10/29/05 12:36 - ID#24564

12 Tribes and Mike Niman

I read Mike Niman's article in the Artvoice, essentially lighting up the communal religious organization known as 12 Tribes. I went ahead and did what Mike Niman DIDN'T do, which is engage these people in conversation today. Yes thats right - Mike Niman was given an opportunity to actually talk to 12 Tribes before publishing his article and he didn't. Why am I not surprised? The man has an irrational and innate hatred of anything related to the Bible, and the fact of the matter is that the other side of the story didn't matter to him. Only his prejudiced and halfwitted opinion article matter to him.

Want the truth? Different races live together in the local 12 Tribes commune. The organization consists of every race on Planet Earth, and there are multiple communes around the world. Wow, clearly they are white supremacists if they are best friends, live together and take care of each other. The organization is neither Christian or Jewish, but they live by the Bible in a peaceful and if anything, reclusive lifestyle. I'm completely outraged and incensed by Mike Niman right about now. I mean, don't get me wrong, his completely lopsided and irrational articles appear in Artvoice practically every week - the only thing that he suceeds in every week is displaying how much of a fringe lunatic he is. I've hated Mike Niman for a long, long time but this week is absolutely the pinnacle. If it doesn't scare you that this man is a college professor paid by the state, it should. DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ IN THAT ARTICLE.

Artvoice should be held responsible for publishing such utter garbage. Do you think you'll see an apology from Mike Niman anytime soon? Hell no - he's busy with his head in the sand and I personally guarantee that he is a chickenshit just like every other radical left wing writer in this country. Flip through the Artvoice this week - practically every response to Mike Niman's article lambbastes him and points out his obscure, poorly researched and small-minded predilection. He feels the need to defend himself by suggesting that because he's participated in Co-Op organizations for 25 years that he has the authority to speak on the subject? HORSESHIT. Not good enough for ANY publication in America let alone our shitty local pubs. Want the truth? Guys like him get away with this crap because they are completely unpoliced by their higher ups. I'm certainly not surprised that Jamie Moses let this one pass - he's just as much of an asshole as Mike Niman.

jason writes at 06:52:49 10/29/05 - Comment #2076: Niman got some bunk info from someone, liked what he heard, and started telling people the 12 tribes are white supremacists. He didn't need or want anything other than what he agreed with. He wrote an entire article making his case. He is peddling his opinion as if it is fact, and people are going to read the article thinking it is fact. If you were to ask Niman if what he wrote was opinion or fact, what do you think he would say? The "this is just an opinion piece" argument shrivels up as a result.

Maybe you're right. Maybe he isn't lying. Maybe he didn't already have his opinion in his head before he tried making a case for it. Maybe he just got BS information. Apparently that passes as a legitimate argument nowadays. We are seeing it more and more.

Don't think that just because I don't talk about Fox News that I don't have an opinion about them. There are 120239879834798 people talking about Fox News, and zero talking about the alternative press, who get a free pass from everyone. You tell me to be skeptical about what I read, but are you skeptical about what you read from the alternatives or from any information source? I'm sure the answer is yes but I've never asked. I want to make sure that you are willing to be as honest as you want me to be.

I'm willing to "set the example" but I feel like I am completely alone in that sentiment. I feel like people just want ME to point the finger at the right so they can tell me how correct they are, while they stay silent. Nobody wants to point the finger at the people who represent their political "side". As of yet I am the only person on e-strip who is willing to do this. Will you join me? =)

Yes I know Fox News reporting is skewed to the right, everyone knows that. They are the only TV news outlet in the USA that reports this way. There isn't any reporting from any media outlet that isn't skewed. They do report facts, but not the same facts and not in the same context. Hannity and O'Reilly and Rush and the rest - no I do not think everything that comes out of their mouth is fact. I am not so far to the right as a Hannity or a Rush.

Ultimately I want truth, and truth does not come from a single source. It comes from reading a broad spectrum of pieces. I feel like I'm the only person on e-strip who does that as well. I feel like I'm the only one who is willing to challenge his/her ideas and to grow. I'll never be a partisan.

ajay writes at 05:55:18 10/29/05 - Comment #2072: First of all, lying can only be associated with facts; opinions, are, well, just opinions. And most of Niman's writings are opinions; if his facts are incorrect, feel free to point them out.

Second, instead of saying "why don't the lefties do this or that", why not set an example and show us what needs to be done, by doing it to your paragon of impartial reporting, Faux News? Talk about a pack of liars!

jason writes at 03:54:33 10/29/05 - Comment #2070: Ajay, how could you possibly equate "policed by their higher ups" with the condoning of a police state? More importantly, why don't you think that the alternative press should be accountable for the inaccurate things they write? Why do you think that anybody (err, I mean lefties) should be able to lie and lie and lie and not suffer the consequences? This isn't a challenge against diversity of opinion, and any honest reader could (should) have gotten that out of Josh's post. It is a challenge against inaccurate and hatefully biased pseudo-journalists who "police" every other media outlet, yet refuse to police themselves. Who else is going to watch the "watchdogs" for us?

ajay writes at 02:21:51 10/29/05 - Comment #2065: "Guys like him get away with this crap because they are completely unpoliced by their higher ups."

Right!! That's what we need: a police state. Everyone's opinions must be checked and vetted by someone "higher up", for God forbid that there be a diversity of opinions. But who'll vet Bush's opinions? Hmmm.... wait! Bush already claims that God speaks to him, so I guess that's covered. Damn! You Righties are so smart....

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