Click here for ad: Imported from Detroit I don't know if there's a market study out there on this, but I gather that a lot of people watch the Super Bowl each year not for the game itself, but for the bells and whistles that surround it: the halftime show, the national anthem, the pageantry, and especially the ads. Like most years, this year's Super Bowl ads were filled with … [Read more...] about Why That “Imported from Detroit” Ad Was So Good
For the US in Egypt, Blowback Is a Bitch (Guest Voice)
For the US in Egypt, Blowback Is a Bitch by Michael Winship Almost seven years have passed since I spent some time in the Middle East. The closest I get to the opinions of "the Arab street" these days is the fellow who runs the delicatessen a block away from me. Mohamed is Egyptian, with family living in Cairo and outside the city. All of them are safe -- as far as he … [Read more...] about For the US in Egypt, Blowback Is a Bitch (Guest Voice)
Denial on de Nile (Guest Voice)
Denial on de Nile by Will Durst The whole world holds its breath as we view through splayed fingers the unrest that is the Egyptian uprising. Or as Hosni Mubarak sees it: 10 or 20 rabble-rousing, unemployed, slacker agents of the West with too much time on their hands, up to no good. That's the problem with entrenched dictators: they interact with their people less … [Read more...] about Denial on de Nile (Guest Voice)
AOL Buys Huffington Post for $315 Million
And Arianna will run it: Arianna Huffington, the cable talk show pundit, author and doyenne of the political left, will take control of all of AOL’s editorial content as president and editor in chief of a newly created Huffington Post Media Group. The arrangement will give her oversight not only of AOL’s national, local and financial news operations, but also of the company’s … [Read more...] about AOL Buys Huffington Post for $315 Million
What We Egyptians Have Learned from Revolution (Amal al-Oumma, Egypt)
The sense that the Egyptian people have reached a watershed and are finally going to insist on greater influence over their leaders is palpable in this article from Amal al-Oumma, the newspaper of the Muslim Brotherhood of Alexandria. The author, Reem al-Masry, writes of what the Egyptian uprising means to him and what it has taught his people about Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled … [Read more...] about What We Egyptians Have Learned from Revolution (Amal al-Oumma, Egypt)
Lessons from Our Egypt Moment
WASHINGTON -- In light of the history-shaking events on the streets of Cairo, it's not surprising that a truly remarkable development slipped through the news cycle with barely a nod. On a unanimous voice vote last Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution co-sponsored by John Kerry and John McCain urging Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to hand power over to a caretaker … [Read more...] about Lessons from Our Egypt Moment
How The Super Bowl Should Do The Anthem
Just in case the planners for 2012 are reading this.. … [Read more...] about How The Super Bowl Should Do The Anthem
The Super Bowl: East vs West
I must confess up front to not being a big fan of the Super Bowl. It's not that I'm hostile to it, I've been to my share of Super Bowl parties and I will watch if someone else turns it on. But otherwise I'm just as happy to watch something else (I will DVR the game to catch the ads and big plays). I tend to be that way about most big sporting events, not a huge fan but not … [Read more...] about The Super Bowl: East vs West
How Much Super Bowl Is Too Much Super Bowl? (Guest Voice)
Good Post Alert - How Much Super Bowl Is Too Much Super Bowl? by J. Thomas Duffy As the years go by, I have become less-and-less fond of Super Bowl Sunday. Everything, and I mean everything, both related to the game, the NFL, and even family/friends and co-workers get over-hyped, with just about anyone you bump into, breathlessly, in anxiety-soaked voices, ask "Are … [Read more...] about How Much Super Bowl Is Too Much Super Bowl? (Guest Voice)
Quote of the Day: Scott Brown On Lockstep Conservatism
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown via The Daily Beast's Andrew Romano (who was one of the best bloggers on the old Newsweek). It seems Tea Partiers are angry at Brown for not voting the way they want on every issue, daring to actually go along with Democrats on some issues -- and that he is getting frustrated by and angry at them, too. … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Scott Brown On Lockstep Conservatism
