Tea Party or Radical Muslim? Media gets it wrong!

Before the arrest of the radical Pakistani Muslim, Faisal Shahzad, many of the talk show hosts were speculating the attack as a possible or even likely Tea Party-related incident.  When I heard those concerns I realized just how out of touch the media is with the average citizen who just wants lower taxes and less government interference in local matters. 

Then I saw this headline from CBSNews.com: Faisal Shahzad's Motive Shrouded in Mystery

What planet is the author on? For that matter, who is the person who penned the title and the article? They seemed to have missed the forest while seeing the trees. Radical Muslims inflict carnage for one reason: to strike fear in the hearts of those who do not believe the same as they do. For radical Muslims, the BELIEVE OR DIE mentality is the cornerstone of their faith. Unfortunately, the cartoon above accurately portrays or mass media and government.

Just over a week ago my blog was visited by someone with an electronic signature designated "national security-090923120828". I'm use to seeing congressional or state representative imprints/designations due to the politics I preach. However, in light of the Times Square attack and the media campaign against the so-called Tea Party movement, I have to wonder why I would get a hit on my tiny blog by a service provider designated "national security-090923120828". Is it because of my very loose affiliation with a few Tea Party activists or did someone at the NSA "trip over" my blog while surfing the World Wide Web? Who knows, who cares, and so what; life goes on.

But not so fast.  I am not concerned about law enforcement looking around here, I support them and their difficult job.  Let them have their fishing expedition and they can start right here.  I am concerned though about mass media.  On a local level, a single media outlet such as radio or TV, can sway thousands, perhaps millions if the market is that large.  Locally, there are also print media sources like news papers, which can sway the minds of thousands, maybe even millions, with their slanted articles that do not have the authors' names.  Then we have the blogs.  Friends for Fullerton's Future did a great job exposing Red County Blog and a local self-proclaimed conservative blogger who is taking public funds to support social welfare programs in Orange County.  This is but a small example of the pains that special interests will go to in an effort to gain traction for their cause.  The worst part is that many "reporters" and "bloggers" really are nothing more than public relation consultants.  If someone with enough money, maybe just a few thousand dollars, wants to cast a negative shadow on a political group like the Tea Party movement or even ACORN, the masses minds will be tainted. 

One fact remains: our greatest effort should be directed towards identifying radical Muslims who have consistently and repeatedly shown their willful and wanton disregard for the value of human life and equal rights. The media and our government need to bear that in mind when they report on incidents of terrorism and conduct investigations. Simply look to the likely source.