This morning, I linked to a racist column by National Review writer John Derbyshire. This afternoon, National Review announced that they've fired Derbyshire:

His latest provocation, in a webzine, lurches from the politically incorrect to the nasty and indefensible. We never would have published it, but the main reason that people noticed it is that it is by a National Review writer. Derb is effectively using our name to get more oxygen for views with which we’d never associate ourselves otherwise. So there has to be a parting of the ways. Derb has long danced around the line on these issues, but this column is so outlandish it constitutes a kind of letter of resignation. It’s a free country, and Derb can write whatever he wants, wherever he wants. Just not in the pages of NR or NRO, or as someone associated with NR any longer.

I love that they point out that Derbyshire has always been pretty racist, but just not this openly racist. Way to take the high road, guys.

I think the most telling thing about all this is that every National Review post referring to this whole Derbyshire mess has had its comments closed. This is because National Review's editors know that their readers will no doubt fill the comment threads with even uglier racism in Derbyshire's defense, which would reveal exactly how large a racism problem the right really has.