Ouch: Glenn Beck Calls Men In Black 3 'Movie Cancer'

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Personally, I only take in art whenever political pundits tell me I should. Hell, I only go see a play when I hear that Bill O'Reilly got accosted outside of it. So I wasn't one of the many people who went to go see Men in Black 3 this weekend. However, Glenn Beck did and, yesterday, he gave his review. His verdict? Men in Black 3 is 'like movie cancer.' Ouch.

Now, some of you may think that's kind of hyperbolic. I mean, how can you compare a simple movie to a horrible disease that is ruining or ending the lives of tons of human beings as we speak? The amazing thing is that that wasn't even the nastiest thing Beck said about the movie. He also said it was worse than Men in Black 2. Double ouch!

Of course, many of you probably saw Men in Black 3 over the weekend and you might have even liked it. So don't feel bad. Glenn Beck isn't infallible. This is, after all, the guy who said Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was 'Broadway history.' In a good way.

Watch the video from GBTV below:

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Bold Type: The New York Times Magazine Celebrates 'Innovation' With Four Striking Covers

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The New York Times Magazine planned something appropriately innovative for its 'Innovation Issue' this year, publishing a split run of four covers, each featuring a logo designed by a different firm or individual designer. The covers incorporate bold colors, memorable images and four different deviations from the brand's iconic font.

RELATED: The Kudos Files: Hugo Lindgren Has Re-Energized New York Times Magazine

The magazine has undergone something of a stylistic transformation under editor Hugo Lindgren, with its covers, as one former Mediaite editor was fond of saying, growing ever 'zazzier.' And, as we wrote almost exactly a year ago (!), another 'major factor in the magazine's continued success is its design director, Arem Duplessis. In June of 2009, the magazine underwent a redesign, introducing a smaller product with a streamlined, more modern aesthetic.' The clean, eye-catching covers used for the Innovation issue are no different.

Have a look at the cover designs, below, and keep an eye out for the issue this weekend. (If you need a quick fix in advance, here's a peek):

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Sesame Street Songs Used To Torture Guantanamo Detainees, Al Jazeera Reports

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Anyone who's grown up in this country is likely familiar with Sesame Street and its cheery, often-educational songs. But a new Al Jazeera documentary, Songs of War, reports that music may have been used for entirely different purposes: as a torture method for detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. And Christopher Cerf, the award-winning musician who composed the show's music for 40 years, isn't happy about it.

Cerf composed more than 200 songs, and in 2003, U.S. intelligence services reportedly used some of those songs for torture. Thomas Keenan, director of the Human Right's Project at Bard College, said:

'Prisoners were forced to put on headphones. They were attached to chairs, headphones were attached to their heads, and they were left alone just with the music for very long periods of time. Sometimes hours, even days on end, listening to repeated loud music.'

Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram, said, 'The music was so loud. And it was probably some of the worst torture that they faced.'

When he learned about this, Cerf said he thought there's no way it could be true ' and ventured to learn more about it. 'In Guantanamo they actually used music to break prisoners. So the idea that my music had a role in that is kind of outrageous,' he said. 'This is fascinating to me both because of the horror of music being perverted to serve evil purposes if you like, but I'm also interested in how that's done. What is it about music that would make it work for that purpose?'

Keenan has an answer to that question: 'It is music's capacity to take over your mind and invade your inner experience that makes it so terrifying as a potential weapon.'

The idea isn't entirely novel. In 2003, reports said songs from Sesame Street and Barney were used to break Iraqi POWs.

(H/T Al Jazeera)

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Illinois State Rep. Explains His Explosive Rant To Fox News

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An Illinois state representative who was caught on tape going off on his fellow legislators over the state's large budget gap appeared on Fox News Channel with anchor Bill Hemmer on Wednesday. There, he explained why he engaged in that tirade and lamented his state's pressing fiscal problems.

RELATED: Bill Hemmer Says He'd Pull Kid Out Of School That Censored 'God Bless The USA'

Illinois state Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) engaged in a fiery rant on the floor of the state House where he threw papers and screamed at his fellow representatives over the state's unfunded pension liabilities and Democrat-lead pension reform measures.

'These damn bills that come out here all the damn time, come out here at the last second,' screamed Bost. 'I've got to figure out how to vote for my people! You should be ashamed of yourselves! I'm sick of it!'

In an interview with Hemmer, Bost said that he doesn't 'normally act that way.'

'We're dealing with pension reform because of our large debt, which is tremendous,' said Bost. 'Unfortunately, at 7:40 we get a completely changed bill from the Speaker of the House that just decided on his own to create this bill. And it had a tremendous shift to the local taxpayers ' to local homeowners onto property tax.'

Hemmer clarified that the bill would shift responsibility for compensating for the state's debt by shifting the tax burden to downstate homeowners rather than the suburbs of Chicago.

Bost said that the pension issue is one symptom of a larger problem of Illinois' legislators spending beyond the state's means. Hemmer specified that Illinois is facing a 1.8 billion budget gap for FY2013.

'You can't continue to spend money you don't have,' said Bost. 'This issue is an issue that we, the Republicans, had taken a lead on. And all the sudden the rug had been pulled out from beneath us.'

Hemmer concluded by saying he thought Bost would be 'a lot of fun at a Chicago Bears game.'

Watch the segment below via Fox News Channel:

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• This is the political sewer that spawned Barack Obama. And the one he will return to when he goes back to his Rezko Estate mansion.

  Richard J. Daley ,the #1 crook in the state, pulled a nasty trick to boost his pension way up, knowing the state is broke, and not a peep .

• Hemmer concluded by saying he thought Bost would be 'a lot of fun at a Chicago Bears game.'

  Why should I be surprised at a Fake News head talking out of his a**.?   He's a downstate hick nowhere near Chicago.

• Another gNOpig given the 'opportunity' to clarify his rants on Fox gNOpig Propaganda.

  Is this part of the 'news' or gNOpig favorable coverage? 

•  And, if he's Downstate, he's a Cards fan.

• Since my city are the ones paying the majority of taxes on this stuff, it only makes sense that the rednecks down state chip in.

• Republican gets angry about public debt' Democrats get angry about him getting angry with the debt.  At least one party knows we are in debt

• Great, so now Chicago Democrats are not only thieves they are bigots against their own citizens footing the bill for their incompetence.  Way to go Democrats'

Rep. Allen West Is Right: 'Let's Talk About The President Doing Blow'

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During a town hall meeting with his Florida constituents, Republican Congressman Allen West was asked a question about his role in a controversial incident, in which West interrogated an Iraqi detainee by firing a gun near his head. West took issue with being asked about the incident, and responded to his critics that 'If you guys want to go back and talk about what happened nine years ago for me, let's talk about the president doing blow.'

I agree. President Obama's past drug use should be fair game for discussion. But West and I think so for different reasons.

Rep. West, like many conservatives, likely believes that Obama's past use of marijuana and cocaine is one reason the president is unfit for office. Asking more questions about his use of blow, they think, could show how the president is reckless and incapable of leading America.

I, however, want President Obama's drug use mentioned more because it could force a discussion about drug legalization.

As I wrote last week, we should ask more questions like: 'Why won't President Obama support our right to 'choom' a doobie like he did?'

Other questions include:

- Imagine if the same drug laws Obama favors had been enforced on him while he 'choomed' doobies and rode the powdery white horse. Does he think that would be fair?

- Given his past drug use, does the president really think that drug use is a big deal? Big enough to continue cracking down, despite declaring as an Illinois State Senator that the drug war is a failure?

- What changed over time? Why did the president rightfully declare the drug war to be a failure throughout his political career, only to recant as soon as he reached the presidency?

