AddieStan

This morning, mes amis , the venerable Diane Rehm devoted her first hour to the Imus affair. Her guests were Clarence Page , syndicated columnist, Chicago Tribune ; Michael Meyers , executive director, New York Civil Rights Coalition; and Frank Ahrens , Washington Post radio reporter. Now, couldn't one of those African-American men been excused in order to make way for a black woman commentator? This is after all, a story, in the the words of Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer "about the degradation of women." Enough already with the all-male commentary rosters on this story! You may write Diane Rehm at: drshow@wamu.org.

Steve Capus , president of NBC News, is currently on "Hardball," explaining to guest host David Gregory why MSNBC has decided to drop, for good, its simulcast of "Imus in the Morning." UPDATE Looking truly tortured, MSNBC's president (also president of the entire NBC News division) demonstrated the sort of anguished confusion that is becoming quite la mode these days among the upper ranks of the dominant culture when a light is shined on ideas about blacks and women that apparently continue to enjoy a sort of smirking acceptance in otherwise polite company. It was through conversations with "trusted employees," Capus said, that he came to the conclusion "that I had to make this call." Among those "trusted employees" is Al Roker , the beloved weatherman of the "Today" show, who blogged on MSNBC's own Web site that Imus had to go . Another reason for the change from suspension to firing, Capus explained, was yesterday...