Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Front Page Magazine

During my morning commute, as I skipped about the morning radio programs from WHYY (90.9FM) to The Big Talker (1210AM), I learned about another source for the conservative viewpoint. And, as I am a big proponent of getting all sides of a story in order to filter out the garbage and get to the truth, I thought I would share this one. That, and I suppose I feel the need to balance the content here a bit. So here goes...
Front Page Magazine
David Horowitz is the president and founder of the Center for the Study of the Popular Culture, and is an editor and columnist for its online magazine: Front Page Magazine. FrontPage features daily bulletins, columns by David Horowitz and other leading pundits, and constant updates on the ongoing crises of our day, from multiculturalism to the war on terror. Coverage of Horowitz is just as divided as the upcoming election. Media Transparency refers to Horowitz as "one of the right's favorite kinds of people: lapsed leftists." And they have an interesting slant on his bio on their site. That might just be sour grapes on their part since Horowitz made a severe ideological shift in the late 1980s. The bio on his own site has, understandably, a more favorable approach to his career summary. At this time, after only hearing the radio interview and checking some sites, I have no opinion. He certainly sounds passionate in his convictions, but I cannot yet convict or laud him for his passions.
So, uh, what about that radio interview?
Right. Almost forgot. The other reason I wanted to enter a post about Horowitz and Frontpage is a little something that caught my ear this morning. Actually, I am not certain if I heard this on the radio, or just read about it on his site, which I visited after hearing about it on the radio. It could have been both, or something else entirely, so i'll just continue as if I had not completely confused you. Horowitz was on a radio program to talk about his new book: Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left. A spirited book if that title is any indication. Now, I cannot point to a specific quote in the interview, but in a blog entry, Horowitz claims that his book is under attack at Amazon.com. He says:
"[T]he left has set out to destroy this book. Since my appearance on C-Span a series of attacks on the book by people who obviously haven't read it have been posted at Amazon to warn potential readers from buying copies and learning about the left for themselves. Generally conservatives are too decent and too tolerant to participate in such tactics."
Final Comments
So here's the thing. Obviously, Horowitz cannot know with any kind of certaintly that the people attacking has book have not even read it. For all I know, there are only two possibilites: (1) They read the book and they have come to hold opposite conclusions. (2) They could just be following someone else's directions in a concentrated effort to slam the book into obscurity. If the first case holds true, it is perfectly fine and reasonable for these folks to voice their opposition -- and provide facts to back it. If the second case holds true ... well, I sincerely hope the latter is not the case. As I have written previously, that behavior is simply a terrible lapse in judgement and it has no place in an informed, self-governing society. Further, for Horowitz to say, "Generally conservatives are too decent and too tolerant to participate in such tactics," is a serious stretch. This statement simply has no grounding in reality. Both sides of the great division are guilty of crapping on the other side. So please, Mr. Horowitz, do not muddy your case with a holier than thou attitude. It is a false pedestal, and too great a height from which to fall.

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