Gawker
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gossip roundup
The John Edwards Sex Tape: "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
A former aide says there's tape out there of John Edwards ridin' dirty! Jon Gosselin is enjoying his first few days of freedom, with frisbee! Elliot Spitzer thinks he's better than Mark Sanford. Presenting your politics-happy Sunday morning gossip roundup: More »
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By Foster KamerComment by Unsolicited Advice: Edwards was one of the biggest hidden-in-plain-sight scuzzball in the history of politics. It was always weirdly obvious that... 6 Responses | Other threads
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lying liars
Looking Back At Other Political Scandal Press Conferences
Today Mark Sanford detailed his affair with an Argentinian woman, and even though we now know that he was forced into it, it's difficult not to kinda admire his candor in comparison to the brazenness of other busted politicians. More »
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Comment by steven_scareplanes: You know I just took the Myers-Briggs personality test and got ENFJ like Clinton. 5 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
Pretend Father of John Edwards' Love-Child Trying to Sell Tell-All
The guy who pretended to be the father of Rielle Hunter's child with John Edwards is shopping a book! It might be a picture book. All of the pictures are of John and this mystery baby. More »
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By PareeneComment by if_i_only_had_a_heart: who else is speaking up about poverty? 3 Responses | Other threads
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assholes
John Edwards Is Still a Deluded Narcissist
To be fair, a personality disorder is not the sort of thing that just takes care of itself overnight. Still, in an interview with the Washington Post, shamed horndog mill-worker's-son John Edwards sounds kinda self-important, still. More »
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By PareeneComment by misslinda: He's right you know. If he didn't throw his hat into the ring, those two would've never put detailed health... 6 Responses | Other threads
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journalisism
John Edwards' Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name
Elizabeth Edwards has been demanding that her interviewers not utter the name of that woman—Rielle Hunter—as a condition for granting interviews. And CNN, Oprah, and NBC News have all caved. More »
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By John CookComment by resipsaloquacious: Maybe the interviewers did not say her name because, like me, they do not know how to pronounce "Rielle"? first... 3 Responses | Other threads
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stories
Who Made Up the Edwards 'Doomsday Scenario'?
So who told George Stephanopoulos this nutty story about the secret plan to sabotage the John Edwards campaign? Because no one will admit to it. More »
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By PareeneComment by lobstr: former candidates' staffers have alumni associations?? marquee on the Minneapolis VFW Post 626: "Mondale AA Canceled due to Matlock Marathon" 1 Responses | Other threads
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sad
Elizabeth Edwards Takes 'Shame Tour '09' To Today
Elizabeth Edwards is, obviously, more or less the most sympathetic woman in the world, as a cancer survivor married to an asshole who cheated on her with some hippie freak. But no one likes her. More »
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By PareeneComment by Failsafe: Elizabeth Edwards had everyone's sympathy until she decided to speak up for herself, as opposed to being the long-suffering wife.... 10 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
John Edwards' Campaign Staff's Secret Doomsday Plan To Take Him Down
Serious shit: apparently, Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign intended to bring the entire thing down onto itself. More »
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By Foster KamerComment by ChillbearLatrigue: What heroism seethes beneath the surface of the Democratic Party. I don't believe them for a second. They would have... 6 Responses | Other threads
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philanderers
Rielle Hunter Takes John Edwards Up on His Offer to Take a Paternity Test
When John Edwards finally admitted his affair with Rielle Hunter, he denied fathering her child and offered to take a DNA test to prove it. Hunter—conveniently!—turned him down. Now she's changed her mind. More »
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By John CookComment by FormerEnglishMajor: Big miscalculation on Elizabeth Edwards' part. All her press ("don't mention her name") was bound to make Rielle want revenge... 6 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
John Edwards' Wife Acknowledges Love Child Possible
In trying to keep his extramarital problems private, John Edwards only exposed them to a wider public. His latest shameful moment: His wife Elizabeth can't say she loves him or believes his love-child denial. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by momof3wildkids: She has a stoicism that is certainly admirable, especially in contrast to her despicable husband. What is also sad about this... 20 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
John Edwards Affair Hits Big Time
John Edwards' philandering has gone federal. It might soon hit the courts. And to think just last summer the scandal was penny ante: stuck in the tabloid swamps, save for a disappointing ABC finale.
