Rights and wrongs

Another in a series of sad days for the First Amendment. From AP:

NEW YORK -- MSNBC said Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the Imus in the Morning radio program, responding to growing outrage over the radio host's racial slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team.

''This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees,'' NBC news said in a statement. The decision also was announced on air.

Don Imus triggered the uproar on his April 4 show, when he referred to the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team as ''nappy-headed hos.'' His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups. The network's decision came after a growing list of sponsors -- including American Express Co., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. -- said they were pulling ads from Imus' show for the indefinite future.

But it did not end calls for Imus to be fired from the radio portion of his program. The show originates from WFAN-AM in New York City and is syndicated nationally by Westwood One, both of which are managed by CBS Corp.

I'd stayed out of the debate over the last few days basically because I had a busy weekend and didn't have time to write a long diatribe about comedy, free speech, oversensitivity and taste. I've got a paper to help get out this evening and still don't have that kind of time, plus I'm too angry to clearly think out any sort of position. Suffice to say that it's sad that someone's entire 40-year career -- including the only morning news show on television worth watching if you're up at that hour -- is being ruined by a hyperactive news... sorry... newsertainment media.

Maybe I'll write more later, because there are way too few people standing up for freedom of speech nowadays.