Broadsheet?

The Duke students were cleared today of all charges. The Attorney General says they were innocent.

Here is how Broadsheet characterizes that:

Duke players cleared

All remaining charges in the notoriously botched case have been dropped.

Ms. Walsh, is their headline a fair statement of today's events? Does botch tell you that the students were declared to be innocent? Or does botch tell you that the students are guilty and would be in prison except for the incompetence of the DA?

botch (bŏch) pronunciation

tr.v., botched, botch·ing, botch·es.

1. To ruin through clumsiness.

2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle.

3. To repair or mend clumsily.

Be honest Ms. Walsh, is the headline at Broadsheet accurate? Or is it a sexist and bigoted smear?

If it's the latter, just what is the difference between Broadsheet and some tabloid smear merchant yellow journalist rag, or a disgusting bigoted shock jock like Imus?

As far as the question of the justness of canning his tv show goes, I agree that pointing out that various black rappers also use some of the same language is besides the point. The "they did it first" defense is irritating and disingenuous, but I don't find it nearly as irritating as the he's-basically-a-good-guy-who-erred routine, and that he needs to be measured by his "internal goodness."

It exasperates me to no end when social conservatives offer this argument, about "what's in their heart." I don't presume to judge Imus's heart when I concur that he deserves to have his tv show stripped from him. I presume to judge his behavior, and the fact that the Rutgers team incident was just one in a long line of supposed flubs with racist overtones doesn't speak well for him. I'll still allow that he may well be a heck of a guy in many other respects-- I have no problem with that, and I'm not saying that to seem reasonable-- I understand people are complex.

(As far as his right to speech goes, 1. He still has his bread and butter, his radio show, and 2.where were Imus's defenders when Phil Donahue was canned, also from MSNBC, on the eve of the current war?)

It occurs to me the bottom-line regarding Imus's tv gig is not his character, nor his contriteness, nor his right to speech. Consider: If he was just some guy working in an organization and numerous co-workers came forth, documenting numerous incidents like the ones Imus has offered forth on the airwaves, uttered before said coworkers (or say, before coworkers and customers), he would have been fired forthwith. Can you imagine a cashier at Wal-mart keeping her job if she was conclusively documented describing some customers as "nappy-headed hos" to a customer as the young ladies were walking in or out the store, even if they were out of earshot?

The hypocrisy of this Imus MSNBC "bovine scatology" is so noxious that I need a full face mask breather to address this..!

Did Imus say something stupid insensitive and callous yes..!

Now as one who has been consistent in condemning the terrible message and philosophy of the Hip Hop gang bang Ho Ho Ho Bitch Bling Booty ethic, who has record for Sistah Soldier and such I can tell you that these ghouls who have proliferated this garbage as our national culture are getting off Scot free..!

Joan is beside herself that they got "the white guy" just like Bonfire of the Vanity's..!

White men have been taught another lesson that the Constitution does not apply to you or any other white male individual as it was intended by our Founding Fathers..

We as I must confess as I am considered to be white while Italian American need to know that we have "no standing" as far the the U.S. Constitution is concerned, we are not a part of any select group favored group, such as Women, Black, Jewish, Muslim, or Hispanic..

So the real lose is that of all Americans who are unprotected as individuals as the Federalist Society wants to rob us of any access or standing as Americans to those protections of the Constitution..

Now I am not arguing a free speech case here, which I can do but a cultural slap down, yet another cultural slap down of white males who must learn to keep their mouths shut and their heads down and their cash readily available pay your taxes child support and STFU, stupid white guy..!

Even Don Imus for all his money and power is ours "our bitch" and now you don't even have him any more..!

We white males aren't even citizens any more but nothing more than tax paying pre-incarcerates..!

Your jobs are going to Hispanics and over seas your earnings stagnant for nearly if not 25 years and your daughters ours for the taking and your ex-wives too..!

Now Joan is so glad that Imus has been castrated in the national arena, just like ancient Rome and his appendage thrown to the dogs, like Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who still will not hold "their own" to the same standard or any standard as ole Don Imus..

Nobody has mentioned Rush Limbaugh or how he called Senator Obama a Halfrican for weeks, nobody until tonight(except Kieth Olberman who got my last letter here) over and over that's ok with Joan calling Sen. Obama a Halfrican..?

Or how Tim Russert the first time Barak Obama was on his little show MTP, made Obama answer for Harry Belafonte's latest ridiculous comment, as if one black man has to answer for another, that's true Racism, as I wrote Russert of immediately afterward..Russert is the real racist, no doubt about it..!

Also Don Imus had been repeatedly stating how Russert lied before and at the Libby trial, and knew he had, so how much of this was Russert shutting this critic of him and Bush and Cheney down, with this slap down of Don Imus..?

So it's ok cool with Joan to allow this obscenity of the Rap, Hip Hop "culture" to still abuse and denigrate women and glorify gun play and gangsterism and pimping, and the founder of BET will still show it after school to our kids, and Viacom will put it on MTV and the radio will play it over and over 10,000 times, but hey man what counts is we got Don Imus and got the white guy, and now all these white guys will run scared and be our bitches..and learn to STFU..!