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29 Oct 2009 21:46

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Politics: If Anderson Cooper is gay, we don’t care. Neither should you.

Anderson Cooper

  • There's a possible chance that Anderson Cooper is gay. There's also a possible chance that you're gay. As well as us. We could possibly be gay. But here's the thing, and this is what Gawker doesn't get: It's our choice whether or not anyone knows about it. And even if we tell the world, it shouldn't be treated like a big deal.
  • Outing not our job Listen, Gawker. We recently gave you props for your handling of the Balloon Boy saga, but we’re not happy with your insistent desire to get the CNN newsman’s sexuality out in the open. You have a huge voice and a great pulpit. Use it to do more than stir up bees’ nests not looking to be stirred up. Focus on things that show that moral compass we know you have. source
  • Outing not our job Listen, Gawker. We recently gave you props for your handling of the Balloon Boy saga, but we’re not happy with your insistent desire to get the CNN newsman’s sexuality out in the open. You have a huge voice and a great pulpit. Use it to do more than stir up bees’ nests not looking to be stirred up. Focus on things that show that moral compass we know you have.
  • How it affects him Anderson Cooper has a career to think about, which we’re sure is why Gloria Vanderbilt’s son is holding back (if he is). But think about it. You have this journalist who’s done a pretty good job of being the objective face of CNN. And if he comes out, he’s the story. That’s not fair to him. If he wants to come out, let him do it. Don’t constantly prod or push. source
  • Outing not our job Listen, Gawker. We recently gave you props for your handling of the Balloon Boy saga, but we’re not happy with your insistent desire to get the CNN newsman’s sexuality out in the open. You have a huge voice and a great pulpit. Use it to do more than stir up bees’ nests not looking to be stirred up. Focus on things that show that moral compass we know you have.
  • How it affects him Anderson Cooper has a career to think about, which we’re sure is why Gloria Vanderbilt’s son is holding back (if he is). But think about it. You have this journalist who’s done a pretty good job of being the objective face of CNN. And if he comes out, he’s the story. That’s not fair to him. If he wants to come out, let him do it. Don’t constantly prod or push.
  • Does it matter? Some would argue that the gay rights movement needs people to come out to help further its goals. We argue that there are better places to push. There’s nothing wrong with being proud about it. There is something wrong with pulling a blanket off someone when they’re naked underneath. That’s what Gawker is doing right now. And it’s wrong. source

28 Oct 2009 22:25

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Politics: Visual aid: The end effect of Reality TV and the hunt for fame

wemadeitbabay It's all a fight to get on TV. Even Kate Gosselin, who looks like the saint in the Jon & Kate situation, is trying to extend her fifteen seconds to half an hour. But considering the end effect, is it really worth it? (Illustration by Shawn Vulliez)

28 Oct 2009 21:51

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Politics: Calling the Fox News black: Shepard Smith chides lack of balance

  • Wow, Fox News reporter Shannon Bream comes off like an uber-snippy something-or-other in this clip, where Shepard Smith notes that Bream made no effort to cover the Democratic side of the New Jersey governor race. Smith – again – comes off like the voice of reason.source

28 Oct 2009 10:31

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Politics: Sarah Palin’s plan of a big post-gubernatorial payday working

  • $1.25 million the amount Sarah Palin admitted she got advanced for writing “Going Rogue,” according to financial disclosure statements source

27 Oct 2009 22:32

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Politics: Harry Reid wants to dance with somebody who loves him

  • We think Harry Reid grew up a lonely, sad, single high-schooler. The Senate Majority Leader says the real problem with Republicans on health care is that they’re doing everything in their power to do anything but dance. By this standard, Joe Lieberman is a gender-bending tranny who came to the dance dressed as a guy and left wearing mascara.source

27 Oct 2009 19:03

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Politics: The fine, very important, art of staying on point on your blog

  • The idea here is to give individuals a better way to monitor their electricity usage, with the eventual goal set at 40 million installed meters over the next few years. Great idea, guys – or you know, you could just advise people to turn stuff off when they aren’t using it, or not use energy they can’t afford. Just sayin’.
  • Engadget blogger Darren Murph • Describing the new “smart grid” technology that Obama’s pushing to implement over the next few years. We have a lot of problems with this statement – we understand the politics behind it, and while it’s a valid point (the program is quite expensive), it CAME OUT OF FREAKING NOWHERE on a technology blog which almost never talks politics. To us, it seemed completely out of place and off-message, to the point where it derailed any useful commentary about the post in the site’s comments section. It became less about the devices and more about what Murph said. This is a dangerous thing in blogging. While there needs to be a degree of feeding into people’s expectations, and a degree of breaking them, if you change the game in the middle like this, it can completely turn readers off. If you have commentary on your site, make it an integral part. Are we barking up the wrong tree here on this? • source

27 Oct 2009 10:18

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Politics: A progressive publisher is “Going Rogue” on Sarah Palin’s book

goingrogue1027
  • So, which one of these editorial classics do you want to read? We were kinda hoping to read the one with Sarah Palin on the cover.source
 

26 Oct 2009 13:01

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Politics: Ideology or party identification? New York’s contested House race

  • I just think it is a mistake for the conservative movement to think splitting in the special election is a smart idea. If we give that seat to the Democrats, shame on us.
  • Newt Gingrich • On the contested New York congressional contest, where many Republicans are supporting Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman over GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava, who’s a bit less conservative than Hoffman. Gingrich says that other politicos like Sarah Palin are making a mistake by splitting the vote. He’s right, you know – Ross Perot helped Bill Clinton win two easy elections. • source

26 Oct 2009 09:55

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Politics: Daily Poll: An absurdly early 2012 GOP presidential straw poll

  • The Washington Post’s Monday Fix got us to thinking this week due to their power list of Republicans in 2012. Sarah Palin is on top of it. And in a minor upset, Tim Pawlenty is in front of Mitt Romney. And Mike “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” Huckabee is standing pat in fourth. Now, we know it’s early and it doesn’t mean anything, but we’d like to know who you’d most likely vote for in 2012, if given the choice. This is obviously unscientific and mostly for fun. And feel free to tell us how much you hate (insert object of scorn here) in the comments.source

25 Oct 2009 17:30

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Politics: Max Headroom: Tongues still wagging over Fox News

  • Blaming Glenn Beck Former Fox News pundit Jane Hall, now a professor at American University, claims that the lessening debate on Fox News convinced her to leave. Oh, and also Glenn Beck, who she says is “way over-the-top” in his rhetoric.

  • Blaming Glenn Beck Former Fox News pundit Jane Hall, now a professor at American University, claims that the lessening debate on Fox News convinced her to leave. Oh, and also Glenn Beck, who she says is “way over-the-top” in his rhetoric.

  • Gangsta gangsta “You gotta love Sean Connery in that!” We can all agree that the clip Fox News played was pretty funny, but we don’t agree with the way that they’re trying to paint the White House like a group of Al Capones. Seems unbecoming of Fox.

  • Blaming Glenn Beck Former Fox News pundit Jane Hall, now a professor at American University, claims that the lessening debate on Fox News convinced her to leave. Oh, and also Glenn Beck, who she says is “way over-the-top” in his rhetoric.

  • Gangsta gangsta “You gotta love Sean Connery in that!” We can all agree that the clip Fox News played was pretty funny, but we don’t agree with the way that they’re trying to paint the White House like a group of Al Capones. Seems unbecoming of Fox.

  • Is it punishment? On “Meet the Press,” Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer goes on for a bit about how the executive pay cuts aren’t punishing corporate execs. Immediately afterwards, Republican Sen. John Cornyn calls the cuts “punishment.”