J A N E !!!

they’ll have to make fools of themselves somewhere else.

Watch out Rush, it might be contagious. ( I hope)

They’ll doubtlessly continue their lifelong quest to defend women from rap music.

Breaking NBC…

Imus canceled on MSNBC. MSNBC will no longer similcast his show

Tucker Carlson Ace reporter for a large metropolitan newspaper . Or cub I forget

MSNBC must have decided the increased revenues weren’t worth the very real chance he’d make similar comments quickly following his two-week “suspension”.

-S

wow ! come home from work to a Jane and a zed !

how ya doin’ lina ?

Watching Fineman backtrack right now. Very interesting.

Oh Tom Oliphant, “solidarity forever” with Imus, I am so ashamed of you. I enjoyed reading you since your days at the Boston Globe, and always looked forward to your weekly appearances on Al Franken’s AAR show. How are the mighty self-besmirched.

It’s time for Imus and his merry band of racists to take retirement. Good riddance.

I had hoped that Cassie was here as I’m going to be out this evening, but…

I want to again sincerely apologize to Cassie and to the readers of FDL for my despicable comments last night. They were uncalled for and will not recur.

Cassie, I hope you have a long and enjoyable residency here at the Lake, and don’t let crabby old men like me ever get you down.

Regards to all, Balrog

Good news. Is Beck next?

Goodbye, Imus be going.

I for one am sorry. He’s not a bad guy. It’s not what he said, it’s who he said it about. He never should have picked on a bunch of college girls who just almost won the national championship. He’s been doing this schtick for years and everyone knows it and the people who don’t like him don’t listen to him. I believe his apology was sincere. We’re starting to spend more time on this non-starter than Anna Nicole Smith. Imus said something offensive? get out. Next, Orrin Hatch will get his facts all fucked up. Imus got along for uyears without msnbc, he can get along without them now.

Bustednuckles @ 3

Watch out Rush, it might be contagious. ( I hope)

nah, Rush has his niche market. his advertisers thrive on wingnuttia.

msnbc, OTOH, has to appeal to a different audience to keep their advertisers happy.
They tried to have it both ways with Imus, but it was bound to end eventually.

Strategerie @
7

MSNBC must have decided the increased revenues weren’t worth the very real chance he’d make similar comments quickly following his two-week “suspension”.

-S

Obama = death knell

only a matter of time

Dover Bitch @ 4

They’ll doubtlessly continue their lifelong quest to defend women from rap music.

is that like OJ looking for the real killer?

beerfart liberal @ 15

He’s not a bad guy.

I beg to differ.

And please get a new username.

Sponsors like GM and Proctor & Gamble kicked up a fuss. This translates affects MSNBC’s bottomline. Obviously, therefore there was nothing else to do but drop Imus as a matter of “principle”.

Yes, for Tom Oliphant to say “solidarity forever” in the face of blatantly racist remarks is inexcusable. Is getting on the tv that much of a head rush for these freaks?

Good. He was a complete jerk!

It’s the bottomline. His advertisers’ were dropping him like crazy. No money, no showee. Money talks and BS walks and Imus was all BS. I wonder how many more cliches I can throw up here. :})

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Do you think the repub candidates will still go on the radio part of his show?

Hugh @ 20

Sponsors like GM and Proctor & Gamble kicked up a fuss. This translates affects MSNBC’s bottomline. Obviously, therefore there was nothing else to do but drop Imus as a matter of “principle”.

Today it was GM, AmEx, TD Ameritrade and a few others.

Balrog @
12

I had hoped that Cassie was here as I’m going to be out this evening, but…

I want to again sincerely apologize to Cassie and to the readers of FDL for my despicable comments last night. They were uncalled for and will not recur.

Cassie, I hope you have a long and enjoyable residency here at the Lake, and don’t let crabby old men like me ever get you down.

Regards to all, Balrog

Very nice! Does this mean Gandolf is still Gray?

lina @ 18

Dover Bitch @ 4

They’ll doubtlessly continue their lifelong quest to defend women from rap music.

is that like OJ looking for the real killer?

More or less. Anybody talking about rap music this week shouldn’t be an Imus defender. If you are upset by rap lyrics, you should be exponentially more upset by those words coming from the mouth of a person who chats with America’s most powerful leaders on a daily basis.

It’s shameful the way some people I have respected in the past have been reaching for excuses for this bum.

Eureka Springs @ 27

Balrog @
12

I had hoped that Cassie was here as I’m going to be out this evening, but…

I want to again sincerely apologize to Cassie and to the readers of FDL for my despicable comments last night. They were uncalled for and will not recur.

Cassie, I hope you have a long and enjoyable residency here at the Lake, and don’t let crabby old men like me ever get you down.

Regards to all, Balrog

Very nice! Does this mean Gandolf is still Gray?

Thanks for sharing that. Someone else emailed me his apology too.

SnarKassandra (who was Cassie) @ 25

Do you think the repub candidates will still go on the radio part of his show?

Dodd was on his show. Seems like I remember he announced on Imus, though not sure of that so plz correct me if I’m wrong–hope I am.

We need to be on the lookout for the next cozy salon of the high-and-mighty, because one will emerge.

Personally, I hope David Schuster gets a morning show on MSNBC.

eCAHNomics @ 24

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Atrios posted a couple of comments on that. His answer, IIRC is BOTH, but separate. If we want to talk about rap music, fine; but that didn’t excuse Imus.

There are, many more Imus types to deal with. A lot of people will do almost anything for money and fame, etc.

So Staples was one of the cancelled sponsors…doesn’t Mitt Romney own Staples?

NOw if we can only get somebody to give this treatment to Limpballs.

beerfart liberal @ 15

I for one am sorry. He’s not a bad guy. It’s not what he said, it’s who he said it about.

No, he should be fired for what he said, especially given his past remarks. Also, he tolerates hate speech toward women and blacks from his producer. The man will be off the air completely, and thank goodness.

What took the FCC so long?

If Janet Jackson’s breast is an indecency fine, then so is “nappy headed ho’s”

good. what imus did was reprehensible, and i already notice many conservatives are emulating his rhetoric, using it when they discuss the duke university lacrosse team case.

i was louisianagirl, but now i am pointecoupeedemocrat, and i will remain pcd.

I think this a very, very good thing (a long time coming to be sure!), and the community discussion of the impact of racial and sexist comments is definitely good (also a long time coming!!). But I wonder – shouldn’t something happen, along these lines, with regard to the other even bigger hate speakers on the radio and TV – like Limbaugh, Savage, Beck, O’Reilly, Hannity, just to mention a few. These people fuel more hatred than Imus, though I consider him in the same category of hate-monger.

eCAHNomics @ 24

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Imus made it personal to the basketball team. That’s one of the differences anyway

Yeeee-haaa! Buh-Byemus!

eCAHNomics @ 24

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Peripheral issue as they were using rap to excuse Imus and his cohorts. Rap goes after the generic woman while Imus was quite specific in his statement on Gwen Ifill and the Rutgers b-Ball players. He was also quite misogynistc in his statements about the TN players as well, just not as racist.

Many of the Black community are trying to take on rap and get them to cut with the misogynistic noise but it will be a long battle.

Hugh @ 20

Sponsors like GM and Proctor & Gamble kicked up a fuss. This translates affects MSNBC’s bottomline. Obviously, therefore there was nothing else to do but drop Imus as a matter of “principle”.

The principle being less income for MSNBC, right?

Cozumel @ 40

eCAHNomics @ 24

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Imus made it personal to the basketball team. That’s one of the difference anyway

I play basketball and run cross country and I would love if the newspaper or the radio cared about girls’ teams.

My letter to the President of Rutgers yesterday:
_______

Sir -

I could not be more appalled or outraged by Mr. Imus’s ugly racist remarks. This man should be fired. A two-week slap on the wrist / hide-out / blow-over hiatus is insultingly insufficient and should not be accepted.

His “defenders” lamely [1] indulge in the banal and tiresome “tu quoque” apology, i.e.,” others do it too,” including blacks — who call each other “niggah” on the basketball court (I’m an old white guy who plays a ton of pickup, during which I routinely find myself in the minority experience) and elsewhere (just watch any episode of HBO’s “The Wire”) and who rap about their “bitches” and “hos” etc on those cheesy bling-bling gangsta rap BET music videos. Then there’s also this annoying implicit ad hominem against his high-profile detractors such as Al Sharpton.

