RELATED: Prosecution Files Motion To Drop Charges Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The New York Daily News is reporting that the film is not a certainty, but that the idea is certainly being considered.

“Bad Lieutenant” director Abel Ferrara is mulling a project that would bring the 62-year-old ex-IMF chief’s story to the big screen, Deadline.com reported. Backed by the production house Wild Bunch, the film could star Gerard Depardieu as Strauss-Kahn, and Isabelle Adjani as his loyal wife, Anne Sinclair — though the project is not officially in development yet.

“Today, the only reality is that they are writing something inspired by Strauss-Kahn that will focus on addiction and politicians. It’s more that than the Strauss-Kahn scandal itself,” Vincent Maraval, head of Wild Bunch, told Deadline. “If it becomes a serious thing, I’m not even sure it will be the same film with Adjani and Depardieu.” [...]

When asked about the project by France’s Le Journal Du Dimanche, Depardieu played the part of a politician himself and gave a non-answer.
“In general, I’m very good at playing characters that I don’t like or those that I don’t resemble,” Depardieu told the newspaper.

So if it does happen, it doesn’t sound like Depardieu will play his role with any particular sympathy. But if the screenplay does materialize and a film become a reality, the real question for Americans then becomes: if this political sex scandal tale directed by a film legend and starring the greatest (only?) actor in France, could it prompt renewed interest in a movie based on the other big sex scandal of the year: the Anthony Weiner story? Only time will tell.

[h/t Libertad Digital]

Michele Bachmann has taken from Sarah Palin an honor we hoped would be retired when Palin’s stylist won a reality show of her own, but apparently is still an issue of interest: the coveted Most Requested Hairdo of the Election Cycle. The New York Daily News reports today that stylists have been receiving more and more requests for Bachmann’s soft auburn ‘do. Having been amped up recently, as her election gains speed, the look “is safe, but not soccer mom. It’s sexy,” said one stylist.

The appeal of Bachmann’s ‘do crosses party-lines, as well. “I have women who come in with photos with the face cut out sometimes,” admitted another stylist. A nation of Bachmann look-a-likes, it seems, does not necessarily imply a nation of Bachmann voters, as good hair remains a non-partisan issue.

“Politicians are the new celebrities, because they’re real. They didn’t just spring up out of the red carpet,” suggests Andi Scarbrough of Byu-ty Hair Therapy in L.A. They do, however, spring up out of a carefully conceived campaign plan. One might argue that Bachmann’s hair style is popular because it looks a lot like that long-layered cut you already have, just a little bit better. Bachmann’s stylist, Tamara Robertson, has billed the campaign $4,700 for the makeover. To get her “fiscally conservative” look on your own costs between $150 to $300, and requires more regular maintnance than your average style (we are not exactly experts here, but layers and coloring require touch-ups and glosses in order to keep looking perfect). Seeing as this is all probably unrealistic for most woman, this doesn’t strike us as a real trend so much as a new form of political celebrity that functions with a certain verisimilitude.

The good news is, that while these sort of “best hair” features are often run about female politicians, it seems as if real woman are able to separate the hair from the head when it comes time to cast their vote.

As you may recall, the video captured by another rider on the New York City bound train caught Raju railing on a conductor in a hail of profanity and the classic line, “excuse me, do you what schools I’ve been to and how well-educated I am?” Still, Raju doesn’t get what the fuss is all about–despite the uber-cool conversation starters she’s got now, like being one of Keith Olbermann‘s Worst Persons in the World, and being talked about by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“Unbelievable how my dispute on the train made me so despised,” she writes.

The New York Daily News‘ Aliyah Shahid reports an Alabama congressman, Mo Brooks, is in hot water after an interview he gave to an Alabama television station where he suggested undocumented immigrants “have no right to be here,” and vowed to “do anything short of shooting them.” Brooks, a Republican, argued that undocumented immigrants “(clog) up our emergency rooms and (make) our education system more expensive.” He went on to explain what he’d do about it: “As your congressman on the House floor, I’ll do anything short of shooting them,” he recounted. “Anything that is lawful, it needs to be done because illegal aliens need to quit taking jobs from American citizens.”

Unsurprisingly, Brooks comments have sparked a heated reaction, with Rep. Charles Gonzalez, a Texas Democrat, asking Republicans to repudiate Brooks’ remarks:

“Rhetoric referencing acts of violence has no place in the discussion for realistic solutions to our country’s immigration problems,” Gonzalez said in a statement.

