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01
Aug

John Edwards Is a Gemini, If That Helps

By Simon Scowl 9 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

It looks like the Rielle Hunter/John Edwards story is finally starting to get some traction. Yesterday the McClatchy News Service reported on the fact that there’s no father listed on the baby’s birth certificate. Which doesn’t prove anything on its own, of course, but it sure is odd. Especially considering that Andrew Young claims to be the father.

So, it’s a start. Edwards is also dodging the press now, which is the first time I’ve heard of him running away from a camera.

Now that the news is finally getting around to reporting on the story, I wonder if they’ll take a look at New Age Rielle’s two helpers, Bob McGovern (who describes himself, professionally, as “an intuitive”) and astrologer Margaret Sweet? The press usually loves it when politicians get tangled up with astrologers. Maybe we’ll find out that a dowser or a phrenologist is involved too!

Speaking of astrology, when the National Enquirer first reported on the story last October 10, Rielle Hunter immediately put out a statement denying it. Which, in retrospect, was weird for two reasons:

  1. The Enquirer story didn’t name her, saying only that “the other woman” worked on the Edwards campaign. Why deny a story that hasn’t accused you, specifically, of anything?
  2. Her denial was published at MyDD.com, whose founder, Jerome Armstrong, is also an astrologer. Probably just another weird coincidence…

I wonder if any of these zodiac-huggers can predict what’s going to happen next?

P.S. You know you’ve really made it when your credibility is questioned by someone named karateexplosions!

P.P.S. I realize this is like talking to a wall, but to the Kos commenter who described this previous post as a “circle jerk of self-sourcing”: I sourced Newsweek, HuffPo, MSNBC, Gawker, Wikipedia, CBS, the BBC, CJR, Slate, and the Boston Globe, in addition to the Enquirer (boo!), Fox (double-boo!), and our own posts on it (triple-boo!), in order to figure out where the story stood at that point. I put in links to all of it, which you’d know if you had clicked them. So I’d like to think it was a fairly well-sourced circle jerk. But other than that, excellent point.
Continue reading ‘John Edwards Is a Gemini, If That Helps’

31
Jul

What About Bob?

By Simon Scowl 24 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Bad Boys & Girls, Politicos, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(Hi! If you’re new here and you’re looking for more information about the John Edwards story, I mean non-story, our entire non-coverage is here.)

A Deceiver reader — perhaps responding to my annoyingly smug statement in my previous “John & Rielle” post that I know how to use Google, unlike 99% of the journalists in the U.S. — points out that you can find more information about the mysterious Bob McGovern via… Google. D’oh!

If you’re just joining us, McGovern is the gentleman who last week allegedly rented two rooms at the Beverly Hilton (and served as a one-man shuttle service) as a favor to John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, the baby girl who Edwards says isn’t his, and the veritable legion of National Enquirer reporters waiting outside. McGovern is also listed on the “board of directors” of Being Is Free, Hunter’s once-deleted, now-resurrected website. And he may be the “Bob” who Hunter once described as her “savior, healer of all healers.”

Who is this guy?

I think we might be able to find out. If you go to the Google cache of MargaretSweet.com, which is the site for an astrologer named, aptly enough, Margaret Sweet (who’s also a friend of Hunter’s), there’s a page called “Helpful Dudes.” But despite the plural, apparently there’s only one dude who Margaret Sweet considers helpful:

Robert (Bob) McGovern - Healer

Bob McGovern is an intuitive who has worked as a healer since 1988. He works with energy in the area of the emotional fields. He uses philosophy, psychology and the intuitive to find resolutions that move people back into alignment with the universe and into a place of peace, harmony and joy.

Bob uses the intuitive to help people with a variety of life issues, including relationships, career and health. His knowledge of the past and the future helps people find balance in the present. He is able to separate out surrounding negative energy, which allows people to have a clearer perception of their own options and choices. He works to empower people so that they can respond to the challenges of daily life with greater discernment and fuller understanding.

That really does sound intuitive, doesn’t it?

