Will Rupert Murdoch's media empire suddenly collapse or slowly slither away?

From CNN:

The phone-hacking scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch's media empire intensified in the United States Wednesday as a veteran senator urged the Justice Department to investigate whether one of Murdoch's U.S.-based companies violated federal anti-bribery laws.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking Holder to look into concerns that News Corp. -- the parent company of Fox News -- violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, known as the FCPA. The law, enacted in 1977, makes it illegal for a U.S. person or company to pay foreign officials to obtain or retain business. ...

This is very big news and comes after two other important stories appeared this morning: "Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. drops bid for BSkyB," and "It pays to be Murdoch: Just ask the U.S. government."

As you probably know, News Corps' troubles in Britain began with public and government outrage following the disclosure that a thirteen year-old murdered girl's voicemail had been hacked by News Corps' employees.

For more information about the bribery allegations in Britain and U.S. law, see "News Corp may face US probe over bribery."

A NY Times story of this morning, "In Retreat, Murdoch Drops TV Takeover," is also informative.

Apparently, markets, too, have had it: "Hands Off News Corp. Stock as Scandal Widens."

Murdoch's News Corporation also owns Fox News, which is the subject of Senator Lautenberg's request to Attorney General Holder.

Fox News employs Sarah Palin.


Update: Talk of barring News Corp. from owning any media in Britain. From Bloomberg:

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (NWSA) needs to do more to atone for misdeeds at his newspapers, lawmakers said after the company dropped its bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc. (BSY)

Labour Party lawmaker Chris Bryant said the New York-based company should be barred from owning any media in Britain unless its non-executive directors can prove they took steps to combat practices that triggered what Prime Minister David Cameron called a “firestorm.” ...

Update: The Bancroft family regrets its sale of The Wall Street Journal to Murdoch: "Former Wall St Journal owners: 'We wouldn't have sold if we had known'."

Update: The author of "It pays to be Murdoch: Just ask the U.S. government," above, is now peeling his skin back with "How I misread News Corp's taxes: David Cay Johnston."

Palin tries to downplay meeting with Fox News bosses

In Peter Hamby's story for CNN, "Palin: Timing of New Hampshire visit 'coincidental'," Palin's meeting with her "bosses" at Fox News is mentioned:

Palin also addressed her lengthy meeting at Fox News on Thursday and speculation that she might be jeopardizing her lucrative television contract by ramping up her political activity.

Palin said she met with Fox News president Roger Ailes. She told reporters that she did not offer to resign.

"I did get to speak to Roger Ailes, and we always have great conversations," Palin said.

Following yesterday's meeting, a network executive said of Palin: "Right now there is no change in her status with Fox News."

She said not to read too much into the meeting.

"Any time we get to New York I like to hop in and say hi to the folks there who work so extremely hard and get to see some of the hosts and some of the reporters," Palin said before hopping into an SUV.

Remember when this campaign-tour/publicity-stunt/road-trip was announced? Palin said that she would post a schedule of her stops, then none appeared. Yesterday there was video with her in the backseat of a red SUV with Piper in the middle and Palin's mother on the other side, and Palin mentioned that there wouldn't be an exploratory committee. I think -- am speculating -- that Palin has been told that a tour with scheduled stops or the formation of an exploratory committee would result in the suspension of her contract with Fox. There may be other reasons, but Fox News could presume that she's running based on this tour, alone. She could have done a low-key tour of the same places without so much fanfare. She'll obey her bosses, if she wants to keep her $1 Million per year job at Fox.

About upstaging Romney's announcement, Hamby mentioned, "News leaked late yesterday that Palin is organizing a clambake for Thursday evening along the New Hampshire seacoast, just minutes from the Stratham farm where Romney plans to officially announce his second presidential bid." Who was responsible for that "leak?"

Update: Media Matters' "The Palin Bus Tour And Fox News' Ethical Morass" brings-up these three ethical concerns about Palin's tour: 1) Palin keeps hinting that she's running; 2) Fox News personalities are promoting Palin's brand and potential candidacy; 3) Is Fox News applying the Santorum/Gingrich standard to Palin?

Comedians Backing Sarah Palin!

Comedians have been hurting since George Bush left office. President Obama doesn't provide them with enough material. What to do? Back Sarah Palin! Comedian Dean Obeidallah makes the case for Palin and announces the formation of a new organization:

... We comedians can wait no longer for this comedy downturn to end. We have decided it's time to take matters into our own hands. We are putting aside our petty differences to actively support the candidate who will best help our comedy careers.

That is why I'm excited to announce the formation of: "Comedians for Sarah Palin." Our slogan is: "Comedians putting aside their differences and the good of America for comedic material." You can follow us on Twitter @ComicsforPalin.

To comedians, Sarah Palin is not just a less-than-one-term governor with few achievements on the national or international stage. Sarah Palin is comedy gold. Comedians haven't been this excited over a political figure since George W. Bush was president -- in fact, comedically speaking, the only difference between Palin and Bush is lipstick. ...

