Wolverine
Uncanny Pompadour
The BIMBO award is given for the dumbest public comment that causes the listener to believe exactly the opposite of what is said.
It was created by Merrie Spaeth, former Director of Media Relations for President Reagan at the White House, memorializing the protest of a young lady whose tryst with a well-known evangelist made news around the world.
Her comment, "I Am Not a Bimbo," became the headline in scores of newspapers and made the cover of People Magazine in 1987.
Of course this message conveyed the exact opposite of what was intended.
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The 2012 Bimbo Of The Year Award Winner...
“The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012,” read a post on USA .gov. Titled “Scary rumors about the world ending in 2012 are just rumors,” the website tried to debunk end-of the-world rumors and allay fears of an impending apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar. (A classic BIMBO causes the listener to believe the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. In this case, the blog only reinforces fears about the predicted doomsday. This post can’t be helping NASA, which has already received messages from young people who say “they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday.”)
USA .gov, “Scary rumors about the world ending in 2012 are just rumors,” Dec. 3, 2012
.gov/post/37121041300/scary-rumors-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-are-just">http://blog. USA .gov/post/37121041300/scary-rumors-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-are-just
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
“I don’t think there is some drastic change needed,” said RIM CEO Thorsten Heins as shareholders called for change after the latest Blackberry model was criticized for lack of apps and other features. Mr. Heins made another appearance in the Memo this year claiming, “This company is not ignoring the world out there, nor is it in a death spiral.” (Mr. Heins gets the dishonorable mention for his repeated use of classic BIMBO comments. He should know better.)
The Guardian, “RIM chief denies Blackberry maker is in a ‘death spiral,’” July 3, 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek, “Research in Motion: The Living Dead?” Feb. 5, 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/03/rim-chief-blackberry-death-spiral
“We’re not strippers, we’re maids,” said Melissa Borrett, founder of Lubbock, Texas-based Fantasy Maid Services whose maids clean houses nude. She added, “The nudity aspect of it isn’t, in and of itself, enough to qualify it as a nude cleaning service.”
Lubbock Avalanche Journal, “Nude maid service not sexual, owner says,” April 10, 2012
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Some past honorable mentions:
The 2011 BIMBO of the Year goes to the Occupy Wall Streeters. "We're not here just to march and bang on drums," said Bill Buster, the PR volunteer for Occupy Wall Street in New York's Zuccotti Park. OWS had some defenders on the left, some of them surprising. "They are not lazy people sitting around looking for something to do," said Lawrence Fink, one of the wealthiest and most successful people on Wall Street.
Transocean is this year's clear runner-up for BIMBO of the Year. The company's appalling justification for awarding multimillion dollar bonuses to its executives puts them a step away from receiving Spaeth's highest honor; "Not withstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record."
"It certainly wasn't a sham," Kim Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, told the "Today Show" about her daughter's 72 day marriage to Kris Humphries. You have to admire the family's ability to say things like this with a straight face.
"It may be stupid, it may be negligent, but it's not corrupt," said longtime Rep. Charles Rangel explaining one of his 13 ethics violations where he sent hundreds of solicitations for contributions on Congressional stationary.
"I am not a witch," said Christine O'Donnell the then Delaware Republican Senate nominee in an ad destined to rank with the infamous 'I did not have sex with that woman,' comment. (This shows how much you can pay for truly bad advice. The ad, which featured O'Donnell in a dark suit against a dark background, made O'Donnell look, well, witchy.)
"I did this for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength purposes," wailed Mark McGwire, finally telling us what we knew all along - that he used steroids when he broke home run records in the late '90s.
"New Jersey Doesn't Stink" was the state's campaign slogan to fight back against stereotypes set by MTV's popular "Jersey Shore."
"I am not a home wrecker," said Rielle Hunter, John Edwards' mistress and mother of his daughter.
"While 'earmark' has become a dirty word in the eyes of many, it is, put simply, an explicit direction from Congress as to how certain funds should be spent," Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, tried to insist in an OpEd. (Sorry, Danny boy, micromanaging public funds to direct them toward pet projects is a bad idea.
"The microphone is always on" award goes to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who whispered "I'd like to cut his n-ts off," about then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Rev. Jackson also used what is euphemistically referred to as the "n" word.
Last, but not least, the 2009 Dishonorable Mention is awarded to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagovich for his comment, "I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I'm not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing."
