It's Complicated!

Religion and the Media

John Cory thinks the so-called "media" is a joke especially when talking about Muslim Madness.

Exhibit A: Chuck Todd told Andrea Mitchell that maybe the "President needs to be seen going to church more publicly." And another man said the same thing to Norah O'Donnell on her program. This was in response to a poll that showed 18 percent of Americans think Obama is a Muslim.

Pundits like Todd think the President should wear his religion on his sleeve so everyone knows he's not "THE OTHER." Why not a yellow Star of David with a Jesus Fish Emblem on his lapel so everyone in the media will recognize him and report honestly? Sorry, didn't mean to be snarky with that "honestly" remark. Yes, I did.

Exhibit B: CNN's John King allowed Franklin Graham to babble uninterrupted, "... He was born a Muslim, and his father gave him an Islamic name ... he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done, I cannot say that he hasn't."

John King mumbled something sage and wise, I'm sure.

Religion and Politics

I question why the president's religion is an issue at all for pollsters or pundits or the public? It's been awhile since I've read the Constitution, but I recall something about "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any office or position of public trust under the United States."

That would be the same Constitution that protects freedom of religion, whether for Catholic presidents, Christian and Jewish politicians or Muslim people. That would be the same Constitution that does not see "Muslim" as a smear, but as a right of citizens to practice their religion.

Let's understand that this is nothing but a cynical ploy by political operatives to tar the president as illegitimate and distract the public from the real issues.

Fox News, Saudi Arabia and Muslims

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi Arabians. Muslims. The second largest investor of News Corp (7% ownership) is Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, nephew of King Abdullah and a Muslim. News Corp. owns FOX News. FOX News is a major source of anti-Muslim and anti-Obama fear-mongering and hateful propaganda. Why would "real" Americans believe anything FOX News says? Is Muslim money okay when it pays FOX News salaries for Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck?

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to "Crazy like a FOX" doesn't it?

Healing the Wound or Pouring on Salt

Maybe the media should look at this in our military. "Onward Christian Soldiers" is no longer just a hymn, but an anthem. How long before Army recruiters ask new troops, "Are you now or have you even been anything other than a Christian?"

The Cordoba House could have been and still could be a powerful healing force for good, an educational tool, and a wonderful symbol of tolerance and inclusion of true American values. It won't happen. If it goes forward, the Cordoba House will become a target of hate-mongers instead of a symbol of peace. It will be defaced and vandalized, and the media will rush to cover the incidents while asking, "Was this a good idea? Should they move somewhere less offensive, say, Tennessee or Kentucky or California?"

You see, you can lead a mob to a tree, but the hanging doesn't count unless the media is there to give context and ask the proper question: "Is It a Dead Body or Just an Ornament? We report - you decide. Keeping them honest."

There was a time when the nightly news was based on professional fact finding. Today, major network news and 24 hour cable channels provide entertainment and sensationalism masquerading as news.

Read complete article HERE.

Another Look at Extremist White Guys

Think about it! Since 9/11, hysteria over Muslims has escalated into a frenzy pitch. Steve Benen raises the following query..."If they Weren't White Guys"...

Paul Campos, reflecting on the George Tiller Holocaust Memorial Museum shootings, raises a provocative point. (via Adam Serwer)

If radical Muslims had carried out terrorist attacks in Kansas and Washington DC over the past five days, we might be trying to pass legislation giving the president the legal authority to place people in preventive detention, and Daniel Pipes would be implying that we need to round up Arab-Americans (correction: Muslims) and put them in relocation camps.

But it was only a couple of old white guys, so our civil liberties remain unthreatened.

Indeed, it's not just the Kansas and DC shootings. Richard Poplawski, a right-wing extremist and white guy, allegedly gunned down three police officers in Pittsburgh in April, in part because he feared the non-existent "Obama gun ban." Jim David Adkisson, a right-wing extremist and white guy, allegedly opened fire in a Unitarian church in Tennessee last year, in part because of his "hatred of the liberal movement."

Imagine if James Von Brunn, Scott Roeder, Poplawski, and Adkisson were all Muslims.

What would the rhetoric be like? What kind of legislation might congressional Republicans offer? How many special reports about the "epidemic" of domestic Muslim violence would Sean Hannity host?

How willing would the public be to give up civil liberties to respond to the attacks? How loud would the laughter be from conservative leaders when liberals warned against racial profiling?

Benen wonders way mainstream conservatives don't find actions of the Liberty Counsel, a right-wing group created by the late Jerry Falwell, "radioactive with mainstream Republicans."

In April, when conservatives first manufactured a controversy surrounding the Department of Homeland Security's reports on potentially violent radicals, a number of far-right groups tried to exploit the "story" for fundraising and activism. Among them was the Liberty Counsel, a right-wing group created by the late Jerry Falwell.

The group created a number of satirical ID cards, available for a modest donation to the group. This one allows the carrier to boast, "I'm proud to be a Right-Wing Extremist." The idea, obviously, was to suggest the federal government was persecuting conservative activists for supporting "the right to bear arms," "lower taxes," "interpreting the Bible literally," and opposing abortion rights.

Of course, in our reality, anyone who's half-way literate could read the DHS report and see that it had nothing to do with the conservative mainstream. But the truth didn't help fill the coffers of far-right activist groups, so ID cards like these were made.

As Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter, and others have proven time and again, there's practically nothing a conservative can do to be "radioactive with mainstream Republicans."

Is there ever a time to boast about being a "right-wing extremist? " Are we afraid of extremist white guys yet?