It occurred to me this morning, over coffee and the O, to wonder who the heck is this "Americans for Job Security" that for two days running has taken out full-page ads claiming that Gerry Ferraro opposes David Wu (unclear to whom this is supposed to be a motivator, but that's what it says). I called 411 and asked for "Americans for Job Security" in Alexandria, VA -- since that's all the info in the ad. The person answering the phone would tell me only that "our membership" pays for the ads, but not anything about who this "membership" is. Regrettably, I eventually lost my temper and yelled at him, which can't have done any good, but oh well.

I have left a message with John Mannex, ad director at the Oregonian, hoping to find out more about their policies regarding anonymous ads. I mean, if Halliburton took out an ad saying that David Wu and John Kerry are engaged to be in a gay marriage, I would not like it, but I could do lots of things to let Halliburton know about that. Also, suppose I want to take out an ad saying that Dachshunds are the best ever dogs, but then I get cold feet because what if Lab people don't agree. Can I just run an anonymous ad and say it's from "Dachshunds for a Better America and Apple Pie"?

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 8:08 AM | Basie! Home