Divest for Big Brother

Morning Edition offers uncritical airtime to the land of Ashcroft's state treasurer--Sarah Steelman--as she promotes her efforts to push divestments of companies that do business in countries on the State Departments absurd list of state sponsors of terror.

This report is a labyrinth of right-wing creepiness. As mentioned above it prominently features Steelman who's proud accomplishment as a Missouri legislator was to place "on the ballot Constitutional Amendment No. 2, the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which was adopted by voters in August 2004, to define marriage in Missouri as a union between one man and one woman." Then we hear NPR favorite and slimy neocon, Frank Gaffney, talk about "state sponsors of terror" without being challenged. Finally Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) chimes in with "Right now the door is open to American dollars going into the pockets of terrorist countries." Sherman has an interesting little history with NPR and Zionist militancy.

Of course there is no counter to this version of who sponsors terrorism, not even an indication that a rational look at history and current events might lead one to conclude that one of the main state sponsors of terrorism is missing from the list.

A fine moment comes at the end when Michele Kelemen wraps it up by noting that "with some key members of Congress working this issue and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC starting a campaign to pressure states to divest, this movement is likely to pick up some steam in the months ahead." Notice that she humbly forgot to add that this steam will also pick up with the help of narrow and complicit media outlets like NPR.