Right. Kill the Messenger. As my black compadres would say at the gym, “don’t bring that weak shit into my house.”

[2] They also point to Imus’s ostensibly redeemingly altruistic “good works,” regarding which I say:

I’m a nobody in terms of celebrity, but proportionally, I’ll put my charitable good works up against his any day.

Notwithstanding my personal ongoing commitment to community service and altruistic acts — none of them would suffice to yield me a “go forth after two weeks and sin no more” suspension from my job were I to utter such remarks openly at work — even were I working in Corporate at CBS or NBC or for whomever cuts Mr. Imus’s checks. I’d be fired on the spot.

I watched the Rutgers Womens’ team fight valiantly this season, and cheered them on. I wrote the coach of my admiration for her and the team and their fine achievement. Ironically, I’m a Tennessee graduate, and long time fan of the Lady Vols, so it was very conflicting to watch the title game.

There are other salient personal elements feeding my outrage:

My daughter is also a Tennessee graduate (with a subsequent Master’s in Religion from Meadeville Seminary / U. of Chicago). Her name is Danielle. She is a mixed race child I adopted at birth, so I have a lot of personal interest and indignation with respect to this sordid Imus episode. Danielle is now the Executive Director of First Tee of Southern Nevada. Her son, my glorious grandson just turned 13 and has recently been ranked 53rd in the nation in USTA boys tennis. I could not be more proud of them.

(Keep an eye on him. Honor student, perfect gentleman. Gonna have a Full Ride somewhere.)

Danielle, age 4, with her late elder sister.

The fanning of racial animosities by the likes of Imus make me ill. I’ve lived too close to its enervating effects.

I grew up just a few miles from you, in Somerville, NJ (Somerville HS, 1964), used to do term paper research in your library. While I was a middle class suburban white kid, I was racially sensitized early on. I played football for SHS, and we broke the color barrier by having the first black NJ high school quarterback of the era — Bill Dorsey. It was highly controversial back then. To everyone not on our team.

[3] A final evasive Imus apology echoes from the reaction of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who blew off doing anything on the grounds that, in essence, “the market will take care of it.”

Well, there’s also a huge and intractable market for child porn, Mr. Powell.

To the women of Rutgers basketball, I just say — feel your utterly rightful pain, but use it to become even stronger and magnanimous. You will all contribute much more value to this world than the likes of rhetorical sewage merchants such Don Imus and the rest of his Hate Radio cohort.

I swear, I need to double my lisinopril dose today, if I think about this too long.

Imus should do the right thing and resign. Absent that, he should be fired. I’m gonna be a broken record on that point to his employer and sponsors, unless Coach and your team tell me otherwise.

Bobby Gladd
______

Seems like Imus is goin’ down, in light of breaking developments. A CBS Director just called for his ouster.

Justice.
.

I thought it was apples and oranges.

There weren’t any politicians appearing on Snoop Doggs show to promote their agendas or books.

The would be like Imus exposing himself and then pointing to Ron Jeremey and saying ‘Look at what he does’.

-GSD

P.S. Oliphant, Craig Crawford and Howie Fineman all showed themselves to be wink/nod good old boys.

Dover Bitch @ 4

right on !

ok kidz, I don’t get the Obama = death knell – not only am I one of the slower folks, I just got here so was it something I missed in an earlier thread ?

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

Earl Scheib @ 36

beerfart liberal @ 15

I for one am sorry. He’s not a bad guy. It’s not what he said, it’s who he said it about.

No, he should be fired for what he said, especially given his past remarks. Also, he tolerates hate speech toward women and blacks from his producer. The man will be off the air completely, and thank goodness.

It’s what you do, not who you are. That’s why I was so upset that the Rutger’s team was the target. When I saw their news conference yesterday, I had a catch in my throat the whole time. People with their records should NEVER experience what Imus said.

cbl @ 46

Dover Bitch @ 4

right on !

ok kidz, I don’t get the Obama = death knell – not only am I one of the slower folks, I just got here so was it something I missed in an earlier thread ?

Obama finally came out and condemned Imus rather than playing the wishy-washy he did earlier.

GSD @ 45

I thought it was apples and oranges.

There weren’t any politicians appearing on Snoop Doggs show to promote their agendas or books.

The would be like Imus exposing himself and then pointing to Ron Jeremey and saying ‘Look at what he does’.

-GSD

P.S. Oliphant, Craig Crawford and Howie Fineman all showed themselves to be wink/nod good old boys.

Exactly. And in the same breath, while talking about rap, they excused Imus because you have to look at the “context.” Ridiculous.

Balrog @
12

I had hoped that Cassie was here as I’m going to be out this evening, but…

I want to again sincerely apologize to Cassie and to the readers of FDL for my despicable comments last night. They were uncalled for and will not recur.

Cassie, I hope you have a long and enjoyable residency here at the Lake, and don’t let crabby old men like me ever get you down.

Regards to all, Balrog

I’ll let her know, but you gotta kiss up on your own later!

Can we say now that “we liberals police our own” and ask that the wingnuts do a better job on their side?

Since Imus is a liberal and all…. (*g*)

I’m glad on yet another level. Imus is a strong supporter of the ever dismal Lieberman. Did Joey rush to his defense?

Imus restless as a willow in a windstorm…
Imus jumpy as a puppet on a string…

Oh wait, he got blown away! :)

Imus was a liberal? It must be confusing being a neocon supporter and having to change your beliefs three times a day. It’s getting interesting around here…

Loo Hoo @ 52

Balrog @
12

I had hoped that Cassie was here as I’m going to be out this evening, but…

I want to again sincerely apologize to Cassie and to the readers of FDL for my despicable comments last night. They were uncalled for and will not recur.

Cassie, I hope you have a long and enjoyable residency here at the Lake, and don’t let crabby old men like me ever get you down.

Regards to all, Balrog

I’ll let her know, but you gotta kiss up on your own later!

I am here.

The next most egregious offenders–actually much worse than Imus are Michael Weiner-Savage, Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. In that order.

-GSD

Earl Scheib @
11

It’s time for Imus and his merry band of racists to take retirement. Good riddance.

Got cars?

lina @ 16

Bustednuckles @ 3

Watch out Rush, it might be contagious. ( I hope)

nah, Rush has his niche market. his advertisers thrive on wingnuttia.

msnbc, OTOH, has to appeal to a different audience to keep their advertisers happy.
They tried to have it both ways with Imus, but it was bound to end eventually.

So Rush gets a pass because the sick and disabled people he makes fun of don’t have as loud of a voice as Imus’ critics. Sounds like a letter writing campaign to his advertisers would be a good idea.

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

I’m sure Joe Lieberman will come to his rescue!

You know -I hate to add insult to injury – OK what the hell – I want to know what’s gonna happen to Bernard McGurk, Imus’s producer. He’s actually worse than Imus. And was on the air contributing to and instigating this incident.

This week Ann Coulter wrote a column about the dreadfully slow pace of the Darfur genocide.

‘Is FEMA in charge of the genocide?’

But it’s OK if you are Ann Coulter.

-GSD

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Cozumel @ 40
dakine01 @ 42
Yes, there is a big difference between the personal, directed insult & the generic.

However, I thought that bringing up rap lyrics might have been a silver lining to the whole disgusting affair. Imus did personalize the insult, but don’t targeted listeners of rap music feel the sting, even if they aren’t named? I’ve been disturbed by rap ever since day one. Think it represents a very rotten society, and wish the community had taken it on sooner.

He’d still be there if the advertisers hadn’t pulled out.

Lesson here?

thank you dakine01 !

Hugh @
20

Sponsors like GM and Proctor & Gamble kicked up a fuss. This translates affects MSNBC’s bottomline. Obviously, therefore there was nothing else to do but drop Imus as a matter of “principle”.

Hugh, don’t you think they’re going to lose a lot more than their sponsor bottom line when the girls’ attorneys get finished with them?

Gee…interesting. Lots of pundits applauding MSNBC…guess they want the time slot. Don’t ever turn you back in that industry. Unfortunately not much difference in language than what you hear on MTV and radio nowadays…except the color of the speaker. I don’t like what Imus said…but folks in glass houses are throwing a lot of rocks.

I guess my reposting here of my letter to the Rutgers President yesterday got censored. Whatever.

dakine01 @ 65

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Maybe this way we can get fairness back and get rid of all the hate speech on radio.

jayt @ 66

He’d still be there if the advertisers hadn’t pulled out.

