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cam gigandet
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
sad news
Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose classes talk about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book (Last Lecture), has died. He was 47.
University spokeswoman Anne Watzman says Pausch died early this morning at his home in Virginia.
In his honour, here are some tips from Randy’s book that he would want you to remember today:
1. Earnest Is Better Than Hip
2. Don’t Complain, Just Work Harder
3. Get People’s Attention
4. Show Gratitude
5. A Bad Apology is Worse Than No Apology
5. Tell The Truth
6. Get in Touch With Your Crayon Box
7. Look for the Best in Everybody
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
getting her hustle on...
Someone in Camp MC must have read my open letter to Ms. MC.. Because FINALLY she is getting out and promoting promoting promoting..
"Fashion Rocks," the star-studded annual music event that showcases singers against a backdrop of the hottest fashions will kick-off New York's Fashion Week, September 5-12, 2008.
This year's line-up of performers includes Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban and Rihanna. The two-hour blowout pairs superstar performers with models stomping down the catwalks in clothes by some of the industry's hottest designers.
Sponsored by the Conde Nast Media Group, "Fashion Rocks" will take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 5th, and air on CBS at 9pm on Tuesday, September 9th.
Mariah will be stopping by MTV's TRL, July 22nd! Tune in to MTV at 3pm ET/PT to watch. Mariah continues her appearances this week by stopping by BET's 106 & Park on Wednesday, July 23rd. Tune in to BET at 6pm ET/PT to watch.
On both shows Mariah will talk about the "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" video and letting her fans in on the latest scoop.
Mariah is coming to Hollywood, California on Thursday, July 31 to perform several songs from her new hit album, E=MC², including "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time"!
Samsung AT&T Summer Krush presents
MARIAH CAREY LIVE IN CONCERT
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Time: Line up begins at 5:30 pm (first-come, first-served basis). Concert begins at 8:00 pm.
Location: Babylon Court at Hollywood & Highland, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028 (at the Northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.)
Parking: Available at the Hollywood & Highland Center
POP ICON MARIAH CAREY TO PERFORM AT "TEEN CHOICE 2008" MONDAY, AUGUST 4, ON FOX
Multi-platinum artist Mariah Carey is set to perform her new single "I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time" at TEEN CHOICE 2008. Hosted by Miley Cyrus, TEEN CHOICE celebrates the hottest teen icons in film, television, music, sports and fashion. The coolest stars will receive coveted Teen Choice surfboard awards in categories such as Choice Male Hottie and Choice Hook-Up when TEEN CHOICE 2008 airs Monday, Aug. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Fans ages 13-19 can vote once each day for their favorite TEEN CHOICE 2008 nominees at www.TeenChoiceAwards.com.
"Fashion Rocks," the star-studded annual music event that showcases singers against a backdrop of the hottest fashions will kick-off New York's Fashion Week, September 5-12, 2008.
This year's line-up of performers includes Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban and Rihanna. The two-hour blowout pairs superstar performers with models stomping down the catwalks in clothes by some of the industry's hottest designers.
Sponsored by the Conde Nast Media Group, "Fashion Rocks" will take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 5th, and air on CBS at 9pm on Tuesday, September 9th.
Mariah will be stopping by MTV's TRL, July 22nd! Tune in to MTV at 3pm ET/PT to watch. Mariah continues her appearances this week by stopping by BET's 106 & Park on Wednesday, July 23rd. Tune in to BET at 6pm ET/PT to watch.
On both shows Mariah will talk about the "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" video and letting her fans in on the latest scoop.
Mariah is coming to Hollywood, California on Thursday, July 31 to perform several songs from her new hit album, E=MC², including "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time"!
Samsung AT&T Summer Krush presents
MARIAH CAREY LIVE IN CONCERT
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Time: Line up begins at 5:30 pm (first-come, first-served basis). Concert begins at 8:00 pm.
Location: Babylon Court at Hollywood & Highland, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028 (at the Northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.)
