The Imus Execution

I don't agree with everything Pat Buchanan says in this essay, but I agree with much of it. Don Imus deserved censure and firing for what he said, but the hypocrisy surrounding his lynching has grown galling. His offense was not that he uttered racist remarks or called the girls "nappy-headed." His offense, in my mind, was that he called the girls "whores," a gratuitous insult that was utterly reprehensible.

Imus lived by the arrogant, mean aspersion and he died by it, so it's hard to feel sorry for him. Had he called my daughters what he called the Rutgers women, I would have been incensed. But, having said that, to have this episode magnified into an act of vicious racism, which it was not, and to have the media set up Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two of the most shameless race baiters and bigots of our time, as moral inquisitors is worse than absurd.

The real problem, as Buchanan points out, is not with people like Imus - who has done much good despite his execrable radio persona - the real problem is with a dysfunctional, degenerate entertainment culture, populated in large measure by black rappers, actors, actresses, and music video dancers, which facilitates and celebrates the degradation of women. Yet these people not only don't get punished, they are often richly compensated. Not only do the Sharptons and Jacksons of the world not demand that the financiers and enablers of this debasement of our culture stop rewarding those who actually do the dirty work, but they are not infrequently seen enjoying their company.

But read Buchanan's column. He says it better than I can. And see here and here for more of our views on this whole sordid affair.

RLC

Christ Killas

The latest attempt to employ art in the cause of destroying Christianity is a loathsome piece of work by a person named Eric Medine who has produced a video game that depicts Christ as a homocidal maniac that the player needs to shoot in order to win. The game is called "Christ Killa."

The press release of the gallery displaying the game says this:

Described as the ultimate arbitration between politics and Christianity, "Christ Killa" is a video game linked to video projectors and television monitors. A first person shooter in which the player shoots hordes of homicidal Jesus Christs, the game landscape is filled with Googled images of Christian propaganda posters, religious shrines such as St. Peter's in Rome, and clichèd representations of Christ who constantly mumbles messages of tolerance and compassion.

The audience is invited to participate in the carnage by playing the video game and watching short videos of the game in action. The winner with most Christ kills will be awarded with a trophy at 9:00PM.

Sounds like great fun, I suppose, for those of a certain warped and undeveloped mentality. Michelle Malkin, after showing other memorable examples of art that sought to degrade or demean the person of Christ, issues this challenge to the edgy and intrepid "artist," Mr. Medine:

You want edgy? Go ahead and create "Mohammed Killa." Replace the Homicidal Jesus Christs with Homicidal Mohammeds mumbling clichèd messages of peace from the Koran. Fill the "game landscape" with Googled images of Muslim propaganda and sacred mosques while the Homicidal Mohammeds blow themselves up in crowded schools, restaurants, buses, and markets.

Put that on exhibit. Go ahead. Be a maaaverick "artist." Show us how brave you are at offending all people of faith.

Of course, people like Medine generally decline such invitations as Michelle's. They'd rather stick to offending people who are no threat to them. To do "Mohammed Killa" would require a degree of courage beyond the attainments of most emotional and psychological juveniles.

RLC

Will the Real Conservative Please Stand <i>Out</i>

Jason sends a link to a column by Jonah Goldberg in which he laments that conservatives have no dog in the 2008 fight. Goldberg's right about this, of course, and in fact, conservatives haven't had a dog in the fight since 1984. The Bushes (W. and H.W.) are more conservative than Michael Dukakis, Al Gore or John Kerry, but they're actually something of an ideological hybrid. Nor are any of the top three candidates in this year's Republican field conservatives, at least not on most economic and social issues.

Whether this is good or bad we leave to the reader to decide for him or herself. We mention it only to contrast it with the MSM's inability to distinguish between Republicans and conservatives. In the MSM's world there are the good guys in the Democratic party and there are conservatives who must be defeated by any means necessary. The conservatives can be identified because they have the scarlet letter R (for Reprobate, perhaps) next to their name.

Goldberg points out why this is such a false picture of the way things really are and why, at this moment in history, liberalism actually dominates both political parties. It's an interesting essay.

RLC