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25 Sep 2009 10:19

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Politics: Karl Rove doesn’t like when Obama uses the tactics he used

  • In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, the political kingmaker criticized Obama for being out in the press too much, saying the constant “chattering runs the risk of making him boring and stale.” source
  • Ironically, though, former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer writes in “Speech-Less” that Rove believed “that the president needed to be out speaking every day no matter what the subject.” Hmm. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Sep 2009 10:07

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Politics: Anonymous CNN exec: Obama’s not talking about OUR cable news

  • I get the sense, when you listen to what he’s actually saying, that he’s talking mostly about the ideological-leaning networks rather than CNN. He’s talking about the back and forth and sometimes one-sidedness that you might get on other cable channels.
  • An anonymous CNN executive • Discussing Obama’s recent criticism of the cable news cycle and how damaging it is for the political process. Now, we could be wrong about this, but, doesn’t CNN dwell on one issue for six hours just like MSNBC or Fox? If so, you guys are complicit in the crime. This Politico article does a good job breaking down the issue. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Sep 2009 09:55

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Culture: Columnist: Why are Tyler Perry’s stereotyped movies so popular?

  • Maybe it’s easy for whole church buses to go see a Perry flick after Sunday service. Maybe we’re just happy to see black folks on-screen no matter what they do. Or maybe we don’t have the sense of a billy goat when it comes to choosing meaningful entertainment—I just don’t know.
  • The Root columnist Thembi Ford • Lamenting the level of success that Tyler Perry‘s movies, which have been critically lambasted across the board, have had in a short period of time. Ford notes that Perry’s movies have grossed nearly as much in seven years ($319 million) as Spike Lee’s entire canon has in over two decades ($372 million). Perry will be tackling the film version of an iconic feminist play in the future – Ntozake Shange‘s “For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” – and Ford argues that he’s simply not a good enough director for the honor. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Sep 2009 11:19

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U.S.: The smear campaign against ACORN: Lawsuits and losses

  • Breitbart’s big splash The campaign against ACORN was first posted by BigGovernment.com, which just launched and made a huge initial splash with the video. The site is run by Andrew Breitbart, who’s probably best known as the other guy working on Drudge Report. source
  • Breitbart’s big splash The campaign against ACORN was first posted by BigGovernment.com, which just launched and made a huge initial splash with the video. The site is run by Andrew Breitbart, who’s probably best known as the other guy working on Drudge Report.
  • ACORN hit – hard As a result of the faked prostitution video, the Senate voted yesterday to deny funding for housing and community grants. The vote went 83-7, which is pretty much a death sentence for the organization. All because someone wanted to be Borat. source
  • Breitbart’s big splash The campaign against ACORN was first posted by BigGovernment.com, which just launched and made a huge initial splash with the video. The site is run by Andrew Breitbart, who’s probably best known as the other guy working on Drudge Report.
  • ACORN hit – hard As a result of the faked prostitution video, the Senate voted yesterday to deny funding for housing and community grants. The vote went 83-7, which is pretty much a death sentence for the organization. All because someone wanted to be Borat.
  • A lawsuit’s coming And for what it’s worth, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles targeted the organization. Giles says she “saw the ACORN Housing location in Baltimore as a target — the den of a giant corrupt lion.” ACORN plans to sue both Fox News and BigGovernment.com. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2009 09:30

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World: Osama bin Laden released a new message. Really? He’s still alive?

  • The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neoconservatives and the Israeli lobby. The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine.
  • “Osama bin Laden” • In a new message from “the leader.” The message had “him” saying that Israel was the crux of the conflict between al-Qaeda and the U.S. “He” went further, saying that there was no real policy shift under Obama due to lobbyists. We hope “he” gets to see the outside of a cave every once in a while. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Sep 2009 10:37

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U.S.: Protip from Van Jones: Don’t call Republicans names

  • He got caught calling Republicans #(&^@(^@. Now he’s gone. Van Jones, a White House adviser on environmental issues, had both his radical past (he used to be a Marxist) and name-calling history (see the video) catch up with him in recent weeks. The result? The man is out of a job. It’s telling, by the way, that he was a constant target of Glenn Beck – it’s proof that Beck actually has significant influence. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Sep 2009 23:11

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Politics, U.S.: Daily Poll: Should the prez be allowed to address students?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

31 Aug 2009 21:16

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Culture: Beyond IKEA and Verdana: Other famous fontroversies

Now that the IKEA controversy has gone mainstream, the backlash against the backlash has begun; it’s even hit us. It’s not the first time. (See Helvetica.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 20:46

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Biz: Verdana is not a font. We repeat, IKEA: Verdana is not a font.

The 2010 IKEA catalog

Verdana is a mistake. With all apologies to noted typographer Matthew Carter (who we saw speak a couple of years ago and have a lot of respect for), Microsoft has ruined his most well-known font. Its use has become such a sign of amateurism that we consider it a mistake. So its usage in the IKEA catalog, above, requires us to complain. Loudly.
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it. source
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it.
  • Where it looks bad Just about everywhere the IKEA catalog uses it. Big type. Bad tracking. The kerning sucks. The corners that make the font so distinctive turn in ways that scream personality in all the wrong ways. The catalog looks like something a first year design student at ITT Tech would make, which is the harshest criticism we could come up with. It looks like the font blew out when the catalogs were being printed. source
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it.
  • Where it looks bad Just about everywhere the IKEA catalog uses it. Big type. Bad tracking. The kerning sucks. The corners that make the font so distinctive turn in ways that scream personality in all the wrong ways. The catalog looks like something a first year design student at ITT Tech would make, which is the harshest criticism we could come up with. It looks like the font blew out when the catalogs were being printed.
  • The font in context Carter designed this typeface (along with Tahoma and Georgia) for a specific purpose in 1994 – to look good on a computer screen. A lot has changed since 1994. Most notably, we use LCD screens, not CRTs. Improved font rendering makes screens look nearly as good as print. We don’t need Verdana anymore. IKEA needs Futura, an iconic font it used for 50 years. Stupid Swedes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 14 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2009 10:36

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Politics: The founder of Frommer’s Travel Guides attacks Arizona gun crazies

  • I will cancel any plans to vacation or otherwise visit in Arizona until I learn more. And I will begin thinking about whether tourists should safeguard themselves by avoiding stays in Arizona.
  • Frommer’s Travel Guides namesake Arthur Frommer • Discussing his displeasure with town hall protesters who carried loaded guns to events in Arizona. There’s no reason they can’t. It’s legal. And that’s Frommer’s problem. He feels that it sets a bad standard for travelers in the state for reasons beyond political. “I not only believe such practices are a threat to the future of our democracy, but I am firmly convinced that they would also endanger my own personal safety there.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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