This posting is not about Stars and Stripes, or newspapers in general, or the military. It is about the uses of the media -- with the implied subject of free speech and if sometimes it can be too free.

Those of you in farflung places may not be aware of the No. 1 story hitting the airwaves -- radio and TV with some newspaper coverage thrown in -- for the past several days in the States. Not the Iraq war. Not the stock market. Not global warming. The hullabaloo is over Don Imus, the loose-lipped morning radio talk show host who has been shocking listeners for decades. (He's been a bit more serious in recent years, welcoming respectable politicians, newspeople and other worthies to his show.)

But last Wednesday he reverted to his foul-mouthed self, calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." The team, made up mostly of black young women, was competing in the NCAA women's basketball championship (losing in the end to Tennessee.)

Immediately came denunciations of Imus as a racist and calls for his resignation. The Rev. Al Sharpton did so, as did the professional group of black journalists, and many others. Imus sounded repentant, appearing on Sharpton's own radio show and apologizing for his racially insensitive remarks. He said the women he insulted needed to know that "I am a good person, who said a bad thing."

Although not condoning what Imus did, some spoke out in support, citing his charitable work, among other things. Some noted that the word "hos," though an abbreviation of "whore," is common in rap songs and has come, in that environment, to be used for "woman." Sen. John McCain said he would continue to take part in Imus' show because "I am a great believer in redemption." The insulted Rutgers team members held a news conference Tuesday and stopped short of calling for Imus' firing; they said they would meet with him, though, presumably so he could apologize in person.

The radio station and MSNBC cable channel suspended Imus for two weeks, but that doesn't seem to be enough for those demanding his ouster, including even Al Roker, the avuncular weather man on the "Today" show.

What do YOU think? Has Imus gone too far -- that is, far enough to be fired? Should he resign in an admission of his shortcomings? Or was his utterance just a joke gone sour? Either way, has the media gone overboard with this story? Or is racial insensitivity, meant or inadvertent, something that cannot go unnoticed.

This is your "corner." Let's have your comments.