RELATED: Newt Gingrich Security Team Reportedly Stomps A Ron Paul Supporter, Kicks Away His Flip-Flop

TMZ now reports that a lawsuit has been filed on the matter, as Dillard argues that he was near a polling place when the Gingriches arrived, and that he now has a fractured foot thanks to being stomped on intentionally by campaign security:

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District court in Florida, Edward Dillard claims he was just minding his own business on January 31 when Newt and his wife came strolling up to the polling place. Dillard claims he was standing outside of a canopy which had been set up with a microphone stand, when Newt and Callista came right up to him and shook his hand.

Dillard claims Newt then noticed his Ron Paul t-shirt and “immediately turned his back” to him and went on to greet other people. That’s when Dillard claims several of Gingrich’s security team came up to him and tried to “intimidate him into moving from the spot.”

Dillard — who says he was wearing open-toed sandals — then claims one of the agents “lifted his heeled shoe over Dillard’s right foot and dug the back of it into his skin, twisting it side-to-side like he was stomping out a cigarette, causing a fracture to Dillard’s right foot.”

While it is uncertain what sort of relief the civil suit demands, TMZ notes that the campaign has not commented and that assault and battery are the charges for which he is seeking redress.

Yes, they’ve decided to pull the episode of Fear Factor where contestants drank donkey semen.

Clearly, this is the most important stay of cultural execution since ABC canceled Work It.

Last week, TMZ broke the news of the upcoming episode, posting a picture sent to them of two pitchers (one of urine and one of semen), apparently taken when the “stunt” was filmed last summer. As the picture hit the Internet, the entire country let out a gasp! Wait, I’m sorry. It wasn’t a gasp. It was a groan and a sighing exclamation of “I’m surprised they haven’t done that already.”

Anyway, apparently someone at NBC heard these sighs. Today, The New York Times reported that the episode, which was set to air tonight, will not be shown. This is a good thing. Seriously, if NBC had found time to air this but not time to put Community on their mid-season schedule, they’d deserve to be the last place network.

You want to know what the funniest part of this story is though? Somewhere, there’s a Fear Factor contestant reading this news and realizing they drank donkey semen for nothing.

Watch the initial report of the story from TMZ below:

(h/t AV Club)

“I’ve always had a natural talent for doing narration,” Randall told TMZ. “What better animal to start with than the honey badger? Seriously!”

“It’s an animal a lot of people can relate to,” he continued. “Everyone inside of them has an inner honey badger, waiting to get out.”

The Honey Badger video, which features Randall giving a hilariously flamboyant dub of a National Geographic special on the animal has been seen over 34 million times on YouTube.

See Randall in his full glory below via TMZ:

(h/t Gawker)

According to TMZ, a representative from the grocery superstore has indicated the ads will go back on the air:

A rep for Wegmans Food Market had previously announced the company yanked a commercial campaign featuring the actor because of the way he acted on a Dec. 6 flight … when he refused to turn off his cell phone and screamed at the flight crew.

The commercials were taped in 2010 … but were supposed to run again for three weeks in Dec. 2011. The rep said the ads were pulled a week early because of the airplane incident.

“Clearly, many more people support Alec, as evidenced by the hundreds and hundreds of tweets, emails, and phone calls we have received. We enjoyed working with Alec Baldwin and his mom, Carol, and would do it again. We appreciate all the kind things they have said about Wegmans and respect the good work they do for communities.”

Watch Baldwin tell David Letterman about his mother’s love of Wegmans and the controversial ad:

(h/t TMZ)

Herman Cain isn’t having the best Halloween, with sexual harassment allegations swirling around him, but a paparazzo from CelebrityQandA.com got some fun moments with him on his way into a campaign appearance, and gave Cain a chance to speak on the important issue…of bringing Godfather’s Pizza to D.C.

If he’s elected president, Cain said he’d go a step beyond a franchise and put a fully-functioning Godfather’s kitchen in the White House, making the pizza, “on premises.” And when asked if he could do the Dougie, Cain said he didn’t even know what it was, but he did promise to learn it if he won. “I can’t do the Dougie,” he joked. “I’ve been too busy running for President.”

