John Edwards Affair: Some Silly Edwards News, Before Scandal Turns Serious Soon

John Edwards Scandal News
TV Movie Parts, Gary Pearce, 3 Stooges, Fred Baron Blurbs, Mickey Kaus, Kathy G, and Faith

"This is NOT my baby!" [photo: DougRoss@Journal]


"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy."


It's going to get serious in the immediate future for all involved in the John Edwards Love Child Scandal: Rielle Hunter, Andrew Young, Fred Baron, and of course, John Edwards himself. So, before it does, we thought we'd present this collection of odd and ends in the John Edwards Scandal.


Deceptive Nuggets


Deceiver has bits and pieces--but what nuggets they are!

That Moneyed Fred Baron Is in a Fix* contains a quick view of Edwards' Big Wallet, Fred Baron.

The New York Times has a story just out that has Baron bobbing and weaving, while spewing words that would make Bill Murray in Wild Orchids proud. (It's after this item.)



We bring this up because tagged onto the end of the Deceiver piece, Simon Scowl posed the question of who might play the role of Edwards' sacrificial lamb friend and former campaign worker, Andrew Young in the movie. Young is above left--a likely candidate for the movie is on the right.

Gob!


[Background information: Access almost 90 DBKP John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Scandal stories since December: John Edwards Love Child Scandal library.]


Fred Baron Forgets to Order Memorite

Fred Baron is asked more questions about the money trail in the Edwards scandal and seems to remember something about about someone sometime. And just exactly how did Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young procure the high-priced legal help that issued their infamous December denials claiming Frances Quinn Hunter was a joint effort between the two? From Lawyers' Ties in Edwards Case Suggest Extent of Hiding Affair:

On Wednesday, Mr. Baron said he might have directed Ms. Hunter to Mr. Gordon.

"I have this recollection of somebody asking me for lawyers in New York, and I remember naming three or four, and he must have been one of them," Mr. Baron said. Referring to Ms. Hunter, he added, "It was either her who called or somebody on her behalf."

And how did Andrew Young's legal representation in December come about?

"I remember getting a call from Pam and her telling me that she was representing him," Mr. Baron said. "I may have sent him over there, but on the other hand I may not have. I don't have an accurate recollection."

Sounds like Baron forgot something else--like his Memorite.


The Scoop From Snoop at Political Party Poop

Snoop at Political Party Poop has resurrected a post from April 2007: John Edwards Cynically Exploits His Wife’s Cancer To Get Fund Raising Emails.

Short and sweet and a reminder all politicians have no shame--and Edwards was a politician. As anyone who's visited PPP knows, there's so many hilarious things there, you won't know where to begin. We'd suggest Obama...Fame... and Blog Watch: Time to Clean out the Gene Pool.


Gary Pearce Wants to Give Edwards the 'Niagara Falls' Treatment





Gary Pearce, the Democratic strategist who ran John Edwards 1998 Senate race, isn't at all pleased with his former client. Pearce most probably believed Edwards--before a crush of Enquirer facts forced Edwards to a new defensive perimeter.

One almost can hear him join the Three Stooges as they performed their "Niagara Falls, slowly I turned..." routine.

Edwards even continued disparaging “supermarket tabloids.”

Earth to John: The National Enquirer now officially has more credibility than you do.

He said we can’t beat him up more than he’s beat himself up. Well, we’ll sure try.

By comparison, Richard Nixon’s Checkers speech was Churchillian in its dignity and honesty.

It’s not clear who gets the gold medal for biggest phony Friday night: Edwards or the Chinese who organized the Olympics’ opening ceremony.

Edwards’ performance in the interview was a disaster from the start. Woodruff hit him head-on: Did you have an affair?

Instead of saying “yes,” Edwards smiled and thanked Bob for coming by. He did everything but welcome Bob to his lovely home.

But wait! There's more... at the The Verdict is In].


We Made the Headlines!

And it was at Ace of Spades HQ, not the MSM!

On the left sidebar, under "Headlines", Hmmm...; Pseudonymous Wikipedia Editor with Great Interest in Rielle Hunter's Bio Seems to Know a Lot about the Limited Movie Career of Rielle Hunter, as Well as Unpublicized Facts about Hunter's Family



John Edwards, You Gotta Have Faith

Doug Ross: Faith Guiding our Votes


More Like The B-spot

Kathy G. sounded a bit bitter about Mickey Kaus bringing up the John Edwards scandal--at any point.

A Gentle Reader asks:

So when's Kathy going to apologize to Mickey Kaus?

Here's what I say to that: Mickey Kaus can kiss my royal Irish ass.

I said that the story about Edwards was dubious, but I never said that it wasn't or couldn't be true. However, I did argue that Kaus's obsession with it was bizarre and unseemly, which it was and is.

Kathy G. ends up with this observation: "The only thing it could do was to hurt and publicly humiliate Elizabeth Edwards and her two young children -- and I think you'll agree that that family has enough on its plate as it is. The only people clamoring for this to go public were heartless, vicious assholes like Kaus."

She then invites Kaus to partake of her left one.

Kathy G's really gonna be bitter with all the speculation that Elizabeth Edwards may have been an accomplice.

Guess Kathy G will get the right one ready at that point.

And when we publish a photo that we just received from a reader [and one would guess former Edwards supporter] later this morning?

Well...

I guess we'll get ready for the double whammy?

by Mondoreb
images: deceiver; michelemiller

The InvestigateOSphere vs. The ProtectOSphere




Doug Ross: "Put simply, a tabloid and the blogosphere -- both of which have been ridiculed for years by the MSM -- broke and publicized an immense story regarding a major presidential candidate and potential cabinet member."

Ross presents his evidence and it's damning--for the Mainstream Media.

Exhibit A?

