Ok, so by now, you've heard about this analyst getting fired by NPR for saying he gets nervous around Muslims on airplanes.

Is that really a statement that should end your employment with NPR?  It seems pretty ridiculous that he got fired over that.  He wasn't trying to be spiteful -- he was just being candid with O'Reilly.

What do you guys think?

NPR is a Right Wing shill for Wall Street.  Contrary to what people think -- especially the yuppies who give money to NPR/PBS -- there is no public mass media in the United States.  You can be as far to the Right as you want on NPR.  You can even be racist.  The difference is you're not allowed to appear racist.  That's where Williams crossed the line.  He spent too much time giving oral pleasure to Rupert Murdoch and confused his two jobs!

It's a wet dream for Juan.  Now he can do what he's wanted to do for years: He can become a full-time fascist cheerleader with his friends at FOX.  Now he can get on board with the other clowns and rank on National Public Radio's "liberal bias."

I wouldn't want to work for NPR.  Their idea of cutting edge entertainment is "A Prairie Home Companion."  That'll put you to sleep quicker than sodium pentathol.  As for music?  Sometimes they get REALLY ballsy and play some Vaughn Williams  -- Not to be confused with Juan Williams!
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I wonder how many times Juan Williams got asked "Are you Black or Hispanic or...what is you?  Whatever it is, I don't like it, boy!"  Now that he's a multimillionaire it doesn't matter.  He's now free to hang around FOX and hate them Muslims!
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NPR is right wing?  Wow, that's a first.

You'd have to be so far to the left that Chavez would be like "that guy's an extremist" to think that NPR is conservative.

They are most definitely liberal and apparently very politically correct.

That being said, I do enjoy listening to certain stories they cover that few others seem to.

NPR is on the "politically correct" bandwagon big-time.

I have not seen the footage of Williams' comments, but from what I have read he said that when he's on an airplane and sees somebody in full Muslim garb, he gets a bit nervous.  Been there, done that.  But I have read that he also made comment that the people who are blowing up airplanes and such are extremists and that he was not making commentary on Muslims in general.

Show me somebody who sees a group of guys getting on their airplane that are in full Muslim garb who claims that they have no nervousness at all, and I will show you a liar.

But his comments allowed some people to be able to get up on their soap box and make their statement about whatever it is that they are making a statement about.  Open and honest discourse, of course, would not be part of that statement.

In any event it looks like Williams is gonna make out like a bandid on this, as I read that he scored a nice fat contract with Fox.  8)

NPR is politically correct and socially liberal, which appeals to the yuppie demographic whose money they crave.  Economically, they're all about Wall Street and American imperialism. 

Socially liberal and fiscally conservative = selfish and illiberal in my book.  Bill Clinton is NPR personified.

We think the Democratic party, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and NPR are "liberal" because they are not Right Wing enough.  How can you be Right Wing enough for the plutocrats who pull the levers?  You can't.  It's like being too holy for God.  We don't worship God in this country anymore.  We worship money.
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Show me somebody who sees a group of guys getting on their airplane that are in full Muslim garb who claims that they have no nervousness at all, and I will show you a liar.



My sentiments exactly.

Chris Hedges excoriates the liberal class.

I do not link to lengthy articles idly. 

Hedges expresses exactly why I am bitter towards liberal institutions such as NPR and turncoats such as Juan Williams.  I hope Hedges' writings and speeches survive to help future historians understand the rapid demise of the short-lived American empire.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/znaika.gif

Chris Hedges excoriates the liberal class.

I do not link to lengthy articles idly. 

Hedges expresses exactly why I am bitter towards liberal institutions such as NPR and turncoats such as Juan Williams.  I hope Hedges' writings and speeches survive to help future historians understand the rapid demise of the short-lived American empire.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/znaika.gif


Sounds like blaming  the victim to me.  It wasn't the "liberal class" whatever  in hell that is, but the middle, working, and poor classes that betrayed their own interests by voting for their class enemies and now reap the results.  And it looks like they will do it again.

Show me somebody who sees a group of guys getting on their airplane that are in full Muslim garb who claims that they have no nervousness at all, and I will show you a liar.



