From the President’s prepared remarks at tonight’s Iftar Dinner at the White House …

Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.

But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure.

Full speech text after the jump. Read More

We’ve been covering crazy politics stories for a long time, but this one ranks up there among the crazy of the crazy.

Remember the Insta-Urban Legend a few weeks ago about how paramilitaries from one of the major Mexican drug cartels stormed across the US-Mexico border and seized two ranches near Laredo, Texas? Well, the anti-immigrant crazies who ginned up the story were momentarily tripped up by the complete lack of evidence that any of it had ever happened. But now they’re back with smoking-gun non-evidence, no matter what local law enforcement says.

Our Eric Lach talks to the exasperated Public Affairs officer at the Laredo PD as he tries to prove that he’s not actually trying to cover up the Mexican drug gang invasion, as they take over America, one isolated ranch at a time.

South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Alvin Greene indicted on one felony charge and one misdemeanor charge for showing porn to a college student.

Nope, just because Justice Alito forwarded Orly Taitz’s appeal to the full Court doesn’t mean he’s a crypto-birther.

Evan McMorris-Santoro looks at the very big role of King Coal in the Kentucky Senate race.

Colbert couldn’t agree more with Bryan Fischer’s “no more mosques, period” declaration — but Colbert would ban a few other things, too. Watch.

Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) goes there with a new TV ad on Sen. David Vitter’s, um, prostitution problem — or as Melancon refers to it in very Catholic Louisiana: Vitter’s “serious sins.”

Senate Republicans reportedly determined to permanently block Obama’s nominee as ambassador to Turkey, Frank Ricciardone, a 34-year Foreign Service veteran with previous postings in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s the perfect convergence of anti-immigration and anti-Islam fear mongering: terrorists will come to the U.S. to have babies on U.S. soil so that they become U.S. citizens and can slip easily back into the country once they grow up and kill us all!

CNN’s Anderson Cooper has been going after this nonsense. Last night he had on Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Crazytown) who went completely unhinged when Cooper pressed him to provide evidence of this “threat.” Watch.