- If the president 'evolved' on gay marriage ' an issue he was once in support of, again, before holding office ' then why can't he make a similar 'evolution' on the drug prohibition?

Alas, those questions probably won't get asked. But, at the very least, talking about the pure white snow he snorted could be a good start.

Watch Congressman West's comments below, via The Shark Tank:

(H/T RCP)

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• Allen West is the embodiment of everything that is sick, disgusting, and terrible about politics today. However, the blithering idiot is an EXCELLENT tool for Democratic fundraising. So I guess he's not entirely bad.

• Agreed. 

  West's angle was explored in 08. Didn't work and it's a crummy dodge to use to run away from one's own record of military service that West touts all the time anyway' why should he be shy about it now?

  Kirell's angle is much more productive. Pushing the President to use his own life's narrative to empathize (something he does all the time) with those incarcerated under America's terrible drug policies may force the issue at least into the spotlight of the national conversation.

  I still doubt that we are any less than 3-5 presidential cycles before any serious reform can take place on this issue.

• As my Granny would often say, 'You can only work to the understanding that you have'

• George W Bush was doing cocaine in his late 30s, yet that was never relevant during any of his campaigns.  And please don't make the argument that this is about hypocritical stances on drug penalty enforcement.  GWB signed some of the most restrictive drug laws during his time as governor of Texas.

  This is only an issue now because it perpetuates a stereotype.  It's typical dog-whistle politics.  It's amazing how after 3.5 years of observing Obama in office, we still have to endure this BS about character issues to determine how he'll govern.

  Here's a clue:  he'll govern how he's governed for the past 3.5 years, as a center-left moderate with his hands tied behind his back, forced to negotiate with a bunch of mouth-breathing teatards, while democrats cower in the corner, afraid to be labeled a liberal.   

• War criminal West once again displays his moron credentials.

• 'Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep, now they see me now they don't- I've come and gone''

WATCH: Wolfgang Puck And Craig Ferguson Beat Their Wienerschnitzels

Wolfgang Puck's segment on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night seemed like the four-minute long punchline to that joke where you put an Austrian and a Scot on television and have them make a famous Viennese dish with a dirty-sounding name.

Puck assured Ferguson, as they prepared to pound some meat, that the 'wiener' in wienerschnitzels 'means 'Vienna' ' and not what you think they are in Scotland. [Wieners there are] different. They're long things.'

'Ohhhh, they're very long in Scotland, they are,' Ferguson boasted, taking a few whacks at the meat.

'You wish, you wish,' Puck retorted.

And because wienerschnitzel is the Anthony Weiner of food jokes by nature, the segment goes to a very, very dark place. 'You know, you've been on the show twenty times,' Ferguson deadpans, hands covered in wienerschnitzel batter, 'but this is the first time that you've genuinely creeped me out.'

WATCH:

Mitt Romney Should Dump Donald Trump For More Reasons Than Birtherism

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Tuesday evening, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will appear at a Las Vegas campaign event with business magnate Donald Trump. Many have already criticized this decision due to Trump's fixation on President Obama's birth certificate, but I propose another reason Romney should dump Trump: the 'business magnate' is actually a crony capitalist, a businessman who has made much of his wealth by utilizing the power of government. In other words: the antithesis of how Mitt Romney should present himself.

On Sunday, conservative commentator George Will called Trump a 'bloviating ignoramus,' adding that the cost of appearing with Trump is high, without any clear benefit. This is probably all true, yet somehow it doesn't stop Romney from happily accepting the Trump endorsement. When asked about Trump as a political liability, Romney dismissed the criticism saying that while he may not agree with all his followers, he appreciates their support.

Fair enough. But let's put aside the goofy sloganeering and silly birtherism for a moment. What should also bother the Romney campaign are some of Trump's actual business policies.

The narrative thus far has been that Trump is the archetypal successful capitalist who thus has keen insight about which candidate is best suited to 'fix the economy,' and so he has chosen Mitt Romney, another successful businessman. Upon accepting the endorsement, Romney played into this narrative, saying Trump has 'an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works and to create jobs.'

To be fair, Trump has created jobs, and has built a successful business (sans the multiple bankruptcies).

But Trump is not just shamelessly self-promoting; he's shamelessly crony capitalist. He often tries to expand his business by using the power of government. And in an election where the Republican candidate will claim that entrepreneurs ' not the government ' can create jobs and prosperity for all, Trump's record makes him a liability.

The conservative National Review pointed out that Trump has a history of avoiding the free market and instead getting in bed with the state. Last year, they wrote that 'Trump became 'partners' with the City of New York to build a hotel in the 1970s ' a deal that involved a 40-year property-tax abatement that saved him 'tens of millions of dollars.'' A 'tax abatement' may seem harmless, but it's really no different than a government subsidy. When people refer to sports teams as 'welfare queens,' it's partly because the owners receive such large tax abatements. Trump's case is no different.

In the 1990s, Trump asked Connecticut's government to use their power to condemn five Bridgeport businesses so that he may use the land to build 'a $350 million combined amusement park, shipping terminal and seaport village and office complex on the east side of the harbor.'

Around the same time, Trump tried to buy an Atlantic City woman out of her home so that he may build a parking lot and waiting area for his hotel's limousines. The widow refused to sell her property, so Trump spent years under the guise of 'eminent domain' trying to get the government to pry the woman's land for his private use.

Luckily, In both situations, Trump lost out. But when, in 2005, the Supreme Court essentially ruled that eminent domain may be used for private development, Trump applauded the ruling. Does Mitt Romney really need the 'businessman' approval of someone who seems to have such little regard for private property?

One final example: Trump fought tooth-and-nail to prevent a casino from being built in upstate New York. He rightfully feared the competition it would provide to his casinos in New Jersey, and so he spent a decade in court fighting the construction, claiming that gambling would be terrible for New York (but magically, somehow not bad for Atlantic City?). When the NY casino plan was finally green-lit, Trump conceded that 'at some point, there is going to be competition.' No, really?

A truly good businessman accepts his competition and innovates to try and beat it ' not use the arm of government to prevent it; a good businessman creates jobs without using the arm of the state to squash other people from creating jobs; and a good businessman respects the private property rights of others at all times, not just when it suits his needs.

Romney's campaign will be largely based on his past as a successful businessman. In that role, would he have invested in Donald Trump? I doubt it.

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Exclusive: Never-Before-Seen Interview With The Late Andrew Breitbart Part 1

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Just over a year before his tragic, untimely death, the late Andrew Breitbart sat down for an impromptu interview following an early lunch with then-liberal filmmaker Lee Stranahan, liberal blogger Mike Stark, and me. Events conspired to keep me from releasing all but a 3-minute clip of that interview, filmed during the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, until now. The result is a rare glimpse of Andrew Breitbart that's markedly different from the high-octane provocateur that most of the public saw him as.

In many ways, CPAC is like summer camp, with booze, so I'm actually not sure it was all that early when I called Andrew to see where I could catch up to him that Saturday. All I know is that it felt early. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with a crisp temperature that I remember as hotter than it was from walking miles with all of my stuff. He was about to have lunch at Hot 'n Juicy Crawfish, across the street from the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, along with Stark and Stranahan.

I must've been in rough shape that afternoon (which I keep remembering as morning), because it took me 3 or 4 phone calls to finally find the place. We sat and joked for awhile, and although I had planned to interview Andrew later in the day, we decided that the odd mix of company would make for some interesting conversation. We moved to the back of the restaurant, and I just let the camera roll until it was out of space.

Unfortunately, when I was copying the files onto my laptop, I accidentally deleted some of them before they had finished transferring. Recovering those files proved difficult, and by the time I had managed to retrieve everything, nearly a month had passed. Since then, I've just never had the 8 to 10 hours I would need to process and publish the full interview.

