Posted on 03/24/2005 3:25:36 AM PST by billorites
Every weekday morning, listeners across the country tune in to radio host Don Imus to hear his trademark rants about politics, Hollywood, sports and Iraq.
Mr. Imus and his wife, Deirdre, opened the 4,000-acre ranch, nestled in the mesa country of northern New Mexico, in 1999 to help sick children. Its stated mission is to give "children with severe illnesses an opportunity to experience the life of an American cowboy."
The ranch has also burnished Mr. Imus's image. With his signature scowl, gruff voice, 10-gallon hats and tendency to refer to some public figures as "creeps," "thugs" and "fascists," Mr. Imus, 64 years old, has built a top-10 national radio show with 3.25 million listeners a week. It is also simulcast on MSNBC television. The ranch has helped shine a spotlight on his softer side, transforming Mr. Imus and his wife into two of the country's best-known philanthropists. They've donated more than $1 million to the ranch over the past four years and raised $20 million for its start-up and operations. Celebrity donors, including TV-news star Barbara Walters, former New York Stock Exchange Chief Richard Grasso and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, receive praise on Mr. Imus's show.
Yet the charity's large budget, and the Imus family's personal stays at the ranch, are drawing scrutiny from tax officials and regulators. The ranch's expenses totaled $2.6 million last year, while it hosted only about 100 kids -- an unusually high dollar-to-child ratio, charity experts say. The Imus family stays at the ranch all summer with the children, but they also visit for weeks at a time during holidays as well as dropping in for occasional weekends, Mr. Imus says...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
It's a tax shelter to hide income. ABC did a story on it last night. See http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Politics/story?id=610830&page=1
I remember when Imus first came to NY @ 1971-72 and when he fell from grace courtesy of Bolivia (used to see him staggering out of Fifty Roc toward his limo) and then of course his comeback as a somewhat mature individual. I've also met Diedre, the former cheerleader who married well, on a couple of occasions. How to describe her...patronizing, humorless, insufferable. She has that "I know better than you because I'm so rich" attitude that limousine liberals carry. You want to shout, "Hey bimbo, you married wealth, you didn't build it yourself."
From the very beginning this ranch looked to me like a Don Imus retirement plan. I still believe so. There is just no other explanation for the amount of money spent to design, build, equip, furnish and decorate the SouthWest luxurious 14000 sf "hacienda", the boss' digs.
As I wrote before, do the kids benefit, yeah. Do Mr. & Mrs. Imus benefit, hell yeah.
I'm not surprised at all at their personal attitudes. Still, there are plenty of "charites" out there that one can make the same charge of "not helping enough". Yeah, Imus is a burned out SOB and I wonder with the amount of wealth this guy has, why he even bothers. But people do all sorts of things to make themselves feel good. However, the article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal really did have the appearance of a hit job a la the NY Times or Washington Post. I know, put on your tin foil hats. He probably has so many enemies it's too easy to come up with any number of conspiracies. He's been ranting against the drug companies over mercury... perhaps they've heard enough. Or better yet, perhaps dumber-than-dirt Kerry finally figured out that the Imus endorsement hurt him more than helped. Or maybe it's just some New Mexican rancher war. Join in any time. It can be fun.
To me one sure measure of a man is how he treats his own children. By this standard Imus is a huge failure. He has a few daughters from previous marriages. He has nothing to do with them at all and hasn't for years and years. One would think that Damien-like Wyatt is his sole progeny.
I would think maybe his daughters don't want anything to do with Imus. As for Uday Wyatt... well I like to think he's payback and Damien will only grow more so.
Pretty funny this am. Imus of course ranted on for at least an hour about the WSJ article. during the rant, he panned to one of the kids at the ranch and the prodded him, "Do you have an Imus impression?"
The kid in a dead on Imus voice goes "God damn it Wyatt!"
how many ministers live in a 14,000 SF home featured in Reader's Digest?
I meant Architectural Digest.
Imus writes for the WSJ?
Reading the WSJ article, I see nothing defamatory.
I guess you wouldn't if you didn't believe he had a reputation in the first place.
I saw that (the kid's profane Imus imitation). Speaks volumes.
Let Imus try to sue the WSJ. Now THAT would be funny.
He won't have to sue. The WSJ reporter and whoever authorized the article have been made to look petty and foolish. Imus is winning this one in the court of public opinion - although not on FR, where so many just don't get it.
Seems to be two schools of thought on this topic.
1. Imus is a blasphemous liberal asshole and we should unleash the IRS on him.
2. Let's be reasonable.
I wonder if the kids get to use the Master Bath outdoor shower designed to look like Aztec ruins.
He won't sue, becasue he has NO CASE. I don't think the reporter has been made to look foolish at all. All I have seen is the goons on Imus calling him names like "schmuck", "little bitch", and Imus whining the WSJ deliberately wrote the article to punish him about his speaking out about vaccines.
Imus has lost it.
It was ok for Imus to rant on and lie about Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush for months but one reporter writes one factually correct article about Imus, and its the end of the friggin world with Imus nailing himself to a cross for sympathy.
BOO HOO Imus.
Lost what?
Look, I wouldn't try to change your mind about Imus. It's adult entertainment.
If you don't believe Imus is doing good charity work - take your money elsewhere.
I never said Imus does not do good charity work.
But the reporter was not wrong in stating that Imus lives on a 4000 acre ranch with a 14,000sf house or that he spends a lot of time at the ranch. It looks like a really really nice place to live despite Imus's absurd claim, it's hard living there.
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