For Immediate Release:
July 18, 2007

Contact:
Dan Shannon 757-622-7382

This morning, all of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s corporate sponsors, Falcons CEO Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell received a joint letter from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, civil rights leader The Rev. Al Sharpton, and PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk roundly condemning dogfighting and other forms of violence.

“The recent media spotlight on dogfighting reminds us of society’s callous disregard for the suffering of animals and disrespect for sentient beings,” they wrote in letters that arrived by FedEx this morning. “We hope that Mr. Vick is not a product of this insensitivity that runs through our society. … It does us little good to prosecute just those who are famous and allow people across the country to continue to commit these hideous crimes. We are hopeful that authorities will take the appropriate action against anyone found guilty of an atrocity as serious as dogfighting … . Today, we sound a clarion call to all people: Stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong. Dogfighting is unacceptable. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong.”

The statement comes on the heels of Michael Vick’s indictment by a federal grand jury on a conspiracy charge related to his alleged involvement with dogfighting, including fatally hanging, drowning, and slamming against the ground dogs who “did not perform well.” The indictment follows an April 25 raid on Vick’s property in Surry County, Va., during which authorities reportedly found 70 dogs–including at least 60 pit bulls, the breed that is most commonly used for fighting–and paraphernalia commonly associated with dogfighting. Some of the animals reportedly had deep wounds and cuts consistent with fighting.

The Simmons, Sharpton, and PETA letters went to all of Vick’s corporate sponsors, including Nike, Rawlings, Hasbro, Coca-Cola, Easton Sports, and Kraft.

“Anyone capable of forcing dogs to fight to the death should be kept away from all vulnerable forms of life, particularly children and animals,” says Newkirk. “Dogfighting is an illegal act that deserves harsh punishment, no matter how famous the alleged perpetrators are.”

The letter to Michael Vick’s sponsors can be viewed at:

blog.peta.org/archives/Michael_Vick_letter.pdf

“I want to say what a lot of people won’t say. The immigration debate is not simply about border security, it is a problem of America dealing with race,” Al Sharpton told the audience of more than 1,000 community, political and business leaders, at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference.

“No one is calling for English-only tests when it comes to fighting in Iraq,” he added.

Sharpton dismissed the notion that immigrants are taking jobs from black Americans.

“What jobs?” he demanded. “Blacks were doubly unemployed by whites before anyone came across the border.”

President George W. Bush’s plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border and strengthening enforcement collapsed in the Senate last month. The measure fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to reach final passage. Three-quarters of the Senate’s Republicans voted to derail the bill.

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton and Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott became unlikely allies Tuesday in their call to revive immigration legislation as they spoke before the largest U.S. Hispanic civil rights organization.

“Congress needs to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill now,” said Scott, who heads the world’s largest retailer.

Scott attributed his views in part to his Mexican-American granddaughter, who has helped him to understand immigration as more than “simply a cerebral exercise.”

But Hispanics also provide a major part of the chain’s business, roughly 14 percent and growing, Scott acknowledged. And their relatives are increasingly shopping at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in countries such as Argentina and Guatemala.

Sharpton, who has often railed against corporate America, went further in his support for a bill that would provide a path to legalization for many of the nation’s more than 12 million illegal immigrants. He denounced TV and radio shows that foster an “us against them” mentality.

In April, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons said the recording and broadcast industries should consistently ban three racial and sexist epithets from all so-called clean versions of rap songs and the airwaves. Expressing concern about the “growing public outrage” over the use of such words in rap lyrics, Simmons said the words “bitch,” “ho” and “nigger” should be considered “extreme curse words.”

Sharpton said the Buffalo chapter of NAN also would consider town hall forums and other venues to steer young blacks toward positive goals, especially now that the city has elected its first black mayor and has a black schools superintendent and police commissioner.

“I remember many years ago when I would come to Buffalo, we dreamed of days of black empowerment,” Sharpton said. “Now we have to make sure the conduct of our black citizens complements that achievement. We cannot undermine them with the conduct of killing each other, selling drugs to each other and really celebrating a culture of depravity and decadence.”

The Buffalo-Niagara Falls chapter is the 36th branch of NAN, which Sharpton founded to protect civil rights for minorities.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has challenged the entertainment industry on denigrating lyrics, on Monday supported a state senator’s idea to pull public investments from companies that won’t clean up their act.

