David Letterman - Prince of Late Night Cowardice

[hdxpedx]

NOW, who's talking about women's rights??

waste of time with these people.. go enjoy the day. YOU will watch them EAT CROW- sooner or later, turn on TV and look what a mess this world's in today!! acorn get's billions and the RISK takers get SHAFTED!! Miss CALIFORNIA get's fired and the LOON THREATENING judge get's another gig!! GUTTER!!

[cruzer]

The funniest part of this whole thing is that no one here thinks there teenage daughter can or will get pregnant because they have raised them well,provided for them and always tried to set a good example for them. The truth is,any ones daughter can get pregnant,and some will. Sara Palen is living proof and probably had her 14yr. old daughter along to keep a closer eye on her than she did her other daughter so as to prevent the same thing from happening again before the next election.

[Pilgrim]

Rights?? Who's rights....you're not talking about MY rights because the liberal doesn't support the rights of the conservative woman. You will rarely find any of the women's organizations coming to the defense of the conservative woman....now if I would only bend my beliefs to line up with theirs then I could rest easy that they "have my back".

My theme of this post all along has been the double standard that exists in the media and how they treat conservatives due to their bias. This statement brings up another really good point: where is the outcry from NOW and the other womens' rights organizations? Letterman crossed the good taste and political correctness boundaries in three instances with his lame effort at humor: (1) a direct insult to one of the few women governors in the US (2) flight attendants; when's the last time anyone of us has seen a slutty looking flight attendant? The uniforms they wear are conservative to the point of boring (3) disparaging a young girl - and don't think for a minute he and his writers didn't know which Palin daughter was in NY.

If anyone wants a blinding example of the double standard involved here, you have to look no further than to DON IMUS. Remember what happened to him just two years ago when he made a three word quip that very few people actually heard live about the "nappy-headed hoes" on the Rutgers women's basketball team? There was a national outcry, his sponsors abandoned him and HE WAS FIRED BY HIS NETWORK. Quickly now, how many people remember which network that was? CBS!!

"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women... CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision."

"...a coalition of leaders from the civil rights and women's movements, who said it was time for Imus to go, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes."

CBS Fires Don Imus Over Racial Slur - CBS News

Granted, there was a racial tone to Imus' comments that's lacking in Letterman's routine, but in this post-racial age that shouldn't matter. Imus referred to these college age women (all of whom were older than either of the Palin daughters) as "hoes", casting the same aspersions on their morals as Letterman did on Palin and her daughter. CBS should fire Letterman; he's be a lot easier to replace than Imus and it would once again send a positive message to women all over country.

[Turtle]

I'll take one last shot at making some of you work your brains with some self-reflection...

Let's remove ALL NAMES (OR INSINUATION OF), ALL AGES, AND ALL POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS from the Letterman joke. Once all of the details are stripped away, does the joke remain acceptable?

Well, gee, let's see... (I'd love to know where you see any political affiliation in the joke, tho)...

The Original Joke:
"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

The DieselDiva Version:
"One awkward moment for somebody at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, their daughter was knocked up by a ball player."

Can the joke itself stand on it's own as a true joke, or does it need to go into the category of cheap shots?

Depends on what you definition of a "true joke" is, which I'd also love to hear. The joke as printed above absolutely stands on it's own, if you are even a little bit familiar with history of the antics of professional ball players.

I suspect the latter and go back to my original post.....why is it acceptable/humorous to make jokes/take cheap shots at women and their daughters, regardless of WHO they are.

For the same reason it's acceptable to make jokes and take cheap shot with male bashing jokes. For the same reason it's acceptable to make jokes and take cheap shots about ANYTHING. Women and their daughters are not so special as to be protected from any and all jokes and cheap shots. And in this case, because of Palin's very outspoken stance on family values and morals, about teenage abstinence, it's absolutely acceptable because she and her entire family is the walking talking epitome of hypocrisy. Being a woman doesn't absolve you of that.

NOW, who's talking about women's rights??

Only you, Sweetie, only you.

The Alaska Governor's spokesman, Meghan Stapleton, released a statement that said,"The Palins have no intention of providing a rating's boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."

That's a not-too subtle insinuation that Letterman is a pedophile. Where's your outrage over that?

When questioned about it by Matt Lauer:
"Are you suggesting that David Letterman can't be trusted around a 14-year-old girl?"

Sarah Palin' response was:
"Hey—take it however you want to take it. It is a comment that came from the heart that Willow no doubt would want to stay away from David Letterman after he made such a comment. And you can interpret that however you want to interpret it."

Now it goes from not-too subtle to blatantly confirmed, beyond even the realm of the cheap shot. Letterman make a mistake with a bad joke, and now he's branded as a pedophile by the Governor of Alaska?

[Turtle]

The joke was made about the Sarah Palin and her daughter visiting Yankee Stadium.