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By Ryan TateComment by BonMorte: Couldn't happen to a better guy. Trial lawyer that made his fortune on junk science and emotional appeals tries to... 40 Responses | Other threads
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elizabeth edwards
Elizabeth Edwards Finally Confesses She Married a Cad
The callous infidelity of formerly relevant politician John Edwards lingers: cheating on his wife, a cancer survivor, and then lying about it. Now she's having her say. Could she make her husband look any worse? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by FormerEnglishMajor: So it was Rielle who "seduced" John merely by saying "you are so hot"? It wasn't, say, John who was "pathetic"?... 31 Responses | Other threads
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journalismism
John Edwards Told Wife About Love Child, According To John Edwards
Remember John Edwards, the Southern Gentleman whose lifelong dream of being President Hillary Clinton's veep was ruined when he admitted a marital affair? The National Enquirer continues to torment the has-been politician.
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By Ryan TateComment by City_Dater: Gotta hand it to him and Bill Clinton for inverting the usual cheating politician trope: they have great taste in... 3 Responses | Other threads
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year in review
The Best (and Worst) Sex Scandals of 2008
Amid 2008's many sex scandals, it was a miracle there was any time left to monitor an epochal presidential election. There were many genuine, dirty affairs — and some duds inevitably got overhyped. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Sproing: Sorry, swap #1 with #2. A governor is not a presidential candidate, and Silda does not have cancer. It's a... 6 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
Rielle Hunter's Final Indignity: Stuck in New Jersey
When Democratic party uber-lawyer Fred Baron died this year, he left poor Rielle Hunter with nothing. So she's back on the East Coast and ready to party! More »
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By PareeneComment by BookishLookish: What is she wearing? If you're reading, Rielle, check out El Bandido Mexican on Main Street; best in the Oranges. 6 Responses | Other threads
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mistakes
Sad John Edwards Not Picked for Team of Rivals
A feisty young blogger named Matt points out that John Edwards has not yet been given a job in the Obama administration. Shocking! As Matt points out, in his link, Edwards totally endorsed Obama last May, four months after he dropped out of the race and a mere week after Tim Russert famously declared the Democratic primary race "over" for Hillary Clinton. Despite the lateness of the endorsement it was universally acknowledged that Edwards wanted a job—then he had a sex scandal and now he will be lucky to get a job blogging about the law for Slate. More »
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By PareeneComment by American Dreamer: If Obama wanted to avoid scandal he should have avoided selecting Bill Richardson for his cabinet. Beyond the fact that Bill... 52 Responses | Other threads
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embarrassments
Foley and Edwards Emerge From Caves of Shame
The election is over, so bring on last season's political liabilities! Remember Mark Foley? He was the Republican Congressman from Florida who liked steamroom, and also young male congressional pages. Some, uh, inappropriate instant messenger exchanges with one of those young men came to light, and then the Republicans lost the 2006 mid-term elections. Foley said he was an alcoholic who'd been turned gay by a molesting priest as a child, resigned, and checked into rehab, never to be heard from again, until after the 2008 elections were safely over. Now he's opening up to the Associated Press, because he needs to tell his side of the story. His side of the story is sad and creepy. More »
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By PareeneComment by Weegee's bored: In the year that I've been commenting I've written nothing but inappropriate messages. No pregnancies or arrests yet, though. 4 Responses | Other threads
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be my baby
National Enquirer: John Edwards' Fate Hangs on Poopy Diapers
John Edwards could have settled the question of whether or not he fathered the child of campaign "filmmaker" Rielle Hunter during his affair with her last year, but instead he left it up to the discretion of the National Enquirer. Edwards' payoffs through recently deceased trial lawyer Fred Baron had previously convinced Hunter to refuse a paternity test, but her rumored new tell-all book and an end to getting paid may change that reticence. Racing her to press is the Enquirer, who are apparently keen on settling the matter in the most disgusting way possible: DNA siphoned from a months-old dirty diaper. More »
