LIVE VIDEO: Obama At Ground Zero

UPDATE: The ceremony has concluded.

Dubya Snubs Ground Zero Ceremony

According to the New York Daily News, Dubya declined to join President Obama at Ground Zero today because he feels he didn't get enough credit for taking down Osama Bin Laden.

Bush's visit to the rubble after the 9/11 attacks was the emotional high point of his presidency, but associates say the invitation to return with his successor was a non-starter. "He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it," the source added. "Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden. It rubbed Bush the wrong way." Bush spokesman David Sherzer said Bush "appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight." Associates familiar with his thinking say Bush does not believe Obama or his handlers wanted to exploit his presence. But the tag-team idea "was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it," a source said.

Since leaving office, Bush has maintained the presidential tradition of declining to criticize his successor.

Dan Choi On Bin Laden's Death

Starts at 7:40.

(Tipped by JMG reader Sean Chapin)

SPLC Brands NYC Anti-Islam Blogger Pamela Geller As Hate Group

The Southern Poverty Law Center has branded vile NYC-based Atlas Shrugs blogger Pamela Geller and her fellow anti-Islam protesters as a hate group. Geller came to national prominence last year when she led the attack against the so-called Ground Zero mosque.

Stop the Islamization of America was included in the civil rights organization's annual roundup of extremist groups - a rogue's gallery that includes everything from the Ku Klux Klan to white supremacists and Nazis. Geller's group was one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero. The group was also behind ads that were placed on city buses urging Muslims to leave "the falsity of Islam." Geller, who runs a blog called Atlas Shrugs, dismissed the Law Center as an "uber left" group that has "failed to address the greatest threat to our national security." "My group is a human rights group," she said. "And these people are taken seriously? This is the morally inverted state of the world."

Also making the new list is the Dove World Outreach Church, whose Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn a stack of Korans if the mosque wasn't stopped.

PhoboQuotable - Imam Abdallah Adhami

"An enormously, overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life. Again, not necessarily in their childhood. A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom on some level as well." - Imam Abdallah Adhami, the newly-hired senior adviser for the mosque proposed to be built near Ground Zero. Hit the link for video and reactions from David Mixner and Gay City News editor Paul Schindler.

Joy Behar: Why I Walked Out On O'Reilly

NJ Transit Fires Koran Burner

The man who ripped out pages of the Koran and burned them during the 9/11 protest at Ground Zero has been fired by his employer, NJ Transit. The incident was posted on YouTube and aired on television around the world.

NJ Transit said that Derek Fenton's "public actions" violated its code of ethics and that he “violated his trust as a state employee.” It was not clear that Fenton was terminated because of his actions on Saturday. The NJ Transit statement indicated that he was fired on Monday.In response to questions from NewsCore Tuesday, NJ Transit released a statement saying: “Derek Fenton was terminated on September 13, 2010 from his employment at NJ TRANSIT. An at-will employee, Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics." It continued: "NJ TRANSIT concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore was dismissed.”

Here's the clip.

NYPD Braces For 9/11 Protests

Atlas Shrugged blogger Pamela Geller, also the founder of Stop The Islamization Of America, will be staging a massive rally tomorrow at Ground Zero. And the NYPD is gearing up for an ugly situation.

"We want to keep everyone in their corners. You don't want the opposing sides to clash," an NYPD official told The Post. "All eyes are going to be on New York City that day. No one wants to see a fight on Sept. 11." With as many as 4,000 riled-up demonstrators expected to pack into two blocks of Park Place between West Broadway and Broadway -- the site of the proposed mosque -- the department is sparing no expense to keep the peace, the official said. "There'll be an army of cops down there," the official said, estimating the number of officers at several hundred. The dueling rallies -- to be held tomorrow, on the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks -- will pit mosque supporters against those who believe that the site shouldn't be so close to Ground Zero. The demonstrators will square off on opposite sides of Park Place, the site of the controversial Park51 center, after 9/11 commemorations conclude at noon in nearby Zuccotti Park, off Liberty Street. But no matter where they stand on the mosque issue, some people questioned the appropriateness of protesting on Sept. 11. "My own view -- irrespective how you feel about the mosque -- I don't think you have it that day. It's totally disrespectful," said Tom Acquaviva, 70, of Wayne, NJ, who lost his son, Paul, 29, an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, in the attack.

Geller has asked her supporters to bring American flags rather than the signs such as the ones in the photo above.

Even In Iowa

The "Ground Zero mosque" nonsense has reached into elections in the nation's heartland as the GOP misses no opportunity to demonize a minority.

