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Don Imus of “Imus in the Morning” Fame returns to the airways Monday. Good for him. I wish him enormous success in his re-emergence into the radio scene.
Here’s an article from The New York Post discussing it, and I’m really glad I read it. There are several people who’ve gone down a notch in the respect department with me. Namely, Tim Russert, Harold Ford Jr., and Al Roker.
Onto the Piece:
November 29, 2007 — ALL those politically correct types who piled on last April when Don Imus went down for making his bad “nappy-headed ho’s” joke had better duck and cover on Monday, when the I-Man goes back to work on WABC Radio.
“I think he will have some scores to settle,” the station’s general manager, Phil Boyce, told Page Six yesterday.
It is doubtful Imus will ever forgive CBS chief Les Moonves, who fired him, or regular guest Tim Russert, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” who was “an invisible man” while Imus was under attack.
Private eye Bo Dietl, who will join Imus in the 8 a.m. hour on Monday, also named Harold Ford Jr. and Al Roker as two Imus regulars who abandoned him in his hour of need. “They turned their backs on him so fast,” Dietl said yesterday. “Al Roker had his stomach stapled - he should have had his mouth stapled.”
One longtime listener wondered, “Will Imus ever give Newsweek editors another chance to plug their books on his show since they cut and ran when Al Sharpton started his crusade to get him off the air?”
Dietl said Imus’ controversial remark “brought attention to that Rutgers basketball team. They really benefited. It turned out to be a positive thing.” Dietl expects “a kinder, gentler Imus” next week, “but I don’t know how long that will last.”
The advertising world will also be tuning in Monday to learn which sponsors are coming back to Imus.
The first spot, at about 6:15 a.m., will be for Hackensack University Medical Center, whose CEO, John Ferguson, was in Manhattan Tuesday recording the spot with ad agency Della Femina Rothschild Jeary.
The hospital - which canceled its multimillion dollar budget on WFAN when Imus was fired - is one of the biggest advertisers on his new show on WABC.
Jerry Della Femina, whose agency started calling WABC last summer when Imus’ return was just a rumor, told Page Six: “I, for one, am glad Imus is back. While he was gone, I had to resort to talking to my own wife in the morning.”
Tonight the Demorcatic candidates are busy spouting numbers about the Iraq war to illustrate why we need to quit the war. Time was when citizens of the United States of America would simply not admit defeat–even when the there were setbacks and failures. I have been studying World War II lately and I am amazed at the difference all around between the last world war and the current war on terror.
3,895 American soldiers have been killed in 4 years of Iraq. In 4 years of war against Germany and Japan the Unites States lost 407,300 soldiers. This is more than 100 times the number that have been killed and wounded in Iraq.
Some soldiers have served 3 and 4 tours of duty in Iraq. These men are serving as long as 18 months at a time. Many of the veterans in World War II were drafted for “the duration.” These men left their homes and families for an unspecified amount of time. They were gone, sometimes for years, before they were able to come home.
Civilians were drafted into the service for World War II. No one has been drafted for the Iraq conflict. All soldiers in the military now have volunteered for service. Most of them are proud to serve and want nothing more than to secure the saftey of our country.
The people at home in the U.S. in the 1940s had to ration commodities and industry was converted to war time production. Many people sacrificed comfort and time to ensure the success of the war. Today we are asked to sacrifice nothing as a people. People may moan about the price of gas but there is disagreement about whether this has anything to do with the Iraq war.
After four grueling years the United States was victorious, with its allies, on both fronts. There was never any talk that we might lose. The people only knew that we must win or pay the consequences.
Today, we must win in Iraq or pay the consequences. Each soldier who has given his life or been wounded in Iraq is important and I do not want to minimize what they have done. But it will be worse for soldiers and civillians if we decide to quit before we are done.
I first saw the trailer for the Holiday film “The Golden Compass” this week when my husband found it on the internet. It looked like a well-done, exciting family film in the tradition of “Harry Potter” or “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Now, I find, that the film and the novel it is based on are the center of a rising storm of controversy.
“Northern Lights,” published in the United States under the title “The Golden Compass,” is the first book in a trilogy that tells the story of a young girl and her quest. Philip Pullman, the author of the novel, is an avowed atheist and has reportedly made religion and God the evil villian of these stories. This has raised concern among religious leaders and parents.
Having not read the books, I am unable to say how overt the theme is in the novels, but there seems to be little doubt about Pullman’s intent. He says that his books are “about killing God.” He claims that he has difficulty understanding the words “spiritual” or “spirituality.” And his focus in religious discussions seems to be the crimes and power grabs committed in the name of God over the course of the world’s history.
The movie, it seems, is a rather watered down version of the book with a somewhat less offensive theme. The chief worry seems to be that Pullman’s story will continue to make money. (The books have sold over 15 million copies world wide thus far.) If children like the film, parents may be encouraged to buy them the books not realizing that it is more provocative than the film. They further warn that as the trilogy progresses, the books become more and more edgy and dark.
I believe that these are evaluations that any concerned parent would be glad to have when evaluating whether or not to expose one’s children to certain media. Forewarned, as they say, is forearmed. However, I doubt that this will make a significant difference to the success–or failure–of the film. It has obviously done little to stop the sale of books. Nor do I think that the film will do any significant damage to the religious world overall.
There was a similar storm stirred up around the film “The DaVinci Code” upon it’s release. The book and film were rather uncomplimentary of the Catholic church and used anti-Christian beliefs to advance key plot points. (The film was much less detailed and forthright than the book.) However, most Christians saw the movie and it’s supposed “facts” as a work of fiction. There was no great earthquake of faith among the churches of the world.
“The Golden Compass” is even less founded in reality. Most children will probably not make any connections between the characters on the screen and their pastor on Sunday morning. Adults who make the connection are probably not going to be swayed one way or another by the film.
In the end, it will be up to parents to judge what is best for their children. Those who are offended by Pullman’s views and the possible premise of the film would be well advised to vote with their dollars. Another course is for parents to be well-informed so that they can discuss the film and it’s possible implications with their children.
Look here for a forth-coming family friendly review of the book “The Golden Compass” as well as other volumes of the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman.
Last week citizens in Utah voted down a measure to offer vouchers to families who wish to send their children to private schools. This is the latest in the battle that has raged across the nation pitting school choice advocates against powerful teacher’s unions.
Vouchers are generally seen as the best way to let parents opt out of the Public School System and seek alternative education options. Supporters contend that allowing parents to send children to the school of their choice, will introduce the market forces of competiton into the school system and improve public and private schools. Opponents cite cost and contend that the state will end up paying the tuition for the children of wealthy families.
What few people have discussed is how the private schools feel about the plan. If private schools, many of which are religious in nature, begin accepting government vouchers, how long before they are subject to the same restrictions that have been placed on public schools? The Utah bill already stated that private schools receiving vouchers would have to be accountable to the state for academic standards.
Government subsidies always come with strings. Private colleges that have accepted federal funds have been required to conform to certain government requirements. The Boy Scouts of America have been taken to court several times on the basis of taking money while maintaining exclusions in their recruitment standards. Private schools may or may not be willing to alter their standards in order to be eligible to receive government vouchers.
It then raises the question, if private schools must meet government “standards” in order to receive vouchers, will there be any difference between private and public schools? What choices will be left to parents when these are all the same?
I’ve never been one to believe all these Global Warming/Ozone Depletion theories, and it’s so refreshing to hear from these guys. Watch this YouTube Video from 20/20’s John Stossel’s “Give Me A Break”