NPR and its antagophobic CEO Vivian Schiller fired Juan Williams this morning, a political analyst with NPR for over a decade ('analyst' being a pretty term NPR bestowed upon him after taking away 'contributor' two years ago after he began his association with Fox News, thus softening his journalistic requirements with NPR and distancing themselves somewhat from someone they were clearly seeing as a traitor), for his comments, as seen above. NPR cited his opinions were "inconsistent with NPR's ethics code" and "his credibility as a political analyst was undermined".

Patricia Heaton wondered, as a guest on The View, "If he had said, 'Every time I get around a group of Tea Partiers ... or a Catholic priest, I feel nervous.', would he have gotten fired?'". Of course not, Patricia. Silly wabbit. I hear the once objective-Chris Matthews, always-sniping Rachel Maddow and near-stroke Ed Schultz utter scores of hateful, blanket-statements about entire groups of people everyday. Thankfully, as I write this, the world of journalism, liberal-leaning as well as conservative-, is coming out, nearly collectively, as outraged.

Anyone who has actually followed Juan Williams, actually listened to him, be it on NPR as one is stuck on the Beltway, on Fox News in a cozy home with a powerful espresso and some lemon scones or ever read any of his op-ed pieces in the New York Times sitting alone in a Del Mar Starbucks on a rainy Wednesday, knows he is a fair-minded, relentlessly inquisitive, honourable journalist who comes by his opinions and stances honestly and with fortitude. Offering his opinion is what he does. He is asked, as an analyst, for his educated opinion on a regular basis. He is also asked of his personal opinion, regularly on NPR as well as Fox. Shame on you, NPR, for selectively supporting free speech.

A "liberal" media outlet like NPR is supposed to be just that: liberal, pensive, flexible and open-minded. You may not agree with Juan Williams; the average NPR listener (whatever that may be, for there are thousands and nobody fits into a staid and specific mold) may or may not agree with him, but that doesn't matter. He is an analyst for National Public Radio: National ... Public ... Radio. Not a private radio forum, but public, national airwaves. Juan Williams spoke his mind, commented with a personal opinion. Since when, I truly wonder, are journalists meant to keep to talking points memos? Andrea Mitchell and Rick Sanchez divulge personal worldviews all the time ... um, I mean, used to do it all the time. Tough break, Rick. I don't (didn't) always agree with them, but I sure as Hell don't want them fired because I disagree with a comment here and there. Uh, yeah ... again, tough break there, man. You got royally screwed. Elliot Spitzer gets his own show and you get canned?! Brutal.

NPR is, for those of you with any confusion working its way through your brows, funded by private donations and, largely, tax-payer dollars: thus, Newt Gingrich's call for a congressional investigation. (Yeah, I know, if I'm listening to Newt, I must be a fellow bigot. Sure. If that makes the fair reader who doesn't agree with me feel better, have at and believe what you so choose.)

Nina Totenberg, fellow NPR reporter, in 1995 snapped back at a comment by Jesse Helms (for whom I do not hold any love) that the U.S. government spent too much on AIDS research, saying that "retributive justice" would hopefully come, giving his grandchildren AIDS or himself AIDS with a blood transfusion. Juan's comment was more horrible, how?

Here's the meat of it ... I'm willing to bet more people than not agree with Juan Williams' comment. They may be horrified by their own latent feelings, but late at night, when no one is judging them and they're honest with themselves as they drift off to sleep, many a folk will find a moment in their head when they scanned the departure lounge or a loading platform, spotted a Middle Eastern male in the 18-45 age-range, travelling alone and thought, however briefly and self-shamefully, Hmmm. Anyone whom hasn't thought Hmmm at least once, probably hasn't travelled very much. I've flown a lot, a great, great deal: up and down the East Coast, East Coast to West Coast, trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific. I've taken trains criss-crossing Europe like a laser alarm system in a closed museum. I've flown and ridden with all types of humanity from the quiet, lone businesswoman in her Bose headphones on her bi-weekly Dulles-to-Sacramento run, to the smoking family with four babies and two toddlers on the Paris-to-Nice trip for a summer holiday at Grandmere's. Lots of folks make me nervous. Admittedly, young males in general make me nervous. I live in a San Diego beachtown and trust me, mingled within the wealthy elites, the holiday-makers and the rest of us doing whatever it takes to fall asleep by the crash of the surf, there exists droves of White Power Bill and his minions. I tend not to walk much after dark.

Apropos, the teenage, male chimpanzees are some of the most aggressive of the simian primates. Remember the Connecticut woman's face which was so deftly removed by her fourteen year-old chimp? Yeah, he was adorable as a baby. They're the ones who always have to be shipped off to zoos and wildlife habitats because they get to be too dangerous in the private sector. Yep, as My Chemical Romance sings, "Teenagers scare the living shit out of me!" Toss in a little learned hostility and religious zealotry and, frankly, I'm terrified. Ta da! and Voila! ... terrorism.

The current administration may do its best to remain politically correct and call terrorists "overseas contingency operators", but they're terrorists, pure and simple. As Suzanne Sugarbaker's granny used to say, "A cat can give birth in an oven, but that doesn't make the kittens biscuits."

Terrorism terrorizes the masses, making them wary at any and all possible turns throughout their daily lives. Unless one never ventures from one's home, one's town, one's neighborhood hardware store, we are terrorized. Currently, France, Germany and the U.K. are at their penultimate, terror threat-levels. The Eiffel Tower wasn't evacuated twice in September because of a group of sorority girls from USC on an autumn sojourn.

In a New York courtroom this month, Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who pleaded guilty to trying to detonate a bomb in Times Square, and who was sentenced to life in prison for said-offense, warned, "The war with Muslims, America's war, is just beginning, the first drop of blood."

"I don't think there's any way to get away from these facts," explained Williams.

Let me just say, the next time you're about to board a giant aluminum tube that will be pushed, essentially, across the sky for eight hours and with the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean or the farmlands of Middle America 36K feet below you and your loved ones, tell me that, aside from the constant fear that bolt could come loose or the media system could catch on fire, you don't think Hmmm when certain folks go to the restroom ... unless your flight is a charter jet full of hand-selected friends and family. Of course, what do I know?