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In July, I posted regarding an assault by CAIR on American freedom of speech:
Michael Graham is a Conservative talk show host in Washington, D.C. He'd made public comments "linking the current theology and structure of Islam to the repeated acts of terror in its name." CAIR -- the same organization which recently decided not to contest statements that CAIR was founded by terrorists -- "sent mass e-mails to its members urging them to contact ABC and demand the company to punish Graham for his remarks." The result: Disney, which owns the station, suspended Graham without pay.
Today we have word that Graham has been fired.
I don't know how stupid this radio station has to be, to fire someone for saying the truth -- that many Islamic leaders tell people to kill non-Muslims in the name of Islam. Why should Islamists have special protections that are not granted to Christians? All sorts of outrages are done in the name of "art" to the bible, the cross, etc., and everyone understands that it's protected free speech. Why should Muslims get special treatment? This radio station has surrendered its own freedom to Islamofascists.
Here's Graham's statement:
Contact WMAL 630 and let them know they are assaulting freedom of speech and helping the terrorists by forcing the truth off their own airwaves.The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, DC.
On July 25th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that I be "punished" for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism. Three days later, 630 WMAL and ABC Radio suspended me without pay for comments deemed "hate radio" by CAIR.
CAIR immediately announced that my punishment was insufficient and demanded I be fired. ABC Radio and 630 WMAL have now complied. I have now been fired for making the specific comments CAIR deemed "offensive," and for refusing to retract those statements in a management-mandated, on-air apology. ABC Radio further demanded that I agree to perform what they described as "additional outreach efforts" to those people or groups who felt offended.
I refused. And for that refusal, I have been fired.
It appears that ABC Radio has caved to an organization that condemns talk radio hosts like me, but has never condemned Hamas, Hezbollah, and one that wouldn't specifically condemn Al Qaeda for three months after 9/11.
As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show. As a conservative talk host whose job is to have an open, honest conversation each day with my listeners, I believe caving to this pressure is a disaster.
I for one cannnot apologize for the truth and I cannot agree to some community-service style "outreach effort" to appease the opponents of free speech.
—Michael Graham
PHONE: (202) 686-3100.
E-MAIL: www.630WMAL.com.
#1
#2Quibbling, as usual. I know you can do better than this.
If you have links for these quotes, I would be interested in seeing the exact words Graham used, and I would consider those links to be a valuable contribution to this thread.
Tom, your comments always carefully avoid showing what your own positions are on any issues. Do you oppose WMAL in its firing of Michael Graham?
Sometimes I wonder whether CAIR is a genuine Islamic organization or a media watchdog. Since when were conservative talk radio hosts known to be fans of Islam? If CAIR is trying to defend Islam by getting a radio host fired, they're being ineffective. Instead, CAIR has completed another publicity stunt.
#4Quibbling, as usual.
Isn't it funny how your summary of what he said just happens to be much more reasonable and even-handed than what he actually said?
Do you oppose WMAL in its firing of Michael Graham?
I don't care one way or the other. Graham has every right to voice his hatred and bigotry, but he isn't guaranteed the right to do so on a particular radio station.
I don't know how stupid this radio station has to be, to fire someone for saying the truth -- that many Islamic leaders tell people to kill non-Muslims in the name of Islam.
The comments that prompted his firing were:
1. "The problem is not extremism. The problem is Islam."
2. "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam."
If you want to defend these remarks as "the truth," that's up to you. But claiming that remarks about "many Islamic leaders" got him fired most certainly is not the truth.