Introducing the latest style from Keith Olbermann's new fashion line. Last week Keith Olbermann complained about a fake Twitter page and suggested that it was part of a nefarious plot by arranged by Fox News.
Oops. Media Bistro reports that the Olbermann Twitter page may have been run by MSNBC for “several months.” (In fact, the cable network admittedly operates a separate Olbermann Twitter site.)
“It turns out the account Olbermann may have been referring to @KeithOlbermann, which currently has 12,099 followers was set up by someone who was friendly enough to later give that account to MSNBC, which has had it for several months. But Olbermann wasn’t made aware of that not-so-minor detail, insiders tell us.”
“What’s bothering you this week,” his psychiatrist said. “Are you still having those bad dreams about Rupert Murdoch?”
President Obama lit up the room. But this time it wasn't with his smile. (Photo credit: Lisa Jack) Last week’s high profile dipping of the presidential toe into cyberspace demonstrated the dangers of letting the people ask questions without the benefit of a teleprompter.
“There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high. That was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation,” Obama chuckled. “I don’t know what this says about the online audience.”
“This was a fairly popular question. We want to make sure it was answered. The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,” he said to a laughing East Room audience.
More than 90,000 questions were submitted to the White House website. Forget energy, the economy, terror, and healthcare. Seven of the 10 questions receiving the most votes revolved around the legalizing pot.
As usual, President Obama blew smoke. But for once his audience appreciated it.
Member of the the Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board at a public meeting. (Photo credit: Barrett Anspach) Lies. Deceptions. Intrigue. Skullduggery. Everything except sex.
This is another one of those stories the media would be all over if it involved a president named Bush instead of one named Obama.
Nearly two months after President Obama named a high-level panel to help solve the economic crisis, the group still hasn’t held a public meeting. The Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board initially said it would meet every few weeks. That was changed to monthly. And that was updated to four times a year.
Here’s how Politico.com reports it:
(C)omments from board members and Obama himself indicate that some members of the panel are meeting, in smaller gatherings that have not been announced or opened to the public. And that raises the question of whether an administration that prides itself on openness and transparency is in fact finding it more convenient to conduct public business in private.
Now, the administration finds itself in a Catch-22: It does not want to say that the president’s economic panel, announced amid much fanfare, is not meeting during the worst economic crisis in generations. But if it is meeting, where’s the announcement, the agenda, the minutes? In short, where’s the sunshine?
Rest assured, we’ll follow up on this story tomorrow. Or next week. Or in late spring. Or whenever this group actually meets. Or doesn’t meet. Or whatever.
President Obama daintily holding a beer as if he's at a tea party. Not to be confused with an anti-tax Tea Party. While the rest of America is scrimping and saving and cutting back on unnecessary expenses, the Obamas are busily hitting the town as often as possible. In office just two months, the president and Mrs. O are already setting new records for socializing, wining and dining.
The New York Times, unofficial mouthpiece of the Democratic party, reports on the first couple’s busy social life outside of the White House: “‘Everywhere you go, you’re wondering whether or not you’ll run into them,’ said Washington’s mayor, Adrian M. Fenty, who has lunched with the president and first lady.”
The Times breathlessly describes the president “sitting courtside recently alongside astonished fans at the Verizon Center as he cheered on the Chicago Bulls…” Then details how the Obamas visited the Kennedy Center (twice!), The Alvin Ailey dance troupe, and “a musical tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.” (The Unsinkable Molly Brown, perhaps?)
The Obamas are also dining out as often as possible, at both upscale restaurants and greasy spoons: Equinox, Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, B. Smith’s, Georgia Brown’s, Ben’s Chili Bowl and Five Guys Burgers and Fries have all fed the prez.
Letitia Baldrige, former White House social secretary to Jackie O, said of the Obamas’ socializing, “It’s a great bank of good will in which they’re making deposits every day.”
Actually, what she meant to say is, “Banking crisis, schmanking crisis. Every day’s a party!”
Please do not be shocked. We are about to use internet terminology we have never before used at IHateTheMedia.com:
WTF?
Sorry, but that’s the only possible reaction to the new commercial for Quizno’s new “Toasty Torpedo” subs. You know, the ones shaped like giant male genitalia. Watch the commercial. We’re pretty sure you’ll agree.
The commercial features a talking oven that seems to be the gay cousin of HAL, the computer from the movie “2001.” It starts with the gay oven talking to a Quizno’s worker about how much they “both enjoyed” something. We aren’t privy to what that something may have been, but the mere memory of it causes the worker to look down at his crotch.
Then the gay oven says “Put it in me, Scott,” referring to his tasty, toasty torpedo.
There’s just so much that’s wrong and tasteless about this commercial that you really wonder who it’s aimed at, who approved it, and why.
The whole commercial comes across like some strange homage to gay, sado-mechanical sex.