The above chart showing the number of people searching for information on "Rielle Hunter" on Google over the last nine months--because the only place they could get that information was in the pages of the Enquirer [John Edwards Love Child Scandal] and the few sites in the blogosphere who covered it for more than a day or two after the Enquirer printed its December 18 story. [Mickey Kaus at Slate, Doug Ross and DBKP all three covered the story after the initial reaction to the Enquirer story on the blogs.]

Number of times "Rielle Hunter" was mentioned on any MSM newscast--other than a few FoxNews mentions in July and August--or in any MSM newspaper, Time magazine or Newsweek prior to late July: zero.

The National Enquirer first revealed Hunter's name in December. A few blogs, including DBKP and this humble journal, picked up the story because there were a variety of variables that all pointed to the fact that Edwards was a sleazebag.

How the National Enquirer and the Blogosphere Forced John Edwards to Confess


Edwards' Drilling Problems


A comment on Ann Althouse's July 22, "Today is Fitzmas for Mickey Kaus":

David said:
"Do you suppose Edwards went to the hotel to see if he could drill himself out of the problem?

He certainly seems to have drilled himself into it."

by Mondoreb
image: DougRoss@Journal

MSM Using Blogosphere as an Unpaid, Uncredited Research Dept.

Blogosphere: Doing the Research the Mainstream Press Won't Do

MSM: Trying to improve the Bottom Line?



Simon Scowl at Deceiver is upset.

He's discovered that the blogosphere, which was the only place--besides, of course, the National Enquirer--doing any digging into John Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter and his cover up operation--is serving as the Mainstream Media's unpaid and uncredited Research Division.

Weird, huh? Deceiver was the only place talking about this stuff for at least a week and a half, and all of a sudden everybody else has been doing original research on it the whole time? Or maybe it doesn’t count as research when we do it, since we’re just a silly gossip blog with a hot-pink logo. Maybe that’s it.

Dear Serge F. Koveleski, Patrick Healy, Toby Lyles, and everybody else at the New York Times:

You know the blogs and tabloids beat you to this story. Everybody knows. It wasn’t exactly difficult, considering you guys waited almost three weeks for John Edwards to give you permission. You’re not going to salvage your reputation by pretending otherwise.

Also, somebody should talk to whoever writes your headlines. “Behind a Meeting That Exposed Edwards’s Affair”? Why not just type out an equivalent number of Z’s?

Signed,
Your uncredited researcher

Updates to story at DBKP.com: Mainstream Media Uses Blogosphere as Unpaid Research Wing in Edwards Scandal

DBKP also has been affected. A few weeks ago, the Times of London's SARAH BAXTER, inserted material from our July 23 John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer into her Times' story--without a word about the source where she stole the material.

We wrote about the plagiarism after being alerted by blogger, Doug Ross in MSM Stealing Blog Content: Times Online Joining Growing MSM Trend?. Baxter's article (readers will have to do their own Googling--the Times gets no link here) gives the impression that she contacted National Enquirer's Editor-in-chief, David Perel and talked to him.

Our three letters to the Times remain unanswered. The Times Online still carries Baxter's story with our material, without attribution.

These two cases are not the only ones: one reader alerted DBKP yesterday that portions of a story posted on one network's website "sounded suspiciously like something you wrote about a few days ago".

We read the article and suspected a little--okay, a lot--rewriting may have occurred. But, what the hell? At least, some effort was expended by a Mainstream Media reporter furiously trying to get up to speed on a story Big Media blacked out for nine months with all the fervor of a religious zealot.

Of course, the MSM wouldn't have had to resort to these shady practices if just one of the members of their clubby community had investigated allegations surrounding John Edwards nine months ago: but that would've put a dent in the invitations to the wine-and-cheese parties.

The only investigation came from the National Enquirer and a few bloggers. But, you wouldn't know it if you watched the Big Media frenzy of this past weekend. Some stories didn't even mention the National Enquirer by name--it became an unnamed "tabloid".

John Edwards' "confession"--forced on him by the "tabloid trash" National Enquirer-- transformed the MSM from an early-July Rip Van Winkle into August 8 Woodward and Bernsteins. Don't believe that? Readers only have to stifle their gag reflex and tune in to the MSM coverage.

Readers--and writers--of the blogosphere can expect more of the same. With MSM "news" organizations cutting staff in an effort to stay afloat, stealing from the blogosphere serves as a profitable way to "cover" stories previously denied to readers.

The John Edwards scandal is only the latest battle between citizen journalists and a MSM in a death spiral. It won't be the last. Big Media has proved incredibly resistant to changing editorial policies that have driven readers and viewers to find other, less left-leaning content.

Polls show that the percentage of people who trust what the MSM writes hovers somewhere between carnival barkers and used car salesmen. More Americans believe in UFOs than believe the Mainstream Media is unbiased.

The media reaction: attack citizen journalists and hunker down behind excuses of "standards" that drove ex-customers away with the highly-selective nature those standards were applied. Oh, and practice a code of denial that would make John Edwards proud.

The Mainstream Media wants to improve their bottom line?

Clean house of editors intent on serving up the same cheesy gruel of socialist opinion masquerading as news. The public's been onto that scam for years: falling stock prices and ad revenues confirm it.

Or CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times could try billing the Democrat National Committee for PR services rendered.

P.S. Welcome to the club, Simon.

by Mondoreb
image: dbkp reference file

John Edwards Affair, Leftblogosphere: No Good Time to Talk About Edwards

Let me tell you about a story I didn't want to write about back in December...

Left bloggers--who didn't want to report any of the John Edwards allegations back in December, never mind investigate them--are up in arms because John Edwards is being reported by Fox in August.

To be fair, the left side of the Blogosphere did
comment on the National Enquirer's allegations back in December: mostly, they hurled invective at those who did write about it.