“Words have consequences – and Congressman Brooks chose irresponsible words that reflect a hateful, dehumanizing undercurrent in the discussion on immigration.”

A spokesman for Brooks did not immediately return requests for comment.

Watch the interview here, from WHNT:

The guy clearly felt he was on a roll. Not only did he get to have some quality time with his wife despite his being held as an inmate in a Mexican jail, but the suitcase that his wife brought along to the conjugal visit? He totally fit inside! Bonus! Turns out, though, Juan Ramirez Tijerina‘s luck was only going to last so long, and that didn’t include successfully escaping the prison in Chetumal, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. A wise prison officer unzipped the bag, and, as they say in Mexico, the jig was up.

Tijerina’s serving a 20-year sentence for illegal weapons posession, and as the New York Daily News reports, his commonlaw wife, Maria del Mar Arjona, may have blown the escape attempt–which could be a costly mistake:

Police said Arjona looked nervous as she struggled to pull the suitcase, which also looked to be unusually heavy. When officers stopped her and opened the case, they found Tijerina curled up in the fetal position.

Arjona now faces prison time for her role in the attempted escape, authorities said.

The story begins with the Daily News following Rep. Weiner around for comment on that other scandal he has going for him, when someone noted that his car’s registration had expired, at least the sticker on the front of the car:

When Weiner (D-Queens, Brooklyn) was photographed by the Daily News fleeing the Capitol in his Nissan Pathfinder, it was clear the July 2007 registration sticker in his window was expired, and there was no inspection sticker to be seen. Weiner, through a staffer, said the 1988 Nissan Pathfinder was registered in New York State.

Not so, said the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The New York license plate bolted on Weiner’s Pathfinder – US Congress 9 – had expired as of 2006, according to the DMV.

That’s not to say that the Nissan did not have license plates designated to it that had not expired. According to the NYDN, “it’s unclear” where those plates are, but the ones the Nissan is currently sporting belong to a Honda that was registered to the Congressman. The Nissan’s plates are not specialty Congress plates, which may explain why Rep. Weiner does not use them, but does not justify their use in the eyes of the DMV.

To add insult to the injury of this bizarre story, the Daily News acquired the expert commentary of an anonymous “retired Brooklyn accident investigator,” which sounds suspiciously like “this one guy that happened to be walking past the office today” or “a friend of a friend’s grandpa, who we heard worked with cars at some point.” “Switching around license plates is what criminals do… If you are a Congressman, you aren’t supposed to be switching out your plates,” the Brooklyn accident investigator told the Daily News. Perhaps most astutely of all, the investigator concluded, “I guess that’s the least of his worries.”

It seems strange that the investigator refused to go on the record by name, possibly as strange as the fact that the Daily News cares about Rep. Weiner’s car, of all things, yet the story serves as a cautionary tale to politicians who are contemplating lying to the press. Rep. Weiner’s entire life is fair game now thanks to his willingness to lie with a straight face, and after the media treated his Twitter photo more delicately than crime scene evidence only to be rebuked for it, no lie is too small or petty to report.

In the immediately aftermath of Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s surreal news conference in New York Monday, thoughts drifted to New York’s legendary tabloids, and how the story would play out on Tuesday’s front pages of the New York Post and the New York Daily News. We’ve seen the covers, and both papers wisely moved past “weiner” jokes, but only one produced wood worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame. The Post played it oddly safe with NAKED TRUTH. Meh.

But the Daily News found a perfectly New York way of boiling down the content of Weiner’s epic news conference–at least in the minds of New Yorkers: YEAH, I’M A SCHMUCK.

Here are the covers:

A voice to add to the chorus calling on Rep. Anthony Weiner to take cyber security–and the alleged hacking a Congressman’s Twitter account–seriously? Anthony Weiner. The archives of the New York Daily News serve up a bland policy statement Weiner made in 2009 that suddenly seems newsworthy: “”Cyber attacks–both foreign and domestic–are real and demand immediate action,” Weiner said almost exactly two years ago. This would seem to conflict with the Rep. Weiner who met reporters Tuesday, who described what he says was the “hacking” of his Twitter account as a “distraction” and a “prank.”

