’s statement said.
The New York Police Department had said it would make arrests if Brookfield requested it and laws were broken. The deputy mayor’s statement Friday said Brookfield believes it can work out an arrangement with the protesters that “will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use,” it said.
Brookfield, a publicly traded real estate firm, had planned to power-wash the plaza section by section over 12 hours and allow the protesters back — but without much of the equipment they needed to sleep and camp there. The company called the conditions at the park unsanitary and unsafe.
The company’s rules, which haven’t been enforced, have been this all along: No tarps, no sleeping bags, no storing personal property on the ground. The park is privately owned but is required to be open to the public 24 hours per day.
In a last-ditch bid to stay, protesters had mopped and picked up garbage. While moving out mattresses and camping supplies, organizers were mixed on how they would respond when police arrived.
Many protesters said the only way they would leave is by force. Organizers sent out a mass email Thursday asking supporters to “defend the occupation from eviction.”
Nicole Carty, a 23-year-old from Atlanta, had hoped the group’s cleaning effort would stave off any confrontation. It wasn’t clear early Friday whether that had anything to do with the company’s decision to postpone the cleanup.
“We tell them, ‘Hey the park is clean, there’s no need for you to be here,’” she said. “If they insist on coming in, we will continue to occupy the space.”
The demand that protesters clear out had set up a potential turning point in a movement that began Sept. 17 with a small group of activists and has swelled to include several thousand people at times, from many walks of life. Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar demonstrations across the country and become an issue in the Republican presidential primary race.
The protesters’ demands are wide-ranging, but they are united in blaming Wall Street and corporate interests for the economic pain they say all but the wealthiest Americans have endured since the financial meltdown.
A spokesman for Bloomberg, whose girlfriend is a member of Brookfield’s board of directors, had said Thursday that Brookfield had requested the city’s assistance in maintaining the park.
“We will continue to defend and guarantee their free speech rights, but those rights do not include the ability to infringe on the rights of others,” Bloomberg spokesman Marc La Vorgna said, “which is why the rules governing the park will be enforced.”
Protesters have had some run-ins with police, but mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge and an incident in which some protesters were pepper-sprayed seemed to energize their movement.
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, had expressed concern over the city’s actions as he inspected the park Thursday afternoon and listened to protesters’ complaints.
“This has been a very peaceful movement by the people,” he said. “I’m concerned about this new set of policies. At the very least, the city should slow down.”
And attorneys from the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild — who are representing an Occupy Wall Street sanitation working group — wrote a letter to Brookfield saying the company’s request to get police to help implement its cleanup plan threatened “fundamental constitutional rights.”
The protest has led sympathetic groups in other cities to stage their own local rallies and demonstrations: Occupy Boston, Occupy Cincinnati, Occupy Houston, Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Philadelphia, Occupy Providence, Occupy Salt Lake and Occupy Seattle, among them.
The situation was tense near Colorado’s state Capitol, where hundreds of Occupy Denver protesters were told to clear out or risk arrest. Dozens of police in riot gear moved into the park, declaring it closed and removing dozens of tents, but no clashes were reported early Friday.
Occupy Seattle protesters running a live video feed from their corporate power protest at Seattle’s Westlake Park said police started making arrests Thursday. Police confirmed that 10 people were arrested. City law bans camping in parks.
Several protests are planned this weekend across the U.S. and Canada, and European activists are also organizing.
___
Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Tom McElroy, Cara Anna, Deepti Hajela, Colleen Long, Cristian Salazar, Verena Dobnik, and Meghan Barr contributed to this report.

Occupy Wall Street petition update 13OKT11

UPDATE on the eviction of Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park and the petition delivery to Mayor Bloomberg from MoveOn.org

Photo from tonight's petition delivery press conference at Occupy Wall Street. Find local Occupy events

Tonight I went to Occupy Wall Street to deliver the signatures of more than 240,000 people—including you—who signed our emergency petition asking Mayor Bloomberg not to evict the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park tomorrow.

