Not surprisingly, the American news media have begun to move on from the outcry over Rush Limbaugh and the crumbling of his radio empire in the wake of the radio host's Sandra Fluke comments.

Chalk it up to subsequent breaking news, such as the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, nudging the right-wing radio commentator off the front pages of newspapers and websites in the past month. Or is it that, almost a month after Limbaugh's March 5th apology to Fluke, things are turning out differently than many on the left had hoped and imagined?Continue reading...

Brand Obama is facing a significant challenge today as so-called Obamacare (the sweeping healthcare reform law that was introduced on March 2010) goes before the Supreme Court (ABC News is live-blogging). It's a bit of a setback as the president is also actively campaigning for re-election in November.

The Obama Campaign’s social call-to-action documentary The Road We've Traveled, available on the President’s new YouTube platform, is the jewel in the crown of the President’s social media persona.

Directed by the Academy Award winning director of An Incovenient Truth, Davis Guggenheim, it's narrated by Tom Hanks and has racked up almost 2 million views since it debuted on March 15th.Continue reading...

去他媽的人大代表!

That is the reaction of one Chinese Weibo user to photos of government officials arriving for the annual “two sessions” of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and National People’s Congress. His NSFT (not safe for translation) assessment stemmed from the fact that numerous of the "people's" leaders showed up with luxury brand-name handbags, some costing more than the average citizen's annual salary.

The outrage is notable for a number of reasons, from just how well-known luxury brands have become to just how much those luxury brands expose what the "Communist" nation is all about.Continue reading...

Even if Rush Limbaugh's personal brand survives the uproar over his sexist remarks — which is looking perilous as even Republicans back away from him — advertisers are continuing to pull out and boycott his radio show, with AOL becoming the ninth sponsor to withdraw its advertising today.

For those just catching up, the polarizing conservative pundit's attack last week on a law student named Sandra Fluke over the red-hot contraception issue has caused a political, consumer and advertising firestorm, even after Limbaugh issued a formal apology to his listeners and advertisers.

Commenting today that his apology was "sincere," Limbaugh also said on-air today that the advertisers who dropped out made a "business decision" and will be replaced, so his listeners shouldn't "worry."

"They decided they don't want you or your business," Limbaugh stated about the advertiser protests. "This show is about you, not advertisers."Continue reading...

President Obama has returned to e-commerce and haute couture with Runway to Win, a collaborative campaign merchandise fundraiser pegged to the kickoff of New York Fashion Week. As fashionistas rev up for the Fall 2012 collections, designers and Dem supporters have been rallying to raise money, chicly, for the president's re-election campaign.

The collection features patriotic clothing and accessories, moderately priced from $45 to $95, from top designers including Tory Burch, Rachel Roy, Derek Lam, Beyoncé and Tina Knowles, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Diane von Furstenberg, Narciso Rodriguez, Vera Wang, Thakoon, Jason Wu, Grace Tsao-Wu and Laura Kofoid of Laudi Vindi, Marc Jacobs and Tracy Reese.Continue reading...

Chrysler created ripples with its Super Bowl ad, just like it did last year. But these aren't all warm and friendly, lapping-at-the-beach kinds of waves. The brand's Clint Eastwood commercial at Super Bowl XLVI half-time — which continues on the "Imported From Detroit" theme established at last year's Super Bowl — has set off more of a barrage of criticism from the right that the spot was nothing more than a veiled re-election ad for the Obama campaign.

Chrysler released the transcript of Eastwood's voiceover, which asserts that "This country can't be knocked out with one punch," while both the brand and the 81-year-old actor/director have disavowed any political intent.

Eastwood told Fox News on Monday, "I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. I am not supporting any politician at this time." Eastwood also commented to the New York Times that he plans to donate his fee for the ad to charity, reiterating: "The ad doesn’t have a political message. It is about American spirit, pride and job growth."Continue reading...

AP is reporting that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's leading breast-cancer organization, has accepted the resignation of Karen Handel, its SVP for public policy since April who was at the center of a firestorm after the Dallas-based non-profit pulled funding for breast-cancer screening to Planned Parenthood centers.

Handel, who's reportedly declining a severance package, was behind the pink-ribboned organization's recent policy to not give grants to any group under government investigation, a move that singled out Planned Parenthood — which is undergoing a Congressional inquiry into whether federal funds intended for reproductive education were being used for abortions. Komen last week reversed its decision and retinstated funding to Planned Parenthood, but still faced a backlash from breast cancer activists and others outraged at the politicizing of its brand.

Below, read Handel's resignation letter to Nancy Brinker, the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is named after her sister, in which she accepts responsibility for the defunding — but adds that it was in the works long before she joined Komen. Handel writes that "the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization."Continue reading...

The Super Bowl of women's health happened last week. The winner? The Democratic Party-aligned Planned Parenthood, provider of numerous women's (and men's!) health services, including, yes, abortions. The loser? The heretofore unassailable Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest anti-breast cancer organization.

On Tuesday, January 31, the Komen organization rather quietly announced that due to new grant policies, it would cease funding to Planned Parenthood. By Wednesday, Feb. 1, the backlash was on. Even author Judy Blume was slamming Komen as it stood its ground and attempted to weather the storm. That night its website was hacked. By the morning of Thur. Feb 2, Planned Parenthood was reporting donations in excess of what Komen had cut off, Komen executives were quitting in protest and local chapters of the national organization were in outright rebellion. Then a tweet, at top, that showed just how desperate the billion-dollar brand was to stop the hemorrhaging.

It did not stop. It still has not really. And maybe it never will.Continue reading...