Back in 2009, Weiner seemed to take the protection of the country’s information grid far more seriously–though he cautioned against giving too much power to the NSA. “We need a balanced approach. It is important that we don’t give too much authority to a government agency that collects information and rarely shares it.” As the Daily News’ Michael McAuliff reported then, one of Rep. Weiner’s concerns with added NSA power over cyber security is the agency’s lack of jurisdiction over domestic cyber attacks, which Weiner described–then–as significant.

In February of 2009, President Obama directed the NSC and Homeland Security Council to conduct a 60 day review of the “plans, programs, and activities underway throughout government that address our communications and information infrastructure (i.e., “cyberspace”), in order to develop a strategic framework to ensure that the U.S. government’s initiatives in this area are appropriately integrated, resourced, and coordinated. Threats to the information and communications infrastructure pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges of the 21st Century for the United States and our allies. In this environment, the status quo is no longer acceptable, and a national dialogue on cybersecurity must begin today.”

You know how it goes. You get stuck babysitting your little cousin, and the kid starts to bug you, and you’ve got a million zillion things you’d rather be doing, right? Autumn Braden was so there on Sunday as she got increasingly bored taking care of her two-year-old cousin. And that’s how the two year old girl ended up on eBay in a post labeled “Kid for Sale.” Starting bid? $1,000. As the New York Daily News reports:

Autumn said she was just bored while baby-sitting the tot late Sunday and never thought anyone would take it seriously.

“All I was trying to do was see how eBay worked,” she told The Grand Rapids Press. “I had a picture of \[my cousin\] so I just put it up there.”

“I just thought eBay would delete it,” she said. “I would never do anything to harm her.”

Police arrived at the home Monday to make sure everything was okay after a bidder reported the posting. Officials in Michigan say the case will be forwarded to prosecutors to determine if any charges will be filed.

O’Reilly first let Zuckerman explain the larger claim that Trump could never be an effective president, asking why that would be given his success in the business world. “I think that’s a very different kind of thing than the successes he has had in business or whatever,” Zuckerman argued, noting that even that career was “up and down” and that, while he takes “nothing away from his ability to promote himself or his brand,” the presidency requires gubernatorial experience. “You can’t just go there and mouth off,” he noted, while adding as a disclaimer that despite his beliefs, “I don’t personally tell [NYDN writers] what to write or what not to write.”

O’Reilly then shifted to the cover’s racism allegations, and, noting that “I’ve known Donald Trump almost as long as you’ve known him,” O’Reilly had “never seen any racist element about Donald Trump.” Zuckerman agreed and this point, but added that “the issue carries with it certain overtones that I think are really serious,” referring to the birth certificate issue. This answer didn’t satisfy O’Reilly as “you’ve got a check next to racism here,” he noted of the newspaper’s cover. Zuckerman continued to note that he did not see how the issue could arise without race being an issue, arguing, “I don’t think it would’ve gotten traction with any other candidate” and that he lamented it received press at all because “this is not the issue that should be raised at this point.” Ultimately, O’Reilly agrees on that front, highlighting that “I said it was nonsense and I told Trump that to his face,” which concludes the debate on a rather conciliatory note.

The discussion via Fox News below:

Grayson was responding to a New York Daily News report that said, quoting an unnamed “highly placed source,” that Bush “felt his administration wasn’t getting enough credit for the decade-long hunt for Bin Laden.”

The attribution on this story is beyond weak (a “highly-placed source” could be Cheech and/or Chong), and by all accounts, the former President has handled the bin Laden killing with grace and humility. While others seem eager to re-litigate things like waterboarding and pre-Iraq War intelligence, Bush has been doing the right thing. Repeating this poorly-sourced report seems misplaced and unfair.

Grayson’s personal attack about Bush’s drinking problem is not a new thing, but given how deferential Bush has been, it came off as exceedingly dickish. I’ve never understood this line of attack in the first place. Most people, regardless of politics, have loved ones who have struggled with alcohol or substance abuse. Bush’s decision to abstain is admirable, and whatever his personal struggles with the issue, most people can relate to that.

There are important questions raised by the bin Laden killing, and as unseemly as squabbling over credit seems, it has important implications to future policies. As such, there’s nothing wrong with making your case, based on the facts (some more compelling than others), the way Schultz did earlier in the segment. While many commentators with no ax to grind have been willing to grant Bush a measure of credit, it is fair to ask if the cost of his detour into Iraq wipes out that credit, or if he deserves credit simply for doing his job. Do you pat your auto mechanic on the head just because he managed to pop the hood?

