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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 26, 2010 / 18 Mar-Cheshvan, 5771
NPR Confronts Its Own Tea Party
By
Mona Charen
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I appeared on a public radio program, "On Point," this week with National Public Radio ombudsman Alicia Shepard and listened to her defend NPR's firing of Juan Williams. NPR, the listener is invited to conclude, has no bias, but Williams, a liberal with occasionally heterodox views, is too conservative for NPR.
Shepard was in an impossible position and seemed to know it. Right out of the box, she acknowledged that the "manner" of Williams' firing — a phone call with no face-to-face discussion permitted — was wrong. The actual termination, she went on to assert, was completely justified. It wasn't just what Williams said on the Bill O'Reilly show but a "pattern" of comments over the years. This was the "last straw."
But Williams' comments were not a "straw" at all. He was acknowledging a feeling that is universal and not irrational in light of the scores of attacks (accomplished and attempted) over the past several decades. Williams introduced his comments (which included a caution against regarding all Muslims as potential terrorists) with the warning that "political correctness" can "lead to some kind of paralysis where you don't address reality." To maintain, as NPR does, that this was beyond the pale of civilized discussion amounts to authoritarianism — and completely lives down to Williams' prediction.
Challenged to identify the other departures from NPR standards of which Williams was guilty — any employer who terminates someone should have a file —Shepard promised that those would be forthcoming. In the meantime, she could assure listeners that Williams' offending comments were inconsistent with (wait for it) NPR's "impartiality" and "neutrality." NPR and Fox News are "two different worlds," she continued, the former representing the dispassionate search for truth and the latter representing "yelling" and extreme partisanship.
Yes, they really are that parochial. Vivian Schiller, NPR's CEO, betrayed the surpassing arrogance of the subsidized by suggesting, after peremptorily canning Williams, that he discuss his feelings with "his psychiatrist or his publicist." Ah, the dispassionate search for truth!
Schiller later felt constrained to apologize, saying, "I stand by my decision to end NPR's relationship with Juan Williams but deeply regret the way I handled and explained it."
Well, OK, we've known for decades that the liberals who run major networks, universities, foundations, and newspapers do not recognize their own tendentiousness. Diane Rehm, Terry Gross, Garrison Keillor, Nina Totenberg, and Daniel Schorr are down-the-middle moderates, whereas you are a right-wing ideologue. (I have complained in the past, after appearing on NPR programs, that I was labeled a "conservative columnist" whereas my fellow guests, liberals all, went unlabeled.) But something is afoot this time that is new.
Embedded in Schiller's apology is an acknowledgment that NPR is reeling from unexpected and vehement public anger. "I regret that we did not take the time to prepare our program partners and provide you with the tools to cope with the fallout from this episode. I know you all felt the reverberations and are on the front lines every day responding to your listeners and talking to the public."
Translation: For the first time in living memory, NPR is getting blowback.
Shepard confirmed this, noting that the Williams firing unfortunately coincided with "pledge week" and that volunteers manning the phones to take donations had been deluged with complaints instead. It seems that NPR has been hit with its own little tea party.
Here's the way to think about public radio and public television: They are testimony to the power of special interests. The taxpayers are subsidizing programming for a minority of left-leaning Americans. A June Pew Center study found that 61 percent of NPR's audience calls itself "progressive" compared with 41 percent of the overall radio audience (and, according to a Gallup survey, only 12 percent of Americans generally). Fourteen percent of NPR listeners call themselves Republicans, whereas 40 percent self-identify as Democrats, and 41 percent as Independents. Why in the world is the government using your taxes to subsidize the radio preferences of your liberal neighbors?
In the 1990s, Republicans made pathetic stabs at defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and NPR. They retreated — which told you pretty much all you needed to know about the last Republican majority. A new Republican majority is rumored to be in the making. Its handling of this special interest subsidy will be equally revealing.
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Mona Charen Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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