Holding the entertainment industry accountable will be a primary goal of the newest chapter of Sharpton’s National Action Network, said the activist minister, who announced the formation of the Buffalo-Niagara branch while in town to address a convention of black criminal justice professionals.

Roughly $3 billion from New York’s state pension fund is invested in the entertainment industry, according to state Sen. Antoine Thompson, who requested an inventory of entertainment industry investments from the state comptroller earlier this year.

Thompson suggested leveraging the investments to open dialogue with industry executives.

“We just want to have more responsible entertainment where we’re not using language that’s offensive to anybody,” the Buffalo Democrat said.

“The idea of divesting New York State taxpayers’ money from record companies that have a double standard when it comes to language is something that will be a priority,” said Sharpton, who led the drive to have Don Imus fired from his syndicated radio show for calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”

• MONDAY EVENING, MAY 7 (at the New York Public Library)
o Rev. Al Sharpton appeared in a debate with atheist and author of “God is Not Great,” Christopher Hitchens. They debated the value of God and of religion. Hitchens took the position that, as the subtitle of his book says, “…religion poisons everything.” Sharpton took the other side.
o After Hitchens opened with his critique of religion, including a comment about Dr. Martin Luther King, the moderator turned to Sharpton and asked “in your rebuttal, would you take a moment to correct Christopher on his misconception that religion was somehow incidental to the civil rights movement?’
o After addressing a few other points that Hitchens raised, Sharpton said: “In terms of the civil rights movement, it was absolutely fueled by a believe in God and belief in right or wrong. And, had not there been this belief that there was a right and a wrong, the civil rights movement that you alluded to or that you referred to, would not have existed because what made it made it wrong for people to be slaves? What made it wrong for humans to be treated unequally because there was nobody to say that they are all equal? It was whoever had the strength.”
o In response to Sharpton’s comments about the civil right movement, Hitchen says: “The belief that it is illegal and as well as evil to keep black Americans in subjection does not require any supernatural endorsement. It had been proved repeatedly that in law, and in morality and in ethics and demonstrated in practice. The only thing that had always been consistently justified by the Churches was initially slavery, the right to hold someone as a slave, biblically warranted, and the right to keep the races separate which is endorsed by a church that’s, just to give a contemporary example, one of the current candidates for Republican nomination is a member of a church, the so-called Mormon Church of Latter Day Saints, that until 1965 had it as an article of faith that the Bible separates the Sons of Ham and makes them lesser. I don’t have to disparage a text like that because I don’t think it has any authority. So, in a sense, I return the question to you.”
o Later on Sharpton responded with the comment that got into the news: “As for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry about that, that’s a temporary, that’s a temporary situation.”
o [All these comments happen within the first 30 minutes or so of the recording of the debate.]
• TUESDAY, MAY 8th
o The next morning conservative radio talk show hosts Hugh Hewitt and Rush Limbaugh picked up on the Sharpton’s comment from a New York Times blog entry that covered the debate.
o Romney campaign issued the following statement: “It is terribly disheartening and disappointing to hear Reverend Sharpton offer such appalling comments about a fellow American’s faith. America is a nation of diverse faiths and common values, and bigotry toward anyone because of their religious beliefs is unacceptable.” (Source: Exclusive: Romney Campaign Responds to Sharpton Attack on Mormons)
o Romney, himself said:
 “I don’t know Reverend Sharpton,” he said. “I doubt he is personally such a thing, but the comment was a comment which could be described as a bigoted comment.” Romney added that he was willing to believe Sharpton didn’t mean to be offensive. “Perhaps he didn’t mean it that way, but the way it came out was inappropriate and wrong,” said Romney. (Source: Fox News/AP)
 “His comment was a bigoted comment. It shows that bigotry still exists in some corners. And I thought it was a most unfortunate comment to make.” (Source: CNN transcript)
 “Overwhelmingly, the people I talk to believe that we elect a person to lead the nation not based on what church they go to, but based on their values and their vision,” he said. “I receive very little comment of the nature coming from Reverend Sharpton.” The issue of Romney’s religion is often compared to the scrutiny given to former President John Kennedy, whose Catholic faith was an issue in the 1960 campaign. Kennedy dealt with the matter by giving a high-profile speech in which he said his religion would not shape his policy choices. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, hasn’t addressed such questions so directly, but he has been clear that his religion wouldn’t dictate his policies. “I make it very clear that the doctrines of any one church are not the basis for electing any individual in this country _ never have been and I doubt they ever will be,” Romney said. (Source: Fox News/AP)
o In a statement, Sharpton accused the Romney campaign of a “blatant effort to fabricate a controversy to help their lagging campaign…” “In no way did I attack Mormons or the Mormon Church when I responded that other believers, not atheists, would vote against Mr. Romney for purely political reasons,” Sharpton said. In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sharpton denied questioning Romney’s belief in God and suggested the Romney camp was trying to stir up a controversy because of their political differences.” “What I said was that we would defeat him, meaning as a Republican.” “A Mormon, by definition, believes in God. They don’t believe in God the way I do, but by definition, they believe in God.” (Source: Fox News/AP)
o Sharpton said: “In response to him, I predicted that believers (not atheists) would vote against the candidate, in this case, Mr. Romney, for political, not religious reasons,” he said in a statement released by his office. “In no way did I attack Mormons or the Mormon Church, when I responded that other believers, not atheists, would vote against Mr. Romney for purely political reasons.” (Source: Romney and Sharpton on Mormons - NYT)
