Pittman: Lying about Al Sharpton

IN the blogosphere and on air WBSM host Ken Pittman has propagated a core lie about Al Sharpton and the Don Imus controversy. Pittman's column and comments claim that Sharpton disingenuously sought an apology from Don Imus and , after duping Imus into appearing on the Sharpton radio show, responded to Imus's apology by calling for his ouster from CBS/MSNBC.

However, like a stage managed trip to the Shawmut diner by a Globe reporter, it's all complete nonsense. From the break of the Imus story, Al Sharpton has been nothing if not consistent and unswerving in his call for Imus to be fired.

On March 7th, Sharpton pledged to picket if Imus wasn't fired. On March 9th, before the above mentioned radio broadcast ( where, Pittman tells us, Imus had to actually pass black students in the hallways) Sharpton confirmed that he wanted Imus fired. ON that very morning Sharpton described how Imus came to appear on the Sharpton show:

He said, “Come on my show.” I said, “I would never try to get listeners to your show.” He said, “I’ll come to yours.”

According to the Pittman version, Sharpton had "asked for the apology" and Imus went to perform that very act. Where is this Sharpton request? I can't find it. If this call for contrition does exist, does it negate his easy to find call for Imus to be fired from day one?

We should also note that the fact that some eeevil liberal website recorded and repeated the Imus comments is also considered deeply unfair ( this from a guy who claims conservative talk radio succeeds through its dynamic and uninterrupted exchange of ideas). Imus and McGuirk have committed to boosting their ratings through racist and misogynistic "humor" for years but it is political correctness to be offended by this? This from a person who gets offended when a store clerk doesn't say the right combination of merry and xmas at a certain point in the year ( see more on that here ) ; from a radio station that stirs up Saturday morning callers's defense of American's values by claiming that Tiverton school district banned Easter ( it didn't, of course).

Please note that Imus had and continues to have free speech. MSNBC and CBS have determined that this brand of "humor" is not quite marketable right now. However, his fellow travelers in WMAR ( white male angst radio) have decided that it is African Americans who are far too loud and uppity in practicing their right to free speech ( like Emmet Till , I guess). How dare Rutgers hold a press conference and complain says Limbaugh. No host or caller to WMAR/WBSM whines about anything, right? How dare Sharpton use free speech to express his position and stick to it. In WMAR world, this is hypocrisy.