Super Bowl commercials have become about as big a deal as the football game. But the New York Times advertising critic overreached in linking this year’s ads to the war in Iraq. "The ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials," Stuart Elliott wrote. "More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous." So President Bush is to blame for the Garmin personal navigation system commercial in which a car-driver-turned-superhero (in photo) battles a "Maposaurus" monster?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Many Democrats remain miffed at activist Ralph Nader for costing Al Gore the 2000 presidential election. But Nader, who is the subject of the new documentary, "An Unreasonable Man," says he’ll run again next year if the Democratic nomination goes to Hillary Clinton, who is a "panderer and a flatterer" in his view. He won’t even vote for her. "I don’t think she has the fortitude," Nader said.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Congrats to Karen Wallace of Wichita for winning this week’s contest. Click on the image to see Karen’s caption. She actually sent in another caption that I liked a little more, but after consultation with other editorial staffers it was deemed a tad too gory. That caption read, "I know we’re desperate – aim for the jugular." Several others had captions expressing the same sentiment as her winning one. Among them: Tom McElroy’s "I think you need a bigger arrow." Amy Godsey of Wichita said, "You’re gonna need a lot more arrows!" Yvonne Shrader of Wichita sent in "I think it will take waaaay more than that little arrow to get the job done!" Wichita’s Bruce Cole submitted "This could be one of our toughest assignments." David Grebenik said, "Trust me, I’ve already shot her 5 times. They don’t have any affect." Vanessa Whalen of Wichita came up with "Doesn’t he know it’s not on her diet?" From Larry England of Medicine Lodge came "Quick! Shoot before she sees what’s inside the box!"
Posted by Richard Crowson
Many Vietnam veterans were not honored and supported the way they should have been. But Jack Shafer, media critic for the online magazine Slate, is trying to kill a stubborn urban myth that refuses to die, thanks to publications such as Newsweek: that returning Vietnam vets were spat upon. He cites a researcher and Vietnam vet (also cited by WE Bloggers) who found no concrete evidence (newspaper accounts, arrest records) that any such assaults ever occurred. The researcher did find evidence, though, that anti-war protesters were spit-slimed by pro-war Americans.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
I was asked at the blog meet-up about how WE Blog ranked compared with other blogs. I have stats only for other papers in our newspaper group, but for January, here were the Top 5:
1. Miami Herald’s Dave Barry Blog
2. Kansas City Star’s Crime Scene KC blog
3. San Jose Mercury News A+E Interactive blog
4. Philadelphia Inquirer’s Blinq blog
5. WE Blog
Pretty darn good, especially given our market size (and we’re close to overtaking the Blinq blog). And as I mentioned, those other blogs aren’t about politics.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
“For a long time women seeking high office, particularly executive office, were advised to play down their softer, domestic side, and play up their strength and qualifications,” the New York Times reported. Now, women politicians are becoming freer to practice the “politics of maternity” in courting women voters.
But a commentary in the Washington Post challenged the view that women voters could make Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., the next president.
‚”Only once has the women’s vote arguably been different enough from the men’s vote to determine the outcome of a presidential election,” wrote Linda Hirshman. “The men’s vote was so divided in 1996 that exit polls show Clinton one percentage point behind among men (a statistical tie), while winning the female vote.”
Hirshman’s conclusion: “Any campaign that needs women to win would have to break the 88-year record of women failing to produce election results that men oppose.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com:
KUCINICH-VILSACK RACE TURNS NASTY; War of Words Heats Up at Bottom of Democratic Heap
BUSH WARNS IRAN NOT TO BE HELPFUL ON IRAQ; Promises ‘Swift Retribution’ for Constructive Role
APPLE RECALLS iPHONE; Forgot to Include ‘Phone’ Feature
BUSH SENDS SURGE OF 20,000 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO IRAQ; Army Transport Planes Arrive in Iowa
EXPERTS GO ON STRIKE; Work Action Could Last Months, Nonexperts Say
CANDIDATES TO OUTNUMBER VOTERS IN ‘08; 1 in 2 Americans Running for President, Experts Say
BUSH’S STATE OF UNION ADDRESS TO BE SIMULCAST IN ENGLISH; President Hopes to Reach Broader Audience, Aides Say
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
