Friday, January 26, 2007

The AP Misrepresents Craig Baker The "Pig Races" Guy

The Katy Islamic Association moves in next door to Craig Baker with plans to build a Mosque. Baker's family has lived in Katy, Texas for well nigh 200 years. The street that Baker lives on is named Baker St. in honor of his family.

So, what do the nice Muslims next door do? Well, according to Craig Baker, they told him it would probably be a good idea for him to pack up his family and move.

When Baker was interviewed about this by the Muslim stringer they sent to cover the story, the result was a news item which Baker contends completely misrepresented what he has said. Check this out (from the Infidel Bloggers Alliance Radio Show, last week):


Here is the AP back on December 31 telling us that Baker had backtracked and acknowledged that he had been mistaken when he thought that the Muslims wanted him to leave his land:

Baker agreed to move his cattle but thought the Muslims also wanted him off the land his family has lived on for more than 100 years.

Earlier this month, Baker conceded that the Muslims probably aren't after his land, but he said he had to go through with the pig races because "I would be like a total idiot if I didn't. I'd be the laughingstock now because I've gone too far."

All the same, Baker plans to continue the weekly pig races until interest dwindles.

The association never meant to imply it wanted Baker to move, Allam said.

"If we somehow communicated that to him, then we apologize," he said.

That is from Dec. 31, 2006. When Baker spoke to Pastorius on Jan. 16, he explained in no uncertain terms that the Mosque folks did in fact suggest that he should leave.

Baker also sheds some light on how the AP got the story they wanted:

Baker told Pastorius, "The AP...ha[s] a young Muslim girl that...filed a story on me, and she had asked me straight up was there any chance that I misunderstood that they were only wanting...me to move my cows and not actually wanting me to move off of my place and I told her 'no, there was no chance whatsoever,' and I told her that about four or five times, and...she asked it four or five different ways, and then a couple days later she called me back and she said, 'is there one half of one percent chance that...that was what they meant or said,' and I said, 'oh, ok, sure, there's a small chance of anything...happening,' and so that's how she led off her story, was 'Rancher Craig Baker misunderstood that they were wanting him to remove his cattle and not move off of his property.' So it made me look like a total idiot."

Listen to the January 16 IBA show at about 35 minutes in to hear this segment of the interview.

Extra, extra, read all about it, AP's credibility still in the toilet!

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