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Comment by nanashi: Aww, Geez, leave the poor guy alone. He's already a footnote. 3 Responses | Other threads
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obituary
Fred Baron, father of Rocketboom, clicks "stop"
Fred Baron, a Texas trial lawyer, died last Thursday of cancer. Fellow litigators remember him for the "toxic tort" lawsuits he filed; politicos know him as the man who relocated former presidential candidate John Edwards's mistress, Rielle Hunter, to Santa Barbara, in the hopes of keeping her away from the public eye. But the Internet-obsessed crowd will inevitably think of him as the man who inflicted chesty-news videoblog Rocketboom on them; first, by fathering videoblogger Andrew Baron, then giving his son the funding for his project. Oh, and then suing him over it. Despite that, Andrew sought to have his father given an experimental cancer treatment. Blood is thicker than blogs.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Shadowlayer: Dude if I die try to make it sound more dramatic than it was, specially if it's a tricycle accident... more » | Other threads
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and now he's dead
Fred Baron
Fred Baron, the attorney who rebuilt the Texas Democratic party and became famous, late in life, for his unfortunate help in covering up the extramarital affair of former Senator John Edwards, died Thursday of cancer. He was 61. Baron made a fortune in asbestos litigation, and used the funds to found the Texas Democratic Trust in 2005, among countless other philanthropic causes. In the Edwards affair, Baron was revealed as the source of the supposed "hush money" keeping mistress Rielle Hunter living in relative luxury. Baron fought corporations to the end, demanding that a pharmaceutical company allow him to use an experimental drug in his treatment. He won, but it didn't work. He won, but it didn't work. He is survived by his son Andrew, founder of the dumb internet video program Rocketboom. Andrew organized a movement to get his father the drug, enlisting Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, and John Kerry to help. [DallasNews]
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By PareeneComment by Our Lady of the Massacre: Regardless of what he did in life, 61 is too damn young. :-( 3 Responses | Other threads
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john edwards
Elizabeth Edwards Serially Ringless
As we noted Thursday morning, the Washington Post this week prominentaly mentioned that the wife of Democratic politician John Edwards, Elizabeth, was missing her wedding band when she recently stepped back into public view. Perhaps, we thought, this was a sign the marriage was over. But as commenter La Cieca first noticed, Edwards also went ringless in 2007; we dug through photo archives and found she's been slipping her ring on and off for years now, seemingly without regard for the ups and downs of her marriages. The band would appear meaningless as to the state of her marriage. And yet: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by DownTheRabbitHole: Another theory is that her fingers are swelling as a side effect of the meds she could be on as... 5 Responses | Other threads
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john edwards
Ringless Wife Ditching John Edwards
John Edwards knows how to drag out a scandal. After falsely denying an Oct. 2007 report he was cheating on cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth, a more credible investigation was published in July, and Edwards spent several weeks dodging questions. He eventually confessed to ABC News, but insisted he hadn't fooled around with his mistress since 2006. Everyone thought that was bullshit, and now it looks like they were correct: The Washington Post this week noticed Elizabeth Edwards was missing her wedding band at a recent George Washington University appearance, with her husband absent. And Page Six heard further whispers: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by ouikant: I'm not trying to be mean, but I really can't see why he married her in the first place? 23 Responses | Other threads
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scandal
Edwards Financer Dying, Denied Access to Miracle Drug
Remember the Edwards scandal? It seems like it was so many crises ago. To remind you: attorney Fred Baron is the former Edwards campaign financer who saved the failed Presidential candidate by not being able to remember anything about paying for Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter's rent and legal needs. Baron's son—Rocketboom founder Andrew Baron—jumped into the fray with some unadvisable blogging in defense of his dad. The story began as a farce, but now it's veering towards tragedy: last week the elder Baron was diagnosed with multiple myeoma. He could die within the week unless he gets access to a certain miracle drug. More »
