Jezebel
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news roundup
The Obama Transition Train Keeps Rolling
- Barack Obama has picked a theme for his inauguration: "A New Birth of Freedom." It comes from the Gettysburg Address, so it's not quite as cheezy as it sounds. [Huffington Post]
- Besides Rahm Emanuel, Robert Gibbs has reportedly accepted an offer to be the White House Press Secretary and David Axelrod has accepted a slot as Senior Adviser. [Politico, ABC]
- In the most intriguing appointment speculation, though, former Senator and Vietnam veteran Max Cleland — who lost to never-done-served Saxby Chambliss in 2002 when Chambliss ran ads calling veteran and amputee Cleland unpatriotic — may be appointed to be the new Army secretary. In other news, Chambliss will likely face a runoff in December to hold the Senate seat he doesn't deserve anyway. [Politico]
- Bush is also going to make sure (supposedly) that the Obama camp has a say in who gets the permanent staff positions overseeing the Treasury's bailout of our economy. [Politico]
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Wandering Willies
The Top Five Media Stereotypes Of Betrayed Wives
Former Gawkerette turned Radarite Maggie Shnayerson tipped us onto this AP story about how people are criticizing Elizabeth Edwards for John's affair. "I think she's complicit," Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant told the AP. "Obviously, she knew. While she's the victim, she clearly didn't stand in the way of the cover-up." Sigh. This old meme again, one I'd thought had been retired after it had been used against Hillary Clinton so frequently. We've covered a lot of cheating husbands in the public eye this year — from politicians like Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and our favorite whoremonger Eliot Spitzer to personal-narrative spinners like Elle's Philip Nobel and New York's Philip Weiss — and what strikes me is that in every instance, the betrayed wife is blamed in some way, either by her husband or by pundits. More » -
9 to 5
Discrimination Complaints By Pregnant Women Are On The Rise
In the aftermath of the Spitzer scandal, many feminists chastized Silda for opting out of her high-powered corporate law job to tend the hearth, but perhaps the blame should be placed on a system that often discriminates against pregnant women and mothers in the first place. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, in the past year, discrimination claims from pregnant women to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission have risen 14%. While there is a Pregnancy Discrimination Act , most working women are shocked when they realize how little it covers. " The Journal observed a local gathering of more than 100 working mothers recently where an advertising exec said, "I thought we were protected. Then I find out we can be fired while we're pregnant, employers can refuse to hire us — what exactly are our rights?" More » -
notes on a scandal
Female Pols Have Fewer Sex Scandals Because Men Don't Find Female Power Erotic
When Samantha Bee stood up at the Daily Show podium and faux admitted to cheating on her husband in a Spitzer-esque press conference, I wondered if there were any female politicians who had been caught red-handed (red-pantied?) in an extramarital affair. In the current issue of Newsweek, Julia Baird ponders the same question — "Why aren't more powerful public women caught up in sex scandals?" — and comes up with a few possibilities. While Baird makes note of a few female pols who have behaved badly (former Charlotte, NC mayor Sue Myrick, Idaho congresswoman Helen Chenoweth, Utah congresswoman Katherine Bryson), one of the possible reasons fewer women have been caught cheating is because there are fewer female politicians, period. More » -
the week that was
This Week We Talked Prostitutes, Poops, And Panties
- We discovered that ( now-former ) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer goes to whores.
- We also discussed Ashley Alexandra Dupre, aka "Kristen", the woman who was allegedly the whore in question. Her new single is off the chain!
- We commisserated with Spitzer's poor wife, Silda.
- Bet disgraced Glamour blogger Mike Cherico is happy about the Spitzer scandal! It is one of the few things that makes him look like less of an asshole.
- Speaking of assholes, did ya hear? Pooping is the new hot shit!
- We discovered that ( now-former ) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer goes to whores.
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crappy hour
Ashley Alexandra Dupre: What The World Needs Now? Or Just "What We Want"?
