By Michael Goodspeed <Thunderbolts.info>
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/writerdefendsjeffrenseagaintbellcomments06mar05.shtml
March 6, 2005]

Original Title
In Defense Of Jeff Rense

http://rense.com/general63/desf.htm

It hurts to fight - ALWAYS hurts, no matter if one is the "winner" or "loser." I dare say that the "losers" of life's conflicts and battles are the real winners in the end - they are not burdened with a false sense of accomplishment for having "conquered" their brothers and sisters.

This truth has been extolled by history's great spiritual teachers. Jesus told his followers, "But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also." Even Dear Abby offered this sage advice: "People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes."

I hate fighting - it's ALWAYS wrong, but it is also wrong to stand idly by and allow false assertions against innocent people to go unchallenged. So it is in this spirit that I must offer some comments on the recent public exchange between radio talk show hosts Jeff Rense and Art Bell.

On Saturday, March 5th, Bell had on his radio show Ben Chertoff, the senior researcher of the Popular Mechanics magazine, to discuss the PM cover story "Debunking the Lies of 9/11." Early on the same day, Rense posted on his website an open letter to Bell, written by journalist Christopher Bollyn, challenging Bell to grill Chertoff on a number of points, including Ben's relationship to his cousin Michael Chertoff, head of the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Bell clearly was not happy about this, and on his radio show, he made several unflattering remarks about Rense, even calling his website "anti-Semitic." ("that Rense site is 'Jew this' and 'Jew that'"...). He also referred to 9/11 skeptics as "wingnuts," advising them not to bother listening to his radio show.

Years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would no longer comment publicly about Mr. Bell. You see, around '99 and 2000, I wrote a number of essays criticizing Bell for his selection of guests, which included self-described remote viewers and "intuitives" like Ed Dames, Sean David Morton, and Gordon Michael Scallion (all of whom have accuracy rates approaching zero.) I was so perplexed by Art's decision to continue featuring these guests, I began to wonder if Art himself was intentionally providing his audience with disinformation (something others have speculated about as well.) But I gave up my skeptical investigations of Art's show, as part of my new "never go negative" policy.

I am going to stick to this policy now, as I have nothing to say about Art Bell that hasn't been said before. However, I have plenty to say in response to Bell's assertions about Jeff Rense.

I have been contributing articles to Jeff Rense's website for nearly 5 years. I send my work to Jeff, even though I have a huge array of other news services at my disposal. If I believed there was even the remotest chance that Jeff was anti-Semitic, I would not even consider contributing to his website. (And as many others have pointed out, the term anti-Semitic includes ALL Arabs, not just Jews.) I consider anti-Semitism, anti-Judaism, and every form of racism to be the result of spiritual bankruptcy. I have ZERO sympathy and ZERO tolerance for people who promote hatred. And it is my considered opinion that Jeff Rense feels the same way.

In the essays I've sent to Rense.com, I have always expressed the belief that God loves all human beings equally. We do His will by extending unconditional forgiveness and non-judgment to all our brothers and sisters. Would Jeff have posted these essays if he harbored any hatred towards a particular race, creed, or religion?

I've read thousands of essays on Rense.com, dating back to 1997. NEVER ONCE have I seen a genuinely ANTI-JEWISH or ANTI-SEMITIC comment from a single author. However, I have consistently seen material that is fervently anti-Zionist. It is the position of many Rense.com contributors, including Jewish authors like Barry Chamish and Henry Makow - a self-described non-observant Jew -- that Zionism is a far-reaching political plot, serving against EVERYONE'S best interests, including Jews. I am not an expert on the issue of Zionism, but I am able to recognize that there is a difference between an anti-Zionist, and an anti-Jew. A number of Jews are themselves anti-Zionist, including the group Jews Against Zionism, who have publicly voiced their support for Jeff Rense. (Link: http://www.rense.com/general54/thank.htm )

Art Bell is not the first to have made this accusation against Jeff. It is easy to say this about a website that features red-flag terms like "Jew" and "Zionist," because these words can be found on some VICIOUSLY anti-Jewish websites. But go back and review the material in the Rense.com archives. See if you can find a genuinely anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic statement in a Rense.com essay. All of the authors I have read have been quite deliberate in stating that Zionism is the target of their criticisms, not the Jewish people.

Consider also some undeniable facts about bigots. Overwhelmingly, they tend to be JERKS. They have no ethics, no scruples, and no respect for anyone, including most members of their own race. They also tend to be quite stupid, classless, and uneducated. They have over-inflated egos, and their predominant emotion is hatred. So they rage against everyone and everything that they perceive as different from themselves.

Jeff Rense has demonstrated himself to be the exact opposite of the above description. I do not know of another radio host who has a greater willingness to explore every issue from every possible vantage point. His website features an enormous breadth of material on a truly dizzying array of topics. Many of the articles he runs are controversial, but he has always opened the door to his readers to contribute comments, both positive and negative.

And the tone of material on Rense.com is not one of hatred or bigotry. It is one of compassion and concern for the entire human race. Consistently, Rense.com contributors have voiced the same sentiments as I have in my essays - that all human beings are created equal, and a denial of that equality is a denial of one's own humanity.

Consider Jeff's coverage of the Terri Schiavo case. If he were a "Nazi sympathizer" (as a ridiculous few have labeled him), why would Jeff oppose Terri Schiavo's extermination? Doesn't the Nazi ideology support the "cleansing" of all "parasites" that create a drain on society?

Consider Jeff's coverage of the issue of war. I can't read his mind, but I can only conclude that Jeff believes peace is the ONLY way - that NO ONE deserves to die in a war. No hypocrisy from Jeff on this issue, either - he was as opposed to Clinton's use of the military as he is to Bush's.

Consider Jeff's coverage of the issue of health. I know of no other talk show host who has shown a greater concern for humanity's wellbeing. Jeff has tackled such critical issues as aspartame, bovine growth hormone, mad cow disease, the FDA/Pharmaceutical corruption, and countless others with relentless vigor. This has surely prevented Jeff from getting on many stations, as Corporate Radio has no desire to touch REAL controversy.

Consider Jeff's coverage of the issue of young people. It is obvious that Jeff - a devoted father and single parent - is doing everything in his power to help the "next" generation. From school bullying, to the deliberate dumbing down of America's classrooms, to the medicating and poisoning of "troubled" youth by the Pharmaceutical cartel, to the rancid influences of the "popular" culture, Jeff bring us these issues to educate, enlighten, and save as many as possible before it's too late.

This is not the behavior of a man who hates people. It is the behavior of a man who hates injustice, and will expose it courageously, no matter the consequence.

Benjamin Disraeli once said, "Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke."

Art Bell is a smoker.

Jeff Rense is not.