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By SheilaComment by MissNormaDesmond: I don't mean to be a bitch here. This guy is obviously upset and in pain, and well he... 4 Responses | Other threads
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national enquirer
National Enquirer Is Popular
The National Enquirer's John Edwards love child scoop turned out to have actually sold some extra issues! Funny how that works. The scandalous rag's August 11 issue claiming Edwards was paying $15k per month in hush money sold 738,000 issues—about 10% better than average. Unfortunately, the "tenfold increase in usual monthly traffic" to the Enquirer's website probably means that all their extra cash is going towards bandwidth payments—web advertising is pre-sold, and traffic spikes don't translate to immediate money. UNFORTUNATELY. [WWD] -
andrew baron
Rocketboom son and dad profess ignorance about Edwards affair
John Edwards has admitted to his affair with "filmmaker" Rielle Hunter, even if he hasn't come totally clean about the shenanigans he and his inner circle of advisors went through to keep it a secret. Elizabeth Edwards has also admitted that she knew about the affair before her husband formally announced his candidacy. But the Baron family — deep-pocketed trial lawyer Fred Baron and son Andrew Baron, who funded his startup Rocketboom from the family coffers — continue to hand-wave about what, exactly, they knew. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by lobotomy42: I'm not so sure I see what the big deal is. more » | Other threads
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john edwards
Bimbo Eruption Warning
The New York Times—late to coverage of philandering by John Edwards—is making up for lost time. The usually prissy Gray Lady may be investigating the former Democratic presidential candidate's relationship with yet another woman, this one a Duke graduate. [Radar]
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By Nick DentonComment by DontMakeMe: @DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Nick said it was a WOMAN dumbass. more » | Other threads
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rielle hunter
Edwards Mistress On Letting Go
TMZ has uncovered brief footage of Rielle Hunter on a game show called Lingo in 2002. Salient details: The show was hosted by Chuck Woolery of Love Connection fame (HA), and also Hunter claims to be practiced at moving on from things, even though she's now living on the dole of a supporter of John Edwards more than a year after the Democratic politician said their affair ended. Maybe she has some other reason for taking the money, other than being clingy, like a scandalous GENUINE love child. This very brief excerpt is pretty convincing/damning/irrefutable. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by bikini_lounger: @jasonelias: Yeah, it's like they're freaky soul mates or something. @lobstr: Very impressive. Even though I didn't witness behind-the-scenes-commercial-break... Chuck, I... more » | Other threads
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news analysis
Why Is The 'Other Woman' Always Such A Blabbermouth?
So John Edwards' maybe-babymama Rielle Hunter was a blabbermouth. Have you ever known anyone who had an affair with a married man? How'd you find out? Rhetorical question, yes! More »
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By MoeComment by Trixie from Toronto: @sqweegee: I think you've just totally put it together. more » | Other threads
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the edwards lovechild
Meet Baby Frances Quinn
John Edwards will surely one day be exposed as a despicable liar—one so manipulative that he could deny the obvious even when "stripped bare" during his confessional Nightline interview. Unfortunately, today is not the day. More »
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By Nick DentonComment by MissNormaDesmond: @limama: This is what seems much more damning to me; the photo's kind of irrelevant. I just can't imagine a... 1 Responses | Other threads
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rielle hunter
Edwards Mistress Beloved At Classy Parties
"The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was a big fan of John Edwards' lover Rielle Hunter... [At] a dinner party she hosted in London, [Diana] had someone read the dirty parts of Jay McInerney's 'Story of My Life' to guests while the waiters stood behind the chairs and tried not to laugh." [Post]
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By Ryan TateComment by Charlotte Rae's Web: @Ausoleil: Bingo. I tried to tell people that when all of this started. The word around Chapel Hill and Raleigh... more » | Other threads
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scandal
'Enquirer' Has More Baby Pictures
Octogenarian Post gossipeuse Cindy Adams reports that the Enquirer tomorrow will run a photo of Rielle Hunter holding the baby John Edwards maybe held in that photo that was maybe him in that hotel room he met Rielle at. They will have "proof" that it is the same baby and "proof" that it is not photoshopped. Cindy Adams also reports this: "ENOUGH already with New York's financial woes. Soon, instead of a torch, the Statue of Liberty will hold up a tin cup and pencils." [NYP]