The “Helpful Dudes” page also lists McGovern’s Santa Barbara phone number and mailing address, which are current as of June 12, but I don’t think it’s good netiquette to give out that sort of info in blog posts. Although if you’re, say, a newspaper reporter and you have a few free minutes in your busy day, maybe you could click this link, call the guy up, and ask if he’s the same Bob McGovern who’s in the middle of this non-scandal? And if so, maybe you could see if he cares to comment on the whole non-situation? Just throwing that out there; I’m not a journalist and I’m not really sure how you guys do what you do. Sorry if I’m overstepping my bounds.

(8/2 Update: According to the 7/31 McClatchy story on Frances Quinn Hunter’s fatherless birth certificate, the baby was born in Santa Barbara. And the Enquirer says McGovern and Hunter drove to the Beverly Hilton from Santa Barbara. Is that what they call a corroborating detail? Also, as of today, the Google cache of the “Helpful Dudes” page has been updated, and McGovern’s contact info is gone. Did you already save a copy to your hard drive? I did.)

Anyway. Strangely, if you go to the “Helpful Dudes” page now, all you see is this:

Continue reading ‘What About Bob?’

31
Jul

A Deeper Look into the Mind of Rielle Hunter

By Simon Scowl 23 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(NOTE: As of 8/2, the web page I describe in this post is gone, replaced by a “Blocked Site Error” page. Who blocked it? That’s a very good question.)

Yesterday I told you about the mysterious reappearance of Rielle Hunter’s web site, Being Is Free (the sudden disappearance of which last year helped start this whole controversy over whether John Edwards has an illegitimate kid). Since then, I’ve been surfing through that site so you don’t have to. There’s a whole lot of Eastern mysticism and spiritual enlightenment to be found in its pages, not to mention a deep, rich vein of unintentional humor.

There are over a dozen different pages on the site, and I get the feeling that each one is going to deserve special attention. So I’ll examine it in sections, for both your sake and mine. I’ll look at one of the columns of links on her home page per entry, picking out any interesting quotes and trying to tie them together with some of the new info we’ve been getting over the past week or so.

So let’s kick things off with what seems to be the big question on a lot of people’s minds when it comes to Rielle Hunter: Who Is She?

Continue reading ‘A Deeper Look into the Mind of Rielle Hunter’

30
Jul

Wanna See Rielle Hunter’s Old Site?

By Simon Scowl 15 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

(Note: As of 8/2, the site I discuss in this post has been replaced with a page that simply says “Blocked Site Error.” As for who’s blocking it, we can only guess.)

Looks like there are two Americas: the America where not-John-Edwards’-babymama Rielle Hunter has erased her web site from existence, and the America where someone else has put it right back up.*

I haven’t started exploring it yet, but in light of current alleged events, the main page alone is a gold mine. Is there any unintended irony to be found in any of those link headers? Hmmmm, could be:

  • Who Am I?: We’re finding out more about this every day, despite her efforts to cover her tracks.
  • Kids on board: So we’ve heard.
  • Tell the Truth: Heh.
  • Tools that rule: Well, Edwards wanted to…
  • Love Everyone: Sounds like over the years she’s given this one her very best shot.
  • Need more than a hug?: Apparently!
  • Gold givers ananda: I don’t know what this means, unless she misspelled “diggers.”
  • What’s up with the cash?: What is up with it indeed.

(Hat tip: Deceiver reader Kris)

Update: In the comments, Caligrrl has dug up a great quote from the Shift Happens section of the site, which appears to be Hunter’s blog:

“I’ve come to realize through a lot of experience that men are in fact good for a couple of things. Three things to be specific. Penetration, moving heavy objects and causing enlightenment.”

So maybe John was just up in that hotel room for 5 hours helping Rielle rearrange the furniture so they could sit on the floor and meditate?

This just in: Lee Stranahan, who braved the mob at HuffPo the other day to explain why this is a news story even if you wish it weren’t, does the same at the Daily Kos. He uses logic and reason on them (with, if you read the comments, sadly predictable results).

