Smerconish in the Morning

DB is a night owl, but rarely stayed awake late enough on the West Coast watching TV to catch Imus in the (wee hours of the) Morning. So it won't hurt my brain so much when this guy takes over his slot on MSNBC:

Ok, let’s take it a step further. Let’s assume she knows Zarqawi’s whereabouts but won’t give up that information for a piece of quiche and a warm blanket.

Now what?

I say do whatever is necessary to get her to talk. Waterboard her. Strap her to a pig. Do whatever it takes.

Well done, MSNBC. Here's how he reacted to your coverage of the alleged massacre at Haditha:

Isn't it conceivable that the Marines, under attack or believing they were under attack, shot up the area with their automatic weapons, mistakenly killing innocent civilians in the process? Then, fully understanding that the media would vilify them for their mistake, they compounded their error and lied, saying that the IED that killed their comrades, also killed the civilians. If so, I think the lie was a mistake, but an entirely understandable one.

My sympathies to the eyes and ears of other time zones.

Last post on Imus (I hope)

If any Imus defenders talking about rap music right now really gave a crap about that particular issue, there would be significant evidence in their countless appearances on television that they are bothered by rap lyrics. It wouldn't just come up now.

But more important, instead of saying things like...

CRAIG CRAWFORD: But I think further discussion as he goes down the road on this you know, some of these terms, particularly the term “ho,” comes from gangsta rap.

...if you really cared about rap lyrics, you would be saying something like...

It's bad enough that rappers are using language like this, but it's even more disappointing to hear comments like this directed at specific young women by a man who was the featured speaker at the White House Correspondents Dinner and who interacts with America's most powerful leaders on a daily basis.

If you really cared about rap lyrics, you'd be even more upset by Imus, not less.

And finally... I'm as outraged by these comments as Al Sharpton claims to be. So when you're done complaining about his past and calling him a hypocrite, come back to me and explain why I shouldn't be angry when I hear comments like what Imus said. It's the same thing the media did to Jon Stewart when he skewered Crossfire. They ripped his show. Well, I don't have a show and I felt the same way.

UPDATE: Good riddance.

Here's why, Joe

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Hold on a second. Hold on. Craig, Don Imus—and this is the thing—there are a lot of things about this that bother me. One of the main things is the fact that Don Imus has attacked Irishmen. He‘s attacked Catholics. You look at the skits that they do, hugely offensive to a lot of Catholics. He‘s attacked Jews. I mean, this is what they do! They skate on thin ice every day!

CRAIG CRAWFORD: Well, I—I just...

SCARBOROUGH: The question is this, though, Craig. Why is it that he says “nappy-headed ho‘s,” and suddenly a volcano erupts in mid-town Manhattan?

It was wrong.

Those women didn't do anything to deserve that.

It was wrong.

Enough is enough.

It was wrong.

If more people heard his show, it would've happened a long time ago.

It was wrong.

It was wrong.

It was wrong.

100 Miles and Running

What the hell is wrong with people lately? Why is it so hard to figure out that nothing that comes out of a rapper's mouth has anything to do with Don Imus' behavior?

If Imus pulled out a gun and shot at those young women, would anybody say he was just trying to get his street cred? Would anybody say he should only be held accountable when the murder rate drops in South Central Los Angeles? (Not called that anymore)

Seriously, shouldn't the fact that people object to that language in rap be even more of a reason to condemn Imus for stooping to that level?

Again, Imus' defenders are all talking about "context" and how his show is comedy. If context is so damned important, why is it so hard to notice that nobody asked Rudy if he'll continue to appear with Snoop after his arrest?

Is this that freaking hard to understand??

And by the way, the last time I saw Public Enemy, practically everybody in the audience was white. A lot of white people paid to listen to these NWA lyrics, too:

Runnin' like a nigga I hate to lose.
Show me on the news but I hate to be abused.
I know it was a set-up.
So now I'm gonna get up.
Even if the FBI wants me to shut up.
But I've got 10,000 niggas strong.
They got everybody singin' my "Fuck Tha Police" song.
And while they treat my group like dirt,
Their whole fuckin' family is wearin' our T-shirts.

African-Americans didn't invent -- and don't deserve to be credited with -- being an asshole to a bunch of hardworking young women. Imus isn't a victim, he's a dick. Stop making excuses for him.

Racism vs. Hate

I like Craig Crawford. I bought and enjoyed his book. I appreciate the perspective he brings to the shows he's on. But he's dead wrong on the issue of Don Imus and his offensive remarks.

At the end of his segment today on "Hardball," Crawford repeated a claim made earlier on MSNBC by Pat Buchanan: In order for something to be racist, it has to be hateful.

Absurd. Just absurd. So absurd, that I will respond with an outrageous analogy:

I have a cat. I love my cat. But I wouldn't hire my cat. I wouldn't recommend my cat for a job. I wouldn't sue a landlord or restaurant for discriminating against pets. But I do love my cat.

(OK. OK. I said it was an outrageous analogy.) But my point is simple. You don't have to hate someone to believe he or she is inferior or, at least, incapable of doing something you or people like you can do.

You don't have to hate people of color in order to think they aren't as capable as whites. In fact, it probably makes it easier to get away with having those kinds of thoughts. "Sure, I've never hired an African-American... but I don't hate them."

I don't know whether Imus "hates" anybody. I don't really care. What he said was racist. Period.

And no matter how many rappers say ugly things, unless Crawford has been on a crusade to end that, there's no reason in the world for him to start talking about that right now. Sure, it's an "opportunity." But the wonderful thing about America is that every day presents us with opportunities to do great things. He's had more opportunities to make an issue out of that or anything else than 99 percent of the country. He said he's been on Imus' show over 70 times. That's a pretty good platform right there. Has he ever used that microphone to raise awareness on this issue?

And the last time I checked, senators, members of congress, top-tier journalists and presidential candidates aren't hanging out talking policy with Fifty Cent every weekday. For these Imus defenders to all talk about how much "context" matters and then go on to compare his show to the lyrics on a 2 Live Crew CD is a reach of epic magnitude.

And if the president is going to invite radio hosts to his office, when they have called Congresswomen "ghetto trash," among other things, when the vice president is going to give interviews to a radio host who told an African-American caller to "get the bone out of your nose," and nobody in the national media seems to think that's inappropriate, then these people have some serious nerve whining about hip-hop.

UPDATE: No, I am not comparing people of color to cats. I am pointing out that you don't have to hate something in order to think you are superior to it. I chose my cat because there's no ethnic group I feel is inferior. And for what it's worth, my cat is probably cooler than I am. He definitely makes friends faster.

UPDATE II: The exact quote from Crawford was "To be a racist, you have to hate black people."

UPDATE III: What the hell is wrong with Paul Begala? Seriously.

UPDATE IV: CASE CLOSED ON IMUS. In addition to the luxury of being represented by Congressman Waxman, I can count among my West Coast blessings that Imus' show airs when even a night owl like myself shuts it down.