Lesson here?

Been thinking the same thing.

Bustednuckles @ 3

Watch out Rush, it might be contagious. ( I hope)

We can only wish.
Imus goes, but the warmongers stay.

Badwater @ 61

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

AutoZone
Bose Wave Radio
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Citracal)
General Steel Metal Buildings
Hotwire Discount Travel
Lending Tree
Life Quotes
Select Comfort
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Thera-gesic)
Overstock.com

http://www.rushlimbaughonline.com/advertisers.htm

If CBS cans Imus today or tomorrow- will be interesting to see if he keeps his date with the basketball team. My guess is he’ll crab out.

Cozumel @ 74

Badwater @ 61

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

AutoZone
Bose Wave Radio
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Citracal)
General Steel Metal Buildings
Hotwire Discount Travel
Lending Tree
Life Quotes
Select Comfort
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Thera-gesic)
Overstock.com

http://www.rushlimbaughonline.com/advertisers.htm

We already don’t use any of that!

Bobby G,
refresh your screen, I read it.
Good piece.

Roger @ 48

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

Imus will reemerge on AM radio and continue his act. The problem arose because he tried to do his thing in mainstream media.

Badwater @ 60

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

Must be Pharma companies. [I wouldn’t actually know since I would never tuene into his show.]

eCAHNomics @ 66

Cozumel @ 40
dakine01 @ 42
Yes, there is a big difference between the personal, directed insult & the generic.

However, I thought that bringing up rap lyrics might have been a silver lining to the whole disgusting affair. Imus did personalize the insult, but don’t targeted listeners of rap music feel the sting, even if they aren’t named? I’ve been disturbed by rap ever since day one. Think it represents a very rotten society, and wish the community had taken it on sooner.

I couldn’t agree more

eCAHNomics @ 65

Cozumel @ 40
dakine01 @ 42
Yes, there is a big difference between the personal, directed insult & the generic.

However, I thought that bringing up rap lyrics might have been a silver lining to the whole disgusting affair. Imus did personalize the insult, but don’t targeted listeners of rap music feel the sting, even if they aren’t named? I’ve been disturbed by rap ever since day one. Think it represents a very rotten society, and wish the community had taken it on sooner.

It may give a little more credence to the members of the black communtiy who have been trying to raise the issue. That is if the corporate owned media don’t get distracted by another missing white woman.

It is also worthy of note that his “firing” occurred exactly when Gates announced that all troops in Iraq’s tours will be extended. It’s all Imus, all the time.

I’m a big “free speech” guy. That means I tend to support everyone’s Constitutional right to say whatever the hell they want, as long as it’s not overtly dangerous. Freedom of speech means we have an obligation to defend the rights of those who use unpopular speech, even idiots like Imus.

But, there’s a distinct difference between the right of someone like Imus to spew his hateful rhetoric, and the right of a corporate employer of his to decide whether his brand of speech does or doesn’t fit with their standards.

So firing someone for saying something ugly and hateful is and should always remain an option, but Imus’ right to say whatever he wants is still protected. The I-man can host a webcast, write a blog, or stand on a street corner and blather on endlessly with his stupid jokes. That’s protected speech.

I think the FCC should stay out of this mess. Until the FCC codifies exactly what you can and can’t say on the air, they shouldn’t have so much unchecked power to regulate the “tone” and “intent” of what people can say on the public airwaves.

Regarding the Imus situation, I hope Chris Dodd gets his head out of his butt soon; I’m trying to support the guy, I really am, but he’s making it so difficult!

Bustednuckles @
77

Bobby G,
refresh your screen, I read it.
Good piece.

Duh. I did hit ‘refresh’ multiple times. Thought maybe I’d used unacceptable words.

I’m not making an apology for anyone and certainly not for Imus and what he said.

What bugs me here is that, this and other episodes of stupid thoughtless shock jock hate speech, I’ve always thought of Imus as a “Good Guy” and a smart guy. That’s why so many people wanted to appear on his show — his likeability quotient and huge audience. His good works and otherwise good anti-war stance distinguishes him from stupid hate-mongers like Glenn Beck, Coulter and so many others who don’t suffer the consequences meted out to Imus for their speech.

SnarKassandra (who was Cassie) @ 76

Cozumel @ 74

Badwater @ 61

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

AutoZone
Bose Wave Radio
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Citracal)
General Steel Metal Buildings
Hotwire Discount Travel
Lending Tree
Life Quotes
Select Comfort
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Thera-gesic)
Overstock.com

http://www.rushlimbaughonline.com/advertisers.htm

We already don’t use any of that!

It’s not on that list but you can add Zicam also ; )

In all seriousness, a simple question – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve found his behavior atrocious for years.

But why all the furor over him? Why have more repugnant characters like Beck always gotten a pass?

If Beck doesn’t change his ways will the same thing happen to him?

Just a little thought exercise.

BobbyG @ 71

I guess my reposting here of my letter to the Rutgers President yesterday got censored. Whatever.

It’s up there@45

lina @
78

Roger @ 48

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

Imus will reemerge on AM radio and continue his act. The problem arose because he tried to do his thing in mainstream media.

He’s been on AM radio all along IIRC. I think WFAN is AM anyway.

rwcole @ 74

If CBS cans Imus today or tomorrow- will be interesting to see if he keeps his date with the basketball team. My guess is he’ll crab out.

Actually the thing I found most shocking, which I learned from the Rutgers presser, is that Imus hadn’t apologized to them personally. He was all over the air waves, but never thought to call them. Guess that says it all.

One other note…for immediate content replay Countdown in the morning…that will wake up a few more folks I would think…grin

Let’s credit MediaMatters for having focused the spotlight. Ari Fleischer was right—people should watch what they say, because the whole world can now listen in.

BobbyG @
84

Bustednuckles @
77

Bobby G,
refresh your screen, I read it.
Good piece.

Duh. I did hit ‘refresh’ multiple times. Thought maybe I’d used unacceptable words.

Not just refresh comments but the actual browser refresh button.

Loo Hoo @ 69

Hugh, don’t you think they’re going to lose a lot more than their sponsor bottom line when the girls’ attorneys get finished with them?

I am not sure that anyone has threatened to sue although this was a very gratuitous and public injury. Limiting their exposure could be part of their calculation. MSNBC is, however, third in line after Imus himself and CBS.

rwcole @ 75

If CBS cans Imus today or tomorrow- will be interesting to see if he keeps his date with the basketball team. My guess is he’ll crab out.

Oh I think he’ll show. Imus, especially given what he does for a living, is the most skin-thinned person in the world. He cares about what people think. And he really does think he’s a good guy, all evidence to the contrary.

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

Hiflyer @ 90

One other note…for immediate content replay Countdown in the morning…that will wake up a few more folks I would think…grin

They were doing that for awhile to fill in for something.

Kevin @ 88

If Beck doesn’t change his ways will the same thing happen to him?

With any luck, it will. That would be a day to celebrate.

When people complain and call for a firing of someone for their viewpoints, it is not censorship.

When companies bail out on a controversial figure and no longer want to advertise with them, that is not censorship.

When the FCC starts to decide who can say what, that’s censorship.

-GSD

He should meet with the Rutger basketball team,apologize, and donate a million dollar womens basketball scholarship.

starting when ???

will they meet their commitment for the telethon as promised ???

and talk about your stones, Bo ‘Kill All The Ragheads’ Dietl is now on the air defending him

marksb @ 96

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

Who could have imagined?

-GSD

TeddySanFran @
31

Personally, I hope David Schuster gets a morning show on MSNBC.

Amen to that suggestion. For my money, Schuster is the best journalist on TV (maybe on any media outlet).

MSNBC-Official apology coming up. Coach now.

Good riddance,for sure!
I gave up even trying to watch him after his insulting, crude and offensive remarks about Jill Carol and her abduction in Iraq.
Maybe he can find a home and audience on Sirrius…it’s the American way.

Thanks
A little letter goin’ out to Overstock.com this evening
Cozumel @
74

Badwater @ 61

It’s curious that Druggy Limbaugh can keep his advertisers, given his interesting set of extracurricular activities and on-air hyperbolic comments. Who are his advertisers anyway?

