Imus the Martyr

ESPN.com - NCW - CBS fires Don Imus from radio show:

"CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was suspended for two weeks for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team 'nappy-headed hos' on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his programs."

I think that CBS in particular and MSNBC to a less degree have made a mistake. And all the people crying for his ouster also did. Jessie Jackson has to go back and remember his Hymie-town remarks before he goes pointing any fingers at anyone.

What they have done is make Imus a martyr for a lot of people. When people think of reverse discrimination, this will be the case that gets pointed out. As I said, the critics cannot really point fingers, they say worse. I had to laugh as I watched rapper M1 try to defend the use of the same words in rap music by saying white people made them say it. I am not defending what he said, it was wrong. But he is/was a shock jock, has been since I lived in the Boston area in the 70's. He was a shock jock before the term was created.

Imus will land on his feet and get another job, CBS and MSNBC will have made him a martyr in the process.

Being right but for the wrong reason

Conservatives oppose MoveOn's petition for PBS (OneNewsNow.com):

"AFA, a conservative pro-family organization, says hundreds of millions of tax dollars are spent each year on PBS and NPR for coverage of a liberal perspective on the news and culture."

I have usually supported the AFA in many of its endeavors but this time I can not. While PBS and NPR have their liberal leanings they are not the evil left-wing conspiracy that many have tried to make them. Too many see that anything that does not agree with them must be coming from the other side so the whole organization is suspect. A different example would be because Fox has Bill Riley on the whole organization is Conservative. If you listen to the news parts of Fox you would see that they are "fair and balanced." I find the same true with PBS/NPR. While they have their liberal moments they are for the most part 'fair and balanced'. On the other hand...

AFA objects to the tax funding, saying PBS should have to raise its own voluntary public support, like any other non-profit broadcaster -- and AFA has initiated an alternate petition in hopes of getting equal support to send to Congress for opposing the funding.

I am in 100% agreement on this. Any other non-profit organization in the country has to support itself. PBS was created so that we could get away from Public Funding to some degree. Now it has turned in to a taxpayer funded boondogle. It is time to put it on its feet and let it go. My $.02 worth at least.