Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Radio host fired for offending terrorists, hired by station valuing free speech

By now, many of you know the story. Michael Graham, talk radio host in the belly of the beast, Washington, D.C. (no offense to my dear friend and D.C. resident Kira!), was fired for saying less than flattering things about Islam that pro-terror group CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) found offensive. Graham's story is here, an excerpt follows:
I was fired, according to the termination letter I received from ABC Radio, for "offensive" comments I made on the air regarding Islam and terrorism. Coincidentally, all of the comments deemed offensive by the Council of American-Islamic Relations were listed in my ABC disciplinary memo.

I was also fired, according to ABC management, for my refusal to apologize for said comments. They further ordered me to agree to "additional outreach efforts" to those “offended” by my opinions. Would I be flipping burgers at the local mosque? Singing "Kumbaya" with CAIR? Hugs for Hamas? Management wouldn't say.

(snip...)

...few public advocacy groups have as little legitimacy or credibility as the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Some of their members have been jailed for terrorism. Others have been deported. They are still reluctant to criticize Hamas and Hezbollah, and it took them three weeks after 9/11 to condemn Al Qaeda!

(snip...)

Getting drummed out of talk radio by CAIR is like being chased out of your junior-high teacher's job by the guys at the North American Man-Boy Love Association.
Graham also notes how his crime was offending a minority group, and that had he said something disparaging about Christianity (such as calling the Catholic Church a haven for pedophiles, or calling the Christian faith a terror-sponsoring organization because of abortion-clinic and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph), he would still be in D.C. today. He offended the P.C. gods deities/druids, and for that, he must have his head sawed off by the blackhoods on the altar of "sensitivity."

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. A station in Los Angeles, KFI-AM, has picked him up. "KFI has an extended offer for Michael Graham to fill in at the station because KFI still values free speech," says KFI producer, Robin Bertolucci. Shame on ABC-Disney for having no such policy. Disney can have "Gay Days" at their theme parks, due to their "committment to diversity", but the catchphrase rings hollow in light of their lack of committment to said "diversity" when it comes to opinions on their radio networks.