Commentary - Aaron Keith Harris: Imus comments distract from bigger discussions

Of course his addled riff about the Rutgers women’s basketball team was racist and sexist. It wasn’t funny either, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has ever listened to him — or worse, tried to watch his simulcast on MSNBC.

The third-place news channel has wisely taken the occasion to drop Imus, which means no more unsuspecting early morning channel flippers will be startled by his cadaverous mug before being put back to sleep by his disjointed mumbling.

The Rutgers women and their coach are justifiably offended, but all the hand-wringing about what it all says about race and sex in America goes way beyond the point. Imus is being censured by his employers and advertisers, the appropriate response. But the media refuse to move on, choosing instead to wallow in the ridiculousity following Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton into the situations they insinuate themselves.

The airtime wasted on Imus could have been used to talk about an issue that should be seen as a far greater offense to women: the Islamic head scarf — called a hijab — worn conspicuously by two non-Muslim women in the news recently.

Faye Turney, the British sailor captured by Iran along with 14 male sailors and marines, had no choice in the matter. She was made to wear a hijab in her videotaped propaganda interviews with Iranian officials. In one segment, they made her confess falsely that she and her crew “trespassed” in Iranian waters. Turney was also, according to her comrades, separated from them and told they had been released, leaving her alone. Added to that, she suffered the indignity of being forced to wear a head scarf the whole time.

Never mind that Turney is a brave, competent woman serving her country on a dangerous assignment. In the oppressive society of her captors, she must submit to their vile custom.

Unlike Turney, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to wear a scarf while on her jaunt to Syria. To be clear, news accounts indicate she wore the scarf only to visit the Omayyad Mosque and to walk through a public market, not during her meeting with President Bashar Assad. It is, of course, entirely appropriate to be respectful in a religious setting.

But a picture is worth the proverbial thousand words, even though it may not tell the whole story. One would think that Pelosi would realize that the image of her in a scarf would be a jarring contrast to the power she was trying to project with her quasi-diplomatic Middle East tour. That image alongside her open defiance of the Bush administration, makes the United States look weak, divided and silly.

What must the world think to see Pelosi making nice with the regime helping to perpetuate the same Iraq war that Pelosi is trying to end in Washington? The president’s sole constitutional authority over formal dealings with foreign governments was designed to prevent just such a mess. Congress passed the Logan Act in 1799 to clarify that authority, but apparently no controlling legal authority will bother Pelosi for having violated it.

Now Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are pushing for dialogue with Iran and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though neither has plans to visit the country personally. But if the speaker changes her mind, she will already be comfortable wearing the required attire.

Aaron Keith Harris writes about politics, the media, pop culture and music and is a regular contributor to National Review Online and Bluegrass Unlimited. He can be reached at aaronkeithharris@gmail.com.