Was Dr Laura Schlessinger treated fairly?

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by drummerboy_dave

Motel 6 and Government Motors are the sponsors who have "pulled support".

GM's largest single shareholder is the United States government. So, wouldn't this be a case of Dr. Schlessinger's First Amendment rights being impuned by the Federal Government?

I can't speak to the comments for which she has apologized, but the multi-racial character of the caller's family resonates with my own experiences. My own father is perhaps the most "racist" person that I am related to - and his "problem" stems from the fact that he was never "white enough." He married about the "whitest" person he could find (my mother) and as a result I was harassed as kid for being "too white." Thanks dad... I think?

Color is nonsense. I've been trying to find reason and meaning in this discussion for my whole life and all I've ever come up with is nonsense.

I am constantly reminded of that Star Trek episode where the two half white and half black men were hatefully fighting each other. The characters were "disgusted" by the appearance of each other. The crew of the Enterprise, however, could not see any difference between the two men. Then, finally, one guy points out that the other fellow is "black on the wrong side and white on the wrong side." Only then does the crew (and the viewer) notice the "difference."

[Twisp]

Originally Posted by pelathais

GM's largest single shareholder is the United States government. So, wouldn't this be a case of Dr. Schlessinger's First Amendment rights being impuned by the Federal Government?

I can't speak to the comments for which she has apologized, but the multi-racial character of the caller's family resonates with my own experiences. My own father is perhaps the most "racist" person that I am related to - and his "problem" stems from the fact that he was never "white enough." He married about the "whitest" person he could find (my mother) and as a result I was harassed as kid for being "too white."

Color is nonsense. I've been trying to find reason and meaning in this discussion for my whole life and all I've ever come up with is nonsense.

I am constantly reminded of that Star Trek episode where the two half white and half black men were hatefully fighting each other. The characters were "disgusted" by the appearance of each other. The crew of the Enterprise, however, could not see any difference between the two men. Then, finally, one guy points out that the other fellow is "black on the wrong side and white on the wrong side." Only then does the crew (and the viewer) notice the "difference."

I don't see how. She has the right to say anything she wants. No one said she could not say it. She just has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Same in nearly all jobs.

In this case, her sponsors thought she was not best representing them, so they pulled their plugs.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by Twisp

I don't see how. She has the right to say anything she wants. No one said she could not say it. She just has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Same in nearly all jobs.

In this case, her sponsors thought she was not best representing them, so they pulled their plugs.

The United States Federal Government "pulled the plug." That would be the very definition of "censorship."

I was thinking and wondering "out loud" more than trying to make an argument. GM was one of the companies that famously used "product placement" types of advertising on HBO's The Sopranos.

The Sopranos used "the n- word" frequently, yet no one complained and GM still sought and received the coveted product placements. It's only when someone who is perceived as being "conservative" uses the word - even in an academic fashion as Schlessinger appears to have done - that the big money Liberals attack.

[Maximilian]

Originally Posted by pelathais

The United States Federal Government "pulled the plug." That would be the very definition of "censorship."

I was thinking and wondering "out loud" more than trying to make an argument. GM was one of the companies that famously used "product placement" types of advertising on HBO's The Sopranos.

The Sopranos used "the n- word" frequently, yet no one complained and GM still sought and received the coveted product placements. It's only when someone who is perceived as being "conservative" uses the word - even in an academic fashion as Schlessinger appears to have done - that the big money Liberals attack.

I don't know, didn't Howard Stern run into similar issues?

If she's a hot commodity in the market, she'll earn more money and have the same audience when she switches formats.

Your point about GM -- is the government really "calling the shots?" Really?

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by Maximilian

I don't know, didn't Howard Stern run into similar issues?

If she's a hot commodity in the market, she'll earn more money and have the same audience when she switches formats.

Your point about GM -- is the government really "calling the shots?" Really?

Oh yeah. Just look at how GM and Saab are intertwined into a monumental UN dominated global car maker. The effects on our freedoms should be chilling to everyone. You know BHO is "in bed" with the Trilaterals and is just itching to sell us out to the secret global elites.

