Quote of the Day:
“Journalism is a job, if someone asks you to do it for free you flip them the finger.”
—Aram Zucker-Scharff, ad tech, The Washington Post.
Just Asking Questions
“What do u do when u drop food in ur shirt by accident? Do u eat it?” — Pardes Seleh, former scriptwriter, Laura Ingraham Show, Fox News. And some housecleaning advice: “Highly recommend washing ur dishes with toilet cleaner. Dish soap wishes it were that effective.”
Ex-Trump surrogate Scott Baio does a good deed and must inform the world
“My wife met a gentleman that shared with her that his granddaughter loves ‘Bugsy Malone.’ @MrsScottBaio got his address so I could send her a signed ‘Bugsy’ photo. His kind letter is what makes it all worth while.” — Scott Baio. If you can stomach any more of this Glenn Beckian behavior, read the letter here. If you have no idea what Bugsy Malone is, you’re not alone. It’s a 1976 musical “gangster comedy” film that featured child actors like Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. (RELATED: Glenn Beck Does Something Nice, Can’t Keep The News To Himself)
Sen. Booker — a vegan — says he wants chicken
This happened during a neighborhood jaunt with a reporter.
“It was also striking that the several dozen residents he chatted with during our walk were all black, except for one Dominican who asked Booker to visit his restaurant. (‘Necesito el pollo!’ Booker replied with enthusiasm. I couldn’t tell if the vegan senator actually meant to say: I need chicken.)”
Read the profile by Politico‘s Michael Grunwald here.
Note to readers: I sent off a note to Booker’s press secretary, Kristin Lynch, and hopefully will get to the bottom of this culinary mystery soon, unless she’s too CHICKEN to get back to me about it.
More on Booker’s vegan journey: In a Facebook post in 20018, he said that in 2017 he was more of a “junk food” vegan — “empty carbs, sugar, fat.” But in 2018, he was trying to be more careful by eating a more plant-based, unprocessed diet. With that, he took a picture of a few gigantic pieces of cauliflower. Let’s hope 2019 doesn’t send him backwards into chicken territory.
Michael Jackson dance contest jokes, etc.
“I once lightened my face for a Michael Jackson dance contest.” — Eddie Scarry, commentary writer, The Washington Examiner, riffing off Virginia’s beleaguered Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who once dressed up as Michael Jackson and did the Moon Walk, which he apparently can still do — if only his wife would let him. Astonishingly, half of Virginia’s Dems still approve of Northam.
Faith writer says late-term abortion was ‘birthed in hell’
“Just to clarify: the position that a healthy and fully viable baby should be terminated (or that we should just apathetically ignore it) before it’s birth is not only un-Christian, but it’s an idea that plunges to such horrific depths that it could have only been birthed in Hell.” — Billy Hallowell, Pure Flix (faith, family and Christian movies on demand); bylines: WaPo, Faithwire, TheBlaze.
Washington Examiner ‘abruptly’ parts ways with reporter
“All. Some personal news to share. After nearly 6 years with the Washington Examiner, we … abruptly parted ways on Friday. This means i am currently looking for new opportunities, & though the right full time job may not happen right now, i am looking for freelance gigs too!” — Kelly Cohen.
Liberal writer predicts nothingburger for Trump’s SOTU
“BREAKING: Nothing important will happen at the State of the Union. You can safely watch Netflix.” — Judd Legum, writer, Popular Information newsletter, formerly the editor of ThinkProgress.
Deadspin writer is sickened by his dish
i hadn’t taken a close look around the sides of this dish before and now i feel nauseoushttps://t.co/E7tVbimLsZ
— Albert Burneko (@AlbertBurneko) February 4, 2019
Patrick Howley feels snubbed by Dana Perino show
“I was booked for @DanaPerino on Fox News regarding Racist Ralph Northam and Justin Fairfax, then they cancelled. Guess why, according to the booker? ‘My bosses just told me they want to go a different way with the segment.'” — Patrick Howley, Big League Politics. Here‘s how current venture began.
