Here is the transcript of those Juan Williams remarks on Fox that Jonah just mentioned:
Wednesday afternoon I got a message on my cell phone from Ellen Weiss who’s the head of news at NPR asking me to call. When I called back she said, “What did you say? What did you mean to say?” And I said, “I said what I meant to say.” Which is that it’s an honest experience that when I’m in an airport and I see people who are in Muslim garb, who identify themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I do a double take. I have a moment of anxiety or fear given what happened on 9/11. That’s just the reality. And she went on to say, “Well, that crosses the line.” And I said, “What line is that?” And she went on to somehow suggest that I had made a bigoted statement. And I said, “It’s not a bigoted statement.” I, in fact, in the course of this conversation with Bill O’Reilly, said that we have, as Americans, an obligation to be careful to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in the country and to make sure we don’t have any outbreak of bigotry. But that there’s a reality. You cannot ignore what happened on 9/11 and you cannot ignore the connection to Islamic radicalism. And you can’t ignore the fact of what has been recently said in court with regard to this as the first drop of blood in a Muslim war in America. And then she said, “You know, this has been decided up the chain.” I said, “You mean, I don’t even get the chance to come in and we do this eyeball-to-eyeball, person-to-person, have a conversation? I’ve been there for more than ten years. We don’t have that chance to have a conversation about this?” And she said, “There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. This has been decided above me and we’re terminating your contract.”
Update:
Live by PC, die by PC. I have to admit a certain level of schadenfreude at Williams' distress.
That said, this is how Sharia creeps in. Juan Williams, Geert Wilders, Molly Norris, Jylands-Posten Cartoons, Terry Jones (mortgage called, website pulled), are all related.
We are at the point where we need to have mass public meetings where thousands of persons step forward to burn a page from the Koran and draw a picture of the prophet. Yes, ritual declamations about burning books and disrespect, but we're forced between this bad choice, and the worse choice of a slide into Sharia (a slide that will be a lot faster than might be supposed).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust another example of the liberal tolerance of the diversity of thought.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI like Juan Williams, he expresses himself in a calm and intelligent fashion, although I disagree with him I believe he repesents liberals well. I guess Al Franken, Bill Maher, and the rest are the mouthpieces that NPR would prefer.
All things considered, huh?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI often disagree with Williams but from what I've seen of him he typically explains his positions/opinions with some reasoned thought process. In hindsight his firing was inevitable; actual thinking people cannot publicly represent the left lest they stray from the approved talking points.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEllen Weiss, sui generis liberal manager. Fire someone over the phone, so you can hang up if it gets ugly. Don't confront them face to face.
Juan Williams deserves a better employer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseObviously, NPR has had their finger hovering over the "Fire Juan" button for some time now. They figured CAIR complaining would give them cover to axe him.
Now, with even the women on "The View" defending Juan this morning, I wonder if someone isn't feeling just a little bit uneasy about this decision?
Only one more thing needs to occur; Mara L (come on, NRO. her last name is not a curse word.) needs to come out and express a point of view. If she supports Juan, she should resign in protest. If not, I think her time at Fox will be short by her own desires.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePerhaps this will become Mr. William's "Bernard Goldberg" moment?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNPR isn't good enough for Juan Williams. This is unbelievable. De-fund NPR.
I will say that I enjoy that the left is now so politically correct that it's taking aim at it's own foot. It is too bad Mr. Williams is the casualty in this instance... I disagree with him often, but I admire his willingness to engage opposition.
Rock on Juan. I think you will find you have a new audience segment of admirers. In the end I hope this works out to his benefit.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA wise man once called it liberal fascism, didn't he?
I like Juan. I don't always (or even often) agree with him, but he seems like a reasonably straight shooter to me. The stuff he believes, he says he believes, and when he's passing along the day's talking points, he's got enough integrity to say "Well, this is what the Democrats are saying ..." before launching into whatever narrative the DNC is trying to sell for the day.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEspecially given that Juan's comments were about Muslims and not, say, "Arabs", the bigotry accusation is a stretch. Muslims come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. No, this isn't about bigotry. It's about liberals and their genetic predisposition to try and feel superior to others.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow does one confront a fear that dares not speak its name? Perhaps Diane Rehm should interview Juan Williams on that topic.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDisgraceful on so many levels. NPR, another example of tax money waste.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseApparently NPR news analysts are not allowed to express personal opinions. So now we can expect another of NPR's analysts -- a well-known and frequent contributor to a politically-aligned news network -- to be in jeopardy of losing her job.
That would, of course, be Nina Totenberg. (HT: Matt Welch at reason.com)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA POlicy of censroship funded with tax money from me and you!!
Juan did not deserve to be fired. NPR should not receive any more money from the US government. NPR is just a free publicity ride for liberals. They are the most liberal and biased radio station of all. Why are my tax dollars supporting this one sided dog and pony show we call NPR. The US government does not support Rush so why should the US government suopport NPR? Shut off their funding. If they can make a go of it fine, if not shut them down. NO MORE TAX DOLLARS FOR NRP.
The station should not have ever been funded, where is the state funded conservative radio? There is not one. Why is that? Why does NPR get a free ride?
SHUT NPR DOWN!! Don't give them another dollar , not until Rush gets the same funding; dollar for dollar that we have given NPR. If we must have national radio make it balanced or close it down. NOW!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEllen Weiss is a coward. Why did she even ask Juan about what he said? Can you say hatchet job? How about a boycott of the companies that support NPR?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNPR's journalistic mantra is that they deliver stories that transcend the "24-hour news cycle" and provide a broader, thoughtful perspective on world events.
By impulse-firing Juan Williams, they have engaged in exactly the same kind of snap judgment, instantaneous-reaction practice that they thumb their noses at Fox News (and even CNN) for sometimes embracing.
I used to listen to NPR frequently, and I think their news coverage was far less horrendous in the '90s than in the post-9/11 era. Frankly, Diane Rehm sometimes sounds more hostile to American principles and values than your "average" international terrorist (who, of course, are never Muslims).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'd be more worried about Muslims on an airplane who are trying NOT to look like Muslims. You know, like the racists and extremists at Teabagger rallies who try so hard to look like ordinary Americans. I mean, those people are SCARY! And there are MILLIONS of them!
/sarcasm off
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“You know, this has been decided up the chain.”
Makes you ponder where, exactly, that chain really "ends up" at, eh? Does it ...perhaps ...stretch in devious ways to a desert kingdom half-a-world away (in geography, and time)?
Follow the money, as the saying goes ...and that was definitely sounding like a money-based assertion.
...just sayin'.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI always find it amusing when Republican politicians refer to "we" and "our" tax dollars as if Republicans are the only ones who pay taxes. It's incomprehensible for a Boehner to even consider there might be millions of people who are happy to see however miniscule a slice it is go to NPR and who actually enjoy listening and perhaps even (gasp!) agree with their point of view.
But this has nothing to do with NPR; it's all about riling up that ever-present and ever-riliable base.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think NPR are the ones who've crossed the line. I'm sick and tired of knowing that my tax dollars are going to an organization so partisan and ideological that it can't countenance the honest answers of a guy like Juan Williams. Indeed, as Jonah has noted, the full context of Williams' remarks fit firmly into a responsible attitude towards respecting and protecting the rights of Muslims, despite the visceral threat of terror from Muslim radicals.
The way I see it, all of us taxpayers are at the top of the chain, as it were. It's past time we do something about NPR and PBS.
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