Either way, Grayson should have stuck to the facts, if for no other reason than that nastiness like this only serves to undercut whatever legitimate point you may have.

Here’s the full segment, from MSNBC:

New York gay activist Allen Roskoff, who co-authored the nation’s first gay rights bill in the 1970s, says recent comments by Donald Trump to the Des Moines Register about gay marriage have left Roskoff pondering a boycott of Trump’s businesses.

“He’s crossed the Rubicon,” Roskoff tells the New York Daily News. “It’s unconscionable that he could exist in New York City.”

In an interview with the Register, Trump was asked whether he supports “allowing same-sex couples to marry:”

Trump said “no,” but didn’t stop there. When Beaumont asked whether gay couples should have access to “the same benefits as married couples,” the mogul initially replied that his attitude on the issue was not yet “fully formed.”

After thinking about it for a moment, however, Trump said: “As of this moment, I would say no and no” to gay marriage and civil benefits.

For Roskoff, the answer shows “he’s an extreme bigot,” and deserves a boycott, which would target advertisers on Trump’s NBC show Celebrity Apprentice as well as Trump-branded casinos and apartment buildings in New York.

In an indication there is trouble in Sheen’s “grandiose life,” his longtime publicist, Stan Rosenfield, threw in the towel late Monday, saying he cared for the actor, but couldn’t go forward. That led the New York Daily News‘ Richard Huff and David Hinckley to write, “Charlie Sheen has lost his publicist and, some say, his mind.”

Watch this morning’s TODAY interview here, from NBC:

“I just got the Official ‘Ask’ from Dancing With The Stars !!” she wrote. “Although I am utterly flattered, my initial thought was to decline, as 2 year old nephew has more rhythm than me, and my two left feet!!”

Sequins. Bizarre dance routines. Costumes and themes. And, of course, a chance for the whole nation to vote thumbs up or thumbs down on a Tea Party darling. Some of O’Donnell’s supporters aren’t quite sure this sounds like a wise move:

“One part of me says go for it. Another part of me says don’t because of what the leftists in the entertainment industry will try to do,” one commenter noted, adding: “BTW if you do go for it, you got my vote :)”

Watch the story here, from WCBS:

Cutie lost his position as a Catholic priest after a Spanish-language entertainment magazine photographed the celebrated clergyman cuddling with an unidentified lady on the beach in Miami in May 2009. In response to the scandal, Father Cutie left the Catholic priesthood, married the lady, and the proud dad now practices as an Episcopalian. His new show would mark a return to what originally made him famous: providing on-air life advice to peregrines and viewers. The NY Daily News reports:

“Daytime television could use a fresh face and a distinctive voice,” said Frank Cicha, senior vice president of programming at Fox TV Stations, in a statement. “We believe we’ve found one in Father Albert Cutié, whose unique perspective makes him perfect for this role.”

Each episode will be built around Cutié’s insight into current events, as well as interviews with special guests.

Father Cutie got in trouble yet again earlier this year while giving public statements to promote his new book, declaring that he believed homosexuality to be so pervasive in the church that “the [Catholic] Church would never be able to function” if gay clergymen were not allowed to serve.

Find out what Olbermann had to say in his (technically second) post-Countdown tweet after the jump.

On Saturday, Olbermann updated his Twitter profile to read ““WATCHTHISSPACE MLB.com Baseball Nerd blog returns 2/14.” The update caused speculation that he might return to sports, so the message on Olbermann’s Twitter profile was later tweaked to more clearly separate the messages. It now reads “W A T C H__________T H I S__________S P A C E (Also: MLB.Com Baseball Nerd blog returns 2/14).”

Since then, he also updated his profile to read “You might very well think so; I could not possibly comment,” perhaps having a little bit of fun at the anticipation that greeted his earlier updates. Now, his profile reads “#WatchThisSpace http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/.”

Well, the wait is finally over. The big Keith Olbermann tweet of the night reads:

Citizens Of The Free World: Greetings! …….. (more to come) #FOK

You heard it here first. For the uninitiated, #FOK is the Twitter hashtag for Friends of Keith.

