Learned Helplessness

(photo compliments of the Pentagon)

NPR and it's stealth Xtian-extremist, Barbara Bradley-Hagerty [yes, her!], must think its listeners are like the poor dogs of Martin Seligman's learned helplessness experiments: after being subjected to pain that they cannot control, they simply lie there and whimper when subjected to shock after shock - even when a way of escaping is provided.

Fortunately, listeners are not always as ignorant as NPR must think they are. On Thursday's ATC, Bradley Hagerty reported on the Army's "Spiritual Fitness" test, and kept the focus solely on the legal/Constitutional issues of the story, while completely ignoring very important facts and context that are essential to a full understanding of the case. Fortunately some of the commenters at the NPR site were not about to let her distort the history of the case.

One listener, providing the relevant link wrote:

"NPR left out a major part of this story, which was reported last week by Truthout.org and then reported by Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The person who is responsible for coming up with this crazy idea is Martin Seligman, who was also the inspiration for the CIA's torture program."

The listener noted that no credit was given to Truthout.org for the story.

Another listener, complimenting the mention of the Truthout.org piece, noted that Salon.com had covered the war-profiteering and slippery ethics of Martin Seligman angle of this story even earlier. Unsurprisingly, NPR and Bradley Hagerty, made no mention of this either.

Understandably, to fully cover this story, NPR would have to violate its own tortuous Torture-That's-Not-Torture policy. Readers here are under no such restraints and should feel free to read more about Seligman's "unwitting" involvement in the Bush era (now Obama era) torture programs. Martin Seligman's rejection of being complicit with torture is interesting, Scott Horton's Q&A with Jane Mayer is helpful, and Andrew Sullivan's ruminations are worth looking at, too.

I should note that General Warlove appreciated Ms. Bradley Hagerty's narrow focus.

Of Extremists and Militants

(source of graphic)

Seriously, if you were a reporter and you found out that a "Christian" film festival featured an independent "Christian" film that was the largest grossing independent film of 2008, and you found out that this film festival was offering a grand prize of $100,001 - wouldn't you be curious to know more about the groups and people organizing and funding such things? Not NPR, and definitely not Barbara Bradley Hagerty who apparently has never heard of Google or Lexis Nexis or investigative journalism.

She tells us that the festival is called the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and that Doug Phillips is its organizer. I'd call those leads, and with just a little research you can find some very interesting things about them.

Take the festival for example. Here's it's website, and you will notice in its header it states that it is a project of Vision Forum Ministries. Do a little poking around this "Christian" film festival website and you'll find some fascinating movies on the program page, including this culturally sensitive gem of a film set in Togo which "begins with the meeting and marriage of a young man and woman. After multiple miscarriages, the family asks for help from the local charlatan."

Don't stop at the festival site, though. Take a gander at the Vision Forum Ministries site and be sure to see what these "conservative Christians" (as Scott Simon calls them) believe about biblical patriarchy. And don't miss out on festival organizer and Vision Forum Ministries president, Doug Phillip' biography. If you still don't quite get what these Christofacists are up to you might want to read Doug's blog post from June 2004 where he notes - among other things -

• "Vision Forum opposes the pagan notion of pluralism....America should serve only Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him alone as the true lawgiver."
• "...we seek to drive from the land every manifestation of homosexuality. Furthermore, Sodomy was a punishable crime at common law and should remain such."
• "The Bible makes no distinction between homosexuals, pedophiles, bestials and rapists. All are criminals, the toleration of which brings judgment on the land and devastation to children."

You have to wonder whether Hagerty is just lazy or if she and NPR are sympathetic to these kinds of Christian extremists. It's really a disservice to Christians to call them conservative Christians, especially when every other report on NPR regarding the US "war on terror" mentions Islamic militants and Islamic extremists.

Junk News Loves Junk Science

NPR do have a thing for "controversial" non-science:

• April 2008's selling of something Ben Stein expelled.
• April 2008's celebration of a global warming wunderkind skeptic
• May 2007's commercial for the creation "museum."

So I guess it's no surprise that this afternoon on ATC Larry Abramson provides almost no background and context for the Louisiana "Science Education Act" - ( another Trojan Horse of creationism lovingly crafted by the theocratic Louisiana Family Forum).

Abramson introduces the piece claiming that the Science Education Act "protects teachers who engage in what's known as critical thinking about all controversial science - about climate change, cloning, and - of course - evolution." He also tells us that a school administrator and proponent of the law "never brought up God or creation...he and others appear confident that they can use the idea of critical thinking to poke holes in the theory of evolution without bringing God into the equation. That may be why Darwin defenders are so worried."

Abramson simply adopts the Orwellian "critical thinking" language of the law. He also calls sound science "controversial" (which it is if you are in favor of reactionary ignorance). It is also odd that Abramson labels those who want to base the teaching of science on - well - science, as "Darwin defenders" (earlier he described them as "supporters of evolution"). Once again NPR pretends that there are two equally valid sides on this issue. I don't want to waste my time rehashing the mountains of scientific consensus against these anti-science efforts (much of what I posted on the Ben Stein story applies to this piece as well). What I will note is some of what Abramson could have done:

• He could have talked to NPR's own Ira Flatow who has an excellent chapter on the Dover creationist case in his new book Present at the Future.
• He could have investigated the Louisiana Family Forum and it's sugar daddy in Washington and their recommended creepy "additional materials" (textbook addendum and DVDs) that the Louisiana law allows teachers to bring into their science classes.
• He could have spent 15 minutes researching the National Center for Science Education website.
• He might have tried reading Scientific American's article on the issue.
• He could have consulted the Louisiana Coalition for Science featuring the writings of Barbara Forrest who was an expert witness in the Dover case (and Trojan Horse author).