RELATED: Geraldo Blasts Herman Cain’s Spokesman For Not Denying Sexual Harassment Claims

One question Cain couldn’t answer was if Godfather’s Pizza had seen an increase in sales since he began his quest for the nomination (he just didn’t know the answer). Fast Company‘s Austin Carr, however, had already contacted several Godfather’s branches — the company’s main office wouldn’t reveal any numbers — and found that sales had barely been affected with all the free publicity Cain has been giving the brand. One branch had seen a business boom, while most of the others, “from Topeka, Kansas, and Chesterton, Indiana, to Omaha, Nebraska, and Houston, Texas, to Forest Grove, Oregon, and Savannah, Georgia, reported no change in business due to Cain’s newfound stature.” An owner in Montana didn’t even know who Cain was.

But there was some good news:

Most franchises indicated Cain had caused a buzz among customers, even if he didn’t help to spike sales. “I had one guy passing through who was staying at a nearby hotel,” recalls one franchise manager. “He said he’d heard so much about Herman Cain, but never had his pizza. So when he saw Godfather’s, he just had to come try it.”

Enjoy the video of Cain’s pop culture promises, courtesy of TMZ, below:

When questioned by the interviewer whether it was acceptable to heckle a 21-year-old girl, Hanks said she was fair game because she was an adult and was in the public eye. Hanks was taken aback by her accusation that the reason he didn’t like her mom was because he had to be a homosexual, which he deemed “very derogatory.”

“She comes from a home where gays are made fun of, where blacks are probably made fun of,” Hanks fumed. “She’s a racist homophobe, in my opinion.”

“Some people may think I crossed the line, some people may think I didn’t go far enough,” Hanks added.

Watch the interview below, via TMZ:

(h/t TMZ)

This sort of sex-scoop is Flynt’s go-to political maneuver, and the cool $1 million reward has become something of a trademark. In 1998, the “investigative pornographer” famously put down a million for anyone who could bring him dirt on Bill Clinton or the incoming House Speaker Robert Livingston, who ended up resigning after work of his extramarital affairs broke. He’s also made similar offers for just any government official, and most recently, offered a job to ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner. What can we say, the man’s got deep pockets and big dreams of an honest government.

From TMZ:

“Tareq has issued a statement saying, ‘We are reaching to the public pleaing [sic] desperately for your help.’

He continues, ‘It is our belief as of last night, that Michaele Salahi may have been kidnapped or abducted and being held under duress and forced to tell persons, including authorities she is okay.

We are asking the public to please be on the look out for her, and if found please contact the authorities and please approach her and contact the authorities to intervene and that she may be forced to say she is okay, when in fact she is not and being held under possible abduction.

The Salahi family can be reached at 540-635-9933.’”

Hopefully this is all a misunderstanding and Michaele will turn up safe and sound.

Last night, a Redditor posted a picture under the headline “The TMZ photo of Steve jobs is fake here is proof…” In the picture, he or she attempts to prove that the picture has been photoshopped.

While the Reddit post shot up through the popular site, the growing consensus in the comments seems to be, while the picture may be fake, the “proof” given here isn’t persuasive.

While this could just be a silly online debate, these are accusations with some serious implications. One of the reasons for the secrecy surrounding Jobs’ health has always been that it affects Apples’ stocks. In fact, just after Jobs resigned, Apple shares dropped 5%. If the picture, which is credited to Pacific Coast News, could have affected a lot of money. And that’s not even counting the money TMZ paid for it.

All of this could, of course, be moot. Whether or not the picture is fake, Jobs is, unfortunately, very sick. As he said in his resignation letter, the day “when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO” had come.

Hopefully though this man who is such a hero to so many will be able to stay with us for a long time to come.

(h/t Gawker)

Here is the TMZ version of the story, reproduced below because it is the most entertaining one:

Answer: This 71-year-old game show host snapped his Achilles tendon while chasing a criminal through a San Francisco hotel this morning.

Question: Who is Alex “DESTROYER OF EVIL” Trebek!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!?!?!!? [Ed. note: this used to say something like "MOTHERF*****" in the quotes there, but it was gone when we refreshed the page.]

Trebek — perhaps the greatest Canadian who ever lived — crutched his way into the National Geographic World Championship at Google headquarters in CA today and explained he was trying to catch a burglar when the injury occurred.
Trebek says he’s feeling OK.
It’s unclear if the suspect was ever captured … or what he allegedly stole … but we’re willing to wager that Alex won’t rest until JUSTICE is served!!!!

Trebek’s injury will have him on crutches for several weeks, though he will continue to host Jeopardy! throughout the injury.He is expected to have surgery on his heel on Friday. Meanwhile, thanks to a detailed description Trebek gave the police, one Lucinda Moyers was immediately apprehended as the burglar, though a family heirloom– his mother’s bracelet– is still missing. The event happened in a San Francisco hotel at around 2:30 AM on Friday, where Trebek was staying for a convention.