AutoZone
Bose Wave Radio
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Citracal)
General Steel Metal Buildings
Hotwire Discount Travel
Lending Tree
Life Quotes
Select Comfort
Mission Pharmacal
(makers of Thera-gesic)
Overstock.com

http://www.rushlimbaughonline.com/advertisers.htm

Veritas78 @ 93

Let’s credit MediaMatters for having focused the spotlight. Ari Fleischer was right—people should watch what they say, because the whole world can now listen in.

One reason it’s good to have mods–now that I have some idea how they work. Thanks.

We are not immune, ya know. And the whole USA scandal might still be under wraps if it weren’t for ecommunication.

GSD @ 102

marksb @ 96

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

Who could have imagined?

-GSD

Well we now have the first contender for this years “Rosemary Woods” award!

BobbyG @ 71

I guess my reposting here of my letter to the Rutgers President yesterday got censored. Whatever.

No, I read it. Good job, and congrats on your daughter!

marksb @ 96

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

This is a little like a bank robber saying he mishandled his gun resulting in an unforeseen withdrawal of cash.

itwasntme @ 35

NOw if we can only get somebody to give this treatment to Limpballs.

I can picture it:

Liberal radio personality Rush Limbaugh has been taken off the air…

marksb @ 96

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

Can this be obstruction of justice anyway? What type of evidence is needed? Let’s say we can find incriminating email at the receiver’s site; can the assumption be made that they purged them on purpose?

mr. npb walked in and caught me doing the Snoopy dance with our pooches and said in his ironic tone:

“I see you already heard the news Imus was dumped from MSNBC” provoking laughter and joining in our happy little family dance.

Spring has finally sprung and Life is good!

woo hoo!

I’m all for keeping up the pressure on all the other demogogic media whores online and on air. These boys have truly been in the sandbox too long. heh heh…

and an off-topic thanks too to whoever provided the linky in a recent comment today to the older Capitol Hill Blue post with the transcript of Bush’s vulgar tantrum justifying his power over the US Constitution. I had missed that and have forwarded it to a hoard of email pals.

TSF, you horn dog.

Divide and conquer.

Nervy people, I’ll give ‘em that.

Stanzel said some e-mails have been lost because the White House lacked clear policies on complying with Presidential Records Act requirements.

Before 2004, for instance, e-mails to and from the accounts were typically automatically deleted every 30 days along with all other RNC e-mails. Even though that was changed in 2004, so that the White House staffers with those accounts were excluded from the RNC’s automatic deletion policy, some of their e-mails were lost anyway when individual aides deleted their own files, Stanzel said.

He could not say what had been lost, and said the White House is working to recover as many as they can. The White House has now shut off employees’ ability to delete e-mails on the separate accounts, and is briefing staffers on how to better make determinations about when _ and when not _ to use them, Stanzel said.

The disclosure could complicate a standoff between the White House and congressional Democrats over the fired prosecutors.

The White House had promised to look through its staffers’ e-mails for anything relevant to the prosecutors’ dismissal. No matter the domain name, it said it would provide documents to the Senate and House Judiciary committees as long as they are not internal communications, but exchanges with people outside the White House.

But the White House also had insisted that this offer of documents be accepted, all-or-nothing, along with its insistence that aides would talk to Congress about the firings, but not under oath. So far, Democrats have refused.

Oooh…this was worth the trip to the library to mooch high speed WiFi!!

Now, if only FCC licensure evaluation for every CBS-controlled broadcast outlet came to pass as I suggested hopefully in an FDL thread earlier this week…

“Mishandled” as in”OH SHIT!”
Too late idiots.
Thank you ,Mr. Conyers.

MarkSB 115,

They need to subpoena any emails in the servers of Smartech in Chatanooga, ASAP. If they are gone, they are complicit. Layers of Lies.

Gregory on Hardball replay talking about suspension with Vivian Stringer. NBC News President supposed to be coming up.

GSD @ 46

I thought it was apples and oranges.

There weren’t any politicians appearing on Snoop Doggs show to promote their agendas or books.

The would be like Imus exposing himself and then pointing to Ron Jeremey and saying ‘Look at what he does’.

-GSD

P.S. Oliphant, Craig Crawford and Howie Fineman all showed themselves to be wink/nod good old boys.

When I was a mere college freshman an eon ago we called them GOBS – good ole boys – and still do though it isn’t near icky enough to describe Imus.

FYI, Howie is upstairs with a new Blue thread

Helen @ 112

Can this be obstruction of justice anyway? What type of evidence is needed? Let’s say we can find incriminating email at the receiver’s site; can the assumption be made that they purged them on purpose?

If they admit they were conducting official government business on RNC servers, that is an admission that they already have broken the law: The Presidential Records Act.

MarkSB, Hugh & GSD

linked last night

The RNC’s policy, Stanzel said, is to delete e-mails every 30 days, except for the e-mails of White House aides “who use the political e-mail accounts the RNC has provided them.” David Almacy, White House Internet and e-communications director, told Computerworld in March that the RNC’s archive exception for White House e-mails began in 2004

linky

well nice try – they have already publicly stated they were “in the process of responding” to the committee

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 73 > 1505

1505. Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees

Whoever, with intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance, in whole or in part, with any civil investigative demand duly and properly made under the Antitrust Civil Process Act, willfully withholds, misrepresents, removes from any place, conceals, covers up, destroys, mutilates, alters, or by other means falsifies any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony, which is the subject of such demand; or attempts to do so or solicits another to do so; or
Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress—
Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both

Helen @ 111

Can this be obstruction of justice anyway? What type of evidence is needed? Let’s say we can find incriminating email at the receiver’s site; can the assumption be made that they purged them on purpose?

I think (with my completely non-legal mind) all you’d have to do is find one message that breaks the law and has been deleted, at least to get a running start at obstruction. I wanna know who’s got the backup files/tapes/disks at both the WH and RNC (rubs hands together gleefully.)

whois gwb43.com
gwb43.com
ns a.ns.trespassers-w.net 209.61.172.168(US)

ns ns1.cha.smartechcorp.net 64.203.96.130(US)

mx mailscan1.smartechcorp.net 64.203.97.101(US) (220 mailscan1.smartechcorp.net ESMTP Postfix Smartech
will no longer accept email from IP addresses which have no reverse-DNS (PTR record) assigned)

mx mailscan2.smartechcorp.net 64.203.98.245(US) (220 mailscan2.smartechcorp.net ESMTP Postfix Smartech
will no longer accept email from IP addresses which have no reverse-DNS (PTR record) assigned)

Helen @
113

marksb @ 96

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

Can this be obstruction of justice anyway? What type of evidence is needed? Let’s say we can find incriminating email at the receiver’s site; can the assumption be made that they purged them on purpose?

Oh, I think they’re around somewhere. Probably in many different places. All that’s needed is high-tech data-miner to find them. Shouldn’t be too tough, really.

LS @ 120

MarkSB 115,

They need to subpoena any emails in the servers of Smartech in Chatanooga, ASAP. If they are gone, they are complicit. Layers of Lies.

And relevant House & Senate committees must hire some technogenius who just loves to recreate deleted eitems.

Hugh @ 122

If they admit they were conducting official government business on RNC servers, that is an admission that they already have broken the law: The Presidential Records Act.

Clinton did it first, didn’t you read the script?

David Gregory is an a** as a show host.

And relevant House & Senate committees must hire some technogenius who just loves to recreate deleted eitems.

maybe they could use the hired gun from Ernst & Young who went through Ms. Lewinsky’s hard drive
(former air force spook/geek)

marksb @ 125

Helen @ 111

Can this be obstruction of justice anyway? What type of evidence is needed? Let’s say we can find incriminating email at the receiver’s site; can the assumption be made that they purged them on purpose?

I think (with my completely non-legal mind) all you’d have to do is find one message that breaks the law and has been deleted, at least to get a running start at obstruction. I wanna know who’s got the backup files/tapes/disks at both the WH and RNC (rubs hands together gleefully.)

And the wingnuts will go crazy. They had nine people contradicting what Libby said and they still did not or would not get it.

Interesting discussion about Imus- some saying that he’s not a bad guy—possibly true- the world is not neatly divided into “good guys” and “bad guys” and lots of good guys do bad things and visa versa–the neeed to DEMONIZE anyone who does something wrong is a piece of human psychology that is very interesting- it’s a way for individuals to distance themselves from the possibility of evil.

Oh, by the way, in case any consumers were offended by the Imus program aired on publicly-owned airwaves: here’s the information for submitting a complaint to the FCC.

