Mitt's new spokesperson?

Flipper used a devastating television spot against Newt to land a knockout punch in Florida. The commercial featured a clip of Tom Brokaw talking about Newt being censored and fined by the house for ethics violations.

It was obviously an effective spot, but NBC was not pleased.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — NBC asked GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday to pull a campaign advertisement made up almost entirely of a 1997 "Nightly News" report on Newt Gingrich's ethics committee reprimand.

The "History Lesson" ad started running in Florida on the weekend, when it is harder for stations to switch ad traffic even if they want to. Broadcast days before Tuesday's primary, the ad shows former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw saying that some of Gingrich's House colleagues had raised questions about the then-speaker's "future effectiveness."

Under Brokaw's image is a line that reads — "Paid for by Romney for President, Approved by Mitt Romney."

The footage was used without permission and the extensive use of the broadcast "inaccurately suggests that NBC News and Mr. Brokaw have consented to the use of this material and agree with the political position espoused by the videos," NBC's vice president of media law, David N. Sternlicht, wrote Romney's campaign manager, Matt Rhoades.

"Aside from the obvious copyright issues, this use of the voice of Mr. Brokaw and the NBC News name exploits him and the journalistic credibility of NBC News," the letter said. The network asked for the campaign to stop running the ad immediately and revise any other videos or commercials to remove at NBC material.

"As a news organization, NBC News objects to any use of NBC News journalists and our copyrighted material that suggests to the public that we or our journalists are taking sides with any individual or organization involved in a political campaign or dispute, and we request that your organization respect that concern," the letter said.

Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said the campaign isn't likely to stop running the ad."

Man that Flipper dude is no joke. It's going to be scary when the general election rolls around. All this Super PAC money flying around out here well make this very ugly.

"We just received the letter. We are reviewing it, but we believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds....Brokaw said in a statement released by NBC that he was "extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad. I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."

I wonder why Flipper didn't use a FOX NEWS clip? I am quite sure that they would have had no problem with his campaign using it.

Finally, I have to rip Yahoo News for the following headline and story:

"Mom Allegedly Drags Son by Car for Missing School Bus"

Ok, so that's the headline. Now check out the actual story:

"ABC News' Katti Gray reports:

A Woods Cross, Utah, woman was arrested for allegedly forcing her 9-year-old son to walk alongside her car as she pulled him along by his belt and steered him toward school after he'd missed the school bus.

Police said the boy could have been hit by traffic driving in the opposite direction on the two-lane road and have turned the case over to the Davis County District Attorney's office, which will decide whether to charge the mother with child endangerment.

"She was going at a slow enough speed that the child was able to keep pace with the vehicle," Woods Cross Police Chief Greg Butler said. A neighbor phoned his department about what the mother was doing.

Her name is not being released because she has not been charged, and the child - who is not deemed to be in imminent danger - remains in his mother's care, Butler said." [Story]

"Walk alongside the car", not "drags." Big difference.

And please save your nasty e-mails. I know it's not cool to walk your kids outside of a moving car, but I had a totally different image in my head when I first read the headline.

Besides, I see you white folks with your children on leashes all the time, so what's the big deal?

"That one"?

Did Mr. Morton refer to his O ness as "that one" in the middle of the debate? Yep, I think he did. CNN just played it again. Hey is that the same as "those people"? Just wondering out loud here.

Anyway, I was sitting here watching the debate and I had a few thoughts: First, the new president of these divided states is going to be a leftie. (Big up to us lefties) Also, I liked John McCain's tie better than the O mans. And who was the big crazy looking bald headed white guy sitting in the front row? I think he was trying to scare the O man or some shit. And is it me, or was that a cool bit of irony that a black man asked one of the first questions; forcing Mr. Morton to look a black man in the eye, since he refuses to look in the eyes of the one on stage with him? And what the hell is up with Tom Brokaw and that funny ass voice of his? I thought he retired already, why is he even back on the A-merry-can stage? Mr. Morton certainly took a shot at him; although I don't know why. It must be a continuation of the whole republicans against the main stream media thing.