Over this long weekend, though, I had the chance to find every bit of footage that survived, which I'm still working on uploading. In this first part, Andrew and Lee Stranahan talk about Shirley Sherrod, the ACORN and Planned Parenthood videos, and their then-nascent reporting on the Pigford settlement, plus Andrew describes some of his counter-cultural influences. Look for parts 2 and 3 later today:

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Michelle Obama On The View: 'I'm Not Interested In Politics, Never Have Been'

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Michelle Obama continued to make the morning show rounds Tuesday with an appearance on The View, where she was candid about her occasional doubts about being a 'proper First Lady,' particularly given that she's been known to do some hula-hooping on the White House lawn and her anti-obesity initiative involved working in a garden on the grounds. She noted that usually, however, she is focused on 'the world [she wants] to leave for [her] kids.'

RELATED: Michelle Obama Promotes And Defends Her Anti-Obesity Campaign On Good Morning America

Barbara Walters asked her if she believed that race would play an issue in the 2012 presidential election, and the First Lady was cautious but optimistic. 'Race is still an issue in this country,' she noted, 'but'Barack Obama is the President of the United States and he's done a phenomenal job, and this country put him in office.' Joy Behar, whose enthusiasm for the current president was rather flagrantly on display ('They'll put him there again,' she declared), asked her about her reaction to personal attacks on the president, including rumors that he wasn't born in the United States.

'You and Grandma [get upset],' Obama joked, adding 'Hi, Mom.' She was resolutely positive, though, and said that her experience as First Lady has constantly reminded her that 'we live in a decent country.' Asked if she might consider running for the presidency, she denied it emphatically. 'I'm not interested in politics, never have been,' she repeated more than once. She characterized her role as First Lady as an occasion where she was called on to serve her country with Barack Obama, and that frankly she thinks she got the easier gig.

You can see the clip here via ABC:

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Veterans Of Foreign Wars Demand Apology From Chris Hayes Over 'Heroes' Comments

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The major veterans organization Veterans of Foreign Wars are calling for an apology from MSNBC host Chris Hayes, who yesterday expressed discomfort with using the term 'heroes' in relation to fallen soldiers, as he found the term 'rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.' Calling his words 'insipid' and 'callous,' the organization demanded an apology in the name of 'broken-hearted children, spouses and parents left behind to grieve for a loved one.'

RELATED: MSNBC's Chris Hayes Feels 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Soldiers 'Heroes'

Hayes' comment on Sunday, part of an hour on Up about the military, was that he felt 'uncomfortable' with the word because 'it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic.' VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer spoke to FoxNews.com and demanded in the name of the families of the fallen an apology:

'Chris Hayes' recent remarks on MSNBC regarding our fallen service members are reprehensible and disgusting,' VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer said in a statement to FoxNews.com. 'His words reflect his obvious disregard for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price while defending our nation. His insipid statement is particularly callous because it comes at a time when our entire nation pauses to reflect and honor the memory of our nations' fallen heroes.'

He continued: 'It is especially devastating to the many broken-hearted children, spouses and parents, left behind to grieve for a loved one. Such an ignorant and uncaring and blatant disregard for people's deep feelings are indefensible, and that is why the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States demand that Mr. Hayes and MSNBC provides an immediate and unequivocal apology.'

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• Hayes is like that kid that goes home on thanksgiving and tries to lay the guilt trip on us that the Native Americans were harmed and we shouldn't be celebrating.  He's the guy I'd really like to celebrate Festivus with and tell him how predictably disappointed we are all are in him. 

• You guys can get mad at Hayes all you want, but he's giving good advice. When countries get into the habit of using the troops as propaganda tools, and calling them all heroes, and saying that everything they do is the correct decision, and to say otherwise is 'unpatriotic', your country is going down a very dangerous path.

• Some people are incapable of having an intelligent discussion about complicated issues. That's why they invented Fox News.

• what could be more heroic then giving your life for your country

• Who is saying 'everything they do is the correct decision?'

  Fun strawman, though.

• So those people would have a platform to have intellegent discussions about complicated issues.

  That's why MSNBC should stick to just talking about FOX' they try to be intellegent, and just get in trouble.

• just look at what is considered attractive these days'where are the real men'gone the way of the edsel'.

President Obama's Memorial Day Address To Soldiers: 'America Will Be There For You'

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President Obama delivered his yearly Memorial Address this morning' the first, he noted, where he could say 'Americans are not fighting and dying in Iraq.' Honoring many individual soldiers personally while thanking the armed forces for their services, the President promised soldiers the 'clear mission and full support of a grateful nation,' and to refrain from sending troops into battle unless 'absolutely necessary.'

RELATED: President Obama Lays Wreath On Tomb Of The Unknowns At Arlington National Cemetery

Noting that the Iraq War as we knew it for a decade is over, and the war in Afghanistan winding down, the President detailed the stories of the first and last deaths of the Iraq War, then spoke to the parents of the fallen. 'I cannot begin to fully understand your loss. As a father, I cannot begin to imagine what it's like to hear that knock on the door and learn that your worst fears have come true,' he said, citing the decision to go to war as 'the most wrenching decision that I have to make' as President. He promised he will 'never do so unless it is absolutely necessary,' and offer always the 'clear mission and the full support of a grateful nation.'

He then listed several individuals whose lives were lost, telling the stories of warm, dedicated soldiers lost this year. His homage did not end with the fallen however, noting that 'we can meet our obligations to those who did come home' and their families, fighting 'a very different but very real battle of their own.' He told the audience that the 'patriots who rest beneath these hills were fighting for many things' for their families, for their flag' but above all, they were fighting for you,' promising them that 'America will be there for you.' He concluded with an aspiration for the country: 'we must always strive to be worthy of your sacrifice.'

The speech in full via Fox News below:

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• Oh please. Does Obama really believe soldiers fought for 'our freedom' in Vietnam? Of course he doesn't. No one does.

• 'America Will Be There For You' unless you guys ask for too many benefits then we will have to cut back on you guys.

• What Obama said: 'America will be there for you.' He concluded with an aspiration for the country: 'we must always strive to be worthy of your sacrifice.' 

  What right-wing nutjobs heard: 'I'm Obama, the king who killed Bin Laden, blah blah blah. Vote for me and this country will be the next USSR, blah blah blah. With one key difference: we'll be Muslim, blah blah blah. Bow before me troops or I'll cut off you funding, blah blah blah.'

• The President can't get up there and go through every single war and check off the 'good' ones versus the 'bad' ones. He's honoring the soldiers and sailors and marines.

  The idea is to honor the dead not expound on whether the Mexican-American War was worthy and the Spanish-American War not so worthy. It's not a dissertation, it's a memorialization.

  Some things are beyond politics. Way beyond them.

•  Yep, exactly. The delusional wingnuts are shameless and have no concept of patriotism. I don't even like Obama and he's a phony and not liberal'.but I have the patriotism to want our country to prosper and for our society to be better for everyone. The wingnuts are all about their party, their failed on every approach every time ideology over country.

  And what is just as disgusting as it ever gets they call themselves patriots.
  Just pathetic, ignorant and sad they are.

•  'Some things are beyond politics. Way beyond them.'

  Never has there been a CIC so disrespected by people claiming to be patriots. The sad thing is nothing is beyond politics right now.

• Dumbest comment of the day, totally wrong.

• I real fear. Hope we do not let them down. That is above politics.

• 'Some things are beyond politics. Way beyond them.'  Exactly, especially condemning the President over his Memorial Day speech. Bad form.