o In a later interview Sharpton told the AP: “What I said was that we would defeat him, meaning as a Republican,” Sharpton said. “A Mormon, by definition, believes in God. They don’t believe in God the way I do, but by definition, they believe in God.” He said he was contrasting himself and other believers with Hitchens, who is the author of a new book, “God Is Not Great.” (Source: Sharpton denies disputing Romney’s faith - USA Today)
o That evening, according to an interview with New York Sun, Sharpton “called his critics ‘politically exploitative,’ saying they ‘fabricated a nonexistent issue.’ He said he was rebuffing Mr. Hitchens’s own attack on religion, not criticizing it — or Mr. Romney.” (Source: Exclusive: Romney Campaign Responds to Sharpton Attack on Mormons)
o Tuesday(?) evening during an appearance on Fox News program Hannity and Colmes, Romney said: “I think there are differences between different faiths in this country. And there will be battles between different religions. … That’s a great thing about this country. We don’t decide who’s going to be in office based on what church they go to.” (Source: Exclusive: Romney Campaign Responds to Sharpton Attack on Mormons)
• WEDNESDAY, MAY 9th
o On Wednesday evening Sharpton was interviewed by CNN’s Paula Zahn. See video clip and CNN transcript.
 Zahn asked if Sharpton was saying that Mormons were not real Christians. Sharpton replied: “No. What I was responding to — and it’s interesting he did not attack Mr. Hitchens, who said this — that he, Mr. Hitchens, had said that the Mormons had, in fact, had in their articles of faith that blacks were not to be part of an inclusiveness of God. And I said, don’t worry about that anyway, if that’s the case, that real believers, not atheists — because the argument was over atheists. The argument was not about Mormon — real believers, not atheists, was going to vote against him anyway, because I don’t think Romney will win.”
 Zahn asked if Sharpton consider the Mormon was racist once blacks were finally considered as equals within the church? Sharpton responed: “I think that that is by self-definition. If, prior to ‘65, ‘78, whenever it was, they did not see blacks as equal, I don’t believe that as real worshipers of God, because I don’t believe God distinguishes between people. That’s not bigotry. That is responding to their bigotry.” Along the same lines, later in the interview Sharpton said: “So — and what I said was — I didn’t even say really believers. I said really believe in God, because I don’t believe you can really believe in God if you think God created some inferior to others. I believe that. And, as a minister, I have a right to advocate that. That is not bigotry. That is really saying, I don’t believe God is a bigot.”
 Zahn asked: “You are valuing Mormons’ belief in God the way you were a Pentecostal, or the way you would a Methodist, or the way you would a Methodist Presbyterian?” Sharpton responded: “If someone said that, when I was running for president, that the religious group I was a part of was racist against another group, and somebody else said, well, if somebody — others that really believe in God — because I don’t accept that as a belief in God — I would have to defend why I was a member of that group. Did I denounce that? Did I change? When did I change? I certainly couldn’t turn around and call them a bigot for being a victim of what my denomination once perpetrated. I think the same way front page of “The New York Times” and others went at Obama and asked him questions about his past, who never said anything like that, now have a responsibility to say, well, Governor Romney, were you a Mormon then when this was taught by the church? When did you denounce it? When did you change? I think that we have got to play the game by one set of rules. But calling me a bigot to raise questions about bigotry, I think that it would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious and had been played out through this campaign.”
• THURSDAY, MAY 10th
o On Thursday evening, Sharpton appeared on Glenn Beck’s TV show. Beck is a practicing Mormon. See transcript for details.
 Beck started off with: “Reverend, are Mormons Christians?” Sharpton said, “I believe they are.” Beck asked: “Are Mormons bigots?” Sharpton replied: “I do not call Mormons bigots, no. I think that there was a doctrine that was, to my understanding, part of the Mormon Church until the `60s that was a doctrine that excluded people based on race. I understand that that was a transition made on that around `65 to `78 — I`m not certain.”
 Beck and Sharpton covered some of the same material covered earlier in the Zahn program (e.g., regarding Hitchens’ comments).
 And then Sharpton offered an apology: “What I have said today is that if I, inadvertently, or my words inadvertently hurt any Mormon, I apologize to a Mormon only because that is not my intent, nor my belief. If it was, I think you know me well enough to say that is my belief: “I do not think that they`re believers.” That`s not my belief, so I`m not going to say that. But I think Mr. Romney, who himself has had to apologize for using expressions like “tar baby” in Massachusetts, cannot politicize this and not answer the questions that Barack Obama and others have to ask. I think we must separate…”
 At the end of the interview Beck and Sharpton got into rapid fire responses around a comparison of what Sharpton said compared to what Imus said. Beck began to compare the two situation and Sharpton responded: “I`m not going to let you do that. Because to equate me responding to an atheist with someone who got up with no interaction at all and denigrated people — I did not call anybody a name. I did not denigrate anybody. I did not in any way cause (INAUDIBLE) — he called these women “nappy-headed hos.” What did I call Mormons? That is unfair, Glenn.” The interview ended with…
 SHARPTON: That was a blatant racist statement [Imus] made. What I said is I want to know what you were part of and what was the church doctrine at that time? That is not a bigoted statement. In fact, that is a question.
 BECK: I don`t remember anyone ever saying or even thinking that I would even ask or anyone should ask if any of those girls had lifestyles that were less than stellar. No one would even say that.
 SHARPTON: If they did, would that make them “nappy-headed hos”?
 BECK: No. But if…
 SHARPTON: If you have a policy that would limit what others can do, it is not within the rights of people to ask what that policy was and what their involvement was?

