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Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright August 19, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style8">N</span>ationally syndicated talk show host 63-year-old Dr. Laura Schlessinger went over the deep end Tuesday, Aug. 10, repeating the N-word numerous times while making point to an African American caller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Schlessinger had performed thousands of shows since 1994 without an incident, falling prey to the very weakness that made her both an effective talk show host and radio personality:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Her brashness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For her millions of followers, they had no problems with the take-no-prisoners approach, missing the phony empathy of her predecessors on psychologically-oriented radio talk shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dr. Laura s audience relished her confrontations with various callers, inviting some of the most brutal exchanges imaginable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Callers soon realized that no one was immune to her sharp-tongued attacks, pulling no punches when it came to confronting callers with their hypocrisy and weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="style9"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Schlessinger got too big for her britches Aug. 10, insisting her black female caller was  hypersensitive to racism, repeating the N-Word 11 times during her 5-minute on-air conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Dr. Laura said she  realized I had made a horrible mistake, and was so upset, I could not finish the show, there s little explanation for how the experienced talk show host self-destructed on the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Using the N-word, perhaps the most politically incorrect statement possible, left her dumbfounded, how a person with so much on-air experience could possibly make such a mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I articulated the N-word all the way out more than one time, admitted Dr. Laura, trying a feeble mea culpa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> And that was wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I ll say it again that was wrong, said Schlessinger, trying to undo extent of the damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When she walked out of her home-studio, she realized the genie was out of the bottle..</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Dr. Laura s combative personality got the better her, doing the exact opposite of what she invites her callers to do:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Use their brains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>She argued with her caller  Jade to show less sensitivity to racism, commenting on the hypocrisy of blacks using the N-word routinely in the rough-and-tumble Hip-Hop culture so common in rap music or in the everyday banter of certain racial groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Black guys use it all the time, Dr. Laura told Jade, repeating the N-word several times, making what amounts to a suicidal on-air blunder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Oh, then I guess you don t watch HBO or other listen to black comedians, Schlessinger said to her caller, insisting that she develop a tougher skin or she shouldn t have entered into an interracial marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Her tone-deafness and racial insensitivity won her plaudits and support from fellow conservative, former Alaska Gov. and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When Schlessinger insisted after her on-air gaffe that she would not renew her contract which expires at the end the year, Palin urged her not to quit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Dr. Laura, don t retreat . . . reload (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend rights cease 2exist the 2activists, trying 2 silence isn t American, not fair ), Palin said on her Twitter page, insisting the 63-year-old talk show host shouldn t back down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>During the 2008 presidential campaign, Palin was known for making borderline racist remarks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Dr Laura=even more powerful &amp; effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitution obstructionists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>And b thankful 4 her voice, America, Palin tweeted, showing why she remains immensely popular to the most extreme and rebellious side thee the Republican Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Schlessinger told CNN s Larry King on Aug. 17 that she would not return when her contract was up for renewal at the end of the year.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin s attempt to reframe Schlessinger s offensive remarks in the context of the First Amendment shows the extremes to which she ll go to defend free speech rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin routinely tells conservative audiences to  reload, a kind of rebellious call to fight Obama s attempt to socialize the nation, especially when it comes to national health care reform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Her appearance on  Larry King Live was slated for  damage control but instead made things worse by reconfirming the remarks were not entirely accidental or inadvertent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While saying she was  regretful over the incident, she also said her free speech rights  have been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don t want to debate they want to eliminate, displaying her arrogance over crossing the obscenity line on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>public airwaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Her excuses on Larry King show the extent to which she s disconnected from reality.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Schlessinger s N-word episode displays the kind of breakdown seen by certain personalities that frequently bend to stressful circumstances but also sometimes break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Her inability to follow on  Larry King Live a more conventional damage control strategy shows how far she s gone over the deep end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Attempts by Palin to have Dr. Laura follow her  don t retreat, reload slogan, display exactly how dangerous the former Alaska governor is to the Republican Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Schlessinger hasn t been usurped by an angry mob, she s the angry one, unable to contain her own hostility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Accusing her caller of not having a sense of humor provides no apology but further proof of her lack of fitness to run nationally syndicated radio show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For someone with Dr. Laura s experience, education and sophistication, spewing racial epithets on the air marked a kind of tragic breakdown.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style7"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>