A Disgraceful Decision by the National Public Radio Outfit

By Bill O'Reilly

NPR has fired Juan Williams, who worked there for more than 10 years. You may remember that in February 2009, NPR warned Juan not to advertise his association with them on this program. And now NPR has terminated Juan's contract because he said this on "The Factor":

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN WILLIAMS, FIRED NPR NEWS ANALYST: I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I have written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I have got to tell you if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NPR president Vivian Schiller, a former New York Times employee, is too cowardly to come on this broadcast to explain, but we did catch up with her on Thursday in Atlanta:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN SCHILLER, NPR PRESIDENT AND CEO: This action was not anti-Fox. This action was pro-journalistic standards, and a news analyst cannot continue credibly to analyze the news if they are expressing opinions about divisive issues. It's that simple, and the same would go with anybody. We are not picking on Juan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Ms. Schiller is a pinhead. Juan was not giving an opinion about Muslims on airplanes. He was simply stating what he felt. If he had said that his uneasiness should be embraced by others, that would have been a personal opinion.

In my opinion, Ms. Schiller should resign immediately because she is simply not smart enough to run a media company, even if it is NPR. Juan Williams did nothing wrong. He was just being honest -- something NPR might strive to learn.

But Juan wasn't fired because of that remark. He was sacked because of his association with the Fox News Channel.

A few days ago, NPR accepted $1.8 million from far-left bomb-thrower George Soros. That in itself is a disgrace because NPR also takes taxpayer money. Now the National Public Radio crew is in bed with the radical Soros? Talk about a lack of standards.

"Talking Points" is calling for an immediate suspension of all public money going to NPR, and we understand that Sen. Jim DeMint will introduce legislation to defund that enterprise. No taxpayer dollars should be going to an outfit that abuses freedom of speech.

Even devoted liberals are outraged by what NPR has done to Juan Williams:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Here on "The View," you know, we have our -- we have our great opinions. But in all of our opinions, it seems, the firing of Juan was a total mistake and sends the wrong message and NPR, get yourself together because we all got to work on this together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NPR has now devolved into a totalitarian outfit functioning as an arm of the far left. As a corporation, NPR has the right to do what it wants, but it does not have a right to any of our tax dollars. It should compete in the private marketplace, but I guarantee you if NPR did that, it would go the way of Air America and file for bankruptcy.

There is no excuse for this in America. NPR will rue the day.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

The magazine GQ features a photo layout starring two of the female stars from the Fox TV show "Glee." The pictures have caused some angst among Americans worried about young people seeing their idols in various displays.

Here's what CBS News anchor Katie Couric said about it:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE COURIC, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: These very adult photos of young women who perform in a family show just seem so un-"Glee"-like. The program is already edgy in the right ways. These images don't really, in my humble opinion, fit the "Glee" gestalt. I know there are a lot of bigger problems in the world right now, but still, as Mr. Schuester might say to the club, I'm really disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is Ms. Couric's opinion patriotic or pinheaded? You can vote on BillOReilly.com.

On Wednesday night we asked you to evaluate Stephen Colbert mocking me on "The View." Eighty-one percent said Colbert's bit was pinheaded; 19 percent said it was patriotic.