Tag Archives: Manhattan

2,000 v 1,000: pro-mosque rally was larger

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Eric Boehlert of Media Matters wonders why Pamela Geller’s SMALLER hate fest today got more media attention than did the LARGER pro-mosque rally last night:

If you haven’t heard about it, you’re not alone. But note this nugget buried in an AP report late last night [emphasis added]:

More than 2,000 supporters of the project, waving candles and American flags, held a vigil near the proposed Islamic center’s site Friday evening instead of Saturday, saying they wanted to avoid entangling the mosque controversy and the Sept. 11 observance.

You might recall that activists opposed to the construction of the Islamic community center held a very loud rally on Aug. 22; a rally that drew widespread media coverage. How many attended that event? Approximately 1,000, or half as many who attended yesterday’s pro-mosque event.

TPM:

Our Jillian Rayfield has a good wrap-up of the anti-Park51 protest down near Ground Zero this afternoon.

A few points worth noting. A police officer Jill spoke to at the event estimated the size of the crowd at about 1500. And despite efforts to bus people in from different parts of the country, Jill says it seemed to be overwhelmingly a local crowd. And there was a big turnout of counter-protestors as well.

Press reports suggest that the pro-tolerance demonstration had almost as many attendees as the hate festival which kicked off at 3 pm.

UPDATE***

Anti-Mosque Rally Attendance: Less Than 1,000

According to the Associated Press, attendance at Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer’s international hate rally was less than 1,000: The Associated Press: Dueling demonstrations begin after 9/11 memorial.

After the ceremony, around 1,000 activists rallied about five blocks from the site of the 2001 attacks to support the proposed Islamic community center. A smaller group of opponents rallied nearby, chanting, “USA, USA.”

UPDATE at 9/11/10 6:27:36 pm:

Hilarious! Geller is claiming 40,000. Who could ever have predicted that?

UPDATE at 9/11/10 6:41:30 pm:

Pamela Geller’s closing words to the seething throng:

As the crowds dissipated, Geller warned them against talking to members of the media: “Do not give them any ammunition. You know who you are. You know that you’re righteous. Do not give them an opportunity to deride this fine and honorable effort. Remember what I’m saying. They’re looking to catch you. Don’t give it to them.”

“Listen to Mommy,” she said.

NOTHING will make Geller or Jones let go of their anticipated “15 minutes of fame”

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Because the anti-Islamic rally about the Community Center in Manhattan (Park51) isn’t really about the 9/11 victims or their families:

Little Green Footballs: The UK magazine Standpoint is covering Pamela “Shrieking Harpy” Geller’s decision to ignore the pleas of some 9/11 family members to cancel her hate rally on September 11: Pamela Geller Ignores Pleas to Cancel 9/11 Protest.

It’s worse than simply “ignoring” their pleas, though; Geller viciously attacked the spokesman for the 9/11 families’ group, calling him a “socilaist [sic] vampire.”

Alexander Melegrou-Hitchens also points out Geller’s connections to the European hate franchise “Stop Islamisation of Europe,” and to the violent racist thugs of the English Defense League.

And of course, in true shrieking harpy style, this article has provoked another illiterate, rage-filled rant from Geller, calling Melegrou-Hitchens a “bold-faced liar” (when every word in his article is true), and demanding that he be fired.

And then we have Terry Jones’ ego getting in the way of the safety of the troops:

Think Progress: The hate pastor leading the Quran burning is Terry Jones, author of the a book called “Islam Is Of The Devil.” During a combative interview with CNN host Kiran Chetry this morning, Jones seemed unwilling to reconsider his “Burn a Quran Day,” and instead offered his prayers to soldiers who might be put at greater risk:

CHETRY: Are you willing to have the blood of soldiers on your hands by this demonstration?

JONES: Yeah, we are actually very concerned of course. We are taking the General’s words very serious. We are continuing to pray about the action on September the 11th. We are indeed very concerned about it. [...]