Local San Francisco station ABC7 covered the 71-year-old’s amazing crime-fighting caper tonight– watch their recap below:

Yes, no one can escape the cold, sterile grip of modern travel as signified, in this case, by the warm, bored grip of some dude who really can’t wait to go home and stop groping old people.

The photos of Rumsfeld popped up the other day over at TMZ, marking his first appearance on the gossip site (I guess he doesn’t have a penchant for drunkenly stumbling out of LA nightclubs). TMZ cites sources as saying Rumsfeld was “very nice” and waved to servicemen who recognized him.

Yesterday, Rumsfeld linked to the pictures on his Twitter:

My second favorite part of this story is that TMZ then wrote another post today about Rumsfeld’s tweet in which they seem genuinely tickled pink to be on the radar of someone whose power extends beyond starring in a reality show on E!. What’s my favorite part of the story? That TMZ titled that post with this headline: “Donald Rumsfeld — I’ve Got TITANIUM In My Pants!” Nice.

(h/t Mother Jones via Soup)

What has Murdoch done that TMZ hasn’t done and why does what TMZ does, is legal, but what Rupert Murdoch does, it is illegal? What I’m saying is, is this going to — Would this be the beginning of the end of what – basically the horrendous nature of TMZ, National Enquirer, the road that they went down in our world does that put them, does that maybe put them in a place that – more vile, reviled than they are?

NY Mag‘s John Heilemann, also on the panel this morning, brought up the point that News of the World‘s influence beyond entertainment and gossip and into harder media and politics is unique, adding that you’ll never see a TMZ editor go on to become the White House Press Secretary, making reference to Andrew Coulson, the former NOTW editor turned former Communications Director for David Cameron.

Heilemann continued describing how culture makes a difference:

The really huge difference between America and Britain is this, that the tightness of the establishment in Britain is just — it’s just such a different thing. I lived and worked in London for a number of years and people here can’t really get their head around what a small, incestuous world it is. Here you’ve got a country, a much smaller country, where there’s one real city where most of the people who run the country politically, in law enforcement, in media, they all went to one of two colleges and everybody knows each other. So in this case, the complicity of the establishment, the political establishment, the journalistic establishment, the law enforcement establishment, how they were all, in one way or another, in on this is in some ways the bigger story, an even bigger story than Murdoch himself. It was the culture that created this entire environment.

Watch the segment, via MSNBC:

“Topless on a rock” might also be a metaphor for the hobbled Gingrich campaign. Or, as TMZ cleverly puts it, “on a rock, in a hard place.” And yep, we need to leave it there.

Update: Gingrich has denied being the man in the photo, according to ABC News. According to Gingrich’s spokesman, “The picture on TMZ is not him…remarkable resemblance though.” TMZ has since removed the post from the site.

The so-called “Weinergate” scandal has been the gift that keeps on giving, as far as many media outlets have been concerned, and it’s interesting to see how each has managed to put its own spin on the story.

Let’s take a look at how they (and, yes, we) managed it, shall we?

New York Post

This kind story was, basically, tailor-made for New York’s most notorious rag. If The New York Times is the (wonkily left-leaning) crown jewel in this city’s media crown, then the New York Post is its jester’s hat. Entertaining, shocking, unabashedly vulgar and, despite it all, begrudgingly beloved. I mean, come on! The puns, people! His name is Weiner:

“Disgusted Democrats letting Weiner shrivel”

“Weiner likely to endure a rough sex probe”

“NYers: You’ll never be Mayor ‘Crotch’”

New York Times

The NYT has approached the Weiner scandal with its typical mix of straightforward reporting and op-ed pieces, all with the sort of florid prose we’ve come to expect from the Lady Most Gray:

Those elders must be hoping to heaven that Mr. Weiner departs before the machinery of investigation is gassed up and rumbles toward the Internet Protocol addresses where he composed his epistles.

They even had a characteristically classy take on the fact that the man’s name is, you know. “Penis:”

We Weiners, though, are eminently adaptable. It’s a survival thing. At some point, my father, Seymour, changed the pronunciation of our family name from WEEN-er to WHINE-er because, really, who wants to be known as Seymour WEEN-er? It was a Faustian bargain, to be sure, but a wise one. At least that’s what I thought until “Saturday Night Live” aired a popular skit about a couple named Doug and Wendy WHINE-er. They would speak, of course, in grating, whining voices that my classmates parroted whenever they pronounced my last name, which was often. Those were difficult years.

