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You get to mastermind Zooey Deschanel's house party as it's happening. Surprisingly fun and jauntily soundtracked! [Fox]
Read more posts by Zach Dionne
Filed Under: clickables ,new girl
"With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina wrote on the campaign's blog after acknowledging Obama's opposition to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United that allows unlimited special interest spending in elections.
"Therefore, the campaign has decided to do what we can, consistent with the law, to support Priorities USA in its effort to counter the weight of the GOP Super PAC," Messina continued. As the saying goes, if you're not cheating or taking advantage of rules carved out by an asinine Supreme Court decision that will subject the electorate to shocking amounts of political spew, you're not trying.
Related: The Coming Tsunami of Slime
Read more posts by Brett Smiley
Filed Under: 2012 ,jim messina ,barack obama ,politics ,super pacs
So the Oscars only put up two tunes for Best Original Song — "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets and Rio's "Real in Rio" — and neither will be performed on the telecast, zapping an annual tradition that is, yes, often long and boring or abrupt and weird, but still a tradition! Hey Academy: There were 39 eligible songs, including material from Zooey Deschanel, Mary J. Blige, and something Glenn Close co-wrote. Don't make us suffer just 'cause you only chose two songs and they're from the same arena of family friendliness. Plus, who wants to live in a world where electing not to have Jason Segel sing a funny song and improve your show is even an option?!
Read more posts by Zach Dionne
Filed Under: movies ,awards ,oscars 2012 ,oscars
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Last night on the Late Show with David Letterman, Eli Manning's security blocked co-guest Sarah Michelle Gellar from approaching the New York Giants MVP backstage. All she wanted was an autograph... and a lock of his hair. Plus: Conan invited Madonna's slackline walker "Andy Lewis" to perform some tricks from the Super Bowl; Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson cheered over 18-year-old Miranda Cosgrove's recently single status; and Michelle Williams shared a tip for enduring the Oscars ceremony. Watch our compilation to see what you missed.
Read more posts by Caroline Shin
Filed Under: last night on late night ,video ,super bowl ,david letterman ,eli manning ,sarah michelle gellar ,conan ,madonna ,miranda cosgrove ,jimmy kimmel ,jay leno ,the rock ,dwayne johnson ,michelle williams
Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre hosted a Mad Max trilogy screening in late January, and Mel Gibson was the guest of honor. Now there's a full video of the maligned star's 40-minute onstage conversation with the L.A. Times' Geoff Boucher, and while there aren't many moments addressing Gibson's troublesome past few years, it's interesting to view the conversation in light of TMZ-age Gibson — or nearly impossible not to. "So many of your films have themes of sacrifice, redemption and intense violence," Boucher says to Gibson, a man serving three years probation and one year of counseling for a misdemeanor count of domestic violence, also the man behind Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and a forthcoming Viking epic.
"You have to temper something like that, otherwise people just run out screaming. Really. So you have to make it as bad as you possibly can and have them stay in their seats. That sounds sick, doesn't it?" Gibson responds. "But there's an art to that. It's kind of like the art of torture. And of course the further we go, I think, the less I want to see. It's actually starting to make me sick. But some is necessary, I think. I mean, it's part of life."
Gibson is never downright glum in the interview, but he's certainly not joyous. His contributions to the talk are pause-filled and sober- if not somber-voiced. There's no trace of celebrity showiness; despite the assemblage of Mad Max fanatics, Gibson isn't doing anything you could call "working the room."
"How down did you get?" Boucher asks in the frankest moment unrelated to the specificities of filming Mad Max, the one direct attempt at discussing the time world records were likely broken for simultaneous instances of the phrase "Mel Gibson racist rant."
"Oh, everybody gets ups and downs, don't they? Yeah? Yeah," says Gibson with a trace of Lethal Weapon manic. "Yeah, but I managed to sort of rise above in the end. I think everybody has to; it's either sink or swim. Or you just don't wake up one morning. But I kept waking up, so I figured, 'what the fuck, I might as well enjoy it.'"
Read more posts by Zach Dionne
Filed Under: mel gibson ,movies
Led by the mother of Ramarley Graham, the 18-year-old unarmed man shot and killed last week after being followed into his home by narcotics officers, outraged Bronx residents marched in protest from Graham's home to the 47th Precinct station house. The crowd chanted "NYPD-KKK," a charge capturing the protesters' feeling that police profile them and give them no chance. "They cornered that little man in his house, perfect place to ask questions, but instead of asking questions, they shoot him down right then and there," one protester said. "And they are New York's finest—what is fine about that?”
Read more posts by Brett Smiley
Filed Under: guns ,nypd ,shootings ,protests ,sad things
And now our assumptions are confirmed: Beyoncé looks amazing after giving birth to a baby.
Bey-Bey made her first public appearance Monday night to celebrate hubby Jay-Z's two...
Yep, it's official: Prince Louis (Hugo Becker) is the worst, y'all!
Gossip Girl picked up right where it left off in the series' epic 100th episode, with Blair (Leighton...
Confession: we're crying. Don't worry! It's happy crying!
What's making us happy cry, you ask? Oh, just the fact that we finally get to discuss the delicious awesomeness...
Bombs, er, Brandi away!
There's something about the former Mrs. Eddie Cibrian that brings out the worst in our beloved Housewives. Tempers flare, well-manicured fingers are pointed...
Here's the good news: Things seem to be progressing nicely between Ben Flajnik and Kacie B. on The Bachelor.
But otherwise, animosity toward Courtney Robertson continued to grow...
Who cares about the contestants when you have coaches this talented?!
The Voice's mentors Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton kicked off the NBC hit...
Don't you know that messing with the Biebs means messing with the whole posse?!
Justin Bieber was reportedly trying to leave Los Angeles International Airport today when an...
Tell us how you really feel, Karl.
German fashion designer—and more notably, the head designer and creative director for Chanel—Karl Lagerfeld was a guest editor for Metro...
If the Oscars are just a little over two weeks away, it must mean it's lunchtime.
The Beverly Hilton hotel was packed earlier today for the Academy's annual nominees...
Ask and ye shall be spoiled!
Many of you readers have been telling us you want the Spoiler Chat (our roundup of exclusive TV spoilers and scoop) more frequently than once a week. So this...
