Today (Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008) NPR’s "Day to Day" program had a segment entitled 'Witch' Burnings Haunt Kenyan Tribe. It details the horrendous situation in areas of Kenya where a superstitious belief in witches has resulted in the brutal murder of innocent citizens, including the throat slitting and amputation of the hands and feet of a local minister’s wife.
The accusations of witchcraft and the persecution and murder of suspected witches is frequently the result of personal vendettas or attempts to sway the populace for selfish personal gain. These spasms of witch hunting are a result of economic deprivation and social disruption combined with traditional, pre-modern ideologies and prejudices against women that have been gradually eliminated in most parts of the developed world since the advent of the enlightenment and modern scientific, rational thought, accept unfortunately in many tradition-bound areas of the third world such as rural Kenya and apparently certain parts of Alaska, such as Wasilla.
So it is particularly troubling that vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin accepted the anointed blessing of a self-avowed witch hunter, Kenyan evangelist "Bishop" Thomas Muthee. The video of "Bishop" Mutheee blessing Sarah Palin during an October 2005 ceremony at the Wasilla Assembly of God, has been widely viewed on the web and is known to a wide audience, but still gets relatively little play in the MSM, even though Barak Obama’s religious and non-religious affiliates have been widely vetted. Given the disturbing news emanating from Kenya, Muthee’s homeland, regarding the upsurge in witch hunting incidents and the mayhem that has ensued, Palin’s association with witch hunters can no longer be taken as a quaint throwback to the halcyon days of 17th century Salem MA. This is a serious abandonment of rational thought on her part and an affront to all serious minded, sober citizens. As far as I’m concerned Sarah Palin is complicit in these outrages against humanity by her acquiescence in their perpetuation. She should renounce Bishop Muthee and apologize for furthering his anachronistic agenda.