Video: Is Juan Williams closer to switching sides?

Juan Williams is a bit of a conundrum; he makes ridiculous left-wing arguments that make you want to scream but he somehow maintains a characteristic of likability and gets along quite well with those whom he disagrees with. At some point, one would think he would wake up and free himself from the grips of left-wing ideology. Perhaps the best case in point was when he was fired by NPR for expressing an opinion about how he felt with sharing a plane with passengers that consisted of men in Muslim garb.

Fox News didn't fire him; it embraced him.

That leads to this very interesting interview between Williams and Ginni Thomas (wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas). As I watched Williams in this interview, I found myself asking one simple question:

How is it that you can have this perspective and yet still be liberal?

For some reason, Juan has identified and acknowledged the groupthink dynamic in the liberal media while not seeing the corresponding flaws in all of liberalism's premises. He doesn't seem to understand that the reason groupthink exists is because liberalism can't exist without it.

One interesting takeaway from the interview happens at the beginning when Williams makes an Archie Bunker reference, admitting that he used to believe that character represented conservatives. As an example of Williams not connecting one more dot, the man who created Archie Bunker's character (Norman Lear) is a hardcore liberal, which makes Bunker a caricature (not just a character) of the right, created with left-wing bias and preconceptions.

It would seem that Williams isn't far from an awakening. Then again, I thought the same thing after he was fired by NPR.

Via Daily Caller:

Ruh Roh: NPR is now covering Project Gunrunner Scandal

This post is not necessarily important for the newsworthiness of the content; it's been covered before. It's important because of who's responsible for the content - National Public Radio! You know it's a real scandal involving a Democratic administration when NPR is covering it, quite fairly I might add. A large focus of this report is the congressional hearing that took place this past week in which Darrell Issa (R-CA) grilled Eric Holder. In fact, NPR gave this week's hearing more attention than did Rush Limbaugh, who focused almost exclusively on the Bin Laden story and how the Obama administration has bungled it multiple times. Newsworthy, yes, but this scandal is looking more and more like it's going to explode. NPR covering it fairly certainly lends credence to such a scenario.

Via All Things Considered:

The murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Mexico last year has touched off a scandal that's now reverberating in Washington.

Members of Congress say that weapons found at the scene of Brian Terry's death have been traced to a federal program that allegedly allowed hundreds of guns to go from the U.S. across the border.

Investigators at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives called it Operation Fast and Furious, just like the blockbuster movie. Agents wanted to follow the flow of guns from the U.S. into the hands of deadly Mexican drug cartels. But the only thing that's coming fast and furious now are hostile questions from Congress.

If you think NPR reporting on this is amazing, check out the comments about the story. Virtually all are against Holder and the ATF, with all having positive recommendations.

This is big, folks.

h/t Free Republic

Video: Harry Reid wants to Save NPR because of 'Dog Racing' Story he Heard

The headline of this post is clearly that Harry Reid is arguing that National Public Radio (NPR) should not be de-funded because of an incredible story he heard about 'dog racing.' Oh, the HUMANITY! Translation: Harry Reid wants people to hear things that don't hold his feet to the fire. Perhaps equally egregious is the degree to which Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RINO) sucks up to Reid and echoes his sentiment about NPR. Listen all the way to the end because Reid says that when he's at his home in Searchlight, NV NPR is the only radio station he can hear during the day.

Maybe that's why he's such a mess.



And of course, Reid's argument for not de-funding the National Endowment for Humanities was to save the Cowboy Poetry Festival.



h/t Fox News

Video: Krauthammer Slams NPR's Nina Totenberg

Every second of this exchange is worth the watch. The panelist on the hotseat is obviously NPR's Nina Totenberg because of the undercover video of NPR CEO Ron Schiller pandering to who he thought was a Muslim Brotherhood group. That pandering involved calling the Tea Party 'racist.'

Totenberg must have spent a lot of time and effort to come up with her narrative which was essentially, 'Don't judge NPR for the beliefs of those who lead it. Judge it on the basis of its product.' Lost on her is the fact that the leadership of any organization reflects its product.

Fortunately, Krauthammer wasn't willing to let her get away with it and threw in a steady flow of comments about how Totenberg's outfit relies on taxpayer dollars when other entities have to earn the dollars of those people AFTER taxes.



h/t The Blaze

Video: Juan Williams Responds to NPR Sting Video

With all that Juan Williams has been in the middle of over the last year or so, you'd think he'd be destined to convert to conservatism at some point. First, he's fired by NPR for expressing his true feelings when he sees Muslims on the same plane as him; he's then promoted by the Fox News Channel; now, courtesy of another James O'Keefe orchestrated sting video, NPR CEO Ron Schiller is caught being, well, racist.

