Gwen Ifill speaks:

For all their grit, hard work and courage, the Rutgers girls got branded “nappy-headed ho’s” — a shockingly concise sexual and racial insult, tossed out in a volley of male camaraderie by a group of amused, middle-aged white men. The “joke” — as delivered and later recanted — by the radio and television personality Don Imus failed one big test: it was not funny.

[Imus'apologies] seem[] forced and suspect because he’s done some version of this several times before. I know, because he apparently did it to me.

. . . It was not until five years later, when . . . I was a Capitol Hill correspondent for the network — that I discovered why people were asking [why she did not appear on Imus' show.] It took Lars-Erik Nelson, a columnist for The New York Daily News, to finally explain what no one else had wanted to repeat.

“Isn’t The Times wonderful,” Mr. Nelson quoted Mr. Imus as saying on the radio. “It lets the cleaning lady cover the White House.”

More:

MSNBC is suspending the simulcast of Don Imus' radio show for two weeks.

NBC News President Steve Capus released this statement late Monday:

"Beginning Monday, April 16, MSNBC will suspend simulcasting the syndicated 'Imus in the Morning' radio program for two weeks. This comes after careful consideration in the days since his racist, abhorrent comments were made. Don Imus has expressed profound regret and embarrassment and has made a commitment to listen to all of those who have raised legitimate expressions of outrage. In addition, his dedication ' in his words - to change the discourse on his program moving forward, has confirmed for us that this action is appropriate. Our future relationship with Imus is contingent on his ability to live up to his word."

What do you think? Is that enough punishment? What should CBS do?

Update: CBS has also suspended him for two weeks.

Rev. Al Sharpton was on CNN's Situation Room today, discussing Don Imus's appearance on his radio show.

Interesting that John McCain and James Carville have said they will continue to go on Imus' show. As I suggested here, since corporate dollars are at stake making it unlikely Imus will be fired, the most effective way of silencing him would be for his advertisers and prominent guests to boycott him. And for those who want to help kids with cancer to give to St. Jude's instead of his ranch.

Here's the transcript (received by e-mail from CNN):

BLITZER: Saying sorry is apparently hard to do, especially when you are being grilled for racially insensitive comments. That's what Don Imus faced today over comments he made about a woman's basketball team. The person he faced, the Reverend Al Sharpton. Reverend Sharpton is joining us now from New York. Reverend Sharpton, thanks for coming in.

AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Thank you.

BLITZER: All right, so, did he reassure you, or you still want him fired?

SHARPTON: Oh, no, we want him fired.

More...

Um, what people I-Man?

A reminder for Tom Oliphant:

"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ... ." "Some hardcore hos," McGuirk said. "That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.

Tom Oliphant, the whitest man on the planet, stands by his brother Imus:

Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant began his appearance on the April 9 edition of Imus in the Morning by stating: "Good morning, Mr. Imus, and solidarity forever, by the way." Oliphant also referred to political pundits like himself who appear on the show as Imus' "constituency."

Hahahahaha! White people are funny. h/t atrios.

Embattled radio host Don Imus spent almost an hour of his show this morning (transcript here) apologizing again for his racist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

As I facetiously suggested here, he's on the road to rehab. He's going to be on the Al Sharpton radio show this afternoon and meet with the Rutgers team.

Imus said he hoped to meet the Rutgers players and their parents and coaches, and he said he was grateful that he was scheduled to appear later Monday on a radio show hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has called for Imus to be fired over the remarks.

"It's not going to be easy, but I'm not looking for it to be easy," Imus said.

Update: Prior post here.

Crooks and Liars has the Imus-Sharpton audiofile.

Jeff Feldman, Ph. D., has written a book. The book was "reviewed" in the NYTimes by the ridiculous Eve Fairbanks of The New Republic. Dr. Feldman responds to the review:

As I think we all knew, it is becoming clear that the Pelosi in Syria "scandal" was trumped up by the White House. Josh Marshall does some legwork on the Israeli "clarification:"

Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency is another person who follows these issues closely and knows a lot about them -- that is to say, he doesn't approach these issues through the prism of reading Drudge or what the Vice President said on the Rush Limbaugh show. In any case, Kampeas takes a look at the story. It's a lengthy piece with a lot of important detail. But let me excerpt this section which touches on the issue of, again, what happened?

