Eugene David ...The One-Minute Pundit |
THE NEWS HACK'S CREED: I know more than you. I make lots more money than you. I'm smarter than you. I'm sexier than you. I appear on TV all the time. I work ten minutes a day. I rule the universe. I'm going to live forever. You are an idiot. THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 2: A lie isn't a lie when it tells THE TRUTH. THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 3: I've come to realize that the looseness of the journalistic life, the seeming laxity of the newsroom, is an illusion. Yes, there's informality and there's humor, but beneath the surface lies something deadly serious. It is a code. Sometimes the code is not even written down, but it is deeply believed in. And, when violated, it is enforced with tribal ferocity. --JOHN "OMERTA" CARROLL. THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 4: News isn't news when we don't report it. PERMALINKS: THE NEWS HACKS' DICTIONARY THE EUGENE DAVID GLOSSARY AMERICA'S MOST UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY WEB SITE! Blogroll Me! |
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Posted
6:47 PM
by Gene
![]() (Though we suspect it wouldn't bother the CULT OF AYN either -- it's just a flag.)
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6:26 PM
by Gene
Once described as “the funniest writer in America” by Time and The Wall Street Journal, O’Rourke suspects that this raised his profile among libertarians, who for some reason think of themselves as a pack of wild cutups. “There’s a nutty side to libertarians, starting with the Big Girl, Ayn Rand, and going straight through Alan Greenspan,” O’Rourke told me over the phone. “When I go to Cato Institute functions, there’s always a group of guys who look like they cut their own hair and get their mothers to dress them, with lots of buttons about legalizing heroin and demanding a return to the gold standard. The institute has tried to weed them out over the years, but they still turn up at the bigger events. As soon as I see them coming toward me, my heart sinks.” [Emphasis again added] I might further add that even that former WIZARD OF OZ believes Milty Friedman is a god no longer. P. S. ![]() Though I'd flashed by the article somewhere and paid it no mind because I already knew its contents by heart I clicked on it through a ZEITGEIST.com link, meaning we won't ever criticize ITS dubious covers. A NEUHARTHISM OF THE WEEK AWARD TO JEFF, RADLEY AND JONBOY!
Posted
1:11 PM
by Gene
And we can guess how much news coverage will go into these scams, and how much into CLOUD FORMATIONS.
Posted
11:41 AM
by Gene
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11:36 AM
by Gene
The story quoting THE INFERNAL PERFESSER THOMPSON, and this being POLITICO, we know the answer.
Posted
11:23 AM
by Gene
IDIOT!
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11:09 AM
by Gene
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10:56 AM
by Gene
It is also further proof the hacks do favors, and for that reason alone cannot be trusted.
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10:42 AM
by Gene
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10:39 AM
by Gene
The problem with this "democracy" business is that lately "democracy" has come to the aid of a lot of tyrants. What is the point of an election that's already decided? Why not be a tyrant the old-fashioned way? Friday, June 12, 2009
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8:47 PM
by Gene
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5:24 PM
by Gene
![]() Somebody built a king-size shoebox on stilts to provide shade for the car!
Posted
1:36 PM
by Gene
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1:34 PM
by Gene
Financial blogger and investment adviser Barry Ritholtz singles out a few more goods that are going cheap: boats, jewelry, Picassos and Monets, second homes. "Make a list of the favorite things that you want, and put in a low-ball offer, and tell people the offer is good for six months," he says. "Your spending habits should be countercyclical; You don't buy, buy, buy when the economy is great." Gotta get that Picasso right now!
Posted
1:05 PM
by Gene
And we must say they're doing a pretty good job figuratively too.
Posted
10:41 AM
by Gene
Look! Up in the sky! It's cloud formations! Or is it YOUR SUPERMAN?
Posted
9:37 AM
by Gene
Isn't "ghostwriting" what a drug company does when it sells a pill that doesn't work?
Posted
9:33 AM
by Gene
And who'd have guessed it could be so expensive to insult a reader's intelligence?
