h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If a man walks into the store looking like a he his about to shoot someone, I am going to leave because he frightens me, not because of his race. I do believe that people still judge Muslims because of 9/11. And it is wrong. I have gotten on numerous planes with Muslims and never once did it cross my mind that, that person is going to blow up the plane.

NPR may continue to censor its employees.

In future, NPR may not be paid for this. At least, not by people who would *like* to hear serious discussions.

I don't know why exactly they let Bob Edwards go, but it was a serious loss.

Nope. Not wrong to wonder. In a dangerous world, paranoia might be a good idea. It doesn't inform the way you treat other people, Hypatia. It just means that sometimes, you get hypervigilant.

This from someone who checks that the stove is off at least *three times* before hitting the air mattress these nights...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs

jzzy, I agree that Muslims are perceived unfairly. Perhaps recognizing this and discussing it would help the situation. It also seems unfair not to be able to discuss it reasonably without all this political correctness coming into play.

You may like this wee story. There used to be a minister here in town who was so offended that I had a copy of the Koran on the shelf in the library that he wrote a letter of protest to the editor of the local paper calling me the "Whore of Babylon". This same minister wrote another letter of complaint because I had a Bible on a shelf that was lower than crotch level. He considered that blasphemous. Never mind that we just shelve things where the Dewey numbers say they go. I must have done it deliberately to insult God.

Ah... perfect opportunity to put it on an eye-level shelf in the fiction section.

Me and him would've had some words. It's not like you created the Dewey system. I do think that people should be able to express their concerns about Muslims and other problems that they have openly, without being torn apart or fired because of their comments.

I love it.

Do you remember the plot of 'The Music Man'? A rich man in Iowa leaves his house and library to the town. In order to make sure they stay there, he leaves the library to the town - and the books to Marian, the librarian.

Meredith Wilson's musical includes old biddies sniping about 'BAL-zac!'

Somebody in Gaston County, NC, stole the library's only copy of Kazantzakis' 'Last Temptation of Christ' when the film came out. Much good may it do them, reading Greek mystics is a daunting task...

My question was whose crotch were we supposed to measure from?

What I like, is that in Germany, you could have sued that man for what he called you in print.

Syn thinks I should open a Whore of Babylon Diner down on Main Street when I retire. He suggests putting dates on every plate rather than a pickle.

Yea you should Hpy.You could have sued him for slander.

I could have. But I decided to just laugh it off and ignore him. If I had made a big deal over it, he would have gotten more publicity than he deserved. There are a lot of nuts around here who would have supported him. This is not an enlightened part of the country.

"Never wrestle with a pig: You both get all dirty, and the pig likes it."

Sounds like something Ann Richards would have said.

Remember when she said "You can put lipstick on a pig and call her Monique, but it's still a pig."

<<Ah... perfect opportunity to put it on an eye-level shelf in the fiction section.

Very good point!


RE: Juan Williams, it was *where* he chose to air his opinion, more than what he said. Nothing like tossing gasoline on the fire that is Fox's main forte: bigotry. Fox is one of the main drivers of that idiotic thinking, and I was offended that he couldn't pick a better venue to get that off his chest. I will always give money to NPR, when to not do so is risking Fox being even louder in the national discourse.

SC, you know what I think of Faux News. We agree about it's content. But even though the percentages have gone down over the years, NPR is still partially taxpayer funded. Whether the money is direct or funneled through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or a University or whatever other institution that receives taxes, it is still public money. I have no objection to that at all, provided that NPR doesn't become a mouthpiece for only one point of view. Even if it is a point of view I share.

I buy and shelve a lot of books with political themes. Some of them present viewpoints I find abhorrent, written by people I don't respect. The point is that I feel obligated to present both sides of an issue. Why? Because the taxpayers are paying for it and each one has a right to expect that the library won't be a propaganda machine for any one point of view. Same thing with religion. I have information about all of the major world religions but don't have books that favor any one Christian denomination, for example.

If everyone who takes a moderate approach refuses interviews on Faux, what does that accomplish? How does that soften the poison they spew? Some people only watch Faux. They only hear that side of the story. I applaud any moderate or liberal who has the fortitude to go on there and try to reason with their regular conservative talking heads.

And I am disppointed that NPR appears as narrow-minded as Faux.

I doubt if I agree with Mr Williams on every issue. But I've listened to him a lot over the years, and respect his work.

What bothers me is that we appear to be going back to the 18th-Century idea of 'news' - where all papers, blogs, and broadcasts simply niche-market to their followers and preach to the choir.

Walter Cronkite, thou shouldst be broadcasting at this hour.

Daniel Schorr wouldn't have kicked Williams out. He would have dedicated an hour to debating with him - and they both would have learned something.

Daniel Schorr. He was of a different news tradition. I feel grateful to have grown up listening to him. He literally broacast all of my life. We could depend on him to be honest, to probe without becoming petty, to stay focused of the real issues and to remain a gentleman throughout. What a mind he had. I always learned something from his broadcasts.

"SC, you know what I think of Faux News. We agree about it's content. But even though the percentages have gone down over the years, NPR is still partially taxpayer funded. Whether the money is direct or funneled through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or a University or whatever other institution that receives taxes, it is still public money. I have no objection to that at all, provided that NPR doesn't become a mouthpiece for only one point of view. Even if it is a point of view I share."

The fact is, NPR's "tax supported" support is *2%* of their total budget! I think NPR does a much better job that Faux News and most main-stream media in representing the other side -- especially my local station, KPCC, WHYY in Philadelphia (Fresh Air), the program Talk of the Nation.. If you don't believe that, take a gander at the NPR website, and read a few transcripts. I listen to NPR all day long, and the transcripts are accurate.

Do you think Faux news would let such diversity of opinion stand on their airwaves? We've all seen the harrangues that Bill O'Reilly dumps on his guests, when they're foolish enough to go on his show.

Williams was fired for more than just that one appearance, by the way. He's been fudging some of his stories, too. And no, NPR was not happy with him working for Faux news, too. But it wasn't just that one thing.

"Some people only watch Faux. They only hear that side of the story. "

I lived for TWO YEARS in the same house as one of them, and didn't have anywhere to go to get away from it. When I dared mention another side, got a loud "I don't want to talk about this anymore!", even when she was the one who brought it up. Now we're not even friends anymore, no matter how many attempts I make to restore our friendship.

The Faux news listeners are just as one sided as their favorite news source.

My, all that was a bit ranty, wasn't it?

Bottom line, NPR is not yet (and probably not for a while yet) as biased as most of the media, mainstream and niche alike. I keep hoping it will stay that way for as long as possible.

Dan Shorr and Walter Cronkite are of a breed we won't see again, more's the pity. NPR has Neal Cohen, Terry Gross, Scott Simon and Ira Flatow, all of whom make it a point of inviting folks of an opposing mindset on their shows regularly.