It’s hard, sometimes, being a Weiner.

>>> NEXT PAGE: Is Mediaite obsessed with all things cockamamy?

Already, the decision to name and publish photographs of former Schwarzenegger family housekeeper Mildred “Patty” Baena has inspired its fair share of controversy. TMZ founder Harvey Levin, for instance, publicly took CNN to task for, as Levin saw it, holding a hypocritical, shifting stance on naming Baena. Gawker also faced criticism (chronicled in this blog post from The LA Times – the publication which originally broke news of the affair) for having initially named another, unrelated woman as Schwarzenegger’s “baby mama.” Gawker has since issued a retraction for that story, admitting and explaining its mistake.

But the debate surrounding Baena was relatively mild and short-lived. After all, this was a grown woman, and a willing accomplice in something upon which society generally frowns – sleeping with a married man. The public and certain big names within the media – like, say, the shy and withdrawing Glenn Beck – can choose to insult her, either based on her actions or her physical appearance, but, at the end of the day, no matter how unwarranted, irrelevant, mean-spirited or misguided the attacks on Baena, she’s an adult, and is likely equipped to cope with the criticism. Besides, by willfully engaging in an affair with an extremely famous married man (while keeping in mind the extremely disproportionate balance of power at play in this affair) and agreeing to keep the affair and resulting child a secret from the man’s wife while remaining in the couple’s employ and family home for over a decade effectively, as I see it, renders Baena a public figure. She’s fair game for news reports, and there’s no compelling reason that would convince me, as a media blogger, to shield her identity or her actions from the public.

Then there’s the matter of her child, who remains unnamed by the media.

…Which is not to say that certain outlets haven’t found their own creative nicknames for the suddenly famous preteen. The Daily, for instance, published a story today – titled “Conan Jr. the beer-barian” – about the boy’s MySpace profile, immediately inspiring questions like “Why?” and also “MySpace?” The post shows the boy as an aggressively normal American teen, albeit with one with an apparent aversion to spellcheck.

“I have the gayest picture ever and I dont know how to chang [sic] it,” writes the boy. And that picture, showing the boy holding up a can of the world’s finest beer, is very much included in the post. Sure, the kid’s face is blurred out, but his identity is shielded in the same manner Lil’ Kim’s famous purple pasty can be said to have covered her breast. (Look, we’re talking about MySpace here. I’m feeling retro.) Which is to say: Not really very much at all.

The post’s author, Hunter Walker, shared additional information from the boy’s MySpace profile on his personal Tumblr, adding the following:

I’m pretty different from others, but when you get to know me i’m a pretty chill kid. I can’t say i’m good at skating but i like to ride. Don’t judge me by how i look, learn me then you’ll see im not so bad.

Neither post linked back to the boy’s MySpace profile.

I reached out to Hunter for some insight into what went into publishing these posts, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.

The question here isn’t whether or not news organizations should reveal the identity of children related to a major news story – I’ll leave that for individual bloggers and journalists to figure out for themselves, and I don’t have anything near the bloated self of self-importance required to issue a mandate for all publications to follow. Nor is this a hit piece on Hunter, whom I admire. He’s done a lot of great reporting on a wide range of topics completely unrelated to the extracurricular activities of Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Like, this, for example!) The focus here is on wondering, personally, what the thought process and the rationalization might be behind deciding whether or not to publish identifying information about people, particularly minors, tangentially related to a major headline.

What irked me about Hunter’s posts wasn’t the fact that, you know. They exist. So The Daily considers the online profile and childish (Because, you know. He’s a child) posturing of Arnold’s love child newsworthy. That’s for them to determine and, hey, their headline did get me to click. What bothered me, rather, was that the framing of the story seemed… hesitant. You want to post a photo of the kid that many people are likely trying to find? Go for it. But blurring his face so that only his exact eye color remains a mystery reads, to me, as trying to straddle the fence.

I wouldn’t, personally, have posted that story. I don’t care whether Arnold’s kid is an angel or a holy terror, and I don’t consider it newsworthy. However, if his child, say, stole a car and drove it through his local neighborhood combination Taco Bell / Pizza Hut, or appeared on CNN talking about Christmases spent without his biological dad, a single tear rolling down one cheek, I’d probably write about it, and I’d include a picture or seventy-two.

