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Garrison Keillor, self-appointed cultural representative of regular old Americans, ruffled some feathers yesterday with a mildly xenophobic rant about Christmas: "...all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write ‘Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we’ll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah’? No, we didn’t. Christmas is a Christian holiday—if you’re not in the club, then buzz off."

Mara Liasson is National Public Radio's top political correspondent. She also helps hold down the left flank on panels where she appears as a FOX News contributor such as Special Report with Bret Baier. Josh Gerstein reports that NPR management has asked Liasson to reconsider her appearances on Fox News because of what they perceive -- in accord with the teaching of the Obama administration -- as the network's political bias:

And while denying that the White House had attempted to influence the NPR journalist, Anita Dunn, former White House Communications Director did state in an interview with NPR: “We see Fox right now as the source and the outlet for Republican Party talking points.” So take that denial for what it’s worth. And NPR mouthpiece Dana Rehr chimed in: “There’s no relationship between the White House’s criticism of Fox and any discussions about Fox that we’re having.” Sure. And since NPR is funded partially by the government, you can imagine that they realize which side their bread is buttered on.

Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network’s top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network’s political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said. According to a source, Liasson was summoned in early October by NPR’s executive editor for news, Dick Meyer, and the network’s supervising senior Washington editor, Ron Elving. The NPR executives said they had concerns that Fox’s programming had grown more partisan, and they asked Liasson to spend 30 days watching the network. At a follow-up meeting last month, Liasson reported that...

Mara Liasson is the national political correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) and also regularly appears on Fox News Channel's Special Report and Fox News Sunday. It is incredible how far the Obama administration may have taken its "war" on Fox news. According to Politico, NPR, which is partially funded by the US Government, tried to strong-arm Liasson off of Fox News.

This probably won't surprise anybody. I only took time to search for this because I was asked by someone if GS has his hands in public radio and I couldn't find a direct answer. Well, I found it. I'm not surprised Soros has given money to NPR, what does surprise me is that I didn't see any conservative blogs with this. I'm also surprised that I could find it directly on NPR's site, though it's not often mentioned. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5476317 -----Mr. Soros, thanks so much for being with us. Mr. GEORGE SOROS (Financier, Soros Fund Management): It's my pleasure. SIMON(speaking to...

You may recognize these names from recent headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Stupak and Pitts have become familiar names through the media's health care overhaul coverage; their abortion funding amendment introduced an 11th-hour twist as the House of Representatives approached a vote on a landmark health care bill. Ensign was the focus of media attention over his affair with a campaign staffer. Just last night, a Nevada man disclosed that he found out about his wife's affair with the state's junior senator — his best friend — via a text message.The common factor among...

National Public Radio (NPR) has a bit of foolishness penned by Daniel Schorr that really shows how useless NPR really is. In an pristine example of Schorr's great intellect, he's decided that the Internet is responsible for Nidal Hasan's murderous rampage at Fort Hood earlier in the month. Folks, this is the sort of hack, stupidity that your tax dollars are paying for and a perfect example of why NPR and PBS should be stripped of federal funding immediately. Seriously, the Internet caused the Fort Hood massacre? What nonsense. Schorr notes that Hasan used the Internet to commune via email...

D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to be executed Tuesday night in Virginia. Muhammad was given the death penalty for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, who was shot while pumping gas. In total, Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, fatally shot 13 people in the Washington, D.C., area in the Fall of 2002

The White House is accusing Fox News of not being a legitimate source of news, calling them biased, etc. They have tried to block Fox reporters from news conferences, etc., NPR has put a survey online for us to voice our opinion. If Fox loses this poll you can bet Obama will mention it as support for his attack on Fox. Let's show them how we feel about honest conservative news reporting. To vote log onto: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/10/in_white_house_vs_fox_news_war.html Then ... forward this to everybody !

Often when there is a mass shooting, people who knew the gunman find themselves wondering what warning signs they might have missed. So it is in the case of Maj. Nidal Hasan, a 12-year veteran in the U.S. Army, a native-born American, a trained and practicing psychiatrist — and the man authorities say opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood. Those who look for a ready explanation for the murderous rampage at Fort Hood can choose between two broad narratives: Maybe it had to do with the travails of an Army psychiatrist, dealing with soldiers who had been traumatized,...

The vital facts of Hasan's life do not suggest a man determined to kill dozens of his fellows as they sat unarmed in a crowded waiting room. He was born in Arlington, Va. His parents were immigrants, but so are millions of other Americans. His heritage was Palestinian, but he didn't even speak Arabic. Those who look for a ready explanation for the murderous rampage at Fort Hood can choose between two broad narratives: Maybe it had to do with the travails of an Army psychiatrist, dealing with soldiers who had been traumatized, even disfigured, by their war experience; or...