• our president has done more for vetrans than any since WW2..
  our president has done more for business offer record profits and a sustained stock market..
  our president has kept us safer than any recent president'killing top terrorist and tyrants that have escaped the last several presidents including Reagan..
  our president has given us back international prestigue and alliances..
  our president has give civil rights to citizens both civilian and military unlike any president before'
  regardless of the rhetoric and vitriol that is expressed'no rational person can deny that in 3 years'this president has been the most productive president in modern times with the most difficult challeges and least amount of cooperation..
  it is nothing short of astonishing~

• Well, this trend of savaging a president didn't start with Mr. Obama.

  If this was Bush and a memorial day address the ideologues on the other side would be out.

  It may have gotten worse under this president; but it's been headed in that direction for a long time.

• A couple of days ago, it  was reported that Obama would be on vaca and wouldn't be making an address.  He was sending  Biden to do it.  I'm glad he realized what an idiotic and selfish move that would've been and decided to do the right thing for the heroes (that's right Chris Hayes) and honor them appropriately. 

• May have gotten worse?

  Understatement of the century.

• You're politicizing this in the other direction.

  I think folks on both sides need to cool it for just one day.

• The President during bad economic times will always be attacked more harshly than during good times.

  Even if he's not to blame.

  When things are good the president gets credit even if it's not warranted; and when things are bad the president gets blame even if it's not warranted.

  That's just the way it is.

• what i love is hearing a speech from a president about how he loves, respects, and supports the troops so much and yet he can't pronounce CORPSMAN properly.

• You believe soldiers fought in Vietnam for your freedom?

•  'it was reported'

  You mean it was made up to manufacture outrage among you wingnuts.

• + 1

  and filled with self-righteous certainty

• I'll bet few of Obama's constant critics on this site have volunteered or visited a VA hospital in the last year ' much easier to sit back and play armchair generals 

  My special thanks for all Vets and their families on this day.  

• Case in point. 

  The day you're ready to spend 5 years constantly on camera without making a single gaffe, let us know. 

  Also, let me know when you want to start comparing Bush gaffes with those of the current president. I have a feeling the Bush gaffes could take up a lot of your time so plan accordingly.

• Look in the mirror lib, and on that post, you will see Chris Hayes.

• Imagine how right wingers would react if he didn't say it.

• Absolutely. The pivotal 'battle' in winning the cold war and ending any thought that the soviets had of spreading communism without our full sacrificial opposition, which they did not count on.

MSNBC Panel On Congressman Speaking Like High Schoolers: 'Dumber, Or More Populist?'

» 2 comments

A study released last week of the vocabulary and sentence structure of Congressional floor speeches had some information in it that was troubling for many: the average Congressman speaks at the literacy rate of a high school sophomore. On MSNBC today, Chris Jansing's panel put up a fair argument for why this is happening and why it is okay' when the general public is the audience, making complex issues accessible is key.

RELATED: Study Shows Congress Speaks At The Literacy Level Of High School Sophomores

Jansing began by asking panelist Krystal Ball whether the change was an indication that Congress was 'dumber, or more populist?' Ball thought the key to understand the change was 'who the audience is': in the past, 'Congress was the audience,' as the members attempted to convince each other to change their votes. 'Now they are thinking, 'this is going to go out in a YouTube video.''

Panelist David Winston argued that the change in vocabulary was not a bad sign. 'You're dealing with fairly complex ideas,' he argued, 'communicating ideas in a complex way is probably not a good strategy.' Jansing also noted that many of the lowest-ranking members of Congress were also highly educated, many with doctorates: 'it's not like these folks are dumb.' Ball noted that some' particularly lowest-ranking Rep. Mike Mulvaney' 'wear it as a badge of honor,' as it makes them more approachable to their constituency. 'More and more the audience is the public,' she noted. Winston agreed, citing the famous quote, 'sorry this letter is so long, I didn't have time to make it shorter.'

The segment via MSNBC below:

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• It's about populism.  Average Americans have gotten it into their heads that people who are educated, rich, well spoken, etc. are detestable.  People like to have representatives that they can relate to.  In some ways, they are right, we shouldn't want our country to be ruled by a small elite class that believes they know what's best for us better than we do, and will run the country in a way that makes them more powerful.  But we have to remember that these people ARE trying to run the country, and we can't have a bunch of idiots like Maxine Waters and Rand Paul running things. We need to have a good mixture of authentic people and elites to keep the balance.

• Republicans seem to have discovered that they must use words that are too syllables or less, and limit the sentences to something that can fit on a bumper sticker, for example, FREEDOM, tax and spend, drill baby drill, global warming is a hoax, you lie, pro-life, etc. If they deviate from these rules, their simple minded base becomes confused and hostile, and will call them elitist or RINO. To say that congress talks at a sophomoric level is being generous, it might be the republicans talk at a 7th grade level, and the democrats at least sound like high school graduates.

Newport Beach Bills Obama Campaign $35,000 For Campaign Stop Expenses

» 16 comments

An affluent beach town in Southern California recently sent President Obama a bill for $35,000 following a February campaign stop where the president attended a big fundraiser. The city manager of Newport Beach explained that because of how much money was needed to pay for extra police protection and the fact that it was a campaign event and not 'official presidential business,' he wanted to treat the event like any other private one.

RELATED: RNC Files Formal Complaint Over Obama Campaigning On Taxpayer-Funded Excursions

The New York Daily News details the circumstances of Obama's campaign stop and the rather hefty sum the city says they owe.

Obama visited Newport's Corona del Mar neighborhood to hold a breakfast with wealthy donors, one of several stops during a fundraising trip through the Golden State.

The campaign charged donors $2,500 a head to attend, and as much as $35,000 for a meet-and-greet, Corona del Mar Today reported.

The town's revenue office sent the invoice to Obama's campaign office in Chicago May 10. It's due June 9.

The campaign has not commented on the bill.

It's also worth noting that Newport Beach is a rather conservative town, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by a 3 to 1 ratio.

h/t NY Daily News

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• Hillary and Newt agreed that politicians should not run up bills they don't intend to pay.

• This is an appallingly bad idea that hasn't been thought through at all.

• Is it that hard to stay on topic?

•  What's appalling?  That the city sent him a bill?

• 'Appallingly bad idea' as in 'stupid decision' (I gave my reasons, respond to them if you wish) NOT as in 'morally suspect'

• Newport Beach is a conservative, affluent city. The median income is estimated at $107,007 (California's median income is $60,883) and registered Republicans outnumber Democrats three-to-one.

• Billing is standard for a city to a private function. And yes, a campaign is a private, non-government function.

  I worked for a NW Fire Department and it was standard that the baseball team, the football team and the soccer team were all charged for police, fire and medic services dedicated to the event. It is a contract between the city, the facility and the event organizer.

  These are dedicated to the event and we union folk volunteered for the event as it was overtime for us.

  Standard stuff here, expect Romney to be billed when he holds an event.

• Presidents Obama has responded to this.
  He said 'uhh,uhh, eh,ah,let uhh uh uh eh ehh me eh eh explain uh uh
  eh, uhh uh, I, uh didn't uhh ehh uh ehhh uh will uh uh get back uh u
  to uh you.

• Those are charges are agreed to in advance of being granted permits to hold events, no? 

  Not' charges releases after the fact to the media?

  It seems to me there are two options:

  1) this is a matter of course, as you say, and the bill was expected and agreed upon prior to the event and will be paid promptly' and therefore the NYDailyNews has basically tarted up a story to look like something it's not (entirely possible).

  2) Newport Beach decided to stick it to Obama and look tough in the process by sending him a bill after the fact and alerting the press (entirely possible).

• The last line answered my only question, Newport Beach is a very conservative town.  If only the town I lived had such foresight they wouldn't be out the extra $19,500 dollars they spent when George Bush came to town before the 2004 election.  But then again it's a very conservative town also(except for me) and I'm sure they'll extend the same courtesy to Romney should he too decide to come here.