If that was the case, why did Olmert need to make a clarification, as Israelis were not speaking on the record. Lantos suggested there was pressure from the White House. "It's obvious the White House is desperate to find some phony criticism of the speaker's trip, even though it was a bipartisan trip," said Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who is considered the Democrat closest to the pro-Israel lobby. "I have nothing but contempt and disdain for the attempt to undermine this trip." The White House had no comment on the allegations by Lantos that it pressured Olmert to offer a clarification.

This was obvious to anyone with a brain I thought.

Finally, the Sopranos are back. The final season, Made in America, begins tonight on HBO with Episode 78, "Home Movies." Like last year, I will be putting up a thread every Sunday night to discuss the show. Predictions, analysis, reactions, all Soprano topics are welcome.

If you get Comcast On Demand, it appears that HBO is free this weekend, including the Sopranos past episodes and tonight's new one.

The only thing I can glean from the news coverage is that not all of the story lines will be resolved by the end.

Update: Some hints here from an exclusive interview with Tony and his son.

Update: Spoiler Alert: Here's a recap for those who missed it.

Watching Meet the Press this morning, it becomes apparent that the Beltway types do not get it yet - on Iraq, what they say matter not one whit to what the American People think. The views on the Iraq Debacle are baked cake, but they still think they have something to say on the matter. The one exception, the astute Chuck Todd, the new political director for NBC (disclosure, I am friendly with Todd.) Watch as Chuck cuts through the Beltway nonsense:

MR. RUSSERT: Chuck Todd, where do we go? The president will say, “All right, you sent me your [Iraq funding] legislation, and I just vetoed it. Now what are you going to do? Are you going to give me money for the troops, or are you going to tell the American people you’re not going to support this war anymore?

MR. CHUCK TODD: Well, it’s interesting. What I don’t understand what the White House is doing is that every time Democrats propose something that allows them to potentially take co-ownership of the war, Bush actually stops them, and politically it actually puts the Democrats in an advantageous position because they can sit there and say, “Well, you know what, we’ve, we’ve tried to take some responsibility for this war. The president won’t do it. He’s vetoing this legislation. This is still Bush’s war. This is still a Republican war.” And that’s sort of the frustration that I’m sensing from some Republicans, not, not inside the White House, but on Capital Hill and on the campaign trail a little bit . . . In 2008 it’s going to be a real death knell for the Republican Party.

You think the Beltway understands this? They do not. Not even most Dems understand this.

Continuing with my media theme today, Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News puts his finger on why Don Imus will go unpunished for his racist comments (video here) about the Rutgers women's basketball team: Dollars. As in money the show makes through advertising.

Which leads to the next question: Who are his show's advertisers?

I don't know, since I don't listen and haven't found a list online. But, what I did find on his MSNBC show site is that he markets his own goods. Those should be easy to boycott. Like Imus Ranch Foods. He has a foundation to help kids with cancer spend time on his ranch, and the money ostensibly goes there, but you don't need Imus to help kids with cancer. St. Jude's is a great alternative.

And what about getting guests not to go on the show? Tim Russert is scheduled for Monday morning. Why doesn't he cancel?

More...

I love this piece by Alexandra Zacharios-Haight at Huffington Post praising Diane Keaton and Helen Mirren and other actresses over 50.

I agree Diane Keaton, one of my all-time favorite actresses, is extremely under-rated. From Looking for Mr. Goodbar to Annie Hall to Something's Gotta Give, she is just so terrific.

The comparisons:

Wisdom, character. These are the new aesthetic criteria for beauty. The vapid, vacuous images of Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears and others are no longer just annoying, they are profoundly disturbing. The crash and burn of Anna Nicole Smith is another chilling and grizzly phenomenon. None of this is beautiful or sexy. And the media coverage of these young women is ugly and cheap. Thank goodness for The Huffington Post, where we can EAT THE PRESS.

Here's to the new goddesses of love, beauty and wisdom--the Athenas and Aphrodites of 2006/07 and all over 50: Jane Alexander, Judi Dench, Tyne Daly, Ruby Dee, Nora Ephron, Mia Farrow, Arianna Huffington, Diane Keaton, Eartha Kitt, Sherry Lansing, Yoko Ono, Nancy Pelosi, Lynn Redgrave, The Ronettes, Patti Smith, Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour and Queen Elizabeth II (mostly thanks to the artistry of Helen Mirren and the extraordinary power of a great film). And whether we like it or not, Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice are part of the phenomenon as well.

I'd add Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn. Any others?