Journalistic Fraud

Title: JOURNALISTIC FRAUD: How The New York Times Distorts the News and Why It Can No Longer Be Trusted Author: Bob Kohn Publisher: WND BOOKS, Nashville, TN Year: 2003 ISBN: 9-780-78-526104-9

I have recently finished reading Journalistic Fraud (JF), and while I knew that many, if not most, newspapers slant their news to favour a liberal agenda, I did not know that by 2003 it was as bad as Kohn has clearly shown.

One commenter on Amazon simply wrote, “Conservative Propaganda.” Of course, our liberal friend did not interact with the content of the book at all. The fact is, Kohn gives so much evidence contrary to this liberal’s chant, that it is really hard to come to any other conclusion, that The New York Times, in fact has taken a hard left and in terms of honest news reporting, has become obsolete.

The problem, however, is that so many people still trust The New York Times, and at the time of writing, articles that were to appear in the paper the next day were “transmitted electronically to over 650 newspapers that subscribe to the New York Times News Service; these articles and features then appear in the pages of local newspapers alongside articles written by reporters for those local papers. The Times itself owns over 15 other regional newspapers, including the Boston Globe, all of which echo the articles and commentary appearing in the The New York Times.” (p34) This means that The New York Times has a clout far bigger than its actual usefulness.

Kohn provides a host of examples that show without a doubt, that The New York Times purposefully sets out to paint the Republicans and conservatives as the big bad wolf and Democrats and liberals as the saviours of mankind.

IMHO, this book is a must read to those people that are enslaved to the opinions of newspapers.

Yet, do not think that television news is any better, because what you see isn’t really what you are getting. Here is an example as explained and portrayed by Francis Schaeffer, how that different angles of the camera can manipulate the “news” that you see.

In order to keep track of the media and their slants, you can visit the Media Research Center.

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Biblical Democracy

I originally posted this at the ACDP Tshwane blog.

Having posted a review on the book, Biblical Democracy, I thought that I'd post a blurp on the book itself.

So, here it is!

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What is wrong with our society and
what can we do to make it right?

The first part of this question is much easier than the second and I'm sure that each of us can speedily make a list of problems. But what can we do?

This is a lot harder and for many people the answer is "Nothing", so they put their heads down, try to live their lives quietly or maybe pack up and leave the country.

For others, the advice may be: "Look at other countries and imitate them. Look to Scandinavia or other liberal systems." Others may take socialist principles to heart and try to implement them. Still others say "Everything in the past was wrong. Let's start from scratch." Or the opposite: "We want everything back the way it was!"

In this post-modern society, everyone has an opinion and a right to it. That's fine as far as it goes, but because it does away with ultimate truth and right and wrong, it makes it impossible to accurately answer the second part of our question. On the other hand, what does God, our Creator, say about the problems in our country and what can be done?

If you are a Christian, you probably believe that the Bible has answers to our eternal destiny. But what about our life on earth? If you are not a Christian, are you open to look at history to see what has worked and what hasn't? Would you like to see how only democracy based on Biblical foundations can bring about the freedom and prosperity that we are seeking? If so, then I challenge you to thoughtfully read Biblical Democracy – a practical look at how principles in the Bible impact on society.

While the primary message of the Bible is certainly how sinful men and women can be reconciled to a Holy God, the secondary message is often neglected but is also important – how should we live our lives on earth in a way that honours God.

In Biblical Democracy, we seek to explore Biblical principles for government, look at opposing worldviews and reveal the problems that result from ignoring God's Word. Part 2 goes on to give an inspiring overview of how God has used individuals and governments down through the ages to fulfill His purposes. Biblical Democracy presents a well-researched synopsis of the positive influence that people of faith and courage have had on the course of history.

The book is user-friendly and full of quotes, pictures, cartoons, maps and graphs as well as footnotes, a time-line and index. It's an excellent resource for all! It's 291 pages, soft-cover and is a bargain at R78 plus R10 postage and packaging.

It has been well said that those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it so let us remind ourselves of the truth, as stated in the words of Abraham Lincoln: "It is the duty of nations as well as of men to acknowledge their dependence upon the overruling power of God… and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."

To order a copy of Biblical Democracy, please contact:
Deanna Cain at Signposts,
PO Box 295, Menlyn, 0063.
Tel/Fax: +27 (0) 12-993-2680,
E-mail: signpost@mweb.co.za

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Biblical Democracy: A Review

This is a repost from the ACDP Tshwane blog. I initially wrote this for them.

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Biblical Democracy... Two words that probably most Christians would not put together. "An oxymoron," they would say!

However, this book written by Edward Cain and his daughter Miriam Cain (who just happened to be at school with my wife many years ago), gives us a practical look at how the principles set forth in the Bible impact society around us.

The book is written in two parts, Part 1 - God and Government (which in my estimation is the Cain's theory behind Biblical Democracy) and Part 2 - Foundation of Freedom (which is a look at history and how different ideas have shaped the world and countries - distinguishing between the righteous American revolution and the hideous French revolution, for instance).

Each chapter in the book starts with the objectives of the chapter. What can you expect to learn from the chapter? Right through two worldviews are contrasted: the Biblical worldview vs. the secular humanist worldview. It shows what will happen when the God of the Bible is denied His rightful place in any country (Part 1) and gives examples from history that proves the point (Part 2). On the other hand, the Cains make it clear that a nation that honour God can expect God's blessings and again they show examples from history.

It is not an exhaustive treatment of the subject of Biblical Democracy, but it certainly is a good introduction to the subject at hand.

To make its point the book gives various statistics related to the South African political scene. For instance, "the murder rate has jumped from 5 959 in 1977/78 to a high of 26 832 in 1994. More people were killed in South Africa each year (1994-1999) in criminal violence than were killed in 13 years of political violence (23 758 from 9/84 to 12/97)." They also show how South Africa outstrips the U.S.A. by far when it comes to murder rates. In South Africa the murder rate per 100,000 is 47.8 (2002 - 21,738 murders)) while in the U.S.A. it is only 5.7 per 100,000 (1999 - 15,500 murders). It also provides us with rape conviction statistics. In 1988 27.1% of reported rapes resulted in convictions whereas by 2000 only 7.6% of reported rapes resulted in convictions!

Anyone who would like to learn more about why Christians should get involved in the political process must read this book, at least as an introduction!

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