Parking: Available at the Hollywood & Highland Center
POP ICON MARIAH CAREY TO PERFORM AT "TEEN CHOICE 2008" MONDAY, AUGUST 4, ON FOX
Multi-platinum artist Mariah Carey is set to perform her new single "I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time" at TEEN CHOICE 2008. Hosted by Miley Cyrus, TEEN CHOICE celebrates the hottest teen icons in film, television, music, sports and fashion. The coolest stars will receive coveted Teen Choice surfboard awards in categories such as Choice Male Hottie and Choice Hook-Up when TEEN CHOICE 2008 airs Monday, Aug. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Fans ages 13-19 can vote once each day for their favorite TEEN CHOICE 2008 nominees at www.TeenChoiceAwards.com.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
walker's sexiest soap stars
25. Bobbie Eakes - All My Children
24. Julie Pinson - As The World Turns
23. Maura West - As The World Turns
22. Bree Williamson - One Life To Live
21. Vail Bloom - The Young And The Restless
20. Terri Colombino - As The World Turns
19. Eileen Davidson - The Bold And The Beautiful
18. Rebecca Budig - All My Children
17. Jessica Lecca - Guiding Light
16. Ewa Da Cruz - As The World Turns
15. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood - The Bold And The Beautiful
14. Jennifer Gareis - The Bold And The Beautiful
13. Hunter Tylo - The Bold And The Beautiful
12. Ashley Jones - The Bold And The Beautiful
11. Heidi Muller - Passions
10. Tammin Sursok - The Young And The Restless
9. Michelle Stafford - The Young And The Restless
8. Elizabeth Henderickson - The Young And The Restless
7. Heather Tom - The Bold And The Beautiful
6. Kirsten Storms - General Hospital
5. Noelle Beck - As The World Turns
4. Farah Fath - One Life To Live
3. Tamara Braun - Days Of Our Lives
2. Sarah Brown - General Hospital
1. Kelly Monaco - General Hospital
morning in america part 3
Now, stripped of suit, tie, and specific mandate to behave like a prick, Scarborough is a host transformed. His manner is so genial and evenhanded that TV Guide, in comparing him (favorably) to Chris Matthews, referred to Morning Joe as “Softball.” And ratings have steadily increased: The show saw its best numbers to date in May, averaging 356,000 viewers, which is up 91 percent from the previous year and better than Imus’s last month on the air. NBC president Jeff Zucker recently called the show the “most underestimated” on MSNBC.
Part of the success of Morning Joe has been serendipity. This year’s endless, and atypically compelling, election has played to the strengths of the show. But a lot of it has to do with Scarborough’s likability.
“I was totally skeptical, and now I’m totally won over,” says Time editor-at-large Mark Halperin, a political analyst at ABC News. “I was a huge fan of Imus, but Joe has taken that real estate and turned it into something—and I say this without hyperbole—revolutionary. There’s no other show that does what they do. They’ve really found a new form.”
Scarborough came up with the format himself, convinced that it played to his strengths. The show’s leisurely, conversational tone has a drive-time-radio feel. The bookers balance out the usual suspects—MSNBC stalwarts like Matthews and Pat Buchanan—with quirkier choices not seen as often on cable: Frank Rich, Hendrik Hertzberg, John Ridley. Interviews run twice as long as similar segments on competitors’ shows, allowing room for both depth and digression.
And his co-hosts provide him with the opportunity for banter and improvisation that was missing from Scarborough Country. Willie Geist (son of longtime CBS News correspondent Bill Geist) sits in front of an open laptop, of late the de rigueur prop for cable election coverage, and fills the Jimmy Olsen slot. Mika Brzezinski (daughter of former national-security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski) reads the news and acts as a gentle liberal foil to Scarborough. There’s a flirtatious, Sam-and-Diane sort of chemistry to their sparrings. The two first worked together when Brzezinski did news breaks from New Jersey during Scarborough Country. “Whenever she tossed it back to me, she’d always say, ‘Now back to Scarrrrborough Country,’ ” he remembers. “I started to think, Damn it, she’s making fun of me.”
“It’s true,” Brzezinski admits. “I’d always sort of put the title in quotes.”
“Finally we met in New York,” Scarborough continues, “and I said, ‘Hey, I’m onto you. I know you’re mocking the show.’ And she said, ‘How can I mock a show I’ve never seen?’ I said, ‘But you’re here every night. You’re paid to watch this network.’ She said, ‘When you’re on, I use the time to call my friends.’ ”
Scarborough and I meet for lunch at Blue Smoke, Danny Meyer’s barbecue restaurant. It’s one of Scarborough’s favorite spots, and the host greets him warmly. Sliding into a booth, Scarborough says he’d normally get the ribs but is worried such a heavy lunch might put him to sleep. Instead, he orders the chicken wings, the vegetable plate, and the chocolate cake.