Every year, the Super Bowl floods Vegas with hundreds of ridiculous ‘Prop Bets’ – small, specific Super Bowl related side-bets that aren’t contingent on the game’s outcome – many of which don’t actually involve football or sports at all, other than the timeless sport of ‘Kelly Clarkson Belly Guessing’. Here, because we’re slightly more a pop culture blog than we are an NFL analysis blog (debatable), is our Official BWE Rundown of 7 Madonna and Kelly Clarkson Super Bowl Bets That Paid Off.
1. What color will Madonna’s hair be when she begins the Super Bowl Halftime show?
- Blonde (1/4)
- Any other color (2.5/1)
RESULT: Blonde. Madonna went the safe route and just came out blonde, though the crappy 1-to-4 payoff was even worse than the odds for “Will there be a vague Egyptian/Stargate theme for the song ‘Vogue’ which is about neither thing?”
2. What will Madonna be using to start the Super Bowl Halftime show?
- Headset (1/3)
- Handheld Microphone (2/1)
RESULT: Headset. I actually laid $20 on “Literal Silver Penis-Microphone To Generate Random Controversy Followed By Instant Color Bars And Cut To Hyundai Commercial”. It didn’t win, but I really liked the odds at 2-to-1.
3. Will Madonna be wearing fishnet stockings at any point during the Halftime show?
- Yes (1/1, technically ‘bet 110 to win 100′)
- No (1/1)
RESULT: No. I don’t recall Madonna donning fishnets at any point, though my eyes were transfixed on that acrobatic Will Ferrell character the whole time, even the three times I rewatched the clip specifically to check on her stockings.
4. Will Madonna wear a hat at any point during the Super Bowl Halftime show?
- Yes (3/2)
- No (2/1)
RESULT: Yes. Although technically, she was wearing a pseudo-Egyptian headdressy type thing, not really a “hat,” but if you feel like approaching a bookie and pleading your case for the technical non-hatness of golden headdresses, then be my guest and instant hero.
5. How long will it take Kelly Clarkson to sing the Star Spangled Banner (from starting note to last note sung)?
- 1 minute, 34.5 seconds or longer (-120, meaning, bet $120 to win $100)
- Less than 1 minute 34.5 seconds (-120)
RESULT: Under. Kelly Clarkson’s National Anthem unofficially clocked in at 1 minute, 33 seconds, according to Mo. There were no odds for “Will Kelly Clarkson also inexplicably be Zooey Deschanel?”
6. Will Kelly Clarkson’s bare belly be showing when she sings the National Anthem?
- Yes (3/1)
RESULT: No. Vegas didn’t give people the option of betting on “No,” so this didn’t technically pay off, but it basically amounted to a very random joke at the expense of Clarkson’s midrift-defensiveness, so in a way, we’re ALL winners (except 31/32 NFL fanbases).
7. What will Kelly Clarkson wear to sing the National Anthem?
- Colts Jersey (7/1)
- Giants Jersey (15/1)
- Patriots Jersey (15/1)
- NFL shirt (2/1)
- Anything else (1/3)
RESULT: Anything Else. Booooooring. Although I’m kind of intrigued by the vagueness of the “NFL Shirt” option – This would’ve been an interesting insensitive wardrobe choice for the local Indy crowd. That is, if she wasn’t able to find a shirt with Chris Berman, James Lipton, and Andrew Zimmern singing in a car and confusing my parents.
So there you have it. Just know your Super Bowl National Anthem and Halftime Show singers’ tendencies, and you can easily make your$elf a MILLIONAIRE$$$$!!!! Let’s start brushing up on who we think it’ll be next year. I’m guessssingggg… Bo Bice National Anthem, Uggie The Dog With Ukulele Halftime Show? BOOM – It’s Wikipedia Time.
(Odds info via SB Nation, SkokiePatch, and Covers.com)
The Weekly Standard reports that some stock footage of Detroit was included -- but nothing was shot in Detroit specifically for this ad.
Check out the top headlines from our friends around the web.
Despite some controversy, Madonna is mostly getting raves for her Super Bowl halftime performance.
Because most of our NFL teams were already eliminated long before Sunday (The Jaguars’ season actually ended in 2008), the only genuine joy many of us could experience during the Super Bowl was the perverse but universal sports-fan delight of watching another team fail.
In order to prolong this irrational schadenfreude as long as possible while also continuing to not think about our own teams’ earlier failures (this is how I remember the Steelers/Broncos game), enjoy these 12 Photos Of Tom Brady, Super Bowl Loser:
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Related: The 46 Most Depressing Photos Of People Losing The Super Bowl – the fun never stops!
(Pics via Getty Images)
AP - "Going Solo" (The Penguin Press), by Eric Klinenberg: Living in families, though traditional and almost universal on this evolving planet, is experiencing an unplanned but effective attack, according to a new book.
Season 5 of AMC’s Mad Men is just around the corner, with a 2 hour premiere airing on Sunday, Mar. 25 at 9pm. And to get the hype machine rolling, stark white posters sprouted up around Manhattan subway stations with a tiny, black and white Don Draper falling into an empty abyss of white. Given that most New Yorker’s are given a fat Sharpie immediately after being deloused on Ellis Island, it didn’t take long for some artistic citizens to reimagine Don in a variety of fun, sometimes harrowing situations. Thanks in part to Gothamist for encouraging folks to post their own Don Draper Ad Mash-ups, we’ve scoured the internet for the 32 Best Mad Men Subway Poster Hacks. And here they are:
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AP - "The Mirage" (Harper), by Matt Ruff: An alternate history of the events surrounding 9/11 creates a unique and compelling read in Matt Ruff's "The Mirage."
AP - "Catch Me" (Dutton), by Lisa Gardner: If you knew the exact date and time of your death, what would you do? "Everyone has to die sometime. Be brave."
AP - Van Halen, "A Different Kind Of Truth" (Interscope)
This Valentine’s Day, make sure to tell someone you love them. And according to the high end UK department store Waitrose, you might consider doing this by saying “You C*nt.” That’s exactly what their Valentine’s Day window sign says to do, anyway. Due to a hilariously placed pillar in the way, the words “You Count” have been live-action CGI’d into the worst curse word ever unless you are Jane Fonda on The Today Show or a little girl on The Today Show.
[Photo: Splash]
AP - "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" (Random House), by Katherine Boo: This book should come with a warning — reading it may be hazardous to your rosy view that global capitalism will set the world's billions free from poverty.
