Month: April 2012

A reader writes:

My boyfriend sent me that video because like you, he wasn't sure what to think about it.  He's white, I'm African-American (technically, I'm a lot like President Obama: multi-racial, multi-ethnic, but identify as African-American).  I have to say, I don't think the clip is racist or post-racist, but rather a satirical comment about the double-consciousness that African-Americans have to live with every day. Having to cut ourselves off from our natural style and soul in order to fit in and get ahead (or in this case, get a Big Mac) is trying, and this woman's poking fun at the contortions we go through to get through the day.  I love that in the end she accepts who she is and rejects society's attempt to whitewash her soul. I hope this woman gets a stage show cause she's genius!

Another writes, "I took it as a satire of how Madison Ave portrays black people in McDonalds." Another suggests the video is not so random:

Perhaps you missed the minor controversy a few weeks back regarding Mary J Blige's Burger King commercial. I think it puts this clip in its proper context.

Update from a skeptical reader:

As an advertiser and social media watcher, I'm a little wary of that video. The final third features a Big Mac like I have only seen in McDonald's commercials – perfectly styled, fluffy and full. The burger you actually get never looks like that. This could easily have McDonald's fingerprints on the back end (which isn't such a bad thing, really). What's more, doesn't she just make you want to go get a damn Big Mac and a vanilla shake the way she sells it? This might be McDonald's getting a jump on the Burger King controversy and owning the issue of racial stereotyping in fast food commercials.

And here's another possible clue that some insiders are playing with us: the video comes in at a precise 4:20 in length.

Another:

I knew I knew that actress from somewhere!  Remember Will Ferrell’s "You’re Welcome America"? Starts at around the 2:35 mark.

We have no reason to think so.

Let Africans write it:

Africa is a continent of 54 distinct states, all with multiple languages and ethnic groups and unique political dynamics. Nowhere else in the world — not even in undercovered Latin America — would one person be expected to report on so many complicated situations. … There is an easy solution to this problem: Hire local reporters. One notable exception to the history of poor coverage of Africa is the BBC, whose World Service has long maintained correspondents in most of the continent's capital cities. Although the World Service's budget has been slashed repeatedly due to declining government support, the BBC has managed to keep much of its Africa coverage afloat by relying largely on local reporters to get the story. 

Avik Roy argues, at length, that regulations have stifled drug innovation. He wants to reform the drug-approval process:

[T]he system is oriented toward acute diseases, like contagious infections, in which symptoms appear rapidly and the effect of medication is also relatively quick. Such diseases were the most prevalent menace to public health when the federal government began regulating drugs in 1906. Today, however, the greatest dangers to long-term public health are chronic non-communicable diseases such as heart ailments, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. These conditions can persist for decades. That makes it more difficult to measure the true effects of a medication in the time scale of even the most wide-ranging of clinical trials.

He suggests gradations of approval:

A "conditional approval"’ approach would grant limited marketing authorization to new drugs after successful Phase II trials. Under conditional approval, patients most in need can benefit from a new drug, and companies can generate a modest amount of revenue that can help fund Phase III trials for full approval.

(Chart from Roy's new report (pdf) on drug costs)

Andrew Gelman sees it as an inevitable consequence of capital punishment:

My larger perspective on the death penalty, informed by my research with Jim Liebman several years ago, is that you can only accept capital punishment if you’re willing to have innocent people executed every now and then. And, the more effective you want the death penalty to be, the more innocents you have to execute.

Today on the Dish, Andrew delved into Romney's family tree, hammered Rubio's foreign policy speech, rolled his eyes at Romney's attempt to go after Obama for being cool, wondered why Democrats were so terrible at moral persuasion, and heartily recommended Spencer Ackerman's Ask Anything rant about DC (which you can find here).  We looked at some very preliminary projections for November, heard from a reader who thought Obama already had it in the bag, figured the GOP was likely to keep the House, met "Romney's balls," and said goodbye to Gingrich. Biden egged The Onion on, Obama's "balls" quote was sadly corrected, Romney's team obsessed over Russia, Steve Doocy received a lesson on non-apologies, and Australia fined non-voters. Ad War Update here.

Andrew also took a closer look at the UK spending cuts, watched Murdoch's semi-confession, gaped at a proposed bill legalizing necrophilia in Egypt  (that readers demonstrated is likely a fabrication), was repulsed by the (possibly fake) live burial of a Syrian protestor, and shared his Larkin reading. We looked back to when roads were used for walking, asteroids mining seemed to be a reality, and tiny houses helped the environment. Donating to the government didn't solve tax unfairness, interest on student loans mattered, a questionnaire prevented domestic violence, working from home headed off CO2 emissions, stay at home dads felt stigmatized, and postal problems weren't yet a thing of the past. Game of Thrones got torture right and extended warranties got finances wrong. Eye tricks made snakes slither, Provincetown in 1937 appeared via photograph, YouTube delivered racial humor, and a kangaroo spoon lady performed the Black Keys. Yglesias Nominee here, Chart of the Day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.

– Z.B.

First, a special report from the Onion:

Back to the 2012 race, Romney plays off Obama's outreach to young voters: 

The Obama campaign counters Romney's foreign policy big lies: 

The Koch group Americans for Prosperity rails against the stimulus in this $6 million spot running in eight states: 

Meanwhile, the RNC recycles Biden's "not ready" line from 2007:

The latest from American Crossroads here. A reader writes:

I'm starting to really enjoy the Ad War Updates. Not necessarily for the content, but for the increasingly absurd list of links at the bottom of the entries. There's already 64 links down there. I'm looking forward to seeing how many links will be on the Ad War Update post on November 5th. 500? 1000?

Apr 25, Apr 24, Apr 23, Apr 18, Apr 17, Apr 16, Apr 13, Apr 11, Apr 10, Apr 9, Apr 5, Apr 4, Apr 3, Apr 2, Mar 30, Mar 27, Mar 26, Mar 23, Mar 22, Mar 21, Mar 20, Mar 19, Mar 16, Mar 15, Mar 14, Mar 13, Mar 12, Mar 9, Mar 8, Mar 7, Mar 6, Mar 5, Mar 2, Mar 1, Feb 29, Feb 28, Feb 27, Feb 23, Feb 22, Feb 21, Feb 17, Feb 16, Feb 15, Feb 14, Feb 13, Feb 9, Feb 8, Feb 7, Feb 6, Feb 3, Feb 2, Feb 1, Jan 30, Jan 29, Jan 27, Jan 26, Jan 25, Jan 24, Jan 22, Jan 20, Jan 19, Jan 18, Jan 17, Jan 16 and Jan 12.

Mike Konczal reframes the debate over voluntary taxes and the Buffett rule:

[T]he central discussion isn't one of the government collecting more and providing more, but the two central principles of fairness in taxation: vertical equity – those with more pay more – and horizontal equity, where people who are the same should be taxed the same.  … It isn't necessary for Buffett's argument that the government should do more, or even that it should do what it does now, so the donating to charity example doesn't carry weight. His argument is that the way taxes are collected now violate general principles of equity and [fairness].

The Romneyites really do think it’s 1980 all over again. Romney flack John Lehman:

“We’re seeing the Soviets pushing into the Arctic with no response from us. In fact, the only response is to announce the early retirement of the last remaining icebreaker.”

An Israeli boy plays with a rifle during a traditional military weapon display to mark the 64th anniversary of Israel's Independence at the West Bank settlement of Efrat on April 26, 2012 near the biblical city of Bethlehem. By Gali Tibbon/AFP/GettyImage.