Enjoy!

Fuck Stanzel!
“Entirely appropriate” my ass. Liar.
Appropriate implies that appropriate measures were taken to comply with the Pres Records Act. Appropriate means appropriate steps were taken to retain the email.
Susan Ralston’s little ‘SAFE’ email account proves the system was being used in an inappropriate way.

Gregory doesn’t have the host role down well yet- he’s uncomfortable and stiff- not a good interviewer- etc. He’ll learn if he gets a chance- he seems to have the talent.

http://www.smartechcorp.net/in…..&id=68

Read through this.

As to the deleted e-mails:

Thank goodness the info has been preserved because of the Patriot Act.

-GSD

marksb @ 97

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

WTF. Link please.

GSD @ 139

As to the deleted e-mails:

Thank goodness the info has been preserved because of the Patriot Act.

-GSD

Yes, this is definitely worth a thread all by itself. No emails have been lost. They’ve been saved by someone somewhere. It’s not like erasing tape. You leave traces everywhere when you send an email.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..559_2.html

GSD @ 138

As to the deleted e-mails:

Thank goodness the info has been preserved because of the Patriot Act.

-GSD

Yeah – except what’s to stop them from deleting those emails as well?

rwcole @
76

If CBS cans Imus today or tomorrow- will be interesting to see if he keeps his date with the basketball team. My guess is he’ll crab out.

Excellent point.

Speaking of media, this was a nice piece crediting the fine work of a real reporter — one who isn’t corrupted by the Beltway cocktail wienie diet:

At McClatchy, she explains, “we have to pick and choose. We don’t have the resources to cover everything, but enterprise can be our strength. I can’t beat the Post and Times on leaks, but I can look for enterprise that perhaps they are not covering at that very moment. We try to give our papers something different.” She also declares that “anyone who tries to downplay the role of blogs in coverage of Washington is behind the times.”

And she gets blogs, too. Coolness.

We also know that there are tons of people invlolved in this and no one knows who saved what.

The more this story bubbles the more trouble there is.

Remember that Schumer implied there were people within Justice who are working with them.

Anyone deleting and hiding things are committing crimes. They have also seen just how reluctant the King is when it comes to supporting underlings. They always seem to get the Peter Pan bus treatment.

Troubles ahead.

-GSD

Time to sieze the RNC computers! Now!

Could they have wanted to get rid of Imus? Why can’t we get rid of Limbaugh?

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0411.htmldakine01 @ 131

David Gregory is an a** as a show host.

In an interview with Richard Holbrooke about Pelosi’s Syria trip. Gregory referred to Pelosi’s trip “persuing a shadow foreign policy”. Holbrooke politely slammed him.

Appreciate all the references to Lieberman. Imus slobbered all over Joe before and after Lamont swacked him in the primary. Imus discovered this week what all of us already knew about Lieberman. It’s Lieberman4Lieberman.

Anyone deleting and hiding things are committing crimes

We know that, but if I were looking at 10 yrs per charge I would say that I was hiding a filthy, disgusting, gross email to my boyfriend. Stupid, but not illegal.

marksb @ 97

OT: Gosh what a surprise!

WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Oh, damn, we accidentally deleted those. Sorry.

This cannot be allowed to stand. Storm the castle, subpoenas in hand. Remember the Total Information Program and that ALL internet routers are supposed to have NSA-maintained secret repositories. Time to use that crap to save instead of destroy the nation.

Shades of the John Stennis feint! (Compressed Google search: http://tinyurl.com/3c32u2 )

JFC! Tweety II talking about Imus with, among others, Armstrong Williams. Way to get useful input, Gregory!

It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of Conyers and Waxman etc tomorrow. Think the substance might just hit the rotating blades?

so hey LS,

how is Smartech connected to the Bush Pac – Agenda for America ? do they host that as well ??
am just recalling when the gwb43 aspect of the story broke, there was a connection made btw Smartech and the Pac (some hippies verified connection through FEC filings)

[Mod Note; edited to remove invalid local file location]

newtonusr @
152

JFC! Tweety II talking about Imus with, among others, Armstrong Williams. Way to get useful input, Gregory!

I’m sure Gregory determines the guests.

marksb @ 153

It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of Conyers and Waxman etc tomorrow. …

Ooh, more hearings? Linky please?? :)

raven @ 155

newtonusr @
152

JFC! Tweety II talking about Imus with, among others, Armstrong Williams. Way to get useful input, Gregory!

I’m sure Gregory determines the guests.

Point taken.

cbl @ 154

so hey LS,

how is Smartech connected to the Bush Pac – Agenda for America ? do they host that as well ??
am just recalling when the gwb43 aspect of the story broke, there was a connection made btw Smartech and the Pac (some hippies verified connection through FEC filings)

See LS 127, that’s all I know about that. There are over 800 RNC type sites that share the same server as GWB43.

[Mod Note; edited to remove invalid local file location]

“Diamond Merchant” Sharpton now celebrating and issues further threats. Now he gets to take the credit, what bullshit.

Bobby G @45,

What a great letter you wrote to the pres of Rutgers, so full of passion. Your Danielle is gorgeous, as was her sister, and your grandson should bring you much joy. Makes me happy to know there are such people as you in the world.

raven @ 159

“Diamond Merchant” Sharpton now celebrating and issues further threats. Now he gets to take the credit, what bullshit.

He was funny earlier on Tucker – He said that Imus has not “attoned for his sins” Oh My. Can anyone say Tawana?

One thing I will say for Imus, he hated Bush and was very vocal about it. I think this is just what the Bushies wanted. It is in some ways ominous. I hated the level of discourse, esp that Bernie McGuirk. But I hate to see him fired…..only he and Keith Olberman leveled Bush with such comments on a regular basis. Not to compare the great KO with Imus, but Imus did call Bush a criminal…. I did love that.

Well now that that’s over with the media can devote its energies to a far more important matter: Joan Walsh’s hurt feelings.

Gregory looks a little sheepish.

What’s the chance NBC will get Russert (for one) to straighten up?

CBL 154,

Check this out and scroll all the way down, you’ll see the Agenda for America on there as well.

http://www.robtex.com/dns/gwb43.com.html

Imus is small beans. Real news would be getting O’Reilly and/or Hannity off the air.

Poster at HuffPost blames Imus’s firing on the Clintons.

MTV transmitted a long, profane self-defense Snoop offered in a phone interview:

“It’s a completely different scenario,” said Snoop, barking over the phone from a hotel room in L.A. “[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing sh–, that’s trying to get a n—a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain’t no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC [the cable network home to Imus] going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha—–as say we in the same league as him.”

Snoop Dogg insisted “this punk” Imus deserved much more than a two-week suspension. He deserved to be fired. He should at least be punished like the NFL suspended Tennessee Titans football player Adam Jones for an entire season for scrapes with the police:

“Kick him off the air forever,” he said. “Ban him like they did [Adam] ‘Pacman’ Jones. They kicked him out the [National Football] League for the whole season [for numerous violations of the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, including multiple arrests], but this punk gets to get on the air and call black women ‘nappy-headed ho’s.’ “

itwasntme @
147

Time to sieze the RNC computers! Now!

What if the laptops get “lost” ?

…then sieze the danged servers!

From all I’ve heard about Imus, it sounds like he’d be the ideal replacement for Tony Snow.

SnarKassandra (who was Cassie) @ 169

itwasntme @
147

Time to sieze the RNC computers! Now!

What if the laptops get “lost” ?

They’d have to use lie detectors – oh, that would be We the People.

Playing footsie with the electronic files and emails is really going to piss off Conyers.
He’s already mad, thats why he issued the subpoena.
I would be real surprised if there wasn’t some serious repercussions to this.

Not sure if folks know… new thread with Howie.

thanks LS, sorry I missed it upthread

fyi –

The State of Ohio’s real-time, streaming election results are first diverted through Chattanooga, TN, to a GOP-only web firm and the servers currently hosting georgewbush.com, as well as other key Republican web sites

link

Weekly Standard Fred Barnes states that the Rutgers’s womens basketball team were “acting like victims”. How twisted and perverse. Can you imagine Barnes rage if Imus had referred to Jewish young women or any other group of young women this way. http://mediamatters.org/items/200704110002

Eureka Springs @
27

Very nice! Does this mean Gandolf is still Gray?