Scarborough is talking about what he calls his post-nineties “ideological fatigue” and how it is that he became the mellow, fleece-wearing Republican that Democrats love to like. “I think I was painted one way in Congress. That 1994 class was the most conservative class in ages, and I got put in that box. And now, here, I’m painted another way. Republicans don’t understand. They expect me to be loyal. I hear about it from my parents whenever I go after Bush. I keep trying to give them a sporting analogy. I’ll say, ‘If I was a ref for a football game, you wouldn’t expect me to cheat for my team, would you?’ But I think they do expect me to cheat.”
Scarborough points to Hurricane Katrina as a turning point in his thinking about Bush. The day after the storm hit, he and his wife drove to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he broadcast for the next two weeks. “More than the war, that’s where Bush really started losing people,” he says. “It wasn’t just the general sense of incompetency. It was the idea that maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe all of those things people say about Republicans—maybe that’s the case.”
All of the glowing post-Katrina Anderson Cooper profiles notwithstanding, Scarborough rather proudly insists that “Scarborough Country was the first show to go after Bush at the time. I thought I could do it especially because I was a Republican. And I just went after him with a vengeance. I think that was the first time people who’d seen my show once in 2003 and said ‘God, I hate him’ might have flipped the channel back.”
One can’t help but wonder to what extent Scarborough’s non-wagging finger has been testing the wind, but Scarborough insists his conversion isn’t one of convenience and that, anyway, he hasn’t really converted. “Every time someone calls me a traitor, I tell them, ‘Name an issue where I’ve changed from ten years ago when I was a right-wing nut.’ The difference now is, I just never, ever believe that I’m necessarily right anymore, that I’m the only one with the answers.”
Scarborough’s energy is flagging a bit, and he’s staring down at one of the wings he’s absently dunked into a cup of ranch dressing. He still calls himself a Republican, though he says he’s not sure how he’ll vote in November. “What’s McCain’s bumper sticker: MORE WAR, LESS JOBS?” he asks, perking up at his own joke. “I don’t see how a Republican fights it. This is a tidal wave coming in. And you just don’t swim against the tide.”
Part of the success of Morning Joe has been serendipity. This year’s endless, and atypically compelling, election has played to the strengths of the show. But a lot of it has to do with Scarborough’s likability.
“I was totally skeptical, and now I’m totally won over,” says Time editor-at-large Mark Halperin, a political analyst at ABC News. “I was a huge fan of Imus, but Joe has taken that real estate and turned it into something—and I say this without hyperbole—revolutionary. There’s no other show that does what they do. They’ve really found a new form.”
Scarborough came up with the format himself, convinced that it played to his strengths. The show’s leisurely, conversational tone has a drive-time-radio feel. The bookers balance out the usual suspects—MSNBC stalwarts like Matthews and Pat Buchanan—with quirkier choices not seen as often on cable: Frank Rich, Hendrik Hertzberg, John Ridley. Interviews run twice as long as similar segments on competitors’ shows, allowing room for both depth and digression.
And his co-hosts provide him with the opportunity for banter and improvisation that was missing from Scarborough Country. Willie Geist (son of longtime CBS News correspondent Bill Geist) sits in front of an open laptop, of late the de rigueur prop for cable election coverage, and fills the Jimmy Olsen slot. Mika Brzezinski (daughter of former national-security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski) reads the news and acts as a gentle liberal foil to Scarborough. There’s a flirtatious, Sam-and-Diane sort of chemistry to their sparrings. The two first worked together when Brzezinski did news breaks from New Jersey during Scarborough Country. “Whenever she tossed it back to me, she’d always say, ‘Now back to Scarrrrborough Country,’ ” he remembers. “I started to think, Damn it, she’s making fun of me.”
“It’s true,” Brzezinski admits. “I’d always sort of put the title in quotes.”
“Finally we met in New York,” Scarborough continues, “and I said, ‘Hey, I’m onto you. I know you’re mocking the show.’ And she said, ‘How can I mock a show I’ve never seen?’ I said, ‘But you’re here every night. You’re paid to watch this network.’ She said, ‘When you’re on, I use the time to call my friends.’ ”
Scarborough and I meet for lunch at Blue Smoke, Danny Meyer’s barbecue restaurant. It’s one of Scarborough’s favorite spots, and the host greets him warmly. Sliding into a booth, Scarborough says he’d normally get the ribs but is worried such a heavy lunch might put him to sleep. Instead, he orders the chicken wings, the vegetable plate, and the chocolate cake.