Here’s an extremely elaborate display of Pepsi cases in the shape of Darth Maul, partly to promote the 3-D Phantom Menace release, but mostly because it is a Star Wars thing and this is the internet so here:
Unfortunately, George Lucas went back and replaced all the cans with RC Cola, but it was cool while it lasted.
This year’s commercials were racier and more sexually suggestive than ever, according to a TV watchdog group.
Warning: If The Lion King is something that you still enjoy to this day, The Lion King Bounce might “Scar” you for life. Or, who knows, maybe it will enhance your future viewing experiences. Look, I don’t know you, I don’t know what you like, but I can almost guarantee that this video will elicit some sort of response out of you.
“The Lion King Bounce” is a new tune by an artist named Mr. Ghetto. It’s kind of like “The Lion Theme” theme song, only with a LOT more ass. There’s so much ass in this video that it will give you asspergers syndrome. It’s safe to say that if you know someone who likes The Lion King and loves “ass,” you’ve got yourself a viral winner here.
Doh!
Country music star Randy Travis was arrested in a Dallas suburb Monday on suspicion of public intoxication.
Let’s have a frank discussion about the ads that ran during last night’s Super Bowl XLVI. In the words of any one of the Beastie Boys, they were “aight.” No shocks, no surprises, most of them were leaked online prior to the game anyway, Matthew Broderick. And really, we don’t care about serious beer commercials or ads about mid-size sedans that will make you feel like more of a man. Nope, there’s only one thing we give the merest ess about: ANIMAL ADS.
There were some highs and lows, but at the party I was at, any time an animal appeared on the giant flatscreen, someone would scream “DOG AD” and the room would fall silent. The dog ads did not disappoint! You know why? Because there were f*cking awesome dogs in it, that’s why. Take note, advertisers: If you want a roomful of non-football fans who are mainly watching the Super Bowl to witness Madonna’s Halftime acrobatic dance moves to stop dead in their tracks and pay attention, PUT A DOG IN YOUR AD. (Or David Beckham.)
So without further a-doo (dog joke), here are all the Superbowl Dog Ads + David Beckham and other animal bonuses. Our apologies to the Coca-Cola Polar Bears who didn’t make the cut, because, boring.
1. Fat Dog Loses Weight To Chase Fad Car. This Volkswagen ad was a real crowd pleaser, because, hello, fat dogs = where do I sign? (My petition for pro-dog-obesity.) Though my party co-horts and I couldn’t help but notice that not only does this dog lose weight, but he actually CHANGES BREEDS. That’s the power of an adorable car originally designed for the Third Reich, I guess.
2. Stubby Dog Wears Sneakers, Wins Race. You might be noticing a theme to last night’s Dog Ads: DOG FITNESS. This one wins in my book because I am an idiot who loves a dog in a sensible shoe.
3. Rescue Dog Gets People Wasted On Light Beer. While I don’t support the idea of dog beer slavery, this ad is pretty cute.
4. Dog Kills Cat, Bribes Local Idiot. Doritos will make an average man do above average lying, is the message I walked away from with this ad.
5. DAVID BECKHAM IN UNDERWEAR. I like the suggestive “hole punch” in his name. Also big ups to H&M for keeping him silent.
For all these commercials and more, Buzzfeed has posted them all for your viewing pleasure.
She is 5ft 6ins and weighs just 84 pounds — and while her hips are 32ins, her waist is only five inches bigger than a CD.
EVENTS
• Indulge at a stress-relieving spa night at Equinox, where you can take advantage of hand and chair massages, brow touch-ups, gift bags, hors d’oeuvres, Champagne, and fifteen-minute private-room chocolate or strawberry facials. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at urbangirlsquad.com. 1429 Second Ave., at 74th St.; 7–9.
• Have your fortune told and browse the latest jewelry from Alex Woo at a Valentine's week pop-up shop. Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Ave., at 56th St. (212-247-1100); M-Sa (10-8), Su (noon-7), through 2/14.
• Celebrate the holiday a little early with a pre-Valentine’s Day event at Toqueville. Peruse jewelry from the Dyanne Belle collection at an exclusive trunk show, then stick around for scotch tasting ($85) and a three-course dinner ($125). Proceeds from the event will help support Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Call 212-647-1515 to make a reservation. 1 E. 15th St., nr. Union Square West; 6:30–10:30.
SALES
ENDING TOMORROW
• The fall-winter collection is 70 to 80 percent off at Morgane Le Fay. Dresses start at $125 (originally $640) and coats are $750 (originally $2500). 601 W. 26th St., nr. Eleventh Ave., Ste. 1507; F-Sa, M (10:30-6), Su-T (11-4), through 2/7.
ONGOING
• Dresses, sweaters, and accessories by Byron Lars, Hutch, Motif 56, and more are 40 to 60 percent off at the Juniper Galaxy winter sale. 82 Bond St., nr. Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill (718-643-6867); T-Su (noon-7), through 2/9.
• Clothing and accessories from Joie, Three Dots, Diane von Furstenberg, Woo, Portolano, and more are up to 80 percent off at Bit+Piece, with prices starting at $19.99. 246 Mott St., at Prince St. (212-343-2268); M-W (noon-8), Th-Sa (11-8), Su (11-7), through 2/13.
• Fall and winter clothes, shoes, and accessories are 50 percent off at Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Choose from brands including Hussein Chalayan, Etoile Isabel Marant, and Dieppa Restrepo. 123 Norfolk St., at Rivington St. (212-673-6405); daily, noon-8; through 2/16.
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Filed Under: fashion calendar ,shopping ,events ,sales
An Ohio hot dog eatery made famous on the TV series "M-A-S-H" is in new hands after a yearlong family feud.
For Carine Roitfeld's forthcoming VMAN issue, the magazine enlisted Derek Blasberg to interview her about men's fashion. (You know, because we didn't get quite enough Carine from her editor's letter and the magazine's foreword.) Here are some highlights.
On men who look like sex toys:
I was looking at several men’s fashion magazines and I thought so many of them were so boring. They pushed sex so much it became vulgar. The boys were naked just to be naked. For me, that is not modern ... But I do not like it when male models start to look like sex toys. For me, that’s when they lose their beauty.
