AND IN THIS CORNER...

For those that know me, I'm no prude and enjoy the occasional crude, crass, tasteless joke. However, I agree with Gov. Palin that David Letterman's jokes (supposed to be)aimed at Bristol, her 18-year-old daughter, were indeed tasteless and "crossed the line". Letterman erroneously thought that Palin's older daughter was at the New York Yankees' game with her family when he joked, “There was one awkward moment during the seventh inning stretch. Her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.” Letterman also said the hardest part about the Palins’ trip to New York was “keeping [former New York Gov.] Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter.” It was Willow her 14-year old, not Bristol, who attended the game. Palin suggested that Letterman's jokes about her daughter contribute to a culture “that says it’s OK to talk about statutory rape." Palin also said that the attitude displayed in Letterman’s routine “does contribute to some acceptance of abuse of young women.” She called it “a sad commentary on where we are as a culture, as a society, to chuckle and laugh through [such] comments.” Even though Letterman set the record straight that the jokes were about Bristol and not Willow, I still don't think the jokes are funny and I agree with Senator Palin that statutory rape and similar acts should not be fodder for jokes and us laughing at such jokes is a "sad commentary" on American culture. I stopped listening to Howard Stern years ago when, on one braodcast, he and Robin were making jokes about someone in the news who was sexually abused as a child. They were making really sick jokes and making disturbing noises and such. I got sick to my stomach and turned off the radio, totally pissed off. I do believe in freedom of speech and I practice what I preach--if I don't like something, I turn it off. But I also believe that with free speech comes responsibility and accountability. 'Nuff said for now.