• So we don't get too much in the legal weeds, each city is different how stuff like this is handled.

  A third option is that when an event organizer schedules a venue he typically states the amount of participants they expect. A stadium of 50,000 and you expect to fill the stadium, you are then billed for the full use of the stadium. If on the other hand you lease a football or baseball stadium and expect 15% of capacity then a portion of the stadium is opened and the rest is closed off. A full staff is not needed and the food vendors are probably not used either. Kinda like going to a concert or rally and the end zone and a portion of the field is used, the rest of the stadium is closed (barriers, tape, etc) and the entry and exit is typically nearest the activity.

  A fourth option is that cities and states sometime absorb the cost because of the activity it brings to the city. The activity, the people participating should typically pay for the excess services provided. If it does not then the city is stuck with the cost. If I were a small city like Newport I would say we will absorb $10,000 but you pay any amount over this cost.

  If I remember correctly this event was also at a private home. So charging for services is entirely justified.

• Obama's mantra: Qu'ils mangent de la brioche. (Let them eat cake.)

  That's the nature of this idiotic leadership. It's all good ' as far as the State is paying for it. Who knows? That lumbering fool and his trusty sidekick are probably already saving up for his Presidential library.

• I take your points.

  3rd option: Still in that case (a negotiated partial use of services)' we are talking about some agreement reached between the parties prior to the event' not a bill rendered after the fact by way of the media (if that is what happened).

  4th option: cities take loses on events all the time because (like you say) though the city's coffers are diminished the event makes up for it in economic activity within the city and the city benefits in various non-financial ways.

  It's hard to see much benefit to the city for a private function like this other than the modest economic benefit and the prestige of having the president there (even if not in an official capacity). So, I agree some kind of charge could likely be justified as a campaign expense. 

  But none of that explains why an agreement wouldn't be reached before hand.

  Why is this a story? Either because someone really wants this to be a story, or it is out of the norm in one way or another.

• No contract no pay.  They knew he was coming and should have made their demands at the appropriate time.  

• It is a story because people want to stick it to Obama and will use every little dog eat dog story to do so. Romney has his fair share of dog poop stories that appear to be created for the sole purpose of sticking it to him too. A certain author on this site is notorious for doing that (wink, wink)

  So that you know, I enjoy the stick it to the campaign story. Lazy Sunday for me so this crap caught my eye. It is a crap story but still' a small city stickin' it to the Obama campaign' it brings more of a smirk to my face.

  In Seattle, I and even a few Obama supports disliked when he came to town. His team would necessarily shut down major arteries into, and through the city. It got to the point where the place I worked for actually encouraged people to go home early, come in late etc' to avoid the traffic' didn't work but at least some people were thinking.

  I would hate my neighbor if he actually had a President over for the day' though I would put a box case of Columbian brand cerveza on the driveway for them. Kinda reminds them of better times'

• When the headline said 'Newport Beach' and billing Obama campaign, I knew it was politically motivated even before I got to the detail in the story.  They don't get more rabidly Republican than that part of Reagan country.

  Cities can elect to tell eventholders if they are able to provide city services and deal with public health and safety.  That lets eventholders then decide whether they want to buy services (including security) privately or not.

  I suggest that if the city government has no resources to provide service including public health and safety, that they just don't send them or provide them.  The eventholder will get the idea.

Rudy Giuliani: I Only Contrasted Romney's Economic Record With My 'Far Superior' One

» 12 comments

During Rudy Giuliani's appearance on CNN's State of the Union this morning, Candy Crowley confronted the 2008 Republican presidential candidate about his past criticisms of current presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney on health care and his economic record. Giuliani argued that he was only contrasting Romney's record with his own, and said that unlike Romney's business experience, President Obama was just a 'community organizer' and state senator in his earlier life.

RELATED: Rudy Giuliani Endorses Romney: Under GOP President 'We'll Grow Unlike Anything We've Actually Ever Predicted'

Crowley reminded Giuliani that in the past, he criticized Romney for his economic record when he was the governor of Massachusetts, and given that the same line of attack is being used by the Democrats and Obama campaign now against Romney, Crowley had Giuliani jump into Romney defense mode to stick up for his former rival's record.

Giuliani explained that when he was criticizing Romney's economic record, he was only doing it in contrast with his own 'far superior' record in New York. But Giuliani made sure to clarify that Romney's business experience gives him the edge this time around against President Obama. He touted the work he did with Romney on the 2002 Winter Olypmics, and contrasted Romney's previous experience with Obama's.

'This is man unlike President Obama, who had virtually no success before he' just a community organizer, state senate, never really had a payroll to meet or any responsibilities.'

The 'community organizer' line is one not unfamiliar to Giuliani, as he used it rather dismissively during his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CNN:

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• awww Rudy ' you messed up bad on that one ' why? because you're a true New Yorker and can't resist a chance to boost your own ego!!

• Roll out the ads now.

• Fahgeddaboutit.

• I guess this is the week of the counterproductive surrogate. 

  Can someone explain to me how this 'community organizer' meme took hold and managed to continue' since when do rightwing partisans have such a problem with working to uplift your community?

  it's such a weird line of attack. I still surprised the base didn't reject the premise out of hand in 08.

•  No shit lol.

• I'm going off the reservation topic wise because what I just read scared the hell out of me'

  U.S. Army general states whole Northern Hemisphere contaminated
  http://thecomingdepression.blogspot.com/2012/05/us-army-general-whole-northern.html

  &

  Fukushima nuclear disaster has released four times the radiation of Chernobyl and it's still not contained
  http://www.rt.com/news/fukushima-chernobyl-cesium-137-contamination-145/

•  Isn't it obvious?  Community  organizer 'Alinsky'community'communism.  It's the brilliance of Luntz/Ailes/Limbaugh'they know exactly how to work the minds of low-info news consumers.

• Whateva'this will not help Barry Daddy'and you all know Barry Daddy will be leaving you with an empty sippy cup'sitting in your soiled diaper, because nobody is going to be changing it for you' Jobless, screaming and crying, little hands reaching for the free stuff that is no longer there.

  Barry Daddy left in his Volt®'see ya Suckers!

• I wouldn't give that any credence. The ultimate source is a guy who believes in parapsychology. He tried to get psychics help soldiers walk through walls. He retired from the military in the 1980s so he's not privy to actual military intelligence either. 

• Giuliani is even more of a joke than Romney. His whole record is premised on doing things like rounding up homeless people every night and letting the cops go whatever they wanted. He wasn't personally responsible for the economic boom of the late 1990s but tries to pretend that he was. Even most New Yorkers don't like the guy, and being mayor is his biggest claim to fame. 

• That sounded completely adorable in your Pokemon voice, Mr. Pikachu. 

Bravo's Andy Cohen On CNN: I Was 'Freeballing' At A Pitch Meeting With Cybill Shepherd

» 1 comment

Bravo executive and TV show host Andy Cohen sat down with Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources today to talk about a part of his career that stands in stark contrast to his reality show-loving self today: journalism. Yes, that Andy Cohen used to be a producer at CBS News working on serious news stories before hitching his wagon to Bravo. He opened up about the ten years he spent at CBS as well as some fun anecdotes about his time at both the news network and Bravo, including some particularly salacious celebrity stories.

RELATED: Bravo's Andy Cohen Gets Rachel Maddow To Talk Olbermann, Hottest MSNBC Anchors

Kurtz told Cohen that after reading his new book Most Talkative, he didn't get the sense that Cohen was ever really that interested in hard news. He brought up an anecdote from the book where Cohen was with Tammy Faye Baker in Palm Springs when he got a call from his bosses asking him to cover storms in California, and he actually declined. Cohen said that every time he heard his beeper going off (remember, this was the 90s), he 'felt like it was an imposition on my person.'

