Too Much MJ Coverage

Alan Mutter over at Reflections of a Newsosaur has a nice bit about how the media, already suffering a credibility problem, went entirely overboard on coverage of Michael Jackson.  Well, except for those child molestation charges that conveniently seemed to be left out of the story (Why spoil a good narrative, right?).

The funny thing is, or perhaps sad, is it wasn't just the networks, cable channels and big papers churning out the Jacko stories.  My Mom came over to visit and brought her smalltown paper with her and there on the front page, mercifully below the fold, was a glowing first-hand account about the Staples Center memorial.  Why was it in the newspaper?  The woman was a former resident of the town, of course!

Palin Resigns

Sarah Palin just announced she is resigning as Alaska Governor to, as she puts it, avoid lame duck status in the final year.  The timing is curious as Fridays are usually the day politicians drop potentially bad news, as the story cycle tends to fade over the weekend, and with most on holiday today it should be even more quiet than usual. 

Obviously everyone is pointing to this as a sign of her preparing to enter the 2012 GOP presidential race but, considering she is bailing on her one and only term as Governor, I suspect Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, etc., are drooling at the chance to paint her as someone who can't finish the job.  Or, in these tough economic times, can't stand the heat.  I can see the 30-second attack spots already,  "She couldn't even finish one term as governor of a small state ... now she wants to run our country?"

Actually, I guess that makes the timing less curious.

Bad move on her part.

How the Heller Twitter Experiment Changed Tweet Congress

Although my email address is apparently still mud with Twitter, the Dean Heller Experiment has had at least one positive result.

Read "How Dean Heller Changed Tweet Congress" to see what happened.

Added bonus:  They aren't mad.

Westboro Baptist Church Up To Usual Sleaze

This video by the nuts at Westboro Baptist Church is the latest in an entirely too long string of sheer stupidity and venomous acts.  If God Hates the World in general, then how much must he truly loathe the scum at Westboro?

Cripes, even the director of this trash is too embarrassed to use his real name.  It's an "Alan Smithee" video!

As Xeni Jardin points out, the last 30 seconds are probably the worst.

Governor Gibbons Has Had His Hands Full This Session

I heard this story from a very reliable source a week or so ago and was about to post it when the whole John Ensign affair hit the fan, so it seemed a little like piling on with randy Republican stories.  I decided to wait about a week and was once again ready to post when the Mark Sanford affair broke.  God knows what will happen next week, so I'll just go ahead and put it up.

Now, to be fair, this isn't about cheating on the wife.  But if your political career was almost derailed because of allegedly playing grab-ass with a Vegas cocktail waitress you would think it would be good practice to, you know, lay off the stuff once you are in office.  Or at least when you are out in public.  But with an approval rating sitting at 10 percent, maybe he has reached the point where he just doesn't give a damn.  After all, he doesn't have Dawn around anymore.

Anyway, a friend of ours was recently at a new south Reno Mexican restaurant when Governor Jim Gibbons and an entourage arrived.  The bartender there apparently was quite familiar with Nevada's Guv as she ran up and gave him a big 'ol lusty hug.  Not only did Gibbons heartily return the favor, but his paws quickly headed south -- the deep south.  So while my friend was getting an eyeful, our Governor was getting a handful.  It obviously wasn't the first time, and probably not the last either.

Well, at least this tail-grabbing incident was consensual.