Satyam, Think Progress [Fox News Host Refuses To Talk About Russia-Georgia War, Insists On Covering Edwards’ Affair, like a magician, wants readers to look at the war in his one hand while whisking away the Edwards scandal in his other.

Yesterday, Russia launched a major military offensive against Georgia, which Georgia has called “a state of war.” Nearly two thousand people have died and the conflict risks sparking a wider war. Also yesterday, former senator John Edwards admitted to having an extramarital affair in 2006.

Of course, a look back at a July 11, 2005 Think Progress post, It’s Not the Crime, It’s The Cover-Up, showed a completely different standard.

Hello, Washington Press Corps. What is the thirty year rule that has defined every White House scandal since Watergate? It is not the crime, it’s the cover-up that gets you in trouble.

What a difference three years--and party affiliation--make: TP was referring to Karl Rove and the Valerie Plame affair.

Steve Benen, Carpetbagger's Report, [War, schmar, there’s Edwards gossip to obsess over], has a headline just as strident. However, the tone of the post is more reasoned.

Media interest in John Edwards’ adultery controversy is probably inevitable. He’s not a sitting lawmaker or candidate for anything anymore, but he’s a well-known political figure caught up in a sex scandal. News outlets are going to cover this; it’s unavoidable.

My Left Wing, [Curmudgette :: Fair, Balanced, All Edwards, All the Time] posts the following--with which we heartily agree:

Now I would be the last person to say that the Edwards affair is not news. In fact, I've pretty consistently argued that it is news. But this is positively surreal.

The major media didn't breathe a word about Edwards while he was running for president. No effort was made to check out the places, dates, license numbers and other hard facts reported by the Enquirer back in December.

As has been noted countless times at DBKP, not one reporter even asked him about the Enquirer's allegations in December. Thus, Edwards--contrary to MSM reports that cite his "continuous denials" and "Edwards denied it December" angles to explain their non-coverage--did not address the issue of Rielle Hunter after November 29, 2007.

Edwards never had to address the Enquirer's allegations once they became specific in December. He could easily deny the October Enquirer story, which was general in nature at that point. The tabloid did not even name Rielle Hunter at that point--even though Hunter issued a denial then. [Why Did Rielle Hunter Denounce the National Enquirer NINE WEEKS Before the Paper Would Name Her as the “Other Woman?]

DBKP, though it has almost 80 stories on the Edwards scandal since December, didn't even write about the October Enquirer allegations. We felt there really wasn't anything to write about at that point: it fell totally in the realm of gossip--though who doesn't like gossip?

However, the December Enquirer allegations were a completely different animal. Anyone giving them a fair reading in August 2008 wonders that not one MSM reporter thought they were "curious", to say the least.

On December 23, 2007, we introduced one story with [The Edwards Scandal, The Press, The Enquirer and the Blogosphere]:

The story so far of John Edwards, his campaign and Rielle Hunter, the uncovering of hard facts by the National Enquirer, the Mainstream Media’s non-reaction, and the blogosphere’s fondness for the comfort that only sitting on one’s ass brings.

We observed then how the other half of the blogosphere operates.

DBKP has previously written about Sam Stein, a writer doing a fairly routine piece for Huffington Post about the new ways candidates were trying to reach Internet readers.

One of those new methods was something called a webisode, a short video for letting Internet users see a candidate in a more personal way. John Edwards wanted users to see “the real John Edwards”, as he says in his recently-rediscovered video.

Stein recounted his surprising adventures with seeing the Edwards video. That Stein was having a tough time running down something that should have been screaming for publicity interested him.

When he wrote about his adventures, a certain section of the blogosphere pilloried Stein and his musings on the subject. At that point, Rielle Hunter was not as well-known as she is today. Running down information on her required a little digging.

Sam Stein did that digging and was rewarded for his efforts with a mound of vitriol.

A reporter who had done actual work on a story was ridiculed by writers who had sat on their asses.

“Sam Stein and the Enquirer are nothing but lazy, no-good trashy gossips”

The Think Progress piece mentions a Fox interview with PBS’s Bonnie Erbe. Ms. Erbe is quoted as saying that the Edwards affair is “not the stuff the American public wants to hear about in this election cycle.”

Au contrair, Bonnie.

"Rielle Hunter", "John Edwards", "John Edwards affair" and "John Edwards scandal" were four of the top seven search terms on July 22 at one point. They have remained, to one degree or another, in the Top 100 Most Searched at Google since then. So, Ms. Erbe, there have been plenty of Americans searching for information on this topic. They had to: PBS joined the other MSM in not mentioning it, prior to August 8.

PBS didn't discuss it back in December; they didn't discuss it prior to July 21 either. Bonnie Erbe didn't want to discuss it today, though one would suppose that Bonnie knew the topic to be discussed when invited to appear on Fox News. Just exactly when would Erbe's PBS like to discuss this topic?

All readers who said, "never" or "seldom" get a cookie.

The same portion of the blogosphere who only wanted to discuss how vulgar those that did discuss it in December are back to their same arguments in August. Most Americans are vulgar, it must be supposed.

We agree that the zero-to-media-circus coverage now is a little much. However, a little discussion during the last eight months might have prevented the 24/7 news status the Leftblogosphere is complaining about today.

Some blogs have mostly remained silent or made a few comments and let it stand at that. That's a perfectly reasonable position to take: there is other news to discuss. But it's not reasonable to attack those who do discuss it.

That's the job of Big Media.

by Mondoreb
images: dbkp file

John Edward, Rielle Hunter Affair: Love Child Update!

One Major Network Reportedly Ready
to Finally Report on the Edwards Love Child Scandal
Is Mainstream Media Blackout Ready to End?