This is a partial transcript from “Hannity & Colmes,” July 10, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

COLMES: Welcome to “Hannity & Colmes.” I’m Alan Colmes. Rich Lowry in for Sean tonight. Good to see you once again, Rich.

RICH LOWRY, FOX NEWS HOST: Hi, Alan.

COLMES: And we get right to our top story tonight and it feels a little bit like deja vu.

The Reverend Al Sharpton taking an issue with the Web site tmz.com for its use of the phrase “roboho” to describe an outfit worn by Beyonce Knowles to the BET Awards . TMZ maintains that the column was meant to be humorous but TMZ also reported on Reverend Sharpton’s reaction, reportedly saying that the phrase “roboho” is demeaning and abusive and that the word “ho” should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Joining us now in a “Hannity & Colmes” exclusive is the president of the National Action Network, Reverend Sharpton and the managing editor of tmz.com Harvey Levin .

Harvey, welcome to “Hannity & Colmes.” Reverend Sharpton, do you think this was meant to be racial or racist?

REV. AL SHAPRTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: I think that, as you know, we in the National Action Network have been embarked in a decency initiative. We talked about it here on this show. Tamika Mallory heads it. We’re getting ready to do a 20 city vigil where we have asked for the “N” word, the “H” word and “B” word to not be used. When people who read this Web site heard it they started e-mailing into the decency initiative and Ms. Mallory wanted to make a statement and we made a statement.

He has the right to say it, no one is censoring it, but we have the right to say it is inappropriate.

COLMES: Do you think it is a racist comment?

SHARPTON: I think that unfortunately many times this “H” word is used with black women. But if it were used with any women, it would be wrong.

