Plus! Lots of! Exclamation! Points! The Shoot, The Interview, The Scandal ALL INSIDE! PLUS! Levi Dishes on the Palins, Fatherhood & STRIPPING DOWN! There was a time, mere months ago, when everyone cared about Levi Johnston's Playgirl appearance. (Those were the days.) It's fair to say, though, that at this point the flame hardly flickers. After all, we all here on the internet really milked this one: wondering if it would really happen, looking to historical precedents and, of course, ogling at the (penis-less!) product. (more...)

video It's official, Sarah Palin has managed to start another media fire storm with her Facebook page posting on the matter (death panels the politically correct version?) and it doesn't look like it's going to simmer down soon. Also, she may want us to turn in France (more on that below). I'm not sure Palin has the clout to get Rahm Emanuel fired from his job, but she's certainly managed to get him hopping like a puppet on a string these last few days. Yesterday, the vice president for communications at the Special Olympics, Kirsten Seckler, told Ben Smith that Rahm's apology to Special Olympics head Tim Shriver was not accepted: "Tim didn't accept his apology...Tim can't do that. He can't accept an apology on behalf of all people with disabilities." Turns out Shriver accepted his on his own behalf, after which Emanuel spent part of his afternoon "sincerely" apologizing. (more...)

It is perhaps a measure of what a snoozefest the first interview was that new FOX contributor Sarah Palin's appearance on today's Oprah Winfrey has barely made a ripple in the headlines. Nevertheless, Palin, with daughter Bristol in tow, apparently popped up on today's 'Fridays Live' Oprah. (more...)

Much to the delight of media folks everywhere, and the understandable dismay of the Palin family, an Alaskan judge has forced the custody battle between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston to go public. Up until now the court case, filed by Bristol Palin back in November in order to obtain sole custody of Tripp Johnston-Palin has been closed to the public. Apparently this measure did not sit well with Levi Johnston. From the Alaska Dispatch: (more...)

video Joy Behar continued her string of news-making guests since her HLN show's launch (Bill Maher, Ann Coulter, Joe the Plumber, Orly Taitz to name a few), adding Levi Johnston to the list last night. While he stayed fairly quiet on new Sarah Palin info, he did talk about being a "gay icon" - and revealed more upcoming Playgirl pics. (more...)

When Oprah asked Sarah Palin about Levi Johnston's Playgirl shoot, she said, "I call it porn." But is it?

The NSFW pictures prove that Levi didn't show us everything -- so to speak -- and the pictures don't include any frontal nudity. The pictures of the 19-year old are no more explicit than what you'd see on an episode of Nip/Tuck and less (homo)erotic than an Ultimate Fight Championship match. Some shower shots with a strategically-placed towel, a naked backside and some steamed-up mirror pics. That's it. (more...)

This week our favorite lady from Wasilla once again sucked the air out of the national conversation with the release of her mega-hyped memoir Going Rogue. So who were the winners and losers of Palinpalooza? (more...)

video News about Sarah Palin's much-anticipated memoir is slowly trickling out. The AP has apparently got its hands on an early copy and can confirm some of the rumors: it was not smooth sailing between Palin and McCain's campaign staff; Palin still harbors some ill-will towards Katie Couric. But here's a new one: Palin was apparently on the receiving end of a $50,000 bill from the McCain campaign for the costs of vetting her. A disclosure which is amazing on a number of levels (I, for one, was unaware that the cost of vetting was the responsibility of the vetee) not the least of which is that is begs the question: what vetting? (more...)

video The eagle has landed! Translation: the Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey interview is a wrap. The much-anticipated sit-down between the talk show queen and the former VP-contender was taped yesterday in Chicago. Later in the evening Palin posted this update to her Facebook page: (more...)

video In much the same way he had done for Sarah Palin's speech in July, William Shatner appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Wednesday night to do a dramatic reading of an almost-member of Palin's family: Levi Johnston. Except it turned out to be a fake, and last night Shatner was back to correct the record. (more...)

VIDEO Sarah Palin can rest assured that at least somebody is willing to stand up for her and her family to the embarrassing comments that are fueling Levi Johnston's stay in the spotlight (most recently, his remarks that Palin regularly called her youngest son Trig her 'retarded baby'). (more...)

So it's Halloween, and you don't have a costume. You were going to be Kanye West, but the friend you were counting on to be your Taylor Swift got swine flu at the last minute. Then, it was going to be Sarah Palin, until you remembered that that's what you were last year. Then, you were going to dress up as Balloon Boy, but you realized that all of your friends, neighbors, and extended family members were planning to as well. What to do?

