This Is The Kind Of Thing That Gives Idaho A Bad Name

I have a confession to make. For my own twisted entertainment, I've spent way too much time baiting a kindly old gentleman moonbat up in the Idaho panhandle who blogs at morialekafa. I'm not proud of what I've done (like the time I badgered him into admitting that no, he doesn't believe in the concept of the "soul") but I've been concerned that, since he's supporting the same candidate for Congress I do, someone would have to call him on some of his more outlandish conspiracy theories before it caused problem for our candidate. (Plus, I appreciate absurdity, and many of his rants are classic examples of the most profound kind of absurd thought.)

Tonight, though, both he and Idaho Rocks brought to our attention the kind of beliefs that have given Idaho such a bad reputation over the years. Here's part what Janney Chandler of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, had to say in a Letter to the Editor of her local paper:

Barak Hussein Obama, a Muslim wants to be our next president.
How can a good Muslim be a "good American," much less the President of the United States of America?
Politically he can't because he must submit to the mullah (political leader) who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of the great satin they refer to as America. Death to all who are not Muslim...
...Philosophically he cannot because Islam Mohammed and the Iran do not allow freedom of religion. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or antrocatic.
Spiritually he cannot because when we declare "One Nation Under God," our Christian God is loving and kind while Allah is never referred to as a Heavenly Father nor is he ever called love in the Iran. Muslims cannot be both a good Muslim and a good American. Their personal preference and allegiance is to Allah and not our Constitution, nor our God.
A state of our nation has already elected a Muslim (Obama) to the House of Representatives.
He is in the current session of Congress 2007 and during his swearing in he used the Muslim Iran instead of our Bible...
...Also four Senators along with many others voted against English as our official American language. Senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Obama, Boxer, Kerry, Kennedy, Lieferman and many more. Where is their loyalty to America?...

It goes on in that vein. As much as I appreciate the absurdity of all the spelling (antrocatic?) and grammatical errors in a letter complaining about people who don't want to make English our official language, and the complete absence of any actual facts (Sen. Obama is not a Muslim, it was Rep. Keith Ellison who was sworn in using the Koran, the Muslim Holy Book isn't called the "Iran", and so forth) I'm still disturbed that a paper would print something so inflammatory without some sort of Editor's Note. Mrs. Chandler has every right to publicize her opinions, just as I have the right to mock and belittle them. I believe a newspaper, though, has a higher responsibility to at least correct completely erroneous information that makes its way into their print editions -- the standard disclaimer that "we're not responsible" just doesn't do it for me.

I for one am worried about the falsehoods being spread about the Muslim faith, such as that they don't worship the God of Abraham. We are at war with some Muslims (albeit only a small percentage of them, and are friendly with many more), but it doesn't do anything to help our military capabilities to not know everything we can about our enemy. If America's youth, some of whom may soon serve in our Armed Forces, are not being taught the truth about our enemies, I fear they'll be less effective at fighting them -- or making peace with them when the time eventually comes.

Update 0031 29 Dec: Two Idaho newspapers, including the one up north, have published apologies for their original publication of demonstrably false letters. It's a good start. (Personally, it's OK with me if they print the letters, as long as they attach an Editor's note to each one pointing out the obvious falsehoods.)