If Fox News Is Singing Your Praises, That Should Be A Sign...

and not a good one either...

The recent firing of Juan Williams over some personal profiling comments he made on Fox "News" which subsequently resulted in his being hired by Fox "News" got me to thinking. When I first heard, I wasn't shocked since in our overly PC-ed world, you usually cannot say "boo" in a venue or enclave without getting three complaints against you for defaming the cultural identity of "living challenged Americans" (hey, I worked in a Halloween reference...go me!), but I wasn't sure it was warranted...that is until I started hearing Karl Rove and friends singing his praises like he was the ice cream man and they had just gotten their allowance...and that gave me pause.

See, I like Lou Reed as much as the next person, and don't mind taking a "walk on the wild side" every once in awhile...it's the "Crazy-and-Evil-Side" bus tour where I like to pull the chord and ask the bus driver to let me off.

And if Karl Rove is talking about you like he's giving your eulogy, well, then you're already in the ninth level...

Realistically, Juan's switch is like going from Broadway to the WWF. You're still acting, one of them just has a little more credibility...the simple fact that they call themselves Fox "News" when it's clearly not, should be a clue...

It won't be long now before Bill O'Reilly shows up in a feathered boa and some Zubaz to challenge Wolf Blitzer to a cage match.

But I digress.

When the Dark Lor- I mean, Karl Rove is all over you like white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snow storm, I tend to ask a few questions and after looking into things a little more, I can't say that Juan's firing was right or wrong...but as Chris Rock said, now I understand.

See Fox "News" and NPR arguably represent opposite ends of the spectrum and Juan liked to play on both sides of the fence. This was not his first incident of conflict with NPR or controversy. He'd also been a contributor since 1997 on Fox, appear on many of the shows, most notably the O'Reilly Factor where he'd even been a guest host...(guest host?!?!?) Fox loves this kind of thing. Any time they can take a moderate or liberal and turn them to the dark side, even a little like having them straddle the fence, it's a victory. If you can infect light with one sliver of darkness...that darkness will grow, as it did for Juan.

NPR, on the other hand, and I believe rightly so, hates this kind of thing.

Not in the least because the chances of cleansing someone of the bile that is Fox "News" is like curing a terminal disease, miraculous. I mean for all our efforts, all we've managed to get is Alan Colmes (not Alan Keyes, thank God. Really, you all can keep all of that right over there, we have enough crazy on this side).

But the two key points that I think bear noting:

1. Juan has been straddling this fence for too long. You can't "dance with the Devil in the pale moon light" and go to church on Sunday as if nothing has happened, and in this day and age with the culture war that's underway, you can't afford to stand on the sidelines anymore, you have to pick side, X-Men or Brotherhood, and roll with it;

2. With great power comes great responsibility...Juan is certainly entitled to his opinion, but as someone who millions of people listen to and whom Fox would exploit, he has a responsibility to be more judicious in his timing, words and phrasing. Juan's been doing this for a long time and he was well aware of the sensationalistic impression and sound bite that would be created by his "stating his fear", and could have made his point a dozen other ways...why, then, didn't he?
Further having been around Fox before and knowing their racist anti-Muslim sentiment that permeates every broadcast, ever show and every commentator the way your best friend in college puking in the back of your car and then leaving it in the hot Sun for 3 days does your upholstery, he knew they would take this ball and run with it.

And they have.

They have been all over their 24-hour "news" channel calling for a cessation to funding, attacking NPR, wild accusations of racism against them...and Juan has stayed silent...well, except to defend himself and promote his narrative. I get that he's angry. I know he's not happy with them, but responsibly he should be telling Fox to stand down; to allow this to used to attack an institution that he supposedly has believed in and supported like NPR is stepping to the side, standing by and letting the crap happen. Even in the face of adversity, if you're on the sides of the angels, you step up and step in to ensure what's right happens. You don't stand idly by and you don't let setbacks stop you...

There's a battle going on right now for the soul of America. It is being waged on the airwaves and the internet and in the corner store. Fox "News" and the far Right are not merely acting irresponsibly, they are actively and hypocritically undermining our country; more specifically, they are strategically disseminating misinformation to tear asunder the fabric of the very country that they claim to love because it doesn't fit their outdated "old timey" image of what should be...

And we, moderate and liberal, we open-minded have a responsibility to counter this sabotage, to stand against this tyranny that is being thrust upon us and say "No More!" We have a responsibility to pick a side and fight on that side with every strength of sinew we may muster to ensure our country is that which it is meant to be. A shining beacon of hope and truth that is open to everyone.

Coming out of the Bush Administration, we've been dirty for a long while, it's about time we got clean.