Happy 100th, Ronald Reagan
Exactly 100 years ago in Tampico, IL - not far from where I am sitting writing this - Ronald Reagan was born. I realize that all Americans lay claim to Reagan's legacy, but I hope you'll forgive a little Heartland chauvinism and allow me to say that we here in the Midwest - perhaps more than others - can claim him as a favorite son. Heartland values defined his life. … [Read more...] about Happy 100th, Ronald Reagan
For Super Bowl Fans: Cartoons about the Steelers
GO HERE for some great Randy Bish cartoons dealing with The Steelers. … [Read more...] about For Super Bowl Fans: Cartoons about the Steelers
O’Reilly’s Pre-Super Bowl Interview with Obama: Will Be Heavily-Watched and High Stakes
There will be a huge viewership for today's Super Bowl today -- and also a huge viewership for an interview Fox News' Bill O'Reilly will have with President Barack Obama. It'll be high viewership -- and high stakes for each of them. The Politico frames the interview this way: With a classic showman’s swagger, Bill O’Reilly has declared that more people will see his … [Read more...] about O’Reilly’s Pre-Super Bowl Interview with Obama: Will Be Heavily-Watched and High Stakes
Reagan’s Imagined America
The Gipper would have enjoyed celebrating his centennial on that most American of days when two football teams beat each other's brains out while the nation watches with barbecue and beer. Ronald Wilson Reagan lived all his life in an imagined country, starting as a sportscaster in a small room with a teletype that told him "GO 3B," from which, with recorded crowd noises, he … [Read more...] about Reagan’s Imagined America
Super Bowl Cheerleaders
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Super Bowl Cheerleaders
Reagan’s 100th Anniversary And The Dubious Path To Political Sainthood
Today marks the centennial anniversary birthday of Ronald Reagan and the planned accolades are well deserved for he brought pride and spirit to a humiliated nation and changed the political direction and conversation of our politics. As a man, Reagan was charming, intelligent, driven and a wonderful teller of stories about Hollywood and his days as a radio sportscaster. … [Read more...] about Reagan’s 100th Anniversary And The Dubious Path To Political Sainthood
A Conflicted Life Ends … Tango Actress Maria Schneider Dead at 58 (Guest Voice)
A Conflicted Life Ends ... Tango Actress Maria Schneider Dead at 58 by J. Thomas Duffy It was quite a surprise to see the name of actress Maria Schneider in the Obit column today. As much for remembering the long-ago crush, as for how long she has been out of the news, the limelight dimmed for quite some time. Maria Schneider, Brando’s ‘Last Tango’ … [Read more...] about A Conflicted Life Ends … Tango Actress Maria Schneider Dead at 58 (Guest Voice)
Quote of the Day: Sarah Palin Remembers Ronald Reagan (Or Does She?)
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Doug Mataconis who looks at Sarah Palin's comments about Ronald Reagan and concludes that yes, she remembers Ronald Reagan -- but seems to be missing an essential ingredient of who he was and why his appeal was so great that even some voters not inclined to agree with him were willing to hear him out (and be moved to support … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Sarah Palin Remembers Ronald Reagan (Or Does She?)
White House Loses E-Mail
While we were mostly focused on Egypt, the White House had a mini crisis of its own on Thursday when the email system went down for most of the day. On the one hand the story is sort of amusing, the image of people long-addicted to email and the internet being forced to (gasp) actually come into direct contact with their co workers to get things done. But at the same time … [Read more...] about White House Loses E-Mail
Obama’s Emerging Trust Deficit in Egypt and Europe
As Egypt teeters on the brink, potentially affecting the fate of 400 million Arabs and over a billion Muslims, Europe is gradually sliding to a brink of its own. And Barack Obama may yet become the President that started America’s international decline because of a trust deficit over values that America professes to uphold since its founding. Together, the Muslim world and … [Read more...] about Obama’s Emerging Trust Deficit in Egypt and Europe