After a meeting of the Rutgers' womens basketball team and Don and Deidre Imus last night (the meeting which Gov. Jon Corzine was en route to when he had his automobile accident) the team has announced it will accept Don Imus' apology.

``These comments are indicative of greater ills in our culture,'' Stringer said. ``It is not just Mr. Imus, and we hope that this will be and serve as a catalyst for change. Let us continue to work hard together to make this world a better place.''

More....

Let me join the chorus of praise for Sam Seder of Air America. His daily show ends today and he now starts a weekly Sunday show.

I had the privilege of being a guest on Sam's previous show Majority Report to discuss issues like torture and, the Roberts and Alito Supreme Court nominations. Sam always got it.

Be sure to listen to Sam's new program. It is sure to be among the best political radio out there.

Via Digby, a wonderful blast from the past from the late great Lars-Erik Nelson:

Daily News (New York)

September 22, 1995, Friday

POLS WHO TALK NICE AND ACT NAUGHTY

BYLINE: BY LARS-ERIK NELSON

Washington Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) came to the Senate floor with a look of sad concern on his face. He was deeply troubled, he said, at the vulgar, morally repugnant content of the new TV season. "We are lowering the standards of what is acceptable in our society and we are sending a message to our children," he said. He denounced an "acceptance of rude language, foul imagery and gross behavior in the entertainment mainstream."

. . . Funny thing: The previous morning, Lieberman had been a guest, as is his regular custom, on the Don Imus radio show on WFAN, a program that seems to get the bulk of its yuks from penis references.

. . . Lieberman worries, on the Senate floor, that the increasing vulgarity of network TV "is lowering the standards of what we accept on television, particularly in what used to be family programing hours."

But he's talking out of both sides of his mouth. This week's moments of supposed humor on Imus, broadcast at an hour when children are rising for school, included a reference to Attorney General Janet Reno in crotchless pantyhose, an interview with Screw Magazine's Al Goldstein and a drunken woman saying "s---" over the air. Teehee.

I miss Lars Erik Nelson.

You know what bugs me about Al Sharpton in this whole Imus mess? Why doesn't he fight against rapper lyrics? Oh wait:

Aired March 9, 2005 - 07:30 ET

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. In just a few minutes, a new battle plan in the rap wars. The Reverend Al Sharpton is our guest. He's got a new hard-line proposal to make artists quit using violence to sell records. Is it going to work? That's ahead.

O'BRIEN: Well, he is known as a straight shooter. Now, the Reverend Al Sharpton is taking direct aim at rap music, the FCC and also major advertisers. In just a moment, we're going to talk with the former presidential candidate about his new campaign, one that he hopes will prevent artists from cashing in on a culture of violence.

Ooops, never mind.

Brian Williams is a uniter, bringing Dean Barnett of Hugh Hewitt's blog, Andrew Sullivan, Atrios and now me together. Here is why:

"You're going to be up against people who have an opinion, a modem, and a bathrobe. All of my life, developing credentials to cover my field of work, and now I'm up against a guy named Vinny in an efficiency apartment in the Bronx who hasn't left the efficiency apartment in two years" -- Brian Williams, anchor of the "NBC Nightly News," speaking before New York University journalism students on the challenges traditional journalism faces from online media.

He opened the credentials door and Barnett walked right through:

How unbelievably rich is that? . . .[T]his Catholic University drop-out still thinks the blogosphere consists of shut-in half-wits. Perhaps Williams would enjoy matching résumés with Hugh to prove his point. I especially enjoy the risible self-regard of a guy who refers to his tireless development of “credentials to cover my field of work” when said “field of work” primarily consists of reading words off a teleprompter.

For the record, I graduated from college AND law school. Also did a bit in the Media. No teleprompter reading I'll grant you. Williams has me there.

I am seeing this announced on TV. Reporting by AP. More in a moment.

AP:

CBS announced Thursday that it has fired Don Imus from his radio program, following a week of uproar over the radio host's racist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. "There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."

Quick thoughts. This was a business decision for CBS and NBC's prior move put CBS on the spot. Let's face it, while this last outrage from Imus was especially appalling, his track record was plenty for deciding to get rid of him.

