Last Friday I posted about the four men arrested by the FBI for plotting the bombing of Bronx synogugues, and how the mainstream media was burying way at the bottom of their articles the highly relevant fact that they were of the Muslim faith. I also suggested that if the story were about a Christian plotting to bomb abortion clinics, the perpetrator’s faith would be in the first paragraph, if not in the headline itself.
This prompted a reader “Dave B” from the U.K. to comment thus:
Here is what the headline is when a christian extremist tries to blow up an abortion clinic.
"Man Arrested in Abortion Clinic Bomb Plot"
You wouldn't even know he was a christian until the 17th paragraph where they say:
"Jordi is "overzealous about the Lord," but not a violent person, Ward said."
That's the only clue he is a christian.
This news story NEVER made it to CNN (search for his name on their site, I dare you.) and only the resulting trial can be found mentioned searching on Fox News where his religious affiliation is not even hinted at, least of all mentioned.
So, run that buy me again... why is it so bad that the religious affiliation of these nutcases trying to bomb synagogues was only mentioned half way into the article?
It's just this bloggers assertion that if christians tried to bomb abortion clinics it would be all over the headline is totally false as demonstrated by the fact it HAS happened and it was NOT reported like that.
Now, I can’t vouch for Red Orbit or CNN, but in February, 2004, when this anti-abortion activist Jordi pleaded guilty to the bomb plot, Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service (used by the Miami Herald among others) wrote this:
(Publication: The Miami Herald (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)
Publication Date: 13-FEB-04
A former Army Ranger inspired by antiabortion activists pleaded guilty Friday to devising a plot to blow up abortion clinics and gay bars nationwide.
Stephen John Jordi, an evangelical Christian from Coconut Creek, Fla., with a flaming cross tattooed on his right forearm, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted firebombing.
The plea marks the first time Jordi, 35, has admitted that he was making plans to abandon his family and pursue a terror campaign that would promote his fundamentalist beliefs.
That's the second paragraph.
So let me clarify: Even though I never said all mainstream media outlets would advertise a Christian anti-abortionist’s faith at the top, it is apparent from this Jordi example that some have, and others have not.
Let's not distract ourselves from the real issue, though: As long as the plotters of a bombing or other heinous act are Muslim, the MSM continues not to call attention to it.
In fact, there’s another strategy the NY Times has utilized, which is to note when plotters are Muslim, but only to suggest that their faith was not a factor. That is exactly what we see in the NY Times just two days ago. Clay Waters at TimesWatch writes:
Times Still Denying the Obvious About Bronx Synagogue Bomb Plot
“The authorities have made no overt claim that the four suspects -- James Cromitie, Onta Williams, David Williams IV and Laguerre Payen -- hatched a plot in jail or that their experiences behind bars led to their alleged acts. In fact, it is uncertain just how much of a role their faith played in their motivation.”
In the aftermath of a foiled plot by four prison converts to radical Islam to blow up two Bronx synagogues, roving reporter Daniel Wakin filed a politically correct story on whether or not Islam radicalizes inmates. Wakin tread very lightly over the issue in Sunday’s “Imams Reject Talk That Islam Radicalizes Inmates.” There’s another denial of the obvious:
The authorities have made no overt claim that the four suspects --James Cromitie, Onta Williams, David Williams IV and Laguerre Payen -- hatched a plot in jail or that their experiences behind bars led to their alleged acts. In fact, it is uncertain just how much of a role their faith played in their motivation.
What is clear is that the men were all initially described by the authorities and some family members as Muslim, and all had served time in prison. In the case of Mr. Cromitie, he even served time at the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, N.Y. -- the very prison where Mr. Muhammad works. He also was said to have occasionally attended the mosque in Newburgh, where Mr. Muhammad serves as imam.
That weasel-wording sounds a lot like what Metro reporter Alan Feuer said about the plot against Fort Dix, New Jersey in May 2007 by a group of six radical Muslims:
“It is unclear what role, if any, religion played in the attack Mr. Shnewer and the five other men are charged with planning.”
In fact, on the very day I did my initial post (Friday the 22nd), NY Times writer Michael Wilson expressed a logic-defying uncertainty whether the perpetrators were Muslim to begin with. This despite the fact that the article itself had them shouting “Allahu Akbar” and one of them recently starting to grow a beard and read the Koran.
The Times also denied a religious connection in its Friday front-page story on the Bronx synagogue plot:
“Law enforcement officials initially said the four men were Muslims, but their religious backgrounds remained uncertain Thursday.”
How effing stupid do these politically correct Times writers think we are? Apparently, very.
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