Back in 2011, Bristol Palin was in a bar in Los Angeles when she was confronted by a heckler during the filming of her reality show Life’s A Tripp. The heckler, a guy named Stephen Hanks, called Bristol’s mother, Sarah Palin a “whore” and called her “evil”. Instead of walking on by, Bristol confronted him and asked him if he’s gay. All of the footage was used for her reality show, but he now claims that he never gave permission to be featured on the show. As a result, he is suing Bristol and the Lifetime Channel in federal court.

His lawyer Michael Gulden said that his client is seeking more than $75,000 in the lawsuit. Apparently, she referred to the bar incident as one of the reasons she left Los Angeles for her home in Wasilla, Alaska. He claims that she defamed him by claiming that their encounter was to blame for her decision to leave L.A.

He also said that he suffered emotional distress and invasion of privacy because of Bristol’s questions about his sexuality. The lawsuit said, “Bristol Palin’s conduct was outrageous. Bristol Palin first accused Plaintiff of ‘being a homosexual’ in a degrading manner in front of others…she then in a magazine article blamed Plaintiff for her decision to leave Los Angeles for Alaska even though she had purchased her home in Alaska…more than two months before the encounter.”

Life’s A Tripp is scheduled to premiere on the Lifetime Channel on June 19th. His lawyer added, “He has communicated with A&E regarding use of the footage, and they were non-responsive. He felt [filing the lawsuit] was all he could do to protect his rights.”

In the movie, Brad’s character says, “America’s not a country. It’s a business.”

At a press conference for the film, Pitt commented that the movie wasn’t a criticism for Obama, but said that he wasn’t happy that the president didn’t punish those responsible for the collapse in the mortgage industry. Pitt said, “It was criminal, by the way, and there still haven’t been any criminal repercussions for that.”

The movie’s director Peter Dominick said, “I always feel that crime films are about capitalism because it is a genre where it is perfectly acceptable for all the characters to be motivated by the desire for money. In some ways, the crime film is the most honest American film because it portrays Americans as I experience a lot of them, in Hollywood, as being very concerned with money.”

Update: in a rare sort-of-cross-posting coincidence, we have more on this story at earsucker. Stephen VanDyke has a fun hypothetical exercise to copy Pitt’s marriage “answer” and see how that works out for ya.

He announced the news during an interview with ABC News earlier today, saying, “I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

He went on to say, “I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

It seems like a timing issue to us with his sudden announcement of support for same sex marriage. Does he need the gay vote in order to win his re-election campaign? What a good way to take the focus off of rising gas prices and the average American’s inability to find work.

GIDDYUPDATE: John Cook at Gawker correctly calls this announcement bullshit (we sniffed it on the heels of North Carolina slam dunking a ban on civil unions, a vote where Obama’s prolific presidential punditry was nowhere to be found until after the fact).

“He now believes that gay couples should be able to marry. He doesn’t believe they have a right to do so. This is like saying that black children and white children ought to attend the same schools, but if the people of Alabama reject that notion—what are you gonna do?”

They hit the verdict on the weak patter, “Is it a politically wise dodge? Maybe. This was obviously a hastily arranged interview—we’re told that ABC News’ Robin Roberts, who is close to Michelle Obama, was only tapped in the last 48 hours by the White House to come down—designed to clean up the mess left by Biden’s pro-gay marriage comments in as advantageous way as possible. And for Obama to declare that he considers North Carolina and other states’ bans on gay marriage to be unconstitutional would probably energize the GOP base. But those bans are unconstitutional. And anyone who supports their legitimacy—as Obama just did, in no uncertain terms—even if they oppose the policy, is adopting the retrograde position in the contemporary gay marriage debate. Obama is moving backward, not forward.”

SHOTGUNTOTHEFACEPDATE: Mother Jones informs us that Obama has now come to the same hostile foot-dragging towards nationally recognized gay marriage as former Vice President Dick Cheney.

“Obama has endorsed marriage equality federalism—not the notion that marriage for gays and lesbians is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution that can never be taken away. Obama has adopted the same position that Vice President Dick Cheney did in 2004, when Cheney said he believed in marriage equality but that the states should be allowed to decide by a show of hands, as North Carolina did Tuesday, whether gays and lesbians have the same rights as everyone else.”

