Emotions were running high at the zoning board meetings in Voorhees. One resident after another stood up to denounce a mosque proposal. Some were stirred by anonymous fliers warning of "extremists" with possible "connections to terrorists."

But the soft-spoken Zia Rahman patiently answered their concerns more than six years ago and reached out like a diplomat to other faiths.

The successful effort by mosque trustee Rahman and fellow area Muslims against stiff opposition has become a national model, even as controversy rages over a proposed Islamic center near the 9/11 attack site in New York City.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20...

Disclosure: I had a more than small part in this project and am in the documentary.

to "America First" which was a Nazi front group trying to stop the US from aiding Britian?

The words of Woody Guthrie:

"Mister Charlie Lindbergh, he flew to old Berlin,
Got 'im a big Iron Cross, and he flew right back again
To Washington, Washington.

Missus Charlie Lindbergh, she come dressed in red,
Said: "I'd like to sleep in that pretty White House bed
In Washington, Washington."


Hitler wrote to Lindy, said "Do your very worst,"

Lindy started an outfit that he called America First
In Washington, Washington.




All around the country, Lindbergh he did fly,
Gasoline was paid for by Hoover, Clark, and Nye
In Washington, Washington.

Lindy said to Hoover: "We'll do the same as France:
Make a deal with Hitler, and then we'll get our chance
In Washington, Washington

Then they had a meetin', and all the Firsters come,
Come on a-walkin', they come on a-runnin',
In Washington, Washington

Yonder comes Father Coughlin, wearin' the silver chain,
Cash on his stomach and Hitler on the brain.
In Washington, Washington

Mister John L. Lewis would sit and straddle a fence,
His daughter signed with Lindbergh, and we ain't seen her since
In Washington, Washington

Hitler said to Lindy: "Stall 'em all you can,
Gonna bomb Pearl Harbor with the help of old Japan."
In Washington, Washington

Then on a December mornin', the bombs come from Japan,
Wake Island and Pearl Harbor, kill fifteen hundred men.
Washington, Washington

Now Lindy tried to join the army, but they wouldn't let 'im in,
'Fraid he'd sell to Hitler a few more million men.
In Washington, Washington

So I'm a gonna tell you people: If Hitler's gonna be beat,
The common workin' people has got to take the seat
In Washington, Washington.

And I'm gonna tell you workers, 'fore you cash in your checks:
They say "America First," but they mean "America Next!"
In Washington, Washington."

I've heard that the top vehicle being turned in under "Cash for Clunkers" is the Ford Explorer. Keith Bradsher's 2002 book "The High and Mighty" described the inherent dangers of the SUV design at that time. (The early Explorer was especially unstable and prone to roll-overs.) He noted that the fatality rates for SUV's then were not very high, but that was because most were then owned by upper income family people who generally were careful drivers and had few accidents.

He noted that as suspension parts wear, the SUV's became even less stable and more dangerous, both for the occupants and other people on the road. His concern was that older used vehicles would be passed down to younger drivers and lower income people, who generally have less experience, more accidents, and don't have the money to properly maintain these monsters.

I still hate the current crop of SUV's for many other reasons, but there has been substantial improvements on vehicle stability.

Getting these early SUV's off the road could save many lives. My question, was this intended or is it a wonderful unintended consequence?

I think the potential for lives saved makes this program worth every penny.

The church denomination that Obama belonged to for 20 years has issued a legal challenge to California's Prop 8:

"The General Synod of the United Church of Christ, as well as the UCC's Southern California – Nevada Conference and Northern California – Nevada Conference, joined other religious bodies in filing litigation on Nov. 17 that argues that Proposition 8 amounted to a constitutional "revision" because it took away a fundamental civil right. In California, a constitutional revision, unlike an amendment, requires legislative authorization in addition to voter approval.

"California's constitutional right of equal protection is sacrosanct," the legal challenge reads in its introduction. "Not even the electorate can take it away selectively – at least not without a two-thirds vote of the legislature or a constitutional convention. This writ petition seeks to enforce that basic principle.""

link: http://www.ucc.org/news/religious-bodies-i...