She's still doesn't get it...

Last night, Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced that she will ending her radio career when her contract expires in January. Schlessinger's announcement is due to the backlash the talk show host received as a result of a racist on-air tirade she delivered last week.

Unfortunately, like many individuals who racist undertones are exposed to the public, instead of taking full responsibility for her actions, Schlessinger claims that her first amendment rights were violated by those who republished her remarks.

KING: So, what are you here to tell us tonight?

SCHLESSINGER: Well, I'm here to say that my contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I have made the decision not to do radio anymore. The reason is: I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what's on my mind, and in my heart, what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent, and attack affiliates and attack sponsors.

I'm sort of done with that. I'm not retiring. I'm not quitting. I feel energized actually, stronger and freer to say the things that I believe need to be said for people in this country.

KING: So, you're giving up -- you are giving up the one area of your fame?

SCHLESSINGER: Oh, my dear. I write books. I have blogs. I have my Web site.

KING: But people think Dr. Laura, they think her radio talk show.

SCHLESSINGER: This is the area -- this is the era of the Internet.

KING: So, you are going to do Internet stuff?

SCHLESSINGER: Oh, yes, I am now.

KING: Why is your freedom of speech denied on radio?

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Because people can criticize what you say.

SCHLESSINGER: You know, when I started in radio, if you said something somebody didn't agree with and they didn't like, they argued with you. Now, they try to silence you. They try to wipe out your ability to earn a living and to have your job. They go after affiliates. They send threats to sponsors.

KING: That's their right, too.

SCHLESSINGER: Yes, but I don't hatch the right to say what I need to say. My First Amendment rights have been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don't want to debate. They want to eliminate.

So, that's why I decided it was time to move on to other venues where I could say my piece and not have to live in fear anymore that sponsors and their families are going to be upset, radio stations are going to be upset, my peeps, as I call them, are going to be upset. KING: Did you tell your syndicate today? The people who syndicate you?

SCHLESSINGER: Ten minutes before I came on.

KING: This show?

SCHLESSINGER: Yes.

Wait, it gets better...

If the attacking the messenger excuse isn't enough, Schlessinger continued to dig a hole for herself by claiming that African-American caller at the center of the talk show host's tirade was being "hyper-sensitive.

KING: Dr. Laura, always good seeing you.

SCHLESSINGER: Thank you.

KING: Before we get to the announcement, the one thing that you said was interesting. You said that on HBO, black comics use the N- word.

SCHLESSINGER: Rap music.

KING: But, Jewish comics can kid Jews, Hispanic comics, Josh Lopez, kids Hispanics all the time. Gay comics kid the gay situation. It's OK, isn't it? But not OK when the non-N-person uses it.

SCHLESSINGER: Well, I was trying to make a point to help her about what I felt, because that -- about her hypersensitivity. And in general, in America, our hypersensitivity about race instead of us feeling more like (INAUDIBLE), and I made the poorly. And so, I upset some people. I offended some people. I hurt some people.

And within 15 minutes, which is what I had to finish the hour, I took myself off my show for the rest of the day because I was so upset because I realized I had blown it. I didn't help her by, you know, making that point.

And, you know, about 8:00 that night, I had sent an apology that I was going to do in the morning on my show to LARadio.com. So, it wasn't until 48 hours later that there was a media brouhaha about it and I had already -- I had already policed myself and apologized and said I was sorry.

KING: Do you -- do you realize that it's OK if blacks want to kid blacks or make fun of themselves, but it's not OK for this lady to have a white person use the word?

SCHLESSINGER: I'm sorry if, you know -- I always tell people on my show to do the right thing. I thought I was trying to be helpful. I was trying to make a philosophical point.

But I was wrong. I apologized.

And there are people who won't accept my apology. And they have their own reasons for that. I feel bad for that. But, my listeners heard my being contrite, being remorseful, being sincerely apologetic because it's not my nature to go out of my way to hurt people. And, you know, get on with things.

KING: So, you're still regretful?

SCHLESSINGER: Well, of course. Any time you do something wrong, you should be regretful.

For the record, lets go back to the transcript of the moment in question and and review Dr. Laura being helpful...

SCHLESSINGER: I'm Dr. Laura Schlessinger, talking to Jade. What did you think about during the break, by the way?

CALLER: I was a little caught back by the N-word that you spewed out, I have to be honest with you. But my point is, race relations --

SCHLESSINGER: Oh, then I guess you don't watch HBO or listen to any black comedians.

