On October 20, 2010 Juan Williams was fired from his commentator job at National Public Radio after making remarks that said he got nervous when he got nervous when he was on a plane with Muslims on the Fox News program The O’Reilly Factor. Almost immediately conservatives claimed that Williams was a victim of “political correctness” and that his free speech rights were violated. Sarah Palin even asked that Congress defund NPR in the aftermath. Others noted that Williams had gotten complaints regarding doing double duty at both NPR (who have had issues with some of Williams’ statements over the years) and Fox as well as pointing out that sometimes jobs have certain codes of conduct that you can get fired for violating; standards which Williams may have violated by saying what he did on O’Reilly,
Personally, I lean towards the latter on what caused this but I don’t really think that’s the reason. If Palin and Gleen Beck weren’t getting conservatives’ tighty whities in a wad over NPR with all this it wouldn’t be news. So why aren’t I worried? My theory on this is really quite simple.
I PERSONALLY BELIVE THAT JUAN WILLIAMS GETTING FIRED FROM NPR WAS ACTUALLY PLANNED AND STAGED.
I’m sure I’m not the first person to bring this up online. Hell, there’s probably already dozens of posts saying this elsewhere. So why add mine? Well here’s my perspective.
First, the mainstream media seemed to fail to report that Williams was working at both Fox News and NPR. It has been spun as if the man lost his only job over what was a perceived freedom of speech issue. However, he was also a commentator for Fox News, which has been practically making Islamophobia a program in and of itself.
Also, note how quickly the media noticed his new contract with Fox News. Less than 24 hours after NPR let him go it was reported that Williams signed a three year $2 million dollar contact with the network. Newscorp CEO (Fox’s parent company) Rupert Murdock immediately painted Williams as someone who has been attacked for using his First Amendment Rights, thus sending off the campaign to defund NPR in almost lapdog attack fashion.
Then there’s the people shouting the most to defund NPR. What TV news network does both Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck work for? Yup, Fox News. While in any other situation this might kinda sorta be seen as a conflict of interest, the mainstream media now paints it out of said context and people think its a legitimate concern.
With that in mind, can I be a bit out of line to think that maybe either someone at FOX if not Williams himself posited this plan to get him away from NPR before his contract was up? In addition, if Williams was already working for Fox News, why do they point out his contract now? Was it up for renewal? Did his bosses at his new main home ask him to make a choice? The answer right now is uncertain.
What is clear is that Williams lost a job for saying something redonkulous and then got a multimillion dollar boost at his other job. Most people wish they could screw up like that.
As I post this it’s been a week since all this happened. If it wasn’t for all the neocons experiencing tainthurt and wanting to defund NRP over it, this would’ve faded in the news cycle after about 48 hours. Even if you discount the other things I mentioned as coincidence, that alone makes you wonder about it.
Was Juan Williams getting canned from NPR actually planned by Williams? I don’t know. However, much weirder things have happened in the American workplace (remember John Ashcroft losing the 2000 Senate election to the late Roger Carnahan only to end up Dubya’s first attorney general).
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Reconsider Columbus Day
Hey! I know it's been a while wince I last posted but there have been a lot of things on my mind lately and I needed to get them sorted out. I have a few things to post here but given that Columbus Day is upon us, I thought I'd let this video from Reconsider Columbus Day state the case since it says it better than I ever could.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Dreams, Rodeo Clown Asshats, and Further Divisions
Today marks the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Long considered one of the benchmarks of the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, King's vision of an America where racism wasn't woven into the system itself and character mattered more than skin color has become taught in schools and part of our history with a message that shouldn't be messed with.
Which brings us to today. Right wing pundit and self described "rodeo clown" Glenn Beck is holding his "Restore Honor" march and rally at the same location. Claiming to be a benefit to raise money for a charity for the families of soldiers, Beck's real motive has come through in the publicizing of the event.
First, he claims that black people don't own Dr. Martin Luther King. Never mind that nobody said they did just as nobody gets upset if a white person claims MLK as one of their personal heroes, Beck is using this as a smear to claim that those people in the civil rights movement who continue to work on liberal causes have stolen King's legacy. IN fact, Glenn Beck says this event will "recalim Dr. King's legacy." To say that is a form of arrogance that's a combination of scary, ignorant, and plain out fucking stupid.