Keep your cotten pickin' hands off Jack DeSantis' AIG bonus. Don’t get on the wrong side of Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president at A.I.G. Well, to be more precise, Jack’s a former executive vice president, because he just publicly resigned in a scatching op-ed piece in Tuesday’s New York Times.
He said “we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials.”
“I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.”
He continued:
“We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.”
But the part we loved most was when DeSantis said he would not return his $742,006.40 bonus. Instead, he said he’ll donate ever after-tax dollar to charity because he doesn’t “want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of A.I.G.’s or the federal government’s budget.”
When Jack is making those charitable donations, we hope he remembers the IHateTheMedia.com Fund for Undercapitalized Bloggers.
The Milan Stock Exchange now has a 10 Euro cover charge and a two-drink minimum. (click for larger image without stars)
American protestors have a lot to learn from our European brothers. Or, to be more precise, from our European sisters.
Police officials say an Italian porn star stripped last Tuesday at the Milan stock exchange to protest the financial crisis. Laura Perego climbed on to a table inside the exchange covered only by her mutandines (BabelFish, don’t fail us now) and a painting of Italian flag
Why aren’t the American networks reporting this story 24/7? They should cover this brave, patriotic woman at least as much as Cindy Sheehan.
He just showed up at the door one day a couple years ago and never left. To tell the truth, we’ve never been crazy about him, but he does catch an occasional mouse so we let him hang around. OK, maybe we even pet him once in a while.
His name used to be Ozzie, but we’ve changed it to Obama. It just seemed like the thing to do:
Just like Obama, he’s half black and half white.
Just like Obama, he talks incessantly.
Just like Obama, he has a sense of entitlement.
Just like Obama, he experimented with catnip in his youth.
Just like Obama, he gets by on appearance rather than accomplishment.
Just like Obama, he think’s its his world and everything should be done his way.
And just like Obama, we hope he’s gone in four years.
The United States Senate has moved seamlessly from pork to pigskins.
What? The financial crisis hasn’t been solved? Then why the hell is the senate talking wasting time on football?
Here’s how AP reports the latest complete waste of time and money coming out of the United States Senate:
Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Champion Series.
The current system “leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year,” the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights said in a statement Wednesday announcing the hearings.
Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in series, while others do not.
Obama and some members of Congress favor a playoff-type system to determine the national champion. The BCS features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer ratings.
For God’s sake, man. Who cares if Associated Press poll picks USC and the Coaches Poll picks LSU and the computers pick Texas. Don’t these people have better things to do?
We just checked with the sports book in Vegas. Odds are 7-1 that the United States Senate is filled with brain-addled morons. 3-1 its filled with corrupt rip-off artists. And 2-1 it’s filled with bloviating blockheads.
Thanks to John Romano over at BigHollywood.com for digging out this old YouTube video of Milton Friedman teaching dumbfounded liberal Phil Donahue a few things about how capitalism and the real world work.
You can help but love the crestfallen look on Donahue’s face.
Click to enlargeWE HAVE A WINNER: Sorry it took so long, but we had some VERY funny entries and we argued about them all day long. But we finally agreed that the winner is Bryan for his simple caption: “Made In China.” Congratulations, Bryan. And to everyone else who entered, try again next week.
Help Wanted: Must be able to attend 6 meetings per year and overlook blatant fraud. $20,000 annual salary plus stock options. Total compensation in the $320,000 range over 14 months.
We never saw this help wanted ad, but apparently President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, did. He landed the plum gig, sat on the board of currupt Freddie Mac for 14 months and may have earned more than $320,000 for his meager efforts. Call 1-800-BIG-SCAM and ask for “Freddie.”
Here’s how the Chicago Tribune describes his odd tenure at Freddie Mac:
Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the current housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors by a top federal regulator.
One of those allegedly asleep-at-the-switch board members was Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel—now chief of staff to President Barack Obama—who made at least $320,000 for a 14-month stint at Freddie Mac that required little effort.
As gatekeeper to Obama, Emanuel now plays a critical role in addressing the nation’s mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration’s pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world.
Emanuel’s Freddie Mac involvement has been a prominent point on his political résumé, and his healthy payday from the firm has been no secret either. What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation’s current economic mess.
The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board’s working committees, according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.
We only need two words to describe the Democrats’ connection to the financial crisis: hanky and panky.
Dick Tracy villian Pruneface, a dead ringer for Robert Redford? Warren Beatty has supposedly bedded hundreds of women. But the Tribune Company says it won’t be his next conquest.
A unit of the Tribune Co is suing the actor over the rights to Dick Tracy. Court papers say he acquired those rights in 1985, then and starred in and directed the 1990 film based on the comic strip police detective.
