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September 30, 2008

Advocacy Group Under Fire for DVD

The Clarion Fund, an advocacy group with a mission “to educate Americans about issues of national security,” has been accused of violating rules that prohibit nonprofit organizations from direct partisan political activity.

On its Web site, the fund says it is a nonpartisan organization.

The controversy erupted when the fund distributed millions of copies of a DVD about Muslim terrorists titled, “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.”

The move prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Washington, to file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission that says the DVD was meant to benefit Sen. John McCain’s election efforts.

Gregory Ross, a spokesman for the Clarion Fund, told The Chronicle that the organization has not been contacted by the elections commission and denies any wrongdoing. “We have maintained to the letter of the law what we can and can not do as a nonprofit,” he said.

— Ian Wilhelm

Tuesday September 30, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. I have seen the documentary, and I frankly do not see what is the big deal. It is somewhat unremarkable as a documentary, which reports no new information not already publicly known.

   However, the information is such that most people may not be aware of and do not seek out, and for that reason I think it a creditable addition to the public discourse.

   CAIR is a well-known apologist for Islamic terrorist groups, including Sami Al-Arian, the former USF professor convicted of conspiracy to fund terrorist groups.

   Between a group that defends terrorist sympathizers and a group that criticizes terrorist sympathizers, I know which one I would take more seriously.

   — Terata    Sep 30, 12:21 PM    #

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