OR

He could be sloppy and lazy and spend most of the report talking to an administrator and a science teacher who want to challenge that wild-eyed, seat-of-the-pants, riddled-with-errors theory of evolution.

Nice Christian Reconstructionists

Scott Simon interviewed Washington Post reporter Hanna Rosin about Patrick Henry University, an far-right, Bible-as-literal-truth based university that has deep roots in the current White House.

The report is a maddeningly sloppy and de-contexualized downplaying of the threat of Christian Reconstructionism and Christian Extremism in the United States. Nothing is mentioned about the armed wing of Christian extremism as evidenced by Blackwater or the takeover of military chaplain corp and the Air Force Academy by Christian extremists.

Instead of a serious discussion of this troubling movement Simon and Rosin engage in the childish nonsense about how "nice" the students of Patrick Henry are. They don't give one bit of attention to the founder and chancellor, Michael Farris and his roots in Christian Reconstructionism, and that in spite of his leaving COR because he supposedly "doesn't believe in theocracy", he still is deeply entwined with the Christian Reconstructionist movement.

Simon tells us that students of Patrick Henry "tend to be smart, thoughtful...and nice" and asks Rosin "so why are some people so frightened by them?" Even though Rosin mentions that students at Patrick Henry call themselves "the tip of the spear" who talk about "taking back the nation," she mainly talks about how amazing the students are. One who lived with her for months is described as "so fabulous, and so smart, and so impressive, and so incredibly successful, and attractive and funny."

Seriously, is there any serious journalist or thinker who doesn't know that agents of the most vile and reactionary change and policies can be "nice," "funny," "thoughful," "smart," and even "attractive?"

A particularly insidious portion of the interview comes when Rosin claims that her "lefty journalist" friends, would ask her - regarding her Patrick Henry boarder - "Why are you harboring Nazis in your attic?" To which the ever "nice" Scott Simon says, "What was she scared of. I mean that strikes me, I've got to say, as a very hard-hearted reaction. You know call someone living in your attic a Nazi just because what, she's Christian?"

My reactions were first, I seriously doubt that Rosin of the Washington Post even knows any leftist journalists. Secondly, I imagine that such comments were not made to her as fodder for critiquing on the air with Scott Simon. Finally, it really pissed me off to hear Simon say that the reactions are because the student is a "Christian." No it is because she represents the Christian Supremacist/Dominionist "tip of the spear." And yes that is something to greatly fear and something that responsible journalists should be trying to uncover and not downplay.

Our Own Mullah Omar

For any of those sad souls out there who still maintain that NPR leans even gently to the left - or has a balanced approach to the news, consider the death of the one of the founders of the the American Taliban - Mr. Falwell, our own Mullah Omar. Over the past two days NPR has given extensive coverage to the passing of Falwell. So far I've heard only from supporters (Paul Weyrich and fawning students at the laughably named "Liberty University"), critical supporters, and NPR's own journalists. What I never heard was a spokesperson such as Gary Leupp or Chris Hedges who would explain the very real Christo-fascist tendencies of Jerry Falwell and his contemporary crop of clones like James Dobson. There was some mention of the "hatefulness" of some of his remarks, but I never heard any one journalist or commentator remark on how shocking it is that a religious extremist leader who championed the assault on our country's precious tradition of secular government founded by secularists is praised by most of the contenders for the Republican nomination. Disgraceful...

Wikipedia v. Wackopedia

sciIn NPR's wide world of center-right relativism, reason and reality should never get in the way. If it had been April 1st I could have understood the serious and respectful coverage given to the Eagle Forum's favorite spawn, Andy Schlafly, as he promoted his rightist-Christian Conservapedia.

This would have been a great opportunity for NPR to do a little contextual analysis of the far right Christian movement and its neofascist tendencies (see for example Esther Kaplan's book or Chris Hedges new book). Instead NPR allowed Schlafly to control the discussion and make his points with little confrontation.

Robert Siegel never identified Schlafly as a member of the Eagle Forum and never challenged Schlafly's argument that Wikipedia has a "liberal" bias because its surveyed editors are more "liberal" than the American public. He should have insisted on Schlafly producing evidence of consistent distortions of facts in favor of a leftist point of view on Wikipedia instead of attacking the supposed point of views of the editors! Furthermore Siegel actually could have used the interview to point out that reality-based and factual knowledge (such as can be found in encyclopedias) generally undermine many beliefs sacred to the far right such as "creationism" or the supposed moral goodness of the free market. As the Daily Show often illustrates, reality does have a decidedly progressive anti-authoritarian bent to it.

Illinois blogger, ArchPundit has an excellent post regarding Conservapedia.

For God's Sake

I should first say that I am an atheist and secular humanist. However, I have a great deal of respect for people of faith who wrestle with the complexities of belief and try to live an ethical life. The one principle that I've retained and cherish from my Catholic upbringing is the Golden Rule.

What does disturb and disgust me is religion in the service of power, domination and violence - and news reports like those on Morning Edition today that present the most reactionary religious organizations as if they were mainstream, legitimate and reasonable.

Take a listen to the first report in which NPR visits the National Convention of Religious Broadcasters in Orlando, Florida. In this brief report about Republican candidates wooing the religious extreme right we hear from representatives of such groups as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and Salem Communications.

Following this report NPR looks at Democratic candidates through the lens of Michael Comartie , vice president of the neoconservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. Comartie makes several bogus claims about how "nonreligious" the Democratic base is and how only conservatives have religious values.

The story NPR should be covering is the one featured on Democracy Now! this week: the infiltration of the government and military achieved by the extremist religious organizations that they portray as mainstream. It would also be refreshing to hear from progressive Christians who reject the Dominionist ideology of the far right (including this evangelical group from my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida!).