UPDATE: DBKP has learned that "one major news network" is reportedly "ready to go" with a report on the Edwards' hotel meeting with the National Enquirer's reporters and photographers. The Enquirer reportedly had a team of seven reporters at the Beverly Hilton when Edwards arrived.

Will just one mainstream media reporter ask Edwards what he was doing at the hotel in the early AM? Does any MSM reporter have the balls to risk having his access to ask softball questions of Edwards cut off?

We'll see.

More details continue to emerge from the National Enquirer's Love Child Scandal Update.

The Enquirer has released the identity of the man who drove Edwards to the meeting that the Enquirer's reporters caught wind of and recorded. He's Bob McGovern, the very same man who drove Rielle Hunter to the tryst at the Beverly Hilton.

ALSO at DBKP.com:
Over 35 stories on the Scandal from 2007 to present.



From National Enquirer: John Edwards Love child Update

We can now reveal that the man who drove Edwards was Bob McGovern, the same man who drove Rielle to the hotel from Santa Barbara and rented her room in his name.

He was driving a 1999 four-door midnight blue BMW.

Said Butterfield: "The car had a baby seat in the back for Rielle's infant. He pulled into the parking lot, took a ticket from the automated machine, pulled forward, and stopped right after the parking gate lowered. Edwards got out of the passenger side, walked around the front of the car and went in a side entrance near the swimming pool.

"McGovern parked the car and then slowly walked back inside the hotel and went upstair

s."

The Enquirer also released more information--no doubt pouring in from the same interested parties that have kept DBKP's Email-box full of tips--on the Edwards camp's reaction and possible mainstream press interest.

Finally.

The Enquirer drops a few more tid-bits about the fall-out from the confrontation, which according to one source, was caught on the hotel's video surveillance system. Another source has already confirmed to DBKP that pictures of Edward's run-in with the Enquirer's reporters were caught on film and will be released in the near future.

* Edwards' advisers are "spitting mad and furious" that his late-night escapades have made international headlines because it could derail his chances of becoming Barack Obama's running mate.

* Edwards has not explained his whereabouts to any members of other news media outlets who have been trying to follow up on the story.

* His mistress, blonde divorcee Rielle, meanwhile, has returned to her home in Santa Barbara, Calif., and sources say she is "in despair" that Edwards might cut off contact with her because their latest rendezvous has been exposed in the media.

The meeting of Edwards and his advisers was, reportedly, not pretty.

After we posted the details of Edwards shocking meeting with Rielle, political sources close to Edwards revealed how he was candidly scolded by his advisors hours later.

One political source divulged: "His advisors told him they were furious that this had been brought out by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER right when Obama is considering whether he's V.P. material with the Democratic National Convention (Aug. 25-28 in Denver) only weeks away.

"From what I hear, John was read the riot act by his people. The fallout from this could cost him the job of running mate. They told him Obama doesn't want to pick someone and be embarrassed by the choice. This 'bimbo eruption' at this critical time will do him absolutely no good.

"While his people are not trying to tell him how to live his personal life, this baggage isn't going to help him convince Obama that he's the right guy to be his veep."

A day after the incident, Edwards traveled to Denver for an appearance at the University of Denver in support of the anti-poverty campaign, called Half in Ten. The very first question put to him at the event was about whether he'd become Obama's running mate.

Edwards was quoted as saying: "I'm not seeking the job. I don't expect to be asked…but anything that Sen. Obama would ask me to do, whether it's in his campaign or in his presidency, I would consider seriously."

But Edwards made no official comment on our bombshell disclosure about his late-night antics less than 24 hours earlier.

Said another source: "He's going out of his way to avoid discussing it - he knows whatever he says will come back to haunt him. If he denies being there, he doesn't want to be found out to be a liar."

"Liar"?

At the moment, that seems to be the least of John Edwards' several problems.

[Further updates to follow later on Wednesday]
by Mondoreb
Source: national enquirer: Love Child Scandal Update

image: fotosearch

John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: What if they Gave a Scandal and Nobody Came?

The Dereliction of Duty
of the Mainstream Press



The John Edwards-Rielle Hunter episodes highlight what is, increasingly, a clear case of dereliction of duty in the Mainstream press.

The media mavens at all the old places people used to turn to for news (Time, Newsweek, NY Times, CNN, CBS, etc.) are not only silent, they have--and are--aggressively protecting John Edwards from any PR fallout of his affair with Rielle Hunter.

To paraphrase the age-old question, "If a scandal breaks and the Mainstream Media doesn't report it, does anyone hear about it?"

The answer these days, is "Yes"--thanks to the Internet. Bloggers are the favorite whipping boy of major media apologists in academia--most who spend their time flacking for former employers and castigating the Blogosphere as "irresponsible".

What label should be applied to news organizations who, during the Edwards affair, have strict observance of omerta would have made any Mafia chieftain proud?

Would "irresponsible" be appropriate?

Mickey Kaus is looking for signs that big media organizations, having accepted John Edwards' elaborate denials of the mistress/baby story, might now be interested in the latest developments. He speculates, correctly I'm sure, that the Obama campaign has noticed the news. But as far as the mainstream is concerned, nothing yet.
--Byron York, National Review: Edwards, Cont'd

When the Enquirer first broke the Edwards story in October 2007, the details at that time were sketchy. A generous person will forgive the lack of attention it received at that time in the mainstream press. Curious details escaped the press then: such as why a then-obscure Rielle Hunter would come forward to denounce the Enquirer's story on a small blog--when the Enquirer hadn't named the "other woman" in October. [Why Did Rielle Hunter Denounce the National Enquirer NINE WEEKS Before the Paper Would Name Her as the “Other Woman?]