There is a lot more to Obeidallah's post than what has been excerpted here. He has already started developing Palin material.

Charlie Sheen bests Sarah Palin on Twitter

We're told, in "Charlie Sheen Passes Sarah Palin On Twitter," at myfoxphilly.com:

Charlie Sheen is adding Twitter followers at a record pace, but he has a long way to go to catch Lady Gaga and other Twitter superstars. But he has already passed Sarah Palin.

Link: Twitaholic Top 100 List

Sheen added 600,000 new followers in the first 14 hours he was on Twitter, which has stunned observers of the microblogging Web site. It took Palin 19 months to get about 430,000 followers. ...

At our main blog, Blogging towards Bethlehem, I wrote about Sheen's rant on a radio call-in program. Since then, Sheen has been interviewed everywhere and appears to be unapolegetic. The most recent news is that his estranged wife has obtained a restraining order, so the authorities have taken their children away from Sheen.

To follow this story or to catch-up, just go to Google->News and type sheen into the search box.

Palin's Hiring of 'Chief of Staff' Evidence of Organizational Failure, not Presidential Candidacy

CNN reported:

Sarah Palin has added a veteran Republican strategist [Michael Glassner] to serve as chief-of-staff for her political action committee, Sarah PAC, CNN has learned. ...

And Politico reported:

Sarah Palin has hired a veteran operative to serve as a chief of staff to her loosely organized team, one of the biggest indicators yet that the former Alaska governor is leaning toward a run for the White House. ...

The fact is that nobody -- Todd Palin? -- was officially in charge of SarahPAC. That lack of management has led to a lot of problems, so it shouldn't be surprising that the PAC should bring someone in with management (and fundraising) experience. To construe the appointment of a chief-of-staff as evidence that Palin is going to run is something -- well! -- something straight out of the fevered minds of palinistas and palinoiacs. CNN's characterization of Palin's team as "loosely organized" was echoed in Politico's post, which stated, "Glassner will be tasked with bringing greater organization to the far-flung and small staff that resides in several different states and time zones."

Palin's has been quite an amateurish organization and has been long overdue for a shakeup. Glassner's first task will be to organize the existing staff, to improve its discipline, fund raising, expenditures and reporting. Heads may roll; the existing staff must be professionalized before any consideration can be given to staffing-up in anticipation of a run, if one is being considered. Remember, too, that if Palin runs, it won't be SarahPAC that manages the campaign.

There is a little deja vu in Glassner's appointment. Glassner became involved in Palin's VP campaign just before the VP debate, which, in 2008, according to The Wall Street Journal, might have been an epic fail:

... in recent days, Gov. Palin flubbed quasi-mock debates in New York City and Philadelphia, some operatives said. Finger-pointing began, and then intensified after her faltering interview with CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric. However, she performed better when she took questions from the press after touring Ground Zero and remarked about her parents' visit there after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Her performance also sparked negative responses from some conservative pundits, and she has slipped in some polls. Last week, nearly half the respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said she is unqualified to be president, while one in three said they were "not at all" comfortable with the idea of Gov. Palin as vice president, up five points from a poll in early September.

Until the weekend, the highest levels of the McCain campaign were focused on Sen. McCain's response to the financial crisis and his own debate against Sen. Barack Obama.

The McCain campaign has put in place several other well-regarded advisers to Gov. Palin, including head of vice-presidential operations Michael Glassner, who has worked for former Sen. Bob Dole, and Mr. Eskew, who worked for President George W. Bush's campaign and administration. ...

The Journal's report lends credence to what we're told in Game Change (pg. 401):

Given the acuteness of [Nicolle] Wallace's concern, McCain's advisers felt they had to bring the candidate into the loop that Saturday. Bluntly, they described to him their unease about Palin's mental state. McCain suggested that they move the debate prep to his spread in Sedona [Arizona]. Give her room to breathe. Let her bring her family. A change of scenery might do her good. Cindy would be there to support Palin, and a doctor friend of the McCains would be on hand to observer her.

Perhaps the PAC's namesake hasn't yet become organized, or has become disorganized, or ... . An interesting question is: Who realized that the PAC was disorganized and decided that a chief-of-staff should be hired?

Some of Glassner's other experience with the McCain/Palin campaign was reported in The Washington Post's "McCain Lists Top Bundlers," and The Huffington Post's "McCain Bundler, Booted Over Role In FCC-Fined Telecom, Now Staffs Palin."

Update, February 13, 2011: Added the quote from the Wall Street Journal. Reading between the lines, it may be that Glassner, who was head of operations for the 2008 VP campaign, became more directly involved with the candidate after her disappointing interview with Katie Couric and poor performance during debate preparations.

America in the grips of Palin fatigue

In "Why America is growing tired of Palin," CNN's Gloria Borger cites polls indicating that most Americans view Sarah Palin unfavorably, the willingness of Republicans to criticize her, overexposure in the media, and the people's unhappiness with a consistently negative message as reasons for the fading interest in Palin -- Palin fatigue.