While, as a media blogger, I consider anything you post on a public profile across any social media platform fair game, I also understand that there is a time and a place for including it. Here are my rules (for now!) on linking to maybe possibly newsworthy people’s social media accounts, particularly if these people happen to be under the age of 18:

If your guidelines differ from mine, cool. Just make it consistent, make your editorial decisions transparent, and be able to defend those decisions to your critics.

TMZ, for instance, reported early this morning that the existence of Schwarzenegger’s “love child” was leaked by people representing none other than the former governor’s estranged wife, Maria Shriver. Does this add an interesting – if not relevant and newsworthy – wrinkle to a very sensational story? Yes, indeed. And it’s not something that would likely have been reported to a source like Reuters or, say, CNN.

From TMZ:

TMZ has new information from sources connected to Maria. We’re told when Maria found out that Arnold was the father of Mildred Patty Baena’s son, she was “hysterical” and wanted to hold a news conference blowing the lid off the scandal.

We’re told Maria’s friends talked her off a ledge and a plan was eventually hatched to leak the details to the L.A. Times and TMZ.

And we have new information about when Maria found out about the baby. Now we’re told Maria learned about Arnold’s love child in late April or very early May.

The timeline further supports the story TMZ broke earlier — that Maria was miserable in her marriage and wanted out for a long time. As we first reported, Maria was looking at pricey L.A. condos back in January with a Beverly Hills realtor.

h/t TMZ

Take a look at a few of his Tweets:

The woman at the center of the controversy is, we now know, former Schwarzenegger family housekeeper Mildred “Patty” Baena, a divorcée who was let go from her position recently. TMZ, for the record, insists that she remains unwavering in her support of her former employer.

Upton says she was paid $200 and given directions. “I was provided with the story, instructions and a script to follow for a recorded interview.”

One of the interviews was a high-profile exclusive interview with Lara Spencer on ABC’s Good Morning America, which Upton claims paid her “a large fee.” After the interview created a national sensation, California child welfare officials took away her daughter. Upton writes in the deposition, however, “the truth is I have never given my daughter Botox, nor allowed her to get any type of waxing, nor is she a beauty pageant contestant.”

TMZ cites “an ABC insider” who says there was no compensation for the interview, however the mother a third party was paid for the licensing of photos. (ABC’s stories do carry a graphic indicating a photo credit.)

When reached, an ABC News spokesman tells Mediaite:

We have just seen the sworn declaration on TMZ written by Sheena Upton, a.k.a. Kerry Campbell , and are vigorously investigating her most recent statement and rapidly shifting story. Good Morning America has repeatedly questioned Upton, members of her family, and other sources who again and again stood by the Botox story. Good Morning America is solely interested in getting to the truth and will share with our audience any new information that we find.

From the UK, The Sun also released a statement to Mediaite, flatly denying any effort to mislead:

The Sun strongly denies any suggestion it solicited or knowingly published a false story regarding Kerry Campbell and her daughter.

The article was published in good faith, in common with a large number of other news organisations around the world, after being received in full from a reputable UK news agency.

The agency reporter watched Ms Campbell administering what appeared to be Botox to her daughter and provided compelling photographs.

At no point did The Sun have any direct contact with Kerry Campbell or Sheena Upton.

The Sun is investigating the circumstances surrounding this story and consulting with lawyers on possible legal action.

Watch ABC’s story here:

And before all of you conspiracy theorists start asking why she didn’t know, Sinclair explained to TMZ’s Harvey Levin that her husband delivered babies all the time and died back in 2003 before he got a chance to maybe recognize the name. It wasn’t until Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that she and her neighbors realized that guy from Illinois was really a homegrown Hawaiian.

From TMZ:

“She continues, ‘I know my husband is just looking down on us smiling.  We had no idea that he delivered President Obama until this morning when we saw the birth certificate … It is very exciting.  I just can’t believe it.  We had no way of knowing.  Everyone is calling us and I’m looking forward to calling all of the family back and informing them that it is true.’”

How nice that the family would get to know this! I guess there was a reason for this whole Birther mess after all. I mean, besides getting that nice, media-starved Mr. Trump some well-deserved publicity.

Check out audio of Levin’s conversation with Sinclair and her son below. Read their report here.

While TMZ only has the news that he has been arrested and what for, The Hollywood Reporter has a few more sparse details, specifying battery as the domestic abuse charge:

He was charged with domestic abuse – battery and disturbing the peace at 6:33 a.m.