Tea Party Founder Mark Williams Calls Bloomberg And Stringer "Judenrats"

In a new low for a movement littered with new lows, Tea Party Express founder Mark Williams has labeled Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer as "Judenrats" for their support of Cordoba House. From Williams' blog:

How many times do I have to tell you…. the Ground Zero Mosque is a chest-beating pile of puke from the bellies of a savage, death cult culture, a throwback to the 7th century. Politically correct Judenrats like New York Mayor Michael Boomberg and Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President) and domestic enemies who are supporting the mosque – with open ties to Islamic Terrorist organizations and supporting states are doing nothing more than erecting a giant middle finger to be trust at the victims of 911… which includes all of civilized Mankind.

Wikipedia: "Judenräte (singular Judenrat; German for "Jewish council") were administrative bodies during the Second World War that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union."

Protest Rallies Over Cordoba House

Both sides rallied again yesterday in downtown Manhattan.

Howard Dean Compares "Civil Unions Compromise" To Mosque Controversy

Dean thinks the downtown NYC mosque should be located elsewhere, a "good reasonable compromise" he compared to the creation of civil unions when he was governor of Vermont.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: There Is No Ground Zero Mosque

Newt Gingrich On Ground Zero Mosque

About That Hallowed Ground

Today's NY Daily News points out that the "hallowed ground" surrounding the planned WTC memorial ain't really all that hallowed, what with all the titty bars, dirty bookstores, betting parlors and liquor stores also within two or three blocks.

Opponents of a proposed lower Manhattan mosque and community center speak in hushed tones about the sanctity of the "shadow of Ground Zero." Tell that to the patrons of the Pussycat Lounge, a strip club where a photo of a nearly naked woman marks its location just two blocks from where the World Trade Center stood. Or the Thunder Lingerie and peep show next door, where the marquee sports an American flag above a window display of sex toys and something called a "power pump." Many come to the scene of the worst terrorist attack on American soil to pay tribute to pain and unspeakable tragedy. They're welcomed by solemn memorials and a visitors center amid the noise of reconstruction. If they're so inclined, they can also buy porn, play the ponies and take care of all manner of personal business within steps of the former World Trade Center.

The area around the WTC also boasts ten churches, three synagogues, a Buddhist community center, and a place for whatever it is that Hare Krishnas do.

Today's New York Post

And The Teabaggers Lose Their Minds

You don't even want to visit Free Republic tonight.

Out-Doing Greg Gutfeld

Found on Tumblr by Dr. Jeff:

Continuing the chain of imaginary offensiveness to stereotypes, I plan to open a Babies R Us next to the gay bar next to the mosque next to Ground Zero. Next to the Babies R Us I will open a pornographic bookstore, and next to that I will open a police station. Next to the police station I will open a hip-hop recording studio, and next to that I will open an Applebees. Next to the Applebees I will open a TGI Fridays (those guys HATE each other) and next to the TGI Fridays I will open a methadone clinic. Next to the methadone clinic I will open a crack house, and finally, next to that, I will open a Catholic church adjoining a daycare center for attractive boys, adjacent to which I will just blow up whatever’s there so I can erect a memorial, and next to that memorial I will open a community center dedicated to a locally inconvenient ethnicity that I hired to blow up the original structure on the memorial site. Next to that I’m just going to put up some condos.

Greg Gutfeld Explains His Ground Zero Gay Bar Plan To Glenn Beck

Fox Host Greg Gutfeld: I Plan To Open A Muslim Gay Bar Near Ground Zero Mosque

Homophobic Fox News host (redundancy redundancy) Greg Gutfeld says he's put together a team of investors to open a Muslim gay bar next door to the planned mosque near Ground Zero. He claims that he's totally serious about his plan.

I'm announcing tonight, that I am planning to build and open the first gay bar that caters not only to the west, but also Islamic gay men. To best express my sincere desire for dialogue, the bar will be situated next to the mosque Park51, in an available commercial space. This is not a joke. I've already spoken to a number of investors, who have pledged their support in this bipartisan bid for understanding and tolerance.

As you know, the Muslim faith doesn't look kindly upon homosexuality, which is why I'm building this bar. It is an effort to break down barriers and reduce deadly homophobia in the Islamic world. The goal, however, is not simply to open a typical gay bar, but one friendly to men of Islamic faith. An entire floor, for example, will feature non-alcoholic drinks, since booze is forbidden by the faith. The bar will be open all day and night, to accommodate men who would rather keep their sexuality under wraps - but still want to dance. Bottom line: I hope that the mosque owners will be as open to the bar, as I am to the new mosque. After all, the belief driving them to open up their center near Ground Zero, is no different than mine. My place, however, will have better music.

In 2008 Gutfeld was rated by GLAAD as one of the "worst anti-gay voices" of the year.