Updates: Olbermann goes on to tweet:

My humble thanks to all Friends of Keith for the many kind words. The reports of the death of my career are greatly exaggerated #FOK

Saturday night, though, Olbermann-watchers saw the first sign of post-Countdown life from his Twitter feed: an update to his profile which read “WATCHTHISSPACE MLB.com Baseball Nerd blog returns 2/14.”

At this point, very little should be read into this, but that won’t stop people from trying. The New York Daily News speculates that maybe the update signifies a return to sports for the former Sportscenter co-anchor:

Since his sudden split with MSNBC, Keith Olbermann could be going back to his roots – at least on Twitter.

“W A T C H T H I S S P A C E MLB.Com Baseball Nerd blog returns 2/14,” he wrote on his biography line– the only update he’s written on his usually prolific account since Friday evening.

They go on to note that a return to ESPN is unlikely, for a variety of reasons that Sportsgrid details here.

The problem here is that promoting the Baseball Nerd blog is nothing new to Olbermann’s Twitter feed, and so “Watch this space” isn’t necessarily related to it. If Olbermann does remain silent until February 14, though, you can bet that will be the most widely-read edition to date.

In any case, those watching Olbermann’s feed for dirty laundry, or laundry of any kind, regarding his departure from MSNBC are likely in for a big disappointment. As much as it’s probably killing the normally-outspoken Olbermann, news accounts from respected journalists generally concur that the terms of his exit include some kind of gag order.

Much more likely is the prospect that Olbermann will share, in fairly short order, some level of detail about his future plans. Ironically, his departure has elevated his Twitter feed to near-Sarah Palin status, anticipation-wise. The parallel has been noted by some conservatives on Twitter, who wondered if Olbermann could continue to slam Palin for resigning the Alaska Governorship, which caused Olbermann to dub Palin the “former Half-Governor.” (This says more about their attitudes about the gravity of elected office than anything else.)

In that vein, it would be a satirical masterstroke if Olbermann emerged from Twitter exile to tweet about “Death Panels,” as they relate to cuts to transplant funding in Arizona.

Either way, Olbermann has to be aware that his status as a Palin-level Twitter celebrity has a short shelf-life, and if he wants to use the platform to promote his next move, sooner is better than later.

Update: On Sunday, perhaps in response to the Daily News’ speculation, the message on Olbermann’s Twitter profile was tweaked to more clearly separate the messages. It now reads “W A T C H__________T H I S__________S P A C E (Also: MLB.Com Baseball Nerd blog returns 2/14)”

Chicago – We’re used to this: “There’s no excuse for the snow excuse. Not in Chicago,” says Mary Schmich in the Chicago Tribune. My students will get “no mercy from me” if the show up late, citing the “winter gulag” as their explanation. “When it’s snowing, a true Chicago comrade gets out early, scrapes and curses, slips and slides and shows up on time anyway.” Just another day here.

Kansas City – We fixed our snow problems: In the past, “nothing has highlighted the city’s shortcomings…like slippery main arteries and washboardlike side streets,” says a Kansas City Star editorial. “But Kansas City appears to have handled this winter’s first major storm nicely, thanks to a combination of preparation and luck.” The “$250,000 added to the total snow removal budget” seems to have paid off with side streets getting plowed sooner than usual. With the “government under pressure to look capable and efficient,” snow officials have delivered.

New York City – We’re still upset about inefficiency: We’re still not over the last storm, says a New York Daily News editorial. The Bloomberg administration has admitted that “mistakes were made,” and “the seriousness of the consequences” from the slow snow removal. But they ”failed to shed light on the key question: Why was the city’s storm response suddenly so abysmally ineffective?” No matter who was responsible, they’ve begun to fix the problem, starting with giving plow drivers radios “so they can report conditions from the field.”  What an “advance” now.

Louisville – We showed unity: As we heard about the tragedy in Tucson, in Louisville we “were reminded that the good in people can shine even on the darkest of days,” says the Louisville Courier-Journal in an editorial. “Never mind that Saturday morning dawned with frigid temperatures chilling the air and snow and ice encrusting the ground,” citizen volunteers came out for “community involvement” efforts. Volunteers “helped to light a candle that shone throughout the darkness of the weekend’s bad news.” And though this ”may not change the tenor of the national discussion about violence of language and deeds,” it “does offer a truthful, powerful and parallel narrative” about Americans.

