Prejudice is okay. As long as it's only about skin color. Or gender.

Intolerant douchebag Tony Dungy has stepped in the hypocritical bullshit once again. When he and other black NFL coaches were asked to comment about the Don Imus situation, Dungy condemned the "racist" and "sexist" remarks made by the talk show host, calling them "inappropriate" and "not acceptable." He also added " . . . We need to move toward a more civil society built on respect, not degradation, built on thoughtfulness, not carelessness. We can do it if we put our minds to it."

This, coming from a man who campaigns for and is associated with a group that is actively prejudiced against (and seeks to limit the civil rights of) a segment of our population. Of course, this is okay because the group he discriminates against is gay, and not black or female, and because his mythological creator "tells" him that this demographic is immoral and therefore deserving of derision, scorn and oppression. (Odd, that I didn't see Dungy preaching "respect" and "thoughtfulness" when Isaiah Washington and Ann Coulter were mouthing off about "faggots." I guess Rutgers women basketball players enjoy "favored nation" status with his lord more than T.R. Knight).

Last year, I had a great deal of respect for the man. He got a raw deal in Tampa only to resurface with the Colts, and handled the questions about his inability to win the big game with either team with grace and class. Then, as his team was challenging the Dolphins record as an undefeated team, he suffered a horrible loss with his son's suicide and comported himself in the public eye with dignity and quiet character. He (and Lovie Smith) also addressed the issues surrounding minority coaches with sensitivity and reason at this year's Super Bowl. However, when he immediately started blathering on at the presentation of the Lombardi trophy about how it was god, and not Rex Grossman's ineptitude nor Peyton Manning's execution, that won the game, I started to lose respect for him (although some in Knoxville might argue that Peyton and the almighty are one in the same. At least I can verify that one exists, because I've seen Mastercard commercials). Now, he's denigrated an entire group of human beings and visibly and actively worked to restrict their basic freedoms, while hypocritically lambasting a shock jock who thoughtlessly maligned a different group (of course it should be noted that while Imus's comments were deplorable and insensitive, he didn't show up as a featured speaker to raise money to keep blacks, women or basketball players from getting married). I guess when the lord gives you a Super Bowl ring, you're entitled to bigotry without reproach.

Friday Free For All

Random thoughts with absolutely no connective tissue.

Imus gets canned by both MSNBC and CBS Radio. By now, everyone has heard of this and rehashed it a million times. I could go on and on, but it probably wouldn't add anything new to the debate. The salient points for me:

• It irks me to no end that people characterize this a "free speech"/First Amendment debate. It's not. The government is not censoring or firing Imus. Private corporations are. It's all pretty simple. If Imus and his crew wanted to get in a public square and insult the Rutgers women's hoops team, and the police shut him down, that's one thing, and related to the Bill of Rights. If the company that pays your checks thinks your behavior is inappropriate, not funny, not entertaining or even tiresome, that's another. Imus was fired because his comments offended fellow associates withing the two monolithic corporations, because association with him tarnished their public image, and most importantly, because advertisers were withdrawing funds.
• Al Sharpton has no credibility and is the height of hypocrisy to get on a pulpit about race-baiting.
• The uproar has as much to do with the targets as it does the words themselves. If instead of comment about the players -- relative "innocents" in the grand scheme who did nothing to engender the invective -- Imus has focused his epithets on the cast of "Flavor of Love," I think he'd still have one job, if not two.
• "Should" he have been fired? It's a moot point. It's not like his schtick was new to anyone, and this has been going on for years. Unpopular and offensive opinions are not "illegal." But companies have the right to fire people who aren't making money for them.
• As usual, Jason Whitlock has a cogent take on matters of race and sports.
  

Speaking of race-baiting, wonder if Jesse Jackson is going to hold a big press conference at Duke and apologize? Say what you will about Imus, at least he recognized the impact of his words and made attempts to apologize to those he offended. I'm sure the good reverend (as well as Sharpton) won't have a thing to say the true "victims" in the Duke Lacrosse case, those maliciously and fallaciously accused. Moral here? Never, ever believe a stripper.

On this week's Idol results show, JLo performed her new Spanish language song, and surprisingly, she showed a good voice and I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed Michael Buble's performance last week, though the lyrics were just as intelligible as La Lopez's new tune. And I don't speak Spanish.

Just a reminder: watch Drive on Sunday, with a new episode on its regular night the following Monday. Nathan Fillion, Tim Minear. It has to be good. And of course, quickly cancelled by Fox. Good "preview/review" from Maureen Ryan here.

Speaking of Fillion, I finally watched Slither last weekend, and enjoyed the hell out of it. A great homage to the sci-fi/horror silliness of the 50s, complete with thrills, chills, icks and laughs. Fillion is solid as always, but Gregg Henry as the mayor completely steals the show. Any movie with the line "If I wasn't shittin' my pants right now, I'd be fuckin' fascinated." is worth a rental. B+

How to tell if you're a geek. As for me? Yes. Not in drinks, but I know what it is. And went to it in Vegas. Nope. Nope, I hate Ewoks. Yes. Nope. Nope. Yep, I knew all the acronyms off the top of my head.

Not only is Rosario Dawson in Kevin Smith and Tarantino movies. Not only is she hot. Not only is she a comic book fan. But she's a Trekkie. God love her.

It's baseball season. That's enough reason to enjoy Earl Weaver losing his shit. "You're here for one goddamn specific reason: to fuck up!" Good Stuff.