Posted
9:27 AM
by Gene
Did Mickey Mouse need one?
Posted
9:22 AM
by Gene
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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6:22 PM
by Gene
Posted
6:05 PM
by Gene
Lousy bumpers smack owners of small cars with huge repair bills in low-speed crashes, study finds But at least you pay for a good cause. One reason the Smart ForTwo fared so well in the study was not because of the effectiveness of its bumper in crashes, but because of the affordability of its repairs. The Smart’s plastic body parts can be easily replaced. The front and rear bumper come in three sections and are prepainted. TRANSLATION: Do-it-yourself cars! How 'bout it, FDR?
Posted
5:55 PM
by Gene
Did someone take a poll -- in IRAN? Didn't think so. Just that famous Cable News Nuisance speculation. Besides, it many depend on what your definition of "slipping" is. Slipping on a banana peel onto a mattress is not slipping.
Posted
5:52 PM
by Gene
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5:44 PM
by Gene
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5:27 PM
by Gene
(Also via Henry Honest)
Posted
5:24 PM
by Gene
IEA Admits Speculators Part Of The Oil Spike John Stossel is having a nervous breakdown!
Posted
5:20 PM
by Gene
Mr. Weinstock cautioned against being overt or ham-handed in the delivery of R-rated marketing content online. But isn't overt ham-handedness the point of these masterpieces? Isn't the point of the red-bands to sell to as many minors as possible? ![]() A NEUHARTHISM OF THE WEEK AWARD TO CLAUDE, WHO'S LOOKING FOR A JOB WITH VERY LITTLER JEFFY!
Posted
5:02 PM
by Gene
Which raises another question: To what higher force are bloggers responsible? Those of us who've greeted the collapse of the news biz with glee are reaping what we've sowed. A newspaper can go out of business when it loses money. A blogging network of amateurs and true believers can never go out of business so long as it has THE TRUTH. Thus has political lying increased by an incalculable sum, and we cannot follow any news without a highly partisan splitting headache.
Posted
5:00 PM
by Gene
Posted
9:19 AM
by Gene
The richest members of the House of Representatives were not immune from last year's economic meltdown, financial disclosure forms released Wednesday indicate. The near-collapse of insurance giant American International Group hurt the fortunes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her report shows. Her husband, developer Paul Pelosi, lost between $100,000 and $1 million when he sold AIG shares at the end of the year, the report says. The California Democrat reported that the couple's net worth is as much as $96 million, down from as much as $144 million in 2007. Don't you feel sorry for our superiors? Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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5:41 PM
by Gene
“He was one of the guys who helped create a new AT&T that wasn’t so dependent on land-line phone service,” said Hall, a former GM engineer. Did I put that link in there? (Possibly accidental second link via The Consumerist)
Posted
5:30 PM
by Gene
![]() Mmmm! Looks like Cool Whip! Would that thing on the lower right be called a spoon or a ladle?
Posted
5:21 PM
by Gene
...it says here. That must have been aimed at Mick.
Posted
1:55 PM
by Gene
Posted
1:47 PM
by Gene
This is obviously false, and not just because it comes from KEN FELATTA. People aren't tiring of the NO-SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN ZONES. More to the point, the cable TV "news" moguls will never tire of them, and that's why we'll have the fraudulent loudmouths even when their audiences turn to ZERO. (Via the usual sources)
Posted
1:23 PM
by Gene
Spend less time covering the bankers, power brokers, and masters of spin who dominate news, and spend more time in coffee shops and corner stores, bowling alleys and backyards. But news hacks, many of whom share the power brokers' pay class and self-importance, might find coffee shops, corner stores, bowling alleys and backyards a demotion. Besides, what news would they find there? They might find a vague, inarticulate discontent, but what more? Too much of news happens among the news hacks' friends, which qualifies this little reform as just another platitude. He also quotes from Jefferson, who stood on both sides regarding the press. (Via MediaBistro)
Posted
12:17 PM
by Gene
TRANSLATION: PR first.