But now for the serious stuff........oh wait, there really wasn't any serious stuff. Well, there were some serious questions, but there were no serious answers. (If Mr. Morton says "my friends" one more time I will scream.) Mr. Morton, of course, talked about his time in the Hotel Hanoi. Maybe not directly, but you just knew that he was riding that pony when he was doing it. And he tried to introduce a plan to help us out of this financial crises, but if you are like me, you didn't even pay attention to it. Mr. Morton's delivery is seriously fucked up.

His O ness had a couple of stumbles, too. Like when he threw his VP candidate under the bus by mentioning that Delaware is the state where credit card companies go to get out of following rules. Next time go with North or South Dakota, O man, no need to mention the state that your running mate is the senior senator from. Geez.

Still, this one goes to the O man by a landslide. Mr. Morton better start winning some of these bad boys soon, because he is running out of time. What Mr. Morton needs now is an international crisis, or a serious terrorist incident on our homeland. It is his only hope. If the economy continues to stay in the news he is more toast than a box of Strudles. But let me keep that on the hush, we don't want to give the republican cabal any ideas.

Oh well, you Obmaholics must be full of yourselves tonight. Your boy, once again, came out on top. I think he is still on stage with his lovely wife shaking hands. Poor Mr. Morton, I think he got out of Dodge after just a couple of shakes. I can't say I blame him, given his condition.....well, let me leave that alone. But hey, it was late, maybe he had tickets to a Dolly Parton show or something.

He got out of there faster than you can say Keating.

And was it me, or did he leave his O ness hanging on a handshake? Ah field leave that man alone. Those are war injuries, that man was tortured by enemy captors. Yes he was, and if there were any former North Vietnamese prison guards watching the debate tonight, I bet they were thinking that Mr. Morton finally got even with them. Because honestly, that performance he gave tonight tortured everyone that watched it.

"My friends, he wants to raise taxes.."

It's okay Mr. Morton, it's almost over.

40 years later.

"The great civil-rights leader was besieged from all directions that season. Estranged from the White House for his stand against the war in Vietnam. Ridiculed by young blacks who thought him out of touch with the new militancy of guns and separatism. Tormented from within by depression, fatigue and a haunting presentiment of his own death.

In Memphis, death had already come.

Sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker had climbed into the back of one of the old garbage trucks to get out of the rain. But as the vehicle rumbled along, the hydraulic ram that compacted the trash started on its own. Cole and Walker were crushed. Just like garbage.

The men had complained for years about that truck in particular, about raggedy, malfunctioning old trucks in general. The city never listened. Now it gave each man's widow one month's salary — likely less than $300 — added $500 apiece, and called it square. Burial expenses alone were $900 a man.

'They felt a garbage man wasn't nothing,' Nickelberry said. 'And they figured they could treat us any way they wanted to treat us."'

~~Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald~~

As we approach the 40th anniversary of that terrible and tragic day in A-merry-ca's history, let's not forget why Dr. King was in Memphis in the first place. He was there fighting for economic justice for trash collectors in the city of Memphis. Fighting a battle for people who were down trodden, overlooked and spit on by a city, and the white power structure that ran it.

But make no mistake, 40 years later, not much has changed. As I look around my hometown of Philadelphia, I can see the look of despair and hopelessness in the faces of the working poor. Mothers who have to take the bus to the suburbs in order to take care of wealthy old white women and clean up their shit. Or old men who have to work in $7 an hour security guard jobs in the most dangerous parts of our city to supplement their meager social security checks.

So while Tom Brokaw runs around doing the television circuit, and profiting from King's death with his pabulum filled books and television specials. And while we as A-merry-cans stick out our chests because we have our first black Presidential candidate with a shot at winning the big house. Just remember that there is unspeakable shit happening in our cities every day, and it's looking more and more like Dr. King's dream will never be realized.

Oh well, back to the party: "YES WE CAN", "YES WE CAN", YES WE CAN".