We held a huge press conference at the park with dozens of news outlets, and then hundreds people marched up Broadway to City Hall to deliver the petition.

When they found out Mayor Bloomberg was busy dining with the 1% a few blocks away at the ultra-luxurious Cipriani, the march continued to the doors of the restaurant.

It was a strong show of nationwide solidarity, numerous local elected officials joined our march to oppose Bloomberg's decision, and MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell even featured the petition tonight. As of right now, however, Bloomberg's order to clear Zuccotti Park still stands and we won't know until tomorrow morning what he's going to do.

But regardless of Mayor Bloomberg's actions, the most important thing any of us can do is to make sure this movement keeps growing by supporting a local Occupy event in our town.

Here's a great map listing of tons of Occupy events all over the country that our friends at DailyKos put together:  

www.occupywallstreetevents.com

As we wait to see what happens in New York tomorrow, I hope you'll find the event closest to you and go there to show your solidarity.

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Tate, Peter, Elena, and the rest of the team

EVICTING OCCUPY WALL STREET 13OKT11

URGENT CALL TO ACTION FROM MOVEON.ORG.....I signed the petition and called and hope you will too!!!!!

Click here to sign your name: "Mayor Bloomberg: Respect the protesters' First Amendment rights. Don't try to evict Occupy WallStreet." Sign the Petition!

At 7 a.m. tomorrow, Mayor Bloomberg is evicting the Occupy Wall Street protesters from their occupation of Zuccotti Park, unless you can help.¹


Another important way to make sure that Mayor Bloomberg hears from all of us is to call New York City's complaint line at (212) NEW-YORK--that's (212) 639-9675.

When you're asked to, Press 1 for English, hit 0, and then wait through the message and hold music until you get an operator. Then tell the operator you're calling in protest against the eviction of the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park.

This New York call line has great systems for gathering, counting, and reporting calls, so our collective call will be heard.  

Zuccotti Park is the birthplace of the Occupy protests sweeping the nation and capturing the public's attention. It's where a community of committed Americans are standing up against Wall Street and the corporate capture of our democracy for the 99% of us trying to take back the American Dream.

But tomorrow at 7 a.m., under Mayor Bloomberg's orders, the NYPD is coming to Zuccotti Park to kick the 99% protesters out. It's being done under the guise of "cleaning" the park, but new rules will mean the end of the occupation.²

We have very little time to act. We need to gather a huge national petition as soon as possible, so we can deliver it to City Hall tonight and have it for the protesters in Zuccotti Park.

So act now. Sign the petition and tell Mayor Bloomberg: "Respect the protesters' First Amendment rights. Don't try to evict Occupy Wall Street."

Sign the petition.

Zuccotti Park may be in New York, but the protesters are standing up against Wall Street and the damage they've done to millions of Americans everywhere. That's why it's an inspiration and nerve center for a growing occupation movement that's spreading to every corner of the country.

So it's not just this one protest that's at stake tomorrow morning, because if we allow the eviction to happen, other mayors across the country are sure to follow Bloomberg's lead.

What's at stake today is the very right we have as Americans to speak out when we've been wronged and peaceably assemble as a community to seek redress from the government.

Sign the petition, so that Mayor Bloomberg can hearfrom all of us across the country right away.

Employing a tactic that's been used to break up similar protest actions, Mayor Bloomberg is sending in the police under the guise of a "cleaning operation." But that's a PR farce, because protesters will only be allowed back in if they obey rules that include: no "lying down" and no use of "tarps or sleeping bags or other covering."³

Obviously, the 99% protesters can't continue to occupy Zuccotti Park if they have to stand for 24 hours a day, and as the nights grow colder and the rain pours down, they can't endure without sleeping bags, tarps, and the like. Make no mistake—this is an eviction, and we have less than 24 hours to stop it.

So sign the petition and tell Mayor Bloomberg: "Respect the protesters' First Amendment rights. Don't try to evict Occupy Wall Street." Then get the word out to everyone you know on your social networks.