The White House has taken off the gloves in its battle against Fox News' perceived critical coverage of the Obama administration, and now National Public Radio is inviting you to vote for the winner of the bout. The NPR website posted a poll last month called "In White House vs. Fox News War of Words, Who Gets Your Vote?" Voting options include: "The White House on this one; Fox News isn't 'fair and balanced.'" "Fox News on this one; it asks questions others don't and the White House should be able to handle them." "Neither side. They're both trying to...

At a get-out-the-vote rally in Fairfax County, Moran said: “I mean, if the Republicans were running in Afghanistan, they’d be running on the Taliban ticket as far as I can see.” Moran was talking about Republicans Robert F. McDonnell for governor, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, who is running for attorney general. By some accounts, the three represent the most conservative Republican ticket to run in Virginia in many years. Moran’s comments clearly were aimed to motivate Democratic voters to turn out on Tuesday and vote blue. According to WAMU, McDonnell spokeswoman Crystal Cameron...

Update at 8:50 a.m. ET, Nov. 2: Another update on the response to this post. As you can see, there are now more than 1.1 million votes on the survey and 2,100 comments with this post. We've also received several hundred e-mails. Here's a representative sample: -- Chuck Parker: "Conservatives should be allowed to have one Network on their side, that being FOX since the libs have ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC acting as unpaid mouth pieces for Obama." -- Paul Ingram: "NPR should be more objective instead of being a mouthpiece for the Obama administration, What a great...

Please vote. AFTER YOU HAVE VOTED, PLEASE FORWARD ON TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. [ NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO IS OH SO ANXIOUS TO REPORT OBAMA A WINNER.] If you cannot click on the link, copy and paste and put in your search engine and the poll will come up for you to vote- http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/10/in_white_house_vs_fox_news_war.html

Are the news media treating President Obama "better" than they did President George W. Bush? Yes No

In the war between Fox News and the Whitehouse, I'm supporting: The White House on this one; Fox News isn't "fair and balanced." Fox News on this one; it asks questions others don't and the White House should be able to handle them. Neither side. They're both trying to play this "feud" to their advantage.

In White House Vs. Fox News War Of Words, Who Gets Your Vote?The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming. There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics." This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking...

Thank you for voting! The White House on this one; Fox News isn't "fair and balanced." 47% (154,206 votes) Fox News on this one; it asks questions others don't and the White House should be able to handle them. 51% (166,693 votes) Neither side. They're both trying to play this "feud" to their advantage. 2% (6,155 votes) Total Votes: 327,054

In White House Vs. Fox News War Of Words, Who Gets Your Vote?The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming. There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics." This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking...

The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming. There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics." This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking why the Obama team was treating one of the "sister organizations" so...

This needs Freeping badly, folks.

Did you miss it? Last month the country celebrated national Blasphemy Day! According to NPR.com, atheists marked Blasphemy Day last month at gatherings around the world, celebrating the freedom to denigrate and insult religion. Activities included de-baptizing people with hair dryers and an art exhibit in Washington, D.C., which showed, among other titles, Jesus Paints His Nails, in which "an effeminate Jesus after the crucifixion [applies] polish to the nails that attach his hands to the cross." The atheist group Center for Inquiry hosted the exhibit. Addressing a capacity crowd at the University of Toronto, columnist Christopher Hitchens elicited enthusiastic...

A radio service which belongs to the government fights to stay off of the Obama's enemies list. The graphic on the front page is from Hot Air. Designed by one of their readers they’re using it to help identify those news outlets that have earned the official White House News seal of approval … and its my guess NPR has just retained that designation. Courtesy of Hot Air picks … Apparently NPR reporter Ken Rudin described Obama’s war on Fox News as Nixonian. Hardly news making, considering Lemar Alexander, Karl Rove and Mike Huckabee already beat him to the punch....

It's pretty unremarkable to describe the Obama White House's growing enemies list -- the insurance companies, Chamber of Commerce, Fox News -- as "Nixonian." But there's one place where, if you venture such an opinion, you'd better be prepared to apologize -- quickly and profusely. On National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" Wednesday, NPR political editor Ken Rudin said the White House campaign against Fox News is a bad idea. "It's not only aggressive, it's almost Nixonesque," Rudin said. "I mean, you think of what Nixon and Agnew did with their enemies list and their attacks on the media;...

