Arlington Road Revisited

So, I’m reading this news story on Yahoo; the headline: “24” Making Nice with Muslims … I’m asking myself, who is this CAIR organization (they seem to be the ones complaining to Fox and in negotiation with them)? I go to dogpile, and search … and how about that, search results yield: 1. CAIR and 2. Anti-CAIR

This is like some kind of looking-glass interface … Anti-CAIR reports on their website that CAIR is suing them for defamation. Anti-CAIR is fighting on the basis that it is only defamation if it’s not true! A search for Anti-CAIR on the CAIR website, however, had no results at all!

Curiouser and Curiouser, as Alice said.

Then I remembered something I’d read in "Imprimis" (a newsletter published by Hillsdale College, which I subscribe to) last year, and found the reference; "Imprimis" is transcribing a speech delivered by Stephen Schwartz, author of the bestselling book: The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism (Anchor, 2003). Sure enough: CAIR is mentioned in his speech; Schwartz tells a story about their approach to the San Francisco Chronicle some time ago, which was along the lines of: " ... whenever you do a story on Islam, you should call us first and make sure it is correct." In this approach, I am strangely reminded of how they seem to be dealing with Fox, here. Their people meet with the Fox producers and creative people. They sponsor PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) and prescribe how often and when they should be shown during airing of the Fox blockbuster “24” … Hmmm.

Now, I don’t get cable, but from what I’ve read, “24” sounds like a rip roaring story, and timely, too. It’s just a TV reenactment of the 1999 Tim Robbins film Arlington Road, made relevant post-911. I can’t imagine what all the fuss is about.