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Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Confusing Nature of Terror and Extremism in America

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! I realize it may seem like a spurious subject to some on the political right, but to those of us on the left it's a very serious subject. I'm talking about violent right-wing, bigoted, racist, religious-inspired extremism.

Recent events have left many of us feeling "terrorized," and unless something is done to send a message to stop it, we may all feel vulnerable soon.

Unless the President and law enforcement begins talking tough soon, to make us feel safer, many of us on the left will begin to feel terrorized within our own country. Their actions already succeeded in shutting down one clinic providing critical reproductive services.

That victory of theirs leads me to some inevitable questions: who or what will be next, and why aren't more people taking it seriously?

Irony #1 - "Fair and Balanced" Leads to Terror

It's ironic yet clear to me that right-wing extremism is being encouraged by today's "fair and balanced" "conservative" media. Okay, so they're not really fair and balanced. It's more like they're "irresponsible and fanatical." Today's so-called conservative media, mostly AM talk radio and the so-called FOX "News" network, are clearly out-of-control.

They seem to specialize in lies, stirring up their base daily to apply pressure on weak politicians, and I would assert, stir anger and violence against those who threaten their political beliefs or way of life. They're the inventors of TALKING POINTS, and despite their denials, the timeline and the facts on the ground suggest they are a big reason why things are spinning out of control.

It's clear something bad is happening, and once dormant extremists are beginning to stir.

Recent Democratic electoral successes, especially the election of Barack Obama, combined with a poor economy (created by their side) and few jobs has led to a perfect storm of hate and retribution. Those living in the reality-based-world can see the crazies are on the move.

Irony #2 - Attempts to Help Americans May Lead to Terror

The irony here is how even our attempts to fix what they broke (our attempts to create more security, stability and jobs) is adding fuel to their hateful fire. The so-called "conservative" media is screaming how the left is spending all THEIR money - an incredible lie when you know the facts.

I'm going to be brutally honest, anybody who doesn't do their own research, and simply believes that GOP lie outright, is seriously a COMPLETE AND UTTER MORON for their lack of effort to discover the truth.

So it seems there's little we can do to make the crazies happy short of electing a Republican, allow them to start a new war of distraction, allow them to pillage the national treasury, allow them to privatize their profits while socializing their losses, and finally allow them to pollute the planet until it's uninhabitable for the rest of us.

Oh wait, I forgot, while that's unfolding, the rest of us should all stand by waving American flags until we either die of exhaustion or starvation due to national bankruptcy. Okay, it may sound extreme, but truth be told that was the direction the GOP was taking us.

Irony #3 - The Extremists' Love-Hate Relationship with Socialism

It's true, the irony here is how they seem to both love and hate "socialism." Despite the fact that Social Security and Medicare - and other social programs - are supported by most Republicans, the fact is the GOP has confused their small-minded followers. Most love the benefits, while at the same time they scream big-government waste, socialism, communism, and their latest factual confusion, fascism! It's downright schizophrenic!

Did you hear how this week's Holocaust Museum murderer/terrorist was angry because the government CUT HIS SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS! His friends closest to him said that's why he went to kill innocent people. It's true, that cowardly, despicable piece of white supremacist dog shit killed Stephen Tyrone Johns - an American hero in my opinion - over his inability to benefit from enough GOVERNMENT SOCIALISM! It blows the mind when you think about it!

The Terror May Get Worse

That confusing nightmare, coupled with the recent murder of Dr. Tiller over legal abortion rights, makes it clear to me the crazy religious fanatics (domestic terrorists) are in a lock-and-load mode, ready to kill the rest of us. We may be at a dangerous tipping-point. Should we worry? I say YES!!!!

Think about it people! Right-wing, homegrown, religious extremism has led to mass murder in the past. Let us never forget the Oklahoma City bombing and the right-wing murder of innocent people - including babies.

It would be foolish to dismiss what's happening as a bunch of lone gunman. That is unlikely. The FBI knows it. They know religious and other hate filled groups exist and are ready to bomb multiple American targets. I'm not suggesting that domestic Islamic terrorism is less of a threat, simply that America's "hate-sponsored" terrorism share the law enforcement spotlight.

