Props for a promo

"Dread Pirate." Like.

1800

What ever happened to good teevee commercials?

These days it's all unshaven and apparently unshowered guys, wearing a cheap suit, trying to affect a 'tude by … putting their feet up on a table?

't'll kill ya.

Correcting the Corrector

In his latest round-up of mistakes in his own paper, the Grammar Führer at the NYT says:

HAMPTON, N.H. — For much of this year, Mitt Romney has laid low …

The expression is “to lie low,” so the perfect tense should be “has lain low.”

Given who we're talking about, the perfect way to put it would be “has lied.”

Oh, and besides Murdoch, is there any other news about powerful conservative institutions?

Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Roman Catholic leader of Philadelphia, is expected to announce his retirement on Tuesday, some five months after the 1.5 million-member archdiocese was convulsed by evidence that officials had ignored sexual-abuse charges against dozens of currently active priests.

Oh yeah. It gets better. (For sufficiently weird definitions of "better.")

Cardinal Rigali, 76, who is planning to step down later this year, will be replaced by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, 66, a Native American who is known for his aggressive public opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage …

It's almost hard to imagine how the Catholic Church could be losing membership.

Your Murdoch-owned Moment of Zen

Or, as Don Zeko puts it, "when you make James Fallows shrill, …"

Even if you thought your opinion of Fox and Friends couldn't get any lower, this'll astound you.

(previously)

__________

P.S. Bonus fun fact:

In the case of News America Marketing, its obscure but profitable in-store and newspaper insert marketing business, the News Corporation has paid out about $655 million to make embarrassing charges of corporate espionage and anticompetitive behavior go away.

And, from the same article:

News America was led by Paul V. Carlucci, who, according to Forbes, used to show the sales staff the scene in “The Untouchables” in which Al Capone beats a man to death with a baseball bat. Mr. Emmel testified that Mr. Carlucci was clear about the guiding corporate philosophy.

According to Mr. Emmel’s testimony, Mr. Carlucci said that if there were employees uncomfortable with the company’s philosophy — “bed-wetting liberals in particular was the description he used” Mr. Emmel testified — then he could arrange to have those employees “outplaced from the company.”

Eh, "was led," amirite? Surely that was in the past and this one of the proverbial few bad apples was long since shown the door by the esteemed Mr. Murdoch.

So what became of him? Mr. Carlucci, as it happens, became the publisher of The New York Post in 2005 and continues to serve as head of News America, which doesn’t exactly square with Mr. Murdoch’s recently stated desire to “absolutely establish our integrity in the eyes of the public.”

A representative for the News Corporation did not respond to a request for comment.

Never mind.

Remember when we were worried about Rupert Murdoch buying the Wall Street Journal?

A nice apology from one of those who tut-tutted back then, Joe Nocera, who has finally come round to realizing that we were right to worry.

Sad that it had to be said, ...

... but good on Paul Krugman for saying it anyway.