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Meet the New NRA President, Jim Porter, Who Calls the Civil War the ‘War of Northern Aggression’

On the eve of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, in which up to 70,000 people with guns gather in Houston, Texas, under the slogan “Stand and Fight,” the gun group has announced a new president who is more extreme than the old president. Jim Porter, whose father was also an NRA president, will begin his two-year term on Monday, after the party. For some insight into how dealing with the gun lobby in the near future will be, please refer to this 2012 speech from Porter, in which he calls Barack Obama a “fake president.”

“The NRA was started, 1871, right here in New York state. It was started by some Yankee generals who didn’t like the way my southern boys had the ability to shoot in what we call the ‘War of Northern Aggression,'” he told the New York Rifle & Pistol Association in a little history lesson. “Now, y’all might call it the Civil War, but we call it the War of Northern Aggression down south.”

Porter went on to explain that “one of our most greatest charges that we can have today, is to train the civilian in the use of the standard military firearm, so that when they have to fight for their country they’re ready to do it. Also, when they’re ready to fight tyranny, they’re ready to do it. Also, when they’re ready to fight tyranny, they have the wherewithal and the weapons to do it.”

The nutty Wayne LaPierre will remain the group’s main mouthpiece, but this man sounds like he knows how to turn up the crazy, too.

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Filed Under:
guns
,jim porter
,national rifle association
,gun control

via Daily Intelligencer http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/new-nra-president-jim-porter-civil-war.html

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Wolf Blitzer Is Apparently Famous Enough to Get ‘Swatted’

“Swatting,” a fad like planking and fridging (but far more dangerous and expensive), might finally be over now that it’s trickled down to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. The prank, currently reaching “epidemic” proportions, is designed to send the SWAT team to the homes of famous people, like Ryan Seacrest, Chris Brown, and Justin Timberlake, with anonymous calls or messages to police alleging violence in progress. At Blitzer’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, over the weekend, authorities were told someone had been shot and set up a perimeter only to find out it was fake, and that the man of the house wasn’t even home. “Wolf is fine,” said a network spokesperson. “That’s what matters most.” The prankster is not in custody, no matter what CNN says.

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Filed Under:
the most important people in the world
,media
,wolf blitzer
,swatting

via Daily Intelligencer http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/swatting-craze-hits-wolf-blitzer-house.html

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New York Times Destroys Roger Ailes Book

Despite the author receiving “considerable access to Mr. Ailes and Fox News,” Times assassin Michiko Kakutani calls Zev Chafets’s new valentine to the cable news virtuoso a “slapdash … familiar … oddly defensive … long, soft-focus, poorly edited magazine article” that “doesn’t ask … many tough questions” and “serves as little more than a plastic funnel for Mr. Ailes’s observations,” with “a tiny bit of context here and there,” but “little cogent analysis.”

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Filed Under:
roger ailes
,michiko kakutani
,new york times
,fox news
,media
,cable news news
,zev chafets

via Daily Intelligencer http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/new-york-times-roger-ailes-zev-chafets-kakutani.html

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Gay Vatican Blackmail Might Have Pushed the Pope Out

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica isn’t buying that a pope resigned for the first time in more than 600 years simply because he wasn’t feeling so spry anymore. Instead, a new report points to a juicy-sounding secret dossier (“two volumes of almost 300 pages — bound in red”) involving a faction in the Vatican “united by sexual orientation,” according to the Guardian. Those officials were supposedly subject to “external influence” from outsiders with whom they connected in a “worldly nature.” A.k.a. blackmail.

The information is thought to stem from an investigation into the “Vatileaks” scandal, in which Pope Benedict XVI’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested for stealing and leaking gossipy Vatican documents. The pope reportedly received the information on December 17, the day he decided to step down. According to a La Repubblica source, “Everything revolves around the non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments,” or “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Haaretz notes that the Italian paper in question has a history of exposing homosexual happenings in the Vatican.

If the whole thing sounds a bit outlandish, it’s worth noting that the pope’s spokesperson opted to neither confirm nor deny the report. The dossier, which will appear soon in a bunch of bad religious mystery novels, is reportedly being held in a safe and will be delivered to Benedict’s successor, who we imagine will drop it dramatically in a fireplace and whisper, “We shall never speak of this again.”

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Filed Under:
religion
,pope benedict xvi
,scandal
,the pope
,the vatican

via Daily Intelligencer http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/gay-vatican-blackmail-mightve-pushed-pope-out.html

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American Airlines Seats Come Loose Mid-Flight (Again)

For the second time in three days, a row of seats detached during an American Airlines flight, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to wonder what the hell is going on over there. A plane leaving JFK yesterday morning for Miami was forced to turn around when three seats came loose on a Boeing 757. Over the weekend, another American Airlines 757 had the exact same problem and was diverted to JFK as a precaution. “Got an unusual one for you,” the pilot told air traffic control on Saturday. “Passenger seats rows 12D, E, and F, uh, came loose out of the floor. Passengers are unable to, uh, sit in that seat.” Not that unusual, apparently.

And it could’ve been worse: “The airline’s initial inspection of each aircraft found other rows of seats that were not properly secured,” said the FAA in a statement. “Preliminary information indicates that both aircraft had recently undergone maintenance during which the seats had been removed and re-installed.”

An aviation consultant blamed the screwup on “fatigue or inappropriate or unnoticed maintenance,” CBS reports, but a retired pilot was dubious. “That’s exactly what I expect management to say,” he explained. “It would be detrimental to their flight scheduling if they admitted to passengers that there are possible job actions that could endanger their lives.”