Others babbling about this total yawner of a story today: Gawker, Dipdive, Sklar at HuffPo, Radar Online, Bloggasm, Kaus (naturally), The Week, LAist, DBKP, Roger L. Simon, Anorak, Blog P.I., Wired, Mercury News, Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno. And if you want to stay on top of our babbling about it, just bookmark this.

Next-day update: I take a closer look at Rielle’s site, AKA Being Is Free (But a Girl’s Gotta Pay the Rent), here.

*I’m not going to apologize for digging into this story, but I do apologize for yet another hacky “Two Americas” joke.

29
Jul

More Non-Newsworthy Rielle Hunter/John Edwards Goodness

By Simon Scowl 5 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, Socialites, The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

Lee Stranahan — author of the #1 most popular story at the Huffington Post right now — has a correction to yesterday’s Deceiver post about the Rielle & Johnny non-scandal scandal. I described Andrew Young, the alleged father of Rielle Hunter’s baby, merely as “an Edwards employee.” But apparently the working relationship was closer than that.

According to Snopes, during the 2004 presidential race, Edwards was involved in a dispute with his neighbors in Raleigh, NC because news crews were damaging their lawns and generally making a nuisance of themselves. (Hey, maybe the news folks are trying to make up for that now by leaving him alone!) In response to this, an essay purporting to be from one of his neighbors, Brian T. Nicholson, detailed Edwards’ various other supposed transgressions, including his tactics as a medical malpractice lawyer, his tax practices, his Senate voting record, his coldness toward his neighbors, and his habit of flipping off passing cars on his morning jogs.

After the essay made its way around the Web, Nicholson said he didn’t write all that. He claimed the piece started off as an e-mail he sent to family and friends, and someone else ended up embellishing it and putting it up on the Internet. Whoever wrote it certainly wasn’t a fan of John Edwards. (The whole essay is at Snopes.)

The Raleigh News & Observer interviewed his neighbors and couldn’t find anybody to back up the essay’s claims of Edwards being a crappy neighbor or a bird-flipper. And according to Snopes again — I really am getting to the point here, honest — contrary to the picture the essay painted of Edwards as a heedless lawn-demolisher, he sent out this note (emphasis mine):

Dear Friends & Neighbors:

As you know, 2003 has gotten off to an exciting start for our family. In light of our recent decision, we know that many of you may also be feeling the effects. We want to apologize for any inconvenience you and your family may have experienced.

Please call our assistant, Andrew Young… if you have any lawn damage from the media traffic. Our personal lawn maintenance company will make any necessary repairs. Thank you for your patience.

Assistant Andrew Young.

So: Young, who was Edwards’ assistant from at least the summer of ‘04 up until about a month before Rielle Hunter moved down to North Carolina in the fall of ‘07, is the father of her baby. And he paid for her mansion in his own gated community, the BMW she was driving, and her medical bills, all out of his own pocket. Oh, and he had Hunter over for dinner with his wife and kids. (Er, his other kids.) These are all things that a family man did for his visibly pregnant mistress.

Could it be that Young was doing all this to… in some way… assist John Edwards? Does Young handle damaged careers as well as damaged lawns? Would it be worth his time, effort, and reputation to take the hit and do a really huge favor for a guy who might be in the White House someday?

It would be irresponsible to speculate without further evidence, apparently.

(Hat tip: Lee Stranahan)

Continue reading ‘More Non-Newsworthy Rielle Hunter/John Edwards Goodness’

28
Jul

The John Edwards Non-Scandal Keeps Getting Not-Weirder

By Simon Scowl 41 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: The Naughty Bits, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

This is going to require quite a bit of background, because apparently there’s a near-total media blackout on the “John Edwards might just have an illegitimate baby” story. Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together so far:

In 2006, former vice presidential candidate and North Carolina Senator John Edwards hired a filmmaker named Rielle Hunter to make videos documenting the run-up to his 2008 presidential campaign. The videos seemed oddly… worshipful. Even for an Edwards supporter! One video in particular seemed to indicate that we should all vote for Edwards because of how he looks in a pair of jeans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDjxDL00mvg

Irony alert:

“I’ve come to the personal conclusion that I actually want the country to see who I am. Who I really am. But I don’t know what the result of that will be. But for me personally, I’d rather be successful, or unsuccessful, based on who I really am.”

