Breaking Fake News Update (v23)

 Fake News Broke on October 9, 2025!

You heard it here first, folks: we've got more breaking fake news! 

If you've been paying attention, or even if you've been trying *not* to pay attention, it's hard to ignore the uproar over the NFL choosing Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl halftime show next year. Other than complaining about the officiating, particularly the entire team of refs being on the side of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, it's been a long time since the NFL was the focus of this much attention. 

Oh sure, folks are up in arms about the league's push to 'internationalize' what we call football - it's hard for some to have wings and beers for breakfast on a Sunday morning, after all - and about the 'sissification' of the league (especially kickoffs!!!) and the new 'safety' penalties that take all the joy out of the game according to he-men warrior-athletes like the FOTUS. 

House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-Ighteous Indignation) is the first person I saw who floated Lee Greenwood as an alternative to the Puerto Rican rapper, but I'm sure his name has been mentioned in MAGA circles quite a bit. Here's what Johnson had to say about the official choice, and his preference, starting with Bunny. 

Well, it sounds like he's not someone who appeals to a broader audience. And I think there's so many eyes on the Super Bowl. A lot of young, impressionable children. And I think, in my view, you would have Lee Greenwood or role models, doing that. Not somebody like this. 

Um, audience appeal? Really, Missing Speaker? Take a look at these stats for Bad Bunny: 

And what does Greenwood think about all of this? Here's what the NY Post reports:

I agree with Speaker Johnson. I would make a great performer for any Super Bowl show.

It's good that Greenwood said he'd take up the white right patriotic fight, but I have to wonder about some of his (very obviously) fake terms for performing. I mean, seriously? ICE agents arresting anyone who doesn't stand for the anthem??  If I were a betting kinda gal, I'd keep my money on the Bunny.

As always, if there's fake news, we'll break it for you!

TGIF 2/5/21

What's on tap in today's good week - bad week recap? It's kind of a mixed bag, I'd say. 

Last night, or maybe it was early this morning, the plan to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 that had been included in the Biden administration COVID relief plan was scrapped by the Senate. It happened via voice vote after Iowa's Sen. Joni Ernst (of the 'make them squeal' campaign commercial) put forward a proposal to hold off any increases during the pandemic. That Guy from Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders, was OK with the vote, saying he had never sought to raise it during the pandemic anyway. This will undoubtedly make progressives unhappy, which is a hit for the Biden team, but to me it makes sense. 

We got some jobs numbers this week. First, we learned that there were 779,000 new unemployment claims  filed  last week, below projections and more than 30K fewer than the week before, and the lowest week since November. There are now 17.8M people collecting benefits. We also learned that the economy added 49,000 jobs in January, and that the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, a four-tenths-of-a-percent decrease. These numbers are always tough, and a decoder ring is often necessary to figure out whether it's good news or bad news. I'm choosing to think it's better than bad, and better than December, but less than stellar. 

In the 'who's suing who?' category this week, we've got voting machine technology company Smartmatic dropping a $2.7B lawsuit on Fox News, squawkers Lou Dobbs, Maria "I used to be a respected reporter" Bartiromo, and Judge Jeanine Pirro, as well as Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Like the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit (but twice as big), it's all about defamation and lies and unbridled support and promotion of twice impeached former president Donald Trump's claims about the 'stolen' 2020 election. Good week for Smartmatic, maybe, but surely not for the rest of them.

Let's see, what else... Oh, this was eye-opening, and worth giving some attention. Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips took to the floor of the House to apologize to people of color - his colleagues, and everyone else - for never really having understood white privilege until the attack on the Capitol last month. I know, that sounds kind of odd, but I encourage you to spend fewer than two minutes listening to what he said, and as much time as needed to contemplate what he said, and to check your own understanding of white privilege.

Moving on to some indisputably good news, how about the ten-year-old Rhode Island boy who, with help from a friend, cleared snow off some 70 cars in the parking lot of the local hospital - because the folks who work there are helping people, so why not help them? Why not, indeed?

Or, how about the 92-year-old Vassar alum who has written her first novella? Sue (Fruchtbaum) Buyer entered college during the polio epidemic, spent her first year in quarantine, and later, after attending journalism school, spent 25 years at the Buffalo News. She started writing after giving up skiing - at age 85!

And, since it's Super Bowl Weekend, I want to leave you with a funny commercial, courtesy of T-Mobile and former-now-current teammates Rob Gronkowski and the GOAT, Tom Brady, 'explaining' how Brady (and Gronk) came to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now, before you get all snarky with me, I'm a Joe Montana fan from way, way back and the Niners are still 'my' team. Last year, they lost to that Mahomes kid and the KC Chiefs, after being outscored 21-0 in the 4th quarter. There's no way I'm going to root for them, no matter who they were playing! 

I d0 have a soft spot for Brady - long story - and I've got to say, I'm incredibly impressed that he's going to be playing in his 10th Super Bowl, and with a whole new team. Sunday, we've got two great quarterbacks, one old enough to be the other one's dad. I'm rooting for the old guy, I am - and for a game as good as this one looks like it could be. We can talk on Monday and see if I'm smiling or not.

TGIF, everyone - hope your week was a good one!

Wondering on Wednesday (v77)

What's on tap for tonight?

First, I was wondering if I was crazy last night when I thought I noticed that the Trump Boys on camera during the announcement of Neil Gorsuch as the pick for the Merrick Garland seat on the Supreme Court. I mean, I thought they were supposed to be out of the mix on the governmental stuff and very busy running the business, so the couldn't possibly be front and center there, right?