COLMES: Harvey Levin, you used actually that word with a man, didn’t you?

HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: We called Kid Rock a “ho.” And I have to tell you something, the reverend, who I personally like, is awfully tepid tonight because what he said yesterday was just dead wrong. When he sent us the letter he said we called Beyonce a ho, a roboho. And we didn’t. We said that her outfit was a roboho get up. And I think he corrected himself today because he realized that he was basically going into bully mode, and it backfired on him.

So not only do we not apologize, what we did was right and if you look at our Web site today, there are hundreds of posts where this just backfired on Reverend Sharpton.

SHARPTON: Well, again, now he is going to tell me what I said. Tepid is his hope. I think that what he said, I think, one, I do not see Harvey Levin, he is right, I know and have a lot of respect for, I do not see him as a racist.

But I think he is dead wrong and out of his mind if he thinks anyone buys that to say someone was in that kind of outfit, you are not referring to them as the ho. There is no outfit.

LEVIN: Wait.

SHARPTON: Let me finish. Let us be at least straight. We can disagree, Harvey, but let’s not fabricate. There is no way someone like Beyonce, or any other women who you describe the outfit as describing the outfit worn by them, “roboho” refers to the person in the outfit. This is a young lady who has gone out of her way to show a real wholesome kins od attitude with lyrics and other things, that did not deserve that. I would be the first to say that you are somebody I’d respect but I’d be the last one to buy that kind of spin.

COLMES: Harvey, is the word “ho” demeaning?

LEVIN: No. It is in the vernacular. And this is part of Americana. We do not speak the queen’s English on tmz.com. And the reverend knows it. And if I may, the reverend mistakenly wrote us a letter and said we called Beyonce a “ho.” He is backpedaling right now.

SHARPTON: I am saying outright that you called her a “ho.” You called her a “roboho.” And that is not back pedaling.

LEVIN: No we didn’t.

SHARPTON: What is the statement you made Harvey? Repeat the statement.

LEVIN: I will. May I?

SHARPTON: Yes.

LEVIN: OK. We said that she was wearing a “roboho performance getup.” That’s what we said.

SHARPTON: And that does not refer to her?

LEVIN: Hey, dude, no it does not. It says the getup.

SHARPTON: The second problem is that “ho” is now Americana, so I suppose anyone using then “ho” word including Mr. Imus was just talking American now?

LEVIN: Reverend, let me make this real clear. You’re not going to Imus us. This was a situation.

SHARPTON: I asked you a question. You’re Imusing yourself by saying that “ho” is a great American word. You’re Imusing yourself. I said I had respect for.

LEVIN: You are making this a racial issue, and it was not a racial issue, and you’re trying to bully people and it is wrong. You have no right to censor people.

(CROSSTALK)

SHARPTON: I don’t think I mentioned race. I think I answered his question. What I said was that you, to say this is an American word, some great American acceptable word, I think you are putting yourself over there, not me. I think that’s an unfortunate position for you to take.

LOWRY: Hold on one sec. Hold on. Harvey, it’s Rich Lowry.

Let me ask you a question to try to cut to the quick of this debate. Two quick yes or no questions. Do you believe Beyonce is a prostitute? Yes or no.

LEVIN: No.

LOWRY: Of course not.

Do you believe that she is a robot? Yes or no.

LEVIN: No.

LOWRY: So obviously, you are referring to the costume. And reverend, I think even you have to admit.

SHARPTON: First of all, the term, ho used in any context whether there is an adjective before it or not, is demeaning to many women.

LOWRY: Hey, reverend, let me ask you a question. Did you call David Dinkins a whore? Quickly, please.

SHARPTON: If women are .

LOWRY: Did you call David Dinkins a whore?

SHARPTON: If Harvey wants to use the term, he has a right to use it. But if people are offended by it, they have a right to publicly come out and say it. He has a Web site. Nationalactionnetwork.net is our Web site. People can come on our Web site and say I am offended by that.

I absolutely agree with those who are offended. And as much as I respect Harvey, I think that is absurd to act like that is a term referring to Ms. Beyonce Knowles.

LOWRY: If a robot or to dress like a prostitute, isn’t that the kind of outfit it would wear?

SHARPTON: Do you have a copy of the outfit? I happened to have been there that night, because it was the night I did a tribute to James Brown at the BET Awards, and the outfit was a totally clothed outfit.