Organized militia groups may be emerging soon, and America may learn the hard way that Islamic terrorism is only the tip of what could be called a sea of hate-filled icebergs. American citizens could be making plans right now to commit mass murder on what could be called an "Islamic terror scale."

Even FOX "News" Anchors are Worried

It may not seem important, but it's a sign when Fox "News" anchors are getting nervous. It's true, Shepard Smith is getting nervous. He spoke openly and honestly to his TV audience this week that recent "news events" have left him feeling "exposed" due to recent scary emails. He reports they are getting "more and more frightening."

SMITH: There are people now, who are way out there on a limb. And I think they're just out there on a limb with the email they send us. Because I read it, and they are out there. I mean, out there in a scary place...I could read a hundred of them like this...I mean from today. People who are so amped up and so angry for reasons that are absolutely wrong, ridiculous, preposterous."

Some reading this might suggest that he's talking about people writing him from the political left, since FOX is on the right, but that's not true. He makes it clear he's talking about people on the right. They are the ones making him very nervous.

What Can Be Done?

I want President Obama to address the nation and call it what it is: DOMESTIC TERRORISM! I think he, and all politicians concerned about terror, should treat it more seriously, and instruct law enforcement to focus on it as much as Islamic terrorism. That would send a serious message.

I also think the right-wing media needs to stop talking tough, to calm some their flock. They need to begin by admitting they were wrong when they forced Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to apologize for signing off on a report predicting an increase in right-wing threats.

Most important, they need to admit internally they're at least part of the problem, and take action to mitigate it.

They need to do whatever they can to prevent any possible murder by talking more about the anti-American nature of domestic terrorism. They have the power to send a serious message to the crazies out there - distancing themselves from the "talking nuts" like Coulter and company would be a great first step!

Let's hope they act before the next murder, or worse, murders. I am a big fan of President Obama, and I realize that he has more to do than any president in modern times, but I still think he needs to act now on this issue too. We need him to spur law enforcement to do more before it's too late.

Final Irony # 4 - It's Clear We're Less Safe Today

If you thought I was going to agree with Dick Cheney you are sadly mistaken. No, the final irony involves George Bush and the Republican "war on terror." Ironically, as many in law enforcement warned, it's now clear that our focus on terror may have helped ignite extremism around the world, as well as within our own country.

We know it's true overseas, but domestically we're still in a wait and see mode. That needs to change. We need to act now! Let's admit that extremism breeds extremism - hate and war breeds hate and war. President Obama was right in Cairo. It is time we (Muslims and Westerners) learn from our mistakes of the past, and find new solutions to the problems that lead to extremism.




Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

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36 Comments:

Blogger Machinist said...

This post verges on demented.

I will just point out a few things that are easily verified.

The only one screaming about fascism on these posts has been you.

The FBI identified a number of active domestic terrorist groups as a threat to the American public but they were Leftist groups like Earth First, ALF, ELF, PETA, etc. These groups were named in the FBI report. What right wing groups were named?

Do you really want the state to have the power to arrest or harass political opponents?????

Are you so very sure the Democrats will stay in power forever?? I don't want any party to have that power. It has never turned out well.

You are young and passionate but you need to calm down. These spittle flecked rants are not good for you and will not convince anyone of the truth of your cause. Only the choir will be impressed. Do you really think an undecided person will be impressed that you call them a "moron" if they dare listen to another point of view. As you get older you will see that the world is rarely black and white and your views may well change. I once was a democrat but I outgrew it.

Don't get excited, I won't stay and argue as you don't like discussion. I just had to mention this because you seem well intentioned but way over the top. Take a breath!!

2:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This wreaks of Obama and Reverend
Wright what happened at the Holocaust museum.
He was also against Bush so he sounds like he came right out of the left's playbook.
The guy who shot Tiller had this obsession with him long before talk radio even brought him up.
I guess Obama will use this as an excuse to get his Civilian Security force in action. Another one of his wet dreams.
Let's not forget to crack down on Mosques too while we are at it. You know like the one where the 93 WTC bombing was planned or the ones that recruit people to
to kill American soldiers. Meanwhile the president is over there appeasing these whack jobs.
Was the Muslim guy who shot the soldier a lone gunman? You know the one the fair and balanced media on the left is hiding.
Were the 9/11hijackers a lone group of guys?
We offer them peace and they give us 9/11 and you guys help in their cause by appeasing them.
Anyway why should we settle for Obama trying to change this country to suit the third world chip he has on his shoulder in lightning speed. He needs to chill out if he wants supprt from all citizens.
What he is attempting to do is causing all this discontent and the thing is he knows it and is still on steroids just moving along at such a fast pace with no regard for consequences. That is disturbing and we as American citizens have a right to oppose it just like you guys did for 8 years.

As I recall taxpayers pay into SS and Medicare.
Lisa

2:50 PM  
Blogger Machinist said...

Oh, by the way. If the evil Right wingers come after you, come to Texas and I'll take arms in your defense. I have extras for you, too.

2:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Machinist campus radicalism is alive and well in DC.
Back to the lovely single mother I met with 2 jobs.During the campaign her 14 year old daughter was coming home from school everyday Obama this and Obama that. She didn't want to influence her so she bought her "The Audacity of Hope" and had her read it and whenh she was done asked her what about Obama does she support. Her answer was "Mom,not one thing"
Seems a 14 year old can maybe teach some people some things.
Lisa

2:56 PM  
Blogger Machinist said...

Lisa, I'm afraid that we are just going to have to accept blame for Social Security and Medicare. After all it was those two famous Republican Presidents FDR and LBJ that really stuck it to us all with these programs. Be ashamed! You may have noticed that the AARP are big time Democrat supporters but I am sure we are to blame for that too.

"Look it up"

3:16 PM  
Anonymous Infidel753 said...

An important posting about a serious subject. With much of the far right steeped in apocalyptic religious delusions, and irresponsible media loudmouths pumping out paranoid fantasy about everything from an imaginary North American Union to Obama being Kenyan/Muslim/Marxist/whatever, it's not surprising that there has been a succession of murderous eruptions of violence, and it's all too likely there will be more.

One thing Obama is, in my evaluation, is too timid and too concerned with "reaching out" to the right wing which voters firmly rejected last year. I fear things will need to get worse before he takes real action.

Oh, and Michael, I see that the right-wing trolls apparently have you on speed dial, but they're in too much of a hurry to read your posting. Hello-o-o-o! Even the Fox News people are getting worried about this!

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Obama Timid. He was a street thugh politician from Chicago.
Does this sound like someone who is timid?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s


Lisa

3:21 PM  
Blogger Machinist said...

I'm a troll now? How do you define a troll? I read the post and commented on it. I have made it clear I will leave if Micheal says I am not welcome. Is a troll anyone who dares to disagree? All the name calling and foul language has been from the left here.

3:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like arrogance in it's highest form

Lisa

3:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes I do know te origin of those programs and am also highly aware of AARP's affiliation of the democrat party just like they try to separate themselves from Wall Street.

Infedel you should relly try not to label anyone with a diffeent view as religious fanatics. That argument is so off the charts it's almost comical if it weren't so sad. Plus your have your religions mixed up about which one has visions a grandure about apocalyptic religious delusions.
Generalizing people is really not fair.


Machinist you make some very valid points. I see when you try to debate with the left it is usually met with disourse and labels.
Lisa

3:32 PM  
Blogger Michael Boh said...

Machinist, I appreciate your civility yet - like last time - disagree with both your interpretation and understanding of the facts. I enjoy debating, but I will not debate a smoke or a mirror. A few responses before I go:

1. I never said politically left terror groups do not exist. I would argue they are more dormant at this time. I denounce all forms of terorism. Is that good enough for you? It is for me. I was merely writing about the recent murderous right.