I know some people might say, "Dr. King talked about content of character. So does Beck and the conservatives. So why do you attack Glenn Beck?" Well, once you know the facts it's quite easy to debunk Glenn Beck's fucking bullshit on this issue.
First up goes into religion. Within the past year or so Glenn Beck has spent a lot of time attacking churches that preach "social justice." Beck's claim is that social justice is code for communism and Nazism. How does that compare with Dr. King? Dr. King devoted and gave his life for social justice. In King's later years he spoke out against poverty, attended rallies for striking workers, and even spoke out against the war in Vietnam. The media response was King being attacked as "having diminished his usefulness to his movement" and as a perceived communist just as the right wing in this country do today thanks to people like Beck, Sarah Palin and the like.
Then there's the political angle. There have been some people in the past couple of decades who like to say that if Dr. Martin Lither King Jr. were alive today he'd be a conservative. While we'll never know if that's true given that King was assassinated in 1968, a look at the last years of his life indicate otherwise. King, in fact, had moved beyond his earlier views to the point of considering the Vietnam War "an enemy of poor people" and supporting a "guaranteed annual income" and that the movement itself must "restructure the the whole of American society."
It's possible for people's views to change over time. However, judging from what we see here if Dr. King were alive today he'd be attacked by the same people who today are trying to "reclaim" him. Some even say King would've ended up on Beck's black board. Media Matters even shows how he'd fit on there.
So what is Beck and his ilk doing? Basically, on one level he's dropping trou and taking a giant runny shit on everything Dr. King stood for and then claiming he's honoring our troops in the process. However, it goes deeper than that.
Beck and company may not know history but I do think they're aware of how Dr. King's legacy has been frozen in 1963. BY often overlooking King's work on labor issues and against the Vietnam war in the last few years of his life, King had been co-opted and turned into a harmless figure in the eyes of the American mainstream. Because of this, it's easy for conservatives to claim that King would be one of them. Knowing that most people are too busy to fully research current issues and that American History is often so poorly taught (by design, in my opinion) that it keeps people from learning what really went down, it's easy for those wanting to distort the facts to twist things to their will.
That is what Beck and his ilk have symbolically done to Dr. King today. Their cherry picking of facts have created a situation where people are being misled about an American hero who was far more radical than the schools have taught them. Thus, any claims that they will reclaim King's legacy ring as hollow as the tears Glenn cries at any given moment on TV (thanks to his friend Vapo rub).
Does Glenn Beck and his scary band of neocon liars have a right to say what they want? Of course. However, their attempt to claim Dr. King as one of their own is not only insensitive but dishonest to the nth degree.
When all is said and done it's just another layer of bullshit that those wanting to know real history have to dive through to find out what things are really like.
Which brings us to today. Right wing pundit and self described "rodeo clown" Glenn Beck is holding his "Restore Honor" march and rally at the same location. Claiming to be a benefit to raise money for a charity for the families of soldiers, Beck's real motive has come through in the publicizing of the event.
First, he claims that black people don't own Dr. Martin Luther King. Never mind that nobody said they did just as nobody gets upset if a white person claims MLK as one of their personal heroes, Beck is using this as a smear to claim that those people in the civil rights movement who continue to work on liberal causes have stolen King's legacy. IN fact, Glenn Beck says this event will "recalim Dr. King's legacy." To say that is a form of arrogance that's a combination of scary, ignorant, and plain out fucking stupid.
I know some people might say, "Dr. King talked about content of character. So does Beck and the conservatives. So why do you attack Glenn Beck?" Well, once you know the facts it's quite easy to debunk Glenn Beck's fucking bullshit on this issue.
First up goes into religion. Within the past year or so Glenn Beck has spent a lot of time attacking churches that preach "social justice." Beck's claim is that social justice is code for communism and Nazism. How does that compare with Dr. King? Dr. King devoted and gave his life for social justice. In King's later years he spoke out against poverty, attended rallies for striking workers, and even spoke out against the war in Vietnam. The media response was King being attacked as "having diminished his usefulness to his movement" and as a perceived communist just as the right wing in this country do today thanks to people like Beck, Sarah Palin and the like.