CALLER: But that doesn't make it right. I mean, race is a [unintelligible] --

SCHLESSINGER: My dear, my dear --

CALLER: -- since Obama's been in office --

SCHLESSINGER: -- the point I'm trying to make --

CALLER: -- racism has come to another level that's unacceptable.

SCHLESSINGER: Yeah. We've got a black man as president, and we have more complaining about racism than ever. I mean, I think that's hilarious.

CALLER: But I think, honestly, because there's more white people afraid of a black man taking over the nation.

SCHLESSINGER: They're afraid.

CALLER: If you want to be honest about it [unintelligible]

SCHLESSINGER: Dear, they voted him in. Only 12 percent of the population's black. Whites voted him in.

CALLER: It was the younger generation that did it. It wasn't the older white people who did it.

SCHLESSINGER: Oh, OK.

CALLER: It was the younger generation --

SCHLESSINGER: All right. All right.

CALLER: -- that did it.

SCHLESSINGER: Chip on your shoulder. I can't do much about that.

CALLER: It's not like that.

SCHLESSINGER: Yeah. I think you have too much sensitivity --

CALLER: So it's OK to say "nigger"?

SCHLESSINGER: -- and not enough sense of humor.

CALLER: It's OK to say that word?

SCHLESSINGER: It depends how it's said.

CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?

SCHLESSINGER: It's -- it depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK.

CALLER: But you're not black. They're not black. My husband is white.

SCHLESSINGER: Oh, I see. So, a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.

CALLER: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the "nigger" word, and I hope everybody heard it.

SCHLESSINGER: I didn't spew out the "nigger" word.

CALLER: You said, "Nigger, nigger, nigger."

SCHLESSINGER: Right, I said that's what you hear.

CALLER: Everybody heard it.

SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did.

CALLER: I hope everybody heard it.

SCHLESSINGER: They did, and I'll say it again --

CALLER: So what makes it OK for you to say the word?

SCHLESSINGER: -- nigger, nigger, nigger is what you hear on HB --

CALLER: So what makes it --

SCHLESSINGER: Why don't you let me finish a sentence?

CALLER: OK.

SCHLESSINGER: Don't take things out of context. Don't double N -- NAACP me. Tape the --

CALLER: I know what the NAACP --

SCHLESSINGER: Leave them in context.

CALLER: I know what the N-word means and I know it came from a white person. And I know the white person made it bad.

SCHLESSINGER: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Can't have this argument. You know what? If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race. If you're going to marry out of your race, people are going to say, "OK, what do blacks think? What do whites think? What do Jews think? What do Catholics think?" Of course there isn't a one-think per se. But in general there's "think."

And what I just heard from Jade is a lot of what I hear from black-think -- and it's really distressting [sic] and disturbing. And to put it in its context, she said the N-word, and I said, on HBO, listening to black comics, you hear "nigger, nigger, nigger." I didn't call anybody a nigger. Nice try, Jade. Actually, sucky try.

Need a sense of humor, sense of humor -- and answer the question. When somebody says, "What do blacks think?" say, "This is what I think. This is what I read that if you take a poll the majority of blacks think this." Answer the question and discuss the issue. It's like we can't discuss anything without saying there's -isms?

We have to be able to discuss these things. We're people -- goodness gracious me. Ah -- hypersensitivity, OK, which is being bred by black activists. I really thought that once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites hating blacks would stop, but it seems to have grown, and I don't get it. Yes, I do. It's all about power. I do get it. It's all about power and that's sad because what should be in power is not power or righteousness to do good -- that should be the greatest power.

So much for that apology huh?

As her career ends in disgrace, it's rather clear that Dr. Laura doesn't get it. The only question that remains is how much longer will WLAD and the stations advertisers continue to support her show.

Please tell WLAD to drop the Dr. Laura Schlessinger Show:

Address: 198 Main St., Danbury, CT 06810-6662
Office Phone: 203-744-4800
General manager: Irv Goldstein, email: gm@98q.com

UPDATE: I forget to makes this note about something Schlessinger said in regards to her "policing" herself.

Lets make this clear...

On August 12, Media Matters posted full audio and transcript of Schlessinger's rant, which had apparently been expunged from her website...

It wasn't until Media Matters obtained a copy of the audio that the outrage over her remarks caught fire because Dr. Laura made every effort to stop her rant from being re-aired by the public. It wasn't until the genie was out of the bottle that Dr. Laura gave her half-hearted apology.