I guess this is about as close to fairness as NPR is capable of in its reporting on ACORN. The first few paragraphs of today's NPR story on ACORN, by Kevin Whitelaw, tell you all you need to know about Whitelaw's perspective on the embattled radical advocacy group: ACORN, the community organizing group, is fighting for its survival these days, but its current plight has been years in the making. Part of the story is the group's own missteps. ACORN was founded to help low- and middle-income Americans, but its edgy tactics and a series of gaffes fed the notion...

ACORN, the community organizing group, is fighting for its survival these days, but its current plight has been years in the making. Part of the story is the group's own missteps. ACORN was founded to help low- and middle-income Americans, but its edgy tactics and a series of gaffes fed the notion that the group was unreliable. That image, however, was built in part by a long campaign of attacks and allegations of illegal activities from a host of opponents in the corporate world, the Republican Party and conservative media outlets. ACORN attracted the scrutiny of these groups because its...

CNN’s Carol Costello began a new series on political talk radio on Monday’s American Morning, suggesting it was unfairly dominated by conservatives, and brought on a liberal psychiatrist who theorized that Rush Limbaugh has an audience because he’s “operating like the bully, and if you’re on the playground...you want to be...under the bully’s wing and go along with him and get...some power by proxy.” The correspondent’s report, which aired just before the bottom of the 7 am Eastern hour, was the first installment in a “special series on talk radio,” according to anchor John Roberts. Costello zeroed in on the...

It's Sunday night again. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs. Listen Live Info

Federal funding has been temporarily stopped for the community group ACORN and its affiliates, and some people worry that worthwhile programs could be affected if the cuts become permanent. The move comes after a scandal involving videotapes that showed ACORN workers telling a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute how to evade the law. In the undercover videos, ACORN workers at four offices around the country dished out some very sketchy advice. But in ACORN Housing's North Philadelphia office, the scene is far from the one seen in the videos, which were made by a conservative activist. What...

In August, National Public Radio's flagship music program All Songs Considered published "The Best Music of 2009 (So Far)," a rundown of the top 30 songs and albums of the year-to-date as voted by the show's listeners... On the Best Songs list, there are no songs that cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and none by African-American performers. Two black artists, Danger Mouse and Mos Def, made the Best Albums list, at numbers 20 and 23, respectively. None of this is a surprise, of course. NPR's audience skews white and college-educated; so does Animal Collective's fan-base....

Army Col. Conrad Reynolds is one of several Republicans vying to take on Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) for Arkansas’ Senate seat in 2010. Reynolds’ campaign issued a press release last week blasting Lincoln for a vote, and among those who received it was Greg Chance, the news director of an NPR affiliate based at Arkansas State University. It seems Chance attempted to forward the e-mail to Katie Laning Niebaum, Lincoln’s Washington-based communications director. In his forward, which HOH obtained, Chance mocked the press release and even the campaign’s logo, which features the Army colonel insignia. “There was another one from...

Your tax dollars at work . . . Forwarding a press release from a GOP Senate candidate to his Dem opponent, an NPR News Director called the Republican a "nimrod." Roll Call's "Heard on the Hill" column has the [subscription-required] story, which it describes as "another tale of e-mail forwarding gone wrong" [emphasis added]: Army Col. Conrad Reynolds is one of several Republicans vying to take on Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) for Arkansas’ Senate seat in 2010. Reynolds’ campaign issued a press release last week blasting Lincoln for a vote, and among those who received it was Greg Chance, the...

It's Sunday night again. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs. Listen Live Info

Garrison Keillor, the "Lake Wobegon" author and National Public Radio icon, is offering a solution to a couple of the nation's problems with one swoop: Give members of the GOP "aspirin and hand sanitizer" but if they have more complicated health issues, let them die. The comments come virtually at the same time voices are being raised in Washington over an assertion by U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., that Republicans' health care plan for the sick is to "die quickly." "The Republican plan," the Democrat said on the House floor, "Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die...

October 1, 2009 ACORN, the troubled anti-poverty group, is fighting to survive in the aftermath of an undercover video scandal. Its government funding is threatened, and so is the money it receives from foundations and other donors. ACORN is fighting back, but that is also draining resources. ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis earlier this week made a simple plea in a letter to donors: "We need your help to survive." Lewis said in an interview that she thinks her 40-year-old organization will survive, but she's worried about what fighting the charges that ACORN is a corrupt organization will do to resources...

