Tell Congress: Don't cave to Sarah Palin. Stand up for NPR!
Fri, 10/22/2010 - 9:24am
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/stand_up_for_npr/?r=6360&id=11958-88...
"National Public Radio recently fired Juan Williams after he appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show on FOX News and made some controversial remarks.
Now, Sarah Palin and other professional right-wing demagogues are exploiting this issue as an excuse to push Congress to defund NPR, which is something conservatives have wanted for decades.
Whatever you think about the Juan Williams controversy, we cannot allow the right-wing to dictate public policy by throwing a fit. And we cannot allow Congress to lie down when confronted with hypocritical, fake outrage from the Right.
Tell Congress: Don't cave to Sarah Palin. Stand up for NPR!"
http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2010/10/juan-williams-i-dont-have-a-psyc...
Sat, 10/23/2010 - 10:27pm
#2
NPR
Wasn't NPR wrong, freedom of speech?
Sun, 10/24/2010 - 12:23am
#3
Maybe.
The specific job description of a television reporter is a difficult one to define but I think the idea is usually to avoid expressing your personal opinions when it comes to the news, especially when they border on racism. It is my understanding that there was more to it than this isolated incident.
Haven't really delved into the details that closely but it's all really beside the point. Defunding NPR would be a step in the wrong direction in my opinion. Kind of like saying lets stop funding schools because a teacher got fired for the wrong reason. This is like grade schooler level logic.
Sun, 10/24/2010 - 1:50am
#4
I think it's wrong to fire a
I think it's wrong to fire a reporter over their opinions. NPR could, however, make an argument that, over the course of his career, Williams made decisions that fell below the standards they have for journalistic excellence. In this case he threw his opinion out there in such a careless way, and the intent was clearly to "concur" with O'Reily's anti-muslim spewing propaganda. NPR doesn't need to payroll journalists who debate at the level of Glenn Beck or Alex Jones while unofficially representing their primary employer.
I'm probably giving NPR too much credit, though. Their reaction to Williams seemed as knee-jerky as the Helen Thomas incident, unless they've since clarified their position publicly.
Sun, 10/24/2010 - 12:29pm
#5
Scary shit here...
How come these guys always sound like their balls are in their throats? I'd be willing to entertain the idea that maybe he shouldn't have been fired but trying to make a case to pull federal funding for the entire Nation Public Radio organization based upon this is ridiculous.
Holy cow, as if NPR isn't one of the best things we have in this country... that reminds me, I've listened to so many This American Life and Soundcheck and Radiolab and Moth episodes while on tour in recent months I'd better give NPR a donation or two!
AND just as another reminder to anybody who wants to pitch in to help keep Republicans/Tea Party/Palin nuts out of Congress at all costs, there's free busses to Pennsylvania via the ACT NOW organization! Act Now are organizing canvassing to try to keep Pennsylvania a blue state, actions going on all the time between now and the election next week.... CURRENTLY the poll results for PA are neck-and-neck, so they can use all the help they can get! I'm going on one of these trips tomorrow (Saturday) and I might go Sunday too (different area, upstate NY).
Here's the link to RSVP for a bus seat. Who wants to come join us?
http://www.actnowny.org/2010/10/07/canvass-for-joe-sestak/