The main talking point you hear now from some of the Imus enablers is 'what a shame he is crucified for one remark' and of course the ever reliable 'what about Al Sharpton?' and its corollary 'what about rappers?' Personally, I think NBC and CBS can do what they want (and MSNBC already has) and people will react to what they do as THEY want. It is a free country right?

But let's stick to the facts when discussing the issue. First, the idea that the issue with Imus is 'one remark' is ludicrous. Imus has been spewing racist and sexist talk for a long time. He has broken pledges to not continue doing it.

Let's start by going back to 1998:

MIKE WALLACE: You told Tom ANDERSON, the producer, in your car coming home that Bernard McGuirk is there to do "nigger" jokes.

DON IMUS: Well I've n-- I never use that word.

MIKE WALLACE: Tom?

TOM ANDERSON: I'm right here.

DON IMUS: Did I use that word?

TOM ANDERSON: I recall you using that word.

DON IMUS: Oh, okay, well then I used that word, but I mean-- of course that was an off the record conversation-- [LAUGHTER]

MIKE WALLACE: The hell it was!

And the sordid saga continued.

Kurt Vonnegut has died.

Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical novelist who captured the absurdity of war and questioned the advances of science in darkly humorous works such as "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle," died Wednesday. He was 84.

Vonnegut, who often marveled that he had lived so long despite his lifelong smoking habit, had suffered brain injuries after a fall at his Manhattan home weeks ago, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz.

When I was in college, I read and loved Cat's Cradle. Later I enjoyed many more of his books. His passing is a real loss. May he rest in peace.

It's over for Don Imus at MSNBC. He's been dropped permanently.

NBC Universal said in a statement: "This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension."

What's behind it? More advertisers dropping out.

The move by the media company comes after a number of major corporations, including General Motors and Sprint Nextel Corp., withdrew their advertising from the Imus show.

How long till CBS follows suit?

Related: Don Imus's wife Deidre has canceled her book tour due to the imbroglio to be with her family.

Here is WaPo/Fred Hiatt on Imus:

NEW YORK radio host Don Imus is an equal-opportunity insulter. He called noted African American journalist Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady." He called a columnist at the New York Times a "quota hire." He's labeled Vice President Cheney a "war criminal." But none of those comments has landed Mr. Imus in as much hot water as the offensive, racist and sexist remarks he made last week about the women's basketball team from Rutgers University.

Called Gwen Ifill "a cleaning lady." Called the great Bill Rhoden a "quota hire." Called Cheney a "war criminal." One of these things is not like the others.

Isn't it amazing that Hiatt would equate what Imus said about Ifill and Rhoden to what Imus said about Cheney? How far up the Neocons' behinds has Hiatt placed his head?

It's one thing to make fun of politicians or journalists as liars and weasels; we're in the public arena and fair game. A group of hardworking student athletes isn't. They didn't do anything to warrant being slimed.

Um, racism and sexism directed at ANYBODY is the problem Howie the Shill. See? You are fair game but I do not get to hurl racial or ethnic slurs at you. Understand yet? What is it with WaPo? Are they this dense?

Some adverstisers on Don Imus' radio show are pulling their ads.

Among them: Proctor & Gamble and Staples.

"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 Staples spokesman Paul Capelli said.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based P&G also withdrew its sponsorship. "Effective Friday, April 6, we pulled all P&G's brand advertising from the MSNBC daytime rotation," said P&G spokeswoman Jeannie Tharrington. P&G would not advertise again "until we can evaluate the Imus situation fully," she said.

On the fence: Bigelow Tea.

Update: The Washington Post reports Bigelow Tea will also pull its ads.

DNA has made it official. Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn. Press conference is live on CNN.

Howard Stern says he won't fight for custody, he'll do what he can to make sure Larry gets full custody. Howard will stay in the Bahamas, he says he wouldn't leave Anna Nicole's late son Danny alone.

Virgie (Anna's mother) and her lawyer say she's looking forward to working with Larry to have Virgie involved in Dannielynn's life. She said she just wants to be a grandmother, so I assume there won't be a custody fight. But Bahamian law provides for two guardians, her lawyer said, and it looks like Vergie may vie for being one of them.

Ok, that's over. Congrats to Larry Birkhead. And now Howard Stern's new lawyer, Lin Wood (lawyer for Richard Jewell and Jonbenet Ramsey's parents) can go after the media who maligned him.