Pictured below is my dog, Trotsky (don't ask). He is quite old. He likes to stare into the fire in my fireplace. Sometimes he will go to the fireplace and wait, hoping I will build a fire. Then he stares at it. I wonder what he thinks about. Any ideas?

• Trotsky

For me, the most powerful and striking ad that played during the Super Bowl was Clint Eastwood's two-minute "second half in America" spot for Chrysler. The ad has been pulled from YouTube and other sites by the Chrysler corporation or I'd embed it here. But I suspect if you saw it, you remember it.

In his trademark sandpaper whisper, Eastwood said: "I’ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn’t understand each other. It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. ..."

As Eastwood spoke, images of protest and unrest played on the screen. Eastwood continued, making a parallel between the two Super Bowl teams in the locker room, preparing to play the second half of the game: "It’s halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared, because this isn’t a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again."

The images turned positive, scenes of working Americans — farmers, factory workers, cowboys. The message was clear, as Eastwood concluded: "It's the second half for America. ..."

Or maybe it wasn't so clear. Conservative pundits saw the ad as an endorsement for the reelection of President Obama, a call to give him a "second half." Karl Rove said he was "offended" by the spot. Michelle Malkin tweeted: “WTH? Did I just see Clint Eastwood fronting an auto bailout ad???”

Call me a commie libtard, but I didn't see it as an endorsement of Obama. Eastwood, after all, is known to be a conservative with a libertarian bent. I saw as a "feel good" brand-builder for Chrysler, linking the purchase of a Dodge or a Jeep to feeling good about America. American auto-makers have run variations on this theme for years. In 2008, for example, Chevrolet promoted its Silverado pickup with a patriotic song by John Mellencamp, "Our Country." The ads evoked some controversy for using stirring images — Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Vietnam, Hurricane Katrina, even the 9/11 attacks — to sell trucks. The campaign was an extension of the broader "An American Revolution" theme.

I suppose it's a measure of how loony the political discourse in the U.S. has become, when a patriotic car ad divides us into left and right camps. Of course, there's another possible theory: Maybe ol' Clint is doing some subtle promotion for a possible Gran Torino II.

I understand that Memphis is rushing to annex the Gray's Creek area as a knee-jerk response to a knee-jerk or two in the General Assembly. I don't think the city has the desire or resources to follow through at this juncture, though their hand may be forced. This is all so tiresome and pointless.

If I were King of Memphis, I would do the following:

A. Quit chasing those who have moved out and want to live in suburbia. They like their neighborhoods, their chain restaurants, their traffic, their malls, and their schools. Good for them. Live and let live. We're a River Town, not a farm community.

B. Market what we are: a vibrant, interesting place to live. I like my neighborhood, its charms, its cultural amenities, the river, the museums, the Orpheum, the fantastic theater scene, the ballet, the symphony, the Grizzlies and Tigers and Redbirds, our universities and colleges, the funky downtown, the vast array of cool restaurants and bars and clubs, the wonderful cultural, racial, sexual diversity my kids experience in their public and parochial schools. Memphis is younger, more diverse, and has a brighter future than people think. The 'burbs are aging and creating their demographic islands. Let 'em.

C. We should shut the hell up about race. It's like abortion, it just pisses people off. Quit playing to or responding to the angry Memphis-haters. Let 'em stew. Most of 'em couldn't find Overton Park if you plopped 'em down in Overton Square. They don't live here. They don't matter.

D. Focus like a laser on making our now-county schools as good as they can be. Recognize that poverty makes that job Herculean, but give talented, bright kids of all income levels a chance to succeed and an option to attend a school that suits their needs. Get rid of both the former schools systems' deadwood. Keep only the best and most innovative.

E. We're the center of this local universe, a magnet for the area's creativity and culture and the people who enjoy urban living. However many there are of us, let's work with that and build together. When the most creative and bright suburban kids grow up, they won't want to hang around Bartlett and Collierville. They don't want to live on a creek near Fayette County. They'll move into the city. Trust me on this. Don't let anybody tell you Memphis doesn't have a bright future. It does.

I spent much of last week in San Francisco at a web conference (learning how to deal with our new CA commentors). I kid. I learned a lot about what the future of newspapering might look like. I'll write more on that later this week. Meanwhile, enjoy a little street performance: Jefferson Street, Saturday afternoon, San Francisco...