Fortunately, Mediaite has come up with some costume suggestions for you. Pulled straight from the headlines, these are guaranteed to be hits:

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video Levi Johnston says he's keeping some "huge" things about Sarah Palin from the public. And no, he does not appear to be discussing his rumored upcoming photo shoot for Playgirl. During an exclusive interview with CBS Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, broadcast earlier today, the father of Palin's grandson said, "There are some things that I have that are huge. And I haven't said them because I'm not gonna hurt her that way." Ouch. (more...)

video As reported yesterday, Sarah Palin will make her Oprah debut on November 16, one day before her already best-selling book Going Rogue is released to the public. We, also noted yesterday that the lack of Oprah's presence in during the 2008 political season (she removed herself after publicly declaring support for Barack Obama) was particularly felt after Sarah Palin entered the race and it became clear she was perhaps not equipped for the role of Vice President. That said, it's clear that Palin is hoping to relaunch her political career with the release of her memoir this November so no time like the present! (more...)

The hits just keep on coming. The Republican National Committee flubbed the roll out of their new web identity in glorious, grand ole, fashion on their own yesterday. Today the dark underbelly of the internet decided to help them finish the job. What's a conservative to do?

Twenty-four hours into the life of the RNC's new web site and parodies of the Faces of GOP web banner were circulating on the internet. Some are apt, some are funny and naturally, most are offensive. (more...)

Sarah Palin's almost-son-in-law Levi Johnston has been toying with the idea of an appearance in Playgirl for what seems like forever, but recently the rumors have been rekindled. Now, the deal seems inevitable and the only the thing holding him back is deciding whether or not he'll show all of the Alaskan wilderness or just the coastline -- if you know what we're saying.

Former future Sarah Palin son-in-law Levi Johnston floated the idea of posing for Playgirl in a pricelessly awkward video for Vanity Fair last month, but now, the plan is taking shape.  I got the big news via Jake Tapper's Twitter feed, where he correctly observed, "I think I speak for America when i say 'Playgirl still exists?'" (more...)

The most disappointing aspect of the news that Sarah Palin is titling her new memoir Going Rogue is that neither this website (nor any other that I know about including, sadly, The Onion) thought to hold some sort of advance poll to guess the title since I bet 'going rogue' would have been a top contender. It sounds like something from a David Letterman Top Ten List. (more...)

video Perhaps in lieu of a well-followed Facebook page, Levi Johnston chose to take his story about life with the Palins to the once-powerful pages of Vanity Fair. Earlier this week a preview of the October issue went online, and last night VF opted to make excerpts of Johnston's 'Me and Mrs. Palin' piece available online, though just enough of it to whet your appetite (maybe VF is finally figuring out the internets!). (more...)

Gawker is reporting that Levi Johnston has penned an article entitled "Me and Sarah Palin" for the forthcoming October issue of Vanity Fair. And while it's not difficult to guess what will be discussed in the piece, what other revelations should we expect from the book? Mediaite has a few guesses. (more...)

What do you do when everyone thinks you're A) washed up at the grand ol' age of 19 B) a notorious dog killer or C) somewhat unlikable? Why, you take Kathy Griffin to the Teen Choice Awards, beg for forgiveness on the "Tiffany Network's" most pristine and well-aged show or learn the paso doble with the other also-rans. It's time to rehab those careers, even if you're poor Levi Johnson and you don't even have a career to ruin yet. (more...)

It may be the summer slump, but most cable news networks are sticking with, you know, news, to get through it. But when health care isn't drawing the ratings, the town hall protester loop gets boring and no one is drinking beers at the White House, one cabler decided to go a different route. CNN decided not only to let Kathy Griffin take over Larry King Live at 9pmET (which she has in the past), but to conduct a full-on non-interview with Levi Johnston. It was Griffin doing a stand-up routine for more than 10 minutes, and it makes CNN's claims of being the more 'news-focused' network that much more laughable. (more...)

The biggest story coming out of last night's Teen Choice Awards did not involve Miley Cyrus or a Jonas Brother. Instead, D-lister Kathy Griffin, never one to shy away from controversy, commanded the spotlight with her red carpet "date" - Levi Johnston. So how did Sarah Palin's daughter's baby daddy end up in LA with this dreaded "celebrity starlet"? (more...)