I found it rather interesting when I got the Sunday paper (Union Leader’s NH Sunday News) a couple weeks back from the box, and contained within it was an eye catching insert with a DVD of the chilling movie "Obsession":
The back of the piece noted that the movie, which is a couple of years old, has been shown on CNN and Fox News Channel.
I do recall watching parts of the movie during several airings and, much like the work of Steve Emerson (Jihad in America), it presents grim details of what is happening among the radical Islamic "street" (regular people, if you can use that term) that is not often presented in the mainstream media.
When I visited my parents later that Sunday, my Dad commented on the DVD, which he too got with his paper. We discussed what a good thing this movie was getting around, as we believe when at war, ordinary citizens must understand why, and who the enemy is. This movie does both. Then I began to wonder why this came to us and took a close look at the list of newspapers that this appeared in, which was printed on the package:
Interesting. I told my Dad, "This is pretty clever. Look at the list… it’s all newspapers in swing states. I’m glad somebody’s reminding people about this… that we still have a huge problem on our hands, something people ought not forget as they vote." And then we went to the beach.
At the beginning of this week, several of my employees showed up with copies they got… in the mail:
Now the wheels started to turn. Whoever was doing this was doing a great service to our country as we get ready to choose the next war time president. Many people forget that there is a growing number of religious fanatics and their brainwashed automatons waiting for the next chance to take a whack at America. This movie is a good reminder. Near as we can tell, the guys at work that got the mailed DVD have military connections, or perhaps it’s that they voted in a Republican primary– it’s hard to pinpoint. *Perhaps some ‘Grok readers can report whether they’ve received a copy through some means.
Anyway, my observations about the distribution of the movie are in tune with none other than the pro-Islamist propaganda arm here in the US, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). And guess what?
They don’t like it! The movie (of course) and the fact that it is being distributed. Seems they think the free spread of speech and information by a group that wishes to do so, in their minds, is violating the law!
Here’s the story, from Breitbart.com:
A U.S. Muslim advocacy group Tuesday asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether a nonprofit group that distributed a controversial DVD about Islam in newspapers nationwide is a "front" for an Israel-based group with a stealth goal of helping Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
The promoters of "Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West" denied trying to promote any presidential campaign. They said it’s also incorrect to tie the DVD campaign to Jerusalem-based educational group Aish HaTorah International, although current and former employees are involved with the project.
The Council for American-Islamic Relations asked the FEC to investigate the DVD distribution, which targeted about 28 million households mostly in battleground election states.
The DVDs—which critics call anti-Muslim propaganda—were inserted this month into more than 70 newspapers and paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2006. The group’s focus is "the most urgent threat of radical Islam." It has declined to identify board members or its funding.
Never picked up for traditional distribution, "Obsession" features scenes of Muslim children being urged to become suicide bombers, 9/11 carnage and interviews with critics of Islam.
Another organization, the Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project," which will also include research publications and issue forums.
Ari Morgenstern, a spokesman for that group, said targeting swing states was designed to attract media attention, but is not meant to influence the election result. He said the film "makes a very clear and upfront distinction between the majority of peaceful followers of Islam and those people who subscribe to a radical Islamic ideology."
Read the rest here. And you thought that, in America, there is unfettered free speech. When it comes to arcane, convoluted election laws, in concert with those wishing to squash certain speech, one wonders. Even if CAIR wins this one, my guess is that the publicity of their action will simply cause those who chose to cast the DVD aside to go grab it and watch it to see what all the fuss is about. At least, that’s what I hope happens…