The much despised CISPA — which has been exposed as a sham cybersecurity bill following on the heels of the failed SOPA/PIPA effort (causing mass confusion) — was finally passed by a Republican majority in the House of Representatives last week. Of note is where 47 of the 66 members of the House Tea Party Caucus voted in favor of the bill. Presumably because it has the word “protection” in the title. Who would be against protecting those cyber tubes? Unamerican marxist taliban zombies from China, that’s who.

Forbes writes, “[T]he bill underwent some last minute changes, which may have made CISPA even worse than in previous iterations.”

“TechDirt’s Leigh Breadon points out that under the final version of CISPA the, ‘government would be able to search information it collects under CISPA for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as they can claim someone committed a “cybersecurity crime”. Basically it says the 4th Amendment does not apply online, at all.’”

“The Tea Party may be the small government wing of the Republican Party, but when it comes to national security suddenly limiting the state becomes far less critical. If SOPA had been billed as a cybersecurity law, it may have found a great deal more support in congress, and had a better time resisting internet backlash. For opponents of anti-piracy laws, this is an important thing to bear in mind.”

“Furthermore, internet companies that recoiled at the intellectual property implications of SOPA were much more agnostic when it came to CISPA, with some actively supporting the bill. Though many civil liberties groups these companies allied themselves with in opposing SOPA were as incensed by CISPA as well, many internet companies remained largely on the sidelines.”

“In other words, CISPA doesn’t threaten the bottom line of these big tech companies the way SOPA did, even if it is just as noxious for other reasons.”

“‘CISPA permits both the federal government and private companies to view your private online communications without judicial oversight provided that they do so of course in the name of cybersecurity,’ said Texas Republican, Ron Paul – who did not cast a vote on the bill (perhaps for political reasons.)”

“And as Paul Tassi notes, CISPA is ‘a slippery slope, and we shouldn’t be handing the government access to our personal information, even if that personal information is in fact innocuous.’”

Yikes!

So which Tea Party House members are the traitors to liberty and need stiff boots of voter outrage? Patrick Cahalan at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen gives us a marked up list of people who should have their internet taken away for obscene stupidity. Well, at least take away their power to mess with our internet.

Inspired by Ron Paul, local political activists are getting their hands dirty by running for office themselves. From Business Week:

If forcing his philosophy into the mainstream is the benchmark, Paul can claim victory. Listening to his rivals in the Republican debates demand that the Fed be audited and the Departments of Energy and Education be shuttered, it’s clear that many of Paul’s positions, once considered extreme, are now Republican talking points. Paul’s influence outweighs his low poll rankings and back-of-the-pack primary returns.

“Our time has come,” says Paul, tempering the display of optimism. “It’s still going to be a knock-down, dragged-out fight.”

Paul leaves behind a small army of brawlers itching to take up the battle in his name. This election year, at least 65 of his supporters are campaigning for local, state, or national office in 23 states. They join more than a dozen Paul acolytes who won elections in 2010, including Republican Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, who is seeking a second term — not to mention Paul’s son Rand, who was elected to the Senate as a Republican in Kentucky.

[...] Other Paul followers and former aides have maneuvered their way into Republican Party leadership positions in Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, and Maine, where they are attempting to rewrite party platforms and keep establishment Republicans from giving Paul’s 70-plus primary delegates to Mitt Romney.

Usually, “when a candidate drops out, the followers go too,” says Aaron Libby, a 29-year-old Maine blueberry farmer and Paul die-hard who was elected to the state legislature in 2010. “They were following a candidate; we are following a movement.”

In Virginia, Karen Kwiatkowski is running as a Republican (she goes by Karen K for anyone who can’t handle her mouthful of a last name). She’s one of the candidates named in the article and has a well-conceived website where she follows up, saying “It’s about Ron Paul’s ideas, and who wouldn’t want to strip a trillion dollars from the federal budget and balance the thing in less than 4 years! Who wouldn’t want more constitutionally limited government?”

