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Archive for the 'The Washed Up' Category



31
Jul

What About Bob?

(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

(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?

(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

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

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:

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’

25
Jul

Heather Mills Is Now Accepting Resumes

How big of a starts-with-B-rhymes-with-”witch” do you have to be before your own publicist starts slamming you? After blazing bold new trails in animal-rights activism, gold-digging, and alternative footwear, Heather Mills is now entering uncharted territory in public relations as well.

According to Extra:

Heather Mills’ publicist, Michele Elyzabeth, has decided to quit after representing the former Mrs. Paul McCartney for the past four years! In a statement obtained by “Extra,” Elyzabeth declares:

“After working for Heather Mills for the past four years, I have decided to cease representing her. Since her divorce has become final, in my opinion, Heather has become an impossible person. Yesterday, we engaged in a heated argument during which she called me ’stupid.’ I reminded her that she was not ‘God’ and she answered, ‘I will never ever talk to you again.’”

Elyzabeth — and something tells me that’s not the name she was born with — also claims Mills hasn’t been paying her. Has “Mucca” burned through that $50 million divorce settlement already? At this point in her shelf life, she’ll have a tough time finding a bigger, more naive sugar daddy than Paul. How many deaf, blind, single billionaires are there in the world? We need to make a love connection.

22
Jul

John Edwards Is in Rielle Trouble

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

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)

16
Jul

Corey Feldman Desecrates John Lennon Photo for PETA

Corey Feldman and his wife Susie have appeared in a stupid new ad for PETA to promote veganism.

The composition is a defecation on the memory of John Lennon, who posed with new wife Yoko Ono to promote world peace during their Bed-In in 1969.

Given that PETA is a bunch of domestic terrorists, the irony is not lost on me.

Corey and Susie have been animal-rights activists for a while. They spoke last year about forcing their son Zen to be a vegetarian:

Susie: We eat meat substitutes but we call them burgers, since you can’t really explain what fake meat is to a toddler. But he’s got these farm animal books, and there will be a chicken, and he’ll say, “Yum yum.” I had to tell him there’s a difference between the animal chicken and the chicken we eat.

Poor little guy just wants a nugget.

But let’s travel back in time to 2003, when the lesser of the two Coreys was on a fun little VH-1 show called The Surreal Life. Corey joined the cast because, as he readily admits, he needed the good publicity following a career nosedive and years of drug addiction.

It didn’t turn out as he had hoped:

Of course, Corey turns out to be the most annoying of the bunch - at least in the first two episodes, and the trailers for upcoming episodes. In one argument with Gabrielle Carteris, he says he’s a vegetarian for moral reasons. He doesn’t think it’s right to eat an animal; when she comments on his leather shoes, he says that’s different. Corey never explains why it’s different - and better - to wear leather from sacrificed animals and not eat it.

I suddenly desperately need to go watch 90210 reruns on satellite. That Andrea Zuckerman was always a smart cookie.

15
Jul

Perez Hilton: Lard & Order

Plus-sized professional prevaricator* Perez Hilton is heading back to court yet again! He’s being sued for $25 million by a geriatric nurse named Diane Wargo for publishing her name and e-mail address last December, after she sent him a very impolite e-mail from her work address:

Perez you are a FAT GAY PIG! Angelina is a ugly whore! You love her because she is a fag lover! Her brother is a gay little jerk just like your fat ugly ass! MANGELINA is a digusting gross skank!

Okay, so she’s no Oscar Wilde. Or even Oscar the Grouch…

Later that day, Wargo was fired from her job at the Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Cleveland, and she says she’s been deluged with threats and invective from Hilton’s readers. According to her suit, he violated his own privacy policy by not getting her permission to give out her personal information. But according to Hilton’s lawyer, that policy only applies to blog comments, not e-mails, and Wargo had no expectation of privacy rights.

Gosh, this all sounds so familiar… Oh yeah, now I remember! As we told you back in April, the portly pap-plunderer is suing lesser-known scumblogger Jonathan Jaxson for, among other things, giving out Hilton’s cell phone number. Here’s the first part of Hilton’s complaint, courtesy of the Smoking Gun:

Hiding behind various aliases and intentional falsehoods, Defendant Jonathan Wayne Lewandowski, aka Jonathan Jaxon, aka Jonathan Taylor (”Jaxson”), an Internet blogger, embarked on a campaign to intentionally and maliciously interfere with [Mario] Lavandeira’s business by publishing a continuous onslaught of defamatory statements and publishing Lavandeira’s private cell phone number, while encouraging people to call that number to harass him. This conduct by Jaxson defamed Lavandeira and caused him to suffer extreme business interruption and constant harassment.

See how that works? If you violate Perez Hilton’s privacy and interfere with his ability to make a living, he’ll sue you. And if you say something that displeases Perez Hilton, he’ll invade your privacy and interfere with your ability to make a living.

Problem?

*Look it up, Mario.




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