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CNN reporter is The Epitome Of two-faced

CNN reporter is The Epitome Of two-faced

The headline is referring to Clarissa Ward, who has been covering the chaos in Afghanistan while covering herself in Muslim garb.  As you can see from the pictures atop this commentary, Ward seems to shift between her normal western-style reporting attire and the clothing that many Muslim women are forced to wear as an expression of their inferiority and submission. 

Interviewing members of the Taliban terrorists on the streets or Kabul, Ward wore a Muslim woman’s outfit.  Not just a decorative head scarf, but the black head to toe ensemble — a primary symbol of female oppression.  When reporting from the somewhat more secure Kabul airport, she reverts to western wear. (No, I do not mean cowgirl clothes.  Geez!).

As I watched Ward on television, I wondered how she would dress if she were covering the Vatican.  Would she wear a nun’s habit or an altar girl frock?  Would she don traditional Chinese costumes if she were assigned to Beijing.  And God knows how she would look reporting from sub-Saharan Africa.

Ward said the guys she interviewed “seemed friendly” despite their telling her to stand aside because she is a woman and their chanting “death to America.”   Perhaps her definition of “friendly” is the fact that they did not kill her or mutilate her exposed face – as is the Taliban custom.

Ward did not ask them about all the reports of murders and mutilations being carried out by the Taliban across the nation.  Maybe she just feels safer wearing traditional Muslim attire and not asking tough questions – the sort that might make them react less “friendly” — so that she would not get killed or mutilated by the folks she hoped to interview. That would spoil their public relations pitch. 

If she was concerned about her safety appearing in public dressed like a western woman, that would suggest that she did not really believe the Taliban fighters are as friendly as she said.

Of course, not really being a Muslim woman, Ward did not get her outfit quite right by Taliban standards.  When she asked one of the gun-toting terrorists whether all Afghan women would have to dress like her, the answer was “no.”  She did not have her face covered.  It was the difference between the hijab (head scarf) and the burka (face covering). That offers up at least a hint of what the women of Afghanistan have in store.

For whatever reason she had for wearing the Muslim garments, it was still disturbing to me to see an American journalist condescend to placating the enemy just to get a worthless interview that only served to give the Taliban a little underserved beneficial publicity.  We now know that the Taliban are not mean vicious killers because they told us so – thanks to Ward and CNN.

Oh wait!  On a different subject, wasn’t Ward guilty of cultural appropriation.  You know, that nutty left-wing ideology that says we are never to dress in other peoples’ traditional garments and we are not to cook their food.  If you are unfamiliar with the latest crackpot campus craze, look up “cultural appropriation” on the Internet.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

17 Comments

  1. fr

    Clearly, Larry is off his meds today :>) Wrong side of the bed? Went to bed angry at a liberal?

    Really Larry, is this an issue?

    • larry Horist

      Was the tonged-in-cheek approach too subtle for you?

  2. Anonymous

    I do not believe that Milton Friedman was a client of yours. That is bull shit!!! a former colleague of his.

    • larry Horist

      What if I were to say that I do not believe you are a former colleague of Friedman’s. You would probably think I was just talking bull shit. Well, just to confirm ,,, yes he was. Unfortunately, he is not with us today to expose your ignorant bullshit.

      • Ben

        Larry,
        If the shoe fits… old man.
        I don’t recall much you’ve corrected me on. Usually you criticize my writing , but very little factual things can you back up with facts to rebut my posts. I will take that for what it’s worth.

        You can rest assured, I will not STFU.

        You may be right about the outsmarting thing, that’s why I come to engage you and your readers. My chances are much better here at the PBP.

        Oh, and for the love of capitalism, fix this damn site. Your reply button doesn’t show up often, there’s no notification that you’ve been responded to… I quite simply, it’s a shit site, but your readers posts are highly entertaining.

    • Nitpicker

      Right, like anyone cares what Anonymous believes.

  3. Ben

    Larry, this article is all over the place and is only one step above yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off your lawn, or telling the young kid to pull his pants up.

    Funny you should mention the Vatican, there is a list of rules of attire and strict standards for modesty. I don’t think this illustrates your point the way you think it does.

    “Wore a Muslim woman’s outfit”. My son’s wife is Muslim , I guess she didn’t get the memo about the muslim woman’s uniform.

    A quick rule of thumb that seems to keep me from judging the way a woman dresses goes something like this…” a woman has to dress one particular way… how ever she wants to. “.

    What is utterly bizarre is that you are getting so worked up about a woman abiding by the customs and expectations of modesty abroad. When I’m Rome…

    Maybe if your buddy Rumsfeld had really accomplished the original mission, we wouldn’t be dealing with this 18 yrs later.

    • Mark pike

      Jeeze Ben. Couldn’t your son have done better than that?

      • Ben

        Done better than what?

        You mean two 30 yr olds, both making 6 figures? Home owners with their student loans paid off and a nest egg in upwardly mobile careers?

        Probably not.

        Oh, you were referring her being Muslim? That’s kinda fucked up of you.

        I have two rules for my children in their adult lives, be able to pay their bills and be happy. Other than that, it’s their life. I never really thought much about it other than she is an amazing young woman.

        • Max wallace

          What country is she from?

      • Nitpicker

        Say Mark, you should probably know that Ben here likes to play fast and loose with the truth. That’s his M.O. so take it all with a couple grains of salt, at least.

    • Nitpicker

      18 years from now Ben will still be blaming George W. Bush.

      • Ben

        Picker ,
        Blame Bush for what? Fucking up three nations? Starting unnecessary wars? Putting us into the Great Recession ? Establishing the Department of Homeland Security? Pushing the Patriot Act? Yes!

        And what part of this thread do you think is not the whole truth? I have no reason to lie, and if I were, I would def come up with a better story than I have put out there.

        It’s telling that you think that this story is so far fetched as to be unbelievable in your mind.
        Sad

        • Harold Blankenship

          Ben George Bush is long gone. So enjoy the Muslims in your family and stfu

          • Ben

            Harry,
            Yes, but his war is still killing people. His DHS is still spying on you, his policies are still crippling America. So until those wrongs have been righted, I will NoT STFU.

          • larry Horist

            Ben … Please … please … do not STFU. No one can better establish your arrogance and ignorance better than you. I especially enjoy your childish “old man” insults — you young whipper-snapper. There are a lot of people you will outlive, but very few you will outsmart.

        • Dan Tyree

          Little Benny Bush has been gone for several years. So now it’s your retard that’s fucking up everything. But enough about that. I would like for you and your comrades to explain what it is about the leftist agenda that you like. All that I see is a Marxist crowd trying to change our constitution because it was written to protect us from the government.
          People on the left wants it changed to spell out what they can do to us. Every time that I hear the term lawmakers I’m reminded that most laws hinder people’s personal freedoms. I would say over 60% if not more

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