Leah O'Donovan

(CAVEAT, got kind of long-winded with this post) Right, I was originally going to write about this article on CNN about a school in New York City being branded a ‘madrassa’ simply because it wants to focus on Arabic language and culture. I was going to defend it and call the opposition closed-minded idiots. Well, I haven’t completely reneged on this idea but after some research it appears to me that the jury is still out on whether or not this school is a good or bad thing.

Instead, during my web-crawl to find information on the school, I found this appalling excuse for a website. Family Security Matters. It is so obviously run my some right-wing nuts hell-bent on scaring the bejesus out of average Americans…as if Fox news weren’t doing enough. The following exhibits are all questions taken from the FAQ on the site.

Exhibit A: “What is the Patriot Act and does it threaten my civil liberties?“ The answer says only that some people view it as a threat to civil liberties but tries to dissuade anyone from believing this because “While it does expand the circumstances in which intrusive investigations methods may be applied, their use still requires the approval of a judge issued through a warrant.” Seems to me no one told the NSA during the whole wire-tapping fiasco of the past few years.

Exhibit B: “What is the United Nations doing to combat terrorism?”  This one is so blatantly right-wing it’s unreal. “In the case of the war against Iraq, several members of the Security Council refused to give their support, claiming a variety of reasons. Later investigations revealed that their citizens and leaders were greatly profiting by illegal relationships with Saddam Hussein’s government through a corrupt aid program.” Really? Well so did UK MP George Galloway but Britain backed the US. I’d like to see the proof for that claim. It also says “A large source of the UN’s inability to combat terrorism has been the varied value systems of its member states that prevent a consensus on what terrorism actually means.” Well, duh! No one can agree on what exactly terrorism is because no one person has the same definition!!

Exhibit C: Does democracy have any effect on terrorism? Answer: “Democracy is not merely a Western phenomenon, but is suitable for all countries with an educated population. All people deserve the freedom to influence their own government and control their own lives. When they find this sort of freedom, they begin to develop the complex network of social, political, and economic contacts that makes someone less susceptible to terrorist indoctrination and more willing to live and work peacefully.” Firstly, an educated population. So, only educated people deserve democracy? Oh, so that means only uneducated idiots turn to terrorism, is that right? I’m afraid not. The 7/7 London bombers were all British-educated and several were teachers in the local schools. They also lived in a democracy. This argument is so full of holes it’s going down faster than the Titanic. Secondly, a complex network. I’d love for someone to go up to your average Iraqi and ask them if they’ve developed a ‘complex network’ yet. Give me a break.

The list would appear to go on and on as I’ve just discovered their list of editors and some of the articles these people have written are dead giveaways. You Can Help Control Flood of Illegal Aliens: Take These Action Steps and Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days FSM Editors. Scaremongering at it’s worst. Have a look at the full list here to get a better idea.

Finally, it should be pointed out that the one of these editors, Carol Taber (author spotlight of the week), has only a media background. Her expertise is (apparently) in start-up, turnaround, and repositioning projects…whatever the hell that means. She has experience in communications, not defence, not public policy, not journalism, nothing whatsoever to do with the topics on these web pages. Why is she writing for this site??

Oh my Lord I could go on and on. For some reason, this site has just struck a nerve in me today. It just annoys me to no end the scaremongering and right-wing propaganda plaguing American society. Now I highly doubt this site is very well known among the populace as I’ve never heard of it but you never know! It could be lurking around every corner! It could be following you and watching you in your very own home!! Shock, horror, it could even be trying to brainwash your children!!! We must save the world from this site before it’s too late!!!! Who will join me in the cause?!