The new-look CBS Early Show has one week under its belt, and the show’s executive producer David Friedman likes what he sees. “I’m extremely happy,” Friedman tells the New York Daily News‘ Richard Huff.

Friedman say his new morning team of Chris Wragge, Erica Hill, Marysol Castro and Jeff Glor have changed the energy of CBS’s last-placed wakeup show:

The difference with this group of people is the energy, the excitement and the enthusiasm,” he says. “It just feels more friendly, like a show you’d want to watch.

The job of lifting the Early Show out of its traditional spot in third place after NBC’s TODAY and ABC’s Good Morning America is, in Friedman’s words, a “24 hour a day job,” and he tells Huff he hasn’t taken a vacation since he joined the show:

This is literally a full-time job,” he says. “It is a constant, 24-hours-a-day job for everybody. … It’s very difficult, on a personal level, to step away to take a vacation when I’m asking others to not.

But the New York Daily News calls foul, noting that prior to that tweet, Palin had used the word in an appearance on the Fox News show Hannity:

Palin’s memory is not entirely accurate. Prior to her Twitter message, she misspoke the word on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show while discussing the NAACP’s stance on Tea Party racism.

“[Barack and Michelle Obama] have power in their words,” she said. “They could refudiate what it is that this group is saying.”

The famous tweet–about the “Ground Zero Mosque” came later, says the Daily News:

“Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland?” she tweeted. “Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.”

Sunday’s SPAlaska was a feast for Palin-watchers, with the former Alaska governor also mocking conservationists and their “pretty little pencils.”

Watch the Hannity interview here, from Fox News:

Now 23, Columbian-born immigrant Francisco Patino was 19 when he appeared as a finalist on the first season of “American Inventor”. Before he was eliminated, he caught the attention of real estate developer Sharif el-Gamal. Gamal, of course, is the developer behind the proposed Muslim community center at Park 51, and he offered Patino a job that included scouting locations in downtown Manhattan for a project. Patino compiled a list of suitable locations, only learning later that Gamal was planning to build the Muslim community center.

Daly is careful to explain the circumstances surrounding Patino’s inadvertent selection of the site. And though it’s awkward to realize a national controversy essentially rests on the shoulders of an unwitting kid who was just doing his job, Daly goes to great lengths to explain exactly why Patino shouldn’t be dragged through the mud of the national debate:

We solemnly called it hallowed ground and spoke of the importance of remembering the murdered innocents, yet five years after the attack we had yet to build a memorial.

Human remains were still being recovered in 2006 because there had been such a hurry to get traffic on West St. moving again that an area under a service road had not been properly searched.

The Deutsche Bank building on the other side of The Pit was being demolished with such criminal indifference to fire safety that two firefighters eventually would be killed there.

And the Burlington site was available in the first place only because businesses were not answering the call to stand up to the terrorists by relocating downtown.

Patino may not have been aware of any of these particulars, but nobody who walked down Park Place in 2006 could feel the area was being treated as sacred ground. He surely could not have imagined the passions and pain that would be roused four years hence.

It’s perhaps worth noting that, in a previous (and moving) column, Daly came out in support of the community center despite his close ties to firefighters who died on 9/11. That said, Daly’s stance on the community center shouldn’t discount the thoughtful defense he makes for Patino, even as he breaks the story.

Not surprisingly the New York Post wins for headline, though it fails to pack the full punch one normally hopes for. Meanwhile, the NYT, who put the story below the fold on A-1 sans a picture, wins hands down for their write-up:

Mr. Slater asked for an apology. The passenger instead cursed at him. Mr. Slater got on the plane’s public-address system and cursed out the passenger for all to hear. Then, after declaring that 20 years in the airline industry was enough, he blurted out, “It’s been great!” He activated the inflatable evacuation slide at a service exit and left the world of flight attending behind.

Roger Ebert, meanwhile, thinks Slater is a hero fit for our 2010 time: “Predicting JetBlue’s batshit flight attendant becomes a folk hero and guests on cable and talk shows. A Sully for 2010.”

New York Daily News (1 of 3)

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From the New York Daily News:

The conservative firebrand, 59, will exchange vows Saturday in Florida with Kathryn Rogers – a blond bombshell half his age – in a lavish Hawaiian-themed wedding bash headlined by none-other-than Sir Elton John.

It’s an odd pairing considering El Rushbo’s history of anti-gay commentary on his conservative radio show and the openly gay “Tiny Dancer” singer’s longtime commitment to gay rights.