2. No, I do not want a police state. I'm simply arguing for them to take the domestic threat more serious.

3. No, I'm saying the Democrats will stay in power. I neve said that - go read it again. If you're referring to my LAST POST then you should know I was simply saying the GOP is under great conflict/stress at the moment - no direction and few ideas. I said IF they don't change, they are at risk of fading away.

4) Yes, I may have been harsh when I used the word moron, but I stick to my point that you guys are ignoring the facts. You keep insisting the budget scenario is wrong. My facts are supported by every reputable public/private study - even the Bush White House included the date on its website (http://ourrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2009/02/good-morning-ive-been-listening-to.html#links). So far, you are misleading at best, and you know the worst.

5) Your condescension is coming through again. First of all, I'm not that young - I only look it. I am also not the naive political fool you paint me to be. I worked on Capitol Hill for a Senator and reported on DC politics for UPI. I understand a great deal about politics in America, especially the deceitful/corrupt part after watching the GOP govern in DC. I don't know you, but I would take a gamble and pit my political credentials against yours any day. I'm more aware then you know. You are wrong to assume so much.

Lastly, perhaps I enjoy impressing the choir. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I respect the choir and enjoy their company. My motive to blog is not to fight with today's well-rehearsed-talking-point-ditto-heads, but to share ideas with independents and/or my peeps. I do not try to change the minds of brain-washed Republicans.

Feel free to debate or not, that choice is yours. I too only ask for civility.

PS - Lisa, I'll leave somebody else to debate your points. I do not agree with most of your basic points or premise, so I'll leave it for now.

3:35 PM  
Blogger Machinist said...

I don't want to discourage our host so I will say good day. It was nice to speak with you, Lisa. Thank you.

3:42 PM  
Blogger Sue said...

anybody who calls our president a street thug doesn't deserve comments back. Truely disgusting...

5:43 PM  
Blogger Michael Boh said...

Everyone needs to FOLLOW THE MONEY! The link I mention above leads to a very well thought out post - http://ourrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2009/02/good-morning-ive-been-listening-to.html#links

It's recommended reading for all those in denial.

7:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well Sue what do you call someone who's main purpose was to rally up groups like ACORN to arrange protests for cohesion ate people's home. I call that thuggery. This is the same group who organized the protest again at a private home of AIG executives.
Especially when the president already knew about those bonuses.
He said he was going to run his presidency based on the community organizations. I hear they got millions in payback like the UAW did. Thuggery is the only word I can think of for it.
And I assume you never said anything ill about Bush?
Lisa

8:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FBI went to the offices of conservative magazine, Weekly Standard to inform them they were apparantly on shooters hit list:

And winds up he's a registered democrat. There goes your theory he was rightwinger when he is actually a left winger.
Oh the irony!
Lisa

9:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Michael being you worked in DC are you making a claim that only republicans were corrupt and the democrats aren't?
Somehow I find that difficult to believe.
Do you believe that the money in Washington being spent now is good for the economy and the deficit. I would like to see an expert opinion because we are not seeing the so called transpaerncy of it that Obama likes to call it.
Lisa

9:26 PM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Michael:

After reading the comments from yesterday and those on this post, here are a few observations:

1) Lisa and Machinist apparently don’t work. If they do work, they are seriously neglecting the jobs they are getting paid to do. Volunteering to help fellow Americans less fortunate might be a better use of all that apparent free time. But wait, maybe they do earn their money as “hired guns” for some right-wing group using propaganda skills aimed at disrupting legitimate discourse and goading anyone whose opinion differs from their own. Hmmm. Lots of that going on in Texas.

