Weeping for Juan.

I got a chuckle out of this note by writer Peter Grier in a Christian Science Monitor blog post this morning about the much overblown and eminently stupid firing of Juan Williams by NPR...

The bulk of [NPR funding] comes from affiliate stations, corporate sponsors, and donations from individuals made to feel very guilty after they tune in to hear "Morning Edition" and find out it is fundraising week.

True 'dat.

The firing was about as bungled an effort as you'll ever see, but the idea that seems to be taking hold that it will have big political implications seems nearly as silly as the act it self. Yes, it will surely fire up the base base (not a typo, consider the first an adjective), but does anybody really think there is any significant number of people out there who give a damn and will change their votes because of this? Does anybody think more than a small portion of the base base (see, it's easy once you get the hang of it) even knows what NPR is? The funniest stuff to come out of all this are letters and calls to stations around the country by true believers saying they will never "watch" NPR again. That'll teach 'em.

Honestly, Williams should have been fired long ago, not just because his role on Fox is in obvious conflict with the stated NPR standards but mostly because his analysis was the sort of mealy-mouthed pap that NPR already has more than enough of.

I am curious, I must admit, as to whether that $2 million contract with Fox that was signed the next day had been in the works for a while or was an in-your-face move. And, either way, how does somebody who thinks Juan Williams is worth a multi-million contract keep his job?