The Questions That Are Never Asked.
Frank Cocozzelli printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 09:56:01 AM EST
 I'm usually left unsatisfied whenever public figures are interviewed in the media on matter of religion and politics.  The obvious follow-up questions are rarely, if ever asked.  It is as if the pundit class has an unwritten rule of not asking the tough question. Has access trumped required knowledge?

It sure seems that way.

I'm certainly not the only one who notices.  Bob Somerby's Daily Howler.  always hones in on the mainstream media's sophistry. During the week of January 24, 2007 he perfectly illustrated for us: how supposedly "liberal" writers fall for scripted spin; the press corps' standardized demonizing of Democrats; the bizarre press coverage of Campaign 2000; dim-witted Democrats who fail to defend their own party; and an elite pundit class that is economically disconnected from much of their readership.

In that spirit, I have some questions to assist the underachieving press should certain people appear in front of them. I hope these help:

"For Culture Warrior" Bill O'Reilly and Rev. Don Wildmon:
Can you identify these evil "secular progressives" by name that you allege are working night and day to take religion out of America? Can you also provide published statements, policy positions and an organizational chart for this supposed "liberal conspiracy?"

For Our Friends Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rev. Jim Wallis and US Senator Barack Obama
Well...same question.

For Institute on Religion and Democracy Catholics Robert P. George, George Weigel, Michael Novak and Mary Ann Glendon:
You folks also serve on the Catholic League's Board of Advisors. With that in mind, a League press release issued on April 22, 2005 entitled "Time For Non-Catholics To Butt Out," complained of non-Catholics interfering in internal Catholic Church Affairs. How do square that complaint with your own IRD activities that clearly interfere with the internal affairs of several mainstream Protestant denominations?

Follow-up question:
How do square that with the Golden Rule, you know-Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you?

For IRD board of advisor members Hadley Arkes, Hillel G. Fradkin  and Michael Medved:
I believe that you are all Jewish. As I asked of my fellow Catholics, Weigel, McCloskey and Glendon, why as a non-Christians are you so concerned with the internal doings of religious institutions you aren't affiliated with?  This is really about politics, isn't it?

While on the subject of Judaism, democracy and religious  freedom, this question is for you neocon godfather Irving Kristol!
In your book, Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea you gush about the joys of religious orthodoxy-all while you acknowledge being an atheist. While attacking modernity at page 434, you cite a very odd choice as a model of moral authority: Pope Pius IX. To that end, you cite the Pontiff's Syllabus of Errors, a tract that included attacks on reason, Protestantism and the separation of church and state.

Would your ideal neoconservative society tolerate the equal rights of everyone to worship as they or you neoconservatives see fit?

Two follow-up questions, Irving Kristol:
Speaking of your hero Pope Pius IX, in 1858 he ordered Vatican police to kidnap a young child-- Edgardo Mortara--from his Jewish family living in Bologna. Pius ignored his parents' plea for his return, raised him in the Vatican to become a priest--also against his family's wishes. Here are the two questions:

   A) Would you want to really live in a society where the children of your fellow Jewish-Americans can be taken away on the word of a religious leader and then raised in a different faith?
   B) How does your son Bill feel about that?

Hey, I didn't forget the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Straussian, Yuval Levin!
In a recent New York Times guest op-ed you stated as accepted scientific fact:

"It is a simple and uncontroversial biological fact that a human life begins when an embryo is created. That embryo is human, and it is alive; its human life will last until its death, whether that comes days after conception or many decades later surrounded by children and grandchildren."

Hmmm. I've got to ask you the following four questions (Remember: no noble lies allowed!):

   A) The question of "when life begins" is actually a philosophical question and not a scientific one. By making this philosophical assumption for all, aren't you actually masquerading Catholic and Evangelical orthodoxies as a widely agreed upon scientific conclusion?
   B) How do you square your statement with the different teachings of other Abrahamic faiths such as your own Judaism which holds that for the first forty days, the embryo has only the status of water?
   C) How can you describe an embryo as an individual with such certitude when it is accepted scientific fact that an embryo not yet aligned to the uterine wall can separate into multiple embryos or combine with another to form a single embryo?
   D) Your background is in political science, but not theology or medicine. Would it be fair to say your view is primarily political?

I know earning millions of dollars can make it hard to ask tough questions of fellow millionaires. So, I hope these questions will help you do your job, because frankly, a lot of you media folks are looking shallow and people are noticing.

When you get these questions asked, let me know. I've got lots more.




Display:
The readership of this site is pretty astute. With that in mind, let's hear from you. What questions would you like our millionaire pundits to really ask?

by Frank Cocozzelli on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 09:59:53 AM EST

You asked the questions that I would ask. Weigel recently published an op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times defending the Iraq venture and the current plans for a troop surge, so obviously he has no doubt about his ability to comment on current events. As for Michael Medved, I liked him when he confined his writing to books about bad movies. He's since turned to politics with tragic results.