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By PareeneComment by Baby Pictures Rock! - Ally Baby: Sure the picture is real. Check out those curtains. This picture is definitely from the seventies. more » | Other threads
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john edwards
Edwards Fascinates Naughty News Consumers
As first noted by the tenacious John Edwards-hounders at Deceiver.com, it seems Times readers are mighty interested in the philandering Democrat, even though many journalists said they simply shouldn't care about the scandal. As shown in the screenshot above, "John Edwards" is the most popular search term over the past week on nytimes.com. If the newspaper was crass enough to actually shape coverage around such reader-interest metrics, it might admit as miscalculation the assertion by the Times' campaign coverage editor last week that while the Edwards scandal was "fair game for journalism," it wasn't a "high priority" because "there are a lot of big issues.... and we have finite resources." After the jump, CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin on why her viewers neither wanted nor needed Edwards scandal coverage: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by DoGoodinNC: Could it be that there were kind-hearted journalists who considered that John Edwards' personal life is not our business, that... more » | Other threads
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clips
Rielle Hunter: Movie Star!
Years before Rielle Hunter carried on a torrid and weird affair with John Edwards (and years after her presumably torrid and weird affair with Jay McInerney) she tried her hand at acting in the moving pictures. Here she is in her star turn as "lady who holds a microphone up to Denzel" in the classic film Ricochet. As far as we know, we're the first ones to track down and digitize this scene—and probably the first to watch the movie Ricochet since 1992 or so. (Well, we didn't watch it. But someone at the office had to!) Enjoy! -
national enquirer
Edwards Scoop Won't Save National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is having an amazing week thanks to its coverage of John Edwards' philandering, but the supermarket tabloid is probably still going to die along with troubled parent company American Media Inc., the Times' David Carr reports for tomorrow's paper. It doesn't seem to matter that three of the best papers in the country all ran stories about how the Enquirer was right about Edwards and they were wrong or that the tabloid still owns the probably-not-finished scandal. AMI is so deep in the hole — nearly $1 billion! — that most analysts aren't even keeping track of the Edwards coverage or anything else about the company because they've written it off. One gave this fairly devastating quote to Carr, anonymously: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by MosseyCade: @Trixie from Toronto: "McCain's wife being caught in a hot lesbian clinch would turn everyone on and probably cause his... more » | Other threads
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op-ed
Roseanne on Brangelina: 'Vacuous Evil Spawn'
Comedian Roseanne Barr took to her website yesterday and unloaded on everyone. Hey, it's fun! On Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: "jon voight your evil spawn angelina jolie and her vacuous hubby brad pitt make about forty million dollars a year in violent psychopathic movies and give away three of it to starving children trying to look as if they give a fuck about humanity as they spit out more dunces that will consume more than their fair share and wreck the earth even more." And that's tepid compared with what she serves up for Voight himself, George Bush, John Edwards, and his former mistress Rielle Hunter. More »
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Comment by Mean_Ol_Liberal: @CheGuava: I've never read this work you're talking about. So I can't comment on it. I can say I agree... more » | Other threads
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scandal
John Edwards and Rielle Hunter, the Night Before the End of the Affair
This photo—of John Edwards being filmed by occasional mistress Rielle Hunter—reportedly was taken December 30, 2006. As we all know, Edwards claims he ended his affair and confessed to his wife in 2006. Hunter's contract with the Edwards campaign ended on December 31, at which point there are no more photos of her at campaign events. So. Either Edwards is lying about the date of the end of the affair and his confession, or... this is the night he did it? The campaign stopped paying her too, except for that $14,086 payment they made to Hunter in April of 2007. This story was so much simpler when everyone was just denying everything. See the full, uncropped photo at DBKP.