Scarborough is talking about what he calls his post-nineties “ideological fatigue” and how it is that he became the mellow, fleece-wearing Republican that Democrats love to like. “I think I was painted one way in Congress. That 1994 class was the most conservative class in ages, and I got put in that box. And now, here, I’m painted another way. Republicans don’t understand. They expect me to be loyal. I hear about it from my parents whenever I go after Bush. I keep trying to give them a sporting analogy. I’ll say, ‘If I was a ref for a football game, you wouldn’t expect me to cheat for my team, would you?’ But I think they do expect me to cheat.”
Scarborough points to Hurricane Katrina as a turning point in his thinking about Bush. The day after the storm hit, he and his wife drove to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he broadcast for the next two weeks. “More than the war, that’s where Bush really started losing people,” he says. “It wasn’t just the general sense of incompetency. It was the idea that maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe all of those things people say about Republicans—maybe that’s the case.”
All of the glowing post-Katrina Anderson Cooper profiles notwithstanding, Scarborough rather proudly insists that “Scarborough Country was the first show to go after Bush at the time. I thought I could do it especially because I was a Republican. And I just went after him with a vengeance. I think that was the first time people who’d seen my show once in 2003 and said ‘God, I hate him’ might have flipped the channel back.”
One can’t help but wonder to what extent Scarborough’s non-wagging finger has been testing the wind, but Scarborough insists his conversion isn’t one of convenience and that, anyway, he hasn’t really converted. “Every time someone calls me a traitor, I tell them, ‘Name an issue where I’ve changed from ten years ago when I was a right-wing nut.’ The difference now is, I just never, ever believe that I’m necessarily right anymore, that I’m the only one with the answers.”
Scarborough’s energy is flagging a bit, and he’s staring down at one of the wings he’s absently dunked into a cup of ranch dressing. He still calls himself a Republican, though he says he’s not sure how he’ll vote in November. “What’s McCain’s bumper sticker: MORE WAR, LESS JOBS?” he asks, perking up at his own joke. “I don’t see how a Republican fights it. This is a tidal wave coming in. And you just don’t swim against the tide.”
tvguide's sexiest soap stars
TVGuide recently released its list of the sexiest Soap Stars.. here's there list and I will come up a list of my own as well..
25. Rebecca Herbst - General Hospital
24. Maura West - As the World Turns
23. Ashley Jones - Bold and the Beautiful
22. Michelle Rae Smith - Guiding Light
21. Shelly Hennig - Days of Our Lives
20. Marnie Schlenburg - As the World Turns
19. Eva Marcille - The Young and the Restless
18. Marie Wilson - As the World Turns
17. Leslie Kay - The Bold and the Beautiful
16. Kristin Storms - General Hospital
15. Christal Kahlil - The Young and the Restless
14. Alicia Minshew - All My Children
13. Bree Williamson - One Life to Live
12. Julie Pinson - As the World Turns
11. Kristian Alfonso - Days of Our Lives
10. Terry Columbino - As the World Turns
9. Sharon Case - The Young and the Restless
8. Arianne Zucker - Days of Our Lives
7. Sarah Brown - General Hospital
6. Gina Tognoni - Guiding Light
5. Rebecca Budig - All My Children
4. Katherine Kelly Lang - The Bold and the Beautiful
3. Nadia Bjorlin - The Days of Our Lives
2. Michelle Stafford - The Young and the Restless
1. Kelly Monaco - General Hospital
25. Rebecca Herbst - General Hospital
24. Maura West - As the World Turns
23. Ashley Jones - Bold and the Beautiful
22. Michelle Rae Smith - Guiding Light
21. Shelly Hennig - Days of Our Lives
20. Marnie Schlenburg - As the World Turns
19. Eva Marcille - The Young and the Restless
18. Marie Wilson - As the World Turns
17. Leslie Kay - The Bold and the Beautiful
16. Kristin Storms - General Hospital
15. Christal Kahlil - The Young and the Restless
14. Alicia Minshew - All My Children
13. Bree Williamson - One Life to Live
12. Julie Pinson - As the World Turns
11. Kristian Alfonso - Days of Our Lives
10. Terry Columbino - As the World Turns
9. Sharon Case - The Young and the Restless
8. Arianne Zucker - Days of Our Lives
7. Sarah Brown - General Hospital
6. Gina Tognoni - Guiding Light
5. Rebecca Budig - All My Children
4. Katherine Kelly Lang - The Bold and the Beautiful
3. Nadia Bjorlin - The Days of Our Lives
2. Michelle Stafford - The Young and the Restless
1. Kelly Monaco - General Hospital
Saturday, July 19, 2008
it's offical..
