The things that should be getting attention like this foolishness in this country are ignored: Political corruption, taxes and healthcare.

I thought Imus was dead, or at the very least off the radio years ago.

CBS fires him.
Viacom owns CBS.
Viacom owns MTV.
Shall we count the racist/sexist stuff on MTV?

Imus is gone? So should MTV

Yes, I watch, listened, and liked.

It was on the Imus show 12 or so years ago that I first heard the entire 17 minutes of the "I have a dream" speech, and it was on Imus that I looked forward to it every MLK Jr. Day (when he refused to give in to his bosses and replace it with more ratings-friendly material).

Imus is who convinced me to give to autism causes, to the CJ Foundation for SIDs, to give to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund, and to begin pressuring my congressmen and women to end the war.

What he said was terribly offensive and he was rightly punished, but if this is where we are setting the bar for 'fireable speech,' watch out. Where was this firestorm for 'hymietown' or Tawana Brawly?

Katieshole - I agree with you. There are more important things going on. Have we forgotten about our soldiers in Iraq??
Yes, what Imus said was offensive, and a sincere apology was made. Now he's fired? Was Rosie fired for her "ching chong ching" comment? no...she got away with an apology.

I think the difference between Imus and MTV is (and it's a subtle one) saying something offensive about no one in particular and saying it about someone. The outrage in what Imus said was because it was directed, very specifically, at a group of young black women, who have no cause to be belittled like that. However, if he called the contestants on "Flava of Love" a group of nappy-headed hos, I don't think anyone would have cared.

freedom of speech = responsibility. imus has a right to say whatever he wants, but he has to be willing to take whatever backlash comes of it. and msnbc or cbs is not required to implicitly endorse it by continuing to air his show.

the "nappy headed hos" thing was just part of an escalating sexist/racist conversation imus was having on his show -- and was not the first thing either of them have said that was questionable. in the past, they have called barack obama "that colored fellow." they joked that hillary would be wearing "cornrows and gold teeth" to appeal to a black audience. and they called a jewish area "hymietown."
the comparisons to mtv and howard stern are ridiculous. mtv airs REALITY shows. howard stern interviews strippers and other entertainers. imus interviews politicians and the like -- his show aired at the same time as other serious news shows on other news channels. he is not, anymore, a shock jock. and with that comes great responsibility.

and rosie SHOULD have been fired for her "ching chong" comment, but sadly, racism against asian-americans is even more easily tolerated for whatever reason.

First off, Tabloid Baby, Imus did NOT get fired because he made a "racist" comment. While I am not condoning his comments in any way, he is a shock jock and this is what he does. He's not anchoring the national evening news. Secondly, while his comments may have been morally reprehensible, this does not change the fact that he has every right to say them.
But back to my original point. You say, "he fired old Don Imus from his radio show because of his racist one-line joke about the accomplished young women."...NO. He was fired because advistisors balked and pulled their ads from his broadcast. Yes, this technically stemmed from the comments themselves, but you can be sure he'd still be on the air had Staples, AmEx, et al kept their ads on his program. And you can be even more certain that he'll be on satellite radio within 6 months making SHITLOADS more money than he ever did for CBS.

Of course money motivated the firing of Imus. As for calling names, or describing people a certain way, I think the issue is familiarity of subject. My friends and family who know me well can (usually) get away with calling me certain names and not have it be offensive...BUT, when a stranger says it, that's a different story.