“First of all, we know it ain’t because of his blackness, so I say stop
trying to relate. Be a leader. Be fucking presidential.”

— Samuel L. Jackson, in a Playboy interview, when asked what he things of President Obama dropping his gs off the end of words to sound like a regular person.

A New Jersey-based newspaper is suing Sarah Palin and her political action committee for copyright infringement over the use of an iconic September 11 photograph, the AP reports.

The New York Post reviewed the “secret diary” of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he “grappled with what he called his biggest defect — ‘my lust demons’ — while keeping a scorecard of more than two dozen conquests.”

“The thick, red journal was found in their home by his wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who, distraught over their impending divorce and Kennedy’s serial philandering, committed suicide last year. A copy of the 398 pages, reviewed by The Post, details RFK Jr.’s daily activities, speeches, political activism and the lives of his six children in the year 2001. But they also record the names of women — with numbers from 1 to 10 next to each entry.”

“The codes corresponded to sexual acts, with 10 meaning intercourse, Mary told a confidant. There are 37 women named in the ledger, 16 of whom get 10s.”

“He’s my friend for life. I don’t care what you guys think about him. I
don’t give a shit what
the world thinks about him, but he’s my friend.”

— Dennis Rodman, quoted by the New York Times, on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

“The former basketball star Dennis Rodman returned Tuesday to North Korea, where he plans ‘to see my friend’ Kim Jong-un, the dictator whose country until recently was threatening to annihilate the United States with nuclear weapons,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Rodman said in Beijing that he was planning a five-day visit to the North but played down speculation that he would try to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American Christian missionary who has been jailed there since late last year after being detained on North Korean soil. ”

“As a woman, initially I was interested in Quinn. It became clear to me that, you know as a woman, you can’t just vote your vagina.”

— Actress Susan Sarandon, quoted by Politicker, endorsing Bill de Blasio (D) over Christine Quinn (D) in the New York mayoral race.

Reliable Sources says former Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty is dating Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Sarah Palin’s political action committee “brought in just over $460,000 during the first half of 2013, well short of its fundraising totals for the same period in previous years,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Palin’s SarahPAC ended June with about $1.1 million in cash available.

However, National Journal reports that of the $496,505.68 spent by SarahPAC in the first six months of the year, just $5,000 actually went to political candidates.

Mitt Romney is building a new home in Utah, the Deseret News reports.

“The two-time GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor plans to split his time ‘pretty evenly’ between Salt Lake City and his homes in San Diego and a resort community in New Hampshire. He will also spend time in his Boston apartment, located at his son Tagg’s home there.”

Politico: “Once as polarizing as a 1990s-era Hillary Clinton, she can still rouse the conservative base and create headline ripples, and has instincts for picking candidates in a primary battle that other Republicans follow. She is getting the most speaking time at CPAC when she takes the stage Saturday at the Gaylord National hotel in Maryland, and her speech is among the most anticipated.”

“But as a force within the party, Palin has gone from sixty to zero within the span of a single presidential cycle.”

“An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Sarah Palin planned to contribute to the Al Jazeera America news network.”

— Washington Post

Donald Trump sued comedian Bill Maher after saying he proved that he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan,” Entertainment Weekly reports.

“During a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last month, Maher quipped that Trump must be ‘the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan’ (Exhibit A: his orange hair). In a riff off of Trump’s own offer to give $5 million to the charity of Barack Obama’s choice if the President released his college paperwork, Maher said he would do the same for Trump if the real estate mogul supplied proof that he is not descended from an ape.”

The New York Post reports that a hedge fund manager “who began buying unclaimed storage lockers as a hobby has uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts from the estate of late Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione… The possessions, still being cataloged, even include a pic of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger engaged in what appears to be a sex act, as well as boxes of home movies.”

The Fix says that Sarah Palin “was that rare politician about whom there was no gray area in terms of how people regarded her. If you loved her, you LOVED her. And if you hated her, well, you HATED her. That division of opinion made Palin perhaps the single most compelling Republican politician over these past four years. No matter what you thought of her, you wanted to see what she would do next. In that way, Palin had as much in common with a celebrity as she did a politician.”

“Palin had as much natural ability as anyone this side of Barack Obama or John Edwards but was unable to translate that talent into results once the bright lights came on. That she never made good on her remarkable natural talents is a sign of how the political process can chew up and spit out those who aren’t ready for it.”

Marc Ambinder: “Sarah Palin won’t be able to make a political comeback until she decides to put in the work necessary to make Sarah Palin mean something other than it now does.”

Ann Romney rejected an invitation to appear on the “Dancing with the Stars” television show, TMZ reports.

“You may recall, Ann showed up at last season’s finale and gushed that she was a big, big fan.  Our sources say Ann and producers had several meetings to try to hash out the details, but Ann ultimately decided against it.”

Donald Trump tells Extra he will sue comedian Bill Maher if he doesn’t pay up on a bet.

Maher told Jay Leno earlier this week he would offer to donate $5 million to the charity of Trump’s choice if the New York businessman would release his own birth certificate to prove he was not the “spawn of his mother having sex with orangutan.”

Trump says his lawyer provided the proof and now wants the $5 million.

Actor Charlie Sheen called out Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa “claiming he was flat-out lying when he said he spent only 3 minutes with the actor in Cabo,” TMZ reports.

Instead, he says the Mayor “hung with him for hours, chatting it up and drinking with a bunch of hot chicks.”

Sarah Palin sends an email to People magazine:

“Our family is writing a book on fitness and self-discipline focusing on where we get our energy and balance as we still eat our beloved homemade comfort foods!”