Yes, Dr. S.! Wonderful post! This drives me crazy,The repression of humor is what keeps totalitarian societies "on the same page". When we give up our own sense of humor, knuckle under to Al Sharpton and declare certain discussions off-limits we are allowing the left to insinuate a fascism of multiculturalism into western civiliaztion. As I say in my latest post "Totalitarian systems loath each other but they hate the individual human being, his sense of humor and his free thought much more. That is why the Totalitarian left and Caliphate Islam find common cause with each other(inspite of their obvious differences). In each of them, it is the system not the people in it or the ideals they hold that are important; the individual is an object of suspicion and disdain. " It is the same with the left. They don't care about the 'hoes and the bitches in rap music because that stuff is dead serious- so was Sharpton when he made his remarks about Jews. It is the humor that threatens them- See my current post at http://breathofthebeast.blogspot.com/
Yaacov Ben Moshe | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 1:42 pm | #

Yes, great liberal thinkers like Garrison Keillor are incredible hypocrites. But this has been true for quite some time - at least 40 years, by my count. It takes a long time for people to catch on.
snoring citizen | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 2:31 pm | #

"Totalitarian systems loath each other but they hate the individual human being, his sense of humor and his free thought much more."
Yaacov Ben Moshe

Exactly, and such hate = anti-free thought racism, which necessarily leads to thought slavery in practice, and then logically to homocidal suicidalism. And this racist hate of free thought is nothing but a very pure form of deathworship or hate-of-life itself.

To these Totalitarians any new or diffent thought is suspicious in a racist way. And everyone has or might well have new or different thoughts at some time.

In other words, say goodbye to humanity altogether should these anti-free thought racists "win".
J. Peden | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 2:36 pm | #

"the top of their little lawn sign lungs"

:D
johnsadowski | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 3:32 pm | #

Humans are the only animal that truly laughs....

That, plus an ability to anticipate death is all that clearly distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world.

Although I have known a cat or two that made me question the first statement...!
suek | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 3:35 pm | #

Some free association:

1. Black leaders haven’t figured out that a cross between Howard Stern and Hunter S. Thomson (with a bit of Toby Keith thrown in) can have a big budget radio/TV show - only in America!

2. Looks like Keillor evened up with Coulter. LOL

3. If I was a non-political guy from the heartland with a kid who suddenly turned into an ‘MTV gangsta lefty’, I’d probably turn Republican too!

4. In Minnesota politics really is show business for ugly people.

and finally:

So how does one turn “Stickin’ it to the man” and “Speaking truth to power” into “Stickin’ it to the non-democratic power player, worldwide” (or something more catchy)?
americafirst | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 3:38 pm | #

Sharpton's kinda the pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

Sharpton doesn't have a problem with the word "ho" unless it's uttered by a "White Interloper" like Imus.

We in NY remember the riot he incited and the lives that were lost at "Freddy's Fashion World".

Google "Sharpton" and "Freddy's" and you'll see what kind of a racist he truly is.
Wr_guy | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 3:51 pm | #

Did somebody make you angry this morning? While you are usually direct with your posts, this one just seemed a wee bit like a knee-jerk reaction... not to say your observations aren't correct. You are correct and it's worse than you stated.

I was once fired for doing my job because my job entailed teaching "bad" parents how to be good parents and learning independent living. I did my job well enough that some of the people I worked with started questioning the powers that be (DCFS) because some of the cases were hanging on for more than a year when they should have been closed much much sooner... some shouldn't have been an open case in the first place. While I couldn't actively say anything for or against DCFS, the very fact that these people I worked with were thinking for themselves was enough to crucify me for: Doing My Job. Most of the people I worked with were Black.

The backlash from this convinced me I wanted nothing to do with the mental health field ever again. My supervisor talked me into trying one more time. I did and completed all but 5 hours of an internship for a graduate degree and again I was fired for doing my job. Except it was a quicker firing that time around. I saw some things happening in a couple session that the intern supervisor didn't see. I pointed it out to her and she said I was wrong but two weeks later the same couple were in a crisis situation from an occurrence of domestic abuse. I made her look bad so I was gone again. That time I stayed gone and won't go back.

Since I was so close to degree completion I had paid for certification tests. These were nonrefundable fees so I took the tests because I wanted to prove something to everybody else who would also get copies of my scores. I passed them way above the norm, even scored the max on a few of the sections... with no studying beforehand.

Looking back on it, I believe the Counseling Psychology field is about as leftist as you can get. Glad you're psychiatrist instead of a psychologist, Doc. I would really miss your posts.
Steph | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 4:02 pm | #

Why does Keillor think that Republicans are "freelance racists?" Because they didn't free the Hispanics and whites too?
Occam's Beard | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 4:41 pm | #

I participate in a "discussion" forum that is made up of government employees. There is no discussion. When I bring up a topic or state a point of view the hatred comes forth and I have been called all the names but no one disagrees with me through intelligent argument
Rick | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 5:14 pm | #

I used to really enjoy A Prairie Home Companion before 9-11. Now I've learned what American politics are really all about and it ain't pretty.

