NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

From Yahoo News
WASHINGTON – NPR president and CEO Vivian Schiller resigned Wednesday in the wake of comments by a fellow executive that angered conservatives and renewed calls to end federal funding for public broadcasting.

The chairman of NPR's board of directors announced that he has accepted Schiller's resignation, effective immediately.
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik said in a tweet that Schiller was forced out by the board.

On Tuesday, conservative activist James O'Keefe posted a hidden-camera video in which NPR executive Ron Schiller bashed the tea party movement as "racist" and "xenophobic" and said NPR would be better off without federal funding. Ron Schiller is not related to Vivian Schiller.

Vivian Schiller was criticized for last year's firing of analyst Juan Williams after he said on Fox News that he feels uncomfortable when he sees people in "Muslim garb" on airplanes.

"The Board accepted her resignation with understanding, genuine regret, and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years," board chairman Dave Edwards said in a statement. "I recognize the magnitude of this news and that it comes on top of what has been a traumatic period for NPR and the larger public radio community."
For those wanting to know just WHAT she said, you can catch the video URL

SO here we go again...
On the one hand, like the case with Juan Williams, I can understand this. The head of what is supposed to be an impartial and unbiased news organization should not be seen saying things like "the current Republican Party has been "hijacked" by a group that's "not just Islamophobic, but really xenophobic" But.. BUT.. This was said at what was thought to be a private dinner on the chiefs own personal time. This wasn't said on national Tv, this was not said As the chief of NPR, but personal viewpoints. And, surprise surprise, the people responsible are the exact same criminals who brought down ACORN. I say criminals because they clearly attempted to bug a sitting Senator under false pretenses. And were giving medals for it by the far right.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

The debacle with Juan Williams and the latest embarrassment with Ron (no relation) Schiller pretty much forced the board's hand. Especially with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (and, NPR, by extension) federal funding at stake. They gave Schiller her sword and told her to fall on it. So it was less a resignation, and more of a firing.

And, no, Ron Schiller's remarks were not made at a private dinner on his own time. They were specifically meeting with what they thought was a large potential donor. He was attending that dinner in his official capacity as NPR's fundraiser. While we all know O'Keefe is a scumbag with an agenda to destroy all enemies of the Corporatist Right, Schiller really should've been more careful about what he was saying. While most of what he said is, in fact, fundamentally true; when someone is coming to you and proposing to give you a lot of money, you really should be careful with what you say.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Everything you say is absolutely true, he SHOULD have known better, he SHOULD have been more cautious. Still, these scumbag tactics just keep working. These guys took down ACORN and have hit several other Progressive organizations. I think what really gets to me is that if this was ever tried by someone on the Left, they would most likely get locked up and receive death threats. Whats worse is what Schiller got in trouble for, people on the right say on a daily basis with no ill effects. People on Fox News say similar things about the Left daily and no one bats an eye.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Anguirus »

Isn't O'Keefe supposed to be in prison after bugging a Senator? I thought this shitbag would slow down for awhile.

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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Sriad »

Well... Here's what I just posted on the video linked in Anguirus' "A Perspective", based on honest-to-gosh facts:

"Isn't O'Keefe supposed to be doing hard time for trying to bug a Senator?

Oh right, no, because disguising yourselves as telephone repair people to illicitly gain access to a Senator's phone equipment closet doesn't count as evidence that they intended to illegally tamper with the Senator's phone equipment.

Stay classy, James."

He ended up getting a misdemeanor with 3 years probation, a $1,500 fine, and 100 hours community service.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Count Chocula »

Ron Schiller came off as an irresponsible, ignorant shit. As a VP and fundraiser for a company that counts on federal dollars for its survival (or so we're told), he had no business showing any sort of bias. So what does he do? Meets with a group that portrays themselves as openly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and goes off on Republicans/Tea Party members. I guess the dipshit failed to read the news that Herman Cain won the Tea Party straw poll, beating Palin and Paul. I guess he's whiter than them, by God he must be Dolph Lundgren without an accent! Why else would Schiller say that about the Tea Party? Oops, Cain's a black man from Georgia. So Schiller's not only biased, he's laughably misinformed. Good riddance and screw NPR.

I think it's kinda funny that you all are focusing on O'Keefe. Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Sriad »

Count Chocula wrote:I think it's kinda funny that you all are focusing on O'Keefe. Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
Did I say Schiller SHOULDN'T have resigned?