On Brad Pitt's hair:
The true test of a man’s style is the haircut. There are some men who look good no matter how their hair is styled, whether it’s trendy or not. A man can change his haircut many times, but to pull off any haircut you have to be very chic. Like Brad Pitt.
On male politicians:
When in doubt, wear a suit. Look at male politicians: You see them in a suit and they look fine. But if you see a picture of them on the weekend or on vacation, there’s a good chance they look terrible and unstylish.
On Steve Jobs:
Look at someone like Steve Jobs. His look wasn’t very special — black turtleneck and jeans — but he had style. He looked the same, and you knew it was him when you saw him. Plus he was a very smart person, which is also very attractive. His style was simple, not distracting, and very strong.
And rappers:
I actually love the “rappers look,” with the saggy pants and oversized clothes. It’s very deliberate.
You can read the full interview on VMAN.com, but even more important, when is Carine starting her own magazine again?
Related: Exclusive Preview: Carine Roitfeld Put Ten ‘Real Guys’ (and One Real Baby) in Her VMAN Issue
Read more posts by Charlotte Cowles
Filed Under: carine! ,carine roitfeld ,vman ,derek blasberg
The overnight rating for the New York Giants' Super Bowl win over New England was less than 1 percent shy of the record tied last year.
Motivated in part by the growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S., Disney and Univision are contemplating a dive into the cable news game with a 24-hour English-language channel. The Wall Street Journal first reported the talks between Disney, which owns ABC News, and the leading Spanish-language network. Disney has yet to challenge Time Warner's CNN, News Corp.'s Fox News and Comcast's MSNBC. To date, Univision has broadcasted predominately in Spanish. If the companies come to terms, they would attempt to get the network up and running in time to take advantage of viewers' appetite for November presidential election coverage. And if they really hustle, we could get all treated to a 24th, 25th or even 30th Republican primary debate.
Read more posts by Brett Smiley
Filed Under: cable news news ,disney ,univision
The Voice premiered after the Super Bowl last night, and whether you’re a fan of reality-singing competitions or not, I think we can all agree that this is an image that belongs on tv always (via Muppet Madison):
“The name’s Cee Lo Green – the Cee stands for ‘Cee Me Holding This Cee-at Like A Tiny Bond Villain?”
I know The Voice just started, but Cee-Lo’s team already looks unstoppable. Especially when they get into Meowing ‘Silent Night’ Week, which I believe is next week.
(via Pop Culture Brain)
When he's running on-set book clubs, it's no surprise James Franco can switch Cormac McCarthy adaptations pretty easily. Franco has reportedly begun filming, directing, and starring in Child of God in West Virginia, although he independently shot test scenes for a more well-known McCarthy work, Blood Meridian, in 2010. When that adaptation fell apart, Franco went on record last September saying Child of God would be next. There's no way this film won't make waves if it comes to fruition — the 1973 novel is like an Ed Gein origin tale amplified by McCarthy's brutal sensibility...with the necrophiliac serial murderer, Lester Ballard, as the story's protagonist. It'll be interesting to see if Franco or reported co-star Tim Blake Nelson takes the controversial lead.
Read more posts by Zach Dionne
Filed Under: james franco ,child of god ,movies ,cormac mccarthy
NBC and the NFL's apology for rapper M.I.A.’s flipped middle finger during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday simply isn’t enough for some viewers this year, with one watchdog group calling the move a “slap in the face.”
Brooklyn NYPD officer William Masso, 48, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy charges for his "central role" in a gun smuggling case produced by an FBI sting operation, the AP reports. Masso, an 18-year veteran of the force who faces five to six years in prison at a June sentencing, started dealing cigarettes after getting involved with a federal cooperator and eventually began transporting expensive items including M-16 rifles, shotguns, handguns and slot machines. "He was trying to buy a house for his family and he started with cigarettes. It just got bigger and bigger," Masso's lawyer said. Cigarettes really are a gateway drug.
Read more posts by Brett Smiley
Filed Under: crimes and misdemeanors ,nypd ,william masso ,fbi ,guns
The biggest highlight of last night’s Puppy Bowl VII (besides all of it) was the absolutely dominant performance by Aberdeen, the Australian Shepherd Mix who we already named Cutest Puppy Bowl Player.
Aberdeen – who did not end up actually winning the MVP, in a highly controversial decision – controlled the same chew toy for upwards of a half hour, keeping it away from as many as a half dozen other pups at the same time and scoring multiple touchdowns including the epic one below.
We acknowledge that the scoring system in the Puppy Bowl is the most arbitrary thing in sports outside of college football, but take one look at Aberdeen’s dominant puppying and agree that this, folks, is your 2012 Most Valuable Pupper:
Though Robert Rodriguez hyped the spectacularly titled Machete Kills Again...in Space to Vulture last summer at Comic-Con, he warned there would be another film in Danny Trejo's improbable series first. Now Deadline confirms it: Machete Kills is on rails and could start shooting this April, and the trilogy plan remains intact. “The fan response to the Machete character has been fanatical since his first appearance,” Rodriguez says. “Machete is truly a super hero and Machete Kills will be bigger and more ambitious than the first time.”
Read more posts by Zach Dionne
Filed Under: machete kills ,robert rodriguez ,sequels ,movies
Satire got the best of unsuspecting or factually-impaired Republican Congressman John Fleming (R-LA) this past Friday. An ardent opponent of abortion, Fleming posted on his Facebook account a link to a May 11, 2011 story by The Onion titled "Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex."
Fleming's Facebook status, which has since been deleted, included the link with the note, "More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale."
The congressman's followers were directed to Onion's faux-story that begins, "Planned Parenthood announced Tuesday the grand opening of its long-planned $8 billion Abortionplex, a sprawling abortion facility that will allow the organization to terminate unborn lives with an efficiency never before thought possible."
The gaffe was spotted by Literally Unbelievable, a blog that posts statuses from people that take Onion's satire as fact. Without further comment, Fleming’s spokesman Doug Sachtleben told Politico that Fleming's post was removed from his Facebook page. “The Onion is satire," wrote one commenter on Facebook before the post was deleted. "How exactly did you get elected?”
The Abortionplex report is awfully ridiculous even by Onion's standards. Among the greater flourishes from the story about the state-of-the-art abortion factory:
The remaining space is dedicated to amenities such as coffee shops, bars, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets, a three-story nightclub, and a 10-screen multiplex theater—features intended not only to help clients relax, but to foster a sense of community and make abortion more of a social event.
