So, the Susan Komen Foundation has hired a big-hitter PR firm. And not just any PR firm, either. Now, Komen is assessing the damage, and it’s using a consulting firm founded by two former Democratic strategists. Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), the firm Komen hired to help determine how badly the crisis hurt its reputation, is founded by former Democratic strategists
Read moreOh, the horror….
Read moreOn Friday, in a move aimed at solidifying his American-made bona fides in the heart of domestic auto manufacturing country, GOP candidate Mitt Romney told a crowd that his wife “drives a couple of Cadillacs.” Yep, here’s a man with his finger on the pulse of the working class. Earlier today, EveryMitt struck again – this time south of the
Read moreDear Manager: Hi. I just left your restaurant after waiting in line for maybe 45 minutes or so, and unfortunately I left extremely frustrated. I’m a regular. I’ve probably been in ____’s an average of once a week since I moved to the Highlands last May. I bring friends there, and a couple of weeks ago I even scheduled a
Read moreThe more I watch modern politics (and economics and the culture wars and science “debates”) the more it all reminds me of pro wrestling. You know how it goes. Tough match, back and forth, both the good guy (the “face”) and the bad guy (the “heel”) getting their licks in, and then at the decisive moment either the heel “accidentally”
Read more“Damn, Sam – that looks like it hurts.” On January 8, 1998, while playing basketball at my club, I made a beautiful back door cut, took a nice pass, and came to a two-footed jump stop in preparation for an uncontested layup. Last I checked, the man guarding me was still standing at the foul line looking for his athletic support
Read moreCase 1: In 1997 a prominent scientist made a bet with a colleague over a complex black hole issue that physicists were trying to figure out. This bet was very public and given the egos involved in the field of advanced quantum science, the stakes were huge. Case 2: In a climate-related thread on S&R, a “skeptic” was asked point-blank: “What
Read moreThanks to the bungling of the Boulder PD, the Boulder prosecutor’s office and the local and national media we’ll never know who killed JonBenet. But that’s not what we’re talking about today. No, today’s item of business concerns the “sentence” handed down to Douglas Motherfucking Bruce. Anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce will have to report to Denver District Court Friday to begin
Read moreI hope you made the time to read Wufnik’s post from Friday. Entitled “Surrounded by people ‘educated far beyond their capacity to undertake analytical thought,’” his analysis of our culture’s “active willingness to be deceived” represents one of the iconic moments in S&R’s history. If you didn’t see it yet, go read it now. In addition to the questions the
Read moreI never watch the Grammys because they tend to be a showcase for everything bad about the music industry. I know most folks aren’t that cynical and enjoy the spectacle. And the truth is, every once in awhile the academy gets it right. Last night Adele carried home six Grammys and Foo Fighters hauled in five more. Very worthy winners,
Read moreRecently I was e-mailed, via Match.com, by an attractive woman (to the extent that profile pictures can be trusted, anyway) named Kathleen. I love that name, and her profile made her sound like someone I’d be interested in talking to a bit more, so I replied. We exchanged a couple of e-mails and I was thinking that maybe I’d like
Read moreRecently I was e-mailed, via Match.com, by an attractive woman (to the extent that profile pictures can be trusted, anyway) named Kathleen. I love that name, and her profile made her sound like someone I’d be interested in talking to a bit more, so I replied. We exchanged a couple of e-mails and I was thinking that maybe I’d like
Read moreCorporate sponsorship is important for a great many of America’s non-profits, and that’s certainly true of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Of course, any time you strike an alliance with another entity, you can’t help assuming some of their risk. Your partner jumps the tracks, all of a sudden people are looking at you even though you didn’t do anything
Read moreThe Komen Foundation VP at the center of the Planned Parenthood firestorm, Karen Handel, has resigned. A few days ago I predicted on Facebook that she’d be gone within a week, but then retracted the prediction when I learned more about the heavy-Right political leanings of the rest of the board (and the involvement of Ari Fleischer in their strategy
Read moreYesterday I attempted to shed a little light on the PR crisis strategy behind the Komen Foundation’s sudden Planned Parenthood “backtracking.” Contrary to what Komen’s highly-paid PR crisis hacks and gullible headline writers at newsdesks around the nation would ask you to believe, The Susan G. Komen Foundation does NOT promise to fund Planned Parenthood in the future. They promise to let
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