Posted
10:54 AM
by Gene
Stacey Simeone, a 2008 graduate from Chapel Hill, was a skeptic at first sniff. "When I first saw it, I thought it was kind of stupid -- they can't make a perfume that would smell like it," she said. "Then I smelled, and then I thought it smelled really good, but it didn't necessarily remind me of Chapel Hill" -- which, to Simeone, smells like "spring." Asked what her personal recipe for Penn State perfume would be, Silko didn't hesitate for a moment. "Stale beer and nachos," she said. HYER LURNING in a nutshell.
Posted
9:15 AM
by Gene
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9:12 AM
by Gene
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9:02 AM
by Gene
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9:00 AM
by Gene
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Posted
8:16 PM
by Gene
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5:18 PM
by Gene
Posted
5:09 PM
by Gene
![]() And speaking of Femail Today, for our lovelorn transients who come here for Sophia, here's another of its Rubensesque models, of whom we cannot complain, except that they lure visitors here for the wrong reasons.
Posted
5:02 PM
by Gene
It does confirm, however, that there are few reasons for being there, other than to behold a left-wing WALTER WINCHELL!!!!!!!!!! with outside sucke -- investors. (Via the usual alternarag-mad Romy, who no doubt has never been to DailyMail.co.uk either)
Posted
11:43 AM
by Gene
How 'The Hangover' Got Made (P.S., It's Based On Someone In H'wood) Which gives us an idea -- Why can't Hollywood do autobiography? It's certainly enamored of itself. Besides, it beats recycling. (Sorry for The Mogul's Friend)
Posted
11:21 AM
by Gene
Say STARCHITECT! For your next project why not design...a black hole? Then again, maybe the Nets are lucky -- they won't have dribble to go along with the dribble. The Paper of Re-CORD's cri-TIC is, needless to say, crushed. This isn't the guy who touted the Tinkertoys for Ground Zero, is it? Monday, June 08, 2009
Posted
7:50 PM
by Gene
Posted
6:57 PM
by Gene
I love the thea-TAH! It THINKS YOUNG! AND ALL PRODUCED BY HARVEY WHINER! If that isn't a disqualification! *Up from 1.1 to 1.3 in 18-49! Doesn't that fall within a pretty wide margin of error?
Posted
5:05 PM
by Gene
And why should they? They have a nice view -- and besides, it's free.
Posted
4:55 PM
by Gene
Aren't we supposed to be better coordinated here?
Posted
2:00 PM
by Gene
(Via THR.com)
Posted
11:45 AM
by Gene
Pretty good for a rag that doesn't exist.
Posted
10:10 AM
by Gene
Posted
10:03 AM
by Gene
A reminder that to every cloud (in this case automotive bankruptcies) there is a silver lining. (Also via IWantMedia)
Posted
9:41 AM
by Gene
Almost five years later and NOW somebody says it. They weren't saying it then. P. S. This is a "senior writer" for an AOL site. We'd hate to imagine what a junior writer would be like. (Via IWantMedia)
Posted
8:22 AM
by Gene
Posted
8:17 AM
by Gene
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Posted
7:57 PM
by Gene
Broadway is not viewed as musically relevant [SIC] Note the responsibility-waiving passive construction -- but it's not just Branson East, it's our whole damned culture that's irrelevant; tentpoles and "reality" shows and ephemeral downloads...just the names and the technologies say these things will vanish. (We've already mentioned the depressing joke behind the name of Ghostlight Records.) If the material were truly good it would get heard. As for studios -- why not rent Webster Hall? The proprietors need the money. No, Branson East theme parks stink, they stink musically more than for anything else, and the only place these tourist traps should be memorialized is in the warehouses where their flats and props and manuscripts go to collect dust. (Via AHTSJournal, which must link to such word amalgamations)
Posted
3:16 PM
by Gene
Really? Honest and truly?
Posted
1:22 PM
by Gene
Hillary makes her boss look tough!
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