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"I was kind of on the fence in the beginning," [one woman] said. "But after a couple of margaritas and a ride down the lazy river they've got circling the place, I got caught up in the vibe. By the time it was over, I almost wished I could've aborted twins and gotten to stay a little longer."
Planned Parenthood received a lot of attention last week when women's health fundraising juggernaut The Susan G. Komen foundation announced that it would no longer support PP. After a severe, immediate backlash, the Komen foundation reversed course, explaining that "recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives."
On January 31, Congressman Fleming, a family physician, posted on his Facebook page, "Susan G. Komen cutting funding to Planned Parenthood. It is time Congress should do the same as long as taxpayer money is used to take innocent life."
Onion editor Joe Randazzo enjoyed Fleming's complete misapprehension of the website's satirical story. “We’re delighted to hear that Rep. Fleming is a regular reader of America’s Finest News Source and doesn’t bother himself with The New York Times, Washington Post, the mediums of television and radio, or any other lesser journalism outlets,” he said in a statement.
Despite the abhorrent judgment by Fleming, he must be overcome with relief that the Abortionplex doesn't exist. The thought of an abortion factory with the largest rock climbing wall in Kansas, valet parking and abortion suites "where women may enjoy a complimentary pedicure and a flute of champage" would have been quite unsettling.
Read more posts by Brett Smiley
Filed Under: oopsies ,abortionplexes ,the onion ,politics ,abortion
Rejoice, everyone! The Academy has released the "class photo" from this year's Oscar luncheon, the annual midday event that attempts to gather as many nominees as possible before the actual Oscar ceremony itself. Not everybody could make it (miss you, Kristen Wiig!), but the photo is still a great panorama of this year's talent, as well as a blessedly un-Photoshopped document of stars awkwardly standing next to nerdy sound design guys on a perilous set of bleachers. In that way, it's almost the opposite of those perfectly composited Vanity Fair covers that also come out around this time, and it gives us plenty to discuss. Let's dig in!
Frostiest trio
Somebody, tell a joke! Anyone!
Can you spot the Oscar-nominated Community star in this section?
Your favorite NBC sitcom isn't currently on the air, but at least you'll see Jim Rash and his bald head at the Academy Awards this month. Rash, an Oscar nominee for cowriting The Descendants, plays the dean on Community ... and for once, he's not the most ridiculously attired man in the room!
Most Stylin' (Male)
Jonah Hill's intriguingly patterned suit and Nickeledeon-logo-hued tie shouldn't work … but somehow … some way…
Most Stylin' (Female)
Every woman in this section looks pretty great! Obviously, that electric pink frock on Viola Davis pulls focus, but what about that slinky gal on the left, who looks like she should be the breakout star from one of the East Coast franchises of Real Housewives? If she needs to stage a catfight with Berenice Bejo, we'll provide the empty restaurant, game night, or daughter's wedding!
Hey, it's the old man from Up!
We don't mean any harm by this, Martin Scorsese! But if Steven Spielberg attaches a hundred colorful balloons to your eyeglasses, then assumes your Best Director slot after you float into the clouds, don't say we didn't warn you first.
Orange is the new black!
Everyone who's anyone amongst the nominees is working orange in some fashion. Whether it's Michelle Williams with her reddish-orange hair, Aaron Sorkin with his reddish-orange hair and skin, or the other guy with the glasses who maybe saw Sean Avery's tinted specs on Project Runway All Stars last week and crowed to his wife, "I have an idea," it's clear that orange is tops ...
But nobody did it better than this woman and her hair.
Please win the Oscar, whoever you are. If you need to put leopard spots up there, we approve.
M.V.P.
This guy!
Read more posts by Kyle Buchanan
Filed Under: movies ,oscars ,awards ,oscar race 2012
Show these pictures to the most heterosexual man who ever lived, and even he would be moved to wag a finger and cry, "FIERRRRCE!" [LA Times Magazine]
Read more posts by Kyle Buchanan
Filed Under: clickables ,viola davis ,movies ,the help ,oscar race 2012
"For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins," says Robert DeNiro's character in Casino. "It's a morality car wash. It does for us what Lourdes does for humpbacks and cripples. And, along with making us legit comes cash. Tons of it." I think about Casino often while watching Luck, and not just because their main characters share a nickname, Ace. From Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue through Deadwood and John from Cincinnati, Luck creator David Milch’s scripts have been preoccupied with damaged or disgraced people seeking to redeem or reinvent themselves. Luck feels like his most personal take on this story, partly because of Milch’s own backstory (he was once a drug addict, and still loves to gamble), but also because it’s set at a racetrack, a place that externalizes the notion that luck, like life itself, is cyclical. The shots of horses running around and around that track are a documentary record of an athletic contest, but they have a metaphoric dimension, too. The turning of the earth; the changing of the seasons and the turnover of the calendar; the spinning of a roulette wheel or a poker dealer’s shuffle: these events all give hope to people who might otherwise give up and accept their current condition.
Just in case the Luck pilot didn’t make this clear, the second episode puts it in boldface. Nearly all of the major characters are trying to overcome trauma or disgrace or rectify errors in judgment that brought them low. Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) just got out of prison after serving three years for possession of cocaine. The drugs actually belonged to his former business partner, Mike who stashed the drugs in Ace’s condo (Mike is played by Michael Gambon, who steps out of the narrative shadows in next Sunday’s episode). The bust would have destroyed the life of Ace’s grandson, who was in Ace’s condo when it was raided. Ace’s wants to take over the track and use it as a “Trojan horse” to introduce legalized, non-reservation gambling to California; this plan is partly motivated by Ace’s desire to strike back against Mike and other former associates who seem to have had something to do with his prison stint, including Nick DiRossi (Alan Rosenberg) and Isadore Cohen (Michael Mann regular Ted Levine).
