Monday, July 26, 2010

The Rightward Tilt of PCG's Political Opinions

In their coverage of politics PCG has chosen to embrace a very right wing viewpoint.

Here I shall discuss two issues which show PCG's right wing leaning in regards to politics. These are the positions that PCG chose to take on these issues and has chosen to promote among their followers.

When Arizona recently passed its harsh legislation against undocumented migrants, PCG chose to be sympathetic to those supporting that law and criticize those who oppose this law.
White males have taken a beating in recent weeks. First it was legislators in Arizona, branded as Nazis in some quarters, because they had the gall to clamp down on illegal immigration. Then it was Arizonans in general, labeled as racist for supporting tougher legislation, even though this majority support included many Hispanics—those who are legal citizens of Arizona. (Stephen Flurry, 'Watch Out for White Men,' May 7, 2010.)

The mayor of Phoenix called the measure “racist and unjust.” Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said the bill effectively “sanctions” racial profiling....

Even President Obama hastily joined in on the chorus of criticism against the Arizona law. Within hours of Governor Brewer signing the bill, Obama scolded Arizona lawmakers for their “misguided” work. He said it threatens to undermine the “basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.”

Should the law be enforced, President Obama envisioned life for Hispanic Americans to be something like this: “Now suddenly if you don’t have your papers and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you’re going to be harassed—that’s something that could potentially happen.”...

That’s what much of the backlash against the Arizona law amounts to: stirring up racial discord....rather than do something about the mounting danger, America’s leadership is instead lighting the fuse of a much more explosive time bomb. (Stephen Flurry, 'How Arizona’s Immigration Bill Sparks Racial Hate,' July, 2010, Philadelphia Trumpet.)
Stephen Flurry denounces those who criticize the law as "race baiters".
Small wonder that 70 percent of Arizonans support the new immigration bill.... But not the race baiters. They see the law’s passage as yet another opportunity to fan the flames of racial hatred and division. (Stephen Flurry, 'Playing the Race Card in Arizona' April 30, 2010.)
PCG's hard right approach to news may also be seen in how they approach news from Israel.

During that horrible incident aboard the Mavi Marmara in which IDF soldiers boarded the boat in international waters and in the confrontation nine activists were shot by IDF soldiers and died. Israel does have a right to exist and to protect themselves but I do not feel that those two legitimate goals apply or excuse this terrible and shocking incident. PCG chose to give their sympathy to the state of Israel and dismiss the protesters on the flotilla as 'terrorists'.

Personally I am disturbed at how little compassion is expressed here for those who perished and their loved ones.
The terrorists who sponsored the Gaza-bound “humanitarian” mission earlier this week got exactly what they were aiming for: a lethal retaliation from Israel’s navy, followed by a tidal wave of international outrage against Israel. It doesn’t matter that 50 passengers on board the Mavi Marmara were linked to terror groups, or that the “peace activists” attacked Israeli commandos with metal rods, broken bottles, knives and stun grenades, or that three of the Turks killed by Israeli commandos actually wanted to die as martyrs, or that investigators discovered bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and gas masks on board the ship.

All that matters is that Israel, once again, is the bad guy.
(Stephen Flurry, 'Israel the Outcast', June 4, 2010.)
What about the fact that nine unarmed men died? How can Stephen Flurry say "All that matters is that Israel, once again, is the bad guy" and thereby ignore all these heart breaking facts?

The Mavi Marmara is also discussed in Joel Hilliker's column A Good Excuse to End a Bad Relationship. What I notice about this column is that he seems to ignore the possibility that people would be genuinely angry that nine unarmed lives have been ended by armed IDF soldiers and portrays the Turkish government's condemnation as simply an excuse being used by Turkey's leaders to scuttle friendly relations with Israel. He also alludes to HWA's doctrine (taken from various strands of British Israelism
) that Turkey is descended from the nation of Edom. This idea was taught by one M. M. Eshelman who identified the Turks as Edom.

Nothing does that better than some telegenic anti-Israel protests—over Turks having been killed by Israeli soldiers, no less.

In this way, the flotilla incident was a slam-dunk.

The folks who organized it knew what they were doing. The Turkish group that staged the “humanitarian” mission to Gaza had ties to terrorist networks. It invited dozens of terrorists with ties to Iran, Hamas and al Qaeda to participate. It specifically sought to bust a naval blockade solely intended to limit Hamas’s ability to turn the Gaza Strip into a military bunker. It forced a confrontation, banking on the ability to turn it into a public relations disaster for the Jews.

Israel could see what was coming. Before the convoy set sail, Israeli leaders pleaded with Turkish officials to stop it; they offered to allow the supplies to be delivered through an Israeli checkpoint. But Erdoğan’s government let it go anyway. Thus, Israel had no choice but to intervene directly. And those on the boat made sure it turned violent.

Now, Turkey is milking the event for all it’s worth. It accused Israel of state-sponsored terrorism.
And so those are some political positions which PCG has chosen to produce for their followers and sympathizers.

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