Then there's the political angle. There have been some people in the past couple of decades who like to say that if Dr. Martin Lither King Jr. were alive today he'd be a conservative. While we'll never know if that's true given that King was assassinated in 1968, a look at the last years of his life indicate otherwise. King, in fact, had moved beyond his earlier views to the point of considering the Vietnam War "an enemy of poor people" and supporting a "guaranteed annual income" and that the movement itself must "restructure the the whole of American society."
It's possible for people's views to change over time. However, judging from what we see here if Dr. King were alive today he'd be attacked by the same people who today are trying to "reclaim" him. Some even say King would've ended up on Beck's black board. Media Matters even shows how he'd fit on there.
So what is Beck and his ilk doing? Basically, on one level he's dropping trou and taking a giant runny shit on everything Dr. King stood for and then claiming he's honoring our troops in the process. However, it goes deeper than that.
Beck and company may not know history but I do think they're aware of how Dr. King's legacy has been frozen in 1963. BY often overlooking King's work on labor issues and against the Vietnam war in the last few years of his life, King had been co-opted and turned into a harmless figure in the eyes of the American mainstream. Because of this, it's easy for conservatives to claim that King would be one of them. Knowing that most people are too busy to fully research current issues and that American History is often so poorly taught (by design, in my opinion) that it keeps people from learning what really went down, it's easy for those wanting to distort the facts to twist things to their will.
That is what Beck and his ilk have symbolically done to Dr. King today. Their cherry picking of facts have created a situation where people are being misled about an American hero who was far more radical than the schools have taught them. Thus, any claims that they will reclaim King's legacy ring as hollow as the tears Glenn cries at any given moment on TV (thanks to his friend Vapo rub).
Does Glenn Beck and his scary band of neocon liars have a right to say what they want? Of course. However, their attempt to claim Dr. King as one of their own is not only insensitive but dishonest to the nth degree.
When all is said and done it's just another layer of bullshit that those wanting to know real history have to dive through to find out what things are really like.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Some Stuff on G-20
This past weekend marked the kickoff of the G20 conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Like many people I knew little of what was going on since it kicked off around a weekend (why do I get a feeling they were hoping it would be a news dump item?), and right after the Social Forum in Detroit.
At a COuncil of Candaians event last Friday, Naomi Klein offered up some vital info on the G20 and the negative things about it not often reported.
In the past weekend, nearly 600 protestors were arrested at the G20 as Toronto was reportedly turned into a fortress to keep the delegates away from the people.
Also here's some food for thought regarding sexism amongst the G20 protestors. I do wonder how many of the people smashing shit are actually "anarchists" or undercover law enforcement posing as anarchists (before anyone thinks I'm being paranoid,
Regardless of ones views I have a feeling that in the weeks to come we're going to hear a lot of stories about police overreaction, abuse, and the like. Thus, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds and whether anything actually gets accomplished that helps anyone at the forum.
P.S.: Regarding police possibly posing as "anarchist" protestors, looks like there may be some proof already of it going down at the G20. Sometimes things like this make you go hmmmmm.......
At a COuncil of Candaians event last Friday, Naomi Klein offered up some vital info on the G20 and the negative things about it not often reported.
rabbletv on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
In the past weekend, nearly 600 protestors were arrested at the G20 as Toronto was reportedly turned into a fortress to keep the delegates away from the people.
Also here's some food for thought regarding sexism amongst the G20 protestors. I do wonder how many of the people smashing shit are actually "anarchists" or undercover law enforcement posing as anarchists (before anyone thinks I'm being paranoid,
it has happened in the past).
Regardless of ones views I have a feeling that in the weeks to come we're going to hear a lot of stories about police overreaction, abuse, and the like. Thus, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds and whether anything actually gets accomplished that helps anyone at the forum.
P.S.: Regarding police possibly posing as "anarchist" protestors, looks like there may be some proof already of it going down at the G20. Sometimes things like this make you go hmmmmm.......