And A Rod. Don't forget about A Rod. He was a large part of the joke. Without A Rod the joke would have been very different.

The daughter who was with her was 14. Whether he was thinking she was the older daughter, it doesn't matter. He made the joke, and she happened to be 14!

What do you mean it doesn't matter? You never made a mistake? If he was thinking the younger daughter he wouldn't have made the joke. He said so straight up. You wanna lambaste him for making a mistake, fine. You wanna lambaste him for a tasteless joke, fine. But you can't lambaste him for something he didn't do intentionally, unless you've never, ever, made a mistake.

Same would happen if someone said the N word, as a joke, not knowing a black man was standing behind him. What's he gonna say? "I didn't mean YOU."

Actually, no, that's not the same thing at all. The N word would apply to all blacks, whether they were standing near him or not, whether he knew they were sanding near him or not, and because it apply to all blacks, stating he didn't meant it to be a particular black wouldn't work. The term "her daughter" didn't refer to all of her daughters, it referred only to the one who was with Sarah Palin at the game, and he mistook that particular daughter for another particular daughter.

You've never seen someone, maybe even gone up to them and said something to them, only to have it be, "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else?"

Regardless if you believe him or not, if he apologized, it would just go away. But that would mean he kissed up to the "slutty flight attendant" looking governor.

He could apologize, but what would he be apologizing for? He's be apologizing because other people turned what he said into something he didn't say.

Then he has the nerve to say he'd love to have Palin on his show? Why? So he can tell her she looks like a horses arse on national TV?

I doubt it, if history is any indication at all. He's had a few riffs and misunderstandings with a few in the past, and in ever case, when they have come on his show he has either apologized for what he did wrong, or apologized for the misunderstanding. He's never had anyone on his show for the express purpose of belittling them or putting them down. Even his most loyal viewers wouldn't put up with that.

[Turtle]

My theme of this post all along has been the double standard that exists in the media and how they treat conservatives due to their bias.

Oh, OK, now I understand. Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering why you called Letterman the "Prince of Late Night Cowardice" and a "second rate clown." It's because of the double-standard media bias.

[Turtle]

WOW.....

You make a mistake as a young person and you are FOREVER fodder for tasteless jokes?? She "brought it on herself"? How many more "awkward moments" will be acceptable and moving forward, how long can we expect this "sentence" to continue....or is it for life?

Wow yourself. Have you not even bothered to READ the figgin' joke, or to watch the video of it? The "awkward moment" wasn't the kid's awkward moment, it was Sarah Palin's awkward moment. The fact is, Sarah Palin, a woman who espouses strong family values and strong morals allowed her teenage daughter to become pregnant. That's at the very least a little awkward for Sarah Palin.

[Tennesseahawk]

I was going to bring up Imus, until I read your post, Pilgrim.

I will add to the double standard thing, tho. Let's take a look at the black community. The libs say we need more black senators. Qwazi Infuma <sp> lost the Democrat primary for Senate in MD to a white guy. When the Republicans chose Michael Steele for their party, Obama raced out to MD to tell voters, "Don't look at race, look at the record." So in other words, "We need more black senators, UNLESS you don't agree with our philosophy."

The fact is, any racist or sexist remarks are forbidden, UNLESS it is towards a conservative. Since they don't tow the Democrat line, they are a threat to the power the Democrats hold over women and minorities; therefore, they are fair game. Michael Steele can be known as "the lawn jockey of the Republican party", as Newsweek stated. Joe Biden can say "The only blacks you see at a Republican convention are the ones serving food.", and get away with it.

I'm frankly sick of hearing "Uncle Tom" thrown around everytime a black person happens to think outside the "ghetto mentality" of liberal blacks! It's about time they shed their racial massas, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP, and the Democrat vote hoarders, and realize that it was the REPUBLICANS who fought for, and got, the Civil Rights Bill passed. And you'll never hear from the libs the little known fact that King was a REGISTERED REPUBLICAN!!!

No wonder there aren't many blacks or women who would strive for power in the Republican party. Who would want to have their family drug thru the mud by the media, or have themselves treated so profanely, like it was 1950, and they were sub-human? Can't say I blame them for not wanting the spotlight, but I admire those who try.

[Tennesseahawk]

Wow yourself. Have you not even bothered to READ the figgin' joke, or to watch the video of it? The "awkward moment" wasn't the kid's awkward moment, it was Sarah Palin's awkward moment. The fact is, Sarah Palin, a woman who espouses strong family values and strong morals allowed her teenage daughter to become pregnant. That's at the very least a little awkward for Sarah Palin.

And you carry an iron rod against your kids? Let me tell you a little something about the teenage mind... they like to rebel. If you're a stern parent, nothing short of lock and key is going to keep a strong-willed child from having sex, drinking, smoking dope, etc. My mom was a strict, but loving Catholic woman. My dad ruled with the belt. We had morals and rules out the wazoo. And all four of my sisters had children out of wedlock. There goes your theory down the crapper, bud!