Apparently Limbaugh, who asked the paper for privacy on the occasion, can put aside his political beliefs for a special occasion (Limbaugh is openly against gay marriage; John married his husband in 2005). The report doesn’t say exactly whose idea it was or whether John initially objected, but he is reportedly taking home $1 million for the performance at Palm Beach’s Breakers Hotel.

Between Elton John and an uninvited Gawker-funded airplane flying over his ceremony, this is quickly turning into the most liberal high-profile wedding of the season. Congratulations, Rush!

UPDATE: Admittedly, the Daily News didn’t back up their claim that Limbaugh has a “history of anti-gay commentary.” To corroborate that claim, here is Limbaugh discussing the passing of Proposition 8 in California:

This from the NY Daily News:

The trouble-prone reporter was busted by the NYPD Thursday after a bloody-lipped chauffeur went to cops to report the assault on E. 41st St.

DeMentri pulled up to where the chauffeur to the Bahamian UN ambassador was waiting Wednesday and went nuts because he couldn’t find a spot, cops said. The driver, Hurley Senanayake, held his ground, and DeMentri clocked him in the face, then zoomed off in his Audi. The quick-thinking Senanayake took down DeMentri’s license plate number, police said.

DeMentri’s lawyer is calling the whole thing a “sham,” claiming that it’s just a ploy to get money out of DeMentri, and hinting that there is a plan to sue the station for firing him.

Unfortunately for the reporter, his reputation does not help: he had had personal issues at a previous job in Philadelphia with a weatherman and another reporter, with whom he engaged in an affair. He had also impersonated a federal agent to get a story in the past. Good luck with that lawsuit.

The blogs have been buzzing for a day over the tale of Reker–an anti-gay scholar and expert witness–and the young man he found on all-male escort site Rentboy to accompany him on a European trip to “lift his luggage” and, apparently,  not for sex. While the New York Daily News was happy to go with the story, the rest of the traditional media–save the Times of London–avoided the story until WaPo decided to take it on in two of its blogs.

Reker has been oddly forthright in responding to the charges, even entering into a Facebook exchange with Joe Jervis of gay blog JoeMyGod.  Reker told Jervis that he wasn’t gay, but instead used Rentboy to find a young man named “Lucien” who accompanied Reker to Europe because a back problem prevented him from lugging his own luggage. “Lucien” was identified first by a gay porn website.

Here’s Reker’s response to the story:

Contrary to Internet stories based on this slanderous article, following medical advice Professor George Rekers requires an assistant to lift his luggage in his travels because of an ongoing condition following surgery. His family, local friends, and even another university professor colleague have offered to accompany him on trips to lift luggage. Professor Rekers was not involved in any illegal or sexual behavior with his travel assistant

While Reker isn’t a household name in social conservative circles, the story isn’t going away because, frankly, it’s too delicious. As WaPo’s expert on the conservative beat, David Weigel put it “Rekers is not a showboat who appears on talk shows — he’s not famous, he’s not an elected official. But he has a long, long record as an expert on why the gay lifestyle is dangerous, why gays shouldn’t be allowed to adopt, and so on. This story will drag on for a while.”

Jervis, who is relishing his role in the story as provacateur and first blog to identify “Lucien,” said the story was also significant because Reker has played a key role in testifying in opposition to gay adoption in Florida and was picked for that role by state attorney general Bill McCollum, who is running for governor.

So how likely is a Zuckerman run? And is this actually a good thing. This from Ben Smith at Politico:

“A lot of donors were telling [Ford] that if Mort ran, they would be with Mort,” said a senior New York Democrat.

But Zuckerman – who would likely skip the Democratic primary and challenge Gillibrand in the general election as a Republican-Independent – poses a far graver threat to the national political status quo. The New York billionaire who owns one of the Democratic Party’s loudest megaphones, the New York Daily News, backed Barack Obama in the 2008 campaign but has emerged as a bitter White House critic, and his entry into the race would put Republicans clearly within striking distance of retaking the Senate.

Smith goes on to note that what may be holding Zuckerman back is his own hesitancy to “to give up the unusual status he’s bought as a figure who is public when he chooses to weigh in on public policy issues and utterly private in his unconventional personal life.” I suspect that all things considered at the moment, the personal life bit might be less of a problem than it once was. In the meantime, better the devil you know?