2) Throughout the comment threads, all they seemed to be able to do is regurgitate what they have heard from their mentors:

• David Horowitz: If you are educated, you are “the elite,” you are out to destroy America, and you think you are smarter than “the rest of us” and believe we are “rednecks.” You hate us because we are the true patriots. Colleges which impart a well-rounded liberal education are hotbeds of anti-American activity, so stay away from such colleges (otherwise you might see through this propaganda).
• Sean Hannity: “The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers” prove Obama is anti-American and out to bring this country down - and you with it, blah, blah, blah.
• Bill O’Reilly: “George Soros, ACLU, moveon.org, Bill Ayers,” blah, blah, blah. Now go out and shut down some left-wing blogs, Factoids!
• Rush Limbaugh: Liberals hate America; they want a socialist society to help, you know, “piglets at the nipples;” and Obama simply cannot be allowed to succeed as president, blah, blah, blah.
• Fox News: “Thanks for tuning in and lapping up our lies. The profits are great. Sincerely, Rupert Murdoch P.S. You’re doing a heckuva job, Ailes.”

3) Did anyone count how many times “Machinist” said he would leave the comment zone if Michael said the word?. Did anyone hear Michael ask him to leave? Did he really go away?
4) Did you catch that Lisa took Infidel753’s comment to task over his use of the term “religious fanatics” just a couple of comments after she asserted that all Muslim mosques in America are hotbeds of terrorist activity?
5) Finally, I believe these two people love their country, which is probably more respect than they would give me. Throughout their comments, it is evident that their only sources of “news” are right-wing outlets which support their beliefs. They don’t want documented news: they want validation. The declaration that the Republican Party is the “party of law and order” nearly made me fall off my chair. That one statement alone tells me they neglected facts about the Bush administration.

Do they realize, according to all major U.S. polls, they are in a small and – thankfully – shrinking group of about 20 percent of Americans? “Look it up.”

The fact is: Truth always surfaces, and Americans are fed up with their right-wing BS.

BJ

3:33 AM  
Blogger Machinist said...

B.J.,

Was I ever less than polite to you, Ma'am? You can find out about me by clicking on my name. I left because I seemed to be making Michael uncomfortable and I did not wish to disrupt the site or the host.

Please have a good morning, Ma'am. Good bye.

5:08 AM  
Blogger B.J. said...

First, don’t call a woman “Ma’am.” It ages her considerably.

It was your intention to make Michael and every liberal commenting uncomfortable. Perhaps, you should take the time to go back over your comments.

Do something good today!

Best, BJ

5:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

BJ all the left does is regurgitate. Just put on any 7 news shows and it's like they all got the same memo.
I won't debate you but when someone says the government should be investigating people with dissent then yes I am merely pointing out the logic in that by pointing to a real threat which are Muslim Fanatics. Do you live in America or have you not heard about how this religion has been degraded?
I guess you weren't aware that the 1993 WTC bombing was coordinated out of a Mosque in NJ.
I guess things like that aren't a threat to you.
And to the fact we don't work is usually a statmenet I would have made. Don't talk to me about volunteering either. I could volunteer you under the table any day.
Lisa

8:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess Michael won't address my question regarding the amount of money the Spender in Chief is squandering. He must agree with Soros who is enjoying the money he is making off of our devalued dollar. You know like he did to England. That's the thanks they got for taking care of him for free when he was a youth and broke his leg.
I guess you agree with this as well?

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he has lost confidence in the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs and has told Congress he is removing him from the position.

Obama's move follows an investigation by IG Gerald Walpin of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star, into the misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group that Johnson headed.

Walpin was criticized by the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of Johnson and St. HOPE Academy, a nonprofit group that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National Community Service. The corporation runs the AmeriCorps program.

"It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General," Obama said in a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden, who also serves as president of the Senate. "That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General."

The president didn't offer any more explanation, but White House Counsel Gregory Craig, in a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, cited the U.S. attorney's criticism of Walpin to an integrity committee for inspectors general.

Sounds like politics as usual in all it's transparency.

Be careful what you wish for because one day it may be something you oppose. Which I can't believe you haven't opposed anything thus far.
Lisa

9:09 AM  
Anonymous Frodo, fair, if not unbalanced said...

Frodo suggests that Lisa and "The Machinist" establish their own web page. It would be interesting to have them measure exactly how much interest they generate on their own. Frodo assumes that given their domination of the commentary on this web page that they both have plenty of time on their hands. It might also give both of them an introduction to "Spell Check (or perhaps to Merriam Webster)."

9:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Frido I have alot to say the thing is I feel the need o say it you. Anyway I do work I have my own business and with that I am on my way out the door to take a client to lunch and to see another afterwards.
Anyway I see no one is replying to my questions. Sorry to confuse anyone with facts. I know the truth hurts so I can understand not wanting to confront it.
Good Day....for now.
Lisa

10:11 AM  
Blogger Michael Boh said...

Great post BJ! Lisa, if you read my work you would see that I have addressed each and every question, especially questions related to government spending. Have a good day guys!

10:37 AM  
Blogger Sue said...

Do we not love Frodo!! I always get a smile on my face when Frodo appears! Hope everyone is having a good day! Sue

12:03 PM  
Anonymous Infidel753 said...

Lisa (talking-point AI?): BJ all the left does is regurgitate.

Really? All they do when you're trolling their blogs is throw up? Wonder why that could be?

I could volunteer you under the table any day.

I'm not gonna touch that one. Do these critters read what they write?

12:37 PM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Lisa:

The real terror exists in the subject of Michael’s post: people who will not bother to acertain facts and think for themselves.

It is apparent you have very little knowledge of Islam, one of the three great religions of the world. Whether you yourself are religious, this religion holds great sway over many of the world’s peoples. Acquaint yourself with it.

Many atrocious acts have been done in the name of Christianity. The KKK come to mind.

I would bet the farm you as a citizen of the United States have not taken an hour to listen to the speech made at Cairo University by your president. I would also bet you’ve heard plenty of takes on it from right-wing pundits.

Instead of spending so much time leaving comments, I suggest you make much better use of your time by going to these two links and becoming better informed. You’ll be so glad you did.

Obama’s Speech at Cairo University

How To Detect Propaganda

Best, BJ

4:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you can touch it that's okay/BJ said I should volunteer and I guess I should have replied that I already do volunteer for 3 organizations. Okay not every week but 2X a month for 2 of them and once in a while for another doing fund raisers.
I am not religious but I help out with a friend's evil right wing Christian church cooking meals for the poor. The other is for soldiers in Iraq and the other for adults with developmental disabilities. I also used to cook a meal and deliver it once a week to an elderly woman and do some grocery shopping for her every week until she went into assisted living plus I run a business. That's what we are about hard work and helping others.

That's what I meant by volunteering under the table. I understood it why didn't you? lol!

I heard the speech and no I am not religious and yes he knows his Islam being he went to Islamic schools in Indonesia.
No religion impresses me although I do admire the ones who use it to help people(see above).
So what now Islam is a beautiful religion and Christianity is the evil one?
May atrocities have been done in the name of Islam too. Radical Islam come to mind? Beheadings and stoning and flogging and heck let's throw in a few subway bombings and flying planes into buildings while we are at it.

Remember why the Crusades started don't you. At least the Christians are finished with that war.
I guess though you report and you decide right?
Lisa

4:59 PM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Lisa:

I don’t want to get into a tete-a-tete with you, but clearly we have a communication problem.

I am Christian. I was merely pointing out that there are fanatics in every religion, but it is wrong to condemn the entire population of any religion because of the acts of radicals.

I do hope you will read the propaganda essay. It is so enlightening.

Bless you for your volunteer efforts. I am very independent although legally blind. A very wonderful person here helps me at the grocery store. I have done volunteer (civic organizations and church) all my life, and I know how meaningful it is.

I am going to leave a second comment, because I want it to stand alone.

BJ

6:38 PM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Lisa:

It’s bad to believe a lie, worse to repeat it. Please use factcheck.org, snopes.com and google to check out claims!

There are implications in all you say that Obama is a Muslim, all Muslims are radical and our enemies, therefore Obama is a radical and is going to destroy this country. That’s what you are saying right?

Please read this from CNN (easily located via google):

CNN debunks false report about Obama

POSTED: 2:01 a.m. EST, January 23, 2007

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a "madrassa" are not accurate, according to CNN reporting.

Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.

