| July 22, 2005
- "Those who think terrorism is incident specific
don’t understand the terrorist mind.” – John
Howard, Australian Prime Minister, July 21, 2005.
Exactly two-weeks to the day, terrorist bombers have struck
in London again. Using materials identified by British authorities as
identical to the first attacks, terrorists have succeeded in shutting down
that country’s capitol, finance center and most populace city. They have
once again wreaked havoc in London, leaving its people wary and insecure
about their surroundings. So, it is surprising that CBS/Infinity Radio would
pass on an opportunity to carry advertising for a symposium on terrorism
designed to educate the American people on the terrorist mindset. But that
is exactly what they did.
As we fight our daily battles in the War
on Terror we can be sure about a few things; information equates to
security, knowledge to acquiring the upper hand against our foes and that if
we bury our heads in the sands of appeasement we will all soon be bowing to
the East several times a day.
Make no mistake; there are some among us
who believe that this "War on Terror” is a recent development. How wrong
they are. The Islamo-fascist extremists who enjoy sawing people’s heads off
with saifs and stoning their own women for being raped have been
waging war against the West for over three decades . They have literally
declared war on the United States and the West, very clearly and in writing.
So, a question needs to be asked. Why
would a major media outlet like CBS/Infinity Radio refuse to allow a
non-partisan, private sector group to advertise an educational symposium on
terrorism? I can give you their answer – as unbelievable as it is – but
first a bit of background.
Jeff
Epstein, a friend of mine who I met during the 2004 election cycle, has an
organization titled, The People’s Truth Forum. Its goal is, "to
educate the American people on controversial topics of national security….by
disseminating critical information that is not readily available, via
conventional channels, to concerned citizens.”
Currently, his organization is
sponsoring a symposium titled, The Radical Islamic Threat to World Peace
and National Security. Given the events of the past two weeks in London
this seems like a timely and necessary educational opportunity. At least one
would think so.
I have been doing what I can to help
Jeff make the symposium a success. I agreed to help him because I believe
most Americans would benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the
speakers that he has assembled for this event. Harvey Kushner, a noted
terrorism expert, has instructed the FBI and FAA. Robert Spencer has written
several books on the subject of Islamic terrorism and publishes the popular
website JihadWatch. Laura Mansfield, an author and counter-terrorism
expert, alerted British authorities that the first bombings in London were
imminent weeks before they occurred and Brigitte Gabriel is a Lebanese born
journalist who has experienced the terrorism of Islamo-fascists first hand.
By all accounts, these people know what they are talking about and bring a
very important message – and an incredible amount of knowledge – to this
public forum. So, you can imagine my surprise when Jeff contacted me in an
incredulous state last week.
It would appear that he had been in
talks with a local radio station in New England – a CBS/Infinity Radio
affiliate – to run some commercials publicizing the upcoming event. At first
everything was wonderful. The local sales manager even complimented Jeff on
how professional the recordings were. A sales schedule (agreement) was sent
to Jeff for his approval and the commercials appeared set to run.
One day later, Jeff received a phone
call from the sales manager saying that his station would not be running the
ads for the symposium and that their agreement would not be honored. When
the sales manager was pressed for a reason he said that the Legal Department
at CBS/Infinity Radio had instructed him not to run the ads stating, "Too
many people might be emotionally affected by the subject matter…It's too
controversial to be aired at this time."
What? Emotionally affected? Too
controversial? Aside from some of the freakish statements that come out of
the black helicopter crowd on the liberal left and the radical right, this
is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard!
Wasn’t it too controversial to run
innuendo-based "news” items about Quran desecration at Guantanamo Bay? Isn’t
the opportunistic coverage of innocents being beheaded for the thousandth
time risking that people might be too "emotionally affected by the subject
matter?” How controversial was forging a memo in an attempt to topple a
sitting president?
CBS/Infinity is no stranger to
controversy. In fact, they thrive on it. Given the fact that until recently
their most valuable radio personality was Howard Stern I seriously doubt
they give a rodent’s behind about the effects their programming has on the
"emotions” of their listeners.
They didn’t mind covering the
"atrocities” at Abu Ghraib ad nauseum but allowing advertising to promote
knowledge on a topic that pertains directly to the safety and security of an
entire nation is, "too controversial to be aired at this time.” If there was
ever an example of a politically correct agenda this would be premier.
CBS/Infinity Radio has an opportunity to
do something right for a change. They can choose to put their politically
motivated agenda aside to help publicize a non-partisan educational event
that would facilitate, as my friend Jeff put it, "a potent message for both
our citizenry and our first responders.”
If this were a propaganda-fest featuring
a panel of MoveOn.org endorsed rumor-mongers CBS/Infinity would likely smile
upon the suggestion of coordinating a simulcast as a "public service” to
their listeners. But it’s not. Instead, a panel of experts has been
assembled to address a most serious issue facing the American people and
CBS/Infinity is so blinded by their agenda of subterfuge that they once
again do a disservice to the American public.
There will be no half-truths and
manipulation at The Radical Islamic Threat to World Peace and National
Security Symposium, only experts and facts. Perhaps someone would be
kind enough to buy a couple of tickets for the legal eagles at CBS/Infinity.
Lord knows it would do them good to be re-introduced to the idea of
presenting facts over fiction.
Related Reading:
CBS/Infinity
Radio blacks out anti-terror conference
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45305
The People’s
Truth Forum
http://www.peoplestruthforum.com/symposium.htm
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