There's all kinds of action in the South Carolina GOP primary today. It began with ol' Rick "Oops" Perry dropping out of the race. Then, Paul Begala of the Daily Beast did some cipherin' and figured out that Perry and his supporting PACs and SuperPACs spent around $21 million on his candidacy. Begala figured that comes out to around $1,400 a vote for Perry's combined totals in Iowa and New Hampshire. Nice! That level of advertising purchases is the kind of job creation those of us in the media biz can appreciate.

In his withdrawal speech, Perry endorsed Newt Gingrich, who will now presumably pick up all those Palmetto State Perry voters. And Newt is reportedly "surging," according to numerous polls. But, Newt is facing his own potential "Oops" moment. It seems ABC will broadcast an interview tonight with Marianne Gingrich, Newtie's wife Number Two, in which she will say that Newt a) asked her for a divorce over the phone, and b) when she said no, he c) asked her for an open marriage in which she would "share" Newt with Calista, his then-mistress, now-wife. Also, Marianne will reportedly say that Gingrich went out the next day and gave a "family values" speech to a conservative audience. Ooops.

Oh, but there's more going on in GOP-land. Business Insider is reporting today that not only does Mitt Romney probably pay a lower tax rate on his seven-figure income than the average plumber, he also has stashed assets of up to $8 million offshore in the Cayman Islands to lower his taxes even further. Ooooops.

But since Rick Santorum is feeling heat for some insider real estate deals and hasn't gained any traction in South Carolina, and Ron Paul is facing blowback from newly released racist-tinged newsletters and seems to have peaked, and Cain, Midge, Huntsman, and Perry are gone, the GOP race appears to be down to Newt and Mitt. It's an awesome display of how our splendid primary nomination system so often produces political survival of the unfittest. Ironically, since many of these candidates don't believe in it, it's like a present-day refutation of evolution. In this "intelligent design" version of politics, the flightless dodo bird survives. And runs for the nation's highest office.

(In related news, a report released earlier today noted that many of the reelection campaign staff for President Obama were staying home from work, nursing sore palms from excessive high-fiving.)

The Family Action Council of Tennessee is pushing to get this bill passed through the state legislature. The bill will amend the required schools' "anti-bullying" policies to purportedly protect the rights of those whose religious beliefs render them opposed to, say, homosexuality.

What the proposed law says is that anti-bullying policies "may not prohibit their expression of religious, philosophical, or political views as long as such expression does not include a threat of physical harm to a student or of damage to a student's property."

So what "rights" are being defended here? Students already have the right to practice any religion they want to. They are free to attend churches that believe homosexuality is immoral. Schools' anti-bullying policies are in place to protect the vulnerable — small kids, gays, those who are somehow perceived as "different" — from verbal and physical intimidation. Will the new law allow those who attend churches such as the Westboro Baptist Church, of "God Hates Fags" fame, to practice their homophobic and hateful religion in schools? Apparently so. Will the new law allow those who are white supremacists to express their "political beliefs" concerning Jews and African Americans? And how about extremist Muslims? Will they be allowed to practice verbal jihad in school? It's their philosophical view, after all.

Yep, the way I read this, going around saying "God hates fags" will be cool in Tennessee schools as long as, you know, you don't hit anybody.

I'm sure Jesus will be pleased.

And you know who else will be pleased? Nobody. The Tennessee legislature is already a national punchline. If, as GOP legislators constantly claim, jobs are the top priority, this is absolutely the worst kind of publicity the state can get. How many Fortune 500 companies or large international manufacturers are going to want to locate in a state where the public schools are legally required to allow bigotry and homophobia?

It's wrong, and beyond stupid.

Attempting to "win" an argument on the Internet can be a lot like debating someone wearing headphones. Some people hear only the music in their own cranium. That said, and since the question as to "who" reads the Flyer has been raised by a reader, perhaps it might be useful to provide some actual statistics.

The Media Audit is a company that provides demographic data on all media in major markets. Media subscribe to the service so that their advertising departments can use the information to convince potential advertisers of the merits of buying space in their publication. The reports are universally accepted and updated often. They are also quite detailed as to income, ethnicity, home-ownership, etc.

