Blessings: take them where you can find them

There are writers out there like Victor Davis Hanson or George Will whom we greatly admire and then there are writers that we also admire and where we think... damn, wish we had thought of that. David Harsanyi of the Denver Post is becoming one of those writers.

Given that there remains overwhelming opposition to the ground zero mosque, this viewpoint would mean that 70 percent of Americans are impulsively hostile to freedom of religion and irrationally narrow-minded.

Could be. Or, maybe a few of these folks believe the First Amendment features more than one clause. Even a newfound reverence for religious liberty on the left does not negate our right to protest and criticize the philosophical disposition of others. And applying public pressure in an effort to shut down a project is as American as protesting the arrival of a new Wal-Mart. Religious institutions, as far as I can tell, are not exempted from these disputes.

In 2008, thousands of gay-rights activists protested the Mormon temple in Westwood, Calif., for its role in passing Proposition 8 — the ban on same-sex marriage. This grew into a national protest to undermine the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — even though not every Mormon was involved.

I don't recall anti-Mormon protesters being referred to as bigots for targeting religion; it appeared to be just the opposite, in fact. And if I am offended by aspects of Mormon theology, why not voice those concerns? Put it this way: If Mormons proposed the erection of a 13-story community center in West Hollywood or the West Village, I would be happy to join the outcry of protest.

The left wanted a scrap with this whole Ground Zero mosque debate and they have so screwed the pooch with respect to the narrative, they have been reduced to calling for investigations of those opposed to the mosque and, wait for it... pining for the wisdom and understanding that George W. Bush would have for this situation.

No, seriously... it's that bad: The brush-clearing, war-mongering, neo-con would handle this cultural dirty bomb better than our cool, calm and collected, closet Muslim.

That old Chinese blessing of wishing someone to live in un-interesting times is definitely not being observed of late.