It must be something in the water, cause I was thinking the same thing. I bit my tongue to signal my fingers not to type it (not wanting to take away from the beauty of the moment and all).

cbl @ 175

thanks LS, sorry I missed it upthread

fyi –

The State of Ohio’s real-time, streaming election results are first diverted through Chattanooga, TN, to a GOP-only web firm and the servers currently hosting georgewbush.com, as well as other key Republican web sites

link

That sure sounds like SmarTech. How can they legally allow election results to filter through a one-party site??? Somebody better jump on this fast too.

Avenging_Angel @ 166

Imus is small beans. Real news would be getting O’Reilly and/or Hannity off the air.

The difference of course is that NBC/GE feels they have a reputation to protect…

Lindy @ 177

Eureka Springs @
27

Very nice! Does this mean Gandolf is still Gray?

It must be something in the water, cause I was thinking the same thing. I bit my tongue to signal my fingers not to type it (not wanting to take away from the beauty of the moment and all).

I hope I didn’t take away from the beauty…wanted to put a smile on balrogs face..)

Rayne, hope you’re having a nice vacation. Sunburn?

SnarKassandra (who was Cassie) @ 169

itwasntme @
147

Time to sieze the RNC computers! Now!

What if the laptops get “lost” ?

And the desks they sit on… and the servers that back them up… and…

Just a suggestion…

Larry King’s guest tonight is Prospective DFL Candidate for the Wellstone Seat from Minnesota in the US Senate (loaded enough?) Al Franken. I would imagine that King is going to try to focus Franken on Imus and his situation — given that one of the Republican Arguments against Franken is that we can’t trust a Stand Up Comic to actually keep control of his material, and he might rip off a Macaca or something like that.

I am hoping that Franken interviews as Stuart Smalley, who never has a control problem with his material, — because — well because Al writes most of his own material, and because Stuart is dependent on him — no loss of control.

Anyhow, I recommend looking in — Franken is pulling in the necessary money for the campaign, and thumbs are up. And you know Franken even has a book on the subject of Imus — or at least his problems. How to combine Jokes and Politics.

Thinking about it, I think Stuart Smilley should set up a 12 step program for addicted sexists and racists who want to rid themselves of their afflictions, sort out their politics, and contribute to long term cultural reform.

Seriously — this could be an interesting and important show. Many have already met him, but I suspect he will be the next Wellstonian to sit in that Minnesota Senate Seat. Maybe Matthews put it best last week…. $1.3 million, in Six Weeks, This Guy is Serious.

Tony Shifflett @
9

Watching Fineman backtrack right now. Very interesting.

Interestingly, i spoke with fineman himself today (amazing what a simple phonecall will do), and he asked me to write him, promising a response.

My first letter:

The problem with Mr. Imus’s comments are multiple, but at root has little to do with race: that was just the icing on the cake (or the steam from the turd, pick your pejorative).

Mr. Imus called the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team “whores” for no reason. No reason at all. That he tacked on “nappy headed” just adds insult to injury. He called a bunch of female athletes “whores” on the day they took second place in the National Woman’s College Basketball Championship.

You have a daughter: would it be “some of the kind of humor that you used to do you can’t do anymore” if Mr. Imus were to refer to her as a “hook-nosed hymie slut” when she appears in public for whatever reason? Would it be humorous if he referred to Amy Tan as a
“slant-eyed dragon rady”?

Imus’s comments have nothing to do with politics at all: it has to do with the sewage that regularly spews forth from talk radio (and your friend is hardly the worst offender, just the most recent), and the way that respected journalists such as yourself give such hosts legitimacy by appearing on their shows. Would
you go on the Hal Turner show? A number of his “jokes” fall squarely into Imus’s questionable taste. David Duke’s show?

What is troubling is that you said “all of us who do your show, you know, we’re part of the gang. And we rely on you the way you rely on us.” By continuing to appear on Mr. Imus’s show, a show that has a long history of gratuitous racist commentary (is calling Gwen Ifill “the cleaning lady” anywhere near
acceptable?), you are granting him and his statements legitimacy.

It is not, as Howard Kurtz claims, a case of “black people do it too.” First of all, it IS unacceptable when black people do it, as the recent firing of Troi “Star” Torain illustrates. Secondly, so what if some black people use that word? Some white people use the word “n-gger” on a daily basis, and people of all races drop four-letter words into their regular conversation like gumballs in a penny arcade. That doesn’t mean I don’t wash my kid’s mouth with soap when he follows their example: to the contrary, I immediately let him know that that kind of language isn’t acceptable discourse.

I think my friend
“>JC Christian has it just right, and I encourage you to read what he has to say. Reflect on if it was your daughter Imus called out, for no reason AT ALL OTHER THAN HER APPEARANCE AND RACE, and tell me if you’d be a guest on that individual’s show again.

In closing, I believe in free speech as much as the next guy, but I don’t associate myself with people who exercise their freedom by gratuitously and routinely hurling racial epithets at people who’ve done nothing to deserve it. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, “swearing gives people who don’t want to listen to you a reason not to.” I think Imus has given you plenty of reason to not appear on his show.

Sincerely,

brendan skwire
Philadelphia, PA

Sara @ 183

Just a suggestion…

Larry King’s guest tonight is Prospective DFL Candidate for the Wellstone Seat from Minnesota in the US Senate (loaded enough?) Al Franken. I would imagine that King is going to try to focus Franken on Imus and his situation — given that one of the Republican Arguments against Franken is that we can’t trust a Stand Up Comic to actually keep control of his material, and he might rip off a Macaca or something like that.

I am hoping that Franken interviews as Stuart Smalley, who never has a control problem with his material, — because — well because Al writes most of his own material, and because Stuart is dependent on him — no loss of control.

Anyhow, I recommend looking in — Franken is pulling in the necessary money for the campaign, and thumbs are up. And you know Franken even has a book on the subject of Imus — or at least his problems. How to combine Jokes and Politics.

Thinking about it, I think Stuart Smilley should set up a 12 step program for addicted sexists and racists who want to rid themselves of their afflictions, sort out their politics, and contribute to long term cultural reform.

Seriously — this could be an interesting and important show. Many have already met him, but I suspect he will be the next Wellstonian to sit in that Minnesota Senate Seat. Maybe Matthews put it best last week…. $1.3 million, in Six Weeks, This Guy is Serious.

Oh – thanks for the heads up. I cannot stomach Larry – but I will watch him for Frankin

expert backup forensics people can recover almost anything from a hard drive … and can also determine how and when things were, ahem, lost

if the people on the hill don’t already know that, please someone tell them

newtonusr at 179

D’OH!

You are SO right! I hadn’t stopped to think of that! Fox? Reputation? Bwahahahahahahahahahaha

LS,
it’s actually even more incestuous than that – will have to hunt around for the link, but there is a connection between Smartech and the firm doing all the NSA billing for Telcos (NeuStar)- yeppers

I’m starting to question the civic virtue of Bill O’Reilly.

Earl Scheib @ 11

It’s time for Imus and his merry band of racists to take retirement. Good riddance.

Absolutely! Perhaps he will spend retirement golfing with Nifong.

cbl @ 187

LS,
it’s actually even more incestuous than that – will have to hunt around for the link, but there is a connection between Smartech and the firm doing all the NSA billing for Telcos (NeuStar)- yeppers

hi cbl – could you please elaborate? i’m ignorant. what is the “NSA billing”?

thanks! :)

Imus has been boring for years. But good riddance?

So what. It’s essentially a defeat for free speech. Think it through, folks.

More knee jerk justice & lynch mob mentality.

In other news today, the North Carolina Attorney General dropped all charges against the three lacrosse players.

And in the meantime all that happened was they were kicked out of school, their reputations trashed and they got to run up huge legal fees.

Oh and the coach was fired, his reputation ruined.

And of course we all knew they were guilty.

More knee jerk justice and a lynch mob mentality. I’m not defending Don Imus. He’s rich and doesn’t need my help. And he’ll end up working somewhere and making a lot of money.

But sometimes these incidents are viewed more realistically with a little time between the event and the response.

I’m sorry but I’m kind of saddened by the lack of perspective here. Condemnation is one thing, a Joe McCarthy feeding frenzy is quite another.

Gee whadya think?Can we blacklist him? And wo else?