One person I'd like to see asked some hard questions is Screamin' Bill Donohue. I'd like to ask him some hard questions about his prejudices against Hollywood, secular Jews, and his willingness to support policies interfering in other people's lives.

Given time, I would probably think of some hard questions for Fr. Frank Pavone, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer and Judie Brown, but I can't think of any questions now.

by khughes1963 on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 10:07:24 AM EST

...I plan on returning to this piece from time to time. With that in mind, I'll put some inquiries together for Pavone and Wild Bill. In fact,  I have some already in mind.

by Frank Cocozzelli on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 10:30:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]


This is directed particularly to Weigel, Donohue, Brown and Frs.  Pavone and Euteneuer, but I think we could ask Medved as well: President Bush declared last Monday (January 22, 2007) Sanctity of Human Life Day. I know that you are firmly opposed to abortion, but do you believe President Bush's war in Iraq is inconsistent with the sanctity of human life? The war has already cost the lives of over 3,000 US troops and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children. In addition, the late Pope John Paul II firmly opposed American plans to go to war in Iraq before the war began in 2003, and Pope Benedict XVI has also opposed the war. How do you reconcile these inconsistencies?

By the way, I like David I. Kertzer's books The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and The Popes Against the Jews. I think we Catholics need to be honest about our institutional history of anti-Semitism. Per Kertzer's book, the Mortara family never quite recovered from the loss of Edgardo, and they had an unhappy family life afterward.

by khughes1963 on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 02:56:50 PM EST


Farnk, you missed Bob Somerby's best post on religion in politics.

-------------
"I believe in a President whose views on religion are his own private affair" - JFK, Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
by hardindr on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 03:35:54 PM EST
...this site has an astute readership!

by Frank Cocozzelli on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 03:43:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]



WWW Talk To Action


Adopting Bias: New Va. Rules Seek To Safeguard 'Faith-Based' Bigotry
Legislators and media pundits in Washington, D.C., continue to obsess over the birth control mandate in the new health care law and whether church-related......
By Rob Boston (4 comments)
GOP Candidates Embrace a Major Religious Right Narrative
Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney's demagogic claims that President Obama is engaged in a "war against religion" are as unsurprising as they are disturbing.......
By Frederick Clarkson (5 comments)
NAR Apostle Harold Caballeros Heads Guatemala Foreign Ministry
In January 2012, with the inauguration of former military general Otto Pérez Molina as Guatemala's president, NAR apostle Harold Caballeros took charge of Guatemala's......
By Bruce Wilson (2 comments)
As Eddie Long Controversy Grows, Video Emerges of 'Rabbi' Messer Wrapping Paula White in Torah
A Christian Post article dated February 5 is one of many reports of denials by televangelist Paula White and her attorney of any ties......
By Rachel Tabachnick (9 comments)
Garlow Introduced Gingrich, Called for Pastors Revolt Against IRS Rules at NAR Church in Nevada
On Friday night Newt Gingrich spoke at the "Prayer for America" event at the International Church of Las Vegas (ICLV) led by Apostle Paul......
By Rachel Tabachnick (3 comments)
A Must Read Book: "The Good News Club"
For anyone who wants to read a book that really goes inside the movement to indoctrinate children through our public schools, I highly recommend......
By Chris Rodda (3 comments)
More On Yale's Templeton-Funded "Spiritual Capital Initiative"
Should Chick-Fil-A be known for its extensive ties to, and funding of, some of the most aggressively anti-gay groups in America, as well as......
By Bruce Wilson (4 comments)
Gettting Well Versed
Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post's "Under God" blog reports that Faithful America's petition calling for Kansas House Speaker Michael O'Neal to resign now......
By Frederick Clarkson (3 comments)
Alabama State Senator: Pay Increases for Teachers are Against 'Biblical Principle'
This is a new twist on "biblical economics" that I've not heard before.  According to Alabama State Sen. Shadrack McGill, a 62% pay increase......
By Rachel Tabachnick (5 comments)
Wagner Recognized by Delaware House for Commissioning Apostles (Copy of Tribute Included)
This morning I contacted the offices of Rep. Daniel B. Short and Chief Clerk of the House Richard Puffer and confirmed that C. Peter......
By Rachel Tabachnick (7 comments)
Trial Date Set for Bishop Finn
The trial date for Bishop Robert W. Finn,of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri will be September 24, 2012.  Finn and the diocese......
By Frank Cocozzelli (3 comments)
The Culture of Demonization and Imprecatory Prayer
We have written a great deal here at Talk to Action about the Religious Right culture of conspiracy theory, labeling and demonization as animating......
By Frederick Clarkson (3 comments)
To Bigotry No Sanction, to Persecution No Assistance
As the finale of our extended celebration of Religious Freedom Day, we are honored to welcome George Washington as a guest front pager.  ......
By George Washington (0 comments)
George Barna and the New Apostolic Reformation
Given the secretive nature of the movement, documenting the involvement of public figures in C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation can be a time-consuming......
By Bruce Wilson (2 comments)
Gingrich, Alinsky, and the Christian Right Grand Conspiracy Narrative
Gingrich's claims about an Alinsky-Obama-socialist conspiracy against Christianity and freedom echo conspiracy theories from the Tea Parties, Glenn Beck, the John Birch Society, and......
By Chip Berlet (0 comments)

