Discussing Iraqi soccer celebrations, KCOL's "Keith and Gail" again denigrate Islam
While discussing the actions of Iraqis who "fire[d] guns into the air" following the national soccer team's July 29 Asia Cup victory, Fox News Radio 600 KCOL co-hosts Keith Weinman and Gail Fallen made derogatory remarks about Muslims and the Islamic faith. On their July 30 Mornings with Keith and Gail! broadcast, Fallen asked, "[D]oes their religion say, hey, if you get shot by a bullet up in the air you will be blessed with something?" After Weinman replied that "you don't get -- no 72 virgins," Fallen added, "No they don't qualify for martyr status."
As CNN reported on July 29, "Defying orders from authorities, celebratory gunfire resounded across Baghdad and revelers poured into the streets after Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to clinch its first Asian Cup soccer championship on Sunday while mosques broadcast calls for the shooting to stop." CNN further reported:
The celebratory gunfire ignored pleas from both government and religious authorities after shots killed at least seven people following previous victories. The government had warned that anybody firing weapons in the air Sunday would be arrested.
[...]
Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said celebratory gunfire was religiously prohibited to protect lives and spare people from being terrified, according to an official at his headquarters in the city of Najaf. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
As Colorado Media Matters has documented, Weinman and Fallen on their February 14 broadcast expressed doubts about any Muslim who might run for president, with Fallen asking Weinman whether he would care about a Muslim candidate's religion "knowing as you do the tenets of Islam?" After Weinman responded, "I would care," Fallen asked him, "Does that make you intolerant?"
Similarly, on their January 3 broadcast, Weinman and Fallen repeated conservative criticisms directed against U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, after Ellison decided to use a Quran for a ceremonial swearing-in photo opportunity.
From the July 30 broadcast of Fox News Radio 600 KCOL's Mornings with Keith and Gail!:
WEINMAN: They go out into the streets --
FALLEN: With their AK-47s, yes --
PRODUCER: Yeah.
WEINMAN: -- and fire guns into the air, thinking -- what are they thinking, or are they thinking?
[laughter]
WEINMAN: Now these are, these are the people -- two U.S. solidiers killed by small arms fire north of Baghdad. Another killed in fighting in the eastern section of the capital on Sunday, yesterday. Two U.S. soldiers killed trying to bring these people in -- where, what are we trying to bring them? In, into the, into the present? Usher them into the future? Bring them into reality? And yes, you could say, well, it's our version of reality, but if their version of the reality is, your soccer team won, go out in the streets and fire bullets into the air without thinking of those bullets, what do they do? They come out of the gun --
FALLEN: They come down.
WEINMAN: -- they go up, up, up --
FALLEN: Yeah.
WEINMAN: -- and pretty soon they stop, and then what do they do? Then they come down, down, down, probably at the same speed that they went up, up, up, and they hit somebody on the head.
FALLEN: Oh, yeah.
PRODUCER: But do you think that they're affected by the fact that people die in their streets all day every day and so this kind of just, like, gets past them because of that? You know, that it escapes them because they're so used to seeing people die by gunfire.
FALLEN: Somewhat sensitized.
PRODUCER: Yeah.
FALLEN: Yeah.
PRODUCER: Or -- or just, are they just clueless?
FALLEN: Or does their religion say, hey, if you get shot by a bullet up in the air you will be blessed with something --
WEINMAN: You get the, you don't get -- no 72 virgins.
FALLEN: No, they don't qualify for martyr status.
[crosstalk]
PRODUCER: All right.
FALLEN: No. No, happy fire does not qualify.
PRODUCER: All right.
FALLEN: No, you have to read the fine print on that one.
PRODUCER: OK.
WEINMAN: You might get 76 trombones, but who needs those?
[laughter]
FALLEN: That's right, but you're out of the running for the other.
[laughter]
WEINMAN: Yeah. It's happy fire.
PRODUCER: Because you don't want to think that they're that clueless. You really don't want to think that, right?
WEINMAN: No. I, I don't want to think that, because our, because our boys are dying for them. I, I don't want to think that they're that clueless.
—C.P.
Chase Parr is an intern at Colorado Media Matters.
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Comments (7) Show
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Hah, hah, hah. Heh, heh, heh. Good clean fun. I can't think of any other country where (stupid) people have fired live rounds into the air after an emotional event. Can you?
It happens in Detroit all the time. And other places, mainly in the rural South. Places that are predominantly Christian. So please lay off the Muslim-bashing, M'kay??????
Since my facetiousness clearly went over your head, let me be specific. About 15 years ago, a man was sitting on his front porch in the West City Park neighborhood of Denver. This was on the 4th of July. A number of blocks away, someone fired a gun into the air. The descending bullet struck the man in his head and killed him. No one was charged. So I guess that between Keith, Gail, me, and WZ we have cited a few locations where this madness occurs. Obviously religion is irrelevant.
First, I was still living in New Jersey 15 years ago - I didn't move to Colorado until 1995, so I don't have any knowledge of the incident you referrred to. And your statement had the smell of anti-Islam all over it.
BTW, I wised up and moved out of Colroado last year. I now live in Texas, and am working to turn the Lone Start State blue.
"Our boys are dying" for who? I don't think Keith and Gail are just clueless. They're ignorant as well.
WZ, if you wish to take the time, use the Search window at the top of the home page. Key in retardnfeatherd and scroll down to "In Post column......" dated June 18th. Comment #7 pretty much sums up my feelings about Islam. "The smell of anti-Islam"? What you smelled was sarcasm! Keith and Gail were denigrating a religion for the benefit of their anti-Islam listeners. Using humor and facetiousness is a trademark of my posts. If you had read my stuff you would know that. Now keep up the good work in Texas. Help bring the Democrats back into power and bury the Bush legacy. I'll continue to do my part up here in the high country. By the way, love your postings on MMFA.
With so many right-wing dunderheads trolling the CMM and MMFA boards, it's hard sometimes to keep track of who's being facecious and who is truly speaking their mind. And it's hard to keep track of all the players both here on CMM and MMFA. It would help to add either a smiley or an "end of sarcasm" note so your words aren't taken the wrong way.
And thanks for the compliment. It's always nice to be appreciated.
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