henry the intern
Letter From the Editors: Don’t Cry For Me, Anacostia
I’ve had my picture taken with Katherine Harris — in matching outfits, no less. My work here is done.
Greetings. It’s David Lat, one of your two editors here at Wonkette. And just like Star Jones, another ex-prosecutor-turned-sassy-personality, I’m using this week to say good-bye — at least for now.
As is usually the case, the gossip is true. I’m leaving the wild ‘n wacky world of politics, which I’ve enjoyed blogging about for the past five months, to return to my first love: the law. Not the practice of it, but writing about it; I’m going back to the legal blogosphere, from whence I came. Having spent a truckload of dough earnin’ a fancy law school degree, as well as several years in legal practice, I figure I might as well put it all to some productive use (with “productive” loosely defined).
The full details, plus teary farewells, after the jump (or just click here, then scroll down).
READ MORE: Alex Pareene, Announcements, ana marie cox, david lat, elizabeth spiers, gawker media, gawker media empire, henry the intern, intern nick, liz gorman, memo, original wonkette, top, wonkette
Tony Snow on Lou Dobbs: Blackballed No More
Congratulations are in order for Wonkette’s original intern, Henry the Intern. Last weekend, he graduated from Bard College at the tender age of 20. Earlier this month, Henry was named a finalist in the New York Times’s “Win a Trip with Nick Kristof” essay contest. (You can read his submission here.)
The indefatigable Henry was kind enough to do a wrap-up of White House press secretary Tony Snow’s appearance on Lou Dobbs last night. You can read his review — accompanied by video clips — after the jump.
READ MORE: CNN, henry the intern, interviews, lou dobbs, television, tony snow, tv
Things That Make You Go Hmmm
Read this, then this. Interesting factoid. We didn’t notice until Henry the Intern, who knows all there is to know about the media world, pointed it out to us.
Political journalism: it’s a small, small world. Welcome to the fisbowl, Savannah!
For Court TV’s Guthrie, A Change of Venue [WP]
WEDDINGS: Anne Kornblut, Mark Orchard [NYT]
READ MORE: Savannah Guthrie, anne kornblut, henry the intern, love, mark orchard, marriage, weddings
Remainders: Tired, Poor, Huddled Bloggers
- Immigration as the new abortion? Interesting. Don’t know if we’d describe Emma Lazarus as a “hotty,” though; she’s no Fran Townsend. [got detroit?]
- Howard Kaloogian, the conservative Republican running for Duke Cunningham’s former seat, tries to pass off a photo of Istanbul as one of Iraq. [Attytood]
- Sen. John Cornyn makes fun of the security “agenda” of the Democrats, who support such controversial goals as capturing Osama bin Laden and eliminating al Qaeda. Thanks, guys. [NRO]
- Henry the Intern reviews Michael Eisner’s new talk show. Eisner and Martha Stewart may be filthy rich business moguls, but they love good Hillary gossip just as much as the rest of us. [Defamer]
- Speaking of Hillary… Ben Smith, who has written more Hillary articles than she has hairstyles, is moving from the New York Observer to the Daily News. [The Politicker via Gawker]
READ MORE: Media, Remainders, ben smith, henry the intern, hillary clinton, hillary rodham clinton, howard kaloogian, john cornyn, martha stewart, michael eisner
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Daily Briefing: A Day Late and a Dollar Short
(Henry the Intern is out sick today, so please blame your editors for this somewhat tardy and shorter-than-usual newswrap.)
- Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have struck a nuclear power deal. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. will provide nuclear power assistance to India in exchange for new inspections of India’s civilian nuclear facilities. India will not sign the international non-proliferation treaty, and it will be allowed to keep its nuclear weapons, with military nuclear reactors not be subject to inspection. [NYT, WP, USAT, WT]
- A leaked video shows Bush receiving dire warnings about Hurricane Katrina the day before it hit. [WP, NYT, USAT]
- In a federal lawsuit, a defunct Saudi charity cites classified government documents that may contain evidence of NSA eavesdropping. The organization is seeking private review of the documents by the judge hearing the case. [WP]
- Justice Samuel Alito’s letter to James Dobson is described by a Court spokesperson as nothing more than a thank-you note expressing a “standard sentiment,” reflected in other such notes by the justice. [NYT]
- The Bush administration is investigating a Dubai-owned company that is set to acquire plants in Georgia and Connecticut that manufacture components for military equipment. [WP]
- Saddam Hussein admits that he ordered the trials of 148 Iraqis who were subsequently executed, but argues that his actions were a lawful response to an assassination attempt. Violence continues in Iraq, with nearly a dozen people killed in bombings and drive-by shootings. [WP, NYT]
READ MORE: bush, eavesdropping, george w. bush, henry the intern, india, james dobson, manmohan singh, nsa, nuclear arsenal, nuclear weapons, saddam hussein, samuel alito, wiretapping
In Case You’re Not Already Drunk
Henry the intern seems to think his education trumps Alito liveblogging. So as to institute some viewer discipline we’re passing along the Alito hearing drinking game:
Take one drink if:… Stare decisis is mentioned
… The word subpoena is mentioned
… A Republican refers to Alito as “consistent” and his opponents as “desperate”
… The audience breaks into fake Washingtonian laughter.
