I also, like Steven, fear for the future of free speech on the Internet. The growth of blogs has brought new scrutiny to this medium, and we are seeing a great deal of frustration about anonymous personal attacks on individuals. A review of some of our local blogs shows that we have more than enough of that right here in our area. The same people in Sacramento that are attempting to pass a law that outlaws the breeding of anything other than purebred cats and dogs, are perfectly capable of passing a law that prohibits anonymous comments on blogs that name non-public figures. Some people might think that is not bad, but from there it is a slippery slope to the next restriction on free speech.

I think the networks and the advertisers who pulled the plug on Imus are absolute hypocrites. His outrageous, offensive persona created a large audience for himself, brought lots of viewers and listeners to their stations, exposed millions of people to their advertisements, and brought in a lot of cash for everyone concerned. Now, when the heat is on, instead of standing up for the guy who made them millions saying equally offensive things, they dump him like yesterday’s trash. Why didn’t these “ethical” corporations do anything about any other person or group that Imus has no doubt offended over the years?

I occasionally listen to real racists like Rush Limbaugh who don’t use terms like “nappy headed hos” but who show incredible racism and actually express how sub-human they see blacks and other minorities. Just the other day, Tony Blair in England was talking about “black culture” being the source of so much crime in Britain, and I know there are plenty of politicians who share that view on this side of the pond. To me, that should be ten times more offensive, and those should be the targets of the black lobby. Among other things, Imus is a regular contributor to charity. Should we judge people more by their comments or by the actions they take?

I think this also brings up a bigger issue of how people are trained to take their cues from the media about what is or isn’t acceptable discourse in our society. In trying to be “politically correct” we have created a society where you are free to say whatever you want about any group you want unless they have a moneyed lobby protecting them. While a shell of a first amendment exists, in many places you can no longer protest your government without being corralled into a “free speech zone” and possibly detained for a few days by the fuzz, and the media exists only for those approved of by the Al Sharptons, the Catholic Leauge, the Anti-Defamation League, and so on. Is this what a more enlightened society looks like?

When it comes to the internet, combine this knee-jerk behavior with the telecoms’ recent push to create tiered castes of internet access, and it is a scary future for free speech on the internet.

I agree, but doesn’t CBS and MSNBC have the same right?