90210: Shannen Doherty to Direct Musical
By Kristin Dos Santos Sat Jul 19, 11:44 AM PDT
It's official. Shannen Doherty is coming to the CW's 90210 spinoff for multiple episodes this fall, and according to Executive Producer Gabe Sachs, "She's going to direct our musical."
But wait, before you 90-diehards start planning your trip to Broadway to see Steve Sanders in spandex with jazz hands, you should know he meant Shannen's character Brenda, will play the director of West Beverly High's musical--on the show within the show.
Still, pretty awesome, no?
Not to mention, this could mean that Katie Holmes won't be the only TV guest star this season displaying her musical talents. I asked exec producer Jeff Judah if Shannen will be singing or dancing and he said, "It's possible. It's possible."
So where has Brenda been since we last saw her heading off to London to study acting?
According to the See-Dub, "Brenda became a successful theater actress, splitting her time between London and New York....West Beverly Hills High School has approached Walsh to return as a guest director for the school's musical production."
According to producers, Shannen, Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth are the only ones who've been approached so far to return. "Those are the three," says Sachs. "We'd welcome the others if there was something appropriate that organically fit in with our stories, but we haven't spoken to them yet."
And Juday says they do still have a deal with Tori. "She is exhausted from having the baby and when she's up for it, she'll be on the show."
Also:
• The Peach Pit has transitioned into a "hip coffee house" like the Urth Café, and there is a club upstairs. As exec producer Jeff Judah joked, "It's not going to be like [in the old show], 'Hey it's Color Me Badd!' " • Per Judah, many of the show's real-world lavish lifestyle locations (shopping on Robertson Blvd., etc.) will already be familiar to viewers by way of The Hills and the pages of Us Weekly. He told us, "The audience has become more sophisticated...from following celebrity gossip." • Quote of the Moment: "The difference between Lucille Bluth and Tabitha is that Lucille likes vodka and Tabitha likes Scotch." — Jessica Walter, formerly of Arrested Development and now of 90210, on what distinguishes her two recent TV characters
Stand by for more 90 dish closer to the big Sept. 2 premiere. In the meantime, what do you think of Brenda's latest turn and the possibility of others returning?
By Kristin Dos Santos Sat Jul 19, 11:44 AM PDT
It's official. Shannen Doherty is coming to the CW's 90210 spinoff for multiple episodes this fall, and according to Executive Producer Gabe Sachs, "She's going to direct our musical."
But wait, before you 90-diehards start planning your trip to Broadway to see Steve Sanders in spandex with jazz hands, you should know he meant Shannen's character Brenda, will play the director of West Beverly High's musical--on the show within the show.
Still, pretty awesome, no?
Not to mention, this could mean that Katie Holmes won't be the only TV guest star this season displaying her musical talents. I asked exec producer Jeff Judah if Shannen will be singing or dancing and he said, "It's possible. It's possible."
So where has Brenda been since we last saw her heading off to London to study acting?
According to the See-Dub, "Brenda became a successful theater actress, splitting her time between London and New York....West Beverly Hills High School has approached Walsh to return as a guest director for the school's musical production."
According to producers, Shannen, Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth are the only ones who've been approached so far to return. "Those are the three," says Sachs. "We'd welcome the others if there was something appropriate that organically fit in with our stories, but we haven't spoken to them yet."
And Juday says they do still have a deal with Tori. "She is exhausted from having the baby and when she's up for it, she'll be on the show."