According to police records, he was still in custody as of noon ET Saturday, although police dispatcher would not confirm that to The Hollywood Reporter.

This is yet another in a series of setbacks for the troubled Cage, who, among other woes, still owes $600,000 in taxes to the IRS. For more updates, visit our sister site Gossip Cop.

While Palin correctly points out that the national media should not have exploited the musings of a 16 year-old, the balance of her response reveals important things about Sarah Palin, not as a parent, but as a media critic and human being. Not only does she undermine her claims of media “lies” by making stuff up herself, she also displays a disturbing attitude about the use of the word “faggot.”

Palin is absolutely correct that the children of politicians ought to be off-limits to the media, or at least, that there ought to be a high bar set for newsworthiness. Similarly, Palin’s skill as a parent should not be considered fair game. Neither subject has any relevance to Palin’s career as a politician, or as a media figure, and decency dictates that they remain private.

What is relevant, though, is how Palin chose to respond to the incident. Here’s the clip of Palin’s interview with Sean Hannity, including the completely unrelated question that Hannity asked her: (from Fox News Channel)

Here’s a transcript of the relevant portion:

People probably think that my greatest frustration is the lies that are told in the tabloids and on hateful blogs full of anonymous sources about my family … and there are constant everyday lies that we have to read that are out there in the public. But my family and I…thick skin…we can take it, you know…we can take what the haters say despite the fact that there’s injustice in the situation.

I mean, look at the other day. Willow, finally, my 16 year old, she had had it up to here with somebody saying very, very hateful things about the family and saying mean things about her little brother Trig, and Willow finally responded and she used a bad word when she responded in defense of her family. And her response became national news, even hard news copy it turned into, so that’s ridiculous and I had to explain to her, “Willow, there is no justice here but you have to just zip your lip and let’s move forward.”

Perhaps most glaring is the fact that, in an interview in which she promises to restore journalism, Palin gets her facts wrong. The exchange to which she refers contains nary a mention of Trig Palin, and was touched off by a single negative comment about Palin’s reality show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska. Palin would have been perfectly justified had she chosen not to get into the details of the story, but since she did, she ought to have described them accurately.

More disturbing, though, is Palin’s complete dismissal of the use of the slur “faggot.” From her response, it’s not even clear that she identifies it as a “bad word,” since the conversation she references contains a barrage of obscenities. In any case, she clearly felt that the use of the word (or words) was justified, and that the only “injustice” was that anyone objected to it.

This is consistent with the Sarah Palin who defended Dr. Laura Schlessinger over her use of the “N-word,” but not so much with the Palin who demanded Rahm Emanuel‘s firing over his private use of the word “retard.” Perhaps this would be a different story if Palin had a “faggot” child of her own, or even a “normal” child who couldn’t live with the stigma that society still attaches to the label.

That’s really the crux of the problem with Palin. Many liberals would probably use these seeming contradictions to charge Palin with hypocrisy, a clichéd, overused accusation that misses the real takeaway. Palin is not a hypocrite. She obviously believes that certain groups are worthy of sensitivity, and is entirely consistent in extending that worthiness only to those folks she can see from her own house.

While we predicted that some would level this attack, it seems counterintuitive that a blog devoted to women’s issues would not only see the Palin kids as fair game, but would then perpetuate the sexist notion that parenting is the sole purview of the mother. Todd Palin’s name never comes up.

Goldstein begins by describing Palin’s team of advisers (husband Todd does rate a mention here), then goes in for the kill:

As long as she’s hiring, Palin may want to budget a companionable nanny for the older children. (The Palins’ youngest, Trig, and his baby nephew, Tripp, presumably have paid child care.) Eldest daughter Bristol has said she is lonely in Los Angeles while she’s away from home dancing and practicing with no family around to look out for her, and back in Wasilla (notwithstanding the attention from next-door neighbor Joe McGinnis), Bristol’s 16-year-old sister, Willow, doesn’t seem to have much supervision either.

She goes on to explain the TMZ-reported Facebook chat heard ’round the world, but doesn’t mention the headline-making slur. (She characterizes it as “ill-considered and hurtful things about the sexual history and/or weight of other posters.”) Why bury the lede there? Would it have distracted too much from the portrait of Sarah Palin as maternal failure, and villain of the piece?