The 9/11 guys weren't garbed, neither was the shoe bomber, or anyone else picked up domestically.  The people out to do the harm aren't knife wielding, wild eyed, robe wearing, zealots. The people who plan these attacks are sophisticated, educated, and know that to do what the do they must dress, and conduct themselves in such a way as to blend in with the general population.  To be afraid of full Muslim garb is to be naive, uninformed, and/or just plain ignorant.

Sounds like blaming  the victim to me.  It wasn't the "liberal class" whatever  in hell that is, but the middle, working, and poor classes that betrayed their own interests by voting for their class enemies and now reap the results.  And it looks like they will do it again.


The "liberal class" starting with the original yuppies of the Baby Boom generation, who all claimed Woodstock as the apotheosis of their zeitgeist, who came from privileged backgrounds and after earning their MBAs donned Wall Street attire and voted for Reagan, are the class traitors of whom Hedges and I speak.  (Now it's carried over into Gens X and Y)

Public Broadcasting, with their tote bags and mugs, their home gardening shows, and their premium donor trips to jazz festivals/wine tastings in the south of France, became the new feel-good outlet for the privileged yuppie class who fancy themselves progressive because they like homosexuals and have one Black friend, became the echo chamber of the new suburban apartheid feel-good ethos in which bringing reusable bags to Whole Foods became the emblem of conscientious lifestyles in which they did not have to encounter icky poor people.  It's fun to listen to hillbilly-style music clapping along with Garrison Keillor and then make fun of Appalachian accents, and thank Ayn Rand we're too smart for church!

When Howard Zinn died, NPR invited on board was the rabid racist neo-McCarthyite David Horowitz to heap shame on the decedent for daring to talk of class in America.  Even that didn't slow down the flood of donations the vaunted liberal class gives to Public Broadcasting.  

Corporate lapdogs?  They don't interrupt programming every five minutes to spray you with a Bukkake blitz of ads.  They're a bit more insidious than that.  

I found this week's column (10/27/10) by investigative reporter Greg Palast particularly trenchant on the "Petroleum Broadcasting System."

The Petroleum Broadcast System Owes Us an Apology

Excerpt:

In 1998, a prestigious producer working with BBC Television approached PBS and Frontline with a bombshell of a project:  The story of British Petroleum and its partners and revelations, then confidential, of reckless disregard, if not downright fraud, in preventing and containing massive oil spills.

PBS smacked it away.

Instead, Frontline's producer, WGBH, spent several million dollars on The Commanding Heights.  The six-hour extravaganza was a panegyric to the entrepreneurial spirit of newly privatized oil and power companies.  Production was paid for by Enron. But when Enron's Chairman Ken Lay was arrested, PBS had to find a new sugar daddy.   The new loot poured in from Margaret Thatcher's privatized commander of the heights, British Petroleum.

--Greg Palast

The "liberal class" is not a "class" per se, but a lifestyle choice.  It does not, nor will it ever, represent the values of poor people.

Chris Hedges excoriates the liberal class.

I do not link to lengthy articles idly. 

Hedges expresses exactly why I am bitter towards liberal institutions such as NPR and turncoats such as Juan Williams.  I hope Hedges' writings and speeches survive to help future historians understand the rapid demise of the short-lived American empire.

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I think Hedges is very melodramatic in this article.

What's happening now isn't that different from what happened in 1994.  America is a center right country.  I'm not very pleased with this, but it's true.

The 9/11 guys weren't garbed, neither was the shoe bomber, or anyone else picked up domestically.  The people out to do the harm aren't knife wielding, wild eyed, robe wearing, zealots. The people who plan these attacks are sophisticated, educated, and know that to do what the do they must dress, and conduct themselves in such a way as to blend in with the general population.  To be afraid of full Muslim garb is to be naive, uninformed, and/or just plain ignorant.


Unless you're a cartoonist in Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Vilks_Muhammad_drawings_controversy

The "liberal class" is not a "class" per se, but a lifestyle choice.  It does not, nor will it ever, represent the values of poor people.

And the poor are often blindly religious and poorly educated.  The fact that the poor will often vote against their own economic interests while in favor of invasive social agendas is part of why I have little sympathy for them.  They're either asking for handouts or following the absurdities of some outdated notion of an invisible man in the sky.