Obama lived in Indonesia as a child, from 1967 to 1971, with his mother and stepfather and has acknowledged attending a Muslim school, but an aide said it was not a madrassa. (Watch video of Obama's school )

Insight attributed the information in its article to an unnamed source, who said it was discovered by "researchers connected to Senator Clinton." A spokesman for Clinton, who is also weighing a White House bid, denied that the campaign was the source of the Obama claim.

He called the story "an obvious right-wing hit job."

Insight stood by its story in a response posted on its Web site Monday afternoon.

The Insight article was cited several times Friday on Fox News and was also referenced by the New York Post, The Glenn Beck program on CNN Headline News and a number of political blogs. (Watch how the Obama "gossip" spread )

School not a madrassa

But reporting by CNN in Jakarta, Indonesia and Washington, D.C., shows the allegations that Obama attended a madrassa to be false. CNN dispatched Senior International Correspondent John Vause to Jakarta to investigate.

He visited the Basuki school, which Obama attended from 1969 to 1971.

"This is a public school. We don't focus on religion," Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster of the Basuki school, told Vause. "In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we don't give preferential treatment."

Vause reported he saw boys and girls dressed in neat school uniforms playing outside the school, while teachers were dressed in Western-style clothes.

"I came here to Barack Obama's elementary school in Jakarta looking for what some are calling an Islamic madrassa ... like the ones that teach hate and violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Vause said on the "Situation Room" Monday. "I've been to those madrassas in Pakistan ... this school is nothing like that."

Vause also interviewed one of Obama's Basuki classmates, Bandug Winadijanto, who claims that not a lot has changed at the school since the two men were pupils. Insight reported that Obama's political opponents believed the school promoted Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam, "and are seeking to prove it."

"It's not (an) Islamic school. It's general," Winadijanto said. "There is a lot of Christians, Buddhists, also Confucian. ... So that's a mixed school."

The Obama aide described Fox News' broadcasting of the Insight story "appallingly irresponsible."

Fox News executive Bill Shine told CNN "Reliable Sources" anchor Howard Kurtz that some of the network's hosts were simply expressing their opinions and repeatedly cited Insight as the source of the allegations.

Obama has noted in his two books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," that he spent two years in a Muslim school and another two years in a Catholic school while living in Indonesia from age 6 to 10.

6:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay a truce. I will end it here as well. Sorry to hear about your disablity. Bless you and have a lovely weekend.
Lisa

6:54 PM  
Blogger Sue said...

Thank you for that BJ, I just wish all the right-wing blogs could read it and an awakening would occur! Wouldn't that be amazing!!

10:11 PM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Sue:

Truth surfaces.

Not sure if you are talking about the CNN article or the essay, "How to Detect Propaganda" (the link in one of my earlier comments). That essay is well-worth reading, and no one in this country should receive a high school diploma until they study it.

Have a good weekend. BJ

10:47 PM  
Blogger Michael Boh said...

Good Morning! If you're reading this comment via email alone, everybody be sure to go and read PapaM's new post on the blog. It's all about us rowdy commenters and our rough debates. Let's face it, he's right, we probably should try to remember we're all on the same side. I'll try my best. :)

9:53 AM  
Blogger B.J. said...

Well, welcome BACK, Mat. I hope you will be posting again as Michael could use some relief, LOL.

I’m not sure that I agree that we are all on the same side, but I’ll let that pass for now. I generally ignore persons leaving one cmment after another, as that is spamming, but I would feel weak if I let blatant lies go unchallenged.

Here’s what I-753 said on my blog:

“It is completely ridiculous. As soon as the trolls show up on Michael's postings on either blog, the comments thread stops being about the posting and starts being about them. Last time I looked at the terrorism posting on Papamoka, it had 20 comments and had degenerated into an argument about who was being more rude to whom, instead of the actual issue in the posting, which is quite important.

“It's because of that kind of thing that I use comment moderation. Disagreement is all very well, but this is heckling.”

I agree.

So, Mat, I’m off to read your latest post. Hope things are brighter for you.

BJ

10:39 AM  

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