Wow, talk about telling a whopper. He starts the sentence by claiming he's "the libertarian" and then going on to suggest about as large an abrogation of individual rights as you can get. Here is a real libertarian on gun rights,
"If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash—for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything—without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you."
http://www.lneilsmith.org/
Mr. Williams is merely grading himself on a curve, compared to god only knows.
Again, you make me laugh GC. Libertarians are politicians like Democrats, Republicans, or any other representative of a political ideology and their goal is to get laws passed (control people) that reflect their ideology.
Don't watch Fox News, so I don't know if they have cast him as a libertarian or not. If they have, it's just further proof of their stupidity and why I don't watch them.
However, I will say that this is the first time I've ever heard him described as a libertarian, and it doesn't mesh with anything else I've heard from the man.
BTW, I, as a Christian, could try to call myself a Muslim based on Muslim meaning one who submits to God (I've heard of people doing this--a real head scratcher). That's not going to stop actual Muslims from calling BS on me.
Simon, what do you mean by "it doesn't mesh with anything else I've heard from the man?" In the same comment you told us you don't watch Fox news, so what else have you heard from him? Or, are you basing your opinion on his one stupid remark about a gun-free America?
Mikeb, I recall Williams from his time at NPR. Unless he's changed a lot since then, he's no libertarian. What I heard had me pegging him as a moderate Republican.
I don't watch Fox News regularly enough to know who most of them are or what they're known for. I know O'Reilly and Hannity are assholes, but I figured that out from flipping past them on the radio and what I saw of them when I watched Fox over a decade ago.
When I saw them excusing the outing of Ms. Plame, something they'd have rightly screamed bloody murder over if it was done by a Democrat, they lost me as anything more than an incidental viewer. Now, they get turned on if I'm flipping through them, CNN, and MSNBC to see what's being covered--e.g. last night I wondered if the PA school incident was being covered; the results: Obamacare problems, Plane search, W's paintings show what a twisted little man he is. You can guess which was which.
Other occasions of incidental viewership are on weekends when I visit my parents--they have four channels, and only one comes in clear with the news on Sunday mornings, so I can turn on 5-15 minutes of "Fox News Sunday" on the local Fox broadcast channel to see what is being discussed while I brush my teeth and get dressed. Occasionally Juan is on there during the short part I see.
Otherwise, I get my news from the other channels, the internet, the Radio, including NPR, etc.
So what I've seen of Williams comes from accidentally catching him on Fox on those rare occasions I see a couple minutes of their broadcast, from his time at NPR, from his split with NPR, and from any other reporting about him.
From these sources, I've gathered that he's the resident apologist at Fox, at least Sunday Mornings, when they want someone to advocate for Obamacare, he's scared of Arabs in traditional dress and of Muslims, and so probably is a big fan of PATRIOT Act and war on terror policies. I can't think of more specifics, but I always had the impression of him being a squishy center left guy with authoritarian tendencies common to both the left and right, but antithetical to a libertarian outlook.
"He is a Libertarian. He's known for that on Fox News. He's just fed up with you gun maniacs."
"Juan Williams is best known as one of Fox News’ resident liberals, but is he also a libertarian? When Williams made that assertion on this weekend’s edition of Cashin’ In on Fox, he was met with some uproarious laughter from host Eric Bolling and the show’s other panelists."
Wow, talk about telling a whopper. He starts the sentence by claiming he's "the libertarian" and then going on to suggest about as large an abrogation of individual rights as you can get.
ReplyDeleteHere is a real libertarian on gun rights,
"If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash—for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything—without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you."
http://www.lneilsmith.org/
Mr. Williams is merely grading himself on a curve, compared to god only knows.
Exactly, SSG. Williams is about as much a "libertarian" as I am a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback.
DeleteHe may call himself whatever he wants, but if he wants to violate our basic rights, he's not a libertarian.
ReplyDeleteHe is a Libertarian. He's known for that on Fox News. He's just fed up with you gun maniacs.
ReplyDeleteWhatever he is "known for," libertarianism is utterly incompatible with advocacy of turning an entire nation into a "gun free zone."
DeleteMikeb, people who want to control others aren't libertarians.
DeleteAgain, you make me laugh GC. Libertarians are politicians like Democrats, Republicans, or any other representative of a political ideology and their goal is to get laws passed (control people) that reflect their ideology.
DeleteDon't watch Fox News, so I don't know if they have cast him as a libertarian or not. If they have, it's just further proof of their stupidity and why I don't watch them.
DeleteHowever, I will say that this is the first time I've ever heard him described as a libertarian, and it doesn't mesh with anything else I've heard from the man.
BTW, I, as a Christian, could try to call myself a Muslim based on Muslim meaning one who submits to God (I've heard of people doing this--a real head scratcher). That's not going to stop actual Muslims from calling BS on me.
DeleteSimon, what do you mean by "it doesn't mesh with anything else I've heard from the man?" In the same comment you told us you don't watch Fox news, so what else have you heard from him? Or, are you basing your opinion on his one stupid remark about a gun-free America?
DeleteMikeb, I recall Williams from his time at NPR. Unless he's changed a lot since then, he's no libertarian. What I heard had me pegging him as a moderate Republican.
DeleteMike,
DeleteI don't watch Fox News regularly enough to know who most of them are or what they're known for. I know O'Reilly and Hannity are assholes, but I figured that out from flipping past them on the radio and what I saw of them when I watched Fox over a decade ago.
When I saw them excusing the outing of Ms. Plame, something they'd have rightly screamed bloody murder over if it was done by a Democrat, they lost me as anything more than an incidental viewer. Now, they get turned on if I'm flipping through them, CNN, and MSNBC to see what's being covered--e.g. last night I wondered if the PA school incident was being covered; the results: Obamacare problems, Plane search, W's paintings show what a twisted little man he is. You can guess which was which.
Other occasions of incidental viewership are on weekends when I visit my parents--they have four channels, and only one comes in clear with the news on Sunday mornings, so I can turn on 5-15 minutes of "Fox News Sunday" on the local Fox broadcast channel to see what is being discussed while I brush my teeth and get dressed. Occasionally Juan is on there during the short part I see.
Otherwise, I get my news from the other channels, the internet, the Radio, including NPR, etc.
So what I've seen of Williams comes from accidentally catching him on Fox on those rare occasions I see a couple minutes of their broadcast, from his time at NPR, from his split with NPR, and from any other reporting about him.
From these sources, I've gathered that he's the resident apologist at Fox, at least Sunday Mornings, when they want someone to advocate for Obamacare, he's scared of Arabs in traditional dress and of Muslims, and so probably is a big fan of PATRIOT Act and war on terror policies. I can't think of more specifics, but I always had the impression of him being a squishy center left guy with authoritarian tendencies common to both the left and right, but antithetical to a libertarian outlook.
ReplyDelete"He is a Libertarian. He's known for that on Fox News. He's just fed up with you gun maniacs."
"Juan Williams is best known as one of Fox News’ resident liberals, but is he also a libertarian? When Williams made that assertion on this weekend’s edition of Cashin’ In on Fox, he was met with some uproarious laughter from host Eric Bolling and the show’s other panelists."
http://reason.com/24-7/2013/12/17/fox-panelists-laugh-after-juan-williams
Mike, this is a first, you're actually taking what someone on Fox News said as the truth.
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit of a stretch.
Delete