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By PareeneComment by Un Chien Andalou: @NeverEnough: He said after she was in remission. Context depends on where you put that comma. Lawyerspeak is so cool! Better... more » | Other threads
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Fred Baron
Orchestrating The Edwards Love-Child Alibi
The precious Times has finally condescended to do some original reporting the John Edwards scandal, pulling from the tabloidy muck a scoop establishing that Edwards loyalist Fred Baron, who can't quite recall these things clearly, admits he maybe set Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter and Edwards campaign aide Andrew Young up with two separate lawyer buddies of his, and also maybe paid their legal fees?? All this happened right before one of the lawyers announced that his new client Hunter was not carrying Edwards' love child, and then the other lawyer announced that her new client Young was the father of the love child. And you know, funny thing, both of the lawyers forgot to mention their ties to one another via Baron. Here are some great quotes where swaggering genius lawyer Baron (pictured) pretends he's an Alzheimer's patient, to the Times: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Jim Treacher: @La Cieca: The original story was not unsourced. You might not like the sources, but they weren't anonymous. As for this... more » | Other threads
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alan colmes
The Sudden Attack Of Fox's Pet Liberal
Alan Colmes is famous as a nightly sacrifice victim to the Repubican Gods who run Fox News Channel. Al Franken once called him the "zeta male" of the duo Hannity & Colmes and joked that Colmes' duties included making coffee and cleaning Fox honcho Roger Ailes' private bathroom. But something has transformed the little runt. Maybe he's taken heart in the nation's mounting hatred of all things Republican. Or maybe the John Edwards scandal has energized him. Or perhaps he just really, really hates John McCain. Anyway, here's a great clip in which Sean Hannity almost beats him to death. Click the video icon. [YouTube via Wonkette]
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By Ryan TateComment by Jim Treacher: He's been like this since somebody stole his "precious." more » | Other threads
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publishing
Edwards Scandal Great Opportunity for Media Synergy
At some point in your professional life as a media person, have you come into contact with Rielle Hunter, mistress of disgraced ex-presidential candidate John Edwards? Now is your chance to cash in! Hunter, as we've learned, has led a long and storied life among artists, writers, and men she sleeps with in the hopes that they're "powerful." One such man was Jay McInerney, who used a thinly fictionalized Hunter as the narrator of one of his "novels" (like Tumblrs but longer and on paper). That novel, the mostly forgotten Story of My Life, has just been reprinted and is fast climbing the Amazon sales charts. It's currently 226 at the internet bookseller. Last week it was, like, nowhere. Will all these voracious new readers enjoy the book? More » -
rielle hunter
The Horse Execution That Changed History
John Edwards mistress and new age nut Rielle Hunter had her humble beginnings under a different name: Lisa Druck. Growing up in Ocala, Florida (I've been there: grass, trees, Spanish moss, springs, that's it), her favorite pastime was riding show horses. But a tragedy befell her horse, and Druck eventually ended up as a drugged-out party girl in New York. Could this dark incident involving family, crime, and equine assassination have been the thing that eventually drove Rielle Hunter into the eager arms of John Edwards? If you're a new-age theorist like Hunter, the answer is a resounding "Yes!":
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Comment by Mr-Busy: So when Rielle screamed "Mount me, you Stallion!" she wasn't talking about John Edwards after all. See, doesn't that... more » | Other threads
john edwards
New York, 4:38 PM
Fri Jul 3
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Transformers blows up this weekend. Need to know more? io9 gets down and dirty with the superbots.
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Gizmodo's just reviewed two great smartphones, the Palm Pre and the iPhone 3GS. Here's a guide to help you decide which is better for you.
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The Life of Steve Jobs - So far.
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