What other presidential hopeful has engendered the same mass reaction from their supporters?

Many of Ron Paul’s supporters are loyal to the libertarian principles, thankfully to the point that they’ll get on the ballot themselves. Unfortunately few of them will be able to run a full-time campaign that can mobilize voters and bring in funds like the seasoned professionals interested more in maintaining the status quo. This balance will surely shift as Paul’s loyalists gain momentum.

Should the Ron Paul electoral wave of 2012 manage to push a few idealistic freshmen congressmen and women into power, they would be smart not to forget what “public servant” means.

NYT writes, “the judge, Kimba M. Wood of Federal District Court, wrote that a person violated the jury tampering statute only when he or she knowingly tried to influence a juror’s decision through a written communication ‘made in relation to a specific case pending before that juror.’”

“Judge Wood added that she would not ‘stretch the interpretation’ of the statute to cover speech that was ‘not meant to influence’ a juror’s actions in a specific case.”

“Mr. Heicklen expressed pleasure at the ruling. ‘Not just for me,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a major decision for the country.’”

“He added: ‘This is better than having them throw me in jail.’”

We’ve covered Heicklen’s saga before here at HoT and are happy to report a happy ending to Heicklen’s legal situation. This news is especially uplifting considering he acted as his own lawyer (which is often looked down on by court officers).

There’s no doubt Heicklen and his associates at FIJA will soon be back in front of courthouses, handing out literature on jury rights to anyone walking by. We’re rooting for him to be able to use this exhaustive legal experience of his own to further inform the police and court officers they have no grounds to arrest him the next time they want to get snooty about his activities.

Update: Kirsten at FIJA has correctly pointed out to us that Mr. Heicklen is not a formal part of their organization. We asked her to elaborate but have not heard back. We asked, “Is there a statement that you’d like to put out there on the heels of this news that you endorse this or don’t endorse court-side pamphleting behavior like this?”

Well it seems FIJA is indeed receptive to his triumph on their own website. They add a warning for anyone potentially following Heicklen’s lead, “activists should conduct general outreach activity and avoid even the appearance of being associated with a particular case.” Otherwise it is jury tampering.

Kim said, “I decided. I’m gonna run for the mayor of Glendale, but it’s gonna be in like five years. So mark your calendars for 2017!”

She also added that she would have to establish residency first in the city and that her pal Noelle Keshishian is taking the reigns on her future campaign. She added, “You have to have full residency in Glendale…so I have to buy a house there. Noelle and I are looking into all the requirements. It’s Armenian town.”

Do we really need to have a politician who’s been in a sex tape? Since we don’t really know her politics or what she stands for, we can’t comment on her future mayoral bid. We’re pretty sure that she has enough money to buy the office if she so chooses.

Our sister site earsucker, says that her ex-husband Kris Humphries thinks it’s all a ploy for publicity. He’s probably not that far off.

UPDATE: NBC Los Angeles douses the speculation with cold water by explaining Glendale’s appointed mayor system, “On a technical note: in the city of Glendate all of the city council members take turns filling the mayoral seat, so technically you can’t run for mayor, you run for city council.” Yet the real power lies in the job of city manager, an appointed bureaucrat who has the real power and would run things in what we presume as a SimCity style overseer.

Regardless, it’s not the mayor of Glendale who has the power, so NBC generously offers up a bigger slice of the pie by telling her to run for governor of California. “If you want to get into public service in California, don’t bother yourself with winning office in a city. If you want to be the center of attention, and of the action, aim higher. Run for governor.”

“As Governors Reagan and Schwarzenegger demonstrated, experience in public service isn’t a prerequisite.”

And she hasn’t even given barely any hints of her political affiliation, other than blatant capitalist. Maybe that’s not so bad a characteristic of someone aiming to be the head public servant of of the world’s eighth largest economy.

Ann Romney’s remarks came during an interview with Baltimore radio station WBAL, during which the host asked her, “And one of the things, Ann Romney, that folks talk about with your husband, Mitt Romney, and I’ve seen him in casual conversation-He comes off very smooth and okay. But sometimes he comes off stiff. Do you have to fight back some criticism, like ‘My husband isn’t stiff, OK?’”