No, I'm just peeved that the GOP is going to be blowing him for the next two weeks over this "magnificent" sting operation. One person involved was an irresponsible semi-public figure who was more or less appropriately punished, and one should be serving ~8 years for a felony. I'll leave it up to you to sort out which is which.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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Count Chocula wrote:Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
Oh, you mean his edited videos?
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Terralthra »

Count Chocula wrote:Ron Schiller came off as an irresponsible, ignorant shit. As a VP and fundraiser for a company that counts on federal dollars for its survival (or so we're told), he had no business showing any sort of bias. So what does he do? Meets with a group that portrays themselves as openly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and goes off on Republicans/Tea Party members. I guess the dipshit failed to read the news that Herman Cain won the Tea Party straw poll, beating Palin and Paul. I guess he's whiter than them, by God he must be Dolph Lundgren without an accent! Why else would Schiller say that about the Tea Party? Oops, Cain's a black man from Georgia. So Schiller's not only biased, he's laughably misinformed. Good riddance and screw NPR.

I think it's kinda funny that you all are focusing on O'Keefe. Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
In this post, Count Chocula shows he does not know the difference between "xenophobic" and "racist." It's ok, though, he blusters so much maybe he thinks people won't notice the strawman he puts in Schiller's place to burn.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by weemadando »

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This is justified snark.

You have NPR, who are probably the most neutral news source in the US in terms of not being partisan in their reporting, but because of the fact that they don't fall over themselves to rub their dicks on the right wing, they get told that they're partisan. Yeah.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by bobalot »

Terralthra wrote:
Count Chocula wrote:Ron Schiller came off as an irresponsible, ignorant shit. As a VP and fundraiser for a company that counts on federal dollars for its survival (or so we're told), he had no business showing any sort of bias. So what does he do? Meets with a group that portrays themselves as openly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and goes off on Republicans/Tea Party members. I guess the dipshit failed to read the news that Herman Cain won the Tea Party straw poll, beating Palin and Paul. I guess he's whiter than them, by God he must be Dolph Lundgren without an accent! Why else would Schiller say that about the Tea Party? Oops, Cain's a black man from Georgia. So Schiller's not only biased, he's laughably misinformed. Good riddance and screw NPR.

I think it's kinda funny that you all are focusing on O'Keefe. Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
In this post, Count Chocula shows he does not know the difference between "xenophobic" and "racist." It's ok, though, he blusters so much maybe he thinks people won't notice the strawman he puts in Schiller's place to burn.
Yeah, it's not like nobody hasn't noticed his drive-by posts and his cut and paste arguments from right-wing websites. Fuck, even Mike Wong noticed Chocula's bullshit last year when he actually posted in this forum.

Sriad wrote:
Count Chocula wrote:I think it's kinda funny that you all are focusing on O'Keefe. Recall his ACORN videos from last year, and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
Did I say Schiller SHOULDN'T have resigned?

No, I'm just peeved that the GOP is going to be blowing him for the next two weeks over this "magnificent" sting operation. One person involved was an irresponsible semi-public figure who was more or less appropriately punished, and one should be serving ~8 years for a felony. I'll leave it up to you to sort out which is which.
It's interesting, in Chocula's world, saying something poorly word (however true) about Conservatives is far worse than committing a felony.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Well guess what everyone, SURPRISE SURPRISE Seems that once more O'Keef is full of @#$% and Heavily Edited his video to put words in someones mouth.
When conservative political activist James O'Keefe released the 11-minute edited version of his secretly recorded video of then-NPR chief fundraiser Ron Schiller slamming conservatives, O'Keefe also posted what he says is the entire two hours' worth of video his undercover team collected.

"Judge for yourself" whether he produced a fair and balanced 11-minute version, O'Keefe said last Tuesday when his tapes hit the Web.
As NPR's David Folkenflik says on Weekend Edition Sunday, conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck's website The Blaze has done some judging and concluded that O'Keefe did make some misleading edits.

The Blaze wrote Thursday that some things O'Keefe did were "editing tactics that seem designed to intentionally lie or mislead about the material being presented." For instance, The Blaze says that in the edited tape "NPR exec Ron Schiller does describe Tea Party members as 'xenophobic ... seriously racist people.' " But, it notes:

"The clip in the edited video implies Schiller is giving simply his own analysis of the Tea Party. He does do that in part, but the raw video reveals that he is largely recounting the views expressed to him by two top Republicans, one a former ambassador, who admitted to him that they voted for Obama.

"At the end, he signals his agreement. The larger context does not excuse his comments, or his judgment in sharing the account, but would a full context edit have been more fair?"
The Blaze has also put together a medley of "What You Didn't See" in the edited tape that might add context:

What You Didn't See: NPR Execs...Proud of GOP Past, Love Fiscal Conservatism, Compare Fairness Doctrine to Communist Russia & De from Naked Emperor News on Vimeo.
O'Keefe's edits do not wipe away the nature of some things Schiller said that NPR's management and many of its highest profile journalists publicly called appalling. Schiller, for example, said the Republican Party has been hijacked by Tea Party supporters who are "fanatically involved in people's personal lives" and have a "weird evangelical" view of the world.