Sign the petition.

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Eli, Elena, Adam Q., and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Occupy Wall Street Responds to Bloomberg's Cleaning 'Eviction Notice,'" The New York Observer, October 13, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=265305&id=31974-17549061-uRhjGnx&t=6

2. Notice from Brookfield Real Estate distributed by NYPD, October 13, 2011
http://s3.moveon.org/pdfs/doc-10_13_11%209_39%20am.pdf?id=31974-17549061-uRhjGnx&t=7

3. Ibid.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Brooklyn Bridge Mass Arrest 5OKT11

SHARE with anyone who may have been arrested during this protest on the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, 1OKT11.

		JusticeOnline.org Subscribe Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Brooklyn Bridge Mass Arrest Partnership for Civil Justice Fund Files Federal Constitutional Rights Class Action Dear Craig, Photo: Sophia Marsh Attorneys from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) on Oct. 4 filed a class action lawsuit against Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Kelly and the City of New York, charging mass violations of constitutional rights in the trap and detain mass arrest of 700 demonstrators on the Brooklyn Bridge this past Saturday, October 1, 2011. The lawsuit charges that "the NYPD engaged in a premeditated, planned, scripted, and calculated effort to sweep the streets of protestors and disrupt a growing protest movement in New York." The class action lawsuit, Garcia v. Bloomberg, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No: 11 CIV 6957. For more information on the lawsuit and the PCJF's work in defense of free speech rights, go to www.JusticeOnline.org. "Police commanders led and escorted demonstrators onto the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge in an intentional entrapment," stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the PCJF and counsel on the litigation. "The police conducted a charade - and duly videotaped it - of speaking inaudibly into a bullhorn that could not be heard mere feet away from the officer. The NYPD knew no audible communication was given. The NYPD also knew that the Constitution requires that any ostensible command must be heard by those who are expected to be bound by it. Instead, the NYPD engaged in a performance, videotaped it, and sprang their trap. They then set their PR machine into motion, widely distributing their edited videos of events to spin a false narrative to the public and the media," she continued. "This lawsuit is brought on behalf of all New Yorkers," stated Carl Messineo, Legal Director of the PCJF and counsel on the suit. "People from all walks of life came down to the Wall Street area on Saturday to participate in a peaceful demonstration and many others joined the spirited march along the way. They had no intention of being arrested nor could they have had knowledge that the NYPD was preparing to entrap hundreds of them on the Brooklyn Bridge in an effort to stifle dissent." "This lawsuit is being filed now to send a clear message to the NYPD that this movement had the right to march on October 1 and has the right to march on any day without fear," continued Carl Messineo. "People have the right to speak out against Wall Street greed and growing poverty without fear that the NYPD would seek to illegally arrest them and suppress their mass assembly protest." To read the complaint, click here. Read the media coverage of the Brooklyn Bridge mass arrest class action lawsuit: Huffington Post: Occupy Wall Street Mass Arrest Resembles Infamous, Costly Police Tactic, Critics Say New York Times: Citing Police Trap, Protesters File Suit Gawker: Lawsuit Filed Over Brooklyn Bridge Mass Arrest We can't do this work without your help. The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) is a not-for-profit legal and educational organization that defends the civil rights and civil liberties of grassroots movements seeking social and economic justice. The PCJF represents the 99 percent who need justice. Please make a generous donation. Spread the word
		If you were forwarded this email, click here to receive important Action Alerts from the PCJF. Click to view this message as HTML in your browser. Click to forward this message.

SIGN ON FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN'T PROTECT ITSELF from ACLU 25AUG10

GEORGE Washington said religious freedom isn't granted "by the indulgence of one class of people" it is a fundamental American right. Right now this right, guaranteed in the First Amendment of our Constitution, is under attack by people who believe the civil rights and liberties we enjoy in our Republic belong only to the majority public opinion, the loudest, the strongest. Please sign this petition thanking New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his strong stand defending religious freedom and state your support for the First Amendment.