More drinking guidelines after the jump
The Samuel Alito Drinking Game [The Corsair]
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Henry’s Alito Update: Pt. 4
Henry the intern is liveblogging today’s Alito hearing and passing along his comments. Here’s round 4. More updates after the jump.
1:14: FOX NEWS ALERT. Forget Alito. Bill Hemmer hypes a hostage situation in Florida.
1:16: Even Jim Lehrer takes a lunch break. He’s human, so he doesn’t have the endurance of Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, or Chris Matthews.
2:15: And we’re back. What did Alito have for lunch?
2:25: Kyl allows Alito to specify cases where he sided with the claim of discrimination.
READ MORE: henry the intern, liveblogging, samuel alito, supreme court
Henry’s Alito Update: Pt. 3
Henry the intern is liveblogging today’s Alito hearing and passing along his comments. Here’s round 3. More updates after the jump.
11:53: Grassley begins. CNN cuts away for analysis.
11:55: Grassley: “I think I’ve had a good opportunity to study you… We want to prove these allegations [against your integrity] absurd.” CNN, meanwhile, is on a commercial break.
11:59: Jeff Greenfield speculates that Democrats are attempting to paint the case against Alito beyond the abortion debate.
12:03: Wolf tosses to the Internet reporter who is reading the live-bloggers. Nothing there, naturally, so back to more commercials.
READ MORE: henry the intern, liveblogging, samuel alito, supreme court
Henry’s Alito Update: Pt. 2
Henry the intern is liveblogging today’s Alito hearing and passing along his comments. Here’s round 2. More updates after the jump.
11:06: Morning break is announced. Norah O’Donnell: “You can expect fireworks on the other side… [Alito] was cool, he was confident.”
11:13: PBS pundit Jan Crawford Greenburg of the Chicago Tribune says Republicans are front’n: “Republicans are front’n the very controversial issues… in a way of getting ahead.” She uses the word “front’n” at least three times.
11:14: C-SPAN caller comments that almost everyone in the room is white: “This guy, this Alito guy is very slick.”
11:19: Mark Shields on PBS: “He’s played the class card a little… anti-elitest.”
READ MORE: henry the intern, liveblogging, samuel alito, supreme court
Sweatshop Labor Wonkette Style
Henry the intern works so I don’t have to. You know how conservatives like myself love the power of delegation. To that end, Henry will be providing commentary on the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings throughout the day. The top entry is the most recent installment. All highlights in order after the jump.
9:25: Wolf Blitzer explains the secret motive of senators: “They really want to hear themselves.”
9:28: Wolf officially welcomes viewers to The Situation Room: “It’s show-time.”
9:31: Fox News correspondent: “[Alito] will come across as ‘good-nerdy.’”
9:32: Specter anticipates a long day. It quickly dawns on us that Alito is nowhere near as attractive as John Roberts. It will be a really long day.
READ MORE: henry the intern, liveblogging, samuel alito, supreme court
Dogs Die In Hot Senate Subcommittee Hearings
A self described surly old bastard writes us today, moved by concern for an item mentioned in our Daily Briefing: “The first dog to walk on the Senate floor dies. Is this a warning or a news item?”
At first glance, we didn’t realize that the way the always clever Henry Seltzer put the news item, “The first dog to walk on the Senate floor dies”, makes it sound like some random dog wandered out into the Senate chamber yesterday and was instantly imploded under the weight of all the pomposity. Actually, the news piece is one of appreciation for a guide dog named Beau, who won the right to accompany his master into the chamber after some deliberations.
We’re of course, saddened by the news, especially considering the fact that Beau sounds like he was a really nice old pooch. But there are two things about Beau’s past that surprise us. One, that he should be challenged by Senator Robert Byrd — surely he enjoyed the company of a hound or two back in his Klan days! Two, that Beau attracted any undue attention in the Senate at all — considering that he was an animal that enjoys sniffing his own balls and marking his territory with streams of urine, we would have imagined he’d have blended right in.
Beau, the Guide Dog Who Took the Senate Floor [Washington Post]
READ MORE: dogs, henry the intern, robert byrd, senate, washington post
Henry on the Hearings: A Late Start but a Good Finish
Henry the intern blogs the John Roberts confirmation hearing. Updated throughout the day. Earlier posts after the jump.
UPDATE 4:53PM
3:50 — Roberts to Feinstein: “I have always supported, and support today, equal rights for women.” Feinstein: “You speak about modesty and humility and yet none of [these memos] were modest or humble.”3:54 — Feinstein grills Roberts on his view of Roe v. Wade and women’s rights.
4:06 — Onward to the “hapless toad” case, specifically in terms of environmental regulations.
4:11 — Feinstein asks if Roberts believes that the separation of church and state should be absolute? Roberts: “I don’t know what that means when you say absolute separation.”
4:14 — On end of life decisions, Roberts says, “It’s a free country and the right to be left alone is one of our basic rights.”
4:18 — Sessions steps up to the plate: “You have validated the president’s confidence in you.”
4:34 — Sessions drags on, attempts humor to compensate for killing time before unrelated Senate vote. Keyword: attempts.
4:38 — Writer of Fox News lower-thirds falls asleep; graphics rotate evergreen facts about the rules of the Judiciary Committee and information about Roberts.
4:49 — Sessions definitely knows how to filibuster.
4:50 — 7.5 hours of hearings today over and out.
READ MORE: SCOTUS, confirmation hearings, henry the intern, john g. roberts, senate