But as David tells Weekend Edition host Liane Hansen, "The Blaze analysis strongly suggests ... [that] the 11 1/2 minute video ... significantly distorted what Ron Schiller had to say." Here's part of their conversation:

Liane Hansen speaks with David Folkenflik

O'Keefe has not responded to David's e-mail request for comment.
Ron Schiller, who had already announced he was leaving NPR before the tapes hit the Web, moved up his departure by immediately resigning after their release. Vivian Schiller, NPR's CEO and no relation to Ron Schiller, was subsequently ousted by the NPR board of directors — because the board concluded that this controversy, and the lingering effects of last fall's controversial dismissal of analyst Juan Williams, made it impossible for her to effectively lead the organization.

Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams Weekend Edition.
So once again we find this guy has basically out right lied and distorted what someone said. The "Hijacked by racists and xenophobes" weren't his words, he was QUOTING someone from within the Republican party! The 'Laughter' about the fake islamic group pledged to spread Sharia law, was edited in from Ron laughing that someone was their at the restaurant also with his name.

If the edits are true and the tape is as heavily doctored as it seems, it means that yet again, the person in question did little to nothing wrong while in the blink of an eye "the media" acted as judge, jury and executioner on his career.

Ron was fired from NPR, the job he was supposed to be getting after leaving was refused to him, and the CEO of NPR forced to step down all over events that now seem totally manufactured.

THIS is why O'Keefe should be locked up, the man shamelessly falsifies his "interviews" to inflict the maximum damage on people and groups he has it in for. And the worse part is the Media, and even us, buy into it time and again.

I wonder where Count Chocula is now? With his
and don't forget that he didn't put the words in Schiller's mouth.
Mmmhmm...
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Blankman »

If James O'Keefe should be locked up, then so should Michael Moore. After all, they have done the same thing...taking people's quotes out of context to make a political point. It's only fair..
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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Blankman wrote:If James O'Keefe should be locked up, then so should Michael Moore. After all, they have done the same thing...taking people's quotes out of context to make a political point. It's only fair..
Step back. Think.

There is a difference between quoting someone out of context and illegally entering government property to screw with a senator's phone.

Moore and O'Keefe both do the former. Only O'Keefe did the latter.

That, not this incident, is what people here are saying he should be in jail for. You know, sort of like someone who does breaking and entering to get into the headquarters of the political opposition looking for compromising documents?
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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I'd also like for someone to point out a single instance of Moore falsly editing video footage to force a point on those watching. The more that comes out from this the more Ron Schiller actually comes off as carrying himself with remarkable respect. One of the things the unedited video shows is Ron saying not once, not twice, but SIX different times that no amount of money could ever influance the reporting on NPR.

This incident is just yet more proof of the total disregard O'Keefe has of any shred of true journalistic integrity. Any video pput out by him in the future should be immediatly suspect. After all, aside from brining down ACORN with the same false edited tactics, he caused a high level Obama appointee to, if temporarily, get fired after releasing a similary edited video that took her quotes out of context.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Einhander Sn0m4n »

Blankman wrote:If James O'Keefe should be locked up, then so should Michael Moore. After all, they have done the same thing...taking people's quotes out of context to make a political point. It's only fair..
NO. Moore never feloniously impersonated a phone repairman to infiltrate a Senator's private office to commit acts of espionage for fascists. Take your tu quoque fallacy and shove it up your ass sideways! :finger:
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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Crossroads Inc. wrote:I wonder where Count Chocula is now? With his
Probably looking for right-wing talking points from some republitard website. I am the only one getting tired of Count Chocula's fucking useless drive by posts? It's like he totally lost his balls when Obama became President and can no longer be bothered to even defend or justify the content of his posts (Thus rendering the entire point of a forum pointless).

Seriously though, did anybody (other than Count Chocula because he's retarded) actually believe that O'Keefe didn't dishonestly the video? He has done this with every other "takedown" he has manufactured.
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

Post by Count Chocula »

Crossroads, thanks for the update. I don't read The Blaze but two-three times a week (and now having read it I'm posting something new), and didn't know a longer version of the video was now available. Looks like O'Keefe needs to do a better job with context. It still shows an appalling lack of judgement on Schiller's part.

bobalot...have a nice day. :)
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Re: NPR chief speaks truth, caught, steps down.

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Count Chocula wrote:Crossroads, thanks for the update. I don't read The Blaze but two-three times a week (and now having read it I'm posting something new), and didn't know a longer version of the video was now available. Looks like O'Keefe needs to do a better job with context. It still shows an appalling lack of judgement on Schiller's part.

bobalot...have a nice day. :)
Grown a pair a of balls yet? or are we due for more useless drive by posts?
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