Judith Miller Claims "Deep Throat" Title
Miller, in the process of praising Mark Felt, sought to merge herself with him, in an act of innocence by association.
In a ceremony utterly unaware its own self-consuming ironies, Mata
Whori yesterday presented an award to Mark Felt on behalf of the First
Amendment Coalition. Joining her on the panel was her long-time
apologist Floyd Abrams:
Both Abrams and Miller attempted to equate her with Woodward, Bernstein
and Felt as a courageous defender of the First Amendment.
(snip)
In his keynote address, Floyd Abrams delivered a combination of tight legal argument and sweeping generalizations. In
addition to accusing unnamed blogs of being "vile beyond words" during
his speech, Abrams concluded the question and answer session lamenting
"the level of bile... the level of personal cruelty... the level of
near madness" directed against Miller. Yet, he never seriously
addressed the reasons why many hold Miller in contempt, simply waving
them off as having to do with her earlier work. In effect, Abrams
pretended there were no connection between Miller's false,
propagandistic reporting on Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass
destruction, and her involvement-however tangential or stillborn-in the
counter-attack on Joseph Wilson for exposing part of that lie.
Hey, Floyd: Didn't you get the boot? If you're not still on the clock, why are you peddling this shit?
Floyd's irrational anger would indicate
that he is still in the throes of a wee bit of denial. He's probably
spent the past twenty-four hours hugging the porcelain throne after
reading Judy's self-serving justifications and obfuscations in the Times and getting a glimpse into how this is all going to play out for him.
I wonder how Big Lou Dobbs is going to feel when the real story comes out. She does have her way with men, doesn't she.
I feel bad for Mark Felt. If I were he I'd have spit at her and refused
the award unless someone else gave it to me. And they'd better wash it
first.
Judith Miller: Armstrong Williams in whiteface and a skirt. Stick a fork in the NY Times. They're done.
The Burger King King Guy Scares Me Alot The Spot: It's morning. Birds are chirping. A man
wakes up in his bed … and discovers he's not alone! Next to him on the
mattress there is some sort of royal personage: a king, clad in
burgundy robes and a crown. But the king's head appears to be made of
plastic and is perhaps three times too large for his body. He hands the
stunned man a breakfast sandwich. They laugh together.
How did the fast-food wars become a frightfest? A while ago, we wrote about Ronald McDonald and coulrophobia—aka, fear of clowns. But in recent months, it's Burger King’s mascot
who's been giving people the willies. Check out the fear and loathing
that a quick blog search pulls up: "If I were to ever chop down a tree
to find the creepy King standing behind it with a nasty sandwich on a
silver platter ... well I would all of a sudden have a new use for my saw."
• "If I saw the Burger King standing at my bedroom window, behind a
tree or at the other end of a log, I think I can safely say I would freak out completely. I would never eat anything he gave me." • "If that sumbitch just appeared out of nowhere, I'd 1) mess myself; 2) kick him in the jimmy; 3) run like hell." • "The reason why I have guns
is in case I wake up and some creepy guy in a Burger King mask is
looking in my window." • "I had a nightmare last night that he was in
league with the gophers in my backyard on a mission to mock me and
destroy my lawn. He was standing at the back of my lot line with that
disturbing permagrin and sending forth squadrons of the creepy little vermin
to dig holes relentlessly." • "If someone stalked me at work, was
wearing a costume, wouldn't say a word and then tried to offer me a
sandwich, I'd call the police." • "It's just scarey [sic] to look at, especially when he pops up in all the wrong places." • "He's just a creepy S.O.B. I fear him like a clown."
But there's more to it than that. Using a ridiculous plastic head, and
an absurd situation, gives this ad an edgier mood—more ironic and
wink-wink—than that of your average fast food campaign. And that's the
goal. CPB thinks Burger King can differentiate itself with a hipper
vibe. Its competitors (namely McDonald's and Wendy's) have more
family-friendly images and thus couldn't (or wouldn't) go as far. More
Burger King marketing in this edgier mode: the Subservient Chicken Web site.
Meanwhile, when McDonald's tries to get hip, they show us kids playing
basketball on rollerblades. BK's stuff is just far more subversive. CPB
says the core market for fast food is 18- to 35-year-old males, and
these are "the most cynical" consumers out there. In setting the mood
for the campaign, CPB tries to keep in mind "the cool uncle—the uncle
who tells you how things really are, and lets you get away with a
little bit more than your mom and dad do."
In a ceremony utterly unaware its own self-consuming ironies, Mata
Whori yesterday presented an award to Mark Felt on behalf of the First
Amendment Coalition. Joining her on the panel was her long-time
apologist 
How did the fast-food wars become a frightfest? A while ago, we wrote about 
