Linkmeister

And if you saw Keith Olberman tonight, he reports that a lot of the ground floor businesses around the area have been closed - for several years. And Barbara over at the Mahablog reported that she's seen a couple of strip clubs, a number of bars, and a lingerie and porn shop within a three block radius, all of which have been there for a long time.

All of this - a tempest in a teapot. Another way to stir up the fringe and spread hatred and fear among the duped people who support Palin, Limbaugh, Gingrich, Beck, and the other rabble-rousers.

It really does get to be quite tiresome after a while. (sigh)

Yes, there are lots of closed stores in the area of the WTC. They are closed for more reasons than the September 11th attack.

The MTA has been in the process of building a transit hub to tie together many different subway lines and took over lots of the area for the underground work; whether or not the work is still going on they closed a lot of stores in the beginning. The attacks caused many businesses to close, but so has the general loss of big and small companies as they merged or moved out of the area. When companies merge they reduce the number of employees and the local small stores lose their customers. Many of the large office building have been transformed into residential buildings. That also changes the numbers of people on the street for shopping. That whole downtown district has been changing for a long time, since before the September 11th attacks.

Eva has come up with a good way to argue this one with wingnuts: tell them that they're right, we don't need a "mosque" there, but we do need another porn shop. Then wait for their heads to explode.

Bruce, that'll work.