Alice B @ 162

One thing I will say for Imus, he hated Bush and was very vocal about it. I think this is just what the Bushies wanted. It is in some ways ominous. I hated the level of discourse, esp that Bernie McGuirk. But I hate to see him fired…..only he and Keith Olberman leveled Bush with such comments on a regular basis. Not to compare the great KO with Imus, but Imus did call Bush a criminal…. I did love that.

I’m concerned that is another attack on free speech by the Bushies.

vidocq, Imus has made a fortune doing a nudge-nudge racist schtick over the same period in which hate speech and overt racism became normalized (again) on mainstream programming.

He makes his fortune because advertisers buy time to persuade people to buy crap.

Now people are persuading advertisers not to buy time that subsidizes crap speech.

When corporations use verbal persuasion, that’s advertising.

When listeners use verbal persuasion, that’s “a Joe McCarthy feeding frenzy”.

And “a defeat for free speech”.

So -

If all the listeners would be quiet and not use their First Amendement freedoms to associate and petition

…that’s your victory for free speech?

Alice B @
162

One thing I will say for Imus, he hated Bush and was very vocal about it. I think this is just what the Bushies wanted. It is in some ways ominous. I hated the level of discourse, esp that Bernie McGuirk. But I hate to see him fired…..only he and Keith Olberman leveled Bush with such comments on a regular basis. Not to compare the great KO with Imus, but Imus did call Bush a criminal…. I did love that.

I agree Alice. I didn’t follow him but noted those and that he was early on top of Katrina and Walter Reed failures and coverup. Still, if you need advertising dollars, you fortunately can’t get away with that language forever.

There’s always something askew when media becomes the story rather than reports it. Imus screwed up big time. Just desserts for a little while anyway. The market place will decide how long it wants to punish Imus or Michael Richards or Mel Gibson. I’d like to remind everyone Marv Albert is doing play by play.

Four things come to my mind about all this are: one, everyone in a myspace/youtube world probably needs to have as thick a skin as John Edwards. Those young women at Rutgers, hey, they’ve been shortchanged joy, but it sure seems like they have the salt to use this situation to learn and grow; I hope so anyway, cause no doubt we live in a racist, sexist world.

The second is the veil of language and attitude our society drapes women with. You don’t have to be a woman to get this–your mom, your sister, your daughter, your friend.

Third, it’s time to remember who buys rap that slaps down women.

Finally, if a man who insults a 10 woman squad should be fired, what should we do with a President and Vice President that have lied to their electorate in leading a nation to war resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties, decimating the effectiveness of our military to be able respond to a planetary emergency, and draining our national treasury in doing so?

God bless you Jane. These toadying pundits have esposed themselves as racist idiots. Imus doesn’t have the decency to appreciate that he vomited his slime about beautiful and talented young ladies who actually have some class, unlike his pundit buddies. Like all racists he thinks he can say anything about them because he doesn’t think of them as human.

Slothrop @ 37

What took the FCC so long?

If Janet Jackson’s breast is an indecency fine, then so is “nappy headed ho’s”

Kirk Murphy,
Another fine a “Joe McCarthy feeding frenzy”, don’t you agree?

wtf @ 186

expert backup forensics people can recover almost anything from a hard drive … and can also determine how and when things were, ahem, lost

if the people on the hill don’t already know that, please someone tell them

Too many Hollywood movies.

What continues to amaze me is the number of people in the progressive blogosphere who find nothing wrong with the use of the public airwaves to demonize other people. It’s scary to think how many people are comfortable with the hate-mongering that is now practiced by so many people on Talk Radio. I hope that the actions by MSMBC will send a message to those scumbags who make millions by demonizing other people.

Ed Deevy @ 200

What continues to amaze me is the number of people in the progressive blogosphere who find nothing wrong with the use of the public airwaves to demonize other people. It’s scary to think how many people are comfortable with the hate-mongering that is now practiced by so many people on Talk Radio. I hope that the actions by MSMBC will send a message to those scumbags who make millions by demonizing other people.

I agree. Chris Matthews beware.

dakine01 @ 65

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Hasn’t Dead Eye Dick been on Limbaugh twice in the last month. I know he has a less than 20% approval rating, but he is still the Vice President.

Moon @ 202

dakine01 @ 65

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Hasn’t Dead Eye Dick been on Limbaugh twice in the last month. I know he has a less than 20% approval rating, but he is still the Vice President.

Dead Eye Dick? Bill Orally? Rust LimpBalls?

I see a pattern here.

dakine01 @
65

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Frankly, I don’t think we have a chance in hell of getting rid of Beck, Limbaugh, any of them. What I find curious about this is the wall to wall coverage of -this- case, as opposed to the almost univeral media shrugs that greet Ann “faggot” Coulter and Rush “Halfrican” Limbaugh.

Roger @ 204

dakine01 @
65

Roger @ 47

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

One victory at a time. Imus was considered more mainstream due to all the politicians and “journalists” who go on his show and kiss the ring.

But since you mention Beck, you can go to CNN and send them a note. Praise them for their coverage of Imus then point out to them that Glenn Beck is just as bad or worse. As for comedian Rust LimpBalls, and Bill Orally, the market is going to continue to make them more and more marginal.

Frankly, I don’t think we have a chance in hell of getting rid of Beck, Limbaugh, any of them. What I find curious about this is the wall to wall coverage of -this- case, as opposed to the almost univeral media shrugs that greet Ann “faggot” Coulter and Rush “Halfrican” Limbaugh.

Not to mention Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson.

Maybe the assertion by people like David Ray Griffin that the reason the world is so fucked up is because people are behaving poorly collectively is correct.

Hiflyer @ 70

Gee…interesting. Lots of pundits applauding MSNBC…guess they want the time slot. Don’t ever turn you back in that industry. Unfortunately not much difference in language than what you hear on MTV and radio nowadays…except the color of the speaker. I don’t like what Imus said…but folks in glass houses are throwing a lot of rocks.

There is no accounting for taste. Imus had the highest rated show on MSNBC. Keith has always had the best show. The rest of their shows suck. Tucker and Scarborough belong on FOX. None of their commentators or newscasters really know the subject they’re reporting, even though they report the same story every fifteen minutes. Chris Matthews is a loud mouth egomaniac. Reverend Al and Reverend Jackson are meeting tomorrow with NBC to discuss NBC’s lack of racial diversity in their hiring practices. Maybe Al will apply to be his replacement.

There are much broader issues here than whether or not the guy should be fired. That’s the easy discussion.

Sure post your opinion. I don’t have problem with anyone who thinks he should have been fired and said so.

However one would assume, reading this board that anyone who suggests anything but a firing is somehow a toady and a racist.

And to suggest that a more thoughtful and measured response is somehow wrong. It’s easy in the passion of the debate to get lost in the argument.

What we really need to be talking about is a more level playing field. Go back and re-read Snoop Dog’s post.

I’m trying to decide how the human dignity of the ho’s and bitches in the hood is somehow less important the human dignity of the young women of the Rutgers basketball team. Wanna help me out?

BET, MTV and every Black Urban radio station that plays hip hop or rap demeaning to women is owned by someone – and run by executives who have the power to decide what’s appropriate for airplay. Maybe when Rev Al gets finished picketing CBS he can go picket some hip hop stations.

You want market forces? Stop playing it and they’ll stop selling it because the “artists” won’t be getting exposure and they won’t be selling records.

And maybe it’s time for parents to be telling their daughters that any guy who’s calling you his bitch or his ho is disrespecting you and you don’t have to put up with it.

At what point does your ISP decide that your content isn’t appropriate for whatever reason and knocks you off the net.

Firing Imus is putting a band-aid on a gaping chest wound. I don’t think it does anything to solve the broader problem.

Next week Congress will be back and nobody will care.

Alice B @ 162

One thing I will say for Imus, he hated Bush and was very vocal about it. I think this is just what the Bushies wanted. It is in some ways ominous. I hated the level of discourse, esp that Bernie McGuirk. But I hate to see him fired…..only he and Keith Olberman leveled Bush with such comments on a regular basis. Not to compare the great KO with Imus, but Imus did call Bush a criminal…. I did love that.

He didn’t hate Bush in 2000 because he voted for him. He was anti Gore.

