Which Way, L.A.?
Hearing on Radical Islam Prompts Local Outcry
Two local leaders take exception to a hearing into the "radicalization" of American Muslims. Also, the death penalty, and NPR in the cross hairs.
By Warren Olney • • 52m ListenOn Capitol Hill, hearings have begun into what Republican Congressman Peter King calls the "radicalization" of American Muslims. In Los Angeles, a local imam and an orthodox rabbi warn the hearings could make the threat of terrorism worse rather than better. Also, the death penalty was abolished yesterday by the Governor of Illinois. What about California under Governor Jerry Brown? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, at a crucial moment in the effort to restore federal funding for public broadcasting, NPR appears to have shot itself in the foot for a second time. Is there real evidence of biased news reporting or administrative incompetence? Is taxpayer money needed to perpetuate reliable coverage to compete with the commercial focus on opinion and commentary?
Banner image: Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, gavels to order the first in a series of hearings on radicalization in the American Muslim community, March 10, 2011. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
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4 storiesSardine Die-off
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Read the story6 minTerrorism and Stereotyping in Southern California
As he opened his hearings on what he calls the "radicalization" of Muslims in the US, New York Congressman Peter King responded to critics who call it a "witch hunt," saying that "to back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness… Despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or…
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Yesterday Democratic Governor Pat Quinn made Illinois the sixteenth state without capital punishment . He said there is no way to design a "perfect" system without the flaws that can lead to discrimination and wrongful convictions.
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