Fox News contra Pamela Geller and anti-jihad meeting

(Note, 2/18: see a commenter’s information about Saudi influence over Fox News)

Speaking of Robert Spencer and his ally Pamela Geller, see Fox News’ amazing attack on Geller for hosting a session on jihad at the upcoming CPAC conference. Fox News essentially takes the side of CAIR against Geller, quoting, without contradiction, CAIR’s characterization of her and her speakers, including Robert Spencer, as “Islamophobes” and “anti-Muslim bigots.” Geller responds.

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Mark Jaws writes:

We’ve got to admire that Geller gal. She may be a little off her rocker, but she nevertheless does good work for the cause. Isn’t it odd, that while white men falter and stumble over themselves, a black man (Allen West), a Filipina (Michelle Malkin), and a Jewish yenta (Geller) are the ones leading the charge in defending the West against Islam?

LA replies:

Maybe it’s not odd at all. Liberalism is aimed at paralyzing and silencing white men. It doesn’t paralyze and silence blacks, Filipinas, and yentas, at least not as much or in the same way.

Mark Jaws replies:

Excellent point. I despise successful white men who having reached the pinnacle of their careers, such as former Chief of Staff Richard Myers, have the opportunity to speak out—but don’t.

LA writes:

At the same time, it must be said that Geller and her friend and ally Robert Spencer sought to marginalize me, telling their substantial readerships to regard me as an enemy. Why? Because I had criticized some of Spencer’s positions, particularly on Muslim immigration, and pointed out his inconsistent statements in that area. I didn’t smear Spencer, I didn’t seek to marginalize him, in fact I repeatedly described him as an important Islam critic; but my legitimate criticisms of him led Spencer, followed by Geller, to smear and try to marginalize me. Thus Geller in 2008 described me as the equivalent of the uber smearer Charles Johnson, a comment she repeated in even stronger terms a few months ago in an e-mail after I had written a conciliatory e-mail to her.

A clique, such as the Spencer-Geller circle, which fails to make the distinction between legitimate disagreement and personal smears, which regards legitimate criticism of themselves as smears which then justify their actual smears against the critic, is not in a good position to protest the political correctness of our mainstream culture.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the fact that she would never do the same for me, I take Geller’s side against Fox News and CAIR, because as far as I’m concerned we’re all on the same side in this. But she hasn’t made it easy.

February 18

AC writes:

Are you away that Saudi Prince Al-Waleed has considerable influence over Fox News?

Here is a relevant article from Frontpage Magazine: “Fox’s Saudi Prince,” By Frank J Gaffney Jr.

It is worth noting that since the publication of that article, Mr. Murdoch’s NewsCorp has acquired the Wall Street Journal. It occurs to me that Prince Al-Waleed may have commissioned the publication of this WSJ piece about Major Nidal Hassan: Major Hasan and the Quran by Salam Al-Marayati.

It argues that Major Hassan’s interpretations of the Koran were in error. It also argues that the U.S. government should allow Muslim-American religious leaders to meet with Nidal Hasan and encourage him to repent. Here is some background information on Mr. Al-Marayati, the author of the piece: Salam Al-Marayati: The Anti-Anti-Terrorist

According to the DBKP Report you linked to the other day, Fox News and WSJ Opinion Journal are the number one and two most popular conservative websites.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 17, 2010 03:38 PM | Send