Meanwhile, the four musketeers of the track – Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Lonnie (Ian Hart), Renzo (Richie Coster) and Jerry (Jason Gedrick) – are all looking to escape their present circumstance, which feels like something out of a Tom Waits song. (They live in a motel and eat in the same coffee shop all the time, and look as if they barely sleep or bathe.) Jerry is the wild card of the group; he seems to have a self-punishing or at least self-destructive streak, always counteracting his wizardly handicapping skills by blowing vast sums of money at the poker table. Veteran jockey Ronnie Jenkins (Gary L. Stevens) is struggling to overcome personal problems that were mostly implied this week but will become clear in upcoming episodes. Stuttering agent Joey Rathburn (Richard Kind) has personal obligations that he can’t meet and professional aspirations he can’t seem to satisfy; he buzzes around the track glad-handing and pitching and offering unsolicited advice. Exercise girl Rosie Shanahan (Kerry Conlon) has plenty to prove, and not just because she’s a woman in a male-dominated profession; she wants to make it as a jockey, and on the basis of her rapport with Gettn'up Morning, a thoroughbred owned and trained by Walter Smith (Nick Nolte), whose past pain is so immense that he seems to be pulling it along like a dray horse drawing a plow.
When we finally hear Walter’s sad story, it’s horrendous, and its tragic weight pushes Nolte toward one of the most nakedly wounded performances he’s ever given. When Walter relates the story of how his previous boss demonstrated “Kentucky Quality” by murdering Getting’ Up Morning’s father in an arson-for-insurance-money scam, his eyes well up and his already gravelly voice becomes choked with misery and rage. It’s shocking and moving to see Nolte, a paragon of Hemingway-style intellectualized machismo until about ten years ago, suddenly looking craggy and vulnerable and very, very old. But give the man credit: he’s a consummate actor, so he’s using it.
Is the plot of Luck too hard to follow? Is the dialogue too hard to understand? I’m not having as many problems as some viewers, but that might be because I’ve immersed myself in Milch’s magnificently backwards-ass 19th century locutions, to the point where they seem like just another mode of speech. The welter of accents probably doesn’t help; I’ve gotten emails from people who tell me they can’t understand a word that Rosie, “bug” jockey Leon (Tom Payne) or arrogant trainer Escalante (John Ortiz) are saying. (Maybe the DVD will have Milch-to-English subtitles.)
And people who’ve never spent a day at a racetrack might find Sunday’s business about claims and “the shake” mystifying. There’s an explanatory interview with Milch on the show’s web site if you’re interested, but the short version is: anybody can “claim” an ownerless horse if they get an owner’s license and put their name in the claim box before the race; if more than one party submits a claim on a particular horse, it’s decided after the race via a “shake.”
But I urge anybody who’s unhappy with Luck’s homework-to-drama ratio to stick with it, and maybe revisit certain scenes later. Milch and his filmmaking collaborators (Mann on the pilot, Hotel Rwanda director Terry George in episode two) stage action in a way that clarifies the gist of what’s happening even if you’re unclear on certain details. What you need to know here is that the interloper Chris Mulligan (W. Earl Brown of Deadwood) won the shake and thus the horse, and now the four musketeers are going to have to convince him to sell it or share ownership or otherwise wrest it from his hands. It’s in subplots like this that Milch’s storytelling inclinations and sense of life come together in a beautiful way. When his characters size each other up for strengths and weaknesses and try to figure out a way to meet in the middle without losing face, his scripts become verbal fencing matches that reveal character through the artful drawing of blood. As for the dialogue, Milch is well aware that people don’t really talk this way, and that as long as the rhythms and word choices are lively you won’t mind. He even kids his propensity for what Eli Cash in The Royal Tenenbaums called “obsolete vernacular.” Lonnie to Marcus: “My mental adroitness is dulled by this constant negativity.” Marcus: “What?”
Read more posts by Matt Zoller Seitz
Filed Under: overnights ,tv ,luck ,recaps
Katy Perry wore a multicolored dress by Versus, purple furry vest, and Christian Louboutin sandals to the DIRECTV Celebrity Beach Bowl after-party in Indianapolis on Saturday night. To perform at the Super Bowl’s pre-game show yesterday, Katy wore some sort of football uniform that equally repped the Giants and the Patriots.
Which look do you find less terrifying (or more fabulous)?
Read more posts by Ally Betker
Filed Under: look of the day ,katy perry ,versus ,christian louboutin ,designers
Ananda Marchildon won the fourth season of Holland's Next Top Model in early 2009. As part of her prize package, she received €75,000 (just under $100,000) and a three year contract with Elite Models. However, in a lawsuit filed last week, Marchildon claims the agency fired her after two years and paid her only €10,000. Perhaps worse still, she was apparently stripped of her official Holland's Next Top Model title — all because, according to Marchildon's lawyers, Elite bookers deemed her hips 2cm too wide.
Marchildon claims that her hips, which measure 92cm, violated Elite's alleged "rule" that their models maintain a 90cm measurement or less. A booker reportedly told Marchildon she had "a nice face, [but] a fat arse," and that she "never had it in her to become a top model because she was unsuitable for catwalk work." Marchildon is demanding the remainder of her winnings.
Elite's response to the lawsuit confirmed that Marchildon's figure proved problematic. Elite's lawyer notes, "it was impossible for Elite to find [Marchildon] modelling jobs since she wasn't in the required shape." This is because, according to Elite's lawyer again, the agency books models for couture jobs where the clothing "is made in one size only: (très très) petite. This is not something modelling agencies can change." On a conciliatory note, he added that the modeling industry is "not for everybody."
The agency also noted they never actually signed Marchildon — rather, she was signed with a smaller agency, which then placed her with Elite to increase her exposure. (Interestingly, this alone appears to illustrate a breach in Marchildon's contract as a winner of the show, though there's probably a lot of fine print involved there.) Marchildon's lawyers wrote to Top Model's demi-goddess Tyra Banks, asking for help. Sadly, their letter came back unanswered, and unopened even. That's because Tyra was probably busy getting romanced in Bali.
Read more posts by Alex Rees
Filed Under: wanna be on top ,weight issues ,ananda marchildon ,holland's next top model ,elite models
Here's a video of a couple in Florida buying two enormous shopping carts' worth of Jason Wu for Target clothes in Miami. As you can see, they're buying dozens of the same items, which can only mean one thing.