Also:
• The Peach Pit has transitioned into a "hip coffee house" like the Urth Café, and there is a club upstairs. As exec producer Jeff Judah joked, "It's not going to be like [in the old show], 'Hey it's Color Me Badd!' " • Per Judah, many of the show's real-world lavish lifestyle locations (shopping on Robertson Blvd., etc.) will already be familiar to viewers by way of The Hills and the pages of Us Weekly. He told us, "The audience has become more sophisticated...from following celebrity gossip." • Quote of the Moment: "The difference between Lucille Bluth and Tabitha is that Lucille likes vodka and Tabitha likes Scotch." — Jessica Walter, formerly of Arrested Development and now of 90210, on what distinguishes her two recent TV characters
Stand by for more 90 dish closer to the big Sept. 2 premiere. In the meantime, what do you think of Brenda's latest turn and the possibility of others returning?
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
did u know it was back
TONIGHT???? DAMN You Bravo for Hating and not doing promos for the new season..
morning in america part 2
The past few months have been volatile at MSNBC. The network managed to boost its profile during the unusually dramatic primary season but also became a target of both the right (as the home of Keith Olbermann) and the left (when Chris Matthews was accused of sexism). Then came the sudden death last month of Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief, host of Meet the Press, and a regular presence on Morning Joe and other MSNBC shows. “Andrea Mitchell, myself, all of us in the Washington bureau—Morning Joe has become a staple for us,” Russert told me two weeks before he died.
“It’s like a bomb’s gone off, and everyone’s just doing their best to recover,” Scarborough says of Russert’s death. He seems reluctant to make much of their friendship, mocking the “long line of carnival barkers trying to associate themselves with Tim.” But eventually he says, “It’s been much more staggering personally than professionally. At the memorial service, when Springsteen appeared, I thought, God, please don’t play ‘Thunder Road.’ He did. That’s the first time I put my head in my arms and lost it. I’d never seen him more like a kid than when I heard him talking about seeing Springsteen play that song.”
Russert had chuckled when I brought up the recent partisan critiques of NBC News. “That’s nothing new,” he said. Besides, with someone like Scarborough, “it’s not as if people are trying to present him as a news anchor. He’s not. But even though he’s a conservative Republican, he’s not afraid to criticize his own party. And I think people find that refreshing.”
Scarborough’s slippery partisan loyalty has proved useful to the network. Despite his criticisms of the Bush administration, he is often cited as MSNBC’s house Republican, his Morning Joe a counterpoint to Olbermann’s Countdown. And indeed, Scarborough’s nineties résumé is that of a true conservative.
He has said his “visceral dislike” of the newly elected Bill Clinton inspired him to run for the House of Representatives in 1994. At the time, he was living in Pensacola with his first wife and two sons, putting his law degree to use litigating local insurance cases. Despite having no political background, he launched a quixotic campaign and was elected as part of the class of freshman Republicans who swept Newt Gingrich to power. He supported impeaching Clinton, abolishing the Department of Education, and cutting off AIDS funding for the so-called Ryan White Act. (He lost all of those battles, the last by a vote of 402 to 4.)
But Scarborough bristles at being called one of Gingrich’s “lieutenants.” “We never really clicked,” he says now. Still, he concedes that the militancy-by-association “helped me get reelected in a district Jerry Falwell called one of the most conservative in America.” He was certainly one of the hardest-line freshmen when it came to government spending—part of the group who would come to be known as “the New Federalists”—and says he’s still “almost libertarian” on economic issues. “But I was always quirky on human rights, China, the environment,” he says. “I say ‘quirky’: Republicans couldn’t figure out which way I was going to break on votes. They finally just gave up whipping me.”
“Republicans don’t understand. They expect me to be loyal. I hear about it from my parents whenever I go after Bush.”
“Joe was a partisan, but he wasn’t a crazy,” says liberal Massachusetts congressman Bill Delahunt, one of Scarborough’s closest friends in the House. “I think if Joe had stayed in Congress, he’d definitely be in leadership now, and his voice would have been good for the Republican Party.”
By the late nineties, Scarborough was losing interest in Washington. He began flying back to his district every weekend to play gigs with his band, Regular Joe. The chorus to one of his songs went, “We can’t change the world, we can’t change the world / Life’s a bitch and they can’t make me care.” He drank onstage “with regularity,” and his marriage broke up in 1997. (He married his current wife, Susan Waren, a former fund-raiser for Jeb Bush, in 2001.) A profile of Scarborough in the St. Petersburg Times from 2000 opens with a description of his Florida office, including the “empty Absolut vodka bottles” cluttering his “desk,” which was really a door atop a pair of sawhorses.