I could have been confused, but the boys both tweeted pictures of the announcement ceremony, so it must be true. So, now I'm wondering, will they be at every announcement at the White House? And if they're not able to stay away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, will their Dad be able to stay away from Trump Tower? Time will tell, I guess.

Anyone remember Kim Davis, the clerk in Kentucky who not only refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, but ordered her staff to do the same? Davis was sent to jail for her outright refusal to obey the law and provide the required services to the taxpaying constituency she served.

Now, I wonder, where were those conscientious Republicans when Trump fired  Acting Attorney General Sally Yates when she indicated she would not send Justice Department attorneys to defend the Executive Order approving cherry-picking of refugees based on their religious beliefs, or refusing entry to people who had risked their lives helping America fight terrorists, or stopping legal residents of the United States at the gate?  Something seems wrong about that, doesn't it?

Switching gears...

With Super Bowl IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII just around the corner, I wonder how many people will be rooting for one of the two teams, how many for the commercials, how many for the half-time show, and how many for their board numbers?  

And speaking of the Super Bowl, the commercials are already being 'previewed' on the news - both online and TV - well in advance of the game. I know about two of them so far -- one, for GNC, was refused by the NFL. Why?

Well, according to this report,

GNC is listed under 'prohibited companies' on a memo from the NFL and its players union, It warns players not to endorse or have a business relationship with GNC because it has been "associated with the production, manufacture or distribution of NFL banned substances."

It stinks, as GNC rightly notes, that they were rejected less than a week before the game, long after they had made their investment and more than a month after it was made known they planned an ad. I wonder if there's a supplement they can take for that?

The other ad we're seeing a lot about is the almost Clydesdale-less Budweiser ad, featuring the story of how Adolphus Busch ended up in St. Louis, where he meets the patriarch of the Anheuser clan. And the rest, as they say, is history. It's a great ad, on which development started early last year - and the timing couldn't be better under the circumstances.

But what I'm wondering is, will there be a backlash from Trump supporters, thinking that the ad is a commentary on his recent executive order? If Trump decides to tweet about this, similar to how he rallied his forces against Macy's, what will happen to the Bud brand?

I'm also thinking about the Super Bowl ad that isn't -- the one that Kraft Heinz could have done, would have done, except that instead, they gave all of their salaried employees the day off. Not just because they're a kind and generous company, but because they support having Super Bowl Monday be a national holiday.  The company is even backing a petition for it.

It is, after all, a huge day of wasted productivity, and a huge day of sick-calling-in, which of course the salaried KH employees won't have to worry about.  Their factory brethren? Yeah, they don't have the day off.  I wonder, is this just another example of the haves wielding it over the have nots?

And finally - on the whole day off thing: I wonder, does it make sense for America to have Super Bowl Monday an official holiday?

Or, maybe, could we think about having Election Day be our next holiday?

Just wondering.

Wondering, on Wednesday (v20)

Be honest -- how many of you really thought that 60 million people would be 'devastated' by the "Blizzard of 2015" also known as Winter Storm Juno, or as I've heard if referred to, the Fizzle of  '15?  I get that there are lots of cities in the path of these storms, but I personally am getting tired of all of the hype.  The news readers, the 'official' weather reporters and the photogenic people who read the weather ad nauseum during all of the new shows, shouting from the rooftops about the potential carnage aiming straight for New York City, and then? Nothing.

The blizzard was so bad in Manhattan, the street sweepers were out.

And did you see that there was a $200M negative impact from governmental and weather forecaster intervention  - closed roads, travel bans, company closings, many of which turned out to be for naught? Not sure about you, but to me it seems 'weather reporting' is getting way out of hand.

What's also getting out of hand is the hype about Super Bowl commercials - and the fact that they don't even wait to put them on TV during the game any more.  Over $4M per 30-second spot, and some of them have already aired on You Tube or news shows or TV shows.

Today we had the almost certainly fake 'controversy' about a Go Daddy ad where a woman makes a website and sells a puppy online.  Animal rights activists got involved, some 40,000 signatures were added to a petition and the Big Daddy of Go Daddy has had a change of heart and says they're not going to show the ad... except on the national news, and the entertainment shows, and who knows where else. I don't think they ever necessarily planned on running the ad; and, not for nothing, it seems a little odd that they're going to be ready in really only hours with a new $4M replacement. You tell me: real issue, or pure PR stunt?

And speaking of pure PR stunts, I offer this:

You can absolutely say that I'm seriously interested. 

Those were the words of Sarah Palin, she of the 'servant's heart' who was recently photographed with a sign telling Michael Moore exactly how she felt about him.  Although it wasn't her sign, she apparently doesn't know that f-bombing someone is not really 'presidential'.  Those were the words of the one who, over the weekend, rambled her way almost unintelligibly through a speech in Iowa, offering up stuff like this:

And GOP leaders, by the way, ya know the man can only ride you when your back is bent. So strengthen it then the man can’t ride ya and America won’t be taken for a ride because so much is at stake and we can’t afford politicians playing games like nothing more is at stake than maybe the next standing of theirs in the next election.

Even conservatives were confused; even the Republicans must have some other woman who can run in 2016?

And there's also this:

A lot of people think I have fun with (talking about running for president) and I enjoy the process, but the country is in very serious trouble so I am considering it seriously. 

Those were the words of His Hairness, Donald Trump. Who has threatened us many times before that he was going to run for office. And has, of course, bailed, leaving his poor fans starved for more.  Which, of course, he'll give us the next time he pretends to run, when he'll remind us that, had he really put up a fight, he would have won.

I'm wondering, this Wednesday, if the Republicans will ever stop humoring these two?