When next the Enquirer returned to the Edwards-Hunter affair in December, it named Rielle Hunter--formerly known as Lisa Druck--as his companion. It also reported a number of verifiable facts that were also ignored by the MSM: Hunter was now settled in a gated community 5 miles from the Edwards campaign HQ; she was driving around in a BMW registered to Edwards' former Director of Finance; and, she was living in a multi-million dollar house owned by a Edwards' backer.

The press remained curious un-curious. [Curious Circumstances Excite No Curiosity in the Mainstream Media].

Even the fact that Elizabeth Edwards--a campaign mainstay up to that point--suddenly disappeared from the campaign trail after the second story, broke brought no interest.

NOT ONE question was put to Edwards on the campaign trail by the members of our "adversarial" press.

Part of the blogosphere picked up on the story and another half screamed because of that attention. [The Edwards Scandal, The Press, The Enquirer and the Blogosphere]

Bob Schieffer of CBS News revealed the new MSM standard of proof in play when one of their "chosen" are threatened.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, you know I saw that this morning. I believe that — I believe that’s a story that we will be avoiding, because it appears to me that there’s absolutely nothing to it. I’m told that another — a man says that the child is his. I’m told that the woman who seems to be pregnant says it’s not his. So I guess — I guess we’re going to pass on that. Unless you come up with some new information on this, Don.
–When asked about the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter story On the Don Imus show

“I said I need back-up!! NOW!!
I got Bob Schieffer’s sense of curiosity here!”

Scandal? Well, Edwards denied it so there's no story. Right, Bob?

Mickey Kaus of Slate followed the events that happened--and was constantly under attack for having done so. Kaus now wonders, rightly, about what the MSM will do now that Edwards was caught visiting Hunter in LA yesterday by the Enquirer:

P.P.S.: Will this be the first presidential-contender level scandal to occur completely in the undernews, without ever being reported in the cautious, respectable MSM? That's always seemed an interesting theoretical possibility--a prominent politician just disappears from the scene, after blogs and tabloids dig up dirt on him, but nobody who relies on the Times, Post, network news or Mark Halperin has the faintest idea why.
--Mickey Kaus, Slate: Edwards Busted

Perhaps, the MSM found it difficult to tear themselves away from their PR duty on the Obama Magical Mystery Tour?

Again, Byron York, wonders:

On the John Edwards story, I do wonder how much, if any, coverage this report will receive. Edwards is, after all, in the pool for the Democratic vice presidential nomination; after first seeming to take himself out of the running, he put himself back in the race two weeks ago, telling NPR, "I'm prepared to seriously consider anything, anything [Obama] aske me to do for our country."

Of course, there's the question of whether the big media outlets will want to pick up a National Enquirer story. If I remember correctly, the Rush Limbaugh oxycontin story was broken by the Enquirer, and the press ran with that one.

Byron York: RE: Edwards

Of course, the MSM and the shrinking few who depend on them for "news" had their stock answer: "It's in the Enquirer".

Roger Simon had a ready answer:

...Oh, one last thing, for those of you who say it’s The National Enquirer, how do we know it’s true? I suggest you Google the “National Enquirer and OJ Simpson.” They broke most of the important stories on that case. In general, these days they’re vastly more reliable than The New York Times.
Roger Simon, John Edwards in a Feydeau Farce at the Beverly Hilton

The Enquirer may have been a tainted news source (John Edwards Love Child Scandal: Source Too Tainted for MSM?], but at the scandal game, they proved much more reliable than the New York Times during their sad attempt: the John McCain-Vicki Iseman story.

Doug Ross, in Enquirer: John Edwards Visits Rielle Hunter and their Love Child provides a complete recap of the Edwards-Hunter story--and the original lack of interest by the MSM in a Democrat cheating on his cancer-stricken wife.

Pareene, at Gawker, has an excellent take on the media coverage:

The National Enquirer spent months chasing John Edwards and digging into his relationship with Rielle Hunter before busting him spending the night in a hotel with the woman and the former Democratic presidential candidate's alleged love child. It was impressive and quintessential tabloid work. But there's no reason the paper should have had the scandal all to itself. Isn't this the sort of thing traditional newspaper tabs like the Post used to cover? And even starchy broadsheets should have had some interest — it was the Miami Herald that busted Gary Hart in 1988 (when his mistress left his townhouse — shades of the Edwards affair) and the Times that broke the story of Eliot Spitzer's whoring earlier this year.

Don't forget, also, that Newsweek's Michael Isikoff had the initial dirt on Monica Lewinsky a decade ago. A reputable magazine could have broken this story, as well!

In fact, the media had a full nine months to get the goods on VP hopeful Edwards following an October Enquirer story and coverage in the Huffington Post and Slate, and even longer if they were paying attention. According to the Enquirer, Edwards met secretly with Hunter "several times" after the fall coverage, so there was dirt there for an enterprising reporter to find.

Of course.

Gawker then asked several questions: "When is an affair a political career killer? Bill Clinton was able to stump effectively for his wife despite the Monica Lewinsky mess; San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is said to be eyeing a run for California governor despite sleeping with an aide's wife and people have already begun talking about Spitzer's rehabilitation.

"More to the point: When is an affair while your wife is dying of cancer NOT a political career killer? Is there a "he needed to get through the pain" angle? Or is it more "he needs to not show his face around here again, ever" situation?"

Perhaps the emphasis on this story will shift much more quickly this time around. From John Edwards comically taking refuge in a mens room, it will move to the MSM's retreat into omerta.

If the role of the press--especially during election time--wasn't so important, their dereliction of duty would be fodder for a hilarious reality show.

by Mondoreb
Sources:
Gawker: How Did Edwards Affair Stay Hidden?

image: blue roof

Scott Beauchamp: TNR Finally Confesses Left Blogosphere Silence Deafening

Franklin Foer's article finally admitting the problems over the Baghdad Diaries' Scott Beuchamp was a painful read.

