Category Archives: Radio

Juan Williams Firing from NPR

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I was surprised to learn that Juan Williams appears on Fox News.  I understand that NPR can’t pay much, but Fox?  Ah well.

I will say, however, I don’t agree with his being fired for having very human reactions towards those Muslims that dress outwardly as Muslims.  He, unlike those of us in other parts of the country (Metro Detroit), did not grow up with the culture being a part of the natural landscape.  If it isn’t a full-fledged niqab, the person is probably not completely radical. 

I have other issues with wearing a niqab when someone is driving, but I digress.  (I have experienced drivers wearing a niqab, and do not want them on the road!)

Anyway, I found the outcry against Helen Thomas, a Christian Arab-American taking the side of the Palestinian cause disconcerting as well.  It is not racism to believe that the nation of Israel has no more right to exist than the Palestinian state.  It really isn’t.  It is a matter of socially and racially charged politics.

Personally?  I don’t care whether Israel exists or not.  History shows that whoever has the firepower to keep the land is the one who wins.  That is the business of the folks who live there.  I don’t agree with material support of either either side by the US government with my tax dollars, but that is because I’m an isolationist on all fronts and would limit aide to emergency relief.  I’d also pull us out of almost all foreign military bases.  (Certain semi-protectorates would have to be examined closely.)

Anyway, I understand that NPR wants to be seen as neutral on all accounts.  Even their letters to the editor often highlight when interviewers or hosts are not being even-keeled.  What bothers me is this growing expectation that everyone in the press and politics must tow some party line.  This does nothing to help engage the necessary conversations.

The reality is that, yes, Juan Williams said things that can be construed quite negatively.  On the other hand, what he said only tends to indicate that he is a human being with all the foibles that comes with.

No one is without prejudice.  His admitting his is not the worst sin ever.  It might even have been seen as a way to open dialog among a more mature audience.  But, I have long given up the idea that the US is made up of a mature audience unless it comes to prurient interests.

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Voice of the Detroit Tigers Now Silent

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I remember driving Up North in my father’s pick-up before the days of satellite radio – even before CB radios were all the craze. From Detroit to Alpena most weekends through the months when our property wasn’t completely snowed under. There was only one radio station that stayed with us through the entire drive, WJR. As we would drive north in the summers on US-23 the voice of Ernie Harwell told the story of the Tigers’ game.

For millions who grew up in Michigan, Southern Ontario, and Northern Ohio a voice as comforting and as familiar as family echoed through the night when the Tigers played. Many a radio was snuck into a school or workplace when Ernie Harwell was calling the afternoon game.

Ernie started his career in Georgia as a young radio announcer in the minor league. He was traded for a pitcher to some unimportant New York team before finally settling in as the Tigers’ voice on the radio. Ernie Harwell was baseball. His voice is what I, and many others, hear when thinking of a baseball game.

Detroit has lost not only the voice of the Tigers but a man who gave so much back to the community. Ernie Harwell was well-known for his charity work – which he did not trumpet. He is part of the time when Detroit was one of the top media markets in the world. A time when WJR and CKLW still ruled the airwaves of the Great Lakes region.

It is the voice of Ernie Harwell that reflected very much what Detroit was all about. This was the city people came to to create the middle class. This was the city people of all colors, creeds, and originations came to to create a better place. Cancer of the bile ducts took the man who started as a 5 year old bat boy for his local minor league team. Will his legacy be forgotten by a city that is suffering from its own cancers of poverty and abandonment? Or will his death inspire those who remember him to make Detroit the best hope for a strong middle class again?

His were not grand dreams or aspirations. Ernie Harwell died at home in Novi, Michigan – an upper middle class suburb of Detroit. He was a dedicated worker and giving individual who touched many a person through America’s game, baseball, on many a night. Whether hidden under covers, trekking across Michigan, or sneaking that listen at work, his voice was delivering baseball and sneaking stories of those days of yore. And, sometimes, including a bit of Scripture with that favorite pastime.

For those of you who never got to hear what baseball really sounds like, here is the farewell speech when Ernie Harwell retired:

Ernie Harwell will be sorely missed by a town that loves its sports and local media. With his passing, I feel like we, as a nation, are losing an icon of what we could have become and what we have lost. This was a man who could be held up as a real role model for anyone. Had he faults? Of course. But, unlike so many of us, he strived to be the best he could be with the talents and resources God gave him.

May Ernie Harwell find peace in the arms of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. And, maybe, he will be announcing a heavenly baseball game.