I was disappointed that Noah’s call was taken on air. This was the segment in which the caller said he was a graduate student working for the Marshal Space Flight Center. Two points of contention with his call:
A couple of times he referred to his vehicle as “ghetto-ized.” That term was not only unnecessary, but was inflammatory and borderline racist. Perhaps he thought that was cute and humorous, but it struck me as arrogant and insensitive.
Noah said he would use materials from the lab in which he works to fabricate a part for his vehicle. The exchange with Tom and Ray included comments about the high cost of the materials and the fact that they were purchased with tax money. Sorry for my lack of humor, but Noah is not entitled to take government supplies for his personal use; in many circles that’s considered theft and abuse of authority.
It’s disconcerting that Tom and Ray aired this segment and that they seemed unconcerned with Noah’s air of elitism and entitlement.
I didn’t hear the call but on the first point, let’s quit being so politically correct. Anyone spending any time in a big city or having to drive through certain areas of town know exactly what he meant. It is descriptive. The only issue is whether or not the exterior is flocked in velvet or not. There is one in Minneapolis and it happens to be a caddy and the driver wears a big white panama hat. Whether or not thats insensitive, racist, or inflamatory or not is subjective but its the truth never the less. At my school we were taught to seek truth and fact regardless of the consequences, and that is the beginning of wisdom.
On the second point, how many Noahs can there be at the Marshall Space Flight Center? So seems to me he is wide open for disciplinary action up to and including dismissal for the theft or misuse of government property. Gotta agree with that. That possibly is not his real name though but deserves what he gets if he was stupid enough to use his real name while confessing to a felony nation-wide.
On the other hand, these are all old shows so Noah is probably retired or dead by now or moved on to a new employer, plus the statute of limitations would make prosecution pretty hard.
“On the other hand, these are all old shows so Noah is probably retired or dead by now or moved on to a new employer, plus the statute of limitations would make prosecution pretty hard.”
+1
I hope that the OP, who is allowing himself to become very exorcised over this radio segment, realizes that what he heard could have dated back as many as…perhaps…17 years. This is not “real time” radio, and what you are listening to could be…VERY old as a result of “archiving” and the reality that no new programs have been recorded for at least a year.
If anyone has a chance to visit Marshall Space Flight Center it is well worth it. Noah sounds like an educated idiot. I doubt that he is an Alabama native. I have encountered overt racism in the rest of our country and none that I recall in the South. Ghetto-ized may or may not be a term that would get him in trouble but could be used as evidence if a more serious charge of racism/discrimination occurred. Theft of Government property can result in termination on the first offense for a U.S. Government Civil Service employee.
I had no idea the show wasn’t contemporaneous. How do you know that? Why aren’t they creating/airing current shows? Is Car Talk no longer in production?
Regarding sgtrock21’s comments - that’s right on target. Noah’s comments can certainly be used to establish his propensity for racial discrimination as well as his admitted theft of government materials. It would be interesting to know if he was taken to task by MSFC.
In sum total, Noah’s comments were pretty stupid for such an apparently book-smart guy.
“I had no idea the show wasn’t contemporaneous. How do you know that? Why aren’t they creating/airing current shows? Is Car Talk no longer in production?”
‘Starting in October, “Car Talk” producers will assemble shows using the more than 1,200 programs the brothers have recorded for NPR since 1987. “For a couple years at least, we’re not going to see a lot of difference in how the show performs,” said Eric Nuzum, vice president for NPR programming in Washington, D.C., adding that NPR did tests asking listeners to compare new “Car Talk” shows with ones crafted from old material. "The answer we got is it doesn’t matter when it was recorded. Funny is funny.’
And here’s a link to T&R’s retirement announcement on the web site:
But it is confusing, if you click on “Our Show” at the top of the page it has lots of information on how to call in. Looks like that part needs to be updated, @cdaquila ?
For me this call was worthwhile. I learned something from listening about Noah’s heat related carb-stove-pipe problem. I think it was a good call to air. Who cares if Noah’s work buddy bent the new tube into the correct shape for him? I have a similar problem with my early 70’s Ford truck. The tube has rusted loose from where it mates to the exhaust manifold. I have a Mickey Mouse fix in place until I g get the part from NAPA to fix it correctly. Fortunately I still have the asbestos tube covering. That was what Noah was missing. Interesting, but there isn’t a word in my Chilton’s or Haynes manual about even the existence of this pipe, but it’s there all right.