It's about time we ante up and kick in.

It's about time WE take our country back from the insanity that has gripped in through fear and prejudice and brave-behind-the-teleprompter sycophants and narcissists.

It's time.

Wake Up America, It's Time To Ante Up and Kick In...

It's been a long time,I shouldn't have left you, without a strong rhyme to step to; think of how many weak shows you slept through, time's up, sorry I kept you...
-I Know You Got Soul, Eric B. & Rakim

I picked that quote by Erik B. & Rakim because it has been a long time since I've written, and when I look at all of the insanity that has gone on around that I might have helped to stem the tide of, I cannot help but feel remorse for not being here when I should have. So from now, at least until the election, I'm going to write as much as I can to show my supporty and loyalty to our President and to our country.

So lend me your ears, my Fellow Americans, for I have words that I would impart to our country...Because that's what it this is about, OUR country.

Recently, our President said something that struck a chord within me:

"It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election."

Inexcusable.

Unable to be excused.

Unjustifiable.

Unpardonable...

Indefensible.

The mission may not be accomplished, but the message has been received. Time to ante up and kick in...

You see, as someone who has severe constraints on his time, there is often a lot I can't do to get some skin in the game...I don't have the free time to do doorknocking and phone calling; lit dropping does not go well with my plantar faciitus and in this tight economy, there is only so much fundraising one can do...

But, I can write.

I can write and say the things that need to be said. Things that must be said and are not. Things that need to be heard.

And so, I am answering our President's call, to do what needs to be done in the way that I can...by writing. For in writing, I can speak truth to power, I can say what needs to be said, and hopefully, just hopefully, snap some people out of the Matrix-like slumber they have descended into.

Our country has been besieged by terrorists from within, small minded hysterics with delusions of grandeur that prey upon the fears of the populace, igniting blind rage and panic that have loosed an evil upon our country, heretofore unknown...

When did this all change?

When did it become okay to dress up racism as patriotism and avoid culpability?

When did it become okay to limit the diversity between us and call it "family values"?

When did it become okay to shout epithets and and spew intolerance under the guise of protecting freedom?

When did America, stop being America?

It did not, but we have been asleep at the wheel.

We have nodded off in the dead of night, threatening to veer into the ditch of ignorance and lose our way along this path.

We must wake up. WAKE UP!

Our Founding Fathers held to be self evident that all men (people) are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, chief among them being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

In case you didn't realize, that means you can marry whoever you damn well please, regardless of race, color, creed, gender or orientation. There was no asterisk on the Declaration of Independence with a footnote that said: "except 'those' people." To deny this nullif ies your ability to wave the flag and cry freedom.

America, beyond the colonialism that devasted the indigenous people, carried within its founding the principle of religious freedom away from persecutions...

In case you didn't realize, that means that you can build a mosque wherever you damn well please, and standing against this invalidates your right to call yourself a patriot.

They also incorporated into the Constitution the manner and balloting for electing the President and which, when followed, rests the fate of the Country on this one person.

In case you didn't realize, that means that whether you voted for him or not, he IS the President of the United States and should be afforded the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any before him. To disrespect the man, is to disrespect the office, which is to disrespect the Constitution, and within that, the Country. That does not make you an American, it makes you a coward...

We cannot be the Land of the Free, while any amongst us must hide or deny who they are for fear of retribution.

We cannot be the Home of the Brave, if we are so frightened by culture and individuals that are different from us that we cease to stand up for the founding principles of America--Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

We cannot call ourselves America and not embody and exemplify these principles...principles which only truly count when they're not convenient, when you have to struggle and sacrifice to support them, when you have to stand for them.

So here I stand.

This is a serious time, and we need serious people. Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, your 15 minutes are up. Stop wasting the time of the American people and find a new gig...maybe something in the exciting electronics field or check out Brown College...

Really.

Tea Party, you want to take this country back, then start moving forward and understand that it is not enough to put on a tricorner hat and yell, you have to have substance, and actually study your history.

America, stop following whatever talking head pops up with an idea about a fence or following the money (as long as it doesn't connect to them) and begin to look at the truth behind the rhetoric and shouting to see who is really pulling the strings.

Wake up!

Wake up my country, my fellow Americans, and come together now. Cast aside the tyranny of ignorance and recognize the folly in the ways of the past. Be true to the principles on which we were founded, be true to the best of what is in us, be true to the ideal of what is must mean to be an American...Stand with pride, act with honor and live with integrity.

Wake up and be "one together America", with all the differences of opinion and thought that entails, but with civil discourse and honest debate.

Wake up because we are ONE country and it is time we started acting like it.