Tribune Co says the rights should revert to them because Beatty has “made no productive use” of the rights for more than ten years. Beatty claims he’s working on a Dick Tracy TV special, but the Trib says the TV show is merely a ploy to preserve Beatty’s rights.
If Beatty is actually producing the special, he might want to call Robert Redford. He’d be perfect to play Pruneface.
Conservative talk radio is toasting with champagne, but lib talk radio is just plain toast. The more President Obama and the Democrats talk about talk radio titan Rush Limbaugh, the higher his ratings go. And he’s taking all conservative talk radio along for a very exciting ride.
Radio insiders expected the ratings to show growth with a Democrat in the White House. But the actual numbers are exploding far beyond anyone’s expectations.
Brian Maloney’s Radio Equalizer is a great site if you’re interested in an insider’s view of talk radio. Here’s how he reports the most recent results in the nation’s top markets:
In New York City, WABC has experienced huge gains during Rush’s noon- 3pm timeslot: from 4.6 to 6.7 overall (12 and older) share, good for first place overall in the nation’s largest market. Rush’s Big Apple listenership is now estimated at 693,000.
In the second-largest market, Los Angeles, KFI-AM has surged into the number one position (all listeners 12 and older) from 9am to noon, with 618,000 listeners, a 4.6 to 6.0 audience share increase over three months and an even bigger males 35-64 (4.6 to 6.3) move, to take first place there as well.
Chicago, saw another huge move, with Rush affiliate WLS also taking first place during his timeslot (12 and older), from 5.2 share to 6.9 and a total local listenership of 396,700 in the third-largest market.
KSFO / San Francisco saw similar results, despite the extreme-left bent of the Bay Area: 4.7 to 6.0 share, now ranking second overall and with men aged 35-64. Total audience: 346,000.
In Dallas – Fort Worth, 4.8 to 6.4 men 35-64 and fourth overall (12+), 3.5 to 4.5. Cumulative audience: 250,000.
Houston’s results were truly blockbuster: 6.0 to 9.8 overall, ranking number one with a bullet and audience of 382,300. Men 35-64: number one again, from 8.6 to 12.2 over three months. Adults 25-54: first place, 4.6 to 8.7. Women 25-54: 3.7 to 8.3 again good for a top ranking.
DC’s WMAL also saw Rush-related growth: 4.1 to 6.7, good for third overall and an audience of 155,300. Men 35-64: number one with a staggering 6.4 to 13.4 move.
In Atlanta, Rush has helped WGST fend off an enormous competitor, WSB-AM, with a similar 4.0 to 6.2 upward move, good for fifth place overall and a total audience of 473,500. The results are better in the male 35-64 demographic, surging from 5.5 to 8.0 share.
Bucking Detroit’s recent Democratic voting trend, Rush’s performance on WJR-AM has been more significant than ever, moving into first place with a 5.8 to 9.6 jump. Men 35-64: number one and 11.6 share. Total audience: 253,000.
Hey, turn down that conservative talk radio show for a second. Hear that dull thud? That’s the sound of lib talk radio hosts pounding their heads against the wall.
We had another funny caption for this photo, but then we saw the photo credit went to Irina Slutsky. 'Nuff said. New Jersey police have charged a 14-year old girl with sexually exploiting herself. Strange, but true.
She was arrested Tuesday after allegedly posting a couple dozen naked photos of herself on MySpace.
Police began investigating the case after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The girl said she posted the pictures for her boyfriend. Of course, in addition to her boyfriend, all her other online “friends” could also see the photos.
The girl has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Why stop there? We say throw the book at the little criminal. Charge her with stealing her own identify, blackmailing herself, and felonious out-of-focus photography.
This is a great commercial. Actually, we don’t know if it’s a real commercial or just something Richter put together to express his opinion of pompous Prius drivers.
But first a story: We have a very good friend who lives in a ritzy neighborhood in Santa Monica, California, not far from Laurie David.
You remember Laurie David. Former wife of Seinfeld producer Larry David. Was touring the country with Sheryl Crow when the singer urged everyone to use just one square of toilet paper. That Laurie David.
We were walking down the street with our friend one day when we came upon another neighbor who was unloading groceries from her SUV. She was pissed.
“Laurie David just pulled up,” the neighbor said, “and yelled at me for driving an SUV instead of a Prius. What a bitch.”
Now that we’ve set the scene, watch the Andy Richter commercial. Be prepared to laugh.
Watching Newsweek is like watching the Bataan Death March. Only uglier.
Times are tough at the weekly news magazine. Last year, its circulation dropped from 3.1 million to 2.6 million. It is expected to drop to 1.9 million by July and again to 1.5 million by next January.
In response, it is launching a new smaller design, moving to a heavier paper stock, and putting more emphasis on photography. But the biggest news is that Newsweek is abandoning in-depth coverage of the week’s news.