TNR's behavior is perfectly understandable: after all, after their past journalistic mishaps, who'd want to yet admit to another?

I mean, come on: if TNR was a drunk and had this many relapses, they'd have signed up for Antabuse a long time ago.

THE really hilarious part of this whole sorry story is knee-jerk reaction of the usual suspects: the Fiercely-Independent, Principle-Driven Left Wing Blogosphere.

Ferocious fact-checkers to a man, they could be counted on to guard their reputation as those who check the facts and deliver the truth to their readers.

What "truth" did they deliver?

We now let you dip your toe into the left-wing pool of truth concerning TNR and Private Scott Beuchamp's Baghdad Diaries.

From Crooked Timbers: (with kudos for "Longest Introductory Sentence" on the Left.). The rightwing blogosphere, with assistance from the usual MSM types like Howard Kurtz has spent the last week or two trying to discredit a soldier, Scott Beauchamp, who wrote a “Baghdad Diary” for The New Republic, which included various examples of casually callous behavior on the part of US soldiers (nothing on the scale of Abu Ghraib or other proven cases). The Beauchamp case fits the general pattern pretty well. First, the wingers claimed that the Diary was a fabrication and that “Scott Thomas” was the creation of a writer who’d never been near Iraq. Then, when it became evident he was a real person, they rolled out the slime machine to discredit him. Then they engaged in amateur forensics to discredit particular items in his account (acres of screen space have been devoted to the question of whether the driver of a Bradley fighting vehicle can run over a dog). --One Endless Rathergate Digby thought the behavior of anyone wanting to know if a story is true or false is--well, we'll let him explain. After a tremendous amount of wingnut pressure on TNR to prove they hadn't been duped by an imposter, now that they know he does in fact exist, they are working their way into a complete frenzy going after this soldier as if he were al Qaeda and acting as though the hawkish New Republic has just endorsed Cindy Sheehan for president. It's like watching a bunch of piranhas attack some kids who accidentally fell into the water. It certainly should not have have garnered this vicious right wing attack from everyone from Bill Kristol to the lowliest denizens of the right blogosphere. They want to destroy this soldier for describing things that have been described in war reporting since Homer so they can worship "the troops" without having to admit that the whole endeavor is a bloody, horrible mess that only briefly, and rarely, offers opportunity for heroic battlefield courage (which, of course, it sometimes does as well.) --Digby: Wingnuts vs. Our Soldiers (Scott Thomas Beuchamp Edition) The ever-hopeful John Cole, at Balloon Juice, starts with no facts, but proves it's not going prevent his leaping into the fray against the lunatics attacking SCB. Let’s discuss Scott Beauchamp, who was widely regarded as not existing, but who now exists- much to the chagrin of the lunatic fringe of the right wing blogosphere. I guess we know why he didn’t put his real name on it- it is FRENCH sounding! Of course he wants us to lose! The VICHY have infilitrated the ARMY! --Open Thread July 26, 2007 Nicolle Belle at Crooks and Liars on the Weekly Standards' "besmirching": Max Blumenthal looks at the “reliable” sources that the Weekly Standard used to try to besmirch Scott Beauchamp: Matt Sanchez and Throbert McGee. And yet they still get a national platform. --Reliable Sources DailyKOS didn't fail to disappoint: their usual M.O. is up next. What fun! No facts, no problems. When short of hard info, trot out some invective--the usual substitute for facts. The RW bloggers went crazy, accusing TNR of making things up, and in their typical fashion "proving" that Scott Thomas was a fake. Scott Thomas turned out to be real, which led to the normal character assassination from the RW. --The "Scott Thomas" Affair: The Right Wing Wins Again Firedoglake couldn't really add anything about verifying Beauchamp, but they get to say "hate speech" and "Republicans" in the same paragraph, so it wasn't a total loss. The Left Trifecta is the previous two, plus "Hitler" in the same paragraph. It took them another couple paragraphs to work the Feurher into the mix. They do get partial credit for "frothing", though. The nameless fellow(s?) and good friend of Michelle Malkin's behind the right-wing blog aggregator Volunteer Opinion Journal thinks he's caught us all being naughty. Pretty mild stuff, compared to what his comrades were and are saying about Scott Thomas Beauchamp (for more, go here and here), but hey, you work with the "hate speech" you have, not the hate speech you wish you had -- such as what regularly issues from the posts and comments over at Michelle Malkin's shop. These people are the Republican base, and as TRex points out, this is precisely why the Republicans don't dare do a YouTube debate in which their base has any sort of say: It would hand the presidential election to the Democrats the same way that Pat Buchanan's Republican-pleasing froth-at-the-mouth speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention guaranteed that Bill Clinton would be our next president. --Hypocrite Much, Guys?

Okay, we could go on like this for a long time, but we've got to move on, much as I'm sure the above stalwart Left Wing Warriors will do on this particular issue.

They were noticeably absent from comment on the affair yesterday.

Probably too busy with their next piece about Hitler-like Michelle Malkin frothing hate speech about Left Wingers.

by Mondoreb
[image:devianttart]

Other sources:
The New Republic -Fog of War
Confederate Yankee - TNR Folds
The New Republic Tries to Come Clean
Hot Air - TNR: We Can No Longer Stand by Beuchamp's Stories
Patterico's Pontifications - The New Republic Retracts Beauchamp Stories



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: 30 Memorable Quotes

30 quotes from the people involved in the Megan Meier MySpace Suicide story and the media.

Megan, the 13-year-old daughter of Ron and Tina Meier, was the victim of harassment by "Josh", a boy she'd met at popular social site, MySpace. Upset at his messages, she hung herself.

