No Tomorrow for "Today Show"

[ejbr]

To Whom It May Concern:


I cannot adequately relay to you how much it pains me to feel compelled to send you correspondence due to your choice of inviting Ann Coulter onto your show this morning. I was amazed that you felt bold enough to invite someone whose comments have caused such consternation to your viewers in the past. However, I assumed that she made some type of “gentleman’s” promise to avoid inciting us. Either she broke this promise or I was wrong to make the assumption.

Don’t get me wrong. I defend her right to say whatever she pleases on whatever forum that will take her. However, since you decided to be one of her venues to antagonize, I am now torn over whether I can ever watch your show again, or even purchase from your advertisers. Her condescending insult of Senator McCain’s openness of having a Muslim president is par for the course.

Yet, you are asking your viewers to watch your show, trusting your judgment in picking your guests? You knew this is how she operates and we should trust you? How is this responsible television? Do you believe that such comments are not conducive to future terrorism? How, pray tell, is this type of commentary helpful to any dialogue? Although I do not agree with McCain’s “Christian president” comment, I can still imagine you having a sane guest come on the show to defend it without the need to denigrate other religions.

Knowing her modus operandi, I am certain that she would feel the need to assume that I am Muslim or that I hate Christianity. Well, neither is the case. However, I do support freedom of religion, as well as freedom from having my public airwaves be clogged with prejudice, seemingly from one direction. I also must stress that I support her freedom of expression and of speech. Yet, your level of support of these rights has convinced me to watch Regis and Kathy in your place. Sadly, I can imagine you having more surprise guests whom you know will say something so profoundly insulting that I am compelled to write yet another letter of protest to your show.


Sincerely,

[meegbear]

1. Will NBC once again help Ann Coulter sell books?

On October 2, 2007, If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans (Crown Forum), the latest book by right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, is scheduled to be released. As Media Matters for America documented, in the weeks following the release of her last book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism (Crown Forum, June 2006), Coulter made numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNBC, and their parent network, NBC, where she unleashed a stream of attacks on the widows of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. As Media Matters also documented, while NBC continued to provide Coulter an open platform with which to spew her inflammatory and offensive rhetoric, several NBC hosts and anchors -- including Tonight Show host Jay Leno, Today co-host Matt Lauer, and Nightly News anchor Brian Williams -- expressed disapproval of Coulter's "harsh" and "nasty" statements. On June 26, 2007 -- the date Godless was released in paperback -- Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, claimed that Coulter forces him to "go to confession." Matthews, however, has a history of inviting her on his show. Following an appearance on Today in June 2006 -- during which Coulter criticized the 9-11 widows for "speak out using the fact that they're widows" and "using their grief" and "the fact that lost a husband" to make "a political point while preventing anyone from responding" -- Williams devoted a segment of the Nightly News to the subject of "civility in American life," highlighting Coulter's comments. And yet NBC and its cable affiliates have continued to invite her on the air. The upcoming release of Coulter's new book gives rise once again to the question of whether NBC programs will keep hosting her.

<snip>

http://mediamatters.org/items/200710010001?f=h_top

----------------------------

The link above is a great read on the past relationship between NBC/CNBC/MSNBC and Coulter.

[ejbr]

3. Thank you, I'll read because it just boggles the mind n/t

[DefenseLawyer]

20. She doesn't care

Richard Mellon Scaife will buy them all anyway.

[baldguy]

2. Great letter

I don't think I would have been able to restrain myself from including the words "harpy", "Gorgon" or "anti-American slut" if I had written it.

[ejbr]

4. Damn! Those were the words I was trying to find! Thx. :) n/t

[Cha]

5. the today show must be hurting..

to think they need ann, let's kill the Liberals, coulter on their inane corporate gag fest. Bet they don't have anyone to counteract her hitleresque ravings, either.

Good letter, ejbr!

[ejbr]

7. Thx. She would be too easy to refute. NBC wouldn't dare! n/t

[Carolina]

6. I have yelled at the TODAY

show so much that I no longer bother tuning in. NBC (Nothing But Crap) is so blatantly biased, that it is best to avoid all contact. But kudos to you for writing. I cannot give voice to my thoughts without expletives.

[ejbr]

8. Why the fuck is that? :) thx n/t

[Cha]

21. As opposed to cbs..Corporate

Bull Shit. :)

[KurtNYC]

22. or ABC - Always Blame Clinton

CBS - Clinton Blaming System
NBC - Never-mind-the-facts Blame Clinton

[Carolina]

24. Good one!

And true, they're all bad. I am just more familiar with NBC 'cause I used to get ready for work with TODAY as my "background" for news and intervals of local traffic and weather.

Now, I don't bother. Why start the day off mad.

[Cha]

25. I used to watch the today

show back in 2001 and that's what I was watching when New York was being attacked and bush was reading My Pet Goat or The Pet Goat depending on who's reporting.

I cancelled my cable tv on Nov 6, 2002 and with it..all propoganda news shows..couldn't take the fascistwing bushit anymore.

[guitar man]

9. thanks for the heads up

I just emailed them this:

If you can't find any better guests than Ann Coulter to put on your show, I'm through with you. I have started my mornings with Today for many years now, but I will do without your program from now on. Having a guest with conservative political views is not the problem. Having a howling, batshit insane,racist, homophobic, anti-American dung pile like her on takes your show below the intellectual level I expect and out of the realm of decorum for a show that I would allow on the television in my home.



Good bye Today show, I WILL NOT be back.



Sincerely
LM
Tulsa,OK

[ejbr]

10. Excellent and to the point! I'm glad you joined the cause! n/t

[guitar man]

12. I just can't stand that bitch

or that Michael Savage asshole. I dislike all the RW propagandists (Rush, Hannity et al), but her and Savage just take it to a level that is just totally disgusting in so many ways. Enough is enough!

[Zywiec]

11. I wonder how many letters they received from freepers

last week regarding Springsteen's comments?

[walldude]

14. Freepers can write? n/t

[guitar man]

15. beat me to it!

:spray:

[walldude]

16. Great Guitar Players Think Alike... n/t

[flordehinojos]

13. if Ann Coury is not a bush shill, she certainly is playing the part ...

and if she is only a bush shill because she wants to keep her salary and position ... well, that is kind of like selling her soul to the devil.

o! and by the way, the same goes for lauer et al.

[cynatnite]

17. Glad I wasn't the only one who wrote them this morning n/t

[Major Hogwash]

18. Great post. When they start dumpster diving for guests, they have jumped the shark.

Next week they'll probably have an interview with Rush Limbaugh and give him 20 minutes to tell a national audience how th big, bad prosecutors warped his case of using so much oxycontin and that "doctor shopping" is not a crime - it's what rich people do to avoid asking the same doctor for more refills.

[spanone]

19. i watched springsteen on friday. 1st time in years and never again

[jasmeel]

23. Switch to Democracy Now! It's the best thing I ever did for my

morning sanity.