speech

Rep. Joe Wilson shouts to Obama during speech: "You lie"

A Republican House member, Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie” during President Obama’s health care speech to Congress on Wednesday (Sep 9), and members of both parties condemned the heckling.

Is this what this debate on Universal Healthcare gotten to? A bunch of immature heckling? This is so bad, “Dennis the Menace” would have looked at Mr. Wilson like he lost his mind.

“Mr. Wilson, why are you yelling at the president like that?”

“I was wrong, Dennis.”

“Mommy makes me apologize to the class when I yell at the teacher.”

After the speech, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson issued a statement apologizing for his outburst.

“This evening, I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill,” the statement said. “While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

Wilson also called the White House to apologize and spoke with Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who accepted the apology on the president’s behalf, according to a senior administration official.

“We can disagree without being disagreeable,” Emanuel said to Wilson, according to the official. “That was the point of the president’s speech.”

The outburst came when Obama denied that proposed health care legislation would provide free health coverage for illegal immigrants. Immediately, Wilson shouted, “You lie!”

The outburst caused Obama to stop and look toward the heckler. “That’s not true,” the president responded.

This man should step down. He has proven that he is not in the proper mental condition to represent his state of South Carolina. That state been through enough already, right?

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler stated, “Once again a South Carolina Republican has embarrassed our state,” Fowler’s office said in a statement that referred to S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s extramarital affair.

“Never has any member of Congress shown such disrespect for the president during a speech,” Fowler wrote. “One would think that as a member of the military, Joe Wilson would have more respect and patriotism than he displayed tonight. When Congressman Wilson insulted President Obama, he also insulted the American public. Joe Wilson is a poor example of a statesman and an American. He owes an apology to the president and the American people.”

The Democrat hoping to unseat Wilson in next year’s midterm elections also quickly seized on the Republican’s outburst.

“Rep. Wilson’s behavior tonight exemplifies everything that is wrong in Washington,” Democrat Rob Miller said in a statement provided to CNN. “Instead of engaging in childish name-calling and disrespecting our commander-in-chief, Joe Wilson should be working towards a bipartisan solution that makes quality, affordable health care available to each and every South Carolinian.”

I’ll try not to go to South Carolina anytime soon. I heard about how they like to fly those Confederate flags.

“Why is anyone surprised that a congressional representative from South Carolina would publicly heckle the country’s first African-American President? Especially the guy who comes out of the shadow of the segregationist Strom Thurmond! The outburst was significant because it demonstrated how bothered and angered some people are about having a Black president. The disdain people have for Obama has little to do with his political ideas; the hatred is about who he is.

It is so obvious folks. They are doing everything except calling him the N Word (in public).” chicozen — a commenter on The Huffington Post

Links:
Joe Wilson shouts to Obama during speech: ‘You lie’ – CNN.com

Joe Wilson Apologizes For Shouting “You Lie!” At Obama – Huffington Post

Mr. Imus: You’re Fired!

“That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.”

There were African-American players on both the Rutgers and Tennessee teams. Imus initially dismissed the incident as “some idiot comment meant to be amusing.”

However, two days later, amid mounting calls for his firing, Imus issued a statement of apology:

“I want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team, which lost to Tennessee in the NCAA championship game on Tuesday. It was completely inappropriate and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry.”

That dog-haired punk was fired by fired by CBS on Thursday, April 12, after protests and rallies outside CBS headquarters.

Don Imus was initially suspended for two weeks after he called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air last week. But outrage kept growing and advertisers kept bolting from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast, which was canceled Wednesday.

Imus had a long history of inflammatory remarks. But something struck a raw nerve when he targeted the Rutgers team _ which includes a class valedictorian, a future lawyer and a musical prodigy _ after they lost in the NCAA championship game.

The cantankerous Imus, once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine and a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, issued repeated apologies as protests intensified. But it wasn’t enough as everyone from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey joined the criticism.

“He says he wants to be forgiven. I hope he continues in that process. But we cannot afford a precedent established that the airways can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism.” The Rev. Al Sharpton said.

Rev. Jesse Jackson called the firing “a victory for public decency. No one should use the public airwaves to transmit racial or sexual degradation.”

Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program earns about $15 million in annual revenue for CBS, which owns Imus’ home radio station WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show nationally.

Sponsors that pulled out of Imus’ show included American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. Imus made a point Thursday to thank one sponsor, Bigelow Tea, for sticking by him.

You know what, I don’t like what the old fart said either.

You loyal readers of I, your humble blogger know how I feel about free speech. All you have to do is look at my previous posts. Even though I support the right of Mr. Imus to say whatever the f&#* he wants to, but there are just some that you should not say.

Like, for instance, calling a group of intelligent, athletic, young women “nappy-headed hos”. What were you thinking, Imus? These women might just kill your ass.

And I would not surprised. If I had to learn the lesson of watching what I say in this blog, even though I still don’t give a f&#* what anyone thinks about me, you should too.

Just because you have the freedom of speech to say whatever you want, means that there are some things that you should not say.

Oh, and you’re not funny, you sick asshole.

I hope you rot in hell, you fucking racist bastard.

CBS Fires Don Imus From Radio Show Houston Chronicle chron.com