Borger doesn't attribute Palin fatigue entirely to the shootings: "You might argue it's because of the debate surrounding the Tucson shootings -- specifically, Palin's tone-deaf response to the unfair charges that she was somehow responsible for a deranged shooter's state of mind. And that could well be part of it. But there's more: She's completely overstayed her welcome."

Borger's article is definitely worth reading, and what Erick Erickson, editor of redstate.com, is quoted as saying may be true:

And there's one more thing we can't forget: Voters actually like positive leaders who inspire them. Relentless negativity can work, to be sure. Yet in the end, Americans gravitate to those who make us feel good about who we are capable of becoming.

Successful candidacies and presidencies are not just about the foibles of the opposition. They're about our own ability -- as John McCain was fond of saying -- to become a part of something greater than ourselves. Palin, alas, is still stuck on the "me" part.

Food Fight! Palin vs. Huckabee

The score is 1-0, Huckabee leads.

If you didn't know, Sarah Palin has been trying to mischaracterize First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative to end childhood obesity.

Mike Huckabee, sometimes mentioned as a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, has disagreed with Sarah Palin, saying that the First Lady's efforts are right and appropriate:

“Michelle Obama's not trying to tell people what to eat or not trying to force the government's desires on people,” Huckabee said. “She’s stating the obvious, that we do have an obesity problem in this country.”

He added: “The first lady's campaign is on target.”

CNN has a story. The Huffington Post has one, too, with audio. And Fox News, which employs Palin and Huckabee has a short story.

Read about The First Lady's Childhood Obesity Task Force.

Update: The Washington Post's Alexandra Petri has written "Let Us Eat Cake!" If Michelle Obama won't let us, Sarah Palin will!

Palin Family Circus News - Tuesday, October 18, 2010

The circus continues ...

The NY Times' Maureen Dowd called Sarah Palin (and the other Mama Grizzlies) Mean Girls, "grown-up versions of those teenage tormentors who would steal your boyfriend, spray-paint your locker and, just for good measure, spread rumors that you were pregnant."

Palin shot back, according to CNN, but, for now, Dowd has had the last word!

Of course, this blog called Palin a mean girl long before Dowd did, but we don't claim that Dowd reads the blog. If we did that, we'd have to claim that at least one other NY Times writer gets her news here.


So, Sunday we got a new HDTV to see DWTS (just kidding, but did get the TV). It seemed that it was on forever before Bristol danced. Does anyone know why that show is so popular? The TV is nice, though. My public library has about 200 blue-ray movies, and when we're through those no worry, because I've got cards at other libraries. We did buy "The Day The Earth Stood Still," and will buy another to turn the TV into a virtual aquarium. Netflix is a possibility, too. We live in a cable-free, dish-free zone. But I've digressed; back to the circus with Politics Daily, which says,

Responding to judges' pleas to include more performance in her performances, Bristol's partner, Mark Ballas, decided to bring in clowns to work with her on expressing herself. But that wasn't the end of the clowning around. Ballas also elected to begin their jive to the Monkees theme song dressed as, well, monkeys.

Didn't we know there was a circus here?

Anonymous sources?

Michael Joseph Gross gave a lengthy (for TeeVee) interview with CNN. They discussed his article, "Sarah Palin's Sound and Fury," which was published in Vanity Fair:



On the use of anonymous sources, this part of Gross' article was briefly discussed:

One person who has been a frequent houseguest of the Palins’ says that the couple began many mornings with screaming fights, a fusillade of curses: “ ‘Fuck you,’ ‘Fuck this,’ ‘You lazy piece of shit.’ ‘You’re fuckin’ lucky to have me,’ Sarah would always say.” (This person never saw Todd and Sarah sleep in the same bed, and recalls that Todd would often joke, “I don’t know how she ever gets pregnant.”)

"This person never saw Todd and Sarah sleep in the same bed, and recalls that Todd would often joke, "I don't know how she ever gets pregnant." Who is the source?

In "Me and Mrs. Palin," Levi Johnston appears to state:

After the nomination, Sarah and Todd wouldn’t go anywhere together unless the cameras were out. They’re good on television, but once the cameras would leave they didn’t talk to each other. In all the time Bristol and I were together, I’ve never seen them sleep in the same bedroom. (I don’t know how she got pregnant.)

Apparently, Levi hung-out with Todd, or hung-out within earshot, or talked with someone who did.

Notes From The Dwindling Supply Of Sarah Palin Stories - July 22, 2010

Here, we see Sarah Palin thinking, "Darn!"

Did Sarah delete a Facebook post?

At Lizard Annex, Charles Johnson has written "Sarah Palin: Doubling Down on Bigotry."

Sarah is trying to gin-up another controversy. This one's about JournoList -- another article.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza seems to think that Sarah Palin has problems in New Hampshire. He linked to a front-page editorial expressing doubts about Sarah Palin.

Wow! Sarah Palin's going camping with Kate Josselin.

Here's another item: Bethenny Frankel's not too keen on a reality show for Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston.