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Robert Smith

NPR: Schumer Ties Scott Walker to Deadly 1911 Fire

By Tim Graham | March 27, 2011 | 07:42

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Liberals have a bad habit of mixing funerals (or death anniversaries) with political rallies. On Friday night's All Things Considered, NPR's Robert Smith offered a story that was 100 percent about union activists and liberal politicians, with no rebuttals.

NPR anchor Melissa Block began: "New York City today marked the 100th anniversary of one of its worst disasters: a fire at the Triangle shirtwaist factory that killed 146 people. NPR's Robert Smith reports that the city's unions used today to voice their anger over recent union setbacks."  

Smith revealed Sen. Charles Schumer somehow connected Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to those long-ago fiery deaths:

NPR Brings Along Dirty-Joking 'Token Mormon' to Offer Approval of South Park Pair's Musical

By Tim Graham | March 27, 2011 | 07:33

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Just like ABC making Jake Tapper drama critic for a day, NPR sent reporter Robert Smith to view and honor the new musical The Book of Mormon for All Things Considered. Anchor Robert Siegel began: "The show was not written or endorsed by the church. It is a searing comedy from the team behind South Park. NPR's Robert Smith reports that the production is probably the most offensive, yet sweetest, show on Broadway."

Smith brought along Elna Baker, a self-proclaimed "token Mormon," to approve the show. On Friday night, NPR read a letter from a disapproving listener in Connecticut: "Trying to legitimize this play by having one Mormon say she saw it and thought it was funny doesn't hold with me. Maybe if you could have gotten a high-ranking official of the Mormon Church to say that they thought the play was in good taste would have been more appropriate." 

So who is Elna Baker? It turns out she's a Mormon stand-up comedian who's also appeared on NPR's This American Life, and knows her away around very "adult" humor, like these jokes on her blog about the 50 most common lies she tells:

NPR Finds Tea Parties Channel 'Pet Peeves,' Organized by Conservatives and Fox News

By Tim Graham | April 17, 2009 | 07:22

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The tea-party coverage even trickled on National Public Radio on Wednesday night, on their newscast All Things Considered. It was a fairly respectful hearing of dissent, even though anchor Melissa Block suggested the protesters were bearing only "pet peeves," and reporter Robert Smith insisted the festivities weren't exactly "grass roots" activity, since they were grown with "partisan fertilizer."

They were put together by "conservative" groups and Fox News. Would NPR or the TV networks ever describe the anti-war or pro-amnesty protests they lavishly cover as "liberal" events, or note they're less than "grass roots" because they got heavy play on ABC, CBS, and NBC? But Smith went there on the tea parties: