EYES RIGHT

THE RON PAUL CONSPIRACY

Writers for the American Free Press have a lot to say about the Republican primaries and their favored candidate Ron Paul. The paper cites “corrupt” national polls, voter fraud, and a national media bias to stem support for Paul. The paper goes further and tries to expose Huckabee’s “leftist, statist, and non-Christian agenda” to prove that Huckabee is a bait-and-switch candidate to deceive Christian voters. The American Free Press wants voters to know that Ron Paul has the most popular support even though polls, elections, media coverage, and even support for other candidates would seem to contradict that at this point in the primaries.

Sources: “Ron Paul REVOLUTION At the Crossroads,” by Pat Shannan, American Free Press, February 11, 2008, 10. “Media’s Masters Adore Huckabee,” by Michael Collins Piper, American Free Press, December 31, 2007, 13;“Who Would Jesus Vote For?: Michigan pastor says it probably would not be Mike Huckabee,” by Pastor Bret McAtee, American Free Press, February 11, 2008, 14-5.

SATAN’S CHRISTMAS PRESENT

The theatrical release of the children’s movie The Golden Compass last December inspired a flurry of reactions from Christian magazines reminiscent of the concern voiced about Harry Potter. Troubled parents warned, “Keep those children in prayer. Then, with grace and love, share the truth about His Dark Materials.” On a more severe note, another publication suggested an “eighteen-count indictment of Pullman [the author of the original children’s book] on the charge of promoting Satanism.”

Sources: “Dark Materials” by Adad R. Holz, plugged in, January, 2008, 3-4. and "Satanism for Young Readers" by Lee Duigon, Faith for All of Life, Jan/Feb 2008, 29-32.

EVIDENCE, BUT THAT’S OK!

Human Events writer Jed Babbins defends the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) act of destroying tapes recorded during interrogations involving waterboarding and other forms of torture. Babbins laments that the government shifted from the “clear” definition of torture, in which almost any interrogation technique is allowed, to the more “vague” one where some acts, including waterboarding, are considered torture. Apart from defending the government’s clear right to use any form of interrogation, regardless of ethical questions, and including “sprinkling bacon bits on a [Muslim] detainee’s head,” Babbin defends the CIA in destroying evidence to thwart a Congressional investigation. In Babbin’s view, the investigation could lead to outlawing waterboarding and other forms of interrogation and expose interrogators who used these techniques after the definition of torture was amended in 2005. Thus, the CIA had a right to destroy tapes both because it should defend its right to torture and because the Congressional investigation deserves to be thwarted.

Source: "CIA Was Right to Destroy Tough Interrogation
Tapes," by Jed Babbin, Human Events, December 17.
2007, 1.

TRUST ME: BEVERY AFRAID

Family Security Matters, an online presence that seeks to maintain continued fears of a terrorist attack, recently demonstrated its particular brand of fear mongering by publishing excerpts from a book by one of its contributing editors, William Federer: What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam and the United States. Federer was upset when Keith Ellison, a Minnesota state legislator, used a copy of Islam’s holy book during his swearing in ceremony. In the excerpt, Federer selects verses of the Qur’an such as: “Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends” (Sura 5:51); or “Kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (Sura 2:191) and then asks, “Are these verses from the Qur’an taken out of context? Does it matter if a politician swears on a Qur’an? Is it Islamophobic to be concerned? Is Islam a peaceful religion?”

Source: “What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an,” by William J. Federer, Family Security Matters, February 19, 2008.