Why can't these people just keep their damn mouth's shut and entertain us like they're supposed to do?

Anyway, can you say Tawana Brawley?
Jack Ryan | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 5:15 pm | #

have had people who I thought were friends suddenly inform me that they could not associate with me because I was capable of writing a blog like Dr. Sanity; i.e., that I disagreed with them politically. Discussion of the ideas that I presented was not something they cared to do.
That's the story of my post-9/11 life, before and after I started blogging.
Fausta | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 5:20 pm | #

Fausta: Get some new friends. The old ones were never your friends, anyway.
snoring citizen | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 5:31 pm | #

Don Imus is a pig. He's a thoroughly unpleasant media ho in his own right, but does not deserve to lose his job just because Al Sharpton, also a pig, demands it. Let the market operate. If Imus gets the ratings, and the advertizing to bring in money to his bosses, then let him opine pompously and unfunnily away to the audience that enjoys him. When I had the chance to hear his show some years back, I couldn't figure out what his appeal was. A laugh track doesn't confir wit or humor onto a comedian, no matter how often or loudly it is used. I didn't GET him. It must be a New York thing, I guess.
Immanual Goldstein | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 7:10 pm | #

SC, yes, you are right, and I have. Dr Sanity's one of them.
Fausta | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 7:39 pm | #

I listened to Prairie Home Companion faithfully whenever I could ever since it first went national in about 1977. I always knew Keillor was far left, but he kept it under control so his show was still entertaining and funny. Even after 9/11 he was tolerable, but after about 2002 he became much more strident. When he announced Reagan's death during one of his shows a couple of whoops of delight emanated from the audience, and he ignored them instead of chiding the offenders. He later gave some kind of a lame excuse for remaining silent on his web site. The last straw was when, during the Independence Day show of 2004, Calvin Trillin recited his poem, "Nanny Dick." http://www.thenation.com/doc/200...0040426/ trillin

I thought this was particularly inappropriate during the 4th of July show, so I registered on the Prairie Home Companion web site to find out what his fans thought about that. I was shocked that there were American Citizens with that kind of attitude, and I and a few other kindred souls were bombarded with some of the worst invective I've seen on the web outside Daily Kos. I fought with them for about two years until the comment section was finally shut down and refurbished and I decided not to go to the trouble to reregister. I stopped listening to his show about that time, even though I was still duking it out with his little lefty bots, but I understand that he has toned it down a bit recently. No matter, the PHC phase of my life is definitely over.
Capn Billy | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 8:44 pm | #

Although the full poem appeared when I accessed it from the Google link, when I do so via the link I posted in the post above I got a page with just the first verse and an invitation to subscribe to "The Nation" Magazine. Since I don't want it on my conscience that anyone may possibly subscribe to that treasonous publication because of a link I posted, I'm posting the poem below in its entirety:
I Can't Appear Without My Nanny Dick
Calvin Trillin

(George W. Bush explains the interview arrangements he's made with the 9/11 Commission)

When called upon to testify
I said I was a busy guy
So maybe we could do it on the phone.
They really want a face to face.
I said, OK, if that's the case,
I'm certainly not doing it alone.

I can't appear without my Nanny Dick.
For Nanny Dick I've got a serious jones.
I can't appear without my Nanny Dick.
I love the way he cocks his head and drones.

Cartoonists show me as a dummy,*
With voice by Cheney (or by Rummy).
I am the butt of every late-night satirist.
But I just can't go solitaire.
I need the help that's due an heir.
I need a dad, and dad's a multilateralist.

I can't appear without my Nanny Dick.
He brings along a gravitas I lack.
I can't appear without my Nanny Dick-
The one who knows why we attacked Iraq.

Yes, Condi Rice is quite precise
With foreign policy advice
On who's Afghani and who's Pakistani.
I like to have her near in case
I just can't place some foreign face,
But Condoleezza Rice is not my nanny.

I can't appear without my Nanny Dick.
I wouldn't know which facts I should convey.
I can't appear without my Nanny Dick.
It's Nanny Dick who tells me what to say.

* Though Charlie McCarthy's the dummy
Whose name has been most often heard,
Some folks who remember that act say
I'm closer to Mortimer Snerd.
Capn Billy | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 8:55 pm | #

Right on Dr. Sanity!

Freedom of speech is slowly sinking below the surface of the Sea of Approved Speech.

Why can't we be allowed to distinguish between rascist speech, stupid speech, post modernist speech, and worthy speech? Is it too difficult for the "little people?"