This episode might put Williams over the top.

Here is Williams on Hannity, responding to the video.

Part 1:



Part 2:



h/t Weasel Zippers

Video: NPR Busted for Liberal Bias One Day after Schiller Denied Liberal Bias

I had barely posted a video of NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller challenging an audience at the National Press Club to prove liberal bias at NPR. She even said she wished people could be present at their meetings to see how much effort went in to being objective.

Now, courtesy of another James O'Keefe undercover video project, Schiller's wish is granted. Something tells me she won't be apologizing to the likes of O'Keefe anytime soon, though. Another Schiller (Ron), who is an NPR Executive is caught on the video being far more than biased. He is willingly taking money from groups who would do America harm.

Via the Daily Caller:

On the tapes, Schiller wastes little time before attacking conservatives. The Republican Party, Schiller says, has been “hijacked by this group.” The man posing as Malik finishes the sentence by adding, “the radical, racist, Islamaphobic, Tea Party people.” Schiller agrees and intensifies the criticism, saying that the Tea Party people aren’t “just Islamaphobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.”

Schiller goes on to describe liberals as more intelligent and informed than conservatives. “In my personal opinion, liberals today might be more educated, fair and balanced than conservatives,” he said.

This isn't just bias. It's feeding the propaganda campaign of America's enemies. There's a word for that.



HERE is Vivian Schiller before the undercover video.

Video: NPR President who Fired Juan Williams says No Bias at NPR

Remember Vivian Schiller? After National Public Radio fired Juan Williams for being honest about his feelings when boarding a plane with Muslims, it became apparent that NPR had bowed to the pressure applied by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) when national spokesman Dennis Hooper demanded action be taken. The best line from Schiller here is that the notion that NPR is biased toward the left is a matter of perception, not reality.

Via Gateway Pundit:

Democrats Use Life-Sized Puppets to Attack Republicans

After Juan Williams was fired by NPR, Republicans attempted to defund the liberal outfit. Now that they have the majority, they're going after the entire Public Broadcasting establishment. The Democrats' strategy appears to be the use of puppets. After all, Sesame Street is a PBS staple that simply cannot disappear. It's an integral part of any child's development. So what did the Democrats do? They held a press conference outside the Capitol with a poster of Bert and Ernie getting a GOP Pink Slip along with someone in an Arthur the Aardvark suit.

Shameless doesn't even begin to describe this stunt. It's typical leftwing tactics on display with Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) leading the charge.

Via POLITICO:

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) rarely holds press conferences with animated aardvarks, but he went for it Wednesday, coaxing shy Arthur the Aardvark up to the podium.

“Come over here Arthur,” Markey beckoned to the human-sized title character in the PBS series, “Arthur: The World’s Most Famous Aardvark,” motioning for him to come up to the podium, as a small crowd of curious tourists began forming. Nearby, Rep. Betty McCollum clutched an Elmo doll and a stuffed Big Bird sat on the podium — both ready to fight in defense of funding for public broadcasting.

The House GOP leaders have announced intentions to slice funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the continuing resolution, resulting in the elimination of programming for the over 170 million people that use public media each month.

But Markey, along with Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Nita Lowey, Sam Farr, Paul Tonko, and Bill Owens plan to unveil an amendment to a spending measure that will refund educational programs like “Sesame Street” and “Arthur,” as well as funding for National Public Radio and local broadcast networks.

In particular, I thought this quote from Lowey summed up the pathetic attempt on the part of the Dems:

“The GOP should be less preoccupied with silencing cookie monster and more focused on reviving the economy.”

If it's all about silencing cookie monster, how does she explain the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) getting more than $400 million annual taxpayer dollars?

There would be more cookies for cookie monster if he went to the free market anyway.

h/t Gateway Pundit

AUDIO: MUSLIM CONGRESSMAN CALLS FOR CRISIS

Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). In fact, he's one of the super majority of its members who is a registered socialist. He, like the only registered socialist in the Senate - Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is unwilling to accept Obama's compromise on the tax rate extensions in return for another year of unemployment benefits. So what does Ellison want to break the impasse? Apparently a 'Crisis.'

While appearing on (ahem) NPR in Minnesota, Ellison called for just that. Via Breitbart:



Another point Ellison tried to make in that video is that the rich people who will see their tax rates remain the same don't just buy yachts; they also buy congressmen. That's quite interesting when one considers where Ellison got much of his campaign moneyin 2006 - from the CAIR-Hamas-Saudi Arabia connection. Pathetic.

Oh, here's that list of 70 Congressmen who are also registered socialists. That means Ellison is a socialist Muslim.

For some additional perspective on who Keith Ellison is, click HERE.