In what has to be an unintended irony, Goldstein prefaces her account of the Facebook feud by saying, “The unedited, unscripted moments of a 16-year-old grizzly baby are best left out of the spotlight.”

Whatever your beliefs about Sarah Palin as a politician, or a media figure, she’s never applied for the job of America’s Mommy. Even the members of the press who belonged to the supposed left-wing cabal that was “Journolist” agreed that this line of attack was off-base and off-limits. Ezra Klein, founder of the controversial listserv, said in a Journolist email, “By all accounts she’s a wonderful mother, and devoted to her fifth son. Leave this be.”

Whether you support Palin or not, especially if you don’t, attacks like these only serve to buttress the former Alaska Governor’s case that the vicious “lamestream media” is out to get her. To quote Jon Stewart, “Don’t make me feel sympathy for the Palins.”

Note: Tommy Christopher also writes for Asylum.com, which is owned by Politics Daily parent AOL, and was also a founding contributor to Politics Daily.

Read the full, uncensored exchange after the jump.The Facebook flame war in question was touched off by a comment from someone named Tre, who said of Sarah Palin’s TLC show, “”Sarah Palin’s Alaska, is failing so hard right now.”

From TMZ:

The comment sparked an intense response from Willow — who replied on the boy’s wall, “Haha your so gay. I have no idea who you are, But what I’ve seen pictures of, your disgusting … My sister had a kid and is still hot.”

Willow followed up that comment with another that read, “Tre stfu. Your such a f**got.”

The conversation escalated from there, with varying degrees of obscenity.

There are probably already people who are looking to score points, political or otherwise, based on this story. They are wrong. Willow Palin is a child, and she is not fair game. If this story was not already halfway around the world, I’m not sure we would be reporting it. Since it is, though, putting it into the proper perspective is the only responsible thing to do.

There will be some who are tempted to use this as an indictment of Sarah Palin as a parent, or to connect it with Republican opposition to gay rights, or to paint Willow as a homophobe who didn’t fall far from the tree. These instincts are completely wrong, and they muddy the true lesson here.

These kids are all too typical. Willow obviously doesn’t really think this kid is gay. She and the others transition effortlessly to weight-and-appearance-based insults almost interchangeably. No thought is given to the fact that they’re using hate speech, because it is so common. The idea that being called gay is a heinous insult is second nature.

I would hazard a guess that Willow and her Facebook playmates weren’t thinking about the rash of suicides related to anti-gay bullying, including young kids who were not, in fact, gay. They didn’t create a world where gay equals unequal, they are a product of it. Attacking or demonizing them will only prevent that lesson from being learned. Even if you don’t support gay marriage, or repealing DADT, surely most of us can agree that kids shouldn’t be calling each other “f*ggot?”

Here’s the full Facebook exchange. Besides serving as an excellent screenplay for Apostrophe Now!, it is a candid glimpse into the schoolyard mind, and a reminder that the way we speak to each other matters. They’re obviously watching us.

You see, that “escort” locked in the bathroom isn’t an escort at all. She’s a porn star, Capri Anderson, and as she gets lawyered up, get ready for her to step into the media spotlight!

TMZ has some of the details (and a photo gallery, obviously). Apparently Christina Walsh (real name, not as exciting) met the Two And A Half Men star on Monday night at the Plaza Hotel bar, joined him for dinner with a big group of people, and then went back to his hotel room. Somewhere along the way, she ended up in the bathroom as Sheen raged.

Now Anderson is hiring a lawyer and will press charges. “Anderson claims the actor held her against her will, and that she feared for her life when – after locking herself in the bathroom – Sheen tried to forcibly get in,” reports Gossip Cop.

TMZ has this incredibly ironic picture taken hours before the whole thing went down of Capri Anderson and Denise Richards from dinner that night. Also, Anderson has a blog that is VVNSFW! Here’s a link if your work won’t get mad you’re looking at porn.

So where will she end up first? Today show or another morning show? Entertainment Tonight or another celebrity show? Will she go print and give the exclusive to the National Enquirer? Maybe ‘wherever Gloria Allred tells her to go’?

Check out Gossip Cop for more info on this ongoing story.

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We’re told that during the game of laser tag, one kid went out of his way to target Justin repeatedly (a violation of the code of honor of laser tag, if there is such a thing).

Sources say that Bieber became frustrated when the kid cornered him and wouldn’t stop shooting and when Bieber told him, “That’s enough” … the kid responded, “What are you gonna do about it, faggot?”

