The Establishment circles the wagons to protect its own.

They protected Katie Couric when she attacked the "rich trial lawyer" and his cancer-stricken wife. Did we think any group of young black women would stand a chance against them?

Howard Fineman and Tom Oliphant, for example, who just appeared with Imus, embraced him with loving arms. Imagine, if you will, these two geeks on the schoolyard as boys. In contrast, they now are "IN" with an Establishment in-crowd, celebrated and lauded on a very public stage. I didn't see Evan Thomas but I've seen his arrogance on display many times before. I'm assuming this morning, with Imus, was no different. After all, he joined Fineman and Oliphant on Imus's show amid a controversy about calling a great sports team "nappy-headed hos." I didn't hear that phrase said on-air this morning, by the way. I would think it would be hard for even these insecure sycophants to suck up to Imus with that phrase being bandied about.

The display from these three this morning is emblematic of the kind of Establishment group-think that landed us George W. Bush, the Connecticut Yankee, in the White House (and enabled the impeachment, egged on by the frontpages of the New York Times and the Washington Post, of the white-trash boy from Arkansas). The Establishment turned on Al Gore and John Kerry, I would guess, because their geekiness reminded them of their own schoolyard days. They got their chance as the schoolyard bully.

And there is no finer example of a schoolyard bully than Don Imus. The most important thing about this controversy is racism that looks as if it will go unpunished. But it's about more than that.

Dare to show a tittie for 2 seconds while most the viewers were in the bathroom and the FCC revises rules, but get out and deliberately slander and slime people you don't even know and that's just fine. Just say you're sorry and all is forgiven...hell, boys will be boys now won't they? :sarcasm:

Anus is playing this like a violin and he's got his court jesters and toadies singing right along. This is corporate media circle jerking at its finest. Howard the Duck and Anus need each other. First, there's this "image" inside the beltway of Anus as the "must listen" radio show and appearing on it makes you a big shot. Many times I've heard one stenographer or another on the show mention how their wife or co-workers or politician had heard them appear on the Anus show...a big ego stroke. Then there's Anus need to stir up controversy for ratings and relevancy. He didn't just slip those words out...he did it deliberately to stir up attention to his show and try to boost ratings for both his TV and radio show through all the interest that generally follows this type of controversy. Even the timing of this is suspect as Anus waited all weekend for this story to build and now, on Monday, with a large audience in tow, he will hoist himself on his own verbal petard for the umteenth time. It's a game he's all too familiar with.

Racism sells...sadly. Had Anus bitched about the U of T woman's team due to sloppy play or a bad uniform, no one would have cared...but mention race and sex and he's hit a motherlode. Unfortunately in the sports radio world, many males share the same sentiments Anus does and while you and I and many others are outraged, others find a bit of comonality in this sentiment. Remember, Anus' target audience is Male 25-54...that covers a lot of racist and sexist males.

in all this. I described Imus's little group in a previous post as "testosterone-charged."

David Gregory rapping with Karl Rove?

few of them are where they're at based on merit, and they realize this.

So, driven by their fears and inadequacies, they cravenly play the game of unspoken, unspeakable rules -- and prostrate themselves at the temple of establishment "culture", hoping that their "gods" will preserve them from the misfortune of losing their access and ability to make an easy, good living.

And the establishment-elite lives in terror of the unwashed masses shaking the scales from their eyes, throwing off their shackles, seeing the world around them clearly, feeling their power -- and using it.

But we must use our power to rattle the elite out of their complacency, make them do their jobs, serve national interests, stop the lies and manipulations, and treat us with the respect due to us as human-beings and citizens -- not try to drive us like sheep.