Like all moms I want my son to grow up to be happy and healthy…ok, and, in all honesty, successful and smart, and, if it’s not asking too much, for him to buy me a mansion and a sports car.

But I also want him to be free. Free in the sense that he can be who he wants to be, say what he wants to say, and worship how he wants to worship; these rights are provided by our 1^st Amendment. But today, I’m saddened and appalled that Americans are about to destroy those inalienable rights by following in the footsteps of the misguided souls who seek to tear down our country.

By blocking the construction of an Islamic Cultural Center a few blocks from Ground Zero we will be letting those few extremists win. Their goal, in blowing up the World Trade Center, was to obliterate the American way of life and if we continue to protest with such prejudice  – against our own people: Muslim Americans — we will be helping them do essentially that. Regardless of your religion and political leanings, we must all remember that first and foremost the USA was founded on the principles of freedom of religion and speech; the very principles that we are now, ourselves, erasing.

I was in NYC on September 11^th (it was actually the 2^nd terrorist attack I have lived through). Like everyone in the world that day I was devastated and scared. But I refuse to let that fear and sadness cloud my rationality. Just like I refused to move from New York after that day. We must remember that every religion has their extremists, their criminals, their miscreants. We cannot judge an entire group of people based on a handful. If this were the case then Catholics, Born-Again Christians, Mormons, Jews, and every other religion, race, and class would have a lot to answer for. Here are a few examples:

1. Timothy McVeigh was Catholic

2. John Wayne Gacy was Catholic

3. Ted Kaczynski was an Aethiest

4. Ted Bundy was a Mormon then a Hindu

5. Jefferey Dahmer was a Born-Again Christian

6. David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) was Jewish before converting to Born Again Christianity.

7. Berni Madoff is Jewish

8. Adolf Hitler was a Christian (I realize people will argue with me on this so here is a quote from his book Mein Kamf: “I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. By fighting off the Jews. I am doing the Lord’s work.”)

Now, before I open up my email to all kinds of hate mail, let’s get down to the REAL business at hand. These are a few things I believe should NOT be allowed in the vicinity of the World Trade Center:

1. Mel Gibson’s Jewish Community Center

2. A house made of cards (aka, the NY State Senate)

3. A statue of Schneider from One Day at a Time (I’m pretty sure with that tool belt and that ‘stache he was a kid toucher…I’m just sayin’)

4. The Spencer Pratt Marriage Counseling Institute

5. A penthouse for Celine Dion (she annoys me)

6. Anyplace where I’m not allowed to be shirtless and shoeless (cuz I’m that classy, people!)

7. A chicken farm (birds freak me out)

8. A playground for washed-up porn stars (who wants to see that…although I could probably hang there – shirtless and shoeless)