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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 21, 2010 13:23:32 GMT -5
Oh, I was thinking Jeff started this thread. Sorry. (the above is just a little Soundhole humor. In truth, in my five minutes of thinking about this, I sure wasn't taking aim at any messenger. It just occurred to me that all the buzz about Juan and his firing will likely provide a ratings boost for his next FOX appearance. If I had cable, I would be tuning in myself. I consider this to be an excellent forum topic. Perhaps not up to the standards of my "Go Giants" thread (note the clever alliteration), but a darn good thread nevertheless. You seem to think I'm kidding about being a sleeper cell. Actually I think you're right on the money about how this plays out for Juan. O'Reilly will feel responsible for getting him fired at NPR, which probably means Juan will have great job security at Fox. Like you say, he couldn't have been making that much dough at NPR (although they did provide him with an office - I used to run into him there now and then). Whether Juan had this all planned out sbefore he made his remark is another question. |
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Post by epaul on Oct 21, 2010 13:29:18 GMT -5
Actually, upon review, I see that I titled my thread, "Yea, Giants".
Oh, well.
I've now had close to fifteen minutes to think about the Juan William's comment, (three minutes of which were devoted to heavy duty thinking).
I don't believe there was anything cynical or professionally opportunistic behind Juan's comments. He was just comfortable and talked about an aspect of something that had been perhaps bugging him. And the more time he is given to explain his comments on FOX, the better Juan will look to most people and the sillier NPR will look. Not saying yea or nay to either, just saying that is how I believe it will play out. And as Juan was being used less and less at NPR and more and more at FOX, this will end up being a good deal for Juan Williams.
And as I like Juan Williams, good for him. I won't watch him, (as I don't have cable), but I wish him well.
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Post by epaul on Oct 21, 2010 13:32:27 GMT -5
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Post by Fingerplucked on Oct 21, 2010 13:38:46 GMT -5
And the more time he is given to explain his comments on FOX, the better Juan will look to most people and the sillier NPR will look. I think you're right. Williams will become a folk hero on Fox. And the Fox fans will rise in protest over NPR's unfair treatment, saturating the blogosphere. Although most of them will have trouble spelling NPR, and by this time next week, everyone will be asking just who the hell this Enpeeare is. |
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Post by epaul on Oct 21, 2010 13:38:50 GMT -5
This whole business is new to me. It appears NPR wasn't at all happy about Juan being the "liberal" on FOX telecasts and had required that any association of Juan with NPR be removed while he was on-air with FOX.
Juan was already half-way out the door at NPR. The final shove was probably just a matter of time. And this was the time.
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Post by epaul on Oct 21, 2010 13:40:36 GMT -5
Sheesh, Bill Riley is hard to watch. I gave up on that clip.
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Post by RickW on Oct 21, 2010 13:42:12 GMT -5
Perhaps he should not have said it. But it was not expressed as part of a news story. He expressed it as a personal worry. I assume he was illustrating that even a non-bigoted person has mindless fears. He did not say all muslims are terrorists.
But I think he should sue their asses off. I don't think they had any grounds to fire them.
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Post by brucemacneill on Oct 21, 2010 13:51:38 GMT -5
What is really funny, since I seem to be the only one here who saw the O'Riley show last night, The discussion was about the blow-up on The View last week and Williams was attempting to explain to O'Riley why O'Riley was wrong to have said what he said on The View. O'Riley was talking over him, which is normal whenever someone is disagreeing with O'Riley but Williams was attempting to explain that although even he gets nervous on a plane with people in Muslim garb, we need to get past that and part of getting past that is not to make comments about all Muslims as O'Riley did on The View last week. He was making a reasoned argument, which he is known to do, and he got fired for it. Sounds liberal to me.
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Post by Supertramp78 on Oct 21, 2010 13:57:01 GMT -5
The funny thing is now Huckabee and Palin are all calling for Congress to cut NPR's funding. Thing is, NPR doesn't get direct federal funding. They apply for grants like everyone else to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Those two receive some federal money.
If you add up all the money NPR gets from those two groups it is less than 1% of their budget. Big deal.
