Here in northern California, we have a case of censorship/punishment of two local radio guys Armstrong and Getty over a rip on Muslims going nutso worldwide over an unfriendly video, and suggesting that a thousand Mohammed videos should bloom for a massive desensitization project. Actually, plenty already exist, like Geert Wilders’ Fitna and The Third Jihad.
(One remembers that the woman who started the “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” with a similar aim was forced to go into hiding because of the death threats from the Religion of Peace.)
Armstrong and Getty were removed from broadcasting for one day because of the following rant:
Incidentally, I disagree with the underlying supposition that Muslims simply have issues with anger management, which can be handled by western strategies of apology (Obama’s choice) or desensitization (Armstrong & Getty here). Another exponent of the latter approach is Islam scholar Daniel Pipes who thought a major print-in of cartoons by the press would create a “routinization” that would wear out the unfriendlies: A Muhammad cartoon a day.
Unfortunately, the MSM’s cowardice about defending free speech makes Pipes’ suggestion unlikely to take root.
The deeper problem with Muslims is the violent supremacism that comes from the Koran’s religious teaching. The book of Islam has over 100 verses calling for violence against unbelievers. If there’s instruction about how to graciously accept apologies from infidels, I haven’t heard of it. Mohammad told followers to offer Islam to outsiders, but if they refused, then they should be killed.
Most Muslims don’t want the secular state with free speech that we in the West understand as democratic governance, as a Pew poll of several countries shows.
A more reasonable approach for America would be to give up on the idea of Islamic democracy and even having friendly relations. Washington should work hard to expand domestic energy supplies with the possibility in mind that a Middle East flare-up could severely reduce oil. Elites must realize that dar al-Islam is a separate, irrational universe where being nice is seen as weakness.
Above all, end Muslim immigration to this country. It is crazy to endanger American society and safety by following Europe’s descent into hell.
Here are more details about Armstrong and Getty’s enforced day off:
Armstrong & Getty absent from Sacramento live radio amid controversy over Muslims, Modesto Bee, September 26, 2012
Popular talk radio show hosts Armstrong & Getty were absent from Clear Channel’s live programming Tuesday amid controversy around one of the hosts’ on-air comments about Muslims.
KSTE (650 AM) aired a previously recorded “Best Of” morning show on Tuesday instead of its regularly scheduled live program featuring Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Officials for the Sacramento station and its owner, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, offered no explanation for the change, sparking questions and heated comments among fans on the show’s Facebook page.
During an on-air discussion Monday, Armstrong criticized the United States for what he characterized as apologizing for a crude YouTube video that mocked the Prophet Muhammad and sparked anti-U.S. uprisings around the globe. He urged listeners to make their own “anti-Muhammad ads” and post them to Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news network. “We need to bombard them with ads until they grow up,” he said.
Armstrong did not return a phone message from The Bee on Tuesday, and Clear Channel spokesman Dave Milner said, “We do not have any information at this time” about the hosts and their future at KSTE.
The program, which airs weekday mornings, features the hosts taking calls from the public and offering social commentary and humorous anecdotes about everything from celebrity sex to politics.
The show’s fans spoke out on Armstrong & Getty’s Facebook page Tuesday, questioning why they were absent from the live broadcast and accusing the channel of censorship.
“Attention Clear Channel Cowards: Are you really afraid that both Muslims in Sacramento are going to picket the station, or boycott all of your advertisers selling prayer rugs? Really?” wrote one Facebook poster.
He and others said they were prepared to protest if Armstrong and Getty were suspended or fired for Monday’s remarks.
Other posters defended the channel’s right to censor content that it deemed offensive.
The Sacramento Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, has decided to steer clear of the controversy, said executive director Basim Elkarra.
“They’re just doing it for ratings,” he said of Armstrong’s remarks about Muslims.
“Of course, we don’t like some of their attacks,” Elkarra said of the radio hosts. “But we respect freedom of speech.”