WHY JAY ROCKEFELLER WANTS FOX AND MSNBC OFF THE AIR?

The Great One, Mark Levin reported this interesting nugget about why Senator Jay Rockefeller might have called for the Fox News Channel and MSNBC (sacrificial lamb) to be shut down. It turns out that his wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, has been president and CEO of WETA - Public Broadcasting - in Washington, D.C. As such, she presides over both the flagship television and radio stations. Aren't radio stations that fall under the Public Broadcasting umbrella called National Public Radio (NPR)?

Hmmm. What happened recently involving NPR and Fox News Channel? Answer: Juan Williams was fired by NPR and got a big platform, coupled with a sweet contract extension with Fox. That platform - along with overwhelming public support - allowed Williams (and Fox) to bludgeon NPR so successfully that there is serious talk about having them defunded. If you remember, both the left and the right supported Williams. Is that why Rockefeller went after both MSNBC and Fox? Either way, his ire is clearly more directed at Fox and if throwing MSNBC into the pot allows him to portray objectivity, he appears willing to do it.

HERE is Sharon Percy's Bio.

Sharon Percy Rockefeller has served the public broadcasting community for more than 25 years as a leader and policymaker. She has been president and CEO of WETA, Washington, D.C.’s flagship public television and radio stations, since 1989. She continues to guide WETA to outstanding accomplishments in broadcasting and production. Before assuming the top post at WETA, she was a member of WETA’s Board of Trustees for seven years and a member of the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for 12 years, including four years as chairman. In 2006, Rockefeller was elected to the PBS Board of Directors for her fifth term.

If this is the reason, then lost on Rockefeller is the source that caused Williams to be let go. It was the result of pressure applied to NPR by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). So why isn't Rockefeller targeting them? Not sure, but it's the same mentality that has led to TSA agents touching American junk.

Here is Levin commenting on Sharon Percy Rockefeller via Freedom's Lighthouse:

NPR CHANGING ITS TUNE ON IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC FUNDING

After firing Juan Williams, NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller attempted to dismiss the notion that de-funding her organization would have minimal effect because taxpayer dollars account for so little of NPR's income - most of their money comes from donations and such a move would be virtually inconsequential. The line of thinking was one of, 'you can go ahead and defund us but it'll just be a waste of your time and it will have minimal impact on us.'

That particular tune appears to be changing. Now, Schiller is almost pleading that NPR not be defunded, not because of what it would do to her or NPR itself but what it would do to the little NPR's.

Via the Daily Caller:

Speaking at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington Sunday on the “Future of Journalism,” National Public Radio President and CEO Vivian Schiller said she takes calls for defunding NPR “very seriously,” while stressing how important government funding is for public broadcasting, especially for NPR’s member stations. She also recognized there’s a possibility that, with the new GOP majority in the House, those calls for defunding might be renewed.

“If defunding to public broadcasting were to occur, it would be devastating to public broadcasting. That’s a fact,” Schiller said.

After Schiller fired commentator Juan Williams several weeks ago for comments he made about Muslims on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor,” calls for defunding NPR erupted again.

“Almost all federal funding goes to member stations,” Schiller said. “Very, very little of it goes to NPR, but a lot goes to stations.”

While NPR headquarters only receives about 1 percent of funding from tax dollars, member stations receive about 9 percent of their funding from tax dollars, Schiller said. She said that the 9 percent NPR member stations receive from taxpayer dollars is essential for them to stay on the air.

“For small stations, and even for large stations, that’s a big chunk of their revenue,” she said. “It’s been a critical part of keeping those stations vibrant and, so, we take these calls for defunding very, very seriously.”

This is eerily similar to the arguments Democrats / Liberals make when you start talking about defunding local governments. What do they invariably say? They accuse the other side of being responsible for cutting police departments and education.

Perhaps the quintessentially ironic moment was that Schiller pointed to the intelligence of NPR listeners by holding up the comment section at the bottom of the "balloon boy" story as a shining example of their superior intellect.

“We have a comment section under our blog posts, just like every other news organization,” Schiller said. “If you look at most comment sections, they are usually pretty disappointing, you know, people yelling at each other, going off subject, there’s a lot of hand-wringing in the comment section.”

The comments on NPR’s blog post about the balloon boy, Schiller said, set NPR’s audience apart from everyone else. She then proceeded to read two comments as an example.

Nothing like pointing to a story that pales in insignificance to what important things are going on in the world. Then again, how could CAIR object to stories about balloon boy?

Perhaps if NPR wasn't so seemingly beholden to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the group who demanded - and received - action from NPR over Williams' comments, taxpayers wouldn't object so much.

h/t Gateway Pundit