Laughing, Ann Romney responded, “Well, you know, I guess we better unzip him and let the real Mitt Romney out because he is not!”

“You know, it is so funny to me that that is the perception out there. Because he is funny, he is engaging, he is witty,” said Ann Romney. “He is always playing jokes. When I met him as a teenager, he was the life of the party. And yet, he is also a very serious person and an accomplished person. And I think a lot of times, people see him in the debate setting.”

Ann, there’s a pill for that.

In a follow-up campaign video, Ann Romney tries to once again sell the family man angle (no mention of the dog on the car roof story). This too, gets weird.

She says of Willard, “I hate to say it, but often I had more than five sons. I had six sons, and he would be as mischievous and as naughty as the other boys.”

No doubt the opposition are reveling at the idea of running against Romney 2012: Unzip the naughty! At least it’s a better angle than the Etch-A-Sketch thing.

Actor George Clooney was arrested this morning in Washington, D.C. for protesting the criminal happenings in Sudan. This cause is close to Clooney’s heart in that he has already filmed a documentary about the violence the people have suffered there, at the hands of their own government. The government has been trying to wipe out the population there, forcing the residents to flee from the Nuba Mountains to caves.

Clooney tried to bring light to the cause, protesting on the steps of the Sudan embassy. With his father and twelve other people, he was arrested and taken to the local jail.

He has since bailed out of jail for the cost of $100.00, but the message is out there. Kudos to George for once again bringing the world’s spotlight onto a devastated country that needs it.

Read more about Clooney’s stance on the war crimes in Sudan and see video footage of his arrest here.

“I became a self-made millionaire by the age of 30 by working grueling hours, being relentless and risking my own money. My success was earned with blood, sweat and tears.”
– Wayne Allyn Root

"I used the tears as hair gel."

The article’s premise is that rich people need to realize they are not exactly well loved when they leave their gated communities — to have a little humility and not be patronizing. It’s good advice no matter what your social standing to acknowledge how blessed you are if you are indeed blessed with good fortunes.

But Root saying it took “blood, sweat and tears” to become a newsy infotainer in New York is just laughable hyperbole when compared to someone truly struggling from say, West Philadelphia.

Here’s the full paragraph from the Newsmax article being cited:

I became a self-made millionaire by the age of 30 by working grueling hours, being relentless, and risking my own money. My success was earned with blood, sweat, and tears. I’ve missed far too many cherished family moments with my four children. I rarely get a chance to watch TV. I live on a world-class golf course, but I’ve never played golf once in the 10 years I’ve lived here. Should I be demonized and punished for my sacrifice and work ethic?

No, but complaining about how hard it is to become rich and decadent — while clearly enjoying the view out of your home office window — well that’s just rich.

So, congratulations to Mr. Root for being recognized by (one of) our nation’s finest satire outlets for being the proud, insensitive douche that you play so well in real life. Shut up and go play some golf. Or damn, be a good father and spend time with your kids instead of bitching about everyone else’s supposedly lazy work ethic.

February saw a series of what I expect to be statistically unlikely resignations (though I confess I do not have time-series data on banker resignations at hand) by high-powered international bankers: World Bank chief Bob Zoellick, the leader of Kuwait’s central bank, the chief’s of Slovenia’s two biggest banks, the CEO of big Indian bank Dhanlaxmi, Nicaragua’s central bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Austrialian arm.

A conspiracy-minded site with a collection of links about turmoil and job turnover in high finance and government positions stretching back through last year. Can bankers and government officials sense coming earthquakes, as household pets are said to be able to?

The punchline? Yet Ben Bernanke still has a job to go to every day.

“Soon, soon we gets to take off the human-skin suit and join the comrades on the last resource-filled shuttle. To rendezvous with the awaiting ship in a stationary cloaked cloaked orbit behind the moon.” Maybe that’s what Bernanke tells himself every morning he sends another truckload of paper out the door in return for the entire planet.

Is everyone going Galt, or is this nothing more than a mass career reassessment with eerie 2012 timing that just needs to be compared with more than three months of speculative data?

