One-Time NPR Commentator Mumia Abu-Jamal

The Tribune notes that the door or William Ayers is decorated with pictures of celebrated cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal and murderous Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. These pictures alone contradict the narrative that William Ayers is somehow a repentant former radical:

When the Tribune caught up with Ayers on Tuesday, he had no interest in joining the unpleasant conversation.

"What could I possibly add?" he asked from the door to his office. "Life happens."

[...]

Ayers' office door is decorated with pictures of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Che Guevara and Malcolm X. It is also home to pictures of children, bills of rights for students and parents, and a rainbow-hued greeting card advising "How to Be Really Alive." A place of prominence is give to a New Yorker cartoon of a man interviewing for a job. The interviewer says, "I'm trying to find a way to balance your strengths against your felonies."

Discover the Networks provides background on the Mamia Abu Jamal cop killing incident.

Born Wesley Cook in 1954, the man currently known as Mumia Abu Jamal was a member of the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panthers; he served as that group's Information Minister when he was just 15 years old. Well known for referring to police officers as "pigs," a young Abu Jamal was a supporter of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based Black Power cult known for its demonstrations against local residents and its incitements against police officers and the city government. An outspoken, controversial figure, he was a frequent guest on television and radio programs. For awhile, he even hosted his own show on Philadelphia's National Public Radio affiliate WUHY-FM -- though he was eventually fired from that job because of his radicalism.

Mumia Abu Jamal was catapulted into the public limelight by an event that occurred shortly after 3:55 a.m. on December 9, 1981, when white police officer Daniel Faulkner made a traffic stop of William Cook, Mumia's brother, on a Philadelphia street. Falkner pulled behind Cook's car, radioed for police backup, approached Cook's vehicle, and ordered the driver to get out of his car. While Faulkner handcuffed Cook, Mumia Abu Jamal, who was behind the wheel of a taxi parked across the street, suddenly got out of his vehicle, ran toward Faulkner and shot him in the back. As the policeman fell, he drew his own gun and managed to shoot Abu Jamal in the chest, wounding but not killing him. The gun-wielding cabdriver then fired repeatedly at Faulkner, finally dispatching him from close range with a bullet in the brain. Abu Jamal's presence near the scene of the roadside stop at that particular moment has led to serious speculation that William Cook intentionally led Faulkner into an ambush -- one that had all the earmarks of other Black Panther provocations in places like Newark and Oakland.

The body of evidence placing Mumia Abu Jamal at the scene of Faulkner's killing was overwhelming. There were three eyewitnesses who testified that Abu Jamal was the killer.

Since then Abu-Jamal, like William Ayers and Che Guevera have become heroes of the radical left. Abu-Jamal is still on death row pending appeals.

I covered PBS support of Che Guevera in a previous Newsbusters article.

The mainstream media, and especially those on the left who sympathize with Fidel Castro have a long history of glorifying Che Guevara. That glorification has been slowly beat back by informed people on all sides of the political spectrum, yet some organizations that should be expected to know better, SUCH AS PBS, ignore history in what can only be characterized as a callous disregard for those who have died horrific deaths and many of whom are still suffering from the legacy of Che Guevara. In fact PBS was scrutinized for airing the exact same Che/Burdon clips on a different round of pledge drives back in 2005. Thus we can only surmise that the executives at PBS don't give two hoots about the murderous facts.

Again we must ask, why is the mainstream media trying to reinvent unrepentant American terrorist William Ayers as someone that he is not?

Terry Trippany is the publisher of Webloggin and holds the post as The Watcher at Watcher of Weasels. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.