Here We Go Again

I guess now that the Washington Times is headed into oblivion, some other religiously-motivated rich guy has to replace them. Enter the Washington Examiner and it’s owner, Philip Anschutz.

For those that don’t have time to read the links.

Washington Times “was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon,...”.

“Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church.”

“Moon has said, and it is generally believed by Unification Church members, that he is the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ and is fulfilling Jesus' unfinished mission.”

“In Washington, Moon found common ground with strongly anti-Communist leaders of the 1980s, including Reagan. Using Unification Church funds in 1982, Moon, Bo Hi Pak, and other church leaders founded The Washington Times. By 1991, Moon said he spent about $1 billion on the paper (by 2002 roughly $1.7 billion), which he called "the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world".”

” The Washington Examiner is a free daily newspaper published in Springfield, Virginia, and distributed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.

Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American entrepreneur. Anschutz bought out his father's drilling company in 1961, and earned large returns in Wyoming. He then diversified his portfolio by investing in stocks, real estate, and railroads.”

”Often identified as "Christian billionaire Phil Anschutz", he is a Republican donor who supported George W. Bush's administration. He has been an active patron of a number of religious and conservative causes:”

“Helped fund the Discovery Institute, a think tank based in Seattle, Washington that promotes intelligent design and criticizes evolution.”

“In 2009 Anschutz purchased the conservative American opinion magazine The Weekly Standard from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.”

None of this means that these are bad guys of course. It doesn’t mean they don’t hire decent journalists either. It doesn’t make them wrong. It just makes them a couple of guys with beliefs outside of the mainstream. That’s okay too I guess. After all, I’m a Democrat in one of the most solidly Republican country in Georgia. That means I’m outside the mainstream too.

If you want to get your news from a guy that’s been called a modern-day J.P. Morgan that’s your business. Just don’t come to me in a few years and tell me you didn’t know a guy that thinks he’s Christ owns a munitions factory and that you’ve been quoting his paper as Gospel. Yeah, sometimes you have to click on the links.

P.S. “(Anschutz has trademarked the name "Examiner" in more than sixty cities.)”

Don Brown
December 14, 2010