MEDIA IMPOSE DOUBLE STANDARD FOR LIBERALS WHO RUN OFF AT THE MOUTH

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker wrote a new chapter in stupidity and offensiveness with his indefensible comments on unwed mothers, minorities, AIDS victims and poor New Yorkers. He has now been sentenced to psychological counseling or evaluation by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, as the latter formulates his decision on how to deal with Rocker.

What continues to interest, though, is the media double standard. A cretinous John Rocker, or a pathetic former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, are pummeled for weeks and months on end, as well they might be. Why, though, are major liberal spokespersons let off easily, or ignored altogether, for even more inflammatory statements about targets of their ire? Why is it that the Rev. Al Sharpton or the Rev. Jesse Jackson can cut loose with any amount of vicious anti-Semitic slurs and pay next to no price in media outrage? What about Spike Lee, Rosie O'Donnell, the Baldwin boys or other politically correct liberals?

The truth is that for most of the national media, it has long been open season on white males, Christians, conservatives and other disfavored groups. And let's not forget the most courageous of all people in today's public arena: African Americans who happen to hold conservative views, especially Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the great Ward Connerly of California, the principled and articulate foe of quotas and preferences.

No insult or vicious abuse is beyond the pale if deployed against these individuals or groups, including doing bodily harm or even killing them, as filmmaker Lee advocated against Charlton Heston. (Hate speech, anyone?) The obvious media double standard doubtless explains why so many Americans are turning to alternative news sources such as Fox News Channel, Internet pioneers such as Matt Drudge or whatever.

The liberal media's double standard is just the flip side of another feature of today's liberalism: The regime of thought control known as political correctness on our college and university campuses. For the first time in American history, we are supposed to be afraid of what we say and think. For that we have modern liberalism to thank.

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Pigskin prospects looking up: Any doubters concerning what manner of new football coach Southeast Missouri State University has hired were dispelled utterly by Marshall University's convincing 21-3 victory in the Motor City Bowl, telecast Dec. 27 on ESPN. Defensive coordinator Tim Billings' Marshall squad completely dominated a fine and potent Brigham Young University offense, scoring, among other amazing stats, an eye-popping eight quarterback sacks. Careful observers of the game saw a Marshall defense marked by three notable characteristics: They were better coached. They were a faster and better conditioned bunch of wild hitters. And they wanted it more. Far more.

Coach Billings arrives from what was, during the 1990s, the nation's winningest program. They won more than Nebraska, more than Tennessee, more than Florida State. And this year's 13-0 team beat two other bowl teams during the regular season. Billings has already been joined here by several assistants, including three personable young guys hand-picked from among his Marshall colleagues. This group is willing to pay the price a very steep price to bring us a dramatically upgraded football program. How, then, about the rest of us?

~Peter Kinder is assistant to the president of Rust Communications and a state senator from Cape Girardeau.