[greg334]

Pilgrim,
Imus is not the best example, Dan Rather is.

Here is a 'credible journalist' who reported about some great discovery of documents that proved Bush lied about his service record. He knew right from the start that these were questionable and may be false but he had the FINAL WORD on the story and ran with it because of his open hatred for Bush.

When the source of the documents came forward and confirmed that they were false, Rather blamed someone else for all of it and they fell on the sword for him. CBS should have yanked him off the air, canceled his contracted based on the ethics clause and not paid him his GP. Instead he retired with dignity and went on to be held up as a symbol of journalistic integrity.

I can't watch Kouric, shes one of the worst people who could sit in that chair and Schieffier who lied to get scoops to further his career isn't far behind Rather. CBS has been a poor example of jounalist ingrerity for a long long time.

[Tennesseahawk]

Turtle... the reason I think this whole Letterman thing is pizzing ppl off is because Palin doesn't deserve it. You and I (and Letterman) know that jokes have some truth to them. Calling her a slut (the remarks were meant to portray her as one) was a joke based on nothing but an agenda to SHUT HER DOWN. And regardless if he meant one daughter or another, the joke was totally tasteless, being that her daughter is NOT a public figure. Just because the media put her pregnancy in the spotlight, does not make it right.

If he said something about Kylie Cyrus and A-Rod, that might've been funny. None of the Palin's kids asked for this crap. Chelsea Clinton was off limits until she took a job that was payback for Clinton favors.

Why is it that Sarah Palin's kids can get joked about, but not Obama's. Why can we complain about her wearing an expensive dress, but if we talk about Michelle, we're racist? I think a lot of this double standard is coming to a head; and I, for one, am sick of it. Letterman just happened to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. On a personal level, I'd say no biggie... he made a mistake. On a philosophical and political level, I say let him burn by the same fires that have taken down so many good conservatives for their slip of the tongue, or action, that would've gotten a "so?" from the liberal media. Also, the many conservatives who got lambasted, who shouldn't have, just because they weren't liberal.

Dan Quayle
Newt Gingrich
Robert Bork
Clarence Thomas
Trent Lott
Bob Packwood
Ollie North
Scooter Libby
Roberto Gonzalez
Miguel Estrada

[dieseldiva]

Wow yourself. Have you not even bothered to READ the figgin' joke, or to watch the video of it?

Here we go......another liberal tactic....imply that the other person has not completed the liberal requirement of research in order to comment. Of course I read AND saw the "FIGGIN" joke!

The "awkward moment" wasn't the kid's awkward moment, it was Sarah Palin's awkward moment. The fact is, Sarah Palin, a woman who espouses strong family values and strong morals allowed her teenage daughter to become pregnant. That's at the very least a little awkward for Sarah Palin.

God help us if our only choices for office will be those with zero skeletons in their closets....who's going to run.....YOU???

You're STILL playing with the words....twisting and turning and trying in any way that you can to defend this when the truth is....THERE IS NO DEFENSE.

[tallcal101]

Boy Diva,sorry I brought up rights and jokes and Republicans in the same post. You be angry!!!
Truth is,I am sitting waiting for a grand child to come along and my kids would rather save the earth then get married!!I don't care how she becomes with child,my 34 year old daughter better get busy pretty soon or I'll have no baby to hang with.I have no issue with out of wedlock children,none at all.It's about what happens after the child comes that matters. Good parenting comes in all shapes,INCLUDING GAY PARENTS.Wake up Diva,it's 2009!!

Disgrace is in the eyes of the beholder,in this case conservatives who have been flaunting the family value deal for the last 40 years like they have a lock on it.Guess what,this liberal California single parent never had to even bring the subject up.My kids chose not to have risky sex as youngsters because they had plans to go to college and make something of their lives.Kind of a no brainer I guess (from my parental perspective).Not sure about Sara's message to her kids,but what ever it was sure seemed mixed up and unclear to those trying to understand her message.

Saturday night live made a few off color comments about the situation and Sara was only to happy to show up for an apparence.Ofcourse, she was still hoping to be something other then the govenor of Alaska at the time. Double standard,in a pigs eye. Letterman's humor was no more off the mark then most every Saturday night live skit for 12 months running.Difference is,Palin has become yesterdays news.It makes her angry that she still has to be reminded of Britols little indescretion. Tough luck,don't like the heat, stay in Alaska when your deinvited,out of the NYC spotlight.The ****ed thing get hot.

[dieseldiva]

The Original Joke:
"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

One awkward moment for Brad Pitt at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, his girlfriend was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.

How do you suppose that one would play?

[dieseldiva]

Wake up Diva,it's 2009!!

Indeed and some of us women who have fought the battle for respect for some 40 years now can't understand why these derogatory jokes against women of all ages are somehow still acceptable in so many circles.