But then the videos suddenly disappeared from his site in Sept. ‘07, according to Sam Stein at the Huffington Post. The Edwards campaign refused to release them or explain why they were pulled, but they still leaked out. (You can watch them here, at least for now.) Stein also found it exceedingly difficult to find any information on Hunter.

Then, last December, Edwards denied having an affair and an illegitimate child with Hunter after the National Enquirer spotted her, visibly pregnant, living in North Carolina. She had recently moved from New Jersey into a very exclusive gated community just a few miles from Edwards’ campaign HQ, in a million-dollar mansion rented for her by an Edwards employee named Andrew Young. (Correction: More specifically, Young was Edwards’ assistant.)

Young then stepped forward as the baby’s father. Some people questioned this, because Young lived just down the street from Hunter’s new house and even had her over for dinner with his family. Was Young her sugardaddy or her babysitter? (Babymamasitter?)

When ENQUIRER reporters contacted Young in person at his home on Dec. 12, he became furious — and denied he was Andrew Young.

He also denied knowing “any Rielle Hunter,” yelling at the top of his voice: “You don’t even know who I am!” But when his wife called him “Andrew,” he shot her a dirty look.

(Much more after the jump…)

Continue reading ‘The John Edwards Non-Scandal Keeps Getting Not-Weirder’

27
Jul

Barack’s “Rosie O’Donnell” Moment?

By The Oversneer 50 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Television Stars, U.S. Left-wing Politicos and Uncategorized

I’m old enough to remember the imbroglio that erupted when Rosie O’Donnell declared in 1999 that times had changed, and “we have had enough as a nation. You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun, I think you should go to prison.” Of course, the other shoe dropped the following year, when Rosie hired an armed bodyguard to protect her and her adopted kids. “I don’t personally own a gun,” she said. “But if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem.”

In short, principles, schminciples. When your physical safety and personal security hit the fan, all bets are off. But isn’t that the sort of crucible where we should expect public figures to prove that their principles actually mean something?

Barack Obama had a similar moment this weekend in the Middle East.

You may remember that Obama has been rather critical of the role the private security firm Blackwater USA has had in helping to rebuild postwar Iraq. “I don’t believe that they should be able to run amok,” he told The Nation in March, “and put our own troops in danger, get paid three or four times or ten times what our soldiers are getting paid. I am the one who has been opposed to those operators.” Obama even suggested in an interview just three weeks ago with Defense News that Blackwater and other private security firms are “eroding the core of our military’s relationship to the nation and how accountability is structured.”

Guess who provided Obama’s personal security detail during his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan?

You can’t make this stuff up folks. And at U.S. News & World Report, Paul Bedard has Obama satisfied enough with the company’s expertise to say that “Blackwater is getting a bad rap.”

Whaddya think, folks? Hypocritical? Or, given all the Messiah-like metaphors being thrown around lately, maybe this is his “Paul on the road to Damascus” moment. Either way, if I’m Blackwater right now, I’m planning the Mother Of All Christmas Parties, complete with vodka-spewing ice sculptures and Keffiyah-clad strippers.

Hat tip: Memeorandum

22
Jul

John Edwards Is in Rielle Trouble

By Simon Scowl 12 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Bad Boys & Girls, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

Way back in December we ran a couple of items about a woman named Rielle Hunter, who was alleged to have had an affair and a baby with John Edwards. (The “I talk about two Americas” guy, not the “I talk to your dead relatives” guy.) The story broke in the National Enquirer, which caused many people to dismiss it. This, despite the fact that the Enquirer has legitimately broken a lot of stories in the past, including Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy at 16, Monica Lewinski’s infamous blue dress, Rush Limbaugh’s fondness for pills, Dog the Bounty Hunter’s “n-word” tape, and many others. They may be sleazemongers, but that doesn’t mean they’re always wrong.

