Citizens are justifiably outraged.\u00c2\u00a0 There have been protests and sign waving and shouting and a move to have the existing building declared a historical landmark.\u00c2\u00a0 One of these things might work.<\/p>\n
It’s tempting to let them build it, and then let the fire department take their own sweet time responding to the inevitable mysterious fires that will break out during and after its construction.\u00c2\u00a0 Perhaps they could pause at each intersection for a moment of silence to honor their fellow firemen who were murdered on 9\/11.\u00c2\u00a0 A minute or two at each stop light should be sufficient.\u00c2\u00a0 And if the streets are congested on the way, they’ll need to take a different route, perhaps via New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Or we could just let them build it and then fly an airplane into it.<\/p>\n
Those are just fantasies, of course; no civilized person could justify endangering people and adjacent buildings.\u00c2\u00a0 But there is a way, a very effective way, to keep this insult from ever being finished: Bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Bureaucrats can grind any project to a halt, keep it stopped for months, let it proceed for a day or two, and then stop it again.\u00c2\u00a0 It already happens regularly with justifiable building projects.\u00c2\u00a0 It can be used to prevent this one.<\/p>\n
Declaring it a historic landmark is a start.\u00c2\u00a0 The process to determine if it qualifies is long and arduous, and can be made longer by excessive foot dragging.<\/p>\n
If that fails, and it probably will, the next step should be an environmental impact statement.\u00c2\u00a0 Every species of rat and mouse and cockroach and mold and dust mite in the existing building needs to be carefully examined to see if it might possibly be endangered.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t be too careful with this stuff.\u00c2\u00a0 It can’t be rushed.<\/p>\n
If it passes those hurdles, we must consider the possibility that the ground underneath it may contain important historical artifices.\u00c2\u00a0 It should be carefully examined by highly trained archeologists, removing the dirt a fraction of an inch at a time, in search of an old boot or something.<\/p>\n
All of the associated expenses for these studies and delays would be billed to the mosque, of course.<\/p>\n
The project can be stalled every step of the way.\u00c2\u00a0 “I’m sorry, your blueprints are the wrong shade of blue.\u00c2\u00a0 The official shade of blue is just a tad darker.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ll have to get them redone and we’ll examine them again.\u00c2\u00a0 I can fit you in two months from now.”<\/p>\n
Two months later:\u00c2\u00a0 “Ah yes, you’ve got the right shade of blue here, but they’re an 1\/8 of an inch too narrow.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ll have to do them again and bring them back for approval.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, we won’t be able to examine them again for three months, but we’ll be sure to expedite things after that.”<\/p>\n
Three months later: “Perfect!\u00c2\u00a0 They’re the exact right size and shape.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a shame, though, that you stapled them together, when the specifications clearly state they must be attached by a paper clip. . .”<\/p>\n
Done properly this could delay the start of building by a decade or two.\u00c2\u00a0 If construction ever does begin, inspectors should make sure that all building codes, especially the conflicting ones, are adhered to.\u00c2\u00a0 Wherever possible they should wait until a significant part of the construction is nearly finished, then find fault somewhere and force the builders to rip out wiring and duct work and plumbing and drywall, rebuild, then repeat the process again.\u00c2\u00a0 And again and again and again.<\/p>\n
The beauty of this approach is that it can’t be stopped by political weasels eager to kiss Islam’s ass.\u00c2\u00a0 All it takes is clerks and bureaucrats and inspectors quietly protesting by doing their jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 No one can fault them for carefully enforcing every existing rule and carefully (and slowly) wrapping every procedure in the mandated red tape.\u00c2\u00a0 Add a little extra foot dragging and this thing may never get started.\u00c2\u00a0 If it does it won’t be finished in our lifetimes.<\/p>\n
Shortly after 9\/11 this picture of a radically altered NYC skyline was passed around the Muslim community, with the caption “New York City, 2006:<\/p>\n
The night after the attack I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and created this photo suggesting replacement buildings which would also dramatically alter the skyline:<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.davehitt.com\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/NYCmosqueline.png\" "\\"NYCmosqueline\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\n<\/a>](\"http:\/\/www.davehitt.com\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/nycmosque.jpg\"){kind=link}