American, which declared bankruptcy last year, is falling apart, now literally. Huge delays have become the norm after the company scrapped all of its labor agreements, upsetting overworked pilots, who seem to be getting some revenge by pointing out every little maintenance concern. (Although, maybe they have a point.) “Safety is our top priority,” the airline assured in a statement. “We never have — and never will — compromise the safety and reliability of our fleet.” Getting where you’re going just might take a little (or a lot) longer, with an airborne scare thrown in for some spice.

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Filed Under:
american airlines
,air safety
,scary things
,jfk international airport

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/american-airlines-seats-come-loose-again.html

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Struggling Actor Failed Miserably at Extorting Harvey Weinstein, Groupon Co-founder

Vivek Shah, a down-on-his-luck actor known for roles like “Gentleman,” “Cabbie,” and “Drunk Friend,” has been even less successful at devising an extortion plot. The 25-year-old was arrested this month at his mom and dad’s house for allegedly trying to extort millions of dollars each from five business moguls, including mega-producer Harvey Weinstein. Shah, who is good at getting photographed next to famous people, sent “demand letters” to Weinstein, along with a Groupon co-founder, two oil execs, and a coal magnate, which “contained a threat to kill named members of the recipient’s family unless a large sum of money was wired to an offshore bank account.” As if to prove his devotion to his craft, the return address Shah used for the letter sent to Weinstein belongs to Helen Mirren.

The Smoking Gun has the full affidavit, including other fun and terrifying details like the fact that when Shah was collared, he was just days away from attending a scheduled handgun training session in L.A.

“He’s a very good person,” Shah’s father told the Post, adding another level of conspiracy to the plot: “He was pressured by someone, and they threatened they would kill Vivek.” If this is viral marketing for a screenplay, Weinstein will not be pleased.

“The Weinsteins have always had intense security and been on high alert because of the movies they make,” said a source. “Especially because of the movie The Master, they are under intense security.” But no, Scientology does not appear to be involved in this one.

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Filed Under:
crimes and misdemeanors
,harvey weinstein
,vivek shah
,extortion
,scary things

via Vulture http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/08/harvey-weinstein-extortion-plot-vivek-shah-fails-miserably.html

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WikiLeaks Is Almost Entirely Out of Money, Still Not Leaking

It’s been a very long time since WikiLeaks was in the news for anything other than Julian Assange’s drawn-out extradition battle (he’s still waiting on Ecuador, chilling at their embassy), but another constant has been its cash woes. The group blames the money issues on an “unlawful financial blockade” by Visa and Mastercard, and decided last year to “temporarily suspend its publishing operations” to focus on fund-raising. More than six months later, the whistle-blowing site has reopened its donation system through a French company, but things are getting dire.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that WikiLeaks managed to spend in the neighborhood of $300,000 in the first half of 2012, but took in just about $40,000 in donations, leaving their cash reserves somewhere around $100,000. That will all be gone “within a few months,” the site said, unless faithful souls deliver “a minimum of €1 million immediately” so that WikiLeaks can “effectively continue its mission.” Good luck with that — maybe throw in a tote bag?

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Filed Under:
wikileaks
,spy games
,international man of mystery
,julian assange

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/wikileaks-almost-entirely-out-of-money.html

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Brooklyn State Senator Cancels ‘Walk Like a Model’ Seminar for Sloppy Broads

Republican Marty Golden, the only Brooklyn state senator to vote against marriage equality, has some thoughts on gender norms, too. In a planned event called “Posture, Deportment and the Feminine Presence,” Golden, with the help of a “certified protocol consultant,” promised to help misguided dames find a job by refining their god-given potential: The flier teased lessons in how to “sit, stand and walk like a model” and “walk up and down a stair elegantly,” as well as tips on “handshakes and introductions.” In response, State Senator Liz Krueger quipped to City & State, “Perhaps this would be appropriate on Mad Men, but not in New York in the 21st century.” And following an incredulous online uproar today, the finishing class has been nixed.

“Each year, Senator Golden holds several well received events to provide options to his constituents for personal and business development,” his office said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “Our upcoming event, which we have chosen not to hold, is similar to ones being organized by other elected officials, as well as classes conducted in local high schools. The Senator’s support of legislation and programs to help create jobs for all New Yorkers is a matter of public record, and we will be holding future events to assist them in finding and keeping a job.”

For now, reruns of Charm School it is, sweethearts.

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Filed Under:
ladiezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
,gender
,marty golden
,politics
,brooklyn

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/marty-golden-brooklyn-state-senator-cancels-lady-seminar.html

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Ann Curry on Her Way Out at Today

Months of media chatter about Ann Curry’s role on the Today Show is finally coming to a head as the New York Times reports that “secret” planning is underway to replace her after a year on the job. The secret is definitely out now, with Brian Stelter noting Curry has hired a high-profile lawyer to broker her transition at NBC, potentially to a foreign-correspondent spot.

Earlier this year, with Matt Lauer in contract limbo, New York reported on his importance to the network’s ratings amid Curry’s “rocky transition” into the co-hosting duties previously held by Meredith Viera but never quite perfected since the departure of Katie Couric in 2006. (The Times also happened to publish a huge review of Curry’s performance today, examining her “on-screen distance” and its effect on the show’s ratings problems.) Lauer signed back on for big money, but soon after, Today lost to Good Morning America for the first time in sixteen years (and then again). Curry “got her dream job, and she doesn’t want to let it go,” one source told the Times, but as with any breakup, part of her knows it’s just not working out. Today‘s 9 a.m. co-host Savannah Guthrie is already being floated as a potential replacement.

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Filed Under:
ann curry
,the great morning tv war
,media
,the today show
,matt lauer
,nbc

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/06/ann-curry-on-her-way-out-at-nbc-today.html