As many might remember, back in 2016 when that dustup went down between Trump’s then-campaign aide Corey Lewandowski and then-Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields, Howley railed against fields and asked questions that earned him a big, fat suspension. The pub eventually came around to his mindset: “I’m back and better than ever!” Howley told the Mirror at the time.
On White House leaking…
MAGGIE HABERMAN: “A day later and folks around Trump are still stunned and disconcerted by the leak to Axios.”
PAUL BEGALA: “I am disconcerted as well. Set aside my strong opposition to @realDonaldTrump. As a former senior White House official, it is a betrayal of our national security to leak any POTUS’ schedule.”
NYT ‘community builder’ reveals convo with her psychiatrist
Psychiatrist: do u have good sleep hygiene?
Me, confused: uh, i change my sheets pretty often? and i wear clean pajamas?
Her: no i mean do u avoid screen time before bed
Me: OHH. um. not really?
Her: *jots notes*
Me: *still thinking about this interaction 2 weeks later*
Greenwald goes after reporter who wants Hawaiian assignment
Watch how she snaps back at him.
Glenn Greenwald works for The Intercept.
This is the funniest/saddest #Resistance grift yet: worse than when they raised $500K for Andrew McCabe. @RVAwonk wants you to GoFundMe her vacation to Hawaii — I mean her trip to Tulsi Gabbard’s district to investigate her ties to the Kremlin. 62 people have fallen for it: pic.twitter.com/qBuDLt1iHC
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 4, 2019
Caroline Orr, associate editor of Arc Digital, replied, “Thanks for advertising my research, Glenn. Not all of us make half a million dollars a year like you do. …You never traveled for your work?”
When a follower said, “Most of Oahu is in HI-01, Glenn,” he said, “OK. I’m quite sure HI-02 has some very beautiful beaches and resorts as well.”
Orr: “I’m sure they do. But as a researcher and scientist with integrity, my first thought isn’t ‘OOOH BEACHES!’ ..speaks volumes about you that your first thought is ‘FREE VACATION!'”
HuffPost blogger mocks presidential hopefuls
“I’m over 35 and tweet three hours a day. Should I be forming an exploratory committee for the Iowa caucuses?” — Bryan Behar, TV writer, HuffPost blogger.
Gossip Roundup
Vanity Fair kisses Rep. A.O.C.’s ass with this puff piece. Here.
Bravo‘s Andy Cohen finally gets that baby boy he wouldn’t stop yakking about with his pal, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, on New Year’s Eve as he complained about not being able to use an umbrella. That night, he refused to reveal the baby’s name, but it’s Benjamin Allen. He was born via a surrogate and came into the world at a healthy 9 pounds, 2 ounces. Here.
Ex-FNCer Bill O’Reilly gets skewered when he tries to have some fun on Twitter. Here.
Brilliant (eye roll) analysis from NBC News: “Analysis: Northam blackface case highlights broader problems of racism in America.” Here.
Today in Unnecessary Tweeting
“How did I miss that McDonalds has bacon cheese fries?” — Cameron Hawthorne, Washington Free Beacon. This is a first for this reporter in this category.
HuffPost dings Trump Jr. for demeaning press, then makes mistake in same story
You know how MSM journalists could avoid having to spend millions on a #superbowl comercial to gain some undeserved credibility?
How about report the news and not their leftist BS for a change.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 4, 2019
HuffPost CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story mistakenly indicated Khasoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia. He was killed in Turkey.
See the piece by Mary Papenfuss.
Travel Bitches
“This plane is about to take off and it’s making the most horrible sound I’ve ever heard, goodbye forever. …Update: I am both on land and not dead.” — Katie MacBride, writer, associate editor, Anxy Magazine. She self-describes as “full of farts and secrets.”
Things get goosey on NYC subway
“Hello, we are still waiting for NYPD to remove the goose – we do not have an estimated time when the goose will be removed. There are buses available on Coney Island Av (B68) and on Ocean Av (B49). You can ask the station agent for a courtesy pass for continuing bus service.” — NYCT Subway.