Alternative newspaper magnate gets away with using the "n" word

Arizona will never shake its reputation as a backwards, redneck state with vestiges of racism as long as incidents like this are just swept under the rug. A week ago, the most powerful owner/publisher/editor of left wing newsweeklies in the country, Michael Lacey, made a racist remark, "my n****" at an awards dinner in Phoenix on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. The mainstream media ignored it.

Contrast this with talk show host Don Imus's racist remarks. Imus was admonished by every major network for days, until he was eventually fired.

The difference is that Lacey champions far left causes, regularly attacking conservative politicians in his newspapers. Many of the things written about them - such as (ironically) labeling Sheriff Joe Arpaio a racist - aren't true. Lacey's newspapers are filled with racist remarks, like referring to white rap artists as "wiggers." But the so-called mainstream media won't call out Lacey on racism and smears, because they're more concerned with taking down conservative politicians using any means possible, however unethical.

The blogosphere hasn't remained silent however. Nationally respected bloggers Melissa Pehle and Terresa Monroe-Hamilton have written about it. A campaign has been started by political blogs in Arizona to force Lacey to resign. A fellow newsweekly publisher, Paul Curci of the Philadelphia City Paper, wrote a letter to the editor of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies expressing his disgust. If the bloggers are able to force Lacey to step down, it will be an indication that the the mainstream media has finally lost its choke hold over the news.

Reverend Oscar Tillman, president of the Maricopa County NAACP, was upset about the remark, particularly since the NAACP was hosting a Freedom Fund dinner in Phoenix with the CEO and President of NAACP coming into town as speaker. He was infuriated considering the NAACP had ceremoniously "buried" the "n" word last year. Tillman told the Arizona Capitol Times Yellow Sheet, “I want to hear him say beyond an apology what he’s willing to do.”

It is sad that someone in this high-level position of power feels it's ok to talk so disrespectfully about African-Americans. And the liberal media's refusal to cover the story just proves what conservatives have been saying for years - the Democrat Party houses more racists than the Republican Party.