Quote of the Day:

“This woman at [Walgreens] isn’t selling cigarettes to this other woman easily in her 70s because her drivers license (which she asked to see!!) is expired. Unreal.”

— Joe Gabriel Simonson, media reporter, The Daily Caller.

Sydney Leathers on getting married…

“In my early 20’s people would ask me when I was going to get married & have kids but I’d always say, ‘I’m too young!’ I’m 29 now & I’m still saying I’m too young. Pretty sure I’m going to keep saying this until I turn 40 & then I’m switching to ‘it’s too late!!’ — Sydney Elaine Leathers, ex-sexting partner to imprisoned ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). Side note: She’s no longer a big Weiner fan.

Stormy cancels after club owner calls her assistant a ‘faggot’

“Sorry everyone who was planning to see me at Goldfingers tonight but I will NOT be performing. The owner called my assistant a ‘fucking faggot’ after I refused to do something not in my contract. This abuse will not be tolerated.” — Stormy Daniels, the porn star who tried to sue President Trump but failed.

Breitbart News‘s Christmas party tanks 

The only real reason Breitbart News had a Christmas party was because Amanda House made a stink about it and decided the company had to have one. It was last minute, so it was “thrown-together and shitty,” a tipster told The Mirror. The year hasn’t been easy for Breitbartians — the loss of Steve Bannon in January has made the site seem rudderless. The party gets a C- at best, affirms an attendee. In the details … It was hosted at Penny Starr’s home in NE Washington near Anacostia. It was potluck. Unlike chic-chic parties Breitbart typically hosts at the imposing and regal “The Embassy,” this was was a little lame in comparison. There were eight boxes of Papa John’s Pizza, cold, soggy, tacos from Taco Bell, crock pot chili, grocery store cake and sugar cookies. Party conversation topics included whether Trump will win in 2020. A few journalists were complaining that Breitbart people can’t appear on Fox News anymore. At max, there were 20 people. Post party, there was talk of hitting the Trump International Hotel, but instead they flocked to Recessions to do karaoke. Spotted: The world famous Neil Munro, Matt Boyle, Charlie Spiering, and obviously, Starr. The mood of the soirée was “pretty somber,” relayed a spy. At least one journo was overheard bragging about how page views have increased, but there was definitely not the notion that they think they’re in a great place right now. Alcohol: Prosecco and beer. The only hard liquor was rum and Jack Daniels. Spies told me the site’s Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow was supposed to come, but in the end didn’t make it. Oh man, when your own EIC can’t make the company Xmas party, that’s a bad sign.

Joe Scarborough’s First World problems 

“Hey @Apple, if buying a new iPhone and upgrading the system means that two-step verification is permanently turned on, then I will throw away every @Apple product in my home today.” — Joe Scarborough, MSNBC host of “Morning Joe.” By the way … did Joe and Mika’s wedding damage the Declaration of Independence?

Ellen‘s producer defends Kevin Hart (sort of) 

“I have very mixed feelings about the whole Kevin Hart situation.
He should have apologized immediately.
Absolutely.
That said, we’ve all said and done shit we regret.
Every single one of us.
We all live and learn as we go.
Anyway, I’ll host.”

— Andy Lassner, executive producer, The Ellen Show.

Splinter gets spanked on ‘Access Journalism’ piece 

“Access journalism is bad, kids. Follow the Splinter model of Real Journalism™ by aggregating other things on the internet but with a snide, sneering tone and then monetizing the hate clicks.” — WSJ‘s Byron Tau, in response to Splinter’s “Access Journalism Must Die” story by Libby Watson.

VICE reporter goes on women’s motorcycle retreat to escape the ‘hell world’

“When I first got to Dream Roll, I definitely felt out of my element—overwhelmed by the idea of meeting hundreds of new people, unsure if I had the energy to socialize with new people because I was utterly drained by the horrors of Trumpian political life. Plus, I don’t know how to ride a motorcycle. On the plane ride there, the sleepaway camp jitters I experienced as a kid came rushing back to me—teeming with that juvenile anxiety about being away from home for the weekend.” — Eve Peyser, VICE News.

Her conclusion…

“With Trump in power, the world often feels like an inherently nasty place — but it doesn’t have to be that way. Dream Roll offered me an important reminder — there are pockets of goodness in our hell world, and there is always a way out.”

Gossip Roundup 

Mortifying news for Abby Huntsman: ABC’s “The View” brings in a talent coach to give her more spark. Here.

More on Rep. Crenshaw’s eyepatch: He has 10 glass eyes.

Over the last year, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about where I got my eye patch, why I wear it, and the glass eye underneath. So here is the scoop. I get my eye patches at https://t.co/H6fZqbcFRk pic.twitter.com/pctcy1Iq6S

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 10, 2018

 

Today in Unnecessary Tweeting 

“Some news: I’m making soup today.” — Maya Kosoff, Vanity Fair.

Alas … a White House Pool Correction To Remember

“I have to correct a mistake from my previous report. NAVY won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second-half. Alas, I am human. ” — Robert Donachie, The Washington Examiner.

Continuing …

“To redeem myself … President Trump crossed over from the Army to the Navy side of the field at half. As he did at the start of the first quarter, the president sat two rows back from the sideline and mingled with those in the crowd. The pool was escorted to the press vans shortly after the beginning of the third quarter. We waited for approximately ten minutes in the vans before the president exited the stadium. Motorcade left Lincoln Financial Field at 5:17 p.m.”

CNN’s Brian Stelter tells Trump reporters they are not being respected

Brian Stelter: “Trump’s deceptions are, among other things, a sign of disrespect. He’s talking down to his supporters, plus the rest of the country, by constantly saying stuff that’s not true. Many of his allies are doing the same thing, disrespecting the public.”

Will Ricciardella, social media director, The Daily Caller: “This from the guy that talks down to his supporters for a living. You should really trust him instead.”

The latest on Trump’s hunt for a new Chief of Staff

“Sources tell us some of Trump’s White House chief of staff contenders are signaling they’re not interested, including Rep. Mark Meadows and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who are said to have a hard time getting to ‘yes’ if asked.” — Geoff Bennett, White House correspondent, NBC News.