LOWRY: Looked like a robot, didn’t it?

SHARPTON: It did not.

LOWRY: You think he thinks Beyonce is a robot.

SHARPTON: Slow down, Richard. Don’t go past your statement. The problem you guys get with me is I know how to listen so I can out-debate you. He said a robot would wear that outfit if it was a prostitute. What does that mean?

LEVIN: Guys can I just get one word in?

LOWRY: It means the costume looks like a robo-prostitute costume.

SHARPTON: Why? Why?

LOWRY: What if he said robo-stripper? Would you be upset?

SHARPTON: I asked you why.

LOWRY: What do you mean why?

SHARPTON: Why does it look like a prostitute?

LOWRY: It looks like a robot and it is very trashy and sleazy. Would you agree it’s trashy and sleazy?

SHARPTON: No.

LOWRY: It’s self evident.

SHARPTON: No.

LOWRY: It doesn’t look trashy to you?

SHARPTON: The outfit when you - that’s sleazy? You cannot see anything but her face.

LOWRY: It gets sleazier by the minute.

SHARPTON: She takes off the .

LOWRY: Would you mind if your daughter. Would you let your daughter wear that outside?

SHARPTON: If I got on this show, Mr. Lowry, I have done shows, Mr. Levin, where we agreed or disagreed on Paris Hilton. If I called her, and I wouldn’t because I’d be wrong, if I called her a rich ho, you’d have been screaming. So don’t act like you can use “ho” interchangeably, it’s bad in one context and all right in another context.

“Ho” in any term is a wrong term to use.

LOWRY: Harvey would you never call Paris a rich ho because that would be offensive?

SHARPTON: He hasn’t.

LOWRY: Let him talk?

LEVIN: Can I get a word in? Yes, we called Paris Hilton a ho. We have called Lindsay Lohan a ho-ror. We have called Kid Rock a ho. If you go to our Web site you will find that today tens of thousands of people voted, and 92 percent of the people on our Web site are not buying what Reverend Sharpton is saying.

SHARPTON: And about the same on our Web site, National Action Network don’t buy yours. So that’s fine. We can disagree on Web sites. We still should not make “ho” an American term of endearment.

COLMES: I think she looked pretty sexy. Do you not like the female form? Is that what it is?

LOWRY: No, I like it a lot.

COLMES: We’re going to be right back. More on this debate coming up. Still to come tonight, the Miss New Jersey blackmail scandal. Will another beauty lose her crown? This pageant winner is worried that some stolen pictures will end her reign. We’ll debate that.

And then the NAACP kicks off its annual convention with some anti-Bush rhetoric and now critics are blasting the chairman for taking what they are calling some cheap shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN BOND, NAACP CHAIRMAN: These people used September 11th as an excuse to wage war in Iraq. They used the hurricane to wash away decent pay for workers and for minority and women owned businesses. They are turning the recovery over to the same no-bid corporate looters who are profiting .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LOWRY: Welcome back to “Hannity & Colmes.” I’m Rich Lowry in for Sean Hannity.

We continue now with the Reverend Al Sharpton and TMZ’s Harvey Levin. Harvey, as you’ve pointed out, you guys have made fun of things that Victoria Beckham has worn, Lindsay Lohan has worn, and it seems that the reverend here wants to create a new civil right for celebrities to dress like prostitutes and for no one to make fun of them for it.

LEVIN: I see a better issue here. And this is fun, but there is a really serious underlying issue. And that is in this country, you have got to tolerate things you do not like in order to preserve the First Amendment , in order to preserve democracy, and if people start to bullying people into fearing that, oh my God, if I say something I could offend people, that is exactly why we have a constitution.

And then suddenly, other groups step in and they start to bully, and we turn around and we say, wow, this isn’t as free a country as we thought. And that’s a huge danger and that’s the biggest problem I have with what the reverend did.

SHARPTON: May I respond to that?

LOWRY: Absolutely.

SHARPTON: I think that if we were saying to Mr. Levin and that we were going to do something to his company or any of that, he would have some merit. What Mr. Levin seems to be able to sell is that he wants to say, I can say something, but no one can respond.

He has the right to say whatever he wants and in the same First Amendment and the same free speech, we have the right to say we do not like that. Now one is bullying anybody. How is it bullying when people answer, you say something?

