Time vs Newsweek: provocative covers stir controversy

Last week Time magazine’s cover brought the breastfeeding and attachment parenting debate into the national spotlight. This week it was Newsweek’s turn to stir up controversy, with its cover on the First Gay President. Time magazine not only brought attention to the attachment parenting movement, it also inspired conversation on using provocative images and copy to revive the ailing print industry. Many critics are calling this issue a “stroke of genius” and “an example of print well done,” including magazine expert Samir Husni. Newsweek came out with its controversial copy and image combo just a few days later, with similar results. The cover featured a tight shot of President Obama with a rainbow-colored halo above…

Romney apologizes for high school bully pranks

Mitt Romney is being attacked by liberals after the Washington Post ran an article about how he bullied a gay classmate who didn’t fit in at his high school. Five of Romney’s classmates from the exclusive Cranbrook prep school, including classmates who participated in the bullying, say Romney led other boys as they held down the classmate — who had returned from spring break with bleached blond hair — while Romney gave him a haircut. Romney taunted another closeted gay student by yelling “Atta girl!” in English class, the story says. Romney apologized after the article was published for pranks he led that “might have gone too far,” though he says does not remember that…

North Carolina gay marriage ban puts pressure on Obama

The 2012 election is approaching, and gay rights is the third rail for President Obama and the Democratic Party. Obama needs money from gay donors but can’t afford to alienate Democrats opposed to gay marriage. Opinion polls show Americans overall are becoming more favorable to gay marriage, but less so in the key swings states of Florida, Virginia and Ohio, which have constitutional bans on gay marriage, and North Carolina, which banned gay marriage on Tuesday. North Carolina became the 30th state to ban gay marriage when voters approved Amendment One, which prohibits not only gay marriage but also voids all other forms of domestic unions from carrying legal status. Roughly 70 percent of black…

Secret Service agents called hooker for dual services, only one paid

More information came out yesterday about the US Secret Service agents who were caught using prostitutes in Colombia. Originally it was thought the scandal was just about one agent not willing to pay $47 for a prostitute, but now it appears there was more to it. Seems that they actually had a threesome.

War on Women becomes Women Wars

On April 11 2012 Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen took a shot at Ann Romney — and stay-at-home moms everywhere — with a poorly worded comment: “[Romney’s] wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future,” Rosen told CNN. It was the shot heard ’round the internet. Conservatives and liberals alike started weighing in on the issue. Stay-at-home moms began sharing horror stories about vomit, daily soccer practices, and never-ending…

Secret Service agents in Colombia prostitution scandal

The Secret Service has long been considered the most professional protection service in the world, with agents putting their lives on the line for a succession of presidents down the years. But that image has been shattered after 12 Secret Service agents in Cartagena, Colombia to protect President Barack Obama were allegedly caught using prostitutes. They were allegedly discovered after hotel staff found a hooker in one of their rooms. She refused to leave before being paid. The 12 agents were relieved of their duty. Five soldiers at the same hotel are also in hot water and have been confined to their rooms after breaking curfew. President Obama was informed of the ordeal and ordered…

Herman Cain’s sick rabbit-shooting video

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has drawn criticism for a series of political videos depicting the fake deaths of animals. The most recent Herman Cain video, released Sunday through the Cain Connections YouTube channel, shows a little girl loading a bunny rabbit onto a catapult. Meant to represent “small business under the current tax code,” the rabbit is then launched into the air and shot to bits by a shotgun-wielding man. Animal lovers lit social media ablaze Monday morning with scorn over the 37-second clip. It was unavailable on YouTube for a brief time later in the day after users had flagged it as inappropriate. It has since been reinstated by YouTube staff. The…

Malia Obama Mexico spring break story disappears

News sites have pulled a story on Malia Obama’s spring break vacation in Mexico amid apparent pressure from the Obama Administration. Despite travel warnings issued by the Department of State, the 13-year-old is currently taking in the sights of Oaxaca without her parents, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She isn’t alone; Malia has with her 25 Secret Service agents, which has drawn the ire of internet commentators who see the entourage as excessive government spending. By all accounts, Agence France Presse broke the story on Monday, and it quickly spread to other news outlets like the Daily Telegraph, Huffington Post and Daily Mail. However, the story began disappearing from the sites later…