I'm with Immanual G. I never could understand Imus' appeal. He always seemed a jek. But don't the jerks of the world deserve representationon the talk show circuit too? Let the market decide.
Jimmy J. | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 10:15 pm | #

Imus is Imus. He has always been this way, and to think that he said something unusual or shocking is suprising.

You are absolutely correct about your comments on leftist thought. They just don't get the connection between Imus and Sharpton. What ever happened to the idea of critical thinking?
Bob Beeman | Email | Homepage | 04.10.07 - 10:56 pm | #

Everyone involved in this mess is MSM.

The media are now so self-appointed-self-important that they can ramp up big ballyhoos about: themselves.

Imus' show, on a good day, has about 300 thousand listeners in a country of more than 300 million.


.
The Machine | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 1:16 am | #

Imus is not a person I would sit and watch - one time was enough for me. But, Al Sharpton has no room to talk or to demand his firing! I don't know where the lefties get off trying to run everybody else's business, making decisions that only employees should be making, when they are doing as bad, if not worse! Apparently they are hard of hearing, when it comes to people of their kind making the same kind of racist remarks.

Imus has apologized - why can't they leave it alone!
Barb | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 2:59 am | #

The fact that Don Imus has such limited appeal is exactly what makes him appealing. His willingness to express his individuality (even if it is left of center) is a breath of fresh air in an era where MSM talking heads are obviously chosen for mass appeal and low risk of abandoning prescribed liberal talking points.

Just like the newsreel announcers from the 40' and 50's who now seem silly now with their cookie cutter cadence spiked with a touch of authority.... We now have the millenium version of the cookie cutter news delivery that will soon seem equally as strange and robotic.
SteveH | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 6:44 am | #

Hey, I think Ann Coulter goes a bit over the top on occasion, but I still love her. For the most part she stands toe to toe with her hyperbole-slinging opponents and no one can top her sarcasm. Most importantly, she's on the RIGHT side.
Bubba Kartoffel | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 9:08 am | #

Ann Coulter's approach is on par with the approach of the democrat talking heads. Basically its a no holds barred dialogue intended to hurt and offend. The only difference is those on the left think they alone have the right to be obnoxious, and white christians are the only people justifiably offended.

Ann does what she does to allow all to witness the double standard reaction.
SteveH | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 9:28 am | #

SteveH, I think you nailed Coulter spot on, that is exactly the way I have always viewed her.

She fights fire with fire, unfortunately, we need some water to really make a diffirence.

Still, its great entertainment watching the libs squirm when being attacked with their own tactics.
xman | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 10:00 am | #

What puzzled me about this affair was why an old (and I do mean OLD) carmudgenly white man even want to adopt the street talk of gen X gangsta-rappahs? I guess that it comes down to relevance. Imus needs it to keep his radio gig going, and the older he gets the more elusive it becomes. How can you be big media, when you keep getting closer to that dreaded demographic, old dead people. So rather than being comfortable in his somewhat lizardlike skin, he adopts the abusive slang of the dumbest, and least educated group out there, thinking that that will be the way he will be hip, happenin, and withit. It's pathetic, really.
Immanual Goldstein | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 11:41 am | #

"Imus has apologized - why can't they leave it alone!"

Barb | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 2:59 am |

First count the number of conservatives fired, resigned and otherwise totally ostracized for saying much less.

Apologies from Trent Lott for only humoring a very old man named Strom Thurmond at a dinner did not matter.

But Imus is a member of the left, therefore the "punishment" is a two week vacation.

Two weeks is still the standard yearly vacation period, is it not?

They'll probably still send his check.


.
The Machine | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 11:49 am | #

How free can speech be if the consequences depend on the racial background of the speaker, and not the words that were said? Sharpton has made a career out of saying far worse things, and doing far more damage.
Tom TB | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 12:26 pm | #

During a typical minute of a typical Imus interview (in this one, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell):

IMUS: “if he goes around the country and says what he thinks and doesn't do what that buck-tooth witch Satan, Hillary Clinton, is doing and patronize everybody on the planet or some”
.....

MITCHELL: OK. I don't know how you're going to pick between Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. I mean, that's -- that's tough.

IMUS: You mean, whose Satan?

MITCHELL: I thought you were supporting them both.

IMUS: No, I'm not supporting them both.

MITCHELL: No?

IMUS: They're evil people. You're supporting them both. I'm not.

MITCHELL: Oh right, that's [Sen.] Joe Biden [D-DE] and Chris Dodd.

IMUS: You and the rest of your liberal weenie friends.

.....

IMUS: He's the phoniest bastard on the planet -- Al Gore. What a horrid human being.

---------------------
Then Sharpton forgets Imus' total support for this guy:
americafirst | Email | Homepage | 04.11.07 - 12:53 pm | #