This blog has done one entry about the Imus Controversy which can be found here.Here is my take.
Conspiracy theories abound over the Imus debacle but as I see it, no laws were broken either by Imus OR the media outlets that made the decision to let him go over his controversial statements.
Everyone was within their rights.
Imus had the right to say what he said, it is up to each individual to decide whether he "should" have said it or not, but he definitely had the "right" to say what he wanted.
Free Speech.
What I find amazing is all the conspiracy theory nuts out there are trying to spin out of this.
Imus had the right to say it..YES, but the advertisers ALSO had the right to pull their advertising, the news outlets ALSO had the right to fire him because without their advertisers, they would have no income.
Everyone was well within their rights to act as they did and Elvis is not alive, little grey men are controlling the world from area 51 and people need to get over it.
What brings this up is an article in Pravda that I read, in which the Imus firing was the work of, as they state it, "US war leaders" desire to hide the truth of 9/11.
In a clear sign of its intent to reign in dissident American media personalities, and their growing influence in American culture, US War Leaders this past week launched an unprecedented attack upon one of their most politically 'connected', and legendary, radio hosts named Don Imus after his threats to release information relating to the September 11, 2001 attacks upon that country.
What a joke.
As you can tell from the technorati search on the keyword Imus, people from both sides of the political aisle has spoken out against his latest comments.
There is no conspiracy.
More from Pravda:
Unable to attack such a powerful media figure as Don Imus, directly, the US War Leaders, and as we have seen many times before, resorted to a massive media attack against him using as the reason a racial slur against a US woman's basketball team, but which has been pointed out by other media outlets was not by any means a rare occurrence for the legendary radio icon to make.
But, to the US War Leaders, Don Imus represented the most serious threat, to date, of the growing assault against them by America's media personalities threatening to expose the truths behind the events of September 11, 2001 and the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars; and to such an extent that another American media personality, Rosie O'Donnell, has expressed concern that US Military Leaders could actually imprison Mr. Imus.
Okay, lets take a look at exactly who has been against Imus here.
Obama:
April 11, 2007— In an interview with ABC News Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for the firing of talk radio host Don Imus. Obama said he would never again appear on Imus' show, which is broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC television.
"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."
Obama said he appeared once on Imus' show two years ago, and "I have no intention of returning."
Is anyone seriously going to try to suggest that Obama is a US War Leader?
Hillary Clinton:
Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), however, said Imus' cracks just confirmed her opinion.
"I've never wanted to go on his show and I certainly don't ever intend to go on his show, and I felt that way before his latest outrageous, hateful, hurtful comments," she said.
Ok, so she voted for our actions in Iraq, but she has done everything she could to distance herself from Bush and this administration, just as the polls tell her to do.
Now lets take a look at who has been defending Imus:
Embattled radio host Don Imus is getting support from many of the politicians and journalists who frequently grace his show - including presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.
Despite many calls for the shock jock's resignation, Giuliani said he would again appear with Imus, and after talking to him on the phone he believes Imus "understands that he made a very, very big mistake."
"I take Don at his word that he understands the gravity of what he said," Giuliani told the Daily News. "He seems sincerely sorry about it and seems like someone who will endeavor not to do that again and I take him at his word."
Giuliani was not the only White House hopeful to say he would again chat on air with Imus. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a frequent guest whose campaign Imus has backed, said he would continue to appear with the cranky commentator.
"He has apologized," McCain said. "He said that he is deeply sorry. I'm a great believer in redemption."
So, are the brain children of Pravda suggesting, even for a moment, that Obama and Clinton are the "US War Leaders" and that McCain and Giuliani are not?
What alternate reality are the writers of the pravda piece living in???!!??
This line from Huffington Post has also caught my attention:
Individuals who hide behind the anonymity afforded by the Internet are seeking to squelch the First Amendment right of people whose identities are readily known and who, unlike their cowardly critics, put their names and credibility on the line each and every day on matters of public concern. Left unconfronted, it is a dangerous practice in the making.
Lets lay this to rest, ok Huffpo?
It is called Capitalism.
an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
No one is going after Free Speech, but just as it is the right of every American to speak freely, it is also the right of each corporation to make money.
If you make your money through advertising, then it behooves you to remove anyone that costs us, as a business, said advertising... it is that simple.
Meanwhile companies such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Staples Inc. have started withdrawing their ads from Imus' shows following the incident. "Based on recent comments that were made on the show, it prompted us to kind of take a look at our decision to advertise and as a result we decided to stop advertising on that program," said Paul Capelli, spokesman for Staples, which had only recently started advertising on Imus' shows.
No laws were broken, no criminal charges face Imus, no fee speech is being jeopardized.
There ARE ramifications for what is said publicly, it is a fact of life.
There is no large conspiracy theory, Elvis is not alive, there are no little grey men at area 51 and Imus is not being targeted by "US War Leaders", he is simply suffering the consequences of speaking without thinking.
For the record, I am not going to get into the thousands of people that would have had to be involved in some sort of 9/11 consipracy, from the witnesses in New York, to the witnesses at the Pentagon, to the families that spoke to the passengers on flight #93, to the al-Qaeda videos claiming responsiblilty for the attacks.
The 9/11 consipracy theory is simply insane and not worth the time it takes to debunk their idiocy.
As to Imus, maybe next time he will think before he speaks...then again, he might not.
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