The new 2011 Escalade seems to have escaped their world domineering scheme, however. Except for the fact that you would need a government bail out to afford one.

http://www.automobile.com/2011-cadil...de-review.html

"Government control" doesn't have to equate to "calling the shots," at least not on a one-to-one level. GE also has a huge government ownership and though the Feds don't overtly "call the shots," GE's news divisions (MSNBC, NBC, CNBC, etc) have sat on stories and angled their "reporting" to support the party that currently controls our lives and has done so for most of the past 80 years.

After GE received their $140 billion bailout, MSNBC's Chris Matthews said, "It is my job to make the Obama presidency a success!"

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-fi...idency-success

Maybe the government didn't come right out and "call the shots" but $140 billion dollars of taxpayer money did.

With regard to GM, they're in a mess because of the unbridled greed of the unions. Most of the manufacturing has been driven out of the country or into the South. The unions have been an extension of the DNC for over 80 years now. With the current arrangement, the DNC has now moved itself into the corporate headquarters as well.

The ramifications of this are discussed in this 2009 WSJ article: http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ...542061821.html

[drummerboy_dave]

Originally Posted by pelathais

The United States Federal Government "pulled the plug." That would be the very definition of "censorship."

I was thinking and wondering "out loud" more than trying to make an argument. GM was one of the companies that famously used "product placement" types of advertising on HBO's The Sopranos.

The Sopranos used "the n- word" frequently, yet no one complained and GM still sought and received the coveted product placements. It's only when someone who is perceived as being "conservative" uses the word - even in an academic fashion as Schlessinger appears to have done - that the big money Liberals attack.

Yep, again with the double standards.

[Twisp]

Originally Posted by pelathais

The United States Federal Government "pulled the plug." That would be the very definition of "censorship."

I was thinking and wondering "out loud" more than trying to make an argument. GM was one of the companies that famously used "product placement" types of advertising on HBO's The Sopranos.

The Sopranos used "the n- word" frequently, yet no one complained and GM still sought and received the coveted product placements. It's only when someone who is perceived as being "conservative" uses the word - even in an academic fashion as Schlessinger appears to have done - that the big money Liberals attack.

Perhaps because conservatives are the one that use that word more than their liberal counterparts? I can't think of too many cases where a liberal politician/media figure used that word. Harry Reid saying negro is the closest I can remember.

As far as The Sopranos, they definitely used that word, along with a host of other racial epitaphs. Perhaps GM thought it was in an artistic format and decided to not pull their products from that show. Not sure.

I'd say that GM, along with most other sponsors, makes these kind of decisions based on protecting their brand and revenue stream, rather than doing it to attack liberals.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by Twisp

Perhaps because conservatives are the one that use that word more than their liberal counterparts? I can't think of too many cases where a liberal politician/media figure used that word. Harry Reid saying negro is the closest I can remember.

As far as The Sopranos, they definitely used that word, along with a host of other racial epitaphs. Perhaps GM thought it was in an artistic format and decided to not pull their products from that show. Not sure.

I'd say that GM, along with most other sponsors, makes these kind of decisions based on protecting their brand and revenue stream, rather than doing it to attack liberals.

? You meant "conservatives," right.

And I have not heard any prominent conservatives using the "n word." From the transcript it seems that Schlessinger may have run afoul in a fashion similar to Kramer. However, whereas Kramer was trying to be "ironic" and "really out there," Schlessinger seems to have been angry about the fact that "the Sopranos" were given more leeway than her caller was giving either her or the caller's husband.

There certainly has not been any conservative of the stature of the Dems' Harry Reid who has said anything like this. And you know, if Harry Reid had been a Republican he would probably have been forced to resign. There is clearly a double standard.

Liberals are given "artistic license." Conservatives, who don't even use the word - like the Tea Party flap on this issue - are bashed immediately as "racists." Race keeps being used as a tool by the Left to keep black voters in line. Many African Americans have awakened to this fact only to be vilified as "Uncle Toms" by other blacks and the whites who control the DNC.