For example, here are some stats comparing the weekday Commercial Appeal to the Flyer. The numbers are the most recent available, from Jan-Feb 2011.

Commercial Appeal
Median Age: 51
Median Income: $49,720
Home Owners: 74 percent
Average Home Value: $173,298
White Readership: 47.7 percent
Black Readership: 43.6 percent
College Degree: 19.9 percent

Memphis Flyer
Median Age: 46
Median Income: $57,929
Home Owners: 61 percent
Average Home Value: $164,028
White Readership: 48.8 percent
Black Readership: 41.3 percent
College Degree: 30.1 percent

Some food for conversation. Or, more likely, a platform for more Internet "discussion" between people wearing headphones.

Well, it's a slow week around here, but this video has gone somewhat viral over the weekend. A college student at UConn set up his iPhone to catch his friend's golden retriever digging some tunes. At least, that's the explanation offered on a follow-up video. Some people, of course, say it's fake or a Bud Light ad. I prefer to believe this dog has soul. What do you think?

Blogger and writer Andrew Sullivan has a running contest called "View From Your Window," in which a reader submits a photo taken from (duh) a window and other readers attempt to guess the location. This week, Memphis was featured. Check it out. You'll be amused at how many interesting wrong guesses there are, and amazed at the lengths to which readers will go to answer the question. (Hat tip to Mary Cashiola).

Given the bungee-like free-fall he's taken in the polls this past week, I thought I'd share the Schadenfreude of Newt's interview with ABC a week from December 1st. Oh, Newt, Newt, Newt ...

Also, read this. It's powerful stuff. Watch the Daily Show segment for even more fun.

The pushback against the onslaught of state voter photo-ID laws has begun in earnest in Wisconsin, as several civil rights groups are filing suit in federal court. As we reported in the Flyer last week, Tennessee's voter ID law is little different from the one being challenged in Wisconsin.

Which begs the question: When are the groups who could begin legal opposition to this GOP bamboozle in the Volunteer State going to get their act together?

Welp, ol' Bill O'Reilly has fired up his annual campaign against the mythical War on Christmas. He's like Linus, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. For 15 years, Bill has raged against the forces of evil, you know, the folks who say, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," like real Americans.

But some of his fellow patriots at Fox have found a new enemy: the Muppets. Yes, it's true, the Muppets are un-American. They teach our children to hate capitalism and the oil industry. On "Follow the Money," a business program, host Eric Bolling went off on the new Muppets movie, complaining that the villain's name, Tex Richman, was a not-so-subtle slam at the oil industry. Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center, took it a step farther: "It's amazing how far the left will go just to manipulate your kids, to convince them, give the anti-corporate message. They've been doing it for decades. Hollywood, the left, the media, they hate the oil industry. They hate corporate America."

Bastards.

First, liberals attack Christmas. Now the Muppets, a noted liberal cabal, are brain-washing our kids to hate corporations. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, if you ask me. I've got a few more questions for the Hollywood commies:

Why didn't Donald Duck wear pants? Who fathered Huey, Dewey, and Louie? Did Olive Oyl have Swee'pea out of wedlock? And what's the deal with Goofy? Is he a dog, and if so, how can HAVE a dog like Pluto? Man on dog? Dog on dog? What gives? C'mon, Fox. Step up your game.

Yes, sometimes things get a little slow here in Flyer Land on Friday afternoon. When that happens, I occasionally go to Wordsmith.org's anagram generator. Minutes of fun! This time, I typed in the names of some of the GOP presidential candidates. Oh my.

Newt Leroy Gingrich: Leeching Ingrown Tyro, Generic Yowling Thorn, Incoherently Gig Worn
Willard Mitt Romney: Tiny Treadmill Worm, Try Denial Milt Worm, Readmit My Torn Will
Herman Cain (no middle name): Inane Charm, Reach In Man, He Can Ram In, Harem in Can
Ronald Ernest Paul: Arena Polled Runts, Oldest Anal Pruner, Leaden Parlor Nuts

And in the interest of fairness and balance:
Nancy Pelosi: Sly Canine Op, No Lacy Penis, Can Nosey Lip

More later, if I get a moment.

No doubt Chris Herrington will tackle this in depth at some point soon, but allow me to be the first to let Flyer readers know: The NBA lockout is over. The season will start Christmas day. Here's a story from the New York Times.