I got a stupid thing in the mail

This thing: Obsession: Radical Islam”s War Against the West. I haven”t seen it yet, but it has an endorsement from Michael Medved, so I don”t have high hopes.

Apparently, the Clarion Fund together with the Endowment for Middle East Truth, both pro-Israel foundations, have distributed this documentary — FREE of CHARGE — to 28 million voters in swing states. Since the Clarion Fund wants to “to educate Americans about issues of national security” specially “the most urgent threat of radical Islam,” I could only guess that their official reason for this was for education. Gregory Ross of the Clarion Fund said himself:

“We”re just saying no matter who gets in office, the American people should know radical Islam is a real threat to America. We don”t feel radical Islam is getting its fair share of press.”

I guess he forgot that this film played back in 2006 a lot. FOX News and CNN played parts of it and it played on several college campuses. Not to mention the innumerable other movies and books lambasting radical Islam in existence that I see on the shelfs of the two-bit library I work in. If they”re there, they”re frickin” everywhere. 

Of course, all of this stinks of agenda. Raphael Shore, head of the Clarion Fund, is a full-time employee at Aish Hatorah, another pro-Israel organization that offers seminars saying Bible codes are real (not) and offer prophecies (I think this guy has a better track record). The founders of the Clarion work at Aish Hatorah too, and apparently they even use the same address, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations. 

All this, and they say that, from the above, “it”s also incorrect to tie the DVD campaign to Jerusalem-based educational group Aish HaTorah International, although current and former employees are involved with the project.” Okay, I”ll just say it was your idea then, as if that makes it any better.

Because of all this, the Council of American-Islamic Relations have asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate the Clarion Fund and the rest for possible bias toward John McCain, which is a big no-no given their non-profit status. As evidence, CAIR mentioned an article from the Patriot News from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which said the the Clarion Fund had a pro-McCain article up, but then removed it after, I guess, somebody remembered the secret plot. 

In all reality though it sounds rather benign:

“Being a [nonprofit] means we have to play certain rules,” Ross said. “The organization is solely focused on militant Islam, and we want America to be safe and feel safe. We don”t have a political agenda. … We”re trying to prevent another 9/11 from occurring.”

No need for hysterics, right? Well, their response to the suit:

“CAIR is attempting to stifle First Amendment freedom of speech,” said Raphael Shore, Clarion”s founder and director.

Uh.

What is CAIR? CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in US v. Holy Land Foundation, a terrorism financing trial. A US Justice Department court filing states: “Moreover, from its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists.”

Which ended in a mistrial anyway after the jury was deadlocked. Yeah.

CAIR has a track record of using litigation and disinformation to intimidate critics of radical Islam.

“CAIR is attempting to distract the public and media from a serious debate about the nature and threat of radical Isla

OKAY OKAY I GET THE FUCKING POINT. Clariond fund = GOOD. CAIR = BAD. This isn”t helping your case. And CAIR dismisses these kinds of allegations as urban legends, to which Neil MacFarquhar writing for the New York Times calls, “McCarthyism, essentially guilt by association.”

I don”t really care who”s telling the truth about all that right now, and I”ll make my decision after watchingObsession. I”ll say though, I”m against radicalism, not just a radical form of one religion, and that cross ALL barriers. Ecofreaks with PETA, stupid and opinionated asshats on television, and religious freaks in power, they all operate on the same thought processes: pure and unadulterated bias. And sometimes bias becomes deadly.