Juan Williams Fired from NPR

They seem to occasionally rant against government, big car companies, mechanics, engineers, bad haircuts and pants.

I'm pretty sure that they're anarchists.

 

http://pollposition.com/index.php/post/154/Americans_Divided_Over_US_Govts_NPR_Funding

 

The right is confused by NPR because no one is screaming slogans they know listeners will agree with at them.

 

Kind of like watching MSNBC

 

I'm confused by this sentence.

 

You must not be an NPR listener which requires a higher IQ .

 

OBAMACARE! NANCY PELOSI! YOUR GRANDCHILDREN WILL STARVE!

 

Ace - didn't you get the memo, liberals are not suppose to speak about obamacare until the election season is over. It's bad for business.

 

Oh, so I've listened to NPR some over the last couple of days.

Some thoughts:

Overall, it's been pretty good. The broadcasters do have some pretty calm, soothing voices that can make me want to go to sleep, and they tend to over enunciate. The writing sometimes has some pretty cliched phrases.

I've mostly enjoyed the stories they've chosen to cover, and like that they can spend more time on them than traditional radio.

But, some stories don't really need so much time. I didn't need a 10 minute segment on the poetry contest they sponsored in conjunction with LeBron's first game in Miami.

(BTW, does that sound like a spoof of NPR or what? A poetry contest? Really?)

The extended segment on a new, potential birth control cream was also more than I needed.

I heard a good, fair interview with WV Governor & Senate candidate Joe Manchin. I did notice that they didn't say anything like, "we invited his opponent on and he declined." That left me wondering if they had invited his opponent on. Usually, a broadcast will say something like that.

I know more about Madagascar lumber than I ever did before.

I heard a long segment produced by the local station (WBEZ Chicago) on women's issues in Libya. The reporter's trip was underwritten by some foundation & focused on a recently divorced woman who lived on a family compound with her three kids. She was born in America, went back to Libya, and then had further schooling in America & Germany.

She doesn't veil herself and doesn't feel pressure to do so. She acknowledged that here are social pressures about how women socialize in public, but overall, she was very happy in Libya.

But, I was left with a lot of questions. The woman's father was a high government official. he is the head of the National Archives.

Her trip was underwritten. How did she find her subject? was she directed to her? The woman is very educated & cosmopolitan. Is she reflective of most women in Libya?

Was she free to speak her mind? Was the reporter's reporting restricted in any way? She didn't say one way or the other.

It just sounded very one-sided. It made Libya sound like the best place on earth to be a woman & to raise a family. No other context was given.

Call me skeptical.

But, I'll keep tuning in.

So, who's listened to Rush this week? What's he talked about?

 

When listening to NPR be sure to sip green tea. If you have a crank radio all the better so you are not using electricity.

 

I know I've piqued everyone's interest with my mention of the LeBron James poetry contest, so here's the winning entry:


Letting go is hard, we know.
The King is here, and we've warmed up his seat.
Cleveland, go ahead and spit flames.
You can't burn up the Heat.


Wow. Great stuff, huh? Congratulations to Miami resident Crystal Booker. She beat over 1,100 other entrants.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130840438

 

Interesting that the father of modern American conservatism had a show on public broadcasting for 33 years.

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