We’re no publishing experts, but if Newsweek is abandoning weekly news coverage, we think they might want to find a name, too.
Democrat senators are battling to see who can introduce this year’s stupidest proposal. Ben Cardin of Maryland has raced out to an early lead.
His “Newspaper Revitalization Act” would allow papers to convert into not-for-profit entities. Zap. They get big tax breaks. But Cardin justifies his nonsense by saying that the new non-profits would be prohibited from running editorials. You know, like NPR.
Obviously, Cardin’s bill is designed to give deep-pocketed Democrat Daddy Warbucks a chance to turn any paper into a tax-free source of promulgating propaganda.
Sure. Why not? After all, NPR follows that same basic business model and you can see how well it’s remained impartial while sucking at Washington DC’s distended teat.
A Janet Napolitano man-caused disaster. Photo:WallyG
Two months in office and President Obama has already wiped out terrorism. Who knew it would be this easy?
You see, the President’s Homeland Security Secretary thinks the word terrorism isn’t very nice, that it represents those darned old-fashioned “politics of fear.” So she wiped out terrorism with a stroke of her pen…or her tongue.
Don’t get us wrong. Janet Napolitano didn’t do anything that will save any lives or make us any safer or stop any of the bad guys. She just eliminated it from her vocabulary and renamed it a “man-caused disaster.”
Here’s what she told the German magazine Der Spiegel:
Der Spiegel: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word “terrorism.” Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?
Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.
Seriously. So from now on, it’s not terrorism. It’s a man-caused disaster. So we assume they’re not terrorists anymore, either, but man-caused disaster makers…or doers…causers…or whatever.
Somebody out there help us here. Is this more of that change we can believe in?
Why is it that liberals don’t understand about the goals of Muslim extremists?
Creeping Sharia reports this story from England, but it could just as easily have been from the United States:
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary launched a vitrolic attack on gays last week in which he said that they should be stoned to death.
The former lawyer, who lives on benefits, added that this would include gay business secretary Lord Peter Mandelson, who, under Sharia law, would first be educated about the “evils” of homosexuality then executed if he confessed to a same-sex relationship.
He was speaking at a press conference in London organised by Islamic extremists to justify a protest in Luton last week against soldiers returning home from Iraq.
Choudary said: “If a man likes another man, it can happen, but if you go on to fulfil your desire, if it is proved, then there is a punishment to follow. You don’t stone to death unless there are four eyewitnesses. It is a very stringent procedure.
“There are some people who are attracted to donkeys but that does not mean it is right.”
Sadly, it’s the people who are attracted to donkeys who are blind to this problem. And they day will come when they really need help from the people who are attracted to elephants.
If this woman can convince you she's Hillary Clinton, she's the greatest actress of all time. This is one of the strangest casting decisions in the history of Hollywood.
Julianne Moore, who is an exceptionally hot actress, has signed on to play Hillary Clinton, who has an exceptionally hot temper. That’s the only connection we could find between the two.
The new movie will be called Special Relationship and will also star Dennis Quaid as former President Bill Clinton.
“This is a big role for both of them,” said one insider. “Playing Hillary, a wife who stands by her unfaithful husband, will be something she can get her teeth stuck into.”
“That’s not right,” Bill must have thought, “Hillary doesn’t have teeth. She has fangs.”
Looks like Daniel Hannan is Great Britain’s answer to Thaddeus McCotter, our favorite congressman.
Here’s a speech the MEP from South East England delivered during British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s appearance before the European Parliament.
Hmmmm. When he says the word “Prime Minister” and “Great Britain” pretend he’s saying “President” and “United States” and it all makes sense. In a terrifying sort of way.
A few dozen protesters showed up over the weekend at the homes of AIG executives to demonstrate their outrage and class envy. All that was missing from the mob were pitchforks and torches.
“The politicians who are creating this distraction from their own role also voted for the very legislation that enabled contracted bonuses to be paid by companies like AIG that received government bailout money,” Columnist Tom Sowell observed. “If members of Congress can’t be bothered to read the laws they pass, then they have no basis for whipping up lynch mob outrage.”
The Connecticut chapter of a “progressive” activist group called Working Families Party organized the tour of mansions and invited the gaggle of compliant reporters.
Working Families (which seems to consist only of non-working people) describes itself “a coalition of labor and community groups”. Ah yes, good ol’ community organizers like ACORN out promoting “social justice.” But don’t worry about the death threats. As the WFP press release states, “For the most part, those who got off the bus and approached the homes of the executives kept their anger in check.”
Just once we’d like to see protesters (followed by a herd of reporters) parading in front of the homes of those actually responsible for this mess. Like Democratic Congress-tools Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Help Wanted: Must be able to attend 6 meetings per year and overlook blatant fraud. $20,000 annual salary plus stock options. Total compensation in the $320,000 range over 14 months. 
