Right-wing sites blame Muslims for Norway Tragedy

In a fit of intentionally misleading hate, irresponsible journalists and at least one so-called "Christian" new service have attempted to spin yesterday's tragedy in Norway as an attack by Muslims.

A poll posted on World Net Daily asked the following question:

Do you think more Islamic terrorism of the kind that hit Norway today will visit U.S.?

No, this is an aberration and not reflective of true Islam

No, terrorists are afraid of attacking the U.S. because of Obama's superior Homeland Security approach

No, they will not hit America as long as Obama is in power because he is perceived as conciliatory

No, Obama put the fear of God in them by assassinating Bin Laden

No, I don't believe this was an Islamic attack. It was a false flag operation

Yes, this war has raged in the heart of Islam for 1,300 years. It's not over

Yes, the U.S. is the Great Satan. We need to be ready

Yes, this is a foretaste of what is coming and the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 is near

Yes, this is a monster that must be destroyed not appeased or fed

Yes, the U.S. must be eternally vigilant against its No. 1 foreign enemy

Other


The answers listed above are nothing more than an anti-Obama, anti-Muslim, pro-war indcotrination piece. The owner and editor-in-chief if WND is Joseph Farrah, whose claim to fame is demanding to see Obama's Long-Form birth certificate (a limelight stolen, briefly, by Donald Combover Trump.)

Sadly, World Net Daily was not alone in this pseudo-journalism. An article in today's London Telegraph about the bombing and shooting included the following paragraph:

"British security forces were immediately placed on alert amid fears that Norway’s worst terrorist outrage might be the first in a series of attacks on the West. The carnage followed repeated warnings that al-Qaeda was planning a Mumbai-style attack on countries involved in the war in Afghanistan, where Norway has about 500 troops."
(how many more references to the Islamic world could they have made in one paragraph of insinuation?)

Pamela Geller, publisher of the website Atlas Shrugs and executive director of Stop Islamization of America, wrote on her site: "You can ignore jihad, but you cannot avoid the consequences of ignoring jihad"

There is no doubt that the horror visited upon Norway yesterday was the work not of Muslims or al qaeda, but of Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing, neo-nazi, anti-immigrant, Christo-fascist who called for a new Crusade to wipe Muslims from Europe.


By joining in an anti-Muslim hysteria, World Net Daily and right-wing politicians and "journalists" have, in effect, joined the horrific campaign that Mr. Brevik initiated yesterday in Norway.

Shame on them, their allies, and supporters.

The Tucson aftermath, civility, and freedom...

I don't expect many people to agree with this post...but that's never stopped me before.

Growing up, I remember some of the icons of the news reporting industry: Walter Cronkite. Peter Jennings. Edwin Newman. Ted Koppel. Chet Huntley. David Brinkley. John Chancellor. Roger Mudd. Tom Brokaw.

These reporters, though they they had their personal opinions, attempted to report news - information - with objective facts. Though often accused of being 'slanted' one way or another, they saw their jobs as providing information, and not entertaining or outright campaigning.

Today (with notable exceptions such as George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts), Americans don't seem to want to hear 'news.' We prefer to hear partisan, angry finger-pointing...and we are entertained by this. On the right, Fox News is stacked with talking heads who use anger and alienation to attract viewership. Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Ann Coulter never let an opportunity pass to offer their opinion on the news without a good dose of outrage.

But the left is not immune from this. Keith Olberman is just as prone to name-calling and passionate rants as O'Reilly, and Rachel Maddow drips with disdain and self-righteous superiority as she discusses the right. Bloggers (and their reader's comments) on both the left and right regularly say things in print they would hesitate to say in a face-to-face situation.

The Internet has insulated us from the need for civility.

We have decided that we would rather be entertained by comedians posing as newscasters or have our opinions and passions "confirmed," than actually be informed by news and information.

In the wake of the Tucson shootings, many blogs and commentators have retreated into the Blame Game. Blogs on the left have ripped the right for the anger and hate that has emanated from some right-wing sites. But in so doing, they are blind to the fact that they themselves are engaged in the same thing: Divide, Blame, Marginalize, Disdain. Define "The Other Side" as evil, and affix the blame on THEM.

A child who taunts a dog every day is not blameless when one day the gate is open and the dog chooses to bite in return.

Partisan Division is a Two-Way Street, and BOTH the Left and the Right are equally guilty. The problem with the lack of civil discourse is not the "Other Side"....The problem is the Man in the Mirror.

But equally as troubling as this irresponsible, childish move away from "real news" are the recent calls to 'clamp down' on basic freedoms as a result of the shootings. Stricter Gun Control. Restrictions on "Hate Speech." Pima County, Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was right when he recognized the atmosphere of hate and division that the media has engendered...but the suggestion that free speech needs to be monitored or prohibited runs counter to the most basic of American freedoms.

The efforts to 'control' Americans have a parallel in "Star Wars": Senator Palpatine, speaking to the Senate, convinces them that the Republic is under attack...and to give him extraordinary powers to answer that threat. The eventual result, of course, is that Senator Palpatine becomes Emperor Palpatine, and the Republic becomes the Evil Empire...leading to the Rebellion.

The United States has always been a disorderly, raucous, free-wheeling nation. To quote Ben Franklin from the musical 1776, "we're less refined, more vulgar" than Europe. "We require a new nation."

It was a bad enough blow to liberty when the Patriot Act was enacted. Current calls to restrict speech and firearms ownership to preserve order at the expense of liberty is the slippery slope that moves us towards The Evil Empire. And once the Evil Empire is in place, the 'rebellion' will grow.

I fear we may be in a no-win situation here:

Calls grow for greater security.

Freedoms are reduced.

That encourages black-market and 'under the radar' activities. And it encourages Defiance.

Defiance speaks the language of Violence and Resistance.

Calls for Resistance increase the calls for greater security.

Those desiring Security and those desiring Liberty demonize the other side, and draw hard and fast lines.

The first American Civil War has clear geographic lines. I'm not sure how the next lines will be drawn.

I *do* know that I am tired of Republican AND Democratic partisanship, and the rhetoric of BOTH the left and the right...and am destined, I think, to wander an in an Independent wilderness for the rest of my life while my country decides who and what it wants to be, and how its going to get there...Ive had it with both "sides."