The Anti-Defamation League (ironically named in this case) needs to watch Mayor Bloomberg’s superb speech on religious tolerance and freedom, retract its “truly shocking” statement, and stop betraying its own founding principles. Newt Gingrich needs to watch this (not that he will) and reconsider his extreme, anti-Muslim bigotry. Sarah Palin needs to watch this and “refudiate” her previous remarks on the subject. Virginia Beach Councilman Bill DeSteph needs to watch this and stop spreading his hateful falsehoods, let alone claiming that he speaks for all Virginians (which he most certainly does not). We all need to watch this, pondering what it means to be an American, what the 1st Amendment to our Constitution stands for, what the evil people who attacked us on 9/11/01 were trying to take away from us, and how we should never let a few misguided fanatics win even the smallest victory.
Thank you to Mayor Bloomberg – and the great, free, city of New York – for understanding the true nature of who we are and what Al Qaeda attacked on September 11, and for fighting to ensure that in this case, at least, the terrorists will not win.
