Okay, so maybe it's not as juicy as the Shag Fund scandal*. But former fellow Open Source Politics blogger Richard Silverstein has just successfully defended himself from a libel lawsuit brought against him by Rachael Neuwirth for content on his blog**:

Tonight is not a good night for Rachel Neuwirth. Like Casey at the bat, she took a mighty swing & like Casey she struck out. She sued me for libel in Los Angeles Superior Court because I called her a "Kahanist swine." Her claim was that this was the same as claiming she was a Jewish terrorist since Kahane Chai, Meir Kahane's Israeli political party, is designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorist organization. Her attorney, Charles Fonarow, told my attorneys that her case was a "slam dunk." Seems Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Reid had a different idea. It's also important to note that Judge Reid is no activist liberal judge. He teaches law at Pepperdine University law school where Kenneth Starr is the dean. He's a law and order conservative and he understood the principles of free blog speech that were involved in this case. He understood that calling someone a Kahanist swine, while not perhaps the most refined turn of phrase in the world, is permitted in the context of public discourse on an issue of great civic importance. We won the case with an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) motion under which the defendant must prove that his speech was made in a public arena and furthered a public good and that the plaintiff was a public figure. Rachel's key defense was that she is a private figure (she argued that she was merely a real estate agent) and the my blog was a private forum (because I "controlled" it), all of which are patently false since she herself calls herself an "internationally respected journalist" in her online bio. That my blog is a public forum is also patently obvious as 250,000 unique visitors each year indicate. And I no more 'control' the 6,000 comments published on my blog than I control the entire web. [snip]

There's much more at the various links as well as a lot of other stuff within comments and/or at other sites (which the Funny Farm strongly advises you avoid unless you have a strong stomach and a thick hide), and of course I'm not very well versed on the minutiae of the whole story. So you'll have to decide for yourself. I heartily applaud Mr. Silverstein for winning the first round*** here, fighting the good fight, and leading by example. * - Groovy, baby! ** - I'm not exactly sure what the whole kerfluffle is about; apparently there are some radical blog sites out there that Richard has been outing to their web hosts, and Neuwirth thought a SLAPP suit would cause Richard to back down from those activities. I'm also sure that I have no interest in wading into the bloggy cesspools that he has slogged through to gather such special attention from people like Ms Neuwirth. *** - cause you know they're going to appeal...

This week a two part Scribe. Part 1 today, Part 2 tomorrow… hopefully…

Henry’s Hellish Game Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. …and again… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…… The sound of Henry Hyde plummeting into Hell. Yes, the evil as^%$#@hole is dead. The landing is hard. VERY hard. Henry stands up and faces the giant red one.

Why is Satan always red? Is it fire? Is it he has no taste? Does he taste like flamebroiled chicken?

For the first time in his miserable, wretched, self-serving, conniving, sin drenched life, Henry had nothing to say… wait, he’s dead… guess Scribe has NOTHING good to say here about him. Satan roars. “We’ve been waiting for you Henry! Your punishment for eternity stretches before you. You have two choices. One… since you and your evil cohorts thought amusing yourselves by having your own sexual affairs while impeaching a president would be fun… despite the fact that the president has bigger concerns like national security… we and my fellow demons decided you could face eternity being disemboweled and beheaded again and again by the same fanatics who flew into the towers.” Henry gasped. “We thought you’d like that one. Or how about spending an eternity playing a game, trying to find an exit that does not exist while wandering a maze, being lost in a spiritual wilderness while asking questions from followers of a rather esoteric faith called…” Henry screamed, “No! No! Any thing but….” And an Osama lookalike immediately cut his head off, which grew right back. Satan chuckled as he walked off, muttering to himself, “Let no man say the devil doesn’t have a sense of humor.” Why would he chose torture over playing a game populated by followers of an esoteric faith? Well, Henry has always feared playing… Hyde and Sikh. Stay “toon”ed for Part 2… The Power of the FARCE. Brought to you by Neo Con Crispy Critters, soon to offer even extra crispier Iranian body parts. Yet another bad idea: far, far worse than it’s namesake: Post’s failed breafast cereal, from Junior and his, not “cereal,” but… (cough, wince, wink…) SERIAL killers

The Associated Press, November 29, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Rep. Henry Hyde, the Illinois Republican who steered the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton and was a hero of the anti-abortion movement, died Thursday. He was 83. Mary Ann Schultz, a spokeswoman for Rush University Medical Center, said Hyde died Thursday at 2:30 a.m. CST at that hospital. She said Hyde, who underwent open-heart surgery in July, was admitted for persistent renal failure related to his cardiac condition and suffered from a fatal arrhythmia. Hyde retired from Congress at the end of the last session. Earlier this month, President Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. ''During more than 30 years as a congressman, he represented the people of Illinois with character and dignity -- and always stood for a strong and purposeful America,'' Bush said in a statement Thursday. ''This fine man believed in the power of freedom, and he was a tireless champion of the weak and forgotten. He used his talents to build a more hopeful America and promote a culture of life.'' House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement: ''In his respect for the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, Henry took second place to no one.'' Read More Here