In one part of his book, Cohen refers to himself as a 'lying weasel coward.' This was only meant, according to Cohen, in reference to an instance when he was sitting down in the Oprah Winfrey audience and he got a call from CBS about a bomb going off in Oklahoma City. Well, Cohen didn't exactly have the best response to that, as he admitted in retrospect.

'I'm not proud to say this, okay, but my first reaction was 'It doesn't sound like a big deal.' And then, Bill Owens, who is now the senior guy at 60 Minutes, said to me, 'Andy, I'm going to dial back. Take your Oprah, you know, blinders off, here's what's happening.''

He said he needed time to process what had happened before he was able to accept it and head to Oklahoma City to cover it.

Kurtz immediately fast-forwarded to Cohen's Bravo career, and asked him to share a 'salacious' story about Cybill Shepherd trying to pitch a show to the network. Cohen said Shepherd, a former actress, was pitching a docuseries about her and her 'crazy' best friend. He recalls that during a meeting with the two women, they decided it was so hot in the room they needed to take their shirts off. Cohen joked that at the time, it didn't seem like 'their GayDars were pinging,' but he took off his shirt as well.

Then the ladies decided they should all take their pants off. Cohen told Kurtz that he was going commando at the time and didn't really feel comfortable doing that. Ultimately, he didn't pick up their show.

RELATED: Bravo's Andy Cohen Is A Drunk Megalomaniac On SNL

Finally, Kurtz asked Cohen about all the Real Housewives programming he's greenlit, and how he was initially nervous at how the stars of the first installment in the franchise, The Real Housewives of Orange County, would receive it. Cohen was surprised to hear that it got a positive reception from the women.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CNN:

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• I like how your story went from Oklahoma City to free swinging nuts with only a period.

  Not even a horrific segway attempt?
  'Talking about radical nuts'.'

Maddow Challenges Romney's Use Of Trump While He Insists Obama Is A 'Kenyan Usurper'

» 1 comment

Donald Trump is many things, but in the political world, he has made his recent name on being a birther. This argued Rachel Maddow last night, giving him credit for being a great asset to Mitt Romney's campaign but questioning the morality of having a birther be a great asset to one's campaign. What to do, Maddow asked, when 'the single best known household name to speak up' for you also thinks the President is a 'Kenyan Usurper'?

RELATED: Ed Schultz: Would 'Birther Nonsense' Be Going On 'If We Had A White President'?

'Whatever it is Donald Trump does for Mitt Romney, it seems to be working and Romney seems to think he needs it,' Maddow noted on her program Friday night, which is great for Romney except for the fact that 'Donald Trump is not letting the birther thing go.' She went through the various ways Trump was helping the campaign, from offering himself up for dinner with a donor to going to and hosting fundraisers. She noted Romney's campaign is standing by the decision to have Trump at a fundraiser, and wondered what the right thing to do for Romney would be.

'Nobody can be responsible for the views of all their supporters,' Maddow noted, arguing that if you, the viewer, had wacky beliefs and also liked Romney, that wasn't really his problem. 'But Donald Trump is not you' he is a prominent part of the Romney campaign.' Romney, she concluded, was 'raising money off of Donald Trump' while Donald Trump is simultaneously preaching that President Obama is secretly not really the President,' and those two facts are not severable.

The segment via MSNBC below:

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•  Donald Trump is back at it again. What many wish would happen in real life!
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5uhdk_6k8c

Maher: Cory Booker Condemned Obama's Bain Ads Because He Needs 'Rich People To Subsidize His City'

» 2 comments

Newark Mayor Cory Booker has been in the spotlight all week after his comment on Meet the Press that the Obama campaign's attacks on Bain Capital and private equity are 'nauseating.' Bill Maher made it clear he disagrees with what Booker said, but claimed that Booker may have only done it because he didn't want to anger rich people in order to get their money to help his city. He sympathized with Booker, saying he knows the mayor needs to 'kiss the asses of the rich people on Wall Street.'

RELATED: On Maddow, Cory Booker Blasts GOP For 'Manipulating' And 'Exploiting' His Meet The Press Comments

Maher first explained that he admires the mayor and calls him a great example for what a civil servant should be. But he still found a problem in Booker's comments because, he argued, venture capitalists aren't exactly 'on the side of the little guy' and so there's no really big deal about the Obama campaign targeting Romney's ties to the industry in ads.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman put it charitably by saying that while all private equity people 'are not evil,' the changes in this sector since the 1980s have been 'a lot for the worse,' and found it disturbing that anyone would condemn such criticisms as anti-American. Maher joked that he's helping pay for the Obama campaign's ads, which he noted are featuring, in some cases, average Americans railing against businessmen like Romney.

Maher did provide a possible reason for why Booker said what he did: he doesn't want to make an enemy out of the rich.

'Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, has to beg rich people to subsidize his city. Mark Zuckerberg gave 140 million dollars' to the Newark school system because we now have to beg rich people for money, otherwise known as feudalism' I'm not defending what Cory Booker said, I'm saying I understand why he has to kiss the asses of the rich people on Wall Street because there's no other way to keep his city afloat.'

Watch the video below, courtesy of HBO:

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• For Krugman and Maher, you can bet they are keeping their money is some sort of fund that private equity is managing.   Rich liberal commentators are the biggest hypocrites on the planet.  Give plaudits to Booker for trying to bring one of the worst cities from the brink.  How the else is he going to rebuild it without capital and investment.

• Paul Krugman and Arthur Laffer on the same panel?  Physicists say that if you bring matter and anti-matter into close proximity, they go out of existence.  Has anyone seen Krugman or Laffer since the taping of his show?

Michelle Obama Scheduled To Be At Beyoncé's Comeback Concert Tonight

» 3 comments

Memorial Day weekend is a time to kick back and get out of the house a bit, and that goes for the First Lady as well as the rest of us. First Lady Michelle Obama, who recently admitted she wouldn't mind being Beyoncé right about now, is expected to visit Atlantic City, New Jersey today to watch her return to the stage since having her daughter Blue Ivy.

Beyoncé's performance tonight marks the opening of a new venue in Atlantic City, Revel, and the news of the First Lady's visit came from an NBC story about the locale:

Some of Revel's boutique shops are now open as part of the grand opening. Governor Chris Christie is expected to be at Revel on Saturday night. Michelle Obama is also expected to be in attendance for Beyonce's show on Saturday night.

The First Lady and Chris Christie? Doesn't get much more bipartisanly star-studded than that. Luckily for the First Lady, Christie isn't know to be as, er, dynamic at concerts as he is at town halls.

[Photo via]

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• Have fun Michelle.
  REAL AMERICANS know you spend your own money to have fun.

• Thank you WiddleBaby. She has plenty of her own money; shes fine tuned to that stuff. if anything, Ann Romney were 2000 blouse, story disappears in a day. What, a black woman with a husband in power cant enjoy herself for ONE day at all? Shes a mom too. What about Gov Christie being at same show? His wife will be hob nobbing with Mrs. Obama as well. There kids will play together and none of THAT will hit the press; unless theres finally responsible media.

• frances gets the really important news scoops on mediaite.

Trump: I Would've Continued Presidential Run If Not For Becoming 'Friendly With Romney'

» 6 comments

Donald Trump joined The View panel today for 'Guy-Day Friday,' and Whoopi Goldberg wasted no time asking him about his aborted run for the presidency. Trump had an interesting explanation for the way his campaign ended: 'I was doing fantastically in the polls,' he said, 'But I really became friendly with Mitt Romney; I liked what he said about China, about OPEC' and all the other institutions around the world that are 'ripping us off.'

