Yep, you read that right. Don Imus is coming back to broadcast radio as of December 3, 2007, and on the nation's biggest radio station, WABC out of New York City. Fans are excited, foes are silent, and Media Matters and Henry Waxman's Senate folks will have something to do.
I'm of two minds on Imus's return. On the one hand, I feel strongly that he should have never been forced off the radio in the first place. Behind all the bluster about the "nappy-headed hos" comment was the machinations of race-hustlers who care more about getting paid then fighting racism. The Rutgers women's basketball team played a role in the plan by claiming to be victims. I said it then and I'll say it now: If these women were so scarred by the comments of Don Imus, the real world will eat them alive. Was the comment in good taste? No. Was it worth getting Imus fired? Nope. And was it worth demeaning the incredible season the Rutgers women's basketball team had just to get on television and maybe make some money off the deal? Absolutely not.
On the other side, Imus's return may also signal a return to something I dislike as much as the aforementioned race hustlers: the coarsening of the culture. Imus's gimmick is that he is edgy and that you never know what he'll say at any given moment. He's done that throughout his career and it's worked well for him, but does it enhance the culture in some way? Not from where I sit. Imus's shtick doesn't elevate, inspire, or motivate in any way. As much of a free speech advocate as I am, I also recognize the power of words and do my best to use my words carefully. The First Amendment gives us the right to free speech, but it also gives us the duty to use that right responsibly. Imus, unfortunately, doesn't.
Although Imus getting fired was a travesty, his return may not be the best thing for the country, either. Fortunately, we have the power to alter the impact of Imus's return with a simple act.
Turn off the radio if he offends.
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' BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomb killed four people and wounded 25 others, most of them women and children, outside a park in al-Harthiya district in western Baghdad, police said.
NEAR BALAD - A suicide car bomb killed six members of a tribal police unit aligned to the U.S. military in an attack on a checkpoint near Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - Police said they found three bodies with gunshot wounds and signs of torture in Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad.
KIRKUK - A roadside bomb wounded four people in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. . .
MOSUL - Police said they found two bodies shot and bound in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. One of them was a member of the Mosul city council. . . '
Police found 5 bodies in Baghdad on Monday, and guerrillas killed three employees of a newspaper in the Sunni Arab Salahuddin province. Another man was killed in Basra after being kidnapped.
Keep posting, One. With every post, you prove me right about you being a liar. :-)
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