Islam vs. Islamists

American jihad, Fort Dix 6, Islam vs. Islamists, John Doe protection, PBS, Political wind, War on Terror

Terror, censorship, and hate-crimes: a selection of news and views

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Clerk Rings Up N.J. Jihad Jerks: It all began on a frigid January day with 10 bearded Muslim men huddled in the parking lot of a Circuit City debating who would go inside to have a copy made of a tape showing them firing guns and praising jihad…

‘Talking’ Terror: What if the months of planning and conversation that went into the 9/11 plot had been leaked in advance to The New York Times? …

Fortress America’s gate is open: The Fort Dix boys were pulled over for 19 traffic violations, but because they were in “sanctuary cities,” any cop who suspected they were illegals was unable to report them to immigration authorities. Again, as a matter of policy.

Symposium: Jihad in Jersey: News of the FBI’s arrests of six militant Islamists in New Jersey who plotted to kill our soldiers at Fort Dix was met yet again with the same tired responses of shock and dismissal from the mainstream media (MSM) and from major American Islamist organizations. — M. Zuhdi Jasser

Terror suspect takes witness stand in NY, and it goes badly: Hou also questioned Sabir about an audiotape, found at his house, in which a religious lecturer said God would “destroy the disbelievers.” “That’s God’s word. I have to believe in it,” Sabir said.

Hate-Crime Hysterics: Among the more than 200 organizations supposedly ardent for the bill are the American Music Therapy Association, Catholics for Free Choice, Easter Seals, Goodwill Industries, International Dyslexia Association, Rock the Vote, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics & Ritual. Who knew?

Too Fine For PBS: Boy, was I wrong. Burke’s doc is a riveting and creatively made film about the most important subject of our time: What to do about radical Islam?

Europe to scan mosques for radicals: Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said Europe had extensive experience with the “misuse of mosques,” which instead of being places of worship are used for other ends.

Islam vs. Islamists, PBS

Long a leftist shill, PBS leans even further

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Editor’s note: I bumped this to the top (originally posted May 5, 2007) after Bill Moyer’s spokesman, Rick Byrne, sent in the comment that is published below the post. I have emailed Rick Byrne inviting him to respond to my questions and Brent Bozell and Frank Gaffney inviting them to comment as well.

PBS saying they don’t allow advocacy programming has always made me laugh. Yet I still wondered why it pulled Islam vs. Islamists after the Center for Public Broadcasting authorized its creation last year and funded it with $675,000. Brent Bozell describes today in the Washington Times what changed since then:

The left maintains an iron grip on PBS with all the maturity and sophistication that a 4-year-old hangs on to a Happy Meal toy. The motto of its campaign against Mr. Tomlinson’s alleged transgressions should have been: “Mine. Mine. All Mine.”

Mr. Tomlinson is long gone, and Democrats now control Congress. But another step was necessary for classic PBS propaganda to re-emerge: the return of Bill Moyers. He was back to full-time fulminating duties April 25, with a special titled “Buying the War.” The entire thesis of this 90-minute taxpayer-funded lecture? The national media were willing cogs in the neoconservative machine that took America to war.

How is this for PBS balance: Mr. Moyers didn’t allow a single conservative, neo- or otherwise, to challenge this ludicrous idea. Oh, there were assorted clips of conservatives (myself included) speaking in the months after September 11, 2001, but only to “prove” his case for a noxious “patriotism police” that allowed no dissent.

He did invite far-left media critics like Eric Boehlert and Norman Solomon to echo his conspiracy theory that the major media were stuffed with sticky pro-Bush saps. But then, Mr. Moyers also added major media players, from disgraced CBS anchor Dan Rather to former CNN boss Walter Isaacson, to agree with him that they were all woefully lacking in antiwar fervor.

In the same week, defense expert Frank Gaffney was telling a far different story — in fact, the opposite story. Unlike Mr. Moyers, Mr. Gaffney had proof. Back in the Tomlinson era, CPB pursued the idea of a broad-based documentary series on how America would respond to the post-September 11 world. Mr. Gaffney’s documentary proposal on “Islam vs. Islamism,” focusing on moderate Muslims’ efforts to challenge Islamofascists, was given a green light as one installment in the 11-part series called “America at the Crossroads.”

But once Mr. Tomlinson was out, the permanent liberal bureaucracy kicked into gear. The series was shipped to PBS’ Washington, D.C., superstation WETA. It promptly expressed horror that anyone would allow Mr. Gaffney anywhere near a PBS production because of his “day job” with a conservative advocacy group. They wanted Mr. Gaffney fired as an executive producer. When that didn’t happen, they censored the film, refusing to air it.

This is a clear double standard. Take Mr. Moyers as Exhibit A. Even as he constantly produces PBS programming, he has an advocacy-group job, as well, as president of the leftist Schumann Center for Media and Democracy — no one at PBS ever cared.