If there is a political message to found here, it has nothing to do with the advertisement itself. The ad is doing exactly what any good ad should do. In fact, it does more – Memeorandum is tracking reactions, people are writing columns about it, it is being posted on blogs and social networks. Chrysler is getting more than their money’s worth from this spot.

The political problem is with the underlying company. The problem is with the moral hazard unleashed when they were bailed out with taxpayer money. The problem is with the subsequent heavy handed politically motivated machinations orchestrated by the Obama administration in the bankruptcy proceedings. I would not want to buy a car from that company.

So, as I was drinking my coffee and combing through my Facebook feed this morning (because I just don’t get the Google+ thing), I stumbled across this article and found it most interesting: South Sudan has become the world’s newest nation, the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended [...]

Apparently the irony was lost on the Mail Online editors when choosing the hook for this story: It was pitched as a classic grudge match between the left and right of network television. And when Daily Show host Jon Stewart entered the ‘lions den’ of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, the results did not [...]

But he doesn’t think they have a liberal agenda. From Politico: “”I think their bias is towards sensationalism and laziness. I wouldn’t say its towards a liberal agenda. It’s light fluff so it’s absolutely within the wheelhouse,” Stewart said. “”If your suggestion is that they’re restlessly partisan, then why haven’t they gone and backed away [...]

I wouldn’t want to be Donald Trump today. Ouch. Obama’s part opened with the theme song “I Am A Real American,” and it just got worse for Trump from there. Trump jokes are at 9:45 in, but you’ll probably want to watch the whole thing. And then SNL’s Seth Meyers weighed in. His Trump jokes [...]

One of the most fair, evenhanded journalists in the game has passed today. Among his many accomplishments… In 1973, Mr. Broder and The Post each won Pulitzers for coverage of the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation. Mr. Broder’s citation was for explaining the importance of the Watergate fallout in a [...]

I can’t get too worked up about this latest episode of Jackass Journalism* – the art of pranking political opposition in the hope of getting politically stupid and embarrassing quotes on tape, with extra points for reinforcing your teams worst stereotypes of the other team.

Both Newt and Rick are making presidential rumblings and that means that paying them on a “news” channel is a bad idea…apparently. From New York Times: On Wednesday, the cable news channel suspended two paid contributors, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who are both weighing presidential bids. While the channel’s move seems pre-emptive — Mr. [...]

Obviously this doesn’t mean that unions haven’t overreached or don’t have flaws. They have and they do…just like businesses and governments have flaws and put their employee in harm’s way, discriminate against them, etc. Because let’s remember that unions didn’t spring up because they weren’t needed. And let’s not pretend that employers won’t exploit their [...]

Taiwanese animations are the future of all mainstream news. The folks at NextMedia have distilled US TV news, newspaper commentary, blogs, and twitter feeds on the Wisconsin standoff into an easily digestible two minute animation. As far as the legislative standoff is concerned, this is a foregone conclusion. Polls do not support the AWOL Wisconsin Senators. The Wisconsin State Assembly passed the Walker Budget Repair Bill after beating back a filibuster and the Senators will have to return sometime or be recalled. The protesters in Madison will have to go back to work or be fired. The Republicans have the votes and Walker has the will. Done deal. I think it is all Kabuki Theater in Wisconsin from this point.

Usually I try to avoid stuff like this, but the following video was just too crazy. I mean…how does this guy have listeners? How is he so powerful? More importantly, why can’t GOPers distance themselves from or criticize him without having to apologize a couple days later? Answer: morons. Listen, most of you know I [...]

If you stand with MSNBC management, you are standing for a principle (however weakly enforced) and claiming that MSNBC is something qualitatively different than Fox News. This possibly explains why much of the right wing is with Olbermann. It validates that they are the same, except with vastly different ratings. That is the point that Maddow tries to refute.

But – if you stand with Keith Olbermann against MSNBC management, you are acknowledging that you don’t really care about whatever principle that Maddow was flogging, and saying you prefer MSNBC to be (as Jon Stewart describes it) Fox-Lite.

Keep Keith! – William Kristol MSNBC’s suspension of Keith Olbermann is ludicrous. First, he donated money to candidates he liked. He didn’t take money, or favors, in a way that influenced his reporting. Second, he’s not a reporter. It’s an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power [...]

Barack Obama sat down for an interview on The Daily Show. I thought it was more enlightening than most “real news” interviews I’ve seen and an entertaining give and take. As is often the case these days, the harshest post-mortem criticism of the presidential performance seemed to come from the left.

As these have become a cultural phenomena, I think we need a new word for stories that get the Taiwan animation treatment. How about “twam” – as in “Jon Stewart gets twammed.” Other suggestions welcomed.

How is his new role at Fox News fitting him? Like a glove! Here’s what he said this morning: This is evidence of one-party rule and one sided thinking at NPR that leads to enforced ideology, speech and writing. It leads to people, especially journalists, being sent to the gulag for raising the wrong questions [...]

Juan Williams comments betrayed irrational bigotry toward Muslims, but not maliciously so. He should have had an opportunity to acknowledge the mistake and keep his job. That said, I understand and appreciate that any media outlet or broadcast entertainment organization, whether public or private, are well within their purview to dismiss on-air talent who make public statements that alienates their audience, subscribers, and advertisers.

We know why NMA selected her for this treatment. It is because watching our media, NMA determined she must be a big story. The real question – Why is she such a big story here? Why is she getting so much new and old media attention that she pops up on the NMA meme radarscope?

First he told Jeffrey Goldberg that he was wrong when he told Russia to bomb us during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Now he’s saying that the entire Cuban model is flawed? From The Atlantic… But during the generally lighthearted conversation (we had just spent three hours talking about Iran and the Middle East), I asked [...]