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22 Sep 2011 19:40

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Tech: Blame HP’s incompetent board for its recent CEO troubles

  • These guys are a bunch of clowns, surpassed in incompetence only by Yahoo’s board.
  • Ironfire Capital managing member Eric Jackson • Expressing frustration with the Hewlett-Packard board, which reportedly leaked the news of Leo Apotheker’s ousting, and subsequent replacement with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, hours before the announcement was to be made. Not that Jackson is a big fan of Apotheker or anything. “Apotheker is the worst CEO hire in the last decade,” he says. But the problem is the process that led to his hiring — some messy rumors and an internal investigation led to the board dumping a pretty good CEO, Mark Hurd, and hiring Apotheker without even meeting him — meant that he turned out to be a horrible fit. Whitman at least has a shot at being good at this CEO thing, but the board sounds like the real problem. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Sep 2011 12:47

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Biz: Meg Whitman reportedly on track to become HP’s new CEO

Many people compared Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman during the 2010 election, due to their tech executive backgrounds and their high-profile rookie political campaigns. Soon, they’ll have another reason. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Oct 2010 00:29

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Politics: Sarah Palin’s California speech notable for who didn’t show up

  • presentSarah Palin’s speech at a GOP rally in California drew a number of supporters willing to donate $25 a plate to hear the former Alaska governor speak.
  • absent However, California’s two key GOP candidates – Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman – didn’t show up, even though they were invited. Hmm. Scheduling conflicts, eh? source
  • » Notable phrase of the night: Palin is so optimistic about the GOP’s chances next month that she used the phrase “soon, we’ll all be dancing” to express her joy. Hopefully the Republicans have a better dancer than Bristol …
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Sep 2010 01:53

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Politics, U.S.: California Democrats edging out their opponents

  • thenWeeks ago, Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer seemed perilously close to losing their respective races for Governor and the Senate.
  • now Brown is now ahead of Meg Whitman for the first time in weeks, and Boxer has extended her lead over Carly Fiorina to eight points.
  • FOR A supposedly blue state, California was looking uncharacteristically hostile to Democrats as recently as last week. However, the latest USC/LA Times poll puts both Democrats ahead  of their GOP opponents (Boxer more comfortably so). Possible reasons for the turnaround include Whitman’s over-saturation of the  ad market (she’s spent $119 million so far on the race), and this brutal attack ad from Barbara Boxer. Whatever the reason, it’s a good day for Democrats in the Golden State. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2010 00:06

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U.S.: From Blanche to Meg, it’s ladies night in the 2010 primary races

  • yes Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas survived a Democratic primary runoff against Lt. Gov.  Bill Halter to stay in the race in the fall.
  • no South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki “scandal target” Haley didn’t get enough votes to prevent a runoff – but she almost did.
  • yes Meg Whitman easily won the Republican primary in the California governor’s race. If you can call easily spending lots of your own money. source
  • » Still on deck: Carly Fiorina’s the likely favorite to win the Republican primary for the Senate in California, but it’s still to early to call that race. And Nevada’s Republican Senate primary – a.k.a. the fight to win Harry Reid’s seat – hasn’t been decided yet.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jun 2010 20:46

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Politics: Can the bizarro hippies win big states like California or Nevada?

  • We are 14 months old as an organization. We’re not quite as effective as we want to be all over, but by the 2012 election we will be a force to contend with.
  • Central Valley, Calif. bizarro hippie coordinator Steve Brandau • Regarding the mediocre showing of his state’s bizarro hippie Senate candidate, Chuck DeVore, who will likely finish far behind Carly “demon sheep” Fiorina in Tuesday’s Republican primary. A win by Fiorina, who inexplicably has the support of the Republican establishment, could symbolize the level of success the bizarro hippie movement will actually have in the long run. In Nevada, however, it appears bizarro hippie favorite Sharron Angle might pull an upset. So, who knows? Maybe they might be able to turn this thang into a national movement. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2010 11:08

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Politics: We analyzed Sarah Palin’s Facebook page for some reason

  • What kind of jokers post on her wall, anyway? We were curious, so we decided to dig in, and found that fans of “Going Rogue” and people who want her to run for President are most prevalent, but occasionally, she gets ripped on by her own conservative base. Why? Check out our latest AOL News article to find out. (Photo courtesy geerlingguy on Flickr.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 7 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Feb 2010 18:10

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Politics: Three political ads nearly as weird as Carly Fiorina’s Demon Sheep

  • Organ harvesting fun! Political ads as weird as Carly Fiorina’s are surprisingly easy to come by, apparently. Some coroner in the New Orleans area released this doozy of an ad that, unlike Fiorina’s masterwork, was fairly well-done. (Hat tip MHTE)

  • Mop-top message This wonderful ad, by Demon Sheep mastermind Fred Davis, reimagines Rod Blagojevich’s hair as a disease that has infected the Illinois state capital and the citizens of Springfield. It’s mind-numbingly effective.

  • The Ox Vs. The Rat In Georgia, conservatives compare liberals to rats. Roy Barnes, the former Georgia governor running for reelection in 2010, is portrayed as a rat in this ad. John Oxendine is portrayed as an ox. The ox kicks a lot of rat ass at the end of this clip.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2010 10:34

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Politics: “Demon Sheep” still a heavy source of debate among wonks

  • It just oozes that special brand of ludicrous hilarity that the Internet loves. The thing’s going viral, but not necessarily in a way that will help Carly Fiorina’s campaign.
  • WeeklyStandard.com conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham • Regarding Carly Fiorina’s “Demon Sheep” ad, which has continued its viral rush to insane popularity (and many parodies). The clip, built largely from stock photos and spare footage (hence the heavy use of the Ken Burns effect), cost $15,000 to make, which is about $14,500 more than we expected. The Fiorina campaign is very much in the “any publicity is good publicity” mode (as they should), while the target of the ad, State Rep. Tom “Demon Sheep” Campbell, is using it in favor of his political campaign (as he should). If this works, Carly Fiorina is a genius. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2010 20:43

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Politics: Is Demon Sheep Carly Fiorina’s political suicide? Maybe not

  • Insane concept. Insane execution. But somehow, we’re convinced at the end of the day it worked. Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, running for the California Senate, has an unintentionally awesome hit on her hands in the form of “Demon Sheep,” which is a much more interesting tagline than “Fiscal Conservative In Name Only” (or FCINO), the one they came up with. Here’s why we think, somehow, it works:
  • A new approach The dadaist attempt at smear campaigning, probably inspired by Adult Swim, has never been tried before. It’s been hinted at (see Kinky Friedman’s ads for Texas governor), but it hasn’t been taken quite to this degree. And we think they knew how absurd this ad was when they put it out. Don’t think they didn’t. That’s why it’s viral.
  • A clear message The techniques used in this ad are extremely blunt. The repeated imagery of the sheep, the printed money, the pigs, the sheep, the pigs, the Ken Burns effect, the signs, it rams the images into your head. Even the haters can admit that Fiorina got her point across in this insane ad in a way where you must watch.
  • A memorable mascot Ultimately, though, the reason why this ad works is because of Demon Sheep. Why? See Leahy’s Law (related to Murphy’s Law): “If a thing is done wrong often enough, it becomes right.” There’s no reason why Demon Sheep should work. But it’s brow-beaten to the point where you can’t turn away. She can make this work. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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