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Post by millring on Oct 21, 2010 13:57:11 GMT -5
What is really funny, since I seem to be the only one here who saw the O'Riley show last night, The discussion was about the blow-up on The View last week and Williams was attempting to explain to O'Riley why O'Riley was wrong to have said what he said on The View. O'Riley was talking over him, which is normal whenever someone is disagreeing with O'Riley but Williams was attempting to explain that although even he gets nervous on a plane with people in Muslim garb, we need to get past that and part of getting past that is not to make comments about all Muslims as O'Riley did on The View last week. He was making a reasoned argument, which he is known to do, and he got fired for it. Sounds liberal to me. If that's the case, NPR Shirley Sherroded him. Heh. |
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Post by Supertramp78 on Oct 21, 2010 14:02:04 GMT -5
"He was making a reasoned argument, which he is known to do, and he got fired for it. Sounds liberal to me."
You might want to have a talk with Paul O'Neill or Gen. Eric Shinseki.
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Post by epaul on Oct 21, 2010 14:02:24 GMT -5
... He was making a reasoned argument, which he is known to do, and he got fired for it. Sounds liberal to me. Yep. We liberals get fired, and hassled, and misunderstood, for making reasoned arguments all the time. Sometimes having the wrong bumpersticker will do it. Fortunately, we are of stout character. And if we ever run a little short, we can always drink a little more of it to top off the tank. I prefer Sam Adam's Stout. Enough of it, and I can even make my way through an O'Reily clip. Right now, I don't have enough. Takes at least six. |
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Post by Supertramp78 on Oct 21, 2010 14:04:27 GMT -5
"If that's the case, NPR Shirley Sherroded him. Heh."
Probably a good description. I really hate all the things that political correctness has given us.
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Post by Marshall on Oct 21, 2010 14:19:49 GMT -5
And the more time he is given to explain his comments on FOX, the better Juan will look to most people and the sillier NPR will look. I think you're right. Williams will become a folk hero on Fox. And the Fox fans will rise in protest over NPR's unfair treatment, saturating the blogosphere. . . . , Izat what's under the Blago-do ?  |
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Post by Fingerplucked on Oct 21, 2010 14:23:32 GMT -5
I'd tell you he uses a Bump-It-Up, but I think your little ones are too old for you to know what I'm talking about.
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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 21, 2010 15:01:18 GMT -5
Fox's Shepard Smith, who is no right-wing ideolog, just aired a segment about the whole controversy. It included clips from the NPR CEO and their news chief, and then Juan's account of how it went down.
What I got from it is this: First, NPR has never been happy with Juan appearing on Fox - they have spoken to him about it before. This from the CEO's own lips. (Interesting, btw, that liberals like to attack Fox for being one-sided, but a fundamentally liberal oriented place like NPR doesn't want Fox to have a liberal commentator who happens to work for NPR.)
Second, when you see more of Juan's comments on his fatal appearance on the Factor last night, you see that he was disputing what O'Reilly had said on The View ("Muslims killed us on 9/11") - which is what started this whole thing. Juan was pointing out that you could say the same thing about Christians when Timothy McVeigh and his buddy bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City. It was only in passing that he made the comment that got him fired, which he characterized as a confession, about getting nervous when he saw people in decidedly Middle-Eastern garb on an airplane. (Very similar to something Jesse Jackson said some years ago about seeing some African-American on a dark street.)
After seeing more from both sides of this, I am very disappointed by NPR's action. Having done a considerable amount of work for the network, I regard it as a fine organization, and the recipient over the years of a lot of unfounded, not to say ignorant criticism. I have to say this has shaken my confidence in their professionalism and avowed nonpartisanship, at least under the current administration.
Like the NPR CEO said, it's kind of unfortunate this happened right in the middle of fundraising week for a lot of NPR stations. The network's action certainly seems over-the-top to me. I believe they may have set a match to a tinderbox, and it is not Juan who's in the box.
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Post by Fingerplucked on Oct 21, 2010 15:11:34 GMT -5
Sounds like you're saying what Bruce said. If that's the case, then it sounds like NPR jumped the gun.
In light of this new evidence, I'd say NPR screwed up. Williams was probably on the bubble anyway and was going to get fired sooner or later, but they picked a poor excuse to do it over.
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Post by millring on Oct 21, 2010 15:15:15 GMT -5
heh. So he did get Sherrodded.
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Post by Fingerplucked on Oct 21, 2010 15:18:25 GMT -5
heh. So he did get Sherrodded. I keep hearing a M-m-m-my every time you say Sherrodded. |
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Post by brucemacneill on Oct 21, 2010 15:18:53 GMT -5
Yes, that was my point but I didn't expect much when I made it.
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