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26 Apr 2011 16:01

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Politics: Katie Couric confirms she’s quitting CBS Evening News

  • Farewell to Katie Couric: It was widely discussed recently, but now it’s official: the CBS Evening News anchor will be calling it quits, she confirmed in an interview with People. She helmed the network’s nightly news show from 2006 until now, replacing then-interim host Bob Schieffer. Couric made it clear that she’ll be back on the airwaves, though: “I am looking at a format that will allow me to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling.” We’re very interested to see where she lands, and wish her all the best. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2011 15:49

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Politics: The bed bug cares not for Rupert Murdoch’s flock

  • bed bugs… A well known parasitic bug that feeds on human blood for nourishment — they had been declining for decades, but the 1990s saw a return of the bitey little punks. New York City in particular has battled them in recent years.
  • bug FOX! Media empires are not immune to bed bugs, either. In 2007, Fox News fought an infestation in their NYC HQ with bug sniffing dogs (!?), an entomologist, and the freezing agent Cryonite, as litigation today revealed. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 22:28

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Politics: Feingold would have a shot at toppling Walker, new poll says

  • Heads up, Scott: A new poll shows progressive hero Russ Feingold neck-and-neck with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in a hypothetical recall election. This is less than a year after Feingold lost re-election to the Senate by five points to a political novice. Yeah, yeah, we know: this doesn’t mean much, as Feingold hasn’t expressed any interest in running and Walker is nine months away from even being eligible for a recall. But we can dream, right? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 21:55

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Politics: Ron Paul to run for President again

  • one Establishment favorite and GOP company man Haley Barbour surprised everyone today by announcing that he won’t be running for president in 2012 (probably a good idea, given his poll numbers).
  • two Hours later, Dave Weigel at Slate confirmed that everyone’s favorite scrappy libertarian, Ron Paul, will announce tomorrow an exploratory committee to run for president. Let the ReLOVEution begin again — for the first time. source
  • » What this means: One thing to keep in mind about presidential primaries is that every time a potential candidate announces their intent to run (or that they won’t be running), the calculus for every undecided candidate changes. For example, Haley Barbour is good friends with Mitch Daniels, who is half-heartedly considering a run of his own. With Barbour out, Mitch Daniels has one less excuse not to run. Meanwhile, Ron Paul’s entrance into the race effectively puts an end to his son’s quixotic flirtations with a bid, as Rand Paul already ruled out running against his father. Next question: Will the presence of another libertarian on the ballot put a dent in Paul’s loyal following?
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 21:18

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Politics: Donald Trump infers Robert De Niro is an idiot. On what grounds?

  • I won’t mention names, but certain people in the news the last couple weeks, just, what are they doing? It’s crazy. They’re making statements about people that they don’t even back up. Go get the facts before you start saying things about people.
  • Robert De Niro • Saying the kind of “no shit, sherlock” thing that somebody somewhere needed to say about the political sphere in recent weeks. Unfortunately … Donald Trump inferred it was about him. On Fox and Friends today, Trump had this to say: “When I watch him doing interviews and various other things, we are not dealing with Albert Einstein. He can say what he wants but the fact is this guy (Obama) has not revealed his birth certificate.” WAIT. STOP A SECOND. Robert De Niro (rightly) wants people to back up what they say in the press, and Donald Trump says he’s an idiot?!? Screw it. We give up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 20:14

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Politics: Rachel Maddow clarifies comments on “coming out”

  • In that interview, I wasn’t asked about Anderson Cooper, I didn’t say anything about him, he literally was never discussed during the interview at all — even implicitly.
  • Rachel Maddow • Clarifying the comments we posted about earlier to emphasize that it wasn’t about Anderson Cooper, despite what it seemed from the phrasing. (Good.) In her blog post, Maddow lays out the three ethical rules she stands by, the key one being this: “Gay people — generally speaking — have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can.” She notes, however, if you’re using your status as a gay person to harm others, you should “reasonably expect” others in the community to out you. We’re glad for the clarification, and want to make clear that we love Anderson just the way he is, no matter what he does when he’s not covering the news. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 16:30

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Politics: Pentagon Press Sec. Morrell mad at working through Easter

  • A little perspective, maybe? Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell has come under some fire over a tweet he posted (and we noted) earlier today: “Thx to Wikileaks we spent Easter weekend dealing w/NYT & other news orgs publishing leaked classified GTMO docs.” The reason this feels wrong and icky, we think, is the extent to which Morrell (and the Defense Department writ large) never earnestly acknowledge the shocking facts that it’s now known they were keeping secret. Even as it’s probably the tact any government we’ve had in modern American history would take, it projects institutional coldness, and further secrecy. Morrell’s tweet also begs the counter: “Thx to Casio I spent last year dealing w/detention and interrogation in GTMO prison.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Apr 2011 16:07

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Politics: Rachel Maddow talks about responsibility, coming out

  • I’m sure other people in the business have considered reasons why they’re doing what they’re doing, but I do think that if you’re gay you have a responsibility to come out.
  • Rachel Maddow • Talking about closeted people working in the TV news business, in a profile and interview with British newspaper The Guardian. The paper asked Maddow whether she felt frustration towards an “equally well-known news presenter who is widely assumed to be gay but has never come out,” which prompted the above response. (Are they referring to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, a common is-he-or-isn’t-he target of celebrity gossip sites?) While the right to not divulge one’s sexual identity is (we would argue) an absolute one, Maddow’s argument is a classic advocate’s stance — that the importance (solidarity, mainstream appeal, and inspiration) of an uber-successful media professional coming out of the closet ought to trump that person’s reluctance to admit it. What do you all think? (EDIT: Maddow clarified her comments; she didn’t mean Anderson Cooper.) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 14:13

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Politics: Legal firm pulls out of defending DOMA for House GOP

  • For a big law firm with an international reputation like King and Spalding, this could have gotten very ugly for them. This kind of thing could have stuck to them for decades. People no longer want to be associated with this kind of discrimination.
  • Richard Socarides, gay rights advocate • Speaking about legal firm King and Spalding withdrawing from their plan to defend the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) in service of the House GOP. The decision has caused a split within the firm, as Paul Clement, one of the partners involved with the case, has resigned in protest and will continue to work for DOMA’s defense, saying that even unpopular causes deserve legal representation. Socarides disagrees, claiming the law is discriminatory and thus is un-American, and that there’s no merit in defending such a cause. We agree in the moral sense, perhaps, but ultimately Clement is correct — legal representation is a keystone of our system of justice, and even though King and Spalding has every right not to take this case, at some point some lawyer does have to step up, personal beliefs aside. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Apr 2011 21:32

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Politics: Obama’s getting blamed for gas prices — and he doesn’t like it

  • Every time gas prices go up like this, like clockwork, suddenly politicians look around and they discover high gas prices. And they’re shocked. And they get in front of TV and say we’ve got a three-point plan to bring gas prices down to $2 a gallon. Then when gas prices go down, nothing ever happens.
  • President Obama • Complaining about the drama that seems to follow every time gas prices go up — particularly in terms of how it affects him. Bro’s pretty upset about the fact that he’s getting the short end of the gas-price stick in the polls (which have drooped significantly since March), but he’s not afraid to shift the blame. “That’s $4 billion of your money going to these companies when they’re making record profits and you’re paying near record prices at the pump,” he said in his weekly radio/interwebs address. “It has to stop.” Of note here: George W. Bush went through a similar bit of drama halfway through his presidency. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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