Inferred anything else wrong today, bub? I could care less what Kos is, or why I should go there.

Nice set of ad hominem attacks though. Nothing unexpected or novel, and certainly nothing approaching a legitimate response. Yawn-inducingly predictable.

Goodbye, friend. I hope we can meet under different circumstances in the future.

I did look. And I found exactly what you're giving me: NOTHING. I'm sorry for reaching out to you, believe me.

Now then.

What I find noteworthy and what you find noteworthy are obviously worlds apart. I asked a legitimate question and was met, in your case, with derision and an utter inability to provide a coherent answer.

However, outrage on the internet is neither new nor novel.

So as of now you've given me absolutely ZERO reason to believe anything you're saying. In contrast, I've gone and done some legitimate research into the question. Himalayas of evidence? I haven't even found a goddamn hillock. What I HAVE found is an entire corner of the internet dedicated to reinforcing an idea which has, as far as I can tell, absolutely no basis in fact. It has no documentation or evidence of any long-term bias at NPR, and instead rely on insinuation, misdirection, selective quotes, and outright fabrications.

Engage me. I dare you. I'm calling out your homophobia, bigotry and intellectual snobbery.

And how you respond will say far more about you than it does about me.

What in a hundred years of hell does the alleged fact that Mr. Schiller is "openly homosexual" have to do with anything?

However, let me pull back and examine the totality of your statements.

If you have evidence of anti-Israel bias in NPR reporting, I'd be very interested in hearing it. And I will freely admit that NPR has interviewed members of the Israeli left, and those critical to the tactics of its military and political structure. But that alone does not, I repeat NOT, make them anti-Israel or anti-semitic. Or do they? If so, then the people over at JStreet.org have a lot to answer for.

Now, if NPR is bringing on directly inflammatory viewpoints merely for the sake of confrontation or exploitation, then I'd be the first one on the picket lines asking for their 2% federal funding to be removed. But tolerance of differing viewpoints, even openly hostile ones, is not the same as endorsing those viewpoints.

Please educate me as to why you believe NPR is anti-Israel. I'd love some examples. Otherwise, if I may be perfectly blunt, it's just an opinion.

Thank you for your reply; I genuinely appreciate your willingness to engage the questions I raised.

The heart of my argument was that the comparison between Sanchez/Williams was a false one; it seems as if we may have to agree to disagree on whether or not that was in fact the case.

I feel now that I'm somewhat obligated to look further into claims that NPR is anti-Zionist. Which is to leave aside the implicit question I have: is it possible to express pro-Palestinian sentiment without being accused of being anti-Zionist? I'd personally like to think that such a thing is possible.

If you can recommend any places for me to begin understanding the claim that NPR is anti-semitic (a charge I'd personally find far more abhorrent than anti-Zionist, but again, that's just my opinion), I'd be very grateful for any resources you can point out.

And to be perfectly honest, I knew the Franco thing was Chevy Chase-era SNL, but it does go to one of my central beliefs; namely, that complex and potentially inflammatory issues cry out for language which is as clear, direct and precise as possible. I've seen it done hundreds of times both on the internet and in real life (and I'm sure you probably have as well), where a single point from an otherwise cogent argument is capitalized upon by opposition and twisted far out of recognition.

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment. Take care!

ED: Pardon my additional thoughts, but in my research I've come across a report from the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) organization, a group which I would consider nonpartisan in this and other instances. The results of that study are as follows:

"During the six-month period studied, NPR reported the deaths of 62 Israelis and 51 Palestinians. While on the surface that may not appear to be hugely lopsided, during the same time period 77 Israelis and 148 Palestinians were killed in the conflict. That means there was an 81 percent likelihood that an Israeli death would be reported on NPR, but only a 34 percent likelihood that a Palestinian death would be." http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1086

This would be an example of what I'd consider an unbiased study. Are there similar studies which DO conclude there's an anti-Israel bias at NPR?

The first and biggest difference here is that Williams and Sanchez were working in their capacity as *public* voices, speaking to a large audience, and airing their personal, bigoted views. Schiller has never operated as a public figure, and the very nature of his job is entirely unrelated to NPR editorial policy.

Let me be clear: his job was as a fundraiser, NOT as a reporter or editorial voice. So please don't indict him as if he were.

What Mr. Schiller said is that nobody owns NPR. This is not an opinion, merely a statement of fact. The wishy-washy nature of the way he phrased his response was because he was being deliberately confronted by direct, racist, xenophobic language. If instead your problem is that Mr. Schiller also explicitly endorsed the inclusion of a Palestinian viewpoint in their news reporting in the Middle East, then I'd heartily encourage you to go pound sand.

I'd also strongly encourage you to not indict an entire organization because of the views of a single person. That kind of knee-jerk response (see, I COULD have chosen to be insulted by your quote about Francisco Franco, introducing a globally vilified figure into a situation where his mere presence is inflammatory, but I DIDN'T) is the exact type of feigned outrage which is so deeply hurtful to discourse in America.

If "gotcha" journalism becomes all the rage and YOU lead the cheering section, don't be surprised in the least when you or someone you care about gets "got."

Fine if you like it that way, but not me. "Homage" or not, it's fucking petty, especially on a site so young it still has that new-server smell.

Ain't no "u" in "humor," and now no "me" either.

Sniffs, friend!

I get that every game has rules. It's the public flogging I can't stand. If you want someone gone, then they should be gone; that's part of the burden/fun of being a leader. But don't get up and give a recitation about WHY this person deserves what they get. At best you're only reinforcing a view in which top-down intervention will ALWAYS beat bottom-up innovation or rabble-rousing. And at worst you're just showing your own hypocrisy.

Thanks for the ego-boost, but I'm out of the game for good now. Better to have fond memories than a shitty present, from where I stand.

Jesus Buttfucking Christ.

I'll spare the theatrics, but I'd like to simply point out the wholesale idiocy of being banished to the desert by Pharaoh Denton, only to kick out one of your small band because they haven't said all their prayers the right way.

Small-mindedness pushed us all out of one place. Now that same small-mindedness is making me self-select myself the fuck outta here.

Public executions? Not funny, not okay, and just as pointlessly petty as they were back then.

Fuck y'all, I'm out. And I'm taking all the nice silver with me.

This is John O'Regan from a band called Diamond Rings.

Now please pardon me while I bend my Kinsey scale until it snaps in half.

ED: FUCK FUCK FUCK why cannot I post a picture properly? Link below.
http://www.blogto.com/upload/2009/12/20091115-tor...

Thank you for setting up this beautiful and spacious refugee camp! It's very nice, good facilities, and I think I can definitely stay here for some time while I compose anti-Hosni Denton slogans.

Got my lares and penates here, got my dad on my back like Aeneas, and hopefully things'll be okay.

And though I'm sure things are going to change, I really gotta say I enjoy sitting around the campfire with you guys while we wait out the war.

LOVE!!!!