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Sign the ACLU's "I Stand for Religious Freedom" petition and thank Mayor Bloomberg for his strong stand in defense of religious liberty.

As the debate over a proposed Islamic center in downtown New York City rages on, critics like Sarah Palin have settled on a new argument. Palin says she's "all about religious freedom," but those planning to build the center should just take their plans to exercise that freedom "down the road."

Here's what those fanning the flames of this so-called controversy just don't get: People's constitutional rights aren't subject to Sarah Palin or anyone else deciding where they can be exercised and where they can't.

Speak out now. Join the ACLU and the thousands of Americans who are saying "I Stand for Religious Freedom."

Political leaders like Mayor Michael Bloomberg should be praised for standing up for religious freedom in the face of political pressure. Yet, the voices of prejudice still fill the airwaves.

Especially in times of controversy, we must boldly oppose religious discrimination based on cultural stereotyping—and resist those who seek to trade away our most precious values for political advantage.

Let's be absolutely clear: Our laws protect the right to build a house of worship whether it's a mosque, a church, or a synagogue. And preventing Muslims or any other group from practicing their faith is unconstitutional and un-American.

We must stand up to this demagoguery. Sign the ACLU's "I Stand for Religious Freedom" petition and thank Mayor Bloomberg for his strong stand in defense of religious liberty.

Critics who insist that the proposed Islamic center's location is "insensitive" are implying—consciously or not—that those who would pray at the center are, by virtue of their faith alone, somehow aligned with the terrorists who committed the 9/11 atrocities.

That kind of discrimination is totally inconsistent with religious liberty.

Throughout our nation's history, Jews, Protestants, Catholics and Muslims have all been victims of fear and discrimination. In the end, tolerance and fairness usually prevail. But that only happens when each of us stands up and speaks out clearly for tolerance and justice.

Let's follow the lead of George Washington, who told the nation that religious freedom is not granted "by the indulgence of one class of people"—it is a fundamental American right.

Thank you for speaking out,

Anthony D. Romero Executive Director ACLU

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004
 

Bloomberg Launches Another Impassioned Defense Of Cordoba House 24AUG10

THANK you Mayor Bloomberg, for defending our religious freedom!
 
In a rousing address before a predominantly Muslim audience Tuesday night, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reaffirmed his commitment to the controversial Islamic cultural center near the former site of the World Trade Center.
Bloomberg, who hosted the annual Ramadan Iftar dinner at his official Gracie Mansion residence, did not back away from his position as the most vocal and public defender of the so-called "Ground Zero mosque." If anything, he couched his defense of the project in even deeper moral and political terms, calling the Cordoba House a telling illustration of intrinsic American principles and a valuable tool in the war on terror.
From Bloomberg's prepared remarks:

But if we say that a mosque and community center should not be built near the perimeter of the World Trade Center site, we would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom.

We would undercut the values and principles that so many heroes died protecting. We would feed the false impressions that some Americans have about Muslims. We would send a signal around the world that Muslim Americans may be equal in the eyes of the law, but separate in the eyes of their countrymen. And we would hand a valuable propaganda tool to terrorist recruiters, who spread the fallacy that America is at war with Islam.
Islam did not attack the World Trade Center -- Al-Qaeda did. To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American. Today we are not at war with Islam -- we are at war with Al-Qaeda and other extremists who hate freedom. [snip]
The members of our military are men and women at arms -- battling for hearts and minds. And their greatest weapon in that fight is the strength of our American values, which have always inspired people around the world. But if we do not practice here at home what we preach abroad -- if we do not lead by example - we undermine our soldiers. We undermine our foreign policy objectives. And we undermine our national security.

While some of the cultural center's other early supporters have backed away from their defense of the project, Bloomberg has emerged as perhaps the least fickle of its supporters. And he's been hailed for that defense -- locally, nationally and among the commentariat -- even though a majority of the public opposes the Cordoba House's proposed location.
Addressing those calling for a compromise location for the center, Bloomberg offered the logical rejoinder. "The question will then become, how big should the 'no-mosque zone' around the World Trade Center be?" he remarked. "There is already a mosque four blocks away. Should it too, be moved?"
However the debate ends, of course, there will be hard feelings. Still, the Mayor ended his remarks with an appeal to the lessons of history.