We’re told a shocked Bieber replied, “Excuse me?” Sources say the other kid responded, “You’re a faggot” and then put his hand out toward Bieber and Bieber pushed it away as he left.

Contrary to several news reports, we’re told Bieber never struck the other boy.

Coming on the heels of a rash of suicides related to anti-gay bullying, this report underscores an oft-ignored facet of anti-gay bullying: you don’t have to be gay to become a target.

While the recent suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi has thrust the issue of homophobic bullying into the national media spotlight, this is not a new thing. Last year, we reported on a rash of suicides by much younger children who (like Justin Bieber) did not identify as gay, but who were targeted with anti-gay slurs, and the efforts of Obama “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings to combat the trend.

As anyone who has ever attended grade school can tell you, being called “faggot” has nothing to do with your actual sexual orientation, and as The Edge notes, “a good deal of gay bashing comes from personal gay panic.”

This fact shouldn’t make a difference, but there are obviously many parents who are unmoved by the plight of LGBT youth who might feel differently if they realized that their own children, gay or not, are also at risk. Organizations like the Gay/Straight Alliance Network aren’t about “recruiting” or “brainwashing” young people into homosexuality, but about removing the stigma of being gay. While bullies will always find something to taunt their victims with, there hasn’t been an epidemic of “nerd” or “dork”-related suicides.

That is not to say that gay teens aren’t at increased risk, as their quadruple suicide rate attests. The sexual orientation of the victim shouldn’t make any difference in taking the measure of these tragedies. However, the power of anti-gay slurs to drive children to suicide shows the true cost of homophobia.

While relatively minor, the Justin Bieber incident is likely to receive outsize attention due to his celebrity status. Hopefully, it will also help to start a few conversations about how anti-gay bullying is everyone’s problem.

Lohan, however, is denying it.

According to the terms of her probation, a failed drug test will result in 30 days in jail. The specifics of the sentence will have to wait, as D.A. spokesperson Sandi Gibbons tells TMZ that her office has not been “officially notified” of the test results. More details to come, surely. Also, now sources close to Lohan tell TMZ “it’s not true.”

Gossip Cop is on the case.

> Update: TMZ is now reporting Lohan tested positive for cocaine, and it was just one of multiple failed drug tests. -SK

Snooki ended up with two days community service and a $533 fine, a mere pinnace for someone whose getting tons of money from a major corporation that’s making even more by videotaping a bunch of young people ruin their lives. The troubles didn’t end there for Snooki, as she was later caught in bad Newark traffic. This led to the funniest Snooki-related tweet since, well, this.

Kudos, Cory Booker! You officially made our afternoon with that one.

Watch the video of the judge coming down on Snooki below:

(h/t TMZ)

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future…While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us.”

“Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being. The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

According to well-placed industry sources … Stone Entertainment — a powerhouse in the reality TV world — is going after Slater to host a show in which various disgruntled workers quit their jobs in extravagant ways.

But reality TV is a fickle thing … if Slater’s story turns out to be a big hoax — which we’re thinkin’ is the case — the offer could disappear as fast as it came.

Still, we’re told Slater’s lawyer has received the offer.

I’m going to make a leap and say the “facts” of Slater’s case, whatever they may be, are not going to be much of an issue when it comes to Slater’s saleability. They rarely are these days. And in less than five days he’s achieved the sort of name recognition it takes most reality stars an entire season to build up. But we’ll put it to a poll. Would you watch a Steven Slater reality show?

According to Radar (which has about three more photo galleries of the arrest and aftermath than really necessary, though TMZ got the coveted mug shot), she didn’t even have to spend the night. After being arrested, her castmates ran to the jail to bail her out, but no bail was necessary. There was no report for how high her blood alcohol level was as it is not customary for police to check that when a suspect is not driving.

Though multiple sources told RadarOnline.com that the reality star was drinking before her arrest, the police chief said the police are not planning on giving her a blood alcohol test because she was not driving at the time of her arrest. But by far the most interesting comment Radar got was from (still?!) boyfriend Emilio, who we met last Thursday on the show:

“I think she needed this to draw attention to herself and keep up her fame level,” her boyfriend Emilio Masella told RadarOnline.com. “She has more competition with the new girl… this is typical, I’m not surprised that she got arrested.”

“The new girl” is a character named Deena who was brought in to replace Angelina, “the Kim Kardashian of Staten Island.” If Snooki is afraid of this woman dethroning her, well… let’s just say we can’t wait to see what she brings to the show.