We suspected something was amiss when Joseph Farah’s WorldNetDaily column went into reruns for the past couple weeks without explanation — the first time we can recall that happening. Whatever else one can say about Farah, we know he was proud of writing six original columns a week.
WND managing editor David Kupelian revealed the full story in a March 28 letter to readers — that Farah has suffered a “serious stroke”:
Recently, adversity hit hard when our company’s founder and CEO, Joseph Farah, suffered a serious stroke. After spending several days in the hospital undergoing extensive testing and evaluation, he is now home, resting comfortably and recovering.
Although no one can say with certainty how long he will be away from WND, what I can say with certainty is that Joseph and his family are extremely appreciative of your prayers, as are all of us at WND.
Joseph’s medical crisis, in addition to being a difficult trial for the Farah family, is likewise tough for those of us staffing the news organization he founded and has led for 22 years. I’ve known Joseph Farah for three decades, and for 20 years have worked closely with this pioneering journalist as a colleague, good friend and fellow Christian. I know him as a man of enormous talents, integrity and genuine faith.
Farah’s stroke comes at a very bad time for WND as it continues to battle financial problems. Kupelian wrote that Farah’s health issues shouldn’t affect operations: “With God’s help we are not going anywhere except forward.” Then Kupelian couldn’t help getting political:
We’re all living through a period of unprecedented turmoil, wherein one political party has somehow become totally disconnected from reality – promoting insane, catastrophic “solutions” to nonexistent crises while denying obviously real crises and slandering or censoring all who disagree with them. I can honestly say, having personally spent more than 35 years in the news media, I’ve never seen a greater need than right now for genuinely truth-oriented, pro-Constitution, pro-Judeo-Christian journalism. That’s the niche WND has striven mightily to fill since its founding back in 1997 as America’s first online news organization. And with the Good Lord’s help, that vital work will continue.
Yeah, about that … ask Barack Obama or Seth Rich’s parents how “genuinely truth-oriented” WND really is.
That said, best wishes to Farah for a full recovery.