Opinion: Have you heard there are plans to build a mosque or something near ground zero?

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Apparently some group is planning to build a Muslim religious site near ‘ground zero’ in New York.

You’d think something like this would be hotly debated on front pages and in op-ed sections of newspapers.

And on television, shouldn’t the political pundits be yelling loudly about this proposition, and mixing up the facts -- even simple things such as where this mosque would actually be located? (‘Ground Zero mosque would be less an issue if called the Burlington Coat Factory mosque,’ wrote Slate editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg on Twitter. ‘Which is where it actually is -- not Ground Zero.’)

Why haven’t we heard about this?

Oh, never mind. We were watching Nickelodeon.

But some folks have been debating this. A lot.

Since all of these mosque debates are so terribly exhausting, the Ticket has pulled apart the conversations, highlighting the best quotes (again, Burlington Coat Factory mosque? Gold) in order to give you a drive-by view. If you feel the need to ensconce yourself in the blanket of punditry, read on.

New York Times: The Park51 mosque and community center has cleared a key hurdle. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to deny a motion to declare landmark status for the building now in the mosque’s proposed location.

The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg: Osama bin Laden does not like Muslims, and would bomb this mosque if he could.

The Wall Street Journal: Mosque will include memorial to the victims of Sept. 11.

Here’s the view of some who say building a mosque directly on near the World Trade Center site is un-American:

Rush Limbaugh: The right-wing pundit says this so-called ‘Muslim outreach’ is ‘planting the flag of victory,’ as the website Little Green Footballs notes. Limbaugh has yet to get the memo that Al Qaeda is not a Muslim group.

Glenn Beck: America may be blown up if this mosque is built.

Sarah Palin: After writing a blog post on her Facebook profile opposing the mosque, Facebook deleted the post, which was marked as ‘offensive’ by a grassroots group online. The post was later reinstated.

Newt Gingrich: There ‘are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia,’ he said. A Washington Post columnist says Gingrich is pushing a prejudiced agenda.

Joe Lieberman: Though more in the ‘undecided’ category, the Connecticut Independent senator did say developers should ‘put the brakes’ on the project. He added: ‘I don’t know enough about it to say that it ought to be prohibited.’

And now those who say preventing construction of a religious building is un-American:

Michael Bloomberg: ‘Our doors are open to everyone,’ he said in a speech on Tuesday.

Center for American Progress: New York, and those who oppose the mosque, are actually opposed to American values.

-- Mark Milian
twitter.com/markmilian

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