RELATED: Following Obama's Dinner With George Clooney, Romney Campaign Offers Dinner With ' Donald Trump

Barbara Walters wanted to know if his friend Mitt Romney asked him to be his vice president, or serve in the Cabinet, if he would consider it? 'I don't want it for myself,' was Trump's humble reply, 'Somebody has to do something.'

Goldberg noted that if he received a high level government appointment he would probably have to lay off the Twitter feuds, the most recent of which was a blistering exchange with Cher, who called Mitt Romney a racist homophobe. Trump then told the singer/actress to cut it out with all the plastic surgery. Trump was pretty blasé in his reaction, arguing that not responding to hostility in kind can make you into a patsy. Besides, he loves Twitter ' he used to dream of owning his own newspaper, but 'Twitter is so much better!' I suspect the hypothetical Trump newspaper would only consist of a 'Opinions' section.

You can see the clip here via ABC:

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• Trump's escaped from the mental hospital again. Is The View like a sanctuary city, but for maniacs?

• Trump is nothing but a huge putz''..and a birther moron.
  Mitt is gonna campaign with his birther pal, what a moron he is as well.

• Willard Mitt Romney has no freakin class! To associate himself with the king of the birthers himself, 'The Donald' is a disgrace!

• Still can't believe republicans had this guy leading in the polls to run for president'.

• And wingnuts believe this $hit?

• No,  that place would be Fox and Friends.

Jon Stewart In 2000 Interview: 'I Would Say I'm More Of A Socialist'

» 12 comments

Earlier this week, Fox News chief Roger Ailes made news when he told an Ohio University audience that The Daily Show host Jon Stewart confided to Ailes that he was 'a socialist' while the two were having drinks at a bar. A December 15, 2000 interview in CNN's Larry King Live with Stewart reveals Ailes might be correct. Stewart told a caller to King's show that 'I would say I'm more of a socialist or an independent.'

'Is it hard to make political jokes and not be on, like, either side,' a caller into King's program asked Stewart.

'You can't be on either side,' said King.

'No, that's not true,' responded Stewart. 'Most people can't hide their political beliefs.'

'I think you're a Democrat, Jon,' said King.

'I think that's probably correct,' Stewart replied. 'I would say I'm more of a socialist or an independent.' He added, 'No one would ever I think watching our show think that, boy, that guy is just leaning so far right.'

'But you would knock the Democrats,' King asked.

'Oh sure,' Stewart responded.

Watch the interview below via CNN:

h/t NewsBusters

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• If you aren't a socialist, you're a sucker.

• I am a proud socialist progressive. I am not a liberal. Excellent, Jon. You are one of the good ones. =)

  http://www.wiziq.com/tutorial/31332-socialism-liberalism

• OH NOES! NOT SOCIALIST!!!!! You want to go after the President on legit. stuff, that is great there is a lot to choose from. This idiocy is such a dead end for the Republican Party. Yeah Obama is a Muslim Socialist, Stalinist, Manchurian Candidate, Sharia lover, Kenyan etc. What else do you have Noah? Go after the prez. on real shit. Who knows Romney might actually win, but as long as this stuff continues, Obama is insured a second term. You guys are blowing it, big time.

• Oh' oh' Stewart's game is up'

  'This proves it!'

  'what?'

  'I don't know some crap conservatives pretend matters.'

  'why?'

  'I don't know' I guess they are bored''

• Noah, if you come to my neighborhood, drinks are on me. This guy is one heck of a reporter.

• I can say I am more of a conservative than a liberal. It really is a meaningless statement. 

• If you are a socialist you're a lazy scumbag. 

• SO?

•  I think News Busters found the clip.

• You know nothing about socialism or you wouldn't say that. 

• So a comedian is a socialist, therefore Obama is a socialist. *snicker*

• The hypocrisy is here:
  How can the behemoth of National Amusements Inc., which owns a large portion of Viacom (Comedy Central's parent) and CBS, survive in a socialistic environment?

Pro-Obama SuperPAC Out-Messages Obama Campaign On Romney Bain Job Creation Claims

» comments

Priorities USA Action, the pro-Obama SuperPAC run by former Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton, has released an effective new web video that highlights the ever-shifting number of jobs that Mitt Romney claims to have created as head of Bain Capital. The video is so effective, in fact, that it begs an obvious question: Why weren't these clips included in the Obama campaign's Bain ads?

In an email accompanying the video, Burton resurrected Romney's famous hunting gaffe from his last presidential campaign:

'Mitt Romney and his team have been scrambling on these numbers as much as the varmint he enjoys hunting.

If he just released an accounting of the jobs gained and the jobs lost when he was at Bain, he could clear this whole controversy right up.

But no matter how you slice the numbers, tens of thousands of Americans lost their jobs so that Mitt Romney could make a profit. That's not the kind of leader America needs.'

Despite the fact that almost every critic of the Obama campaign ads acknowledges that Mitt Romney made his record at Bain fair game when he claimed his tenure there demonstrates a knack for job creation, the media and weak-kneed Democrats have continued to insist that the ads are somehow 'an attack on free enterprise,' and with little evidence, 'not working.'

While it is frustrating that these folks obviously get the message, yet insist on misleading people about it, this whole mess could have been avoided if the Obama campaign had peppered its original Bain ad with a few of these revealing Romney clips:

The Obama campaign of 2012 is exceedingly well-organized and well-funded, but this is further evidence that the absence of 2008 veterans like Bill Burton, Robert Gibbs, and other members of that team who remained at the White House, is hurting the President's reelection effort. Burton's outfit has consistently out-messaged Obama For America, and even former President Bill Clinton, yet remain badly outgunned by Republican megabucks SuperPacs. If I had to choose where to put my million bucks to get Barack Obama reelected, I'd put it on Burton in a heartbeat.

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Sony Sent Cast Of Community Bizarre Talking Points Memo Following Firing Of Show's Creator

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The biggest news in the TV world this week is probably, I don't know, the winner of American Idol or something. However, the biggest news about TV shows that are actually good would probably be the continuing fall out over the firing of Community's creator and showrunner Dan Harmon. Just days after NBC renewed the cultishly beloved series for a fourth season, the production studio, Sony Pictures Television, announced that Harmon, who many view as the show's heart and soul, was being announced. On his Tumblr, Harmon told fans that he had never even been contacted by the studio. Everyone is wondering why Sony made such a heartless and creatively foolish decision and, if a internal memo leaked last night proves anything, we'll probably never know.

Harmon has been one of the most prominent of a new generation of highly visible television auteurs, following in the footsteps of folks like Aaron Sorkin (who was also booted from one of the shows he created). While his show didn't do huge numbers, the people who liked it, really liked it and were steadfast defenders of both the series and its main creative voice. So why would a studio work hard to get a show renewed and then do something that would infuriate the small group that actually watches it? These are all questions that are going to be asked in interviews with all of the cast and crew and apparently Sony is prepared for that.

They sent out a talking points memo to the cast. Unfortunately for Sony, someone close to the show leaked it to The Hollywood Reporter and it is'awful:

'With last night's news of David Guarascio and Moses Port as new showrunners/EPs on 'Community' running in the press, and since we know that cast members have interviews coming up this week, I wanted to forward some messaging we hope our cast will find helpful as they navigate questions that will undoubtedly come up. I know that David and Moses are reaching out to them all directly but I've also heard from some of the actors that they'd like some guidance on the topic.

'

Why did Dan get let go from the show?

We're not made aware of why staffing changes take place but I will always be grateful to Dan for his great work on the show and wish him only the best. We're also excited that we'll be back on NBC's schedule in the fall and are looking forward to working on those episodes.