Related: Jason Wu for Target Is Almost Sold Out Online Already
Read more posts by Charlotte Cowles
Filed Under: video ,jason wu for target ,collaboration station
An important piece of female anthropology, proven today: It takes approximately fourteen years for two women to forgive each other for staking claims on the same, kind of shady dude. But when they do come around, the two women in question will be very supportive of one another as they put (presumably) new shady dudes out on the curb. So we learn from “It All Belongs to Me,” Brandy and Monica’s much-anticipated follow-up to the 1998 classic “Boy Is Mine.” It’s a karaoke-friendly (meaning: not so damn high) answer to “Irreplaceable,” basically, though B&M are more concerned with itemizing what, exactly, is still theirs (clothes, cars, rings, and, hilariously, that Macbook) than directing the gentleman where to put his things. But most important: Rather than fighting over the scrub, Brandy and Monica are on the same team here. Awww, reunited for real.
Stream "It All Belongs To Me" over at RapRadar.
Read more posts by Amanda Dobbins
Filed Under: right-click ,brandy ,monica ,music
"America had their chance with the perfect candidate." — Michele Bachmann to Bloomberg TV, referring to herself.
Read more posts by Dan Amira
Filed Under: bachmann ambition overdrive ,michele bachmann ,politics ,2012
According to the Times, flamboyant socks are all the rage among tech nerds in Silicon Valley these days. "It signals that you are part of the in crowd. It’s like a secret handshake for those who have arrived," states the article. Hunter Walk, a 38-year-old director of product management at YouTube, explains further: “I have been in meetings where people look down and notice my socks, and there is this universal sign, almost like a gang sign, where they nod and pull up their pant leg a little to show off their socks.”
Read more posts by Charlotte Cowles
Filed Under: socks ,trends ,definitely not gang signs
The cover of Garage magazine's second issue features a dapper gay couple, Harry the Hare and Frederick the Fox, who are apparently expecting a baby. Titled "A Very Modern Tale: Harry the Hare Is Expecting," a very pregnant Harry wears Jil Sander while a Prada-clad Frederick proffers a bouquet designed by Missoni. Because who needs models when you can have furry woodland creatures with a baby bump? In her editor's letter, Dasha Zhukova explains:
We have a completely new social landscape that expands Norman Rockwell’s picturesque mid-century nuclear family into multiple-option domestic scenes: two moms, two dads, biological parent, birth parent, single parent, surrogate parent, egg donor, sperm donor. Men and women still marry, just not always one another. Gay couples have children. Exes and futures live together. It’s not new, it’s just neater ... Today we are living the rainbow: all tribes are merging; everything has evolved.
If only these modern times included a catfish-riding octopus.
Read more posts by Charlotte Cowles
Filed Under: first looks ,garage magazine ,dasha zhukova
Guess which hopelessly twee, produce-loving, stroller-infested Brooklyn neighborhood could possibly be worried about the theft of knitwear from plants.
Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli
Filed Under: a tree grows in brooklyn ,park slope ,brooklyn ,trees
This season's London Fashion Week — which starts next week — marks the tenth anniversary of Topshop sponsoring the NEWGEN fashion scheme. NEWGEN, a partnership between Topshop and the British Fashion Council, helps fund a new generation (as its name suggests) of designers' shows and presentations. To celebrate the occasion, the retail chain partnered with many of the fund's successful recipients on a special line of T-shirts. Twenty designers' work makes up the capsule collection, including some of Mary Katrantzou's digital floral prints, a cityscape from Holly Fulton, Meadham Kirchhoff's creepy baby-doll face, and Jonathan Saunders gone geometric. The tees will be available both in Topshop stores and online during Fashion Week, retailing at around $45; see a slideshow of the looks on British Vogue's website.
Read more posts by Alex Rees
Filed Under: collaboration station ,topshop ,newgen ,designers ,mary katrantzou ,erdem moralioglu ,peter jensen ,jonathan saunders ,holly fulton ,christopher kane
It has become a common shorthand, like scoffing at lazy bloggers in pajamas, to dismiss the inanity of the Internet by decrying everyone's endless fascination with cats. It may be a reductive stereotype, sure, but it's also somewhat accurate and can be extremely annoying for die-hard dog people (ahem) who just don't see what the fuss is about. Perhaps in reaction, to right the equilibrium of the universe, some publications demonstrate a similar fawning for canines, fretting about their safety and cooing over their cuteness. The adorable animal obsession in media is rampant, and at Daily Intel we have decided it's time to expose journalism's creature biases for what they are.
One such animal-oriented media property is Rupert Murdoch's iPad newspaper The Daily, which is currently celebrating its first birthday. While editor-in-chief Jesse Angelo insists to the New York Times today, "I don’t care about what people in a 20-block radius of our office say about this product," we have been watching closely; we mostly remember the dogs.
In its first month of existence, Angelo urged his reporters in a memo, obtained by Daily Intel, to chase big stories. "Find me something new, different, exclusive and awesome," he wrote. "Find me the oldest dog in America, or the richest man in South Dakota." The troops took the dog order to heart, delivering "The Richest Dog in South Dakota," followed by story after story about war dogs, dog shows, sick dogs, spoiled dogs, dogs in danger, doggie fashion, and so on. In twelve short months, they may very well have become the preeminent place for puppy coverage, if not animals in general. Here are their top competitors:
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Animal of Choice: Dogs
Let's get this out of the way. We're in the tank for dogs. Not just at Daily Intel, where we call cats "feline puppies" and babies "human puppies," and refer to actual puppies with as many exclamation points as our content-management system and remaining shreds of dignity will allow. They're barking up the right tree over on the print side, too.
NEW YORK TIMES
Animal of Choice: Dogs
Last summer, Jill Abramson was selected as the new managing editor of the paper. Sure, she had a long and storied reportorial and management career, but she's also been the paper's leading puppy chronicler in recent memory. (Though she's hardly alone in that endeavor.) Coincidence? We think not.
GOTHAMIST
Animal of Choice: Cats
The site recently ran a post titled "Which Staffer's Cat Reigns Supurrreme?" There were eleven animals (and one houseplant) pictured, which surely is one of the highest feline-to-staffer ratios of any publication employing more than three people. At least they're being transparent about the source of their bias.
THE AWL
Animal of Choice: Cats
Listicle Without Commentary: Top Five Most Awl-esque Cat Posts
5) Is Imaginary Cat Imaginary Dead?
4) Judging the Cats (and People) of the Santa Monica Cat Show
3) The Thing About Cats And Dogs
2) Top Eleven Dumb Songs to Sing to Cats
1) Cats Nonplussed
SLATE
Animal of Choice: Cats and Dogs
The site had one of its biggest traffic grabs ever with the viral hit Cats of War, but an often dog-centric column by Jon Katz (whose name is the opposite of an aptronym) has been running in the magazine for years. Slate pitch: Cats and dogs can get along.