I know that many in this room are disturbed and dispirited by the debate. But it is worth keeping some perspective on the matter. The first colonial settlers came to these shores seeking religious liberty and the founding fathers wrote a constitution that guaranteed it. They made sure that in this country the government would not be permitted to choose between religions or favor one over another.

Nonetheless, it was not so long ago that Jews and Catholics had to overcome stereotypes and build bridges to those who viewed them with suspicion and less than fully American.

At Ramadan dinner, Obama defends plans for Ground Zero mosque 13AUG10

President Obama is right, those wishing to build this cultural center in NYC have the right to do so. Freedom of religion is one of the rights enshrined in our constitution. To deny the American Islamic community their rights is to make a mockery of the ultimate sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of American military service men and women who died defending the entire constitution, not just parts of it. They died so we can exercise our first amendment rights, including the freedom of religion, and all the other rights we enjoy as Americans. While leaders suffered the wrath of many Americans when slavery was abolished, and women got the right to vote,the military was desegregated and civil rights, voting rights and housing rights were made law, our nation emerged stronger and better because of the difficult decisions these leaders made. President Obama has made a very difficult decision, and has taken a very unpopular position, but it is one he had to make and take as president. All Americans will benefit from his statement today, and all Americans who love our country, and love the fact that freedom of religion is guaranteed in our Republic's constitution should support the presidents position on this issue. 


By Michael D. Shear and Scott Wilson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, August 13, 2010; 9:03 PM


President Obama on Friday forcefully joined the national debate over construction of an Islamic complex near New York's Ground Zero, telling guests at a White House dinner marking the holy month of Ramadan that opposing the project is at odds with American values.
"Let me be clear: as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said, according to prepared remarks, at a White House iftar, the traditional breaking of the daily Ramadan fast.
"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he continued. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."
Obama expressed sympathy for the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists purporting to act in the name of Islam. But he told the gathering that included Muslim and other religious leaders that blocking the mosque, as some leading Republicans have angrily demanded, would undermine the country's claim to respect the free practice of religious expression.
The president's statement puts him once again at the center of a cultural clash just as his party enters the final stretch of a difficult congressional campaign. Polls suggest that most Americans disagree with his position; a recent CNN poll found 68 percent opposed to building a mosque near the Sept. 11 site.
Obama, who has made repairing strained U.S. relations with the Islamic world a centerpiece of his presidency, had remained silent for months about the proposal to build the Muslim cultural complex in Lower Manhattan.
As proposed, the Islamic center, formally known as the Cordoba House, would rise 13 stories on land two blocks from the World Trade Center site. It would include a prayer room -- the mosque component of the project -- and "a Sept. 11 memorial and contemplation space." The nonprofit Cordoba Initiative bought the property for $4 million and plans to spend $100 million on the complex.
A New York City planning commission unanimously struck down the final barrier to the project on Aug. 3 by refusing to grant the building that now stands on the site protection as a historic landmark. The existing structure was damaged by debris in the Sept. 11 attacks.
But what began as a local zoning dispute evolved into a raucous national discussion.
A number of prominent Republicans joined some of the families of those killed on Sept. 11 in opposing the mosque, saying it would inappropriately celebrate the religion that al-Qaeda leaders say inspired the terrorist attacks.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin asked the mosque's supporters in her Twitter feed last month: "Doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland?" Former House speaker Newt Gingrich in July called the mosque proposal a "test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites."
But Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam who is the project's sponsor, has promoted the center as a place to foster religious tolerance, Islamic heritage and healing. Rauf has been vilified by some GOP opponents of the mosque, but he was one of the loudest Muslim voices condemning the Sept. 11 attacks and was a frequent guest and adviser to former president George W. Bush during the last administration.
Those in favor of the complex received support from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in an emotional speech after the commission vote said that denying the mosque would leave Americans "untrue to the best part of ourselves." Speaking of the firefighters and police officers killed in the World Trade Center, Bloomberg added, "We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting."
In a statement, Bloomberg applauded Obama's remarks, calling them a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion."
Previously, the Obama administration had left the defense to Bloomberg and others, repeatedly calling the issue a local matter that the White House should not be involved in.
But on Friday, the president said America's message to the rest of the world must remain one of tolerance for religious beliefs. He called the country's "patchwork heritage" a strength even though such diversity can lead to disagreement. . "But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it," he said. "So it must be -- and will be -- today."
Obama made his remarks at a dinner with close to 100 guests s of Congress, diplomats, religious leaders, community activists and administration officials. The annual White House celebration, which dates back to a similar one 200 years ago hosted by Thomas Jefferson, took place in the State Dining Room.
While Obama spoke forcefully on the issue, he did so on a Friday evening with only a small pool of reporters present. The timing and venue guaranteed that his remarks would receive less immediate attention than they likely would have if he had delivered them in a more open forum on another day of the week.
Former President George W. Bush also attempted to make clear America is not at war with Islam, only with those who invoke the religion to further violent causes. But Bush's invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks, and the Iraq war after that, inflamed Muslim sentiment against the United States, as did his view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that many in the Arab Middle East viewed as biased toward Israel's position.
Obama took office pledging to repair that image among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, particularly those in the strategically important Middle East. He has sought to do so with several high-profile international speeches, and by taking steps he says help bring American foreign policy in line with the nation's values.
In April 2009, during his first overseas trip as president, Obama told the Turkish parliament, "We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country."
"The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans," said Obama, who spent some of his childhood in Indonesia. "Many other Americans have been enriched by Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country. I know because I am one of them."
Two months later, he delivered his address to the Muslim world from Cairo University, calling the speech "A New Beginning." He again explicitly noted Islam's role in the United States, and the values he says protect its practice.
"Freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion," Obama said. "That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it."
"So let there be no doubt," he continued, "Islam is a part of America."

