This one could be right out of a
spy novel, but it's a real story. At the Democratic National Committee winter
2007 meeting, Imam Husham Al-Husainy delivered an invocation that was very
controversial to say the least. Al-Husainy made a call to stop 'oppression and
occupation' which was clearly a reference to the US and possibly Israel, but in
either case, the Democrat Party has made no steps to distance itself from the
statement. Oddly enough, Democrat Party strategist Lisa Schwartz later went as
far as defending the Imam and his statements even after his past was exposed.
Why the Democrats would defend such highly
inflammatory comments is unconscionable, regardless of ones political beliefs,
unless of course if the DNC is adopting the position of the terrorists who want
to destroy this great nation. Boycott Watch is not taking political sides
between Democrats and Republicans, but one thing is for certain, and that is
everyone needs to stand up against people who support terrorists and it is very
clear that Al-Husainy clearly supports terrorism as evidenced by his own
comments (See
YouTube
video here) supporting Hezbollah, and organization dedicated to murdering
innocent people.
Why the Republican Party has not
jumped on this as an issue is another question. Perhaps the Republican
politicians are letting commentators do the dirty work for them, waiting for
the fallout to clear before they join into the fight. While this reports
questions why the Democrat party is standing by Al-Husainy, this report equally
questions why the Republican Party itself is not taking a direct stance either.
In the words of Zev Jabotinsky, 'Silence is despicable'.
This report, however, is not so much about
Al-Husainy as it is about an internal media battle over the credit for
uncovering the details about Al-Husainy. There is one person in the media who
has continually exposed details about those who support in terrorists within
the Arab community of Dearborn, Michigan which has the largest population of
Arabs outside of the Middle East, and that person is Detroit area native
political commentator, high-profile blogger, and my friend Debbie Schlussel (www.DebbieSchlussel.com).
The media controversy, which is the crux of the
report, is about whom gets credit for exposing the facts about who Al-Husainy
really is and if credit is due for uncovering such information. It is customary
in reporting to give credit to sources, except in cases where the source wishes
to remain anonymous, in which case that request is honored. In the case where
the source is disputed, the writer gives credit to one source, and the other
source will probably not be happy. In either case though, reporters sign their
work, be it a 'by line' in a written report or by name in a video report.
Within reports, the proper method of giving credit is to simply state so and so
reports x or y. These are subtle, yet gives proper credit to those who
developed the story.
In the case at hand, Debbie
Schlussel (www.DebbieSchlussel.com) developed
information over years of going undercover to Islamic extremist events, and as
a result she has established herself as an expert on the topic, risking her
life in some cases. Schlussel complained to Sean Hannity because he did not
identify her as the source of information about Al-Husainy, despite it being
clear that Schlussel was the source. As such, Hannity was essentially claiming
himself as the source of someone else's work, which is plagiarism.
Schlussel has been on other programs discussing
Al-Husainy as an expert where she was clearly identified as such, yet only
Hannity refused to identify his source. To add insult to injury, Hannity had
guests on his show other than Schlussel to discuss Schlussel's findings, also
without credit. The record was finally set straight when Conservative talk show
host Michael Reagan, while on Hannity's America on Fox (See
YouTube
video here), clearly identified Schlussel as the source to Hannity and on
Hannity's show, thus setting the record straight.
Conservative commentator Sean Hannity was clearly wrong for not giving proper
credit and fellow conservative commentator Michael Reagan took a risk by
correcting the host of the show he was on, despite possible future retribution.
Reagan has always placed his integrity before anything else, which is why he is
respected for his opinions, even by those who disagree with him. Schlussel
fought hard for her own dignity as a journalist and should be commended for
developing the information which made Al-Husainy and his support for terrorism
a national story. Both Fox and Hannity owe Schlussel an on-air apology, and the
DNC owes an apology to the American people for having Al-Husainy speak at their
meetings, but for some reason the DNC has thus far stood by Al-Husainy,
In full disclosure, I stated Debbie Schlussel is a
friend, but that did not influence the reporting of this story other than the
fact that Boycott Watch is covering this. There has been much said in the
blogosphere about this, and our goal here is to set the record straight as
Boycott Watch always has. This is also not the first time Boycott Watch has
reported about media trappings, and we doubt it will be the last. |
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