The public-broadcasting-insider newspaper Current passed along a survey from The Chronicle of Philanthropy on executive compensation at large nonprofits in 2008. The salaries can be higher than the current presidential salary of $400,000 (and the current congressional salary of $174,000). The list includes national executives and leaders at large stations like WNET (New York), WETA (Washington), WTTW (Chicago), and KCET (Los Angeles.)

President Obama took his health care message to Sunday morning TV today, appearing on five different networks. Host Guy Raz recaps the major points the president hit — again and again — in his interviews.

It's Sunday night. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs. Listen Live Info

NPR commentator Frank James has chosen to excuse the the ACORN personnel who are willing to help an assumed pimp and prostitute to set up a brothel, import under-age Central American children to become sex slaves, avoid taxes and scam the banks. He attributes this to the culture of the black underclass. It's also important to keep in mind that ACORN's workers are coming from the same low-income neighborhoods the organization serves, with all that entails -- poor schools, high crime and the sorts of social problems that have been documented for decades. NPR has been accused of racism by...

The community organizing group ACORN is under attack after hidden-camera videos captured its workers giving advice on falsifying taxes to conservative activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute. The Senate voted Monday to block ACORN from getting any Housing and Urban Development grants, and Republican leaders in Congress are calling for an investigation. The Census Bureau severed ties with the group last week for all work related to the 2010 census. ACORN has dismissed what it calls a concerted political attack, and says it plans to sue the activists who made the videos, the Web site that posted them...

Obviously, the "main stream" media are hard of hearing and seeing. About 2 million mad-as-hell taxpayers assembling in Washington, D.C. for the largest-ever (most well-behaved ever, most respectful ever) protest did not make it onto their radar screens (or our TV screens). They need our help. Maybe we cannot repeat an assembly of 2 million mad-as-hell taxpaying patriots in one place, but surely those who longed to go and couldn't would love to be a part of Operation "Can You Hear Us Now?" I'll bet for every one patriot who went to D.C. there are 10-20 more who wished they...

Tens of thousands of people marched through Washington Saturday to protest President Obama's proposed health care plans. The rowdy pilgrimage capped a series of conservative "Tea Party" rallies across the country.... There was a carnival atmosphere. Many people brought their children, strollers, dogs and folding chairs. But there was also a strong undercurrent of anger, from people like Goyet's mother, Dedi Rapp. "I want them to leave us alone. They work for us. We are not their servant, they are our servants, and we are going to vote them all out," she says....

How many people still listen to NPR (National “People’s” Radio) and take it seriously? Apparently that list doesn’t include the editors and reporters for NPR. Two cases in point, both having to do with numbers. As I was driving up to D.C. for the Rally on the Mall on Saturday, I heard NPR gushing over (excuse me, reporting on) the President Obama’s speech to a Joint Meeting of Congress. In that speech, the President said that “there are 30 million uninsured Americans.” Notice that the number dropped from 45 million because that part of the uninsured are not Americans. They...

It's Sunday night. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs. Listen Live Info

Garrison Keillor, author and host of the folksy radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," was being treated Wednesday for a minor stroke he suffered over the weekend, a hospital spokesman said. Keillor, who turned 67 last month, was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on Sunday night, spokesman Karl Oestreich said in a news release. "He is up and moving around, speaking sensibly, working at a laptop, and it's expected he'll be released on Friday," Oestreich said. "He plans to resume a normal schedule next week." The live variety show "A Prairie Home Companion"...

Every Sunday for years I listen to the Big Broadcast 7 - 11pm est. Never thought to offer it to other Freepers. The Big Broadcast runs popular radio programs from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Listen Live Info

1st Amendment: Mark Lloyd, a disciple of Saul Alinsky and fan of Hugo Chavez, wants to destroy talk radio and says free speech is a distraction. The new FCC diversity "czar" says Venezuela is an example we should follow.When Mark Lloyd was appointed July 29 as the chief diversity officer at the Federal Communications Commission, a nation focused on ObamaCare and a deteriorating economy took little notice. But as angry constituents flood town hall meetings and call in to talk radio, a man dedicated to silencing them sits at the right hand of the president. They share a common hero...

At high noon on one of the hottest days of the summer, a small group of senior citizens sweated it out in front of state GOP headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., asking the Republican Party to stop using what they called "scare tactics" to turn senior citizens against overhauling the health care system. It could be the start of a silver backlash against what some say is a misinformation campaign about health care reform. The members of the Alliance for Retired Americans were angry about a recent column by national GOP Chairman Michael Steele, who said health care reform would lead...