News Junkie - Live Wire

ROBERT FEDER’S GIMMICK

It’s a subject I’ve left mostly alone, not because I’ve been told not to address it but because I’m hesitant to give airtime or blog space to a man who still calls Web traffic ‘hits‘ and has an unhealthy obsession with WGN Radio. Tonight, on the podcast, I’ll dive into the mud on this one. Stay tuned.

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FOX/CNN/MSNBC DISSECTED

Some great analysis of the current cable media landscape from CJR today. I disagree with a few points (especially the bit about MSNBC offering a rainbow of opinons) but this quote is interesting:

From personal experience covering news around the world, you almost always run into a CNN crew or stringer. You almost never run into a Fox reporter, and never one from MSNBC.

Read the whole thing at CJR’s website.

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ROY ASHBURN: “I’M GAY”

California State Senator Roy Ashburn admits to being a homosexual in an interview today on KERN. You can listen to the interview in this post and read the details here. Ashburn vows to carry on.

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BETTY WHITE TO SNL

After a massive online movement to draft her into the hosting duties at Saturday Night Live, Betty White confirms she will appear on the show.

But will she host?

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PETA TARGETS SEAWORLD

PETA sees a wounded opponent in SeaWorld after last month’s killer whale attack. Their latest mantra: “Let whales and dolphins ‘out of prison.’

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ADAM GADAHN CAPTURED

HUGE news out of Pakistan: American-born al-Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn has been arrested.

Update: It’s not him?

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NYT ON SCIENTOLOGY

‘Breaking With Scientology’ won’t hit print until tomorrow but you can read the New York Times assault on Scientology online right now.

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PHOTOS: TOYOTA HEARINGS

Executives from Toyota Motor Corp made the journey to Washington D.C. this morning to face down angry customers seething over their company’s recall follies. Take a look at these pictures from today’s event.

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THE BLOOM BOX

I can’t decide if the Bloom Box is the greatest invention ever or if I’m a bit like an old lady being conned by a slimy auto mechanic. Regardless, you have to watch this video. [Video]

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SCOTTY LAGO PHOTOS

Snowboarder Scotty Lago leaves the Olympic village in Vancouver after sexually suggestive photos of the bronze medalist and his trophy surfaced online. Lago says he’s in a ‘blackout’ and can’t talk about the event until next month. [View The Photos]

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RAY GOSLING ARRESTED

What happens when you admit to a murder on British public television? Well, you get arrested, of course. BBC presenter Ray Gosling arrested on suspicion of murder. [Details]

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TIGER WOODS PRESSER

Tiger Woods will finally reemerge from the shadows this Friday. The golf pro and reported sex addict is planning on holding a press conference at the PGA headquarters at 11AM Eastern. [Details]

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Inauguration Watch: Security Threats

inaug-sec-01

Joint Threat Assessment of the 56th Presidential Inauguration w/ input from the Dept. of Homeland Security, the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center, Washington Regional Threat & Analysis Center, Virginia Fusion Center, United States Capitol Police, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center and the United States Northern Command.

[Doc Drop: Click Here To Download The Inauguration Security Report (.pdf)]


Docs: Blackwater Indictments Unsealed

WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate says five Blackwater Worldwide guards indicted for a 2007 attack in Baghdad can’t argue their case in Utah and must report to a Washington courthouse.

The guards face 14 counts of manslaughter for the shooting in downtown Baghdad. Prosecutors say the security contractors used machine guns and grenades on innocent civilians. A sixth guard pleaded guilty to manslaughter and admitted killing an Iraqi civilian.

[Click Here To Download


NIC Report: The World In 2025

“Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World” is the fourth unclassified report prepared by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in recent years that takes a long-term view of the future. It offers a fresh look at how key global trends might develop over the next 15 years to influence world events. Our report is not meant to be an exercise in prediction or crystal ball-gazing. Mindful that there are many possible “futures,”


Palm Beach County Sample Ballot

More than 2.6 million Floridians cast their ballots early — many of them braving hourslong waits. In all, that accounts for 23 percent of the state’s electorate.

[Click Here To Download A Sample Ballot For Tomorrow's Election]

According to the Supervisor of Elections, more than 145,000 have already voted in Palm Beach County. More than 2.6 million have voted early in Florida (w/ absentee ballots the total is 4.25 million


Palin’s High School Report Card?

[Click Above Image To Enlarge]

The document above is floating around the Internet today and it’s supposed to be Sarah Palin’s high school report card. The last name ‘Heath’ is her maiden name and much of the other info seems legit but I’m always skeptical about stuff like this. It’s clearly meant to paint her (as Liberals portray all Republicans) as some halfwit who couldn’t keep her grades up in high school.…


Doc Drop: DC Madam Suicide Note

Deborah Jeane Palfrey Didn’t Want To Do The Jail Time:

palfrey suicide note

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam, took her own life last week because she could not bear going to prison, she told her mother in a suicide note that she left on her nightstand.

“I cannot live the next 6-8 years behind bars for what both you and I have come to regard as this ‘modern day lynching,’” Palfrey wrote. Local


The Wright Effect – Obama Sinks

Barrack Obama Has Dropped 7 Points In Latest Fox News Poll:

news junkie

The ongoing controversy over Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, appears to have damaged how Americans view Obama. His favorable rating is now 47 percent, down 7 percentage points since February when 54 percent had a positive view of him. As may be expected, his unfavorable rating went up from 33 percent to 42 percent today.

The poll shows smaller


Doc Drop: McCain Tax Returns

John McCain Releases Tax Returns From Both 2006 And 2007:

john mccain tax return

[McCain Tax Return For 2006] [McCain Tax Return For 2007]


Doc Drop: Hurricane Predictions

Forecasters Predict ‘Well Above Average’ Activity For ‘08:

hurricane

“Current oceanic and atmospheric trends indicate that we will likely have an active Atlantic basin hurricane season,” said William Gray, who heads the university’s forecast team.

The forecasters predict at least 15 named storms will form in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and Nov. 30. Eight of the storms are predicted to become hurricanes, and of those eight, four are expected to develop


Doc Drop: Petraeus Speech

General Petraeus And Robert Crocker Are Still Getting Grilled:

[Raw Data - Petraeus Statment] [Raw Data - Crocker Statement]


Doc Drop: Clinton Tax Returns

Finally, After Months Of Questions, The Clinton’s Tax Returns:

[2000] [2001] [2002] [2003] [2004] [2005] [2006] [2007]


Doc Drop: Terror Memo Released

Pentagon Releases Memo Justifying Harsh Interrogation Tactics:

The Pentagon has released a declassified 2003 Justice Department memo that claimed the president’s wartime authority trumps any international ban on torture, and concluded that the Fifth and Eighth amendments do not apply to foreign prisoners held outside the country.

The memo, released by the Pentagon, was written by Justice Department lawyer John Yoo in March 2003. He has since left the agency.

The


Doc Drop: Obama’s Tax Return

Barack and Michelle Obama earned close to $1 million in 2006:

Barrack Obama’s 2006 tax return can be viewed in full online.