Calm down. Free speech is alive and well.

A conservative friend had a post Facebook that made me think ... after it made me slightly annoyed. "Gee. Juan Williams gets canned from NPR. So much for free speech."

Looks to me as if free speech is alive and well. You see, Mr. Williams landed a $2-million-a-year job on Fox News not 24 hours after his firing from NPR. (Don't know what his radio salary was, but I'm guessing it somewhat south of that.)

Second, my friend (and many, many others) shared his opinion. He was tamer than many.

Third, I am sharing mine.

Fourth, I can still listen to NPR, or Fox, or buy The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal (which I do), any time I want. And they can print and air what ever they want.

Only the government can deny free speech. If the government moves to shut down Fox News, even I will howl. Were that to happen, my true liberal colleagues will join me in protest, I am sure. I love the First Amendment, and I believe it even stops the government from squelching speech that I find reprehensible. (The KKK and the pastor whose flock taunted a soldier's funeral come immediately to mind.)

But I also know that individuals and businesses have a right to hire people, pay them, and terminate their employment. That's not violating anyone's rights to speech, and Fox News knows that very well. (I suspect my conservative pal does, too.)

Truth is, I think NPR blew it here; they really overreacted. The better option was to give Mr. Williams a suspension without pay, then let him quit in a huff and snag the $2M job anyway.

But HR blunders (even very public ones, like this) aren't exactly the demise of free speech.