Don't get me wrong though.  I don't like the rich either with their incessant whining about taxation.  And the followers of Ayn Rand are just a capitalist version of Stalinists.

If you really want your interests supported by government, you have to first acquire wealth and then acquire connections.  They don't care about the little guy, and quite frankly...  why should they?  People are stupid and fickle.  The only reason democracy is even a halfway desirable option for government is because all of the other options are either terrible or just too impractical.

But yeah, I'm not one of those hypocritical neo-hippie, yuppy liberal types, nor am I a Bible-thumping religious zealot, nor am I a pie-in-the-sky Libertarian, or a mindless populist.  When you lose your faith in religion, capitalism, government, and humanity in general, all you can be is a misanthropic cynic.  The best you can hope for is to make enough money to stay afloat and separate yourself from the filthy masses.  Daniel Plainview had the right idea.

And the poor are often blindly religious and poorly educated.  The fact that the poor will often vote against their own economic interests while in favor of invasive social agendas is part of why I have little sympathy for them.  They're either asking for handouts or following the absurdities of some outdated notion of an invisible man in the sky.

Don't get me wrong though.  I don't like the rich either with their incessant whining about taxation.   And the followers of Ayn Rand are just a capitalist version of Stalinists.

If you really want your interests supported by government, you have to first acquire wealth and then acquire connections.  They don't care about the little guy, and quite frankly...  why should they?  People are stupid and fickle.  The only reason democracy is even a halfway desirable option for government is because all of the other options are either terrible or just too impractical.

But yeah, I'm not one of those hypocritical neo-hippie, yuppy liberal types, nor am I a Bible-thumping religious zealot, nor am I a pie-in-the-sky Libertarian, or a mindless populist.  When you lose your faith in religion, capitalism, government, and humanity in general, all you can be is a misanthropic cynic.  The best you can hope for is to make enough money to stay afloat and separate yourself from the filthy masses.  Daniel Plainview had the right idea.


a. We are the filthy masses.
b. I should have proofed my screed better.  It's self-contradicting in parts, as in "the values of the poor," as you pointed out.
c. I think Hedges is right on, but a lot of people find him heavy-handed and melodramatic.  My best friend can't stand him either!
;)

Juan is one the few liberals that I can listen to. Why did he get fired? The way Nina Totenburg demeaned Jesse Helms(R-NC) back in 1995 she should have been fired not Juan.

NPR is a Right Wing shill for Wall Street.  Contrary to what people think -- especially the yuppies who give money to NPR/PBS -- there is no public mass media in the United States.  You can be as far to the Right as you want on NPR.  You can even be racist.  The difference is you're not allowed to appear racist.  That's where Williams crossed the line.  He spent too much time giving oral pleasure to Rupert Murdoch and confused his two jobs!

It's a wet dream for Juan.  Now he can do what he's wanted to do for years: He can become a full-time fascist cheerleader with his friends at FOX.  Now he can get on board with the other clowns and rank on National Public Radio's "liberal bias."

I wouldn't want to work for NPR.  Their idea of cutting edge entertainment is "A Prairie Home Companion."  That'll put you to sleep quicker than sodium pentathol.  As for music?  Sometimes they get REALLY ballsy and play some Vaughn Williams  -- Not to be confused with Juan Williams!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/14/sad3.gif

I wonder how many times Juan Williams got asked "Are you Black or Hispanic or...what is you?  Whatever it is, I don't like it, boy!"  Now that he's a multimillionaire it doesn't matter.  He's now free to hang around FOX and hate them Muslims!
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No he didn't demean Muslims by his comments , he was just making an observation thats all.

As for pleasing Ruert Murdoch I don't think Juan cares about that.

Juan is one the few liberals that I can listen to.


Because he's not a liberal.

I get nervous when I ride in the elevator with a black guy.  I'd rather ride in the elevator with other white guys.  Just an observation!
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Because he's not a liberal.

I get nervous when I ride in the elevator with a black guy.  I'd rather ride in the elevator with other white guys.  Just an observation!
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I'd get nervous riding an elevator with a black guy dressed like a thug.

It's all about context.

I'd get nervous riding an elevator with a black guy dressed like a thug.

It's all about context.


What about a Christian dressed like a Muslim?
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I'd get nervous riding an elevator with a black guy dressed like a thug.

It's all about context.


Are you nervous about riding in an elevator with a white guy dressed like a thug? You have to ask yourself if it is the color or the clothes, or the color coupled with the clothes.  If the clothes are the same but the color different, then Houston...we may have a problem.

I think I'd be more nervous around a white guy dressed like a thug since it would be more likely that he actually is one, but someone would have to be really stupid and arrogant to commit a violent crime in an elevator.

No he didn't demean Muslims by his comments , he was just making an observation thats all.



What I mean is Williams' "observations" are patently prejudiced.  A few Muslims committed terrorist acts on Airplanes, therefore Williams sees all Muslims on airplanes as terrorists.  Williams promoted the stereotype of Muslims as violent fanatics. 

If Williams went back in time to Georgia in the 1920s, he would be petrified of white women because he would observe that black men who get accused of sexual designs on white women get lynched. 

Why was this so when history shows us the vast majority of interracial sexual assault was white men attacking black women?  Because in the back of every white man's mind was the fear: "If they treat our womenfolk anything like we treat their womenfolk...Uh-oh...."
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Because he's not a liberal.

I get nervous when I ride in the elevator with a black guy.  I'd rather ride in the elevator with other white guys.  Just an observation!
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In my opinion he is a liberal.

What I mean is Williams' "observations" are patently prejudiced.  A few Muslims committed terrorist acts on Airplanes, therefore Williams sees all Muslims on airplanes as terrorists.  Williams promoted the stereotype of Muslims as violent fanatics. 

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He said he just gets nervous when sees Muslims in their garb on airplanes. Thats all. He was just being honest.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/5129513531_1458081cfc_b.jpg

But if NPR loses its public funding, what will my cat watch when I'm at school? 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/5129509839_40d07685df_z.jpg

(OK, so I go to work, not school, and I don't own a cat, much less one that looks like Hitler.  Deal with it.)


He said he just gets nervous when sees Muslims in their garb on airplanes. Thats all. He was just being honest.


A real American wouldn't have a problem with it.  A real American would say "Hey, a Muslim dressed up like a Muslim.  He gets up and charges the cockpit, he tries to light his shoes on fire, I kick his ass.  But I'd kick the ass of anyone trying to rush the cockpit or light his shoes on fire, Muslim or not.  So what's the big deal?"

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/5129512945_e8df213467_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/5129512945_e8df213467_z.jpg

- From the Washtington Mall: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, 10/30/10. (Yeah, I'm trying to make sanity a meme.  Work with me, people.)

What about a Christian dressed like a Muslim?
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I'm not a fan of any religion to be honest.

Are you nervous about riding in an elevator with a white guy dressed like a thug? You have to ask yourself if it is the color or the clothes, or the color coupled with the clothes.  If the clothes are the same but the color different, then Houston...we may have a problem.


It's about the clothes.  I don't get nervous around black people that are dressed casually or formally.  I just don't like the thug types...  black, white, or otherwise.

He said he just gets nervous when sees Muslims in their garb on airplanes. Thats all. He was just being honest.


Yes.  Honestly prejudiced. 

Anyway, Williams isn't really the problem.  He's a regular on FOX, so I know he's a wingnut.  NPR is the problem.  They gave the rabid Righties their wet dream when the canned Juan.  I would have renewed Williams' contract and let the remark go.
::)

Yes.  Honestly prejudiced.

Nearly everyone has prejudice.

I'd rather ride on a plane full of imams than a plane full of frat boys!  I've lived in a college town for 17 years and all frat boys do is get drunk, break stuff, and make AIDS jokes.  Bad eggs, all of them!
;D

Yes.  Honestly prejudiced. 

Anyway, Williams isn't really the problem.  He's a regular on FOX, so I know he's a wingnut.  NPR is the problem.  They gave the rabid Righties their wet dream when the canned Juan.  I would have renewed Williams' contract and let the remark go. ::)
I agree with you on that particular point.