As religious leaders defend mosque, a N.J. suburb squirms | Editorial

[rug]

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on May 22, 2016 at 3:30 PM, updated May 22, 2016 at 3:34 PM

In our current political climate, dominated by Donald Trump, it's heartening to see so many different religious and legal groups speaking out in support of a small community of Muslims suing Bernards Township over its denial of a proposal to build a mosque.

But it's troubling, too. Because even as they rally to this cause, local officials are doubling down on their position, leaving themselves — and the taxpayers — exposed.

The mayor, Carol Bianchi, says the 34 organizations that joined the federal civil rights lawsuit against her town — including the American Civil Liberties Union and major Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups — simply don't understand the facts of the case.

She continues to defend the decision to apply a stricter parking standard to the mosque than to churches or synagogues.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/05/a_town_squirms_after_blocking_a_mosque_editorial.html

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Morris Township, Morristown, Morris County...

and even a Morris whorehouse and an opium den, or so I've been told. More Morris stuff than even Orange stuff, so this Morris guy was some big cheese back then.

Be that as it may, this seems to center in Basking Ridge, a revoltingly wealthy little town that was once a suburb of AT&T. The same AT&T that seems to have influenced the building of "The Hills" a revoltingly middle class condo built to fall down when every unit was sold. Local housing was needed for AT&T lower management and so the Hills was born. It was immediately sued for shoddy design and construction and may have been torn down by now for all I know.

I personally witnessed a woman who lost her keys, but was able to break the lock in the front door of her Hills condo with only the pen knife I had with me. Great stuff, that Hills.

Anyway, a bit of reading suggested the former Mayor arguing for the mosque has some mineral rights, or sold rights for a gas line in this property he happens to own and plans to build the mosque on. If true, how this affects things is unknown, but is fun to play with.

Ultimately, though, this is nothing but the new NIMBY applied to Islam. If they tried this with a Presbyterian church they would be crucified, but it's OK to be anti-Islam. Used to be OK to be anti-Jew, too, but look how that turned out.