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When did this cranky codger become a barometer of racial harmony in the United States? Everybody is hinging on the next racist word to come out of Don Imus' mouth. And there will probably be more, mind you. But if the guy's offensive, don't listen to him. Don't advertise on his show. Don't buy the products that advertise on his show. Money talks, and bad pundits then walk.

Both times when Imus has incurred the wrath of Al Sharpton, it's reminded me that what Imus thinks passes for humor doesn't do anything to add to the conversation of race in America. I grew up watching the Wayans family's "In Living Color" show, which was not only hilarious but had brilliant and poignant things to say on racial relations and stereotypes, whether it was Homey D. Clown succumbing to The Man at Chez Whitey or the timeless skit of Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan doing their version of "Who's on First?"

Even the man who dethroned Imus from his shock jock throne, Howard Stern, beats Imus by a mile when it comes to talking race: When Stern has as a guest Daniel Carver, an imperial wizard and grand dragon (see, there's room for jokes there already) of the Ku Klux Klan, there is nothing more powerful than hearing the racist banter come directly from Carver's mouth. We're shocked by the reality of what's out there, but we're better for knowing about it. And we laugh at a guy who is so silly, so antiquated in his view of the world as he reviews movies such as "Jungle Fever," etc. And it reminds us that racism has no place in today's world.

Entertainment needn't shy away from race, but can frankly bring these issues to the forefront and make you laugh at the same time. Imus sorely lacks this ability.

Forget the Spears or the Hiltons; The Tudors -- the royal family that included wild and crazy Henry the VIII, Ann Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth -- are the hottest thing in Hollywood at the moment.

There's the been the four queen Elizabeth movies, two starring Cate Blanchett, the latest one just last year, and two starring Helen Mirren on HBO as a package last fall. There's the second season of the Showtime series The Tudors. There was the recent release of "The Other Boleyn Girl" based on a book by the same name by Philippa Gregory (which I confessed I have read, and quite enjoyed), a novelized version of Anne Boleyn's rise to queen and fall to headlessness. Indeed, this was just one of a series of books by Gregory on the many women of Henry VIII which are also hot, hot, hot.

What was it about the royals of the 1500s that so fascinate us right now? That they lived their decadent lives with little care to the commoners? That they grossly indulged themselves with no regard to moderation? That they partied all the time? That they killed one another with impunity? That they wore outlandish clothes that cost a fortune? Sounds pretty familiar.

My favorite contestant is the old guy in this audition tape from Mazar-e-Sharif:

It's like "American Idol," but scours for contestants in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, etc. There's even an Afghan Ryan Seacrest (who's actually a medical student) and a woman on the judging panel a la Paula Abdul. It's in its third season, and this year a woman from Kandahar placed third, the highest ever for a woman, drawing lots of fans and pissing off conservative clerics. And I can't help but notice that, sans beards, there are some hot guys in Afghanistan...

Well, technically I'm an Inglewood girl, but I am a fan of "No Country for Old Men," so I'm not disappointed at Sunday night's Oscar results. It was an edge-of-your-seat film, Javier Bardem was amazing, and all in all the film was truly great.

But hopefully soon, soon, soon it will be native Valley son Paul Thomas Anderson's chance up on that Oscar stage. I was really hoping that "There Will Be Blood," which is no less than a work of art, would get more Oscars than for Daniel Day-Lewis and cinematography. Goodness, the mining and drilling scenes should have garnered the sound statue as well, but I thought the direction on "Blood" topped "Country." Then again, I'm a PTA fan since "Boogie Nights" (aka the Valley's biopic), so I might be a tad biased...

I was really rooting for Kazakhstan (sniff!) to win the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film. I hear that "The Counterfeiters" from Austria is a fantastic work, but who could really vote against a biopic of Genghis Khan? A friend at the Academy tells me that the Kazakh nominee, "Mongol," is a "beautiful" film. I was looking for the adjective "badass." And not only did I want "Mongol" to win, but I wanted Sascha Baron Cohen to present the Oscar to Kazakhstan.

Young Genghis is set to do battle with Indiana Jones when it arrives in limited release on June 6. Mongols rock.

So week before last, I was invited to a screening of "Golda's Balcony" -- the new film version of the stage play -- at the Writers Guild Theatre, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and Stand With Us in celebration of Israel's 60th birthday. Afterward, I sat and chatted at length with star Valerie Harper -- yes, Rhoda plays Golda wonderfully -- about women leaders, identity politics, and Golda Meir, who was prime minister of Israel when America was still struggling with issues of equality.

