NPR received a bomb threat in the mail today, prompting the news organization to take extra security precautions and "generally [be] more vigilant." Was it related to the termination of commentator Juan Williams? Or just a pledge drive gone wrong?

Remember when "NPR" was a code word for "inoffensive and lame"? As in, "Oh, you like [THAT BAND]? They're sort of... NPR rock, aren't they?" Then it—NPR, not the band—fired commentator Juan Williams, in, let's face it, a stupid and unprofessional way, and even though it had every right to fire him, and he was an awful commentator, and really, who gives a shit, NPR became Public Enemy No. 1 for the Fox News School of the First Amendment, which holds that "The right to be maintain an expensive radio contract and also be bigoted shall not be infringed or denied, especially if it's bigotry against Muslims."

So, naturally, when a letter arrived at NPR via U.S. mail today (how's that for government services!), it is maybe not a huge leap of faith to imagine that it has to do with the Juan Williams imbroglio. And, yes, NPR employees seem to think the two are related:

The letter didn't reference the Williams firing specifically, but people at NPR, who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity, said the timing and tone suggested it was sent after Williams's widely publicized termination....

NPR warned its employees Monday about a general "security threat" in a staff memo, but did not spell out the nature of the threat. The radio and digital news organization is headquartered in its own building in downtown Washington.

Of course, they work for NPR, so you can't trust them! But really, whether or not this is about Juan Williams—nutbars out there, please, listen to me: Don't blow up NPR! I know public radio seems scary and socialist and so forth, and, yes, Garrison Keillor is awful, but, I promise you, it's the best thing to listen to on long car trips, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is kind of funny sometimes, especially when Roy Blount is on, and Radio Lab is great—seriously, listen to the one about parasites—so, really, please, leave NPR and its member stations alone.

[WaPo]