Mitt Romney former governor of Massachusetts has claimed to be a true Boston Red Sox fan. Problem is during last night's GOP debate Romney said that Red Sox fans had waited 87 long years before winning another World Series. Any Red Sox fan or even a baseball fan knows we only waited 86 years. What a moron!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gsqnWQ1UnA

Its always difficult when you are running for president. Your entire life is put under a microscope, a very very powerful microscope. Because of this it is always interesting when a politician is caught with his pants down, so to speak. In Rudi Giuliani's case he may literally been caught with his pants down. Records from his administration show that Giuliani improperly billed city agencies for police protection for himself and his mistress, now his wife, Judith Nathan. The story broke just before the debate last night and although moderator Anderson Cooper of CNN asked Giuliani about the allegations that was the end of it for the night. That is not likely to be the case for the general public. According to the story by Politico, Giuliani began his frequent travels to the Hamptons at the same time his affair with Nathan began. Prior to this Giuliani had no business or other reason to spend overnights in the Hamptons. The expenses first surfaced when Giuliani's term as mayor ended when a city auditor stumbled across something unusual: $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board. Why did Giuliani put the expenses with the Loft Board? Giuliani has no good answer for that. New York Mayors are afforded 24 hour protection provided by the NYPD and the expenses are borne them. According to City Comptroller William Thompson, auditors "were unable to verify that these expenses were for legitimate or necessary purposes." So the man who calls himself America's Mayor decided to spend the taxpayers money so he could go screw his mistress then he hid the evidence. So not only did Giuliani screw Nathan, his wife and the people of New York City now he is trying to screw the American people with claims of honesty. Giuliani has often stated his mistakes and has asked the voters to view all of his deeds not just the mistakes. Problem with that idea is his mistakes are overshadowing anything he may be able to take positive credit for. Let's see how he tries to weasel his way out of this one.

It has been said all along that George W. Bush and his entire administration have been living in a fantasy land. Apparently the fantasy continues even after you leave the administration. In a wide ranging interview with Charlie Rose, former White House political director Karl Rove said that the Bush Administration did not want Congress to vote on the Iraq War resolution in the fall of 2002, because they thought it should not be done within the context of an election. I know you’re laughing out loud but wait that’s not even the best part. Rove blames Congress for pushing Bush into a war with Iraq. Rove is clearly living in a complete fantasy land where everything that is real can be changed with a few words. In his interview with Charlie Rose, Rove stated that the "premature vote" led to many of the problems that cropped up in the Iraq War. Had Congress not pushed, he says, Bush could have spent more time assembling a coalition, and provided more time to the inspectors. What the fuck. The whole world watched as Bush did exactly the opposite of what Rove is suggesting. Congress gave the president the authority to use force if all other avenues had been explored. So to say Bush was rushed is complete bullshit. Bush ignored the bulk of what Congress passed and went right for the illegal war part. Rove must truly believe that the American public is completely stupid and are gullible enough to believe his revisionist history. Problem is we are not that stupid. Mr. Rove also fails to realize that anyone can get on their computer and find out the truth about how Bush ignored all the other opportunities in Iraq that did not require violence and rushed us into an unnecessary and exceedingly bloody war. My suggestion is to send Rove all the articles and Youtube clips you can find that show that facts about how he helped Bush lie us into war. Let him sift through them so he can remember what reality really is.

Phony Anti-Immigrant Distraction Will Come Back to Haunt GOP MSNBC interviewed Oklahoma State Representative Randy Terrill on Nov. 27th, the Republican behind that state's strict new anti-immigrant laws. The legislation denies jobs, unemployment compensation and other state services to undocumented workers, and has resulted in a marked downturn in local business profits as the immigrants move elsewhere -- one store alone reported losses of $75,000 a week due to Terrill's terrible bill that's driven immigrant workers out of Oklahoma. So what's Randy's answer to all the grief he's created for small businesses in OK? More and tougher anti-immigrant laws, including tossing people out who were born in this country! Following the CNN/You Tube Republican debate Nov. 28th, the good puppies working for Time Warner Inc. as 'analysts' -- blithely ignoring the extreme improbability that no questions were asked by the public about Iran or health care, and few about the faltering economy -- dutifully peddled the GOP's phony illegal immigrant issue as the 'hot' topic of the coming election. Prediction: Look for this Rovian distraction to explode in the face of the Republican Party like a trick cigar as more of these anti-immigrant laws are passed -- that's the blowback that the GOP never counted on when they unleashed this plague of thinly-disguised racism: all of the money illegal immigrants pump into local economies and, just wait, next the already-strapped border states will be complaining about the loss of tax revenues from the departing immigrants. As the saying goes: watch out what you wish for, you just might get it -- and before the next election. Oh, and more-fool Randy? He'll soon be seeking honest employment as angry voters turn him out of his soft government job. So far, he only seems qualified to be a ditch digger, if such jobs exist anymore -- he's certainly kept digging at this fetid issue long after a sane person would have stopped.