Moyers: "How Did the Mainstream Press Get It So Wrong?"

If you missed Bill Moyers show on PBS last night, go watch it here.

Don Imus Ousted By CBS Radio

Don Imus

CNN reporting that Don Imus has been fired by CBS Radio.

Bye bye.

Can't Get Enough Imus

Can you? That's why you searched for more. Here are some interesting articles.

The American Prospect, TAPPED: MSNBC had panels and panels of white men discussing the firing of Imus last night. Hmmm.

Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins thinks Imus should buy a season ticket to Rutgers women's basketball and sit in the front row for every game next year. I think Sally Jenkins, who appeared on Imus's show in the past and never made a peep about his racist or sexist remarks before the Rutgers comment, should go to those Rutgers games. Why should those kids have to be reminded of what Imus said about them at every game? Why shouldn't ol' Sally herself do a little penance? She also thinks he should have kept his job so he could keep the 'conversation' going. I'm a little sick of white people saying Imus should be teaching the nation about race. Just stop that. Now.

NAYABA ARINDE at the Amsterdam News says Don Imus fumbled his mea culpa; that's what doomed him.

Bob Hebert in the New York Times (TimesSelect wall, also here and here) says it was the outrage of women within NBC who forced the cancellation of the Imus show.

Slate: Imus in the Twilight: How the DJ found his niche—and lost it.

Newark Star-Ledger: It's the other 'N' word that's still hair-raising
'Nappy' retains its harsh sting in the black community

North Jersey Record: RU gives Imus a lesson in class

North Jersey Record: Carson is a leader speaking up for 'what's right'

Bye Bye Slime Man

Don Imus
MSNBC drops Imus. CBS Radio and WFAN still on the fence. (Steve Capus, NBC News President, on Hardball tonight says, C. Vivian Stringer's speech at the press conference yesterday really affected everyone. Viv! Rutgers women's basketball!)

I hope every stupid white man who went on TV in the past week and defended Imus now thinks long and hard. Why are so many of the rest of us so offended? Why were they so quick to let Imus off the hook? How could they let years of racist, sexist, crude and cruel jokes go by? I hope they look into their hearts and really think about that. Tom Oliphant, Howard Fineman, Jonathan Alter, Craig Crawford, David Gregory, James Carville, Paul Begala. (Look at that group. What do they have in common? Hmmm.)

At heart, I am an idealist.

NYTimes: NBC News Drops Imus Show Over Racial Remark

NBC News dropped Don Imus yesterday, canceling his talk show on its MSNBC cable news channel a week after Mr. Imus made a racially disparaging remark about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

WaPo: MSNBC Drops Imus's Morning Program

Mewark Star-Ledger: MSNBC says it will drop Imus show

This may have had as much to do with the decision as anything:

Reuters: Don Imus show loses more advertisers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors and drug maker GlaxoSmithKline pulled their advertising from shows hosted by Don Imus on Wednesday, striking a blow to the shock-jock and broadcasters who carry him.

American Express and Home loans Web site Ditech.com also said they would withdraw their ads.

They joined companies including household products maker Procter & Gamble Co. and office supplies retailer Staples Inc. in pulling their support amid an outcry over an on-air racial slur by Imus about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

'He's crossed the line'

NYTimes (AP): CBS Director Hopes Imus Will Be Fired

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., said Wednesday the broadcasting company needs a ''zero tolerance policy'' on racism and hopes talk-show host Don Imus is fired for his demeaning remarks about the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team.

''He's crossed the line, he's violated our community,'' Gordon said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. ''He needs to face the consequence of that violation.''

Gordon, a longtime telecommunications executive, stepped down in March after 19 months as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the foremost U.S. civil rights organizations.

He said he had spoken with CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and hoped the company, after reviewing the situation, would ''make the smart decision'' by firing Imus rather than letting him return to the air at the end of a two-week suspension beginning next Monday.

''We should have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to what I see as irresponsible, racist behavior,'' Gordon said. ''The Imus comments go beyond humor. Maybe he thought it was funny, but that's not what occurred. There has to be a consequence for that behavior.''

'These Women Are Human Beings'

Jesus' General: Oliphant's Children

These young women didn't need to be degraded in that way by Imus, especially on the day following their greatest achievement thus far, taking second place in the National Woman's College Basketball Championship. They were terribly wronged. Not only were they insulted in one of the most vile and despicable ways possible, but it may have very well ruined one of the greatest moments of their lives.