Posts 48 & 88 are right. hey, there’s really nothing to gloat about here. I’ve been listening to the guy since the 70’s at NBC -before he got banished to Cleveland. He came back. I wouldn’t write him off yet. Not by a long shot. He was a trail blazer of sorts – the first hugely successful “shock jock.” Don’t know that that’s a good thing, but hey, don’t listen if you don’t wanna. It’s lowbrow humor for sure. Again, you don’t like it, don’t listen. To clarify what I said in an earlier post – I should have said that what got him in trouble was a not what he said but who he said it about. He’s beeen doing it 30 years. If what he said was so outrageous, so offensive to our sensibilities, he’d have been off the air a long time ago. So, it’s not what he said (even if it was wrong) that got him in trouble. Unless we’re more easily offended thaat 30 years ago and I don’t think that. It occurs to me that if the gov’t treated us like adults and allowed radio personalities to say shit, fuck, asshole and such words, I doubt Imus would say such stuff. I just don’t get how some of you folks can call him a racist. And I also don’t get why this is such a big deal. Sorry, liberal friends. I just think there are waaaaay bigger fish out there who actually deserve to get hooked.

beerfart liberal,
I sympathize with your position. Perhaps we progressives aren’t so pure after. Perhaps it really does depend on whose ox is gored.

Every era has its end. Buh- byemus.

Eureka Springs @ 180

Lindy @ 177

Eureka Springs @
27

Very nice! Does this mean Gandolf is still Gray?

Me too, but I wasn’t sure how it would fly, so I let it go. You made ME smile.

It must be something in the water, cause I was thinking the same thing. I bit my tongue to signal my fingers not to type it (not wanting to take away from the beauty of the moment and all).

I hope I didn’t take away from the beauty…wanted to put a smile on balrogs face..)

kirk murphy @ 194

vidocq, Imus has made a fortune doing a nudge-nudge racist schtick over the same period in which hate speech and overt racism became normalized (again) on mainstream programming.

He makes his fortune because advertisers buy time to persuade people to buy crap.

Now people are persuading advertisers not to buy time that subsidizes crap speech.

When corporations use verbal persuasion, that’s advertising.

When listeners use verbal persuasion, that’s “a Joe McCarthy feeding frenzy”.

And “a defeat for free speech”.

So -

If all the listeners would be quiet and not use their First Amendement freedoms to associate and petition

…that’s your victory for free speech?

Seconded with enthusiasm.

vidocq @
192

Imus has been boring for years. But good riddance?

So what. It’s essentially a defeat for free speech. Think it through, folks.

More knee jerk justice & lynch mob mentality.

In other news today, the North Carolina Attorney General dropped all charges against the three lacrosse players.

And in the meantime all that happened was they were kicked out of school, their reputations trashed and they got to run up huge legal fees.

Oh and the coach was fired, his reputation ruined.

And of course we all knew they were guilty.

More knee jerk justice and a lynch mob mentality. I’m not defending Don Imus. He’s rich and doesn’t need my help. And he’ll end up working somewhere and making a lot of money.

But sometimes these incidents are viewed more realistically with a little time between the event and the response.

I’m sorry but I’m kind of saddened by the lack of perspective here. Condemnation is one thing, a Joe McCarthy feeding frenzy is quite another.

Gee whadya think?Can we blacklist him? And wo else?

Sure, just look at these remarks in a vacuum, as if the entire history of slavery and racial discrimination were merely a figment of our collective imaginations. Why, “nappy headed” must surely be an innocent comment on hair style. And calling them “ho’s” is just all in good fun.

Get real. If you think this kind of speech belongs in the public discourse you are dead wrong.

post 194& 214–thirded with enthusiasm

They made fools out of themselves toadying up to him because, well, they are fools!!!

Just popped in to read anything left later in the evening….and all this late-to-the-party troll commentary is making me hungry. Time to make cookies! Think I’ve got a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips down in the basement refrig…whole wheat pastry flour…umm.

Roger @
48

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

A. He was not the only one to identify the Katrina disaster for what it was. Eventually it was too big a clusterfuck for even Fox Noise to ignore.

B. Who says this stops with Imus? This is the trigger to a larger conversation about responsibilities of corporations making money off the commons-like the airwaves. If Glenn Beck is sleeping easy tonight, he’s an idiot.

C. Like it or not, someone who has a pattern over years of making outrageous racist and mysognyistic statements and when called on them considers himself a victim is both a racist and a mysogynist. No matter how nice he might be to sick children.

Earl Scheib said:

Get real. If you think this kind of speech belongs in the public discourse you are dead wrong.>

The problem is too many people are looking at these remarks in a vacuum. And if you had actually read either of my posts instead of just regurgitating the same old, same old you’d have understood that I wasn’t defending Imus or what he said.

Obviously he should be condemned.

Apparently we hear what we want to hear and read what we want to read.

C. Viviam Stringer and those dignified young women from Rutgers were rightfully outraged and furious. But they also showed a great deal of patience and restraint. And they were willing to meet with this guy. I thought that was beyond gracious and really courageous for a group of 20-years-olds. I wonder how many here would have the same courage and the same dignity.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope that the rest of society could move beyond the shrill and look for solutions beyond the obvious.

Yesterday I heard Shawn Hannity describe Teresa Heinz Kerry as a “scumbag.” Now there isn’t of prepH in the world to treat the Hannity’s, Becks, and Limbaugh’s. But scumbag? Is that appropriate on the air?

This is a far bigger issue – on a lot of levels – than just the heinous and insensitive remarks of one guy.

boadicea @
219

Roger @
48

I just want to note that Imus was virtually the only mainstream media figure who identified the Katrina mess as the racsist clusertfuck that it was. So now we get rid of him, and keep Rush, and Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, et al.

It’s a bit like a circular firing squad. I don’t for a minute believe that Imus is a racsist. It was a stupid, racsist remark, but its perfectly possible for both halves of that statement to be true. I think his apology was sincere. Where are the apologies from Rush, Beck etc?

A. He was not the only one to identify the Katrina disaster for what it was. Eventually it was too big a clusterfuck for even Fox Noise to ignore.

B. Who says this stops with Imus? This is the trigger to a larger conversation about responsibilities of corporations making money off the commons-like the airwaves. If Glenn Beck is sleeping easy tonight, he’s an idiot.

C. Like it or not, someone who has a pattern over years of making outrageous racist and mysognyistic statements and when called on them considers himself a victim is both a racist and a mysogynist. No matter how nice he might be to sick children.

I’d be /very/ surprised if Fox ever identified the victims of Katrina as the victims of a racist goverment. Imus did.

As for B, well, I guess I do. Its just my opinion, but I’m pretty confident in it. A large part of the reason this has played out the way it has (IMHO) is that Imus is such an iconoclast that he’s attracted enemies from both sides of the aisle. It was this unification of enemies that fed the /enormous/ energy thats been summoned up here. Do you really think the next stupid thing out of Ann Coulter’s mouth is going to attract anything like this attention? I don’t. The whole ‘faggot’ thing got, for the most part, a big collective yawn. Sure, a few newspapers dropped her. And I think at least one picked her up. But it doesn’t matter. She’s sails along, pretty much unaffected. Imus acts like an ass, but I don’t think he’s /really/ a racist. He just runs his mouth, and his big mistake her was his choice of targets. And I fully expect he knew it and regreted the words pretty much the second they left his mouth. So the real racists get to stay and comment smugly about all this.

eCAHNomics @
24

So what do you all think about tying disgusting rap music lyrics to this story? Fair question, or trying to distract from the central question.

Rap lyrics are a straw man. What did rap music have to do with Imus’s remark beyond only the most fleeting connections via one of the words he used? And one that, unfortunately, wormed its way into mainstream expression, long, long ago. Ho has been mainstream at least 15 years. It stopped being a rap-only phemonemonen as soon as Meg Ryan used the term in a movie (Sleepless in Seattle, I believe).

So blaming rappers for Imus’s racism is both disingenuous and ridiculous, a desperate attempt to blame someone else–anyone else–for his bad behavior.

Earl Scheib @
21

Yes, for Tom Oliphant to say “solidarity forever” in the face of blatantly racist remarks is inexcusable. Is getting on the tv that much of a head rush for these freaks?

I’m so disappointed.

I personally am offended by the oversensitivity of the kneejerk liberals who started this crap. Oversensitivity is a sure sign of insecurity. I’ve always thought Imus was annoying, all the way back to his VH1 VJ days, but this little dig is not worth the furor. What if someone had called the losing NCAA team a bunch of cracker pimps, would all you people be so upset? Look in your own closets. Whatever happened to a sense of humor?

Well, the first time that happens, check back.