Discuss amongst yourselves.
It was created by Merrie Spaeth, former Director of Media Relations for President Reagan at the White House, memorializing the protest of a young lady whose tryst with a well-known evangelist made news around the world.
Her comment, "I Am Not a Bimbo," became the headline in scores of newspapers and made the cover of People Magazine in 1987.
Of course this message conveyed the exact opposite of what was intended.
-----------------------
The 2012 Bimbo Of The Year Award Winner...
“The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012,” read a post on USA .gov. Titled “Scary rumors about the world ending in 2012 are just rumors,” the website tried to debunk end-of the-world rumors and allay fears of an impending apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar. (A classic BIMBO causes the listener to believe the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. In this case, the blog only reinforces fears about the predicted doomsday. This post can’t be helping NASA, which has already received messages from young people who say “they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday.”)
USA .gov, “Scary rumors about the world ending in 2012 are just rumors,” Dec. 3, 2012
.gov/post/37121041300/scary-rumors-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-are-just">http://blog. USA .gov/post/37121041300/scary-rumors-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-are-just
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
“I don’t think there is some drastic change needed,” said RIM CEO Thorsten Heins as shareholders called for change after the latest Blackberry model was criticized for lack of apps and other features. Mr. Heins made another appearance in the Memo this year claiming, “This company is not ignoring the world out there, nor is it in a death spiral.” (Mr. Heins gets the dishonorable mention for his repeated use of classic BIMBO comments. He should know better.)
The Guardian, “RIM chief denies Blackberry maker is in a ‘death spiral,’” July 3, 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek, “Research in Motion: The Living Dead?” Feb. 5, 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/03/rim-chief-blackberry-death-spiral
“We’re not strippers, we’re maids,” said Melissa Borrett, founder of Lubbock, Texas-based Fantasy Maid Services whose maids clean houses nude. She added, “The nudity aspect of it isn’t, in and of itself, enough to qualify it as a nude cleaning service.”
Lubbock Avalanche Journal, “Nude maid service not sexual, owner says,” April 10, 2012
----------------------------
Some past honorable mentions:
The 2011 BIMBO of the Year goes to the Occupy Wall Streeters. "We're not here just to march and bang on drums," said Bill Buster, the PR volunteer for Occupy Wall Street in New York's Zuccotti Park. OWS had some defenders on the left, some of them surprising. "They are not lazy people sitting around looking for something to do," said Lawrence Fink, one of the wealthiest and most successful people on Wall Street.
Transocean is this year's clear runner-up for BIMBO of the Year. The company's appalling justification for awarding multimillion dollar bonuses to its executives puts them a step away from receiving Spaeth's highest honor; "Not withstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record."
"It certainly wasn't a sham," Kim Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, told the "Today Show" about her daughter's 72 day marriage to Kris Humphries. You have to admire the family's ability to say things like this with a straight face.
"It may be stupid, it may be negligent, but it's not corrupt," said longtime Rep. Charles Rangel explaining one of his 13 ethics violations where he sent hundreds of solicitations for contributions on Congressional stationary.
"I am not a witch," said Christine O'Donnell the then Delaware Republican Senate nominee in an ad destined to rank with the infamous 'I did not have sex with that woman,' comment. (This shows how much you can pay for truly bad advice. The ad, which featured O'Donnell in a dark suit against a dark background, made O'Donnell look, well, witchy.)
"I did this for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength purposes," wailed Mark McGwire, finally telling us what we knew all along - that he used steroids when he broke home run records in the late '90s.
"New Jersey Doesn't Stink" was the state's campaign slogan to fight back against stereotypes set by MTV's popular "Jersey Shore."
"I am not a home wrecker," said Rielle Hunter, John Edwards' mistress and mother of his daughter.
"While 'earmark' has become a dirty word in the eyes of many, it is, put simply, an explicit direction from Congress as to how certain funds should be spent," Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, tried to insist in an OpEd. (Sorry, Danny boy, micromanaging public funds to direct them toward pet projects is a bad idea.
"The microphone is always on" award goes to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who whispered "I'd like to cut his n-ts off," about then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Rev. Jackson also used what is euphemistically referred to as the "n" word.
Last, but not least, the 2009 Dishonorable Mention is awarded to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagovich for his comment, "I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I'm not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing."
Discuss amongst yourselves.