"Josh" was later found to be a hoax, the fictional creation of Curt and Lori Drew, neighbors who lived down the street from the Meier's. "Josh" was created to by Lori Drew and her employee to monitor what Megan might be saying about the Drew's daughter after the two girls had a fight.

"Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat." --bulletin posted at MySpace by "Josh" "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you." --Josh's last message to Megan, according to Ron Meier's best recollection "They are all being so mean to me." --Megan Meier, to her mom, on the day of her death "I grabbed her as she tried to go by," Ron says. "She told me that some kids were saying horrible stuff about her and she didn't understand why." --Ron Meier right about what happened right before Megan took her life. "She did sit here in my living room and confess everything to me. She told me that they had pulled an image of a boy off the Internet and that they had created an account using the name of Josh Evans, and she said she knew the last message that left her house that Monday when Megan attempted her life was that, 'The world would be a better place without you". --an unnamed neighbor about how she learned Lori Drew was behind the hoax "That is what makes it even more disgusting, that she knew the circumstances around our daughter and still played on it," --Ron Meier, Megan's father “These people were supposed to be our friends.” --Tina Meier, about their neighbors, the Drews "Give it a rest. Give it a rest." --Curt and Lori Drew, reportedly to the Meiers, when confronted by the Meier parents "You cannot as an adult sit there and do that and hide behind a computer. It is a criminal act. We want to see her go to jail," ---Tina Meier, Megan's mother, about Lori Drew "It's time that we do something against this. On all levels, the state and federal level," --Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty, on the need for stricter laws for Internet harassment "Coincidentally, two months after Megan's suicide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that antidepressants double the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults. (Psychiatrists have disputed the FDA report.)" --Jeff , from a post at "Megan's Vigilantes" "We were concerned about the daughter [of the Drews] and to what extent she was involved and dragged along with this." --Dave Bundy, editorial director of Lee Enterprises, the newspaper group that includes several papers who broke the Megan Meier story; on why his papers decided not to name the Drews. "She [Lori Drew] is not being accused in a court of law, she is not being sued and our take is that we don’t run suspects unless charges are filed." --Steve Pokin, reporter who wrote the original Megan Meier story. "I posted that — where Curt works. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Why? Because there's never been any sense of remorse or public apology from the Drews, no 'maybe we made a mistake.' " --Trevor Buckles, 40, a neighbor whose two teenage boys grew up with Meier. "We're all in shock. If I have anything to say about it, we'll never have our hands tied legally like this again." --Mayor Fogerty "There are enough details for people to find out who it is on their own. They are free to do so. It was a judgment call. I think there were a lot of other issues at stake." --Pokin, on his critics for his not revealing the Drew's name in his stories. "We believe that all the publicity about this situation has led to an air of vigilantism. We're concerned people will take things into their own hands." --Lt. Craig McGuire of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department “Give me a break; that’s nothing. But it’s the most we could do. People are saying to me, ‘Let’s go burn down their house.’” --Mayor Pam Fogarty said of the penalties imposed by the town of Dardenne Prairie, MO on cyber harassment. It's now punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail. "Ms. Drew used the same same exact mode of operation as a child predator enacts in the seduction of a child. Drew posed as a member of the opposite sex and spent weeks and weeks luring this girl into a relationship. But yet it went further. The adult Drew formed a heated relationship with the 13 year old girl. She worked hard to gain the girl's confidence. She exploited the girl intimately by posing as a boyfriend. Do you really thing there was no intimate grooming going on?" --online comment by DanCnKC "Oh and I don't think Lori Drew is so evil as everyone says. Megan was a total bitch to everyone around her especially Laura so if I was her mom I would be mad at Megan too and I would check up on her to see what shit she was spreading about my daughter." --"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog. "Lori Drew is a psychopath. That part is clear. But more disturbing than that are the actions of authorities: If it had been an adult MALE that "carried on" in a sexually explicit way with a 13 year old girl, even if it WERE for the purposes of revenge for his teen daughter, he'd be locked up as a pedophile." --online comment by Danny Vice "Every story has two sides and if you don't think so - then I hope you are never tried and convicted in your own court." --JennaD, from a comment posted on "Megan Had it Coming" blog "All we feel is frustration, anger. For months, we've been asking ourselves, 'What mother in her right mind would do this? And why won't the cops do anything to punish them? We just want them gone." --neighbor Kristie Kriss, of the Drews "The woman emotionally raped this child. She took her supposed love and sexual stimulation and crushed the girl emotionally with them. This girl was mentally raped [by] a mother and her employee. This adult and her friends played this girl into an emotional high... and then pulled the plug when it would inflict the highest possible damage. It took 4 months of planning." --online comment by DanCnKC "So nobody in the news talks about what Megan the bitch was like so now you know. Oh and don't bother trying to figure out who I am. Unlike Megan, I DO have a boyfriend and he knows computers and he totally covered my tracks." --"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog "Lori Drew groomed her victim like many child predators do, enticing her with flirtation, mild sexual conversation and playing on Megan's weakness. Lori knew that Megan had a low self esteem and was treated for depression. Outing Child Predators has been public policy in most states and is usually upheld under the premise that the public has a right to reasonably protect itself from criminal behavior where it exists. Families with children have a right to know when those who might prey upon their child, live nearby. Public policy dictates that if a child is exposed to potential harm from predatory activity, then parents should at least have the opportunity to be aware such harm may exist." --online comment by Danny Vice "It's not to say if only Megan (spoke out/did this/did that/reached out), it's to say there has to be more positive and supportive role models out there for our youth. The parents can only do so much. My solution: it's time to stop the "code of silence." It's time to not be afraid to speak up when something is wrong." --online comment by Jo "Megan's story really won't matter; some writers will bend it to fit their preconceived point of view. It'll not be about Megan to them: it'll be about using her as a tool to advance their cause. Laws for regulating the Internet; for stricter controls on what can be said online; to raise money; that any negative reactions are 'vigilantism'; for more money for suicide prevention: take your pick. They'll all invoke the name and story of Megan Meier. To most of those, she'll cease to be a 13-year-old schoolgirl: she'll be a slogan." --RE Bierce, commenting the first week of the story on future likely reactions. “There are no words to explain my rage.” --Tina Meier by Mondoreb

