UPDATED: DEFENDING THE WEST; Jesus vs. Muhammad – scholarship vs. propaganda

Exclusive: Pamela Geller compares media treatment of 2 authors' books

Reza Aslan

UPDATE: Liberal media love new Jesus book 'Zealot', fail to mention author is Muslim
"Media reports have introduced Aslan as a “religion scholar” but have failed to mention that he is a devout Muslim.
"His book is not a historian’s report on Jesus. It is an educated Muslim’s opinion about Jesus -- yet the book is being peddled as objective history on national TV and radio."

"Zealot” is a fast-paced demolition of the core beliefs that Christianity has taught about Jesus for 2,000 years. Its conclusions are long-held Islamic claims—namely, that Jesus was a zealous prophet type who didn’t claim to be God, that Christians have misunderstood him, and that the Christian Gospels are not the actual words or life of Jesus but “myth.”

This is akin to the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses. An ardent Pakistani Muslim friend from work had a number of books on his shelf that he used to refute Christian beliefs and they included several Watchtower publications.

...."“Zealot” is not new work from a historian. It is a sophisticated presentation of views that Muslims have held about Jesus for more than 1,000 years.


"Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs   "It is critical to point out a small but stunning example of the low state of legitimate public discourse today.


Spencer

"Not so long ago, Robert Spencer, one of the world’s leading scholars on Islam, wrote an extraordinary book entitled “Did Muhammad Exist?” It was a brilliant, original and scholarly work investigating the legitimate questions surrounding the historical value of the early Islamic texts about Muhammad. Spencer pulled together information from ancient documents with linguistic and archaeological data in a remarkable reevaluation of Islam’s origins."
....
"But although Spencer didn’t entitle his book any of those things, and “Did Muhammad Exist?” is a straightforward, dispassionate historical investigation, the media treated it as if it were the one that was designed solely to denigrate and disparage the founder of a religion. That is not true of Spencer’s book, but it is true of Aslan’s screed “Zealot.” "

In the comments to this post, Walter Sieruk said:

Jesus never killed anyone and taught be love and pray for your enemies. In contrast Muhammad did murder many people and taught his follower[s] to do likewise. Let these facts speak for themselves. 

Obama's first big speech of the economic series today

Expect demagoguery toward Republicans and watch for straw men: "Some say..."

Morning Bell: 3 “Kitchen Table” Topics for Obama’s Speech Today 
"Obama told supporters earlier this week that his speech today will focus on the economy. He said: “There is no more important question for this country than how do we create an economy in which everybody who works hard feels like they can get ahead?”
"For liberals, that usually means that one person’s “getting ahead” is going to come at the expense of a hard-working taxpayer.
"But it doesn’t have to be that way."....

ABC News; Obama to Try to Focus Public Attention on Economy  

American Enterprise Institute; 8 ways for Obama to jumpstart the economy Here is one of their suggestions. Do you see Obama doing this?
President Obama should approve the Keystone XL pipeline, as suggested by official analyses, which would expand employment among skilled blue-collar workers. Moreover, the evolving administration policies on ‘carbon’ should be rethought fully and subjected to analysis far more rigorous than has been the case thus far.” Ben Zycher

The 'economy tour': It happens every time his polls drop 

"Does this guy know that he's been president for the last 5 years?  or that he passed a "stimulus" in the spring of 2009?

"President Obama is doing a little more distraction than unveiling anything new about the economy:" Read more.

The Weekly Standard; Obama 'Pivots' for 19th Time

Carney: Obama focused on economy not ‘phony scandals’  " “He’s not focused on pretend scandals.”... Carney engaged in a heated discussion with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who said the administration was trying to downplay legitimate probes into the IRS targeting scandal. “What we’ve seen is inappropriate activity that the president came out and forcefully said he would not tolerate,” said Carney."

Americans for Prosperity; Obama’s Talking Tour Proves Obamanomics is in Full Retreat   "Of course, the president has political reasons to divert the public’s attention away from touchy security issues.  A slew of scandals — Benghazi, IRS conservative targeting, and NSA data collection — have harmed the administration’s reputation and dominated media coverage for much of 2013."

Victor Davis Hanson; Lying in the Age of Obama  "When the president uses emphatics like “make no mistake about it,” “let me be perfectly clear,” and “in point of fact,” we know what follows will be untrue."....

Thomas Sowell; Random Thoughts

Townhall   ""A society that puts equality -- in the sense of equality of outcome -- ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for
good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests." (Milton Friedman)"

Why Would Anyone Want To Open A Business?

Conservative Daily News  "Why would anyone in this country, want to open a business of their own? It seems that if you do, you automatically have a partner and not a silent partner, a partner that puts up no money, takes none of the risks or responsibilities, but comes in and tells you how you should run your business. I am sure that everyone has guessed that the name of this partner is Government. You see, you work hard, save your money, take the risk of starting a new business, then the Government steps in and tells you how to run it, and they could not care less when you have to fold because of all the regulation they slap down on you."
 

Anthony Weiner links, for those who may care

The Obama election campaigner, 23, who 'received illicit messages and had phone sex with Anthony Weiner' a year after humiliated wife forgave him
"The Obama election campaigner, 23, who ‘received illicit messages and had phone sex with Anthony Weiner’ a year after humiliated wife forgave him — Sydney Leathers, a liberal activist from Illinois, is allegedly the woman who revealed explicit images she received from Weiner."
 Via Memeorandum

Legal Insurrection; NY Times Editorial Board Urges Weiner to Drop Out of Mayoral Race  "That Weiner would continue to, as the NY Times puts it, “drag the city into” his “tawdry saga,” speaks volumes of his character. As Philip Klein tweeted, it’s also a level of narcissism few of us can understand."
But has he ever been accused of rape?

Left-wing cartoonist Ted Rall defends Weiner

WSJ; The Anthony Weiner Show What he and Eliot Spitzer have in common.  "The two men claim to have been chastened and redeemed by their falls from power, though it's clear in both cases they only regret having been caught."
Much more out there, but this should do it.

Did Kate Middleton Use the NHS? Of Course Not

National Review Online "How odd, though, that the Royal Family wouldn’t elect to use a system that was featured so prominently in Britain’s “national story” during the opening ceremony of last year’s Olympics. It’s almost as if it’s not up to scratch."

commonsenseevaluation.com