Were you aware that Dan was going to be let go?

No, that's not something we're consulted on. I'm sad to see him go but I am looking forward to starting our next 13 episodes of 'Community.''

It goes on like that.

Now, a memo like this isn't in anyway unusual in circumstances like this. However, these answers are truly pathetic. It seems ridiculous that the suits who wrote this up consider any fan or member of the press stupid enough to believe these answers would realistically come from the head of, say, Joel McHale. Just like the firing itself, it just leaves you wondering, 'What were they thinking?'

However, fans should see one silver lining. Many of us were worried that no one except Dan Harmon and his team (who have mostly all quit in solidarity) would be able to write dialogue for Abed, the gloriously weird character played by Danny Pudi. However, these answers make it clear that at least one person over there knows how to write dialogue demonstrating a complete inability to understand human emotion.

So'yay.

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New Walter Cronkite Biography Reveals Less Ethical Side Of America's Most Trusted Man

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'Nobody wanted to go after Walter Cronkite,' writes David Brinkley in Cronkite, his new biography of the beloved CBS newsman. The book ' written with cooperation from Cronkite and his family ' 'dents his halo,' Howard Kurtz writes in The Daily Beast. Today, Cronkite's stunts would have the likes of Kurtz himself calling for him to step down.

For starters, Cronkite cut a deal with Pan Am in the 1970s, furnishing worldwide travel for his friends and family. Everywhere from the South Pacific to Haiti. The 'news division president, Dick Salant, was upset at what he deemed a blatant conflict of interest, but took no action against his star anchor.'

Cronkite's image is, as Kurtz puts it, one with a halo. A 'voice of authority in an age when we still revered, without a trace of cynicism, those who spoon-fed us the news.' But this biography shows that the man was more complicated and unethical than we know him to be.

Writes Kurtz:

Had Cronkite engaged in some of the same questionable conduct today'he secretly bugged a committee room at the 1952 GOP convention'he would have been bashed by the blogs, pilloried by the pundits, and quite possibly ousted by his employer. That he endured and prospered, essentially unscathed, until his death in 2009 reminded me of how impervious the monopoly media were in those days, largely shielded from the scrutiny they inflicted on everyone else.

'Nobody wanted to go after Walter Cronkite,' Brinkley says. Within CBS 'he became a force of nature. He could almost dictate anything he wanted. He was the franchise.'

A liberal, Cronkite pulled stunts that made his political leaning abundantly clear. Meeting privately with Robert Kennedy, Cronkite told him, 'You must announce your intention to run against Johnson, to show people there will be a way out of this terrible war.' Later, he had an exclusive interview with Kennedy, in which Kennedy left the door open for a possible run, announcing it three days later. 'A major breach of trust,' Kurtz writes.

Kurtz's full story is well worth reading in full, to get a better picture of Cronkite's behind-the-scenes activity that would cause an outrage today (misleading editing, anyone?). But it's a reflection of the times, Kurtz writes ' and shows us how much we've changed over the years:

Brinkley's book will undoubtedly tarnish the Cronkite legacy. But my admiration for the man is only partly diminished. Perhaps it is too easy to judge him by today's standards, any more than we should condemn Thomas Jefferson for owning slaves. Perhaps he simply reflected his times, when some journalists and politicians quietly collaborated, when conflicts of interest were routinely tolerated, when a powerful media establishment could sweep its embarrassments under the rug.

Cronkite thrived, 'always protecting what we would now call his brand,' Kurtz writes. 'That's just the way it was.'

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Sean Hannity Signs Multi-Year Deal With Fox News

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Sean Hannity has signed a new multi-year deal with Fox News, keeping him the host of Hannity. The contract puts Hannity's presence on the network past the 20-year mark (he joined in 1996).

Announcing the deal, network head Roger Ailes said, 'Hannity's years of experience and thought-provoking commentary will continue to engage and excite loyal viewers. He is a remarkable asset to the network and we are happy that he'll remain in his current role.'

Other than Larry King, Hannity is the only cable news host to hold the same primetime slot for the last 15 years.

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Anderson Cooper Loses Cool, Tosses 'Dreadful' Mother Off Show

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On Tuesday's edition of Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show, plastic surgery proponent Sarah Burge described why she had her 15-year-old given botox. Her explanation was that the botox prevents the daughter from sweating while dancing on stage. Cooper was skeptical of this explanation, and as the interview went on, he grew disgusted with Burge, ultimately calling her 'dreadful' and kicking her off the show.

'My daughter is a professional dancer,' Burge told an incredulous Cooper. 'All my children are professional people, and she perpetually sweated on her forehead. And so the best answer for that was actually a shot of botox. I didn't give it to her.'

'Obviously,' Cooper shot back.

'What do you mean obviously? I'm a practitioner myself,' she stressed.

'Just about anybody can give botox these days,' Cooper observed.

'They might here. I don't know,' she said.

'So giving a 15-year-old botox because she sweats on her forehead because she's a professional dancer?' Cooper pressed.

'She's a dancer, yes,' Burge replied.

'I've never heard of that,' Cooper said.

'Well, you wouldn't. You wouldn't hear of it, would you? Because you're not in that industry,' Burge responded. 'I'm in the plastic industry and an associate of many plastic surgery companies.'

Cooper told Burge there is no medical need for a teen to have botox.

'In that case, he doesn't know what he's talking about. There are medical indications as well,' she claimed.

'What's wrong with a 15-year-old sweating?' Cooper interjected.

'Not on the stage. You wouldn't see Beyonce sweating on the stage, would you?' Burge surmised.

'Actually, you do,' Cooper countered. 'You actually do see Beyonce sweating on stage.'

'I would prefer to oversee my daughter's botox than actually have her going underground, finding a voodoo witch doctor or, in fact, getting it off the internet and administering it herself,' she said.

'I try to be really polite to all my guests,' he told her. 'I think you're dreadful and I honestly don't want to talk to you anymore.'

Watch Cooper kick off Burge below:

(h/t HuffPo)

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• I wish she could let the try grow and decide.

• It's a good thing Cooper didn't have the tanning booth mother on the set.  She seems like a rougher customer.

• Way to go Anderson'..perhaps you should also get rid of the moron who booked her for the show'I know its not always easy to get guests but'..

• It'll be interesting to see how the comments go here.  The mother isn't up for Mother of the Year and her views and actions are certainly not the norm, but I'm surprised people are cheering Anderson acting like a prima dona.  He invited this woman on his show, knew her story, yet like some other CNN anchors it seemed to be for the sole purpose of public humiliation.  CNN ratings are at the lowest in 20 years.  Perhaps they have Jerry Springer advising them, their shoes and hosts certainly seem to reflect it.

Who Should Be On Next Season's Celebrity Apprentice? A Mediaite Wish List

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Yesterday, a few days after crowning late night legend Arsenio Hall as his new Celebrity Apprentice, host Donald Trump took his to his Twitter account to crowdsource for the new season: 'Who would you like to see on next season of '#CelebrityApprentice'? Let us know- everyone wants to be on it.'

We here at Mediaite take this challenge seriously ' some of us may have not missed an episode since the Rod Blagojevich era ' and we've looked far and wide for the loudest, smartest, weirdest, and most controversial people to put on the show.

Contrary to popular belief, the appeal of watching Celebrity Apprentice does not lie in watching celebrities that have no business savvy fail spectacularly. On the contrary, it's always most fun when the teams accomplish formidable goals in prohibitive times, when people are actually competent. Competent and fiery. To that end, here is our slightly unrealistic, smarter-than-the-average-bear wish list of people we'd like to see get an interview to be Trump's next season of Celebrity Apprentice:

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