Sources:
Parents Want Jail Time for MySpace Hoax Mom - ABC News

New York Times - A Hoax Turned Fatal Draws Anger but No Charges

Missouri Weeklies That Broke 'MySpace Suicide ' Story Still Won't Name Alleged 'Cyberbully'
-Editor & Publisher

Megan's Vigilantes blog

Megan Had it Comingblog

"Frontier Justice in an online World?"- Seattle Times

"Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Reactions to the Reactions" - Death by 1000 Papercuts blog

Weekly Vice blog

"MySpace Cruel Hoax Leads to Teen's Suicide" - Death by 1000 Papercutsblog




DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Blog Roundup: November 8 2007

Little Baby Ginn takes a stroll through DBKP's "Own Private Blogosphere" and brings backs snapshots of note and interest. Whether you agree with the items or not, they're interesting. Here's Ginn's latest goodies:

From CALIFORNIA YANKEE:
Genuinely Afraid

Former Republican congressional leader Newt Gingrich discusses the War On Terror at the National Press Club on August 7, 2007.

Referring to his grandchildren, Gingrich said:

I believe they are in greater danger of dying from enemy activities than we were in the Cold War … I am genuinely afraid that this political system will not react until we lose a city.

From ChenZhen's Chamber:
My 11⁄2 Years At LGF, Part VIII: Sockpuppet Revealed!
I’m going to conclude this series by treating the lizards to a little surprise…
Mr. Poopypants = ChenZhen

On one warm August afternoon, while sitting in front of a brand-new work computer, I decided to visit the site and noticed that LGF’s registration was open. Now, up until that point, I had been online for a few of these windows of opportunity, but I had always resisted the temptation to register another nickname. Sockpuppetry just isn’t my thing, after all. On this occasion, however, I felt that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have another account- just in case. I dunno, maybe I got the feeling that ”ChenZhen’s” banishment was imminent. Anyway, the problem was, I was drawing a blank on what name to give my impostor entity. Time was running out, and I had to think fast. What should the name be? Desperate, I looked up to the masthead to remind myself what site I was on (a reference to boogers, or so I’ve guessed), and the inspiration hit me. “Mr. Poopypants” was thereby, er…um…”hatched”.

From Chicago Ray:
Lawsuit Better Late Than Never By Judicial Watch

I'm puzzled as to why a group usually on top of things of this nature, particularly as it pertains to the Clinton's, hadn't filed this lawsuit at a much earlier time in regards to Hill and Bill's intentional stonewalling regarding the release of Clinton presidential documents from that time frame that Hillary is actively flouting and running on as her flimsy credentials for becoming the next president of our country.

From Cripes Suzette:

Dog Dogs Dog Cat Dog Puppies

1. Dog. After all is said and done, I want another corgi. I'm sure little purse-sized dogs are fine for the likes of Paris and Britney, and the big galoots do well for things like My Three Sons and the Brady Bunch, but once you've known a corgi, you can't do with any lesser personality.

One late addition from Everybody Needs Therapy, because--hey--how can you ignore a shout-out?

But creativity in the blogosphere abounds. For example, The Lost War on Drugs at Death by 1000 Paperclips will have you wondering (if you're me) where you've been. And I don't know where I stand on legalization, by the way, so no assumptions here. I'm probably not pro.

Doc, it's okay you're not pro. Life is all about growth and dealing with changing perceptions. Our parents probably aren't pro, either--and we still love them.

And that's the state of our Own Private Blogosphere, Thursday November 8 2007.

by Little Baby Ginn

Back to Front Page.

For Every Action: Recent Reactions to Things We Wrote

[image:itsunderstood]
by Mondoreb

Chugging along, just another pawn in the vast blogosphere nebula:

1-More on Glenn Beck's "Handful of Haters":
Jon Swift, a bearer of the subtle sword, observed (about JammieWearingFool's observation)

"It's Beck's opinion that some who hate America live in that area. Is this even debatable?" Of course not.

Shout-outs are always appreciated.

2-On Turkish General Warns U.S.: Danger! Democrat Foreign Policy At Work:
Snarky Bastards wasn't snarky when saying:

I’m not sufficiently up on my facts about the Armenian Genocide to say whether it actually deserves that label (though the bettin’ man in me says it is), but Mondoreb makes a fair point at deathby1000papercuts:

Snark then makes some humorous observations about the politics of the Google toolbar.

3-On Maureen Dowd and her fixation on the Vice-President--
More Evil Dick Cheney Evidence:
Shrink Wrapped commented in "The Beauty of Modern Liberalism" that

"Mondoreb has his own view of Dowd's piece at Death by 1000 Papercuts. I suppose we would call this European Sophistication:".

I've always been a fan of Shrink Wrapped--maybe from my days working in the shipping department.

4-On McCain: "I'd Shoot Osama! OK, Maybe I Wouldn't":
We were all fired up about the shout-out from Salon.

5-Lastly, we got bloggings at Boxxet on Harry Potter's Dumbledore Outing, Snookerbrief, in46, and zippsyzippicun on the Gary Zerola Teen Rape case. And one mustn't forget to mention Bird Flu Breaking News, on our 1918 Spanish Influeza story.

Being read is truly the mother's milk of blogging.

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