“Kind of cool. I always say, cooler than most politicians, not as cool as actual cool people. He’s not cool like Jay Z’s cool. He’s not Eddie Murphy. But in a world of politicians…”
— Comedian Chris Rock, in an interview with Frank Rich, on his impressions of President Obama.
The Rev. Al Sharpton’s “influence and visibility have reached new heights this year, fueled by his close relationships with the mayor and the president,” the New York Times reports.
“Obscured in his ascent, however, has been his troubling financial past, which continues to shadow his present. Mr. Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent and other bills. Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses. And though he said in recent interviews that he was paying both down, his balance with the state, at least, has actually grown in recent years. His National Action Network appears to have been sustained for years by not paying federal payroll taxes on its employees.”
TMZ has police audio from the recent Palin family brawl.
Listen carefully and you can hear Sarah Palin in the background telling daughter Bristol not to cuss during her statement.
Anchorage police released a report regarding a brawl involving about 20 people — including members of Sarah Palin’s family — that occurred last month, the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
“Police said they arrived to find Track Palin, shirtless, bloody and heavily intoxicated, getting into a white limousine to leave the party. Witnesses described a large fight involving at least 20 people that included members of the Palin family. Several witnesses said they watched Bristol Palin repeatedly punch homeowner Korey Klingenmeyer in the face.”
Read the entire police report online.
“A man who went on national television and told how family members of former Gov. Sarah Palin were involved in a brawl at an Anchorage birthday party says he was fired from a his job at a local paving company after speaking up. Eric Thompson, who appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America last week, posted a video on YouTube Tuesday seeking work,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
Emma Watson, of the Harry Potter movies, gave an impassioned speech on feminism at the U.N. Headquarters in New York over the weekend to launch the “HeForShe” campaign.
It’s definitely worth watching.
“Palin has not commented publicly on the episode, and there is little doubt that the former Alaska governor would rather talk about anything else. But RealClearPolitics spoke with a source close to the Palin family, who wanted to provide their version of the events in question.”
“Police are investigating a brawl that took place in South Anchorage over the weekend involving around 20 people. A witness said it happened during a joint birthday party thrown in part for Todd Palin,” Alaska Dispatch News reports.
“The Anchorage Police Department said a ‘verbal and physical altercation’ took place late Saturday night between multiple people outside a South Anchorage home in the 900 block of Harbor Circle, in the Oceanview neighborhood.”
Amanda Coyne: “A nice, mellow party, until the Palin’s show up. There’s beer, of course, and maybe other things. Which is all fine, but just about the time when some people might have had one too many, a Track Palin stumbles out of a stretch Hummer, and immediately spots an ex-boyfriend of Willow’s. Track isn’t happy with this guy, the story goes. There’s words, and more.”
“I wasn’t speeding, I was qualifying.”
— Sarah Palin, quoted by TMZ, after being caught speeding while blaming Sammy Hagar’s, “I Can’t Drive 55” which was playing on the oldies station she was listening to.
Alec Baldwin is developing a new TV show “in which he would play the central character, a Rob Ford-type Mayor of New York City,” Deadline reports.
Actor Jonah Hill went on the Tonight Show to deliver a very somber apology for using a homophobic slur last weekend.
“Rats are usually people that were with other rats. I was not and am not a rat, because I wasn’t with the rats. I’m a cat. I chase rats.”
— Rev. Al Sharpton, quoted by Politicker, reacting to reports that he cooperated with police in mobster investigations.
New York Daily News: “He’s had the titles of civil rights activist, presidential candidate and TV host. But for a time, the FBI secretly called the Rev. Al Sharpton something else: “CI-7″ — a confidential informant who taped mobsters with a bugged briefcase, helping the feds bring down members of the Genovese crime family, it was revealed Monday.”
The Smoking Gun broke the story and has the documentation.
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) told CNBC that he has gone “off the grid” in Mexico to avoid drones knowing where he is.
Said Ventura: “I’m off the grid. I move about with my TV show so that the drones can’t find me and you won’t know exactly where I am… I view the United States, today, much like East Berlin. And I’m off the grid. I’ve tried for 20 years to warn the country about the Democrats and Republicans, and nobody’s listening.”
Rock star Ted Nugent told Guns.com that President Obama is a “subhuman mongrel” and should be arrested and put in jail.
Said Nugent: “I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame, enough Americans to be ever vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel like the ACORN community organizer gangster Barack Hussein Obama to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America.”
This is hilarious: Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen sing an ode to Gov. Chris Christie.
“American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken is actively considering a bid to represent North Carolina’s 2nd congressional district, the Washington Blade reports.
“The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the 35-year-old Raleigh native has taken initial steps for a run, including consulting with political operatives in Washington, D.C., about a bid for the seat.”
“In the prelude to the 2008 Democratic presidential primary season, the split between the Hollywood mogul David Geffen and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton represented an early and embarrassing sign of trouble for Mrs. Clinton,” the New York Times reports.
“Conversations with a range of Hollywood figures suggest that there is widespread — if not so starry-eyed — support for Mrs. Clinton should she decide to run for president in 2016, a stark contrast with 2008, and an important early indication of Mrs. Clinton’s standing with some of the biggest donors in the Democratic Party.”
Said Geffen: “If she ran, I would support her — no question. I think she’s the best candidate currently available for either party.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.