There’s hope this issue is getting analyzed in an intelligent manner by people who can, conceivably, make a difference. From a recent Townhall column, Tom DeLay writes:
The message of the ongoing Imus scandal is simple: verbal offenses against anyone other than conservatives or Christians or Jews, will be treated as crimes, and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the judge and jury. Remember Trent Lott’s ill-fated tribute to Sen. Strom Thurmond or Rush Limbaugh’s criticism of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb? This is the political strategy of the Left—unite to destroy.
Later, he continues:
And for the contextual icing on the cake, where are the repercussions for Rosie O’Donnell’s hateful, idiotic accusations that President Bush was behind the 9/11 attacks? And her ignorant parody of the Chinese language? Or her comparison of conservative Christians to Islamo-fascist terrorists? Why has ABC not suspended her from The View? Why has she not been frog-marched up to some radio show to apologize to 9/11 victims/Chinese-American activists/evangelical Christians?
What the Left is doing is not a fluke – it’s a concerted strategy. And it works. So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That’s why I am calling on conservatives to use the available media (radio talk shows, blogs, letters to the editor) to protest and demand that Rosie O’Donnell be kicked off The View. Where are the demonstrations in front of ABC? Where are the boycott threats for The View’s advertisers, or its parent company, Disney? Who is holding Barbara Walters accountable for Rosie’s offenses? We can fight like the Left, too. If Don Imus falls to the pleas of political correctness, we’re taking Rosie O’Donnell down with him.
And now we find that, in a poll conducted by AOL, after 11,823 votes, 81% say Rosie should be fired.
In a good and perfect world, neither Imus nor Rosie would be fired for what tumbles out of their mouth. They should be made held accountable, but that accountability should come from where it counts, not from Al “Tawana Brawley” Sharpton’s and Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson’s minstrelsy.
Scott at Powerline nailed it yet again:
When Don Imus sought absolution for his characteristic display of poor taste, he bent his knee to Pope Al Sharpton. How is it that Al Sharpton has become the arbiter elegantiae for matters pertaining to race and etiquette? Though he is accorded an absurdly respected role in the Democratic Party by politicians such as Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, he is easily one of the most vile men active in American public life.
Scott goes on the mention Jay Nordlinger’s good work in cataloging Sharpton’s history, which list should puzzle and outrage anyone even modestly following the Imus trouble.
Tag: Imus
Teri O’Brien writes:
Today, the Wall Street Journal confirms my suspicions. Media Matters was monitoring the Imus show and ginned up the outrage machine. That’s the whole story. Some people will read it today, but our smart listeners were able to discuss it with us on Wednesday.
And it gets worse. Read her entire article for more.
Tag: Imus
Pat Buchanan weighed in on Worldnet Daily:
And hate is what this is all about.
While the remarks of Imus and Bernie about the Rutgers women were indefensible, they were more unthinking and stupid than vicious and malicious. But malice is the right word to describe the howls for their show to be canceled and them to be driven from the airwaves – by phonies who endlessly prattle about the First Amendment.
The hypocrisy here was too thick to cut with a chainsaw.
What was the term the I-Man used? It was “hos,” slang for whores, a term employed ad infinitum et ad nauseam by rap and hip-hop “artists.” It is a term out of the African-American community. Yet, if any of a hundred rap singers has lost his contract or been driven from the airwaves for using it, maybe someone can tell me about it.
If the word “hos” is a filthy insult to decent black women, and it is, why are hip-hop artists and rap singers who use it incessantly not pariahs in the black community? Why would black politicians hobnob with them? Why are there no boycotts of the advertisers of the radio stations that play their degrading music?
Answer: The issue here is not the word Imus used. The issue is who Imus is – a white man, who used a term about black women only black folks are permitted to use with impunity and immunity.
Please read the entire article.
So long as Al “Tawana Brawley” Sharpton and Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson are allowed to continue their minstrelsy without being held accountable, the bolder they and their supporters get. This won’t stop until someone stops it.
Tag: Imus
WFAN continued the radiothon this morning with Deirdre Imus and Charles McCord co-hosting the usual imus in the Morning slot. (The radiothon proceeds went over three million dollars this morning.) Listening was hard at times, but that can’t compare to what went on in the control room.
I kept waiting for Obama to be mentioned. I’m listening to Joe and Evan right now and Obama’s name hasn’t been mentioned yet. Since MSNBC and CBS jumped when Obama spoke, I wonder why the silence.
It would be good for people to remember this as Obama runs for the Whitehouse.
Tag: Imus
Jason Whitlock writes:
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.
You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.
Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again.
Here’s another quote:
But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.
The bigots win again because not enough good men — black and white — didn’t do enough.
Tag: Imus
Don Surber writes:
“Am I alone in being disturbed by Barack Obama’s call for firing a broadcaster over something he said? This off-with-his-heads mentality is unpresidential. Imagine if President Bush said someone should be fired. He called Adam Clymer an asshole and that caused a stir.
The message is chillingly clear: A President Obama would call for the firing of his critics.
Obama appeared on the Don Imus program early on in Obama’s career. This is how he re-pays friends.”
No, Mr. Surber is not alone. It appears the media has already crowned Obama in the 2008 elections and wastes no time kissing the ring. Of course, there’s just one niggling detail with that effort.
Macsmind writes:
It’s possible CBS, MSNBC and other advertisers forgot something. Imus’s fans.
I believe it is more than possible. Like the Democrats who gained seats in Congress recently, MSNBC and CBS have grossly misread what the people actually think.
William Smith (Conservative Blogger) writes:
“So, does solving that unique problem and changing that culture which allows a certain level of objectionable expression–you know, the kind that hurts and demeans a wide range of people–does that also include all of the rap and hip-hop music that Viacom and CBS sell and otherwise promote to consumers on a daily basis, Mr. Moonves?”
And this begins to get at the very heart of the hypocrisy that marks this entire sad event. While Les Moonves bows to Sharpton and Jackson, he completely forgets his corporate machine manufactures and promulgates the very words to which he ostensibly objects.
I had little respect for Les Moonves prior to this occasion. I hope stockholders take note of his mismanagement of this situation. (As a stockholder, I certainly do.)
Tag: Imus
“The hypocrisy is absurd…Everybody knows what the deal is. And this is not over. This story does not end here.”
– Don Imus, 4/12/2007
I admit it. This blog is born out of anger and outrage. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I am a long time Imus listener and fan. I will define “long time” in a later post. Suffice it to say I can state with a great deal of certainty that the I-Man did not utter racism. Not that it matters. Imus was not the point. He was merely the convenient organ donor.
Welcome to my humble blog. My name is Jay White (really, it is) and I have a few things to say.
Tag: Imus