Friday, June 25, 2010
New Platform, Recriminalization, Irony and Texas
Yes a lot has gone on in the last couple months but just when I was wondering on what to put in, things took a turn for the ridiculous in Texas. Yes, the new platform for the Texas Republican Party wants to make performing same sex marriages a felony.
Never mind that Texas doesn't allow same sex marriages anyway, if the Texas GOP had their way preforming them would be a felony. It would also mandate jail time for straight people who abet a same sex marriage. All of this for something that can't be performed there now.
Between this and their stance to recriminalize sodomy, it seems the conservatives are more hellbent than ever in taking the culture war into full bully mode. Other stances on the platform is forcing women who want abortions to have sonograms beforehand and a measure to change birthright citizenship to include only those people born in this country to a citizen.
Granted many people will see this platform as throwing meat to their base. Several of the measures here would require changing the Constitution (the 14th amendment has been interpreted to mean if you're born in the U.S. you're a citizen) and Supreme Court precedent (in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled state anti sodomy laws unconstitutional) to force the country to be just like the far right in Texas want it to be. When you consider that, in order to achieve these goals (which also include banning oral sex, anal sex, and strip clubs), Federal law would have to be changed to suit these people's desires, then it should be scary regardless of where you live.
So what are the chances of this happening at the moment? While I can't be certain, I don't think it's likely. If the more extreme measures of this were made law, a court would most likely block it or it would be ruled unconstitutional. It does show just how the fangs of these people are coming out. They don't simply want to abide by the constitution but to make us all play by their interpretation of it.
Am I the only person who finds it ironic that the party that wants less government interference wants a large interventionist government when it comes to a woman's body or what people do in their private lives?
I have a feeling I'll be looking into this more in the print issue.
Never mind that Texas doesn't allow same sex marriages anyway, if the Texas GOP had their way preforming them would be a felony. It would also mandate jail time for straight people who abet a same sex marriage. All of this for something that can't be performed there now.
Between this and their stance to recriminalize sodomy, it seems the conservatives are more hellbent than ever in taking the culture war into full bully mode. Other stances on the platform is forcing women who want abortions to have sonograms beforehand and a measure to change birthright citizenship to include only those people born in this country to a citizen.
Granted many people will see this platform as throwing meat to their base. Several of the measures here would require changing the Constitution (the 14th amendment has been interpreted to mean if you're born in the U.S. you're a citizen) and Supreme Court precedent (in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled state anti sodomy laws unconstitutional) to force the country to be just like the far right in Texas want it to be. When you consider that, in order to achieve these goals (which also include banning oral sex, anal sex, and strip clubs), Federal law would have to be changed to suit these people's desires, then it should be scary regardless of where you live.
So what are the chances of this happening at the moment? While I can't be certain, I don't think it's likely. If the more extreme measures of this were made law, a court would most likely block it or it would be ruled unconstitutional. It does show just how the fangs of these people are coming out. They don't simply want to abide by the constitution but to make us all play by their interpretation of it.
Am I the only person who finds it ironic that the party that wants less government interference wants a large interventionist government when it comes to a woman's body or what people do in their private lives?
I have a feeling I'll be looking into this more in the print issue.
Checking Back In
I know it's been a while since I posted last. The past month or two has been hectic in way too many ways between a death in the family (and all the dealing with grief that comes with it), the 100th Issue Show, and a short term job that kept me busier than expected near the end. As such I hadn't been posting on here as much as I used to.
I'm trying to change that and get more on the ball in the near future. However, things might occasionally slip through the cracks. For now, its time to get back to this.
I'm trying to change that and get more on the ball in the near future. However, things might occasionally slip through the cracks. For now, its time to get back to this.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Political Art Exhibit in Oly (for Any Readers in WA State or Thereabouts)
Hey! I know this has been going on for a couple weeks now but just wanted to let anyone reading this in the Olympia, WA area know that The Black Dot Museum: Political Artists From Vancouver is happening at Northern; The Olympia All Ages Project until May 28. Co curated by the radical underground rock duo Mecca Normal it features art from Jean Smith, David Lester, Gord HIll, and Brian Roche.
Wish I could be there to see it. Just wanted to let you know.
Wish I could be there to see it. Just wanted to let you know.
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