Thank you, Miss Emily Litella

ROBERT LOY: As a tribute to the late great Gilda Radner, this issue�s Country Musings is a guest editorial from Miss Emily Litella.

EMILY LITELLA: Thank you, it�s good to be here at the Country Museum with Mister Robber Boy. That�s a funny name, by the way, what are you, a banker?

Anyway, I�ve been a country music fan for a long time now. I grew up listening to all the big stars like Hefty Frizzell and Fatsy Cline. And it was always good wholesome stuff. But lately prejudice and racism is working its evil way into country music.

Why, just the other day I turned on my radio and heard someone singing about how there were no Italians around. Only he didn�t use the word �Italian.� No, he used an offensive racial slur. His exact words were �Not a dago�s by.�

Now, it wouldn�t surprise me if this sort of blatant anti-Italian stuff was played on a rock and roll station. Dislike of Italians is built into rock and roll, which actually started out as boo-wop music, but I expect better from country.

ROBERT LOY: Uh, Ms. Litella -

EMILY LITELLA: And is if that wasn�t bad enough, then imagine my shock when I discovered that the singer was a porn star. When did we start allowing porn stars to sing anti-Italian songs on the radio? Isn�t that a slap in the face to all the great Italian country singers like Tony Keith and Vinnie Pearl and Lasagna Twain and -

ROBERT LOY: Ms. Litella I�m afraid there�s been some misunderstanding. (whispers in her ear)

EMILY LITELLA: Oh, it�s �not a day goes by� oh I see. And it�s by Lonestar not a porn star. Oh, well, that�s very different, isn�t it? (to audience) Never mind.