Re: charles johnson

Yes, I do indeed fight it odd that someone who is admittedly very
pro-Israel and yet a militant "secularist" has nothing to say about a
government dominated by religious fanatics who have a messianic vision
of a "Greater Israel" -- a government that has given his web site its
semi-official imprimatur. It seems to me that the Middle East is a
maelstrom of dangerous mysticism -- and it isn't only the Muslim
variety that's the problem.

I think if you go back into Johnson's archives, and read the smears
directed at the antiwar movement, and the left -- not just Ron Paul,
etc. -- and his fulsome support for the previous (and present)
administration's wars of aggression, you'll see why I wrote you.

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:

Justin-
I'll address your points in turn.

Johnson is a propagandist for Israel, pure and simple: that's the
only consistent message that he's projected in all his years of blogging.
A recent post touts a commendation from the Israeli government about
the "services" he's rendered to them. That this particular
Israeli government finds his activities and writings so commendable
should tell us a lot -- if not all -- we need to know about him.
Johnson described himself to me recently as "pretty pro-Israel," which
doesn't bother me at all, and I'm unaware of anything that he's written
lately on that or any other subject that would cause me to be reluctant to
work with him. At any rate, Israel is not particularly important to me.
Yes, he hates religious fundamentalism -- but we hear nothing from him, or
his somewhat more talented doppelganger Christopher Hitchens, about
the rising tide of fundamentalism and religious fanaticism in Israel.
Some "secularist"!
I'm the director of communications of a PAC that's oriented towards atheism,
and I haven't really said anything about "the rising tide of fundamentalism
and religious fanaticism in Israel" either, as I don't follow Israeli
culture very closely and at any rate it's hard to get excited about
religious fundamentalism in a country that's already intertwined with
religion as it is. Still, I'm clearly a secularist, to say the least. Do you
think that Johnson is not really a secularist because he doesn't talk about
religious Jews in Israel?
He also pushes an obnoxious form of militant "centrism" -- anything out of
the box is smeared as "extremism." The only change is that he's now focused
on the "right-wing" variety instead of the "left" variety. His whole method
is guilt by association" his treatment of Ron Paul and the campaign to audit
the Fed is particularly offensive, especially for someone who knows nothing
about economics.
I haven't gotten any indication that Johnson is a "centrism" fetishist.
Rather, he appears to be rather technocratic semi-libertarian. I don't agree
with Johnson about the mentality of Ron Paul supporters and in fact am fond
of the fellow myself. I don't consider the mentality of Ron Paul supporters
to be some extraordinarily important issue on which my working relationships
depend, though.
And I might add that he is still pushing the same war-mongering agenda he's
always pushed: war with the entire Muslim world. Is that what "secularists"
really want? I don't think so.
I don't think Johnson wants war with the entire Muslim world. Is there
something he's written that would prompt you to think he does want such an
improbable thing as that?
On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 5:50 PM, Justin Raimondo <raimondo.justin@gmail.com>
wrote:


Ah, a friend of Jeremy's!

Johnson is a propagandist for Israel, pure and simple: that's the only
consistent message that he's projected in all his years of blogging. A
recent post touts a commendation from the Israeli government about the
"services" he's rendered to them. That this particular Israeli
government finds his activities and writings so commendable should
tell us a lot -- if not all -- we need to know about him. Yes, he
hates religious fundamentalism -- but we hear nothing from him, or his
somewhat more talented doppelganger Christopher Hitchens, about the
rising tide of fundamentalism and religious fanaticism in Israel. Some
"secularist"!

He also pushes an obnoxious form of militant "centrism" -- anything
out of the box is smeared as "extremism." The only change is that he's
now focused on the "right-wing" variety instead of the "left" variety.
His whole method is guilt by association" his treatment of Ron Paul
and the campaign to audit the Fed is particularly offensive,
especially for someone who knows nothing about economics.

And I might add that he is still pushing the same war-mongering agenda
he's always pushed: war with the entire Muslim world. Is that what
"secularists" really want? I don't think so.

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
wrote:

Justin-
Good to make your acquaintance; I've read a number of your articles over
the
years. I believe we have a mutual friend in Jeremy Sapienza.
I've spoken with Johnson at some length over the past couple of months
and
have found him to be a reasonable and intellectually honest person; that
he
has abandoned the conservative movement and repudiated his past mistakes
leads me to admire him to that extent, largely because none of the
nation's
more "serious" commentators seem to be in the habit of acknowledging
their
extraordinary errors, whereas he himself has been willing to go where
his
observations take him.
I don't think Johnson "hates" Muslims. He is very hostile towards Islam
and
all forms of religious nonsense, as am I; the big three monotheistic
faiths
are all fascist and patriarchal to the extent that they are actually
take
seriously, and we happen to be at a point in history in which Islam
tends to
be taken more seriously by its adherents than does Christianity or
Judaism,
both of which still manage to do great violence to the proper
aspirations of
humanity even in the twilight of their influence. I'm assuming he has
contempt for many religious practitioners who infringe on the rights of
others in reference to their particular deities, and so do I.
I am working with Johnson on the project mentioned in the Vanity Fair
piece
because I am tired of simply writing books and articles pointing out the
nonsense put forth by the nation's commentators without having any real
effect on the system that has brought such commentators to prominence. I
hope that you will consider working with me as well after such time as
the
project is made more explicit.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY



On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 4:40 PM, Justin Raimondo
<raimondo.justin@gmail.com>
wrote:


Your fawning profile of the Muslim-hating Charles Johnson overlooks
the really awful stuff he posted in the run-up to the Iraq war and
afterwards. He was shocked -- shocked! -- that the "movement" he
helped start made alliances with European fascists and other unsavory
types here in the US, but that's because Johnsonian anti-Muslim
rhetoric and its fascist equivalent are nearly identical. Oh, but
since he's a "secularist," I suppose that makes it okay in your book.
Or, conversely, maybe you just didn't research Johnson's past
writings. In any case, his assertion that he's a "classical liberal"
has got to be one of the biggest jokes ever.