Scarborough retired from Congress in 2001, to spend more time with his then-13-year-old son. But he continued to make appearances on shows like Hardball and Hannity & Colmes, and Phil Griffin took notice. MSNBC, then floundering in third place among cable news networks, had decided to emulate top-rated Fox News with an O’Reilly Factor of its own. Scarborough was telegenic, quick on his feet, and came off as a sort of populist Everyman.
But Scarborough never quite mastered the voice of perpetual outrage. “There are very few things in politics that make me feel like wagging my finger,” he says. “It wasn’t me.” Scarborough has two major modes on television. Either he holds his face unnaturally still, maintaining a somewhat stagy deadpan, or he appears to be on the verge of laughing. “I remember my first six months in Congress, doing all the cable shows,” he says. “I saw myself on TV once, and I looked so angry it scared me. So I sort of made a rule that every time I started to get upset, I’d laugh and tell a joke.”
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
i just may go..
Besides obsessing over the lineup of prime time speakers, national convention planners in both parties are frenetically orchestrating the behind-the-scenes fun -- the real reason why people go to these events: to party.
More than just coronating their respective presidential nominees, the Republican and Democratic national conventions have long been bastions of booze-and-schmooze infused celebrations, where influence peddlers wine and dine the masses and rub elbows with the folks they hope will become the government's power brokers for the next four years. And even though a new lobby disclosure law is putting a bit of a damper on the logistics and degree of largess bestowed by corporations looking to cozy up to the next potential administration, never fear, partygoers. There'll still be plenty of entertainment and late-night partying in both Denver and Minneapolis.
First up, the Democratic National Convention in Denver, which begins, Monday, Aug. 25. Among the big-name performers likely to make a splash in the Mile High City are hip-hop king Kanye West, reggae/hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and the rap/rock fusion band N.E.R.D.
A host of silver-screen and TV actors are also expected to be in Denver, according to convention sources, including: the ubiquitous Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Warren Beatty and wife Annette Bening, Forrest Whitaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal (who stars with the late Heath Ledger and Sen. Patrick Leahy in the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight"), Cheryl Hines (of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," a Sleuth fave) and Ed Norton Jr.
The slew of corporate sponsors of the Democratic National Convention include United Airlines, Google, Coors Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, Xcel Energy and telecom giants Motorola, Qwest and -- a brand you'll see plastered all over the place in Denver -- AT&T.
As the "official wireless provider" of the Democratic National Convention, AT&T will be helping to sponsor a number of parties over the four days, including a bash for Bono's One Campaign. We hear that the One Campaign, in conjunction with the Recording Industry Association of America, is close to sealing a deal with Kanye West to perform at the event. (Something tells us Kanye won't be performing at the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Remember his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" riff after Hurricane Katrina?)
Of course AT&T can now focus on the fun side of the convention, thanks to congressional passage last week of the domestic spying bill. With its key telecom immunity provision -- supported by the flip-flopping presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama -- the company no longer has to worry about all those pesky lawsuits it faced for helping the Bush administration snoop on its unsuspecting customers.
MTV and Rock the Vote are also expected to host a party headlining N.E.R.D. and Wyclef Jean.
While he won't give specifics on entertainers and celebrities who will be attending, Chris Lopez, a spokesman for the Democratic convention's host committee, tells the Sleuth, "We are expecting both the A-List of Hollywood as well as citizens from across the country to show up in Denver and enjoy the convention ... There will be something for everyone to enjoy and participate in. It will be an amazing week that will culminate with the historical nomination of Barack Obama at Invesco Field on Thursday evening, Aug. 28."
The challenge for party throwers, given the constraints of the tough new ethics rules, is in hosting events that aren't just primarily concerts but that meet the "reception exception" under the law. In other words, a hot entertainer who ordinarily charges beaucoup bucks at any other venue can't just give away his or her concerts for free at a lobbyist-sponsored convention party where members of Congress and Hill staffers abound.
Rob Walker, a former chief counsel of both the House and Senate ethics committees, says the concert can't masquerade as a reception. "It can't be a concert calling itself a reception," he says.
Walker, now a lawyer with the firm Wiley Rein, notes that corporations and other entities that retain or employ lobbyists are skittish about sponsoring parties now that they face potential criminal and civil penalties if they knowingly give a gift that may not be acceptable under the gift rule. "This certainly accounts for the reluctance to donate to some of these things," he says.
Monday, July 14, 2008
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