Saturday, October 23, 2010

If They Come for Juan, They Can Come For Others; or National Public Restrainers

Growing up in an area where the Washington Post was becoming the major newspaper, I learned to appreciate reasoned media viewpoints different than my own. Frankly, the shouting and name-calling that masquerades as debate really gets on my nerves, such that I usually can't watch/listen to very much of it. While I am more partial  to commentators coming from the right side of the spectrum, there are a few who come from the left side that I can enjoy reading/listening to/watching and respect, without necessarily agreeing with their points.  Retired columnist William Raspberry was one; Nat Hentoff was another. In electronic media, Juan Williams was always a favorite of mine from the left.

Apparently, he was not a favorite of his erstwhile employer National Public Radio. NPR's management bristled at his appearances at Fox News, a network which has drawn open enmity from the current administration.  NPR fired Williams after his appearance on the Fox News' show "The O'Reilly Factor," where he expressed his fear of traveling with individuals in Muslim clothing. While NPR was and is within its rights to have a staff of its choosing, the firing smacked of enforcement of politically correct thought. So, rather than write a serious piece on Williams, his career, and the dangers of penalizing honesty, I decided to write a parody.

Juan (to the tune of "One," most recognizably recorded by Three Dog Night)
by DMinor, with apologies to Harry Nilsson

UPDATE: Audio now available

Find more artists like DMinor Music at Myspace Music


Juan was an NPR talker analyzing news.
Now the brass is mad at Juan
'Cause he honestly answered O'Reilly's question.

Oh, what he said was intolerant and he should know;
Yes, to fear Muslim-garbed terrorists is a "no-no."
'Cause Juan was an NPR talker, they know more than you;
Juan was an NPR talker, now he's through.

They just can't have anyone have an honest say.
Now he'll spend his time on Fox News' dime, and with great pay!

Juan's now their liberal, Yes now Juan is their liberal,
Good old Juan is their liberal talker analyzing news.
Juan's through with NPR, Juan's through with NPR,
Juan's through with NPR, honesty has won through.
It's just no good NPR, drive dissent away?

(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal,
(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal,
(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal thinker balancing  their news.

(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal,
(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal,
(Fox News) Juan's now their liberal thinker balancing  their news.


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2 Comments:

Blogger christopher said...

LOL! Do you come up with the "sung to" first or the lyrics? This one really fit well!

10:36 PM  
Blogger DMinor said...

Thanks Christopher! We have a musical "family disease" (I inherited it from my mother and have passed it to at least one daughter): phrases in conversation will bring to mind a song which we then inflict on those around us. In my case, I'll hear phrases that "sound like" those in a song, and then go from there.

I was wanting to write on the Juan Williams situation, so I had "Juan" rattling around in the brain . . . .

If you like the parodies, they are grouped at http://minoroutside.blogspot.com/search/label/parodies%20we%27ve%20written%20I ,
http://minoroutside.blogspot.com/search/label/parodies%20we%27ve%20written%20II , and http://minoroutside.blogspot.com/search/label/parodies%20we%27ve%20written%20III .

11:24 AM  

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