News Gripes: NPR Out of Touch with Reality

I came across this news article about NPR’s firing of journalist, Juan Williams, and I was shocked at what I read. The article basically states that Williams was fired for a comment that he made about his feelings toward Muslims while appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor”. In rehashing Bill O’Reilly’s comment during his appearance on “ The View” and the drama it stirred up, Williams admitted:

“...when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

While not the best thing he could have admitted to, I understand where he is coming from, especially in light of 9/11 where Islamic extremists used airplanes as weapons of mass destruction and caused enduring and irreparable damage. I saw this as a very real and honest response; NPR saw it as a reason to give Williams his walking paper. I watched the clips and I don't see a valid reason for why he was fired. He expressed his feelings, something many people can relate to, and while some of us saw complete honesty in an arena where this is rare, NPR saw a case for bigotry. When people are punished for expressing their personal opinions, no matter how unpopular it may be, it’s no wonder we live in such a guarded society where those in the know feed us drivel instead of telling us the unvarnished truth.

From time to time, G. sends me NPR articles that she thinks I might find interesting and I’ve even signed in to log my opinion on the rare occasion. But I am not a regular NPR subscriber. If I were I would have to think twice about tuning in, in light of how they handled the Juan Williams situation. In a country that purports, or rather, expresses free speech and readily provides a platform for radical types to spout extreme and often nonsensical viewpoints, it's hypocritical that someone can be fired for expressing his or her honest opinion. It’s a real shame when we have to guard our words because we are afraid of what the consequences will be.

Weekend Update: Next Day Air, The Amazing Race, The View

Next Day Air premiered in theaters this weekend and although I didn’t see it (not yet), I really wanted to. The kicker is that very few people seem to want to (It ranked #6 on the weekend box office chart with crap like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past placing ahead of it). This is one of those ‘hood’ movies that do not command the respect of a major Hollywood blockbuster. Without seeing the results, I could have bet that a lot of people chose to see Star Trek instead but this movie looks so funny (see the trailer for yourself). And with a cast like Wood Harris, Mike Epps, and Donald Faison (Turk from ‘Scrubs’) it practically guarantees laughs. This reviewer compared it to Friday and gave it a mixed review but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a ‘hood’ movie and I could definitely use some of their brand of humor right about now.

The season finale for The Amazing Race aired last night on CBS and although I find all the contestants to be amazingly annoying, I’d come too far not to watch one more time. The final three teams included Victor and Tammy, Margie and Luke, Cara and Jaime. Margie and Luke were ahead going into the final challenge but alas they completely crashed and burned when Luke’s memory failed him. One small hiccup and frustration completely got the best of him. I don’t usually gloat at other’s misfortune but a part of me was somewhat mollified by the fact that they were the last to check in at the final pit stop. Of the three remaining teams, they were by the far the most annoying. NB: you can watch entire episodes of the show on cbs.com – no need to wait for a repeat on the travel channel.

The View photos coming soon…They’ve been transferred to my laptop so I just need to upload them here. It’s surprising more complicated than it sounds. FYI, Steve Harvey is the guest today.

The View: An Experience

Unless I have an appointment or am planning to take a trip, I rarely take time off from work. While the idea of staying in and lazing around the apartment on a traditional work day is a nice one, it is one that I rarely indulge. However, when I was invited to a live showing of The View, it seemed right to accept and put my PTO to good use. Mind you, I’d never watched the view before yesterday’s show and my opinion of the ladies (as a gaggle of chatty-kathys) was not a flattering one. But I thought, why not, it’d be an experience. And it was.

Close to an hour after I had intended to awaken, I resisted the urge to spend the day in bed and sluggishly prepared for the experience that awaited me. Winds and heavy rain was not enough of a deterrent and I made it to the studio before the 9:30am cut-off that was printed on the ticket. C. and I waited for about 30 minutes before we made it through the lobby door and past security. There, in the hallway, we would wait another hour before being taken up to the studio where we would have an up-close look at Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elizabeth, and Barbara.

Although a seat was most welcome once we were finally admitted into the studio (we were met with cookies and juice) the wait was not completely uneventful. While waiting a good 20 minutes to use the restroom, Debbie Morgan, the actress who plays Angie on All My Children walked by on her way to the elevator. She was dressed very casually with her hat pulled down low and obviously did not want to be bothered, which no one did.

The studio where The View is filmed is much smaller than we had expected. The layout can best be described as stadium seating with three sections (right, center, left) and directed to the tiny table where the ladies sat. We were seated in the second row of the right mezzanine section. It was a good seat although the cameras obstructed my view of Elizabeth and Sherri and I caught Barbara in profile only. The show itself was pretty tame but after screaming and clapping on cue for the first 10 minutes, I was ready to sit back and listen.

It was a day of “Hot Topics” which featured Mel Gibson’s divorce, the child actress from Slumdog Millionaire being sold by her father, President Obama and Chavez, among other. However, I was more interested in what was going on during the breaks (pictures to come). Some of the hosts got make-up touch ups, there was much interaction with the crew, and the warm-up comic fielded our questions and tried to keep us entertained. The ladies stayed on stage almost the entire time and seemed to be working non-stop. All in all, I was glad the show was live and merely an hour long because both my hands and mouth were tired from all the work they had to do. But I was glad that I got to experience the show without all the frills and I gained a renewed respect for the ladies as intelligent and hard-working, positive women.