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.