Essay 723

Bad Boys in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was fined and ordered to attend sensitivity training after referring to a sports columnist as a [bleeping] fag (see Essay 720). “Ozzie Guillen used language that is offensive and completely unacceptable,” said MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. “Baseball is a social institution with responsibility to set appropriate tone and example. Conduct or language that reflects otherwise will not be tolerated. The use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club and the game.” Um, does Selig realize he’s running one of the most racist professional sports leagues — and it’s also mired in never-ending steroids scandals?

• Rapper-actor DMX ran into trouble with the law again. He was cited for packing a concealed weapon after cops spied him removing a pistol from its holster outside an Arizona nightclub. Hey, maybe DMX was planning to help the National Guard secure the border against illegal immigrants.

• House Republicans nixed voting to renew the Voting Rights Act, deciding to postpone things while they review complaints from colleagues. Party members argue the law unfairly targets Southern states with additional oversight, and Georgia’s Republican congressman is pushing an amendment designed to give his state greater authority to revise their voting rules. But opponents insist the Southern states have earned the added scrutiny through their historically racist behavior. Somebody send Ozzie Guillen and DMX to address the conservative lawmakers.