And if their latest Edwards/Hunter story is true, boy oh boy:

Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a Los Angeles hotel by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

The married ex-senator from North Carolina — whose wife Elizabeth continues to battle cancer — met with his mistress, blonde divorcĂ©e Rielle Hunter, at the Beverly Hilton on Monday night, July 21 — and the NATIONAL ENQUIRER was there! He didn’t leave until early the next morning.

Again, just in case you missed it, this is from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER. Oh, and this part is just perfect:

Rielle had driven to Los Angeles from Santa Barbara with a male friend for the rendezvous with Edwards. The former senator attended a press event Monday afternoon with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the topic of how to combat homelessness.

Here’s a great way to keep from being homeless: Get knocked up by a millionaire with presidential aspirations. He’ll make sure you’ve got a roof over your head and all your bills are paid, as long as you keep your mouth shut.

Read the whole story. I don’t know if it’s funny or sad, so I’m gonna say both. If Edwards spent half as much time covering his tracks as he does on his hair, he might not have gotten caught. Say hi to Gary Hart, John…

21
Jul

Tom Brokaw Asks Al Gore Why He’s Such a Hypocrite

By Simon Scowl 14 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: Activists, Environmentalists, The Washed Up and U.S. Left-wing Politicos

Not in so many words, of course — sacrilege! — but on yesterday’s Meet the Press, Brokaw did at least ask Gore why he needs to live in an energy-slurping mansion while he’s telling the rest of us WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE FROM GLOBAL WARMING if we don’t listen to him:

“We are walking the walk.” Or, in Al’s case, waddling the waddle. It would probably be too much to expect Brokaw to follow up by asking how much money Al’s raking in by spreading GW hysteria. Or how much carbon Al’s entourage spews into the atmosphere while he’s inside giving one of his sermons. Heck, it’s too much to expect Brokaw to properly pronounce “global.”

Isn’t it funny how when a hypocrite gets called out, he tends to fall back on, “Well, I never said I was perfect”? Sting does the same thing. “Yeah, I don’t practice what I preach. So what?” Reminds me of a really funny story in The Onion…

(Hat tip: Instapundit)

19
Jul

Is John McCranky Two-Faced For Cashing His Social Security Checks?

By The Oversneer 17 Comments Digg! Digg this
Categories: U.S. Right-Wing Politicos

More than a few loyal Deceiver readers have sent us this tip, so let’s take a look. The Associated Press wrote on Thursday:

Although Republican presidential candidate John McCain has called Social Security “a disgrace,” he still cashes his own retirement check every month.

“I’m receiving the benefits, the system is broken and, unfortunately, my children and grandchildren, according to the trustees of the Social Security system, will not have the same benefits the present retirees have,” McCain told reporters Thursday on his campaign bus.

McCain’s 2007 tax return shows Social Security benefits of $23,157 for the year, an average of $1,929.75 a month …

McCain reported a total income of $405,409 in 2007. As a senator, he is paid $169,300 a year. Last year, he donated $105,467 to charity, his return shows.

McCain’s wife, Cindy, reported a total income of more than $6 million in 2006, according to the campaign. She files her tax return separately from her husband and has received an extension for 2007. Heiress to a large Arizona beer distributorship, she is reportedly worth more than $100 million.

I don’t think the issue here is hypocrisy. It’s having balls the size of Arizona.

How is it that anyone who earns $400,000 a year manages to endorse a Social Security benefit check with a straight face? (I know, I know … it’s done via direct-deposit. But you get the point.)

I’m not old enough to receive Social Security benefits, so perhaps I have no right to offer an opinion. But maybe we ought to just take them away from able-bodied old folks in the top 1 percent of income earners. Too socialist? Maybe. But I’d still bust my ass to try to end up in the group of poor schlubs who get screwed out of their checks.

So Johhny Mac is not a hypocrite for accepting benefits from a “broken” system. Just full of hubris for cashing entitlement checks he doesn’t need. If you still disagree, consider this: Barack Obama says that all of Washington is “broken,” but he still accepts his government salary. I’m just saying …

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