You just said you felt the clothes looked like a prostitute. You had the right to say it. I didn’t interrupt you Harvey.

LEVIN: Fair enough.

SHARPTON: No one is marching on you, Harvey. I am expressing to you a disagreement. That is free speech. I have a right to say I disagree with you, Mr. Levin.

LOWRY: Harvey, go ahead.

LEVIN: But the problem, reverend, you absolutely have a right to disagree, but you played the race card on us and that’s where I have the problem.

SHARPTON: How did I play the race card?

LEVIN: You played a race.

SHARTPON: By saying to you we disagree? By saying to you that women all over America are organizing to say they want to stop seeing the word “ho” stop being — that is not playing any card. That is saying that we disagree with your terminology, and you have the right to say it, we have the right to respond. You can promote your Web site, I welcome people to go to nationalactionnetwork.net to get the other side as we organize to stop the “N” word, the “H” word and the “B” word. Because we have the same right you do.

LOWRY: Let him respond. Go ahead, Harvey.

LEVIN: Right. But the problem is in your letter you said this was an attack on African-American women, and it is not and you know it is not.

SHARPTON: I think a lot of African-American women .

COLMES: But reverend, he called Kid Rock a ho.

SHARPTON: I think if Tamika Mallory was on, which I offered, and other women, they would tell you why they are offended by this. Not only with you, with others, including blacks that are using it and I think that as I detailed in the letter, someone like Beyonce who is someone who has gone out of her way not to act a certain way, I think the evidence of why these women are sent ironically was given by Rich Lowry who said this was like a prostitute.

So you’re saying it wasn’t a ho, he said it is like a prostitute. So you’re really saying exactly what .

COLMES: You see, in your defense, Harvey, he has called Lindsey Lohan, a “ho-ror”, Kid Rock a “ho,” Posh Spice was called a poshtitute, whores. There is nothing racial about it when he was equally applying …

SHARPTON: I would say in any of those cases I would disagree. No one brought that to the Decency Initiative. If you go to nationalactionnetwork.net, you would see we have attacked black artists, we’ve attacked whites, we have attacked anybody who was used the term. We have one standard.

COLMES: Harvey, doesn’t Al Sharpton. You’re exercising free speech at TMZ, it’s a funny, entertaining Web site. Doesn’t Al Sharpton have the equal right to come back and say now I am going to exercise my free speech in response to what you’re doing? That’s the way free speech works, right?

LEVIN: Absolutely. My only problem is using the race card. I will state an absolute truth right now, that Beyonce was wearing a roboho getup. And I stick by it. She was, we called it as we saw it. And that’s that.

SHARPTON: And I would say that I feel the inference of that attacks her, and I think that is unfair. I think that Mr. Levin has a right to say it, but those of us have a right to respond.

COLMES: People hear you respond to this and they think of Imus. They think look what he is going to do, he is going to go after TMZ and maybe after their sponsors and.

SHARPTON: And TMZ wrote back. You asked us to come on the show. Harvey Levin is no Don Imus . He is well respected by a lot of people including me. I disagree with him on this and I have a lot of respect for what Ms. Mallory is doing.

COLMES: Don Imus may resurface on radio in January. Will you go after whoever hires Imus?

SHARPTON: I will do what I said when we sat on this stage with his sidekick. We will monitor and watch what he does.

COLMES: Will you automatically object if someone hires him again?

SHARPTON: No one ever said that he should never work again. We said that Imus should pay for what he did in a job he continually abused. I do not think we will take any position until we see what it is and how it is and we will do what we think is fair at that time if that time comes.

COLMES: Harvey, free speech? You say it, he says it, your response, now what happens on TMZ tomorrow as a result of all this?

SHARPTON: He is going to go to nationalactionnetwork.net and we’ll continue this debate.

LEVIN: I can tell you. We are looking for the next roboho get-up.

SHARPTON: And we’re looking for the next guy that uses the term “ho,” the “N” word or the “B” word. Nationalactionnetwork.net.

LOWRY: We’ve got to leave it there. Harvey, thank you very much. Reverend, thank you very much. And just for the record, you are dressed very tastefully tonight. I approve.

SHARPTON: Well, I think that was sleazy myself.

LOWRY: We’ll take it up later.

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