Bart Blatstein Should Buy the Daily News

He’s a wannabe media mogul. It’s a paper in desperate need of loving ownership. Can they help each other out?

It’s been a few weeks since we had a good media controversy in town. The new owners of the Philadelphia Media Network—which owns the Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com—are settling in quietly. Greg Osberg is gone, taking his baggage with him. Then again, Wendy Ruderman is also gone, to New York, taking some way cooler baggage with her. Which leads to a thought: Now would be a great time for Bart Blatstein to buy the Daily News.

Mitt Romney Is Still a Big Bully

Forget his high school antics: Romney picks on the weak and panders to the powerful. America, get ready for four years of noogies.

Mitt Romney was a high school bully? Big deal. Don’t get me wrong: I hate bullies. But I also know that there are very few of us who make it through our teen years without being huge jerks at some point—and I guess I’d rather my next job interview didn’t hinge on that time I called a classmate a nasty name. The eternal shame is punishment enough, thanks. So the problem isn’t that Mitt was a bully. The problem is that he is a bully.

President Obama’s Lame Coming-Out

The president says gay marriage should be left up to states. Which means he still doesn’t see it as a fundamental right.

President Obama has come out in favor of gay marriage. Great. Two questions: So what? And now what? Is the president going to send a bill to Congress repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of gay marriages performed even in states where it’s legal? When the lawsuit against California’s Proposition 8 reaches the Supreme Court, will his administration file a brief arguing that marriage—for everybody—is a Constitutional right that states cannot prohibit? Or is this it?

Junior Seau Killed Football

It might take years or even decades. But if human life means anything, the game is doomed to irrelevance.

Junior Seau didn't just commit suicide last week. He probably killed football itself. Now, to be sure, both pro and college teams will take the field next fall, and they'll do so in packed stadiums and to awesome TV ratings. The death Seau inflicted on his sport won't work quite as fast as the bullet he put in his own chest—football is simply too popular and profitable to disappear overnight. It will take years, and perhaps decades. But it is coming. And for good reason. Football—it seems abundantly clear now—kills its players. And as Seau's death may yet prove, it even kills its biggest and brightest stars.

If You’re Not Angry at Jose Rodriguez, You Don’t Get to Call Obama a Tyrant

Care about freedom? Your Tea Party protests and complaints about Obamacare really don’t matter if you’re not pissed about this.

What kind of government sounds more tyrannical to you? One that makes sure every citizen gets health care? Or one that tortures, spies, and kills without accountability? I ask the question because Jose Rodriguez is in the news. He’s a former CIA official who—a few years back—made the decision to (possibly illegally) destroy videotapes that showed the (possibly illegal) waterboarding of a terror suspect. He never faced charges. Instead, he got a book contract. And in the book—which comes out this week—Rodriguez defends his destruction of evidence.

“Obama Isn’t Working” Probably Isn’t Racist

Yes, Republicans have a horrible history on race. But Mitt Romney doesn’t need to appeal to bigoted voters.

Some good news for both Democrats and Republicans: Mitt Romney already has the racist vote wrapped up. It’s easy to see why: The president is black. And Mitt isn’t just white—he comes about as close as anybody in modern politics to embodying the stereotype of white male patrician last seen in the movies of Frank Capra. So the racists who decide to vote against President Obama have two choices in November’s election: A) Romney, or B) some crackpot third party. Either way, Romney doesn’t have to worry about them voting for his opponent.

The CDC’s Anti-Smoking Ads Are Bad for Your (Mental) Health

More than 40 years of anti-smoking education have worked. So why is the government taking a shock-and-awe approach?

A message to the Centers for Disease Control: We get it. Smoking is bad. Really bad. We’re glad you want to save us from damaging our health. But your new anti-smoking ads are shocking, disgusting, and too provocative—and they’ve crossed the line.

When It Comes to Cuba, America Is Stuck in 1959

The hysteria surrounding Ozzie Guillen’s foolish comments shows how far we haven’t come.

The recent Ozzie Guillen saga has proven one thing: In Florida, it’s always 1959—and possibly will be forever. Never mind that it’s the 21st century, and what passes for real Communism died more than 20 years ago, buried in the rubble of the Berlin Wall and a million Yakov Smirnoff jokes. Fidel Castro is still alive, still breathing, and even if the Cuban government now run by his brother Raul is now making tentative steps in the direction of a market economy, we must still behave—politically and culturally—as if Ike were still running the country and shouts of “Better dead than red!” hadn’t long since been battered and deep-fried in 43 layers of irony.

Bill Marimow Probably Can’t Save the Inquirer

Some failure is inevitable, given the challenges. But can the Inky’s once-and-future boss find a path to success?

Bill Marimow is destined to fail. That’s not a knock on Marimow, who is a good journalist, and whose return from an Arizona exile to the top spot at the Philadelphia Inquirer should stabilize a newsroom that’s been rocked in recent years (and weeks) by ownership changes, layoffs, and Greg Osberg. But we’re at a stage now in the life cycle of the Inquirer that a certain amount of failure is inevitable—and may, in fact, be the only route to ultimate success.