There was a lot to talk about this week. We watched as our gubernatorial candidates exchanged personal insults and faced awkward disagreements. Then, university officials released 175 pages of documentation surrounding the sexual assault allegations against Gators quarterback Treon Harris. Here’s your whew-what-a-week edition of...
Darts & Laurels
On Wednesday, Politico published an opinion piece titled “No, BP Didn’t Ruin the Gulf.” The article was written by Geoff Morrell, BP’s senior vice president of U.S. communications and external affairs. The column was a blatant attempt at whitewashing the immense environmental damage caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It’s worth mentioning that Politico’s daily “Playbook” advertisements email is frequently sponsored by BP, a fact that was not disclosed in Morrell’s column. Politico’s editors might benefit from another session or two of Journalism 101. A can-you-say-“conflict-of-interest”? DART goes to Politico.
Superhero movie enthusiasts have long been awaiting the release of Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2013 film, “The Avengers.” The first trailer for the new film was supposed to air during the next episode of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on ABC. Unfortunately for Marvel, the trailer was leaked on Wednesday, a full week ahead of its planned air date. But Marvel took the incident in stride. In response to the leak, the company’s official Twitter account tweeted “Dammit, Hydra,” a reference to the terrorist organization that serves as the antagonist in the “Avengers” series. An even-superheroes-can-laugh-at-themselves LAUREL goes to Marvel.
Many of Fox News’ primetime hosts like Greg Gutfeld, Bob Beckel and Sean Hannity have gotten into trouble for their controversial and sometimes deeply offensive statements about women — particularly young, single women. However, “The Five” co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle proved this week that you don’t have to be male to be anti-woman. Discussing voting, Guifoyle suggested that young women do not have the same “life experience” as other people and therefore should not vote: “They’re like healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world. They can go back on Tinder or Match.com.” If Guifoyle thinks that all young women care about is dating and their physical appearance, perhaps she is the one lacking in “life experience.” A how-can-a-woman-be-so-anti-woman? DART goes to Kimberly Guilfoyle.
By now, the NFL’s domestic violence problem is well- known. The high-profile Ray Rice incident left a mark on the NFL’s already shady track record on the issue. Fortunately, a number of current and former NFL players are speaking out against domestic violence and sexual assault with a new PSA sponsored by the No More Project. Among the figures appearing in ad are NFL executive Troy Vincent and William Gay, both of whom grew up in abusive homes. A PSA by itself won’t solve the NFL’s failure to seriously address domestic violence, but it is a good place to start. A step-in-the-right-direction LAUREL goes to the No More Project.
