Two photos that sum up the 2010 edition of UCLA-USC game

Dear Dunkin' Donuts: America does not run on Dunkin'... At least not until you open some stores in America

As any of my fellow left coasters will tell you, one of the best thing about visiting Boston or New York City is being able to walk out a building and find a Dunkin' Donuts within short walking distance. Not only are the donuts awesome, Dunkin' also happens to serve great coffee.



My enjoyment of Dunkin' Donuts is always tempered by the knowledge that this is a regional chain. It's how I imagine people from the East coast feel about Kogi Taco, Peet's Coffee or Coffee Bean. And while I love Dunkin' Donuts and their coffee drinks, their advertising tag line "America runs on Dunkin'" always struck me as a little bit delusional... how can "America" run on Dunkin' if their store is no where to be found in America? If you go to the Dunkin' Donuts website and go to store location and put in a zip code, any zip code from California, you will find nothing. Try it with other Western states, too. Nothing. Expand your search to the mountain states and you get a few hits in Arizona. Midwest region get some Dunkin' love but only in selected cities. You don't get many store listings until you get close to New England and the Acela corridor. Which is fine. Whatever... no one expects advertising to be truthful.



Then I went to Asia. And Dunkin' Donuts are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Like Starbucks and McDonald's. According to the intrawebz (which is never wrong), there are nearly 1,800 Dunkin' Donuts shops in the Asia Pacific region, including 725 in Korea, 600 in the Philippines, and 260 in Indonesia. There are two dozen Dunkin' Donuts in Taipei but none in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, or Seattle. What. The. F---? Anyway, that also didn't bother me that much either. I figured the more Dunkin' Donuts overseas the better because it means there are more airports in the world that I can grab delicious donuts (try the mochi donuts next time you are in a Dunkin' Donuts store in Asia).



But now I'm mad. What really ticked me off is the latest Dunkin' Donuts advertising campaign on TV. Instead of advertising regionally, now they are buying prime time ads on national TV. They tempt me with their donuts and coffee drinks and then ruthlessly crush my hope and dreams by running their tag line at the end. America runs on Dunkin'... Oh really? How about you freaking open some stores in America so your TV ads are not an exercise in irony? Korea runs on Dunkin'. Taiwan runs on Dunkin'. Philippines too. But not America. Definitely not America.

Party of No Boundaries

The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists — the Taliban and Hamas this morning — in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize. Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize — an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride — unless of course you are the Republican Party. The 2009 version of the Republican Party has no boundaries, has no shame and has proved that they will put politics above patriotism at every turn. It’s no wonder only 20 percent of Americans admit to being Republicans anymore – it’s an embarrassing label to claim.