I wrote about my talk with Valerie (an awesome person -- she and her hubby, the film's producer, insisted on walking me to my car after the theater closed) as well as my thoughts on women leaders at Pajamas Media today (where I have new pieces weekly):

As I watched the life of the former prime minister unfold onscreen, I chuckled at the thought of how our 2008 obsession with identity politics seems to forget the great leaders — who just happened to be women — who have long had the attention of the rest of the world. After all, Oprah is not the most powerful woman in the world; that woman is, as ranked by Forbes, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

But Merkel is a conservative. Meir fought for Israel’s survival in the Yom Kippur War. Even Condoleezza Rice’s term as secretary of state has not been hailed as a great advance for women and/or African-Americans. So is a leader who happens to be a women only hailed as advancement if she pursues a feminist agenda outlined by NOW or the Code Pink sisters?

It raises serious questions when Ms. magazine last month refused to run an American Jewish Congress ad hailing Israel’s powerful women leaders: Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, with the words “This is Israel.”

Ms. told the Jerusalem Post that the ad was rejected for being too political, as two of the three women were from the Kadima party (which happens to also be the ruling party, hence making the magazine’s argument that the ad was unacceptable partisanship all the more ridiculous).

I later ask Valerie how Meir wasn't compartmentalized in the stereotype of women leaders:

“Golda was an amazing person, I think, male or female, in that she was both a visionary and an activist,” Harper said. “A lot of activists have sort of a vision, but they’re so in the doing that they don’t get the big picture, and some of the visionaries are very bad when it comes to the practical application and the doing. She was both. She held the vision just so clean and clear and her whole raison d’etre was ‘I want a world that’s safe for Jews.’"

Read the whole thing!

Congratulations to Paul Thomas Anderson, whose Signal Hill (though filmed in Texas) oil saga "There Will Be Blood" snagged eight nods at the Oscar announcement this morning, which puts the film in a tie with the equally brilliant "No County for Old Men." I've been a fan of PTA's ever since the genius Valley saga "Boogie Nights," but while he was nominated for Oscars for that and "Magnolia" this is the first time he's been nominated for best director. "Blood" and "Country" are clearly the best films of the year, so it's nice to see the Academy respond accordingly. Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem were both amazing.

And this is a year that I've actually seen many of the films, including "Atonement," which should win for Hottest Scot in a Leading Role for smokin' James McAvoy. I saw "No Country" last week the perfect way -- in a one-screen, 1947 theater on Main Street in Seal Beach, with popcorn that had real butter drizzled over the top. Bardem's character was fascinating because Hollywood has been full of hitmen with scruples -- case in point, the likable Jules and Vincent in "Pulp Fiction" -- but Bardem's character has absolutely none.

Maybe, in Strikeland, there should be a new rule this year: If you don't show up to get your award, the Academy will go to envelope B...

From our Washington reporter, Lisa Friedman, in Sunday's paper:

"Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, who said one of the earliest causes he embraced while in college at UCLA was the abolishment of the House Un-American Activities Committee, said the era underscores the importance of being vigilant against curtailing civil liberties in the name of national security.

Berman said he finds some parallels in what he described as today's 'very radical concerns about radical jihadists.' That, he argued, has led to 'overreaches' in the Patriot Act and other tools Congress passed as part of the War on Terror.

...Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus of The Nation magazine, said he thinks a similar blacklisting would be unlikely today, both because the media would not keep the story silent as they did in the 1950s and because of the new strength of independent filmmakers and the Internet.

'There's such a profusion of ways to distribute ideas,' agreed Berman, whose district includes most of the major studios. 'The days when four or five top executives could get together and stop people from working because of their political views are over, hopefully.'"

Well, congressman, these are the days when four or five top executives can get together and stop people from working because of their political views -- if those views are conservative. I can't tell you how many people I've met in the industry who've a) lost out on work because of their right-of-center politics, b) have had to put up with workplace harassment because of their right-of-center politics, or c) are scared stiff that any of their Hollywood co-workers or bosses will learn that they vote right-of-center, because they fear the repercussions it will have on their careers.

I once heard director/producer David Zucker -- who became Republican after 9/11, is right on national security issues and a big environmentalist -- speaking at a wrap party for an anti-John Kerry commercial he shot. He hailed all the friends he'd made in the local GOP community -- "especially since I've lost all my old friends," he deadpanned. Let's just say you have to be a star that big to survive a political outing to the elephant side in Tinseltown.

They just launched a new website explaining their side of the conflict.

Stand tough brass!