CHETRY: So you’re saying you might not well go through with this? [...]

JONES: I am saying we are definitely praying about it. We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it.

Jones said that he is “weighing the situation,” but emphasized that he’s not backing down from the event. During the interview, he repeatedly conceded that he “would indeed offend” Muslims. But, he claimed, “peaceful Muslims” should be supporting his hate campaign. “Moderate Muslims should be on our side,” Jones argued.

Chetry, unable to restrain herself any longer, indignantly responded: “No moderate Muslim’s going to be on your side when you’re burning their holy book! I mean, that just sounds silly.” Watch it:

(Video) Community Center of DEATH!

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TPM:

nullDaily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi was on the scene in Tennessee to report on local opposition to a planned mosque in Murfreesboro. “Opponents say building a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is simply too close,” Mandvi said. “But did you know that 18,000 blocks is also too close?”

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Morning in the bunker

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  • (Think Progress) – Colorado Tea Party candidate Ken Buck on abortion: “I don’t believe in the exceptions of rape or incest.” Buck’s extremist stance may help him regain favor with his far-right supporters, some of whom he recently got into trouble with when he called them “dumbass” birthers.
  • (Jeffrey Goldberg) – The Cordoba Initiative, which is headed by an imam named Feisal Abdul Rauf, is an enemy of al Qaeda, no less than Rudolph Giuliani and the Anti-Defamation League are enemies of al Qaeda.  Bin Laden would sooner dispatch a truck bomb to destroy the Cordoba Initiative’s proposed community center than he would attack the ADL, for the simple reason that Osama’s most dire enemies are Muslims.
  • (NY Times) – GOOD NEWS: The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated — and that much of the rest is so diluted that it does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm.
  • (Greg Sargent) – Pew Research just released a new poll finding that more than twice as many Americans see a Palin endorsement as a negative for a Congressional candidate than view it as a positive. Sargent summarizes, “she’s successfully tightening her emotional grip on her devoted legions of supporters at the expense of just about everyone else. Far more see [Palin] as a turn-off than as a turn-on.”
  • (Reuters) – Barnes & Noble, the number one U.S. book store chain, is putting itself up for sale as business suffers in the high-stakes battle for a leading role in the digital books market.
  • (NYTimes) – 2.4 million more [Americans] became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population. The numbers are part of a continuing and ominous trend. The nine states with obesity rates of 30 percent or more are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. The highest rate, 34.4 percent, was in Mississippi.

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Saturday morning flotsam

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Sarah Palin: Mama Grizzly of the Year!

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  • From Andrew Sullivan: there are already at least 10 mosques in Manhattan, including Masjid Manhattan, which has been a mere four blocks from Ground Zero since 1970.  Palin is worried about Muslims taking over area near the Ground Zero site even though they’ve been there for decades.
  • Hey, Sarah! You know what else is really close to Ground Zero? A titty bar!
  • Palin will straight-up refudiate Bristol and Levi’s wedding!
  • Meanwhile in Alaska: Divorced Kate Gosselin will be joining Palin in Alaska to go “camping” on an episode of “Kate Plus Eight.”

This was also stolen from Team Sarah. See? She is just like an animal!S

Impeachment Fever – catch it!

  • If the GOP wins a congressional majority in 2010, Michelle Bachmann says, “I think that all we should do is issue subpoenas and have one hearing after another…”
  • Tom Tancredo couldn’t agree more: “Members of Congress must defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Today, that means bringing impeachment charges against Mr. Obama.”
  • On a side note, Megyn Kelly doesn’t appear to be familiar with her base audience at Fox News.

Misc:

  • Think Progress: Karl Rove‘s new “grassroots”, “shadow RNC” group American Crossroads raised 97 percent of its funding from just four billionaires!
  • Your librul media: Ed Schultz in his opening speech at Netroots Nation — FAIL
  • Fox News is reporting that “Big Mexican Women” (BMW) are helping Afghan soldiers go AWOL in the U.S.

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