Slurs

Count the National Organization for Women among those unsatisfied with state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's debate apology for the campaign staffer who called Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman a "whore. " A statement on NOW's website from President Terry O'Neill said Brown's comments Tuesday night did not go far enough. "While our California chapter's Political Action Committee voted to endorse Brown on the basis of his support for women's rights, the National Organization for Women clearly and unequivocally condemns calling Meg Whitman, or any woman, a whore," the statement reads.

California's gubernatorial campaign veered off on a tangent last week when an audiotape emerged of someone in Democrat Jerry Brown's inner circle calling Republican Meg Whitman a "whore" for seeming to soften her position on pension reform in exchange for a public-employee union's endorsement. It's disheartening but not surprising to hear that a close Brown aide would crassly slur Whitman behind the scenes (Brown's campaign manager has apologized for the epithet). And Brown made an unconvincing case on the tape that Whitman engaged in a quid pro quo. Still, we're disturbed by the notion that Whitman might alter her stance on pensions for expedient political reasons rather than sound economic ones.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman declined to comment Sunday about a recording on which someone associated with rival Jerry Brown's campaign suggested characterizing her as a "whore" for allegedly limiting her pension plan's effect on public safety officers in order to garner their endorsements. "It's a slur and I'm not going to dignify it with a response," Whitman said after speaking to hundreds of supporters at a Van Nuys rally with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In a private conversation inadvertently captured by voicemail, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown or one of his associates can be heard referring to his Republican opponent Meg Whitman as a "whore," saying she cut a deal protecting law enforcement pensions while the two candidates competed for police endorsements. The comment came after Brown called the Los Angeles Police Protective League in early September to ask for its endorsement. He left a voicemail asking Scott Rate, a union official, to call him, then apparently believed he had hung up the phone.

The deputy who arrested Mel Gibson in 2006 for drunk driving sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday, alleging that it retaliated against him because he resisted requests from superiors to remove the actor's anti-Semitic slurs from an initial arrest report. Deputy James Mee said that in the four years since the incident, he has been passed over for promotions and had his job performance unfairly scrutinized. Because the deputy is Jewish, his attorneys said, he was unfairly suspected of leaking details of Gibson's tirade to the media.

Who knew that Laura Schlessinger was so thin-skinned? After all, this is a woman who has relished her perch as a radio shock jock. In her 30 years on the air she has offended many, blaming women for their husbands' affairs and referring to gay people as "biological errors. " Even friendly callers often get a piece of her mind. So it's a bit surprising that a fairly predictable reaction to her enthusiastic use of a racial slur has sent her scurrying out of the kitchen, so to speak. Schlessinger, better known as Dr. Laura, announced Tuesday that she was leaving her show because she wants her 1st Amendment rights back.

A week after igniting controversy with racially charged comments on her nationally syndicated radio show, advice guru Laura Schlessinger went on "Larry King Live" Tuesday evening to announce that she plans to leave the program when her contract runs out at the end of the year. "I want my 1st Amendment rights back, which I can't have on radio without the threat of attack on my advertisers and stations," Schlessinger said. She emphasized that she is not retiring. "I will be stronger and freer to say my mind through my books, my YouTube Channel, my blog and my website," she said.

Impostors. Arrogant. Money-hungry idiots. The insults aimed at France's World Cup team have been venomous following its drama-plagued early elimination from the international tournament. Passionate hand-wringing at the humiliating fall of the team that won the 1998 World Cup can be expected from dismayed French fans. But some worry that the tirades against the ethnically mixed team are being too often seen through a racial prism, even if that's not the intent. Few dispute that "Les Bleus," as the team is known, gave a subpar performance at the World Cup, the lowlights including a celebrity striker getting sent home for swearing at his coach, and the team's response by refusing to practice.

Larry Johnson's record-breaking career as a Kansas City running back is over. The Chiefs confirmed Monday that they had run out of patience with his off-the-field problems and released Johnson the day he was due to come back from his second suspension in a year. Johnson, who turns 30 on Nov. 19, was one of the NFL's best running backs in 2005 and 2006, rushing for more than 1,700 yards in each of those seasons, and was only 75 yards away from breaking Priest Holmes ' team rushing record.

The Kansas City Chiefs have suspended running back Larry Johnson until Nov. 9. The club is off this week, so Johnson will sit out one game, at Jacksonville on Nov. 8. The three-sentence news release issued Wednesday night said only that Johnson was suspended for conduct detrimental to the club. Johnson used a gay slur twice within a 24-hour period Sunday night and Monday, first on his Twitter account and then again Monday morning after telling reporters he was not talking.