GAWKER
Animal of Choice: Cats
They pounce on the opportunity to use the word "catlike." They cover cat pee and cat poop and, just lately, worked very hard to turn "breaded" cats into a meme. Plus, how many Gawker posts have you read and thought, "meow!"
BUZZFEED
Animal of Choice: N/A
Not just dogs. Not just cats. ALL ANIMALS ALL THE TIME. Yes, this includes their new political reporting team.
Read more posts by Joe CoscarelliNoreen Malone
Filed Under: puppies!!!!!! ,feline puppies!! ,media ,the daily ,gawker ,buzzfeed ,the awl ,new york post ,slate ,new york times ,meowww
Republicans excoriated it, with Karl Rove professing to being “offended” by it. The White House extolled it as proof-positive that even a dyed-in-the-wool Republican icon supported the federal bailout of Detroit's carmakers. In effect, Chrysler’s two-minute cinematic Super Bowl advertisement has become a political touchstone for American politics: Whatever your bias, rubbing up against it will leave a visible trace. And according to Clint Eastwood’s longtime agent turned manager Leonard Hirshan, that’s exactly why his client starred in the TV spot.
“That’s the problem; everything is political now,” says Hirshan, who tells us that he didn’t see the “Halftime” spot until it aired last night, and insisted that Eastwood agreed to make the spot without even consulting his representative of 50 years because it was “something personal he got involved in” that was neither political nor commercial.
The TV spot pointedly made no reference to Chrysler, or its cars, which do not appear in the ad; only a clutch of Chrysler car logos appear at the end. This, Hirshan says, was not an accident; it was, in fact, Eastwood’s doing.
“He rewrote it to make it suit his needs,” he explains, “People have to understand that what he was doing was saying to America, ‘Get yourselves together – all of you – and make this a second half.’ It's not a political thing.”
That didn’t keep the Internet’s political chat rooms, right-wing talk-radio shows, and cable-news channels from exploding into speculation about whether Eastwood, a longtime Republican, had defected from the GOP or was at least carrying water for the Obama reelection effort.
“I think that Rove and everybody, if they’re sensible, would wonder why a longtime Republican and libertarian would do that,” said Hirshan, “Just think about that, how silly that is: It’s not like [the ad] was done by a left-winger, like Paul Newman in his day. It was done by a Republican, and he was doing it about America. There's not anything political to do with it whatsoever. I don’t want him to do commercials, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a PSA [public service announcement]. Period.”
But on Fox News, Rove and many others saw it as just the opposite, arguing that “the President of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising” — despite the fact that the U.S. government sold off its stake in Chrysler six months ago, long before the ad was produced.
“It saddens me personally,” Hirshan says, “how every little thing is twisted to satisfy or dissatisfy one side of the spectrum. Clint Eastwood is more libertarian than Republican, but he is a Republican. But he’s also very independent: He personifies America, in terms of wanting it to be what it’s supposed to be, and not just following somebody’s policy. He thinks for himself.”
Hirshan noted that Eastwood would not be available to comment on the "Halftime" ad, as he was too busy both recruiting celebrities to play in his annual Pebble Beach national pro-am golf tournament (which Eastwood co-owns with Arnold Palmer, among others) and prepping for his role in longtime producer Robert Lorenz’s directorial debut, Trouble with the Curve, a baseball drama that begins shooting next month in Georgia. Has Hirshan discussed the ad’s political fallout with Eastwood?
“We never talk politics, which is the secret of our success,” said Hirshan, “I’m a Democrat, he’s a Republican, but we get along, because we’re both independent.”
Hirshan then paused to add, “I don’t play golf, either — that’s the secret of my success: Ever since he bought Pebble Beach, people come up to him and say, ‘Hey, Clint! Let’s play golf next Saturday!’ and I am sure Clint is mumbling under his breath, ‘Who is this asshole again?’”
Read more posts by Claude Brodesser-Akner
Filed Under: clint eastwood ,leonard hirshan ,super bowl ads ,super bowl ,chrysler ,early and often
Why has Chrysler’s "Halftime in America" ad enraged Republicans? The ad peddles the kind of gauzy, nationalistic optimism that corporations have been using to sell their products for years. Television in the eighties was one long string of sunrises, farmhouses, bald eagles, and adorable flag-waving kids urging us to buy this car or elect that Republican president. (Here’s a vintage 1987 ABC ad combining every visual motif of the genre.)
Why is this ad any different? One reason is that Chrysler received a bailout, and the ad refers to that in a very oblique way. (“The people of Detroit know something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now Motor City is fighting again.”) Karl Rove calls the ad a political payoff from Chrysler to the Obama administration. Of course, if helping Obama was the goal, then Chrysler would have pointed out, as Obama regularly does, that we didn’t all “pull together” to rescue the auto companies — the bailout garnered fierce opposition from Republicans, including Mitt Romney and, um, ad narrator Clint Eastwood.
The GOP’s deeper problem is that the ad locates the current depression within the context of previous economic downturns — we have fought through those and we’ll fight through this one, drawing together as one. It implicitly suggests that the answer is to return to the postwar consensus era, which is also the era Obama likes to cite, through his grandparents, as an apogee of shared prosperity. The conservative narrative is, of course, very different. The right believes that Obama has fundamentally transformed America for the worse, that the adversity of the last few years is anything but a passing phase. They also believe, paradoxically, that the answer is not to return to the policies of the pre-Obama era but rather to return to “Constitutionalism,” by which they mean the pre-New Deal state.
From an advertising standpoint, this is problematic, since there aren’t a lot of products you can sell by attaching them to Glenn Beck-esque hysterical millennialism. (Gold is one notable exception.) Karl Rove may think it’s “Chicago-style politics,” in which Chrysler somehow repays Obama. (In case you fail to grasp the Chicago link, you probably never learned about the famous episode in which Mayor Daley bailed out Al Capone, who subsequently thanked him in a Super Bowl ad.) But, of course, Chrysler isn’t going to spend millions of dollars out of gratitude. It’s going to spend money because optimism is good business. Optimism happens to be good for the incumbent party, too.
Read more posts by Jonathan Chait
Filed Under: the national interest ,super bowl ,chrysler ,advertising
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