The Times went live last night (just in time for the Post to whip up a relevant cover) with a report that Paterson, himself, had personally asked state employees to contact the woman involved in the abuse case with his close aide David W. Johnson. From the article:

Mr. Paterson instructed his press secretary, Marissa Shorenstein, to ask the woman to publicly describe the episode as nonviolent, according to a third person, who was briefed on the matter. That description would contradict the woman’s accounts to the police and in court.

Mr. Paterson also enlisted another state employee, Deneane Brown, a friend of both the governor and the accuser, to make contact with the woman before she was due in court to finalize an order of protection against the aide, David W. Johnson, the two people with direct knowledge said. Ms. Brown, an employee of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, reached out to the woman on more than one occasion over a period of several days and arranged a phone call between the governor and the woman, Mr. Johnson’s companion.

So much for Paterson’s “oath” last week that he did nothing wrong. Anyway, I don’t really see how Paterson gets out of this. At this rate, he (and probably everyone else, for that matter) has to be greeting every day in fear of what else the Times has dug up. Ben Smith reports that if the allegations are true Paterson could face charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. There’s no word if Paterson plans to respond to yesterday’s story or when, but I have a hard time imagining we won’t have some news by the end of the day.

On that note. Who’s next? If Paterson does resign the next person in line is Lieutenant Governor Richard ‘Dick’ Ravitch. It gets better. Ravitch, himself is not an elected official. He was “appointed” Lieutenant Governor back in March of 2008 when Paterson left the position to assume governorship after the Spitzer debacle. From Wikipedia (and really, I’m not sure even Aaron Sorkin could make this stuff up):

Since there is no provision for filling the office of the lieutenant governor in case of vacancy, it was filled on an acting basis by leaders of the state Senate. During the 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis, in an attempt to break a legislative stalemate, Paterson appointed Ravitch to the position of Lieutenant Governor of New York. Ravitch was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor at 8 pm on July 8, 2009, while eating dinner at Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn.

Several months of legal challenges followed the appointment. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo had previously stated that the governor does not have the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor…There were several rulings on the matter. On July 21, 2009, New York Supreme Court Justice William R. LaMarca issued a preliminary injunction against Ravitch performing any duties of the office….On September 22, 2009, New York State’s highest Court, the New York Court of Appeals, ruled that the governor may appoint a lieutenant governor in the event of a vacancy.

Are you rethinking a Paterson resignation yet? Anybody wishing we hadn’t been so quick to ditch Spitzer? Actually, I wonder if Spitzer is tempted right now to through his hat back in the ring, illicit sex doesn’t seem so bad anymore, not when compared to utter incompetence. The above emphasis is mine by the way, at the rate we’re going it would seem painfully fitting if Ravitch was again sworn into the Governor’s office over steak at Peter Luger’s.

The New York City tabloids are in agreement. Both their about headlines — I suspect the lack of any sort of pun is supposed to denote some level of seriousness on their part — and the fact it’s time for David Paterson to GO! Nothing brings batting media empires together like a politician on the rocks. It’s hard not to wonder whether they’ve had various versions of this front page under wraps for the last couple of weeks as they bided their “bombshell” time.

Meanwhile here’s today’s A-1 story hed from the NYT: ‘Paterson Weighs Race as Top Aide Quits in Protest.’

According to Elizabeth Benjamin, Paterson has said “he’s a candidate for governor “right now,” but also allowed he has an “open mind” about suspending his campaign.” Which I suspect means he’s just biding his time to see how much worse this can get. Aren’t we all.

Her statements almost always come from the same place – somewhere between the respectable left and those who intellectually live on the left side of the moon, but the depth of her wit is what makes Maddow special. It can slide from the intelligent dig to the devastating sendup.

Having grown up during the civil rights movement and become used to the inevitable presence at marches and demonstrations of Stalinists, Trotskyites and the other regular menagerie members of the left, I never met anyone like Maddow. Those old-time leftists were inevitably humorless and were always trying to gain influence among the leaders and the troops of the most impressive nonviolent revolution in the history of the species.

What makes Maddow unique is that while she surely seeks influence, she prefers it on terms that are her own, deeply informed and saturated with a sense of fun.

That is some pretty high praise indeed. Now just imagine how great she’d be as the host of Meet the Press. Just saying.