The Other Side

SHAME ON NPR

By Kelvin Wade

Today, National Public Radio sacked commentator Juan Williams for supposed bigoted remarks to Bill O'Reilly on O'Reilly's Fox cable show. In a discussion about O'Reilly's remarks on "The View" last week in which O'Reilly said "Muslims killed us on 9/11" Williams said, "When I get on a plane ... if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried, I get nervous.”

That's it? Are you kidding me? When I read this story, I can't waiting for the bigoted remarks. I had to read the article twice to make sure I'd read it correctly. NPR released a statement saying, Williams' remarks "were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR." Why, because they were true?

How is this even a story? Are you trying to tell me Mr. NPR that when you get on a plane and a group of Muslim men get onboard behind you, that it never gives you a moment's pause? That's not credible.

Should Juan Williams have said Arab men? We know what he was talking about because most of us have been in his position post 9/11. It's a wariness that wasn't there pre-9/11. Should everyone be wary of Arabs or Muslims they see on public transportation? Of course not. But if someone expresses that sentiment of seeing men on a plane post-9/11, I do think that's shocking and certainly not something someone should be fired over.

Juan Williams during that same interview went on to say that the 9/11 hijackers were extremists and weren't typical of all Muslims. What more was he to say? And if there was anything else for him to say, NPR didn't give him a chance to say it before they axed him.

I've heard a lot more offensive things come out of the mouths of other talking heads yet they're on still on my radio. I don't even find what Williams said offensive. I think he was expressing how he felt on a visceral level.

Given the complete interview and his body of work, does anyone think Juan Williams is a bigot? Of course not. I don't even think the suits at NPR believe that. They just made a politically correct firing thinking they were heading off a firestorm when they were actually setting one.

Someone once said, "Look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don't address reality." Oh wait, that wasn't just 'someone,' that was Juan Williams in the same interview. NPR is proving his point.

This is silly. Will someone who wants real talk please hire Juan Williams?

Nothing To Say about Loss of Children

By Kelvin Wade

In light of the killing of a man at Armijo this week, I was going to write something about fighting. From the reports it seems two groups of people gathered to fight or settle a dispute in the parking lot of Armijo High while a soccer game was going on at the school. Shots ran out and a man lay dead.

I wanted to write about how so much gun violence is just because people are afraid of getting their ass kicked. Of course, disputes should be settled through reason and discussion. But let's keep it real. If a heated argument devolved into a fight years ago, a fistfight would've ensued. And while the violence might not have solved a thing, at least the participants could walk away from it.

But now it's like the Old West. Now, if someone loses a fistfight, they come blasting. And when you squeeze that trigger, you're killing your own future. It's sad that it has to degenerate down into shooting. And when the shooting starts, there's no telling where those bullets will hit. And in the streets, it's an eye for an eye. Someone will want revenge and they'll seek it with a gun.

Published accouts say two men met to fight and then a friend of one of the men pulled out a gun and started shooting. Craziness. If there had been a fistfight in the Armijo parking light, while not ideal, the parties would be going about their business today.

Yes, this is what I was going to blog about until I saw the article on the 28 year old Fairfield mother, Monica McCarrick, who allegedly stabbed her 3 year old twin girls to death before setting their apartment on fire. I don't even know what to say about this. Of course, it's monstrous. Its an unspeakable evil. How does a parent do this to their own flesh and blood? Where's the maternal instinct? The only time I expect mothers to be murderous is when they're facing someone trying to harm their kids.

There's just nothing positive to say about this situation. A brave fire crew responded to a fire and walked into a nightmare that they'll never forget. Two young souls have had their lives tragically ended before it had really begun. If the mother is convicted we have another person to support in prison .It's just all bad.

Two nights in a row this week, regional news carried stories of Fairfield homicides. The community is struggling to shed the perception of the home of shocking and bizarre crimes. There is so many positive things going on in Fairfield in our schools, arts, sports and city government.

In a shocking crime like the murder of the children, I dont' even know how something like that can be prevented. At least when the house fire killed four children in April and their mothers were arrested for negligence, we could draw lessons from that. Don't leave children unattended with candles burning. Don't leave children unattended and unsupervised period. But in this horrible case, what could anyone do?

I guess we keep them in our thoughts and prayers and see if we can help any of the girls' extended family at this time. There's just nothing good to say.