Harold Caballeros, October 5, 2006, #1
On October 5, 2006, Harold Cabballeros, founder and senior pastor of El Shaddai Church in Guatemala City, spoke at the "Spirit in the World: The Dynamics of Pentecostal Growth and Experience" symposium sponsored by......
Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
Truth Wins Out Reports on Exodus International's Attempt at Rebranding
An extensive report has been posted at Truth Wins Out (TWO) on the rebranding of Exodus International, the discredited and financially strapped pray-away-the-gay organization. The report is titled "The Exodus SmokeScreen" and subtitled, "Exodus......
Rachel Tabachnick (0 comments)
Breast cancer awareness T-shirt prompts dispute at skating rink
crossposted from The Clarion Ledger) http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012202040 349 ""I am offended as a mother; as the daughter of a cancer patient; as a Christian woman; as a fundraiser and donor of time and money to......
COinMS (0 comments)
Delaware state house Dems distance themselves from Wagner tribute
The Democrats in the Delaware state House of Representatives are in full damage control mode over a tribute given back in January to C. Peter Wagner, a prominent leader of the New Apostolic......
Christian Dem in NC (1 comment)
Is Peter Wagner lying about commendation from state of Delaware?
Those of us who have watched the New Apostolic Reformation have come to expect bizarre claims.  Well, today  C. Peter Wagner made one of the most bizarre claims yet.  He sent out an......
Christian Dem in NC (1 comment)
New dominionist effort to target Hollywood with prayer
In yet more proof that the New Apostolic Reformation is trying to make itself heard in a big way this year, late yesterday several leaders of that movement got together to announce a......
Christian Dem in NC (0 comments)
Santorum Accuses Colleges of Anti-Religious "Indoctrination" But Gingrich Said it First
CBS and other media outlets have pounced on a Rick Santorum claim, that America's colleges and universities are hotbeds of anti-religious "indoctrination", but Newt Gingrich has been saying that for years. As Santorum declared......
Bruce Wilson (2 comments)
Leader of NC gay marriage ban effort, in his own words
cross-posted at dKos One of the leaders of the effort to write a gay marriage ban into North Carolina's constitution is Patrick Wooden, the pastor of Upper Room Church of God in Christ in......
Christian Dem in NC (2 comments)
AFA endorses AIDS denialism
If Public Policy Polling's early numbers are accurate (and there's little reason to doubt they are) Newt Gingrich will likely take the lead in national polling this week.  In light of this, there's......
Christian Dem in NC (1 comment)
Family Research Council chaplain openly calls for non-Christians to be banned from public office
Anyone who's studied the religious right can't help but notice a pattern to how they've operated over the last three decades.  They get a little bit of power, only to overreach and get smacked......
Christian Dem in NC (4 comments)
Cindy Jacobs prophecies divine intervention unless we elect Repubs
Late last week, New Apostolic Reformation "prophetess" Cindy Jacobs announced the yearly "Word of the Lord" from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders.  (h/t to PFAW's Right Wing Watch). This "Word" makes for......
Christian Dem in NC (3 comments)
Robert Jeffress: First Amendment protections invite wrath of God
We already knew that the religious right would like nothing better than to sweep away the First Amendment.  Well, one of its more prominent leaders just came out and said it in terms as......
Christian Dem in NC (3 comments)
Cindy Jacobs announces 2012 prayer initiative--and declares war on separation of church and state
Late last night, Cindy Jacobs announced the formation of a major prayer drive with the goal of influencing the election.  The campaign, called "FastForward," is sponsored by her newly formed United States Reformation Prayer......
Christian Dem in NC (2 comments)
Personhood returns
Having soundly been defeated at the ballot box, the Personhood initiative in Mississippi has been resurrected via the new governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant and his allies in the state government. For the first......
COinMS (0 comments)
Exposing The Dark Side Of Tupelo MS
It’s really ironic that the so-called Christian Religious Right (ie., AFA) are seemingly dedicated to the unnecessary bashing of Paganism when Pagans made such a well-documented historical contribution toward the rise of Christianity. For......
AlBratt (0 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC. Powered by Scoop