I doubt Russert, Fineman, or Oliphant give a damn about these women's feelings. The Rutgers players can't help them sell their books or promote their projects like Imus does. But god damn it Tim, Howie, and Tom, these women are human beings. Really. They're actual people with the same feelings the rest of us have.

Take a look at these beautiful, accomplished young women and think about the violence Imus and his toadies committed against them:

Go look at all of them.

Here's the captain:

ESSENCE CARSON
Junior
Music Major
A gifted musician who plays the piano, bass guitar, drums and saxophone
Gold Medal winner With Team USA
Daughter of Stacey Robinson and the late Joseph Carson and second of three children.

Free Speech

I keep reading and hearing people defending Don Imus's right to free speech. Why are we attacking his right to free speech? We're not. We're attacking what he said, not his right to say it. He can say it all he wants. But I don't want to support it, and I don't want it spewing into my home every day. So I'm speaking out.

This dispute over Imus's remarks is the epitome of free speech. Free speech is about the marketplace of ideas. Everyone gets the right to speak. But then that speech is evaluated by the community.

Imus spoke and expressed his opinion. He placed his speech out there into the marketplace, and we are exercising our right to free speech by complaining about what he said. He can say as much sexist and racist crap as he wants. And WE have every right to say to his employer, We won't watch your programs any more if you continue to employ this hater. And WE have every right to say to his sponsors, We won't buy your products any more if you continue to place your ads on this hater's program. And we can say to the FCC, This speech has no place on the public airwaves, because it does not respect all people.

Don Imus can say all he wants to. And we as a community, we as a people, we get to speak out about what he said. And if that means that he doesn't get paid millions of dollars to speak, so be it. In the marketplace of ideas, I think his opinions are worth about two cents. He can say all he wants to. And I'll continue to exercise my right to free speech to say his speech is hateful.

Or to quote Coach Stringer: "racist and sexist remarks [] are deplorable, despicable, abominable and unconscionable."

Imus's Long, Sad History

Courts often use the phrase "long, sad history" in talking about our country's history of racial discrimination.

Timothy Noah of Slate Magazine has compiled some of Imus's long, sad history. This latest incident is just the culmination of decades of hate speech. He must be fired.

Timothy Noah, Slate: The Wit and Wisdom of Don Imus
A guide for Washington's power crowd. (go to the article for links to citations)

On blacks:

"William Cohen, the Mandingo deal."
(Former Defense Secretary Cohen's wife is African-American.)

"Wasn't in a woodpile, was he?"
(Responding to news that former black militant H. Rap Brown, subsequently known as Abdullah Al-Amin, was found hiding in a shed in Alabama after exchanging gunfire with police. Imus is here alluding to the expression "nigger in the woodpile.")

"Knuckle-dragging moron."
(Description of basketball player Patrick Ewing.)

"We all have 12-inch penises."
(After being asked what he has in common with Nat Turner, Malcolm X, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Latrell Sprewell from the New York Knicks, and Al Sharpton.)

"Chest-thumping pimps."
(Description of the New York Knicks.)

"A cleaning lady."
(Reference to journalist Gwen Ifill, possibly out of pique that she wouldn't appear on his show. "I certainly don't know any black journalists who will," she wrote in the April 10 New York Times. The Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page used to appear, but after he made Imus pledge not to make offensive comments in the future, he was never asked back.)

On Jews:

"I remember when I first had [the Blind Boys of Alabama] on a few years ago, how the Jewish management at whatever, whoever we work for, CBS, or whatever it is, were bitching at me about it. […] I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand."

"Boner-nosed … beanie-wearing Jewboy."
(Description of Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, a frequent guest.)

On women:

"That buck-tooth witch Satan, Hillary Clinton." […] "I never admitted it when I went down there and got in all that big jam, insulting Bill Clinton and his fat ugly wife, Satan. Did I? Did I ever say I was sorry for that?"

On Native Americans:

"The guy from F-Troop, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell."
(This is a reference to the zany Indian characters on the 1960s TV sitcom F-Troop. They had names like "Roaring Chicken," "Crazy Cat," and "Chief Wild Eagle.")

On Japanese:

"Old Kabuki's in a coma and the market's going up. […] How old is the boy? The battery's running down on that boy."
(Reference to Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who died the following week.)

On gays:

"I didn't know that Allan Bloom was coming in from the back end."
(The homosexuality of the author of The Closing of the American Mind became widely known when Saul Bellow published Ravelstein, a novel whose protagonist was based on Bloom, who by then was deceased.)

"The enormously attractive [NBC political correspondent] Chip Reid, I can say without being accused of being some limp-wristed 'mo."

