“Sick”: Hoft falsely suggests Obama celebrated Daniel Pearl's murder
Written by Ben Dimiero
Published
Continuing his ongoing search to find rock bottom, today Jim Hoft embedded a short, out of context video clip of President Obama saying that Daniel Pearl's death “captured the world's imagination.” Hoft purports to correct Obama's “crazy sick” interpretation of Pearl's death by writing: “No, Barack. It was horrifying.”
Here's some context that Hoft -- who we last saw joining Sarah Palin's call for the media to do proper research -- leaves out: Obama was honoring Pearl by signing the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act when he made the comments in question. The people standing next to Obama in the video are Pearl's widow and son.
Obama's full remarks make clear that he was honoring Pearl (and not discussing how he was amused by the terrorists who killed Pearl, as Hoft insanely suggests). It is unfathomable that you could come away from reading these remarks with the impression that Obama was doing anything other than honoring Pearl:
THE PRESIDENT: Well, hello, everybody. I am very proud to be able to sign the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, a piece of legislation that sends a strong signal about our core values when it comes to the freedom of the press.
All around the world there are enormously courageous journalists and bloggers who, at great risk to themselves, are trying to shine a light on the critical issues that the people of their country face; who are the frontlines against tyranny and oppression. And obviously the loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world's imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is, and it reminded us that there are those who would go to any length in order to silence journalists around the world.
What this act does is it sends a strong message from the United States government and from the State Department that we are paying attention to how other governments are operating when it comes to the press. It has the State Department each year chronicling how press freedom is operating as one component of our human rights assessment, but it also looks at countries that are -- governments that are specifically condoning or facilitating this kind of press repression, singles them out and subjects them to the gaze of world opinion in ways that I think are extraordinarily important.
Oftentimes without this kind of attention, countries and governments feel that they can operate against the press with impunity. And we want to send a message that they can't.
So this legislation, in a very modest way, I think puts us clearly on the side of journalistic freedom. I want to thank Adam Schiff in the House and Senator Chris Dodd in the Senate for their leadership. And I particularly want to thank the Pearl family, who have been so outspoken and so courageous in sending a clear message that, despite Daniel's death, his vision of a well-informed citizenry that is able to make choices and hold governments accountable, that that legacy lives on.
So we are very grateful to them. I'm grateful to the legislative leaders who helped to pass this. It is something that I intend to make sure our State Department carries out with vigor. And with that, I'm going to sign the bill.
Here's how Jake Tapper, a credible reporter, headlined the bill's signing:
Now compare that to how Hoft, a member of the “new -- true media,” headlined the signing:
Sick. Obama Says Daniel Pearl's Beheading “Captured the World's Imagination” (Video)
Hoft seems unfamiliar with the idea that something can both capture people's imaginations and be horrifying. These are not mutually exclusive.
Perfunction, the website Hoft links to at the top of his post, characterizes Obama's comments this way:
Just like the pair of amazing NASA rovers on Mars, the Yukon Gold Rush, and quirky British skier Eddie the Eagle, the barbaric videotaped slaughter of Daniel Pearl was one of those singularly magical moments that "captured the world's imagination", according to Obama
Something is “crazy sick” here, alright.