Defending Religious Tolerance: Remarks (by Mayor Michael R Bloomberg) on the Mosque Near Ground Zero 3AUG10

The following are New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's remarks as delivered on Governors Island.
We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever - this is the freest City in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
Our doors are open to everyone - everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants - by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
On that day, 3,000 people were killed because some murderous fanatics didn't want us to enjoy the freedom to profess our own faiths, to speak our own minds, to follow our own dreams and to live our own lives.
Of all our precious freedoms, the most important may be the freedom to worship as we wish. And it is a freedom that, even here in a City that is rooted in Dutch tolerance, was hard-won over many years. In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in Lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue - and they were turned down.
In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal, political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies - and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion - and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780's - St. Peter's on Barclay Street, which still stands just one block north of the World Trade Center site and one block south of the proposed mosque and community center.
This morning, the City's Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously voted not to extend landmark status to the building on Park Place where the mosque and community center are planned. The decision was based solely on the fact that there was little architectural significance to the building. But with or without landmark designation, there is nothing in the law that would prevent the owners from opening a mosque within the existing building. The simple fact is this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship.
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. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
The World Trade Center Site will forever hold a special place in our City, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves - and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans - if we said 'no' to a mosque in Lower Manhattan.
Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values - and play into our enemies' hands - if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists - and we should not stand for that.
For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime - as important a test - and it is critically important that we get it right.
On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'
The attack was an act of war - and our first responders defended not only our City but also our country and our Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights - and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.
Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation - and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. Muslims are as much a part of our City and our country as the people of any faith and they are as welcome to worship in Lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshiping at the site for the better part of a year, as is their right.
The local community board in Lower Manhattan voted overwhelming to support the proposal and if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire City.
Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure - and there is no neighborhood in this City that is off limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us today can attest.