On the handicapped:

"Janet Reno's having a press conference. Ms. Reno, of course, has Parkinson's disease, has a noticeable tremor. […] I don't know how she gets that lipstick on (laughter) looking like a rodeo clown."

Every one of these statements came directly out of Imus' mouth on his program. That's striking because Imus usually leaves it to other show regulars (especially McGuirk, the aforementioned point man on "nigger" jokes) to say the most offensive stuff, with Imus feeding them straight lines. It's safer that way.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Reuters: Some advertisers yank ads from Imus show
Staples and Procter & Gamble have pulled ads after racial slur

LOS ANGELES - Companies including Procter & Gamble Co. and Staples Inc. are pulling advertisements from Don Imus’ show due to the shock jock’s on-air racial slur about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

His Buds Are Desperate To Save Imus

I am thoroughly disgusted as I watch Hardball tonight. David Gregory (Bush's pal 'Stretch') tells Rev. Al Sharpton that given Don Imus's history of doing good work, couldn't he keep the promise he made on the Today show this morning and have a black person on the show every day, to change how America talks about race.

So ridiculous. Why does America need a moron who doesn't realize that the phrase "nappy-headed hos" is offensive in 2007 to be given a bully pulpit to teach the country about race? What does he know about it? Is he going to teach us as he learns? Sheesh.

They see a 'teachable moment' and they want Imus, the racist, to be the teacher. Completely absurd.

It reminds me of Mark McGwire's testimony before the Congressional committee investigating steroids in baseball, where (besides telling us he was not there to talk about the past) he kept offering to be a national spokesperson against steroids.

Like McGwire on steroids, Imus has proven himself uniquely unsuited to be a spokesperson against racism. But that's the job all his white male friends think he should be given.

None of these jamokes have ever counted the people in the room to find out how many looked like them. Never. Clueless.

A Few More Perspectives on Imus

Members of the Rutgers women's basketball team are shown during a news conference held on campus in Piscataway, N.J., Tuesday, April 10, 2007, to react to derogatory remarks directed at their team made on air by radio personality Don Imus. The team said they would meet privately with Imus. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)

Lisa Olson, NYDailyNews: Two weeks? He needs at least a summer vacation

-- Lisa Olson is famous herself; as a reporter for the Boston Herald in 1990, she was graphically sexually harassed by a group of naked players while trying to do interviews in the New England Patriots dressing room.

slamonline.com: Enough Is Enough
[NBA Washington] Wizards center and SLAMonline columnist Etan Thomas calls for the firing of radio host Don Imus.

NYDailyNews: WNBA's prez blasts Imus

Steve Politi, Newark Star-Ledger (NJ): Imus should get to know these young stars

Paul Franklin, Home News Tribune (central NJ): This team towers over Don Imus
Great 'meet the team' article.

Tim Keown, ESPN Page2: Congratulations, Don Imus

Jemele Hill, ESPN Page 2: Take a stand against indecency and cruelty

NYDailyNews: No suspending a mother's anger
Vaughn's mom wants Imus off air for good

No wonder Kia Vaughn kept saying 'No. Comment.' during the press conference when she was asked whether Imus should be fired.

Essence Carson Rocks The House

Rutgers junior guard Essence Carson beams during a news conference Monday, April 2, 2007 in Cleveland. Rutgers plays Tennessee for the women's college basketball national championship Tuesday night.
(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
Essence Carson is answering most of the questions for the Rutgers women's basketball team press conference today.

If MSNBC needs someone to fill in the two weeks of Imus's absence, why not give Essence Carson the gig? She's smart, has thought a lot about the issues of sexism and racism, and thinks before she speaks. Far more interesting than some newsreader. I bet some prof at Rutgers would give her three credits for that, not that she needs them.

NCAA: The Essence of Being a Student-Athlete

Thank You C. Vivian Stringer

Don Imus
She just stuck a fork in Don Imus. But good. See why everyone in women's college basketball loves and respects her?

There was a fantastic program on PBS about her three years ago called "This Is A Game, Ladies." And despite the title PBS gave their documentary, Stringer removed "Ladies" from the team title. They're the Scarlet Knights, not the Lady Scarlet Knights.

When Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer arrived in New Jersey 12 years ago, she immediately removed the "Lady" from Scarlet Knights.

"I understand that that's something more regional or southern," Stringer said. "And with all due respect, I just believe that basketball is basketball and you don't need to make a distinction…I think that it's time to just drop the 'lady' thing, let's play basketball."

You can listen to Tavis Smiley's interview with C. Vivian Stringer here.