Imus this morning

[AValdoux]

Did anyone catch Imus this morning? I don't normally watch him but it was better than watching the Katie Holmes interview in GMA. He griped about being attacked for his coverage of a book about the links between vaccines and autism. I didn't catch the authors name. He slammed NBC over their coverage of the story on the evening news, by David Brazaille. He called NBC, Brian Williams, etc spineless and asked how could they sleep at night, etc. He also said Leiberman mentioned in an interview that the CDC was sitting on documentation about the connection. He ranted about the entire media whiewashing or refusing to even cover the story. He stopped short of calling them corporate whores. It was kinda funny what with the msnbc logo in the corner of the screen. I know he is real active in children's charities.

AValdoux

[DemNoir]

1. How ironic

He seems to feel it's OK to be a corporate and media whore except when it concerns something he cares about.

[dryan]

2. I started watching...

Imus the day after "The Today Show" did that story on Kenneth Lay's wife crying about broke they were. This was after having been a viewer since the days of Dave Garraway.

Don Imus and his wife support a lot of charities to do with children. Apparently Mrs. Imus is very involved with investigations into autism and hyperactivity in children. Among other issues, she has campaigned against the use of so much processed foods and additives being used in school cafeterias and also allowing soft drink companies and snack food companies to have vending machines in many schools. There is some merit to this.

I like the show but sometimes he goes off on tangents that just won't quit. A month or so ago it was against the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ printed an article about a short-lived investigation by the The NY Attorney-General's office into the finances of the Imus Ranch Charity. For days Imus couldn't shut up about this. He even had Bo Deitle on for 1 hour reading a letter he wrote the editor of the WSJ about it.

Strangely enough, a lot of Republican office holders are on there. John McCain is on at least 1 time every week or so. He and Imus are good friends, but Rick Santorum?

Imus in my opinion is a lot more erudite and sophisticated than he comes across. I think I would like to meet him. During the time that Pope John Paul was dying and the election of the new pope, the show had on a number of Catholic guests and Imus appeared to be very interested.

[joeBlowSchmoe]

3. Didn't that theory get tossed a few years back?

[Orrex]

5. Yes, but

Every time it gets tossed out, its acolytes rally to toss it back in. No causal link has ever been reliably demonstrated, and there is only very weak evidence of even a correlation between autism and vaccines.

It's a horrible tragedy that people are made to suffer guilt and torment because of the bogus notion that their responsible choice to vaccinate their children has afflicted those children with autism.

If, indeed, autism is caused by some outside agency (rather than, say, a genetic defect or a genetically-based sensitivity to environmental factors) then these should be explored rationally without hysterically embracing an ardent naysayer who's decided to decide that A causes B.

Additionally, the widening acceptance of this pseudoscientific quackery further demonstrates America's growing scientific illiteracy and inability to reason based on evidence.

The claim of causal relation between vaccines and autism is dangerous and should be combatted wherever it is encountered.

[Mizmoon]

6. You'll love the new AIDS theory

Maybe it's just new to me ... that vaccines using "money kidney" as a substrate caused AIDS to spread.

:crazy:

[MADem]

4. I missed him today

...but that book schtick is an old canard. His wife Diedre is the real active one--she goes for green cleaning in hospitals, cooks organic, is a vegetarian, has a number of causes, and the Ranch for the kids with cancer was HER idea. He likes to do that "I'm being attacked for supporting the autism - mercury connection book" speil whenever he has a bit of slop in his morning timeline, and to boost the sales of the book (he takes perverse pride in "bumping" books up on the NYT best seller list--never fails to mention that when someone comes on his show, the tome moves up the list--it gets tiresome. He also will not interview someone about their book if they go on another show first--he wants to be the Oprah Book Club of radio and now, morning cable TV). He has had the autism author on at least once, maybe more.

Perhaps he was unable to get a good guest today. He is out in NM at the ranch, and has to get up early. Not being in the studio adds to the disconnect on his show--his stooges are in Secaucus NJ and at the WFAN studio in NYC. They can handle two locations, three can lead to technical problems.

He did a great show last week with the Deep Throat business--for a change, absolutely no bullshit, no hijinks, no nonsense. Just straight Q and A with Woodward and Bernstein. He should do that more often, but then the morons who like childish, racist, sexist, rightwing humor would not listen.

[peacetalksforall]

7. There is only one good thing you can say about that poor excuse - he

listens to his wife about certain things.

His show is a horror of sexism, genderism, raw sex, mockery and cruel partisanship against Democrats - there is more filth and poor examples of humanity on his show than any of the others. Watch him to watch psychos. It is a poor use of our airwaves.

I think Dems should stay away and let Andrea and John McCain and all the other Republicans let it be what it is - a Kill The Democrats program.

[dryan]

8. Where is S id?

He was in rehab and seemed better but he's gone again.

Also, I really liked Contessa Brewer. Maybe she was too classy for the show. I am not fond of the woman who does the "Scum Report".