“Michael Phelps is leaving Beijing as a global sports icon. He’s now with the likes of the Michael Jordans, Tiger Woods and Roger Federers and he’s earned every bit to be in that elite company,” says the head of global sponsorship at Visa, one of Michael Phelps’ sponsors.
The brands seem to agree and are clamoring for a piece of Phelps, Inc. He’s endorsed by Speedo, AT&T Wireless, Powerbar, Omega Watches, Pure Sport, and Kellogg’s. Phelps will soon adorn the boxes of not only Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, but Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes as well. His $3 to 5 million per year in company endorsements will be multiplied by ten, strategists project.
But Michael Phelps isn’t the only Phelps with value. Mrs. P, who has received more prime-time coverage than most Olympic athletes in Beijing, has a sponsor list of her own. After taking “the hearts of America in terms of parenting and mom of the year,” per Phelps’ agent, and being named “Mom of the Games” per People, she is doing some work with Johnson’s Baby (of J&J), the ADHD Foundation, and Chico’s, the ladies clothing store. Yep, Mrs. P appears to be a fashion icon - after she was seen clad head-to-toe in Chico’s at the Olympics, the company’s “phone lines have been ringing off the hook. Women everywhere want to know how to get Debbie’s look,” says Chico’s Brand President. Though I simply don’t believe that can be true, this potential boost in Chico’s branding could be huge for the company, considering its stock price has seen a 75% decline in the past year. Check out the Debbie Phelps Collection, it could be your lucky charm too!
It may soon be time to say goodbye to the gray whale, the gray wolf, the wild yak, and the iconic bald eagle (and 1234 others), and the laws that protect them. That’s because in his 11th hour, Bush is trying to overhaul the Endangered Species Act.
The ESA was created in 1973 when Nixon decided current conservation acts were inadequate and called upon Congress to pass more comprehensive legislation to protect endangered species. The purpose of the ESA was to protect species and “the ecosystems upon which they depend.” There are currently 1238 endangered animals and 747 endangered plants on the list, which is updated daily.
Under the ESA, any project that may disrupt the ecosystem and impact an endangered species must be approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. For example, if the Department of Transportation wanted to build a bridge somewhere that could damage the ecosystem of the Florida Scrub Jay, the plan must undergo an independent review by scientists at the FWS or the NMFS. Between 1998 and 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted 300,000 consultations. And the National Marine Fisheries Service conducts about 1,300 reviews each year.
The proposed overhaul would allow the Department of Transportation to determine if the project would disrupt the ecosystem. The goal of such measures is to end one of many environmental reviews that federal agencies and developers blame for delays and cost increases on many projects. Federal agencies and private developers say the process of reviewing each project has killed some worthwhile projects. So I guess they’d rather kill the species than the project.
Luckily, Obama opposes the act, stating “we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it.” McCain so far has no comment. The proposal was laid out in the Federal Register, and allows a public comment period of 30 days. Mind you, that public comment period was shortened from 60 days to 30 because per an Interior Department spokeswoman, “It was determined that we needed to move forward in a timely fashion.”
Poor National Enquirer. Nobody believed you when, in October 2007, you cried “Edwards Cheating Scandal.” Wikipedia didn’t even heed your call.
While you were digging into the Edwards scandal - publishing stories about his affair with filmmaker Rielle Hunter, his illegitimiate child, how he paid his aid Andrew Young (who is married with children) to go live with Hunter under the guise that he was the one having the affair, and following Edwards to the Beverly Hilton hotel where he met Hunter and the child – major newspapers were sweeping the story under the rug. They ignored your plebian cries due to your lack of credibility, and instead, published front pagers about an unproven alleged McCain-lobbyist affair.
But look at you now. You were right! John Edwards admitted to the affair, and papers everywhere are vindicating you.
Oh, how they should have known! You’re not the alien searching tabloids that I thought you were (it’s true, I searched far and wide for an Enquirer alien story to little avail). I must have had you confused with Weekly World News. You know, the mag you share the check-out stand with? Bat boy ring a bell? Nay, you just write about celebrities and politics. Usually about plastic surgery gone wrong, Brangelina’s escapades, secret affairs of the stars, or cellulite. Lots of cellulite. But when you get a story, you dig. Deep. You cracked the Jesse Jackson illegitimate child case, you uprooted the pic of Donna Rice sitting on Gary Hart’s lap, and you exposed the story of Limbaugh’s drug problem. And now this!
What a world it would be if the other publications heeded your cry! “Change” may not have been the buzzword of the summer. That’s because Hillary would have received the Democratic nomination. If others believed you and pressured Edwards to admit to his affair, Clinton would have received his votes and won Iowa. At least that’s the view of Howard Wolfson, former communication director for the Hillary campaign. Could it be true? I suppose we shall never know.
