Wall Street Journal: Boycott Haiti

"The Wall Street Journal, a media outlet that suggests the cruise industry should boycott Haiti because of devastating earthquakes this year that killed 200,000 people, is doing its best to discredit the tea-party movement.

"Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the Journal, and his Saudi prince partner who is funding the 9/11 Mosque at Ground Zero in New York, were unavailable for comment."

If I were to write the story in the style of the new Wall Street Journal, that might be the lead.

Yesterday afternoon, I received an e-mail from Michael M. Phillips, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal seeking comment from me about WND's Taking America Back National Conference that begins today in Miami. Within minutes of receiving it, I e-mailed back that I was available immediately and provided a phone number.

Five minutes later, I got a Google alert telling me there was a new Wall Street Journal story about our cruise of the Caribbean that begins Sunday.

I opened up the story only to be shocked and amazed. This is how the story, headlined, "Tea Party goes Haiti" began: "WorldNetDaily, a media outlet that says Barack Obama is foreign-born and can't be president, is inviting fellow travelers to ship out on a Tea Party at Sea cruise to the Caribbean with Swift Boat author Jerome Corsi and former Republican presidential longshot Alan Keyes."

The story continued: "The week-long itinerary includes Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and a resort identified in the online brochure as Labadee, Hispaniola.

"'On the north coast of Hispaniola, surrounded by beautiful mountain slopes and exotic foliage, sits Labadee®, Royal Caribbean's private paradise,' the WorldNetDaily brochure beckons. 'This exclusive destination offers pristine beaches, breathtaking scenery and spectacular water activities.'

"WorldNetDaily doesn't mention that Labadee is in Haiti, a country ravaged by an earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people earlier this year.

"WND founder Joseph Farah couldn't be reached for comment."

Flabbergasted, I dialed the phone number for the reporter. I got his voicemail. I left him a message explaining what I thought about this kind of journalism.

A few minutes later, he called me back.

"If you can't find one reference anywhere in WND's extensive archives in which anyone at WND concludes, claims or states that Obama is foreign born, I want a retraction and correction issued by you," I told him. "I'll save you the trouble. There aren't any such references."

Phillips' amazing response was that in this column from earlier this week I referred to Obama as a "usurper."

"Yes, that's right," I said. "Is usurper now a synonym for foreign-born?"

He had no comment.

Again, I repeated my challenge to cite one example of WND asserting that Obama is foreign-born or to issue a correction. He refused.

Then we discussed his big scoop that WND was sponsoring a cruise with a stop in Haiti. I hadn't realized this was a secret since we have been promoting the cruise for nearly a year.

"Do you think there is something inappropriate about cruising to Haiti?" I asked. "Do you think the world should boycott Haiti because of the devastating earthquake that struck the island? Should we punish residents of the country that derives most of its tourist income from the Royal Caribbean port stop at Labadee?"

Phillips said the story was about WND obscuring the destination of Haiti – instead referring only to Hispaniola, the larger island of which Haiti is a part.

"And you think that's a story?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Well, that is the strangest news judgment I have seen in more than 30 years in the business," I replied.

What do you think?

Is it a scandal that WND is sailing to Haiti?

Should we have gone somewhere else and avoided the devastated country for which we helped raise relief money after the quake?

Should we have turned away and chosen a more appealing destination?

Should we have boycotted the country because of the tragedy that befell it earlier this year – long after WND had set the destination and begun promoting it?

Apparently that's what Phillips, and, by association, the Wall Street Journal, appears to be suggesting.

Even without the benefit of hearing "my side," some discerning Wall Street Journal readers were able to see through at least some of the disinformation in Phillips' story. Here's one posting from a Journal reader:

"Good for them, bringing some U.S. dollars and business into the Haitian tourist industry again. I take it the 'reporter' thinks this is evil, and the poor people of Haiti should be deprived of making any living and be dependent on global charity in perpetuity because of the misfortune of Hispaniola's seismic calamities. By the way, the tourist industry has often advertised Labadee in this fashion for quite some time. This 'reporter' is a political hack."

If you would like to sound off on this issue, participate in today's WND Poll.