Oh no, really? Another day of this? Doesn't she get old? (No!) So what, did they talk to her pimp or something? Is her song the most-downloaded thing on some website somewhere? Did Penthouse come calling? Whatever it was, the guy who owns my deli was checking out my Daily News when I came back from picking up coffee this morning, so I guess it's just ..."what we want," so to speak. (I'd say, you know, "DO NOT WANT," but for fear of using "dated slang.") Why Glamocracy Megan and I would still, even though we are whores, rather trade places with Silda Spitzer than Ashley Alexandra Dupre, what Obama should say about his crazy pastor, and OMG those Iraqi soldiers they're interviewing on CNN are hottt, after the jump. More » -
crappy hour
What Does Ashley Alexandra Dupré Teach Us About Our Fucked Economy?
This our favorite picture of Ashley Youmans aka Ashley Alexandra Dupré aka "Kristen." She will forever be known as Eliot Spitzer's whore, even though he fucked several whores including someone named "Sienna," maybe even someone with a higher "diamond rating" than Ashley. Maybe she will find a gig performing her soulful ballads, or maybe she could sing backup in Gennifer Flowers' band. Perhaps she and her mother, who seemed so proud her daughter could "handle someone like the governor," will be offered a reality show or a self-help show or a mother-daughter Playboy spread a la the Kardashians. Who knows what opportunities the economy will afford young Ashley now that her mere image has proven capable of driving such tremendous internet traffic? Well, executives at Viacom and Harper Collins sort of know. But until we do, we're posting this picture to evoke the era when pretty young 22-year-olds hid their prostitution businesses for fear of corrupting families, and talking about Keith Olbermann, John McCain, Camile Paglia, the new five dollar bill, George Clooney... Glamocracy Megan is back! Jump for our lust. More » -
notes on a scandal
Why Did Eliot Spitzer Risk Everything To Pay For Sex?
Yesterday we looked at the Spitzer scandal from the prostitutes' point of view, and now we ask the question: why did Eliot risk everything to bone a hooker in the first place? One possibility, according to the Times of London, is that he's addicted to sex. An anonymous columnist writes in today's paper, "My desire for sex was so overwhelming that I had difficulty breathing." This "John X" says that he was a sex addict because "I wanted to feel nothing; oblivion feels good when you've had a bad day at work, or are hung-over." (It all stemmed from a basic inability to communicate with the opposite sex.) "It's a mistake to associate paid sex with feelings. Better to associate it with a lack of feelings, a big frightening void, an inability to communicate sexually and emotionally with a partner." More » -
news roundup
Meet Ashley Alexandra Dupre. She Fucked Eliot Spitzer. She Is The Future Of Music!
- I know what I want, you know what I want, I know what you need, can you handle me? Thus begins the mellifluous "What We Want," the latest track posted on the MySpace page of Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the musician, abuse victim, former drug abuser and self-professed "non moron" who had sex with Eliot Spitzer under the name "Kristen" the night before Valentine's Day. Perhaps some blog will pay her $4,300 to perform it at their annual party in May? [NYT]
- The Emperor's Club also offered graphic design and consulting services but I'm thinking they weren't that popular because I could probably design their website myself. [Slate]
- Eliot Spitzer is a Gemini. Libras are famously attracted to Geminis so I guess I should consider it a bullet dodged. [Huffington Post]
- Dina McGreevey is still pretty pissed. You would be, too, if your husband had told you he was gay by asking you to read a draft of a speech he was about to give. [NYT]
- Geraldine Ferrarro abdicated her position on the Clinton campaign so she can continue speaking her mind about how easy black guys have it compared to white women. [Reuters] More »
- I know what I want, you know what I want, I know what you need, can you handle me? Thus begins the mellifluous "What We Want," the latest track posted on the MySpace page of Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the musician, abuse victim, former drug abuser and self-professed "non moron" who had sex with Eliot Spitzer under the name "Kristen" the night before Valentine's Day. Perhaps some blog will pay her $4,300 to perform it at their annual party in May? [NYT]