Conservative online journalist Andrew Breitbart has passed away on March 1, 2012 at the young age of 43. He was most well known for being an editor for Matt Drudge’s website, Drudge Report, along with being a researcher for Arianna Huffington. He was most recently known for breaking the news surrounding the Anthony Weiner photo sexting scandal in 2011.

His website’s Editor-In-Chief and in-house counsel, Joel Pollak released this official statement on Breitbart.com:

With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.

We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior.

Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.

Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:

I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.

Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.

Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.

After looking around online expecting to see some heartfelt condolences sent to Andrew’s family and friends. This is partially what I’ve found, with Matt Taibbi over at Rolling Stone being the biggest asshat in delivering the news (which is kind of a reflection on Breitbart’s antics, so whatever):

So Andrew Breitbart is dead. Here’s what I have to say to that, and I’m sure Breitbart himself would have respected this reaction: Good! Fuck him. I couldn’t be happier that he’s dead.

I say this in the nicest possible way. I actually kind of liked Andrew Breitbart. Not in the sense that I would ever have wanted to hang out with him, or even be caught within a hundred yards of him without a Haz-Mat suit on, but I respected the shamelessness. Breitbart didn’t do anything by halves, and even his most ardent detractors had to admit that he had a highly developed, if not always funny, sense of humor.

Okay, so it’s not all bad, exactly. They did lavish praise on the late Breitbart founder with this tidbit:

For instance, it would be dishonest not to tip a hat to him for that famous scene when he hijacked Anthony Weiner’s own self-immolating “apology” press conference, and held up the entire event by standing at the lectern and congratulating himself at length, before Weiner could let the humiliating healing begin.

He passed away shortly after midnight on March 1st. He leaves behind his wife and four children.

Andrew Breitbart (February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012)

UPDATE: Breitbart’s last hours were in a state of inebriation, according to a Hollywood Reporter interview with Arthur Sando, a “marketing executive who didn’t know Breitbart but likely was the last person to talk extensively with him before he died.” The two debated at length about politics at the bar in local restaurant and watering hole The Brentwood.

“He wasn’t drinking excessively,” Sando recalls. “He was on his BlackBerry a lot.”

Breitbart collapsed on the walk back to his home from an apparent heart attack, he was then rushed to a hospital where they pronounced him dead at 12:19 a.m., “less than an hour after leaving The Brentwood.”

UPDATE II: Lawrence Sinclair reports on his interview with the L.A. County Coronor’s office, saying “Claims that Andrew died of ‘natural causes’ are the opinions of his Attorney Joel Pollak and not the statements of any medical personnel from UCLA or the LA County Coroners office. LA Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Ed Winter says autopsy to be done tomorrow (Friday March 2, 2012) and no offical cause of death has been determined.”

Strangely enough, there was supposed to be some mind-blowing report or scandal published on the exact day of his death. Sinclair goes on to state that Breitbart told him weeks ago, “wait til they see what happens March first.”

We’re not suggesting any sort of foul play, yet. But dang, he wasn’t that old.

UPDATE III: Here’s a clip of Breitbart at CPAC 2012 hinting at unreleased videos of Obama during his college years.

Could this be the bombshell that puts an exclamation mark on his untimely death?

In a recent interview, Megadeth singer Dave Mustaine has thrown his support behind Rick Santorum for President. Why? — Because clearly only the best of the best of the best have the moral fiber needed to suspend a campaign for one day to be at their sick infant daughter’s side. As much as I love Megadeth’s music and have been a fan for years, the inanity of this weird endorsement just kills me.

Mustaine said, “Earlier in the election, I was completely oblivious as to who Rick Santorum was, but when the dude went home to be with his daughter when she was sick, that was very commendable.”

Using that logic, any Tom, Dick or Harry can be president if only he is a good parent. Isn’t that what all good parents do when their children are sick? What kind of douche would tell their kid, “Hey, I’m trying to campaign here! Suck it up!”?

The singer continued, “You know, I think Santorum has some presidential qualities, and I’m hoping that if it does come down to it, we’ll see a Republican in the White House…and that it’s Rick Santorum.”

Mustaine also revealed that Mitt Romney’s monetary situation leads him to wonder if there is some shady business going on. He said, “I’ve got to tell you, I was floored the other day to see that Mitt Romney’s five boys have a $100 million trust fund. Where does a guy make that much money? So there’s some questions there.”

He’s not feeling the love for Newt Gingrich, either. He said, “And watching Newt Gingrich, I was pretty excited for a while, but now he’s just gone back to being that person that everybody said he was — that angry little man. I still like him, but I don’t think I’d vote for him.”

How can we as a country back someone who doesn’t believe in gay marriage and supports a pre-emptive war in Iran? F is for fighting, I guess….but it doesn’t mean I’ll be rushing out to buy any of their CDs any time soon.

UPDATE: We sourced the full interview back to MusicRadar and found another nugget of Misdirected Mustaine to marvel at. A whole section of the interview is directed at Ron Paul:

Ron Paul… you know, I heard somebody say he was like insecticide – 98 percent of it’s inert gases, but it’s the two percent that’s left that will kill you. What that means is that he’ll make total sense for a while, and then he’ll say something so way out that it negates everything else. I like the guy because he knows how to excite the youth of America and fill them in on some things. But when he says that we’re like the Taliban… I’m sorry, Congressman Paul, but I’m nothing like the Taliban.

Yikes. How about sitting down with Google for a while there, Mr. Mustaine? Maybe start with the non-aggression principle, since he’s so interested in its architecture.

In other news, Mustaine has taken a moment to remove his feet from his mouth and qualified his words as not an endorsement of anyone. He said, “Contrary to how some people have interpreted my words, I have not endorsed any presidential candidate.” Hinting at possible legal ramifications, Mustaine added “I never used the word ‘endorse.’”

American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has voiced her pick for President in 2012 — and it’s none other than Ron Paul. Are you surprised?

Like us, Kelly believes that governments don’t have any business running our lives and it’s all about personal choice. She took to her official Twitter page to say, “I love Ron Paul. I liked him a lot during the last republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t.”

Kelly was bombarded with an influx of tweets from those who don’t support Paul for President in 2012. Fans of hers called him out for being “racist” and a “homophobe”.

Her replies:

we shouldn’t try & help/tell other countries how to solve their issues w/the poor when we can’t even solve our own.

I am a Republican but I actually voted Democrat last election.

I have never heard that he’s a racist? I definitely don’t agree with racism, that’s ignorant.

I love all people and could care less if you like men or women. I have never heard that Ron Paul is a racist or homophobe?

I have never seen or heard Ron Paul say anything against gay people?

I respect your opinion and I am about progress. Ron Paul is about letting people decide, not the government. I am for this.

After all of the hate-filled messages she received on the social networking service, she had this to say:

I am really sorry if I have offended anyone. Obviously that was not my intent. I do not support racism. I support gay rights, straight rights, women’s rights, men’s rights, white/black/purple/orange rights. I like Ron Paul because he believes in less government and letting the people (all of us) make the decisions and mold our country. That is all. Out of all of the Republican nominees, he’s my favorite.

What do you think of what she had to say?

UPDATE: Grammy and MTV award winner Michelle Branch took to twitter and is also throwing her clout behind Ron Paul (and supporting Kelly Clarkson’s decision to publicly endorse). She’s also apparently not falling for the smear campaign. Best of luck to both ignoring the hateful haters.

UPDATE II: We’re pleased to report that Kelly Clarkson is gaining a ridiculous amount of new fans out of just a few tweets on her part. Thanks to Ron Paul supporters’ piqued interest, her record sales on Amazon have seen a 192% spike in the past twenty four hours. Clarkson briefly peaked to the number one spot on Amazon’s music sales rankings, but has since fallen behind Adele and Michael Bublé.

Well hello there, Mr. free market candidate.

UPDATE Jan 14th: Kelly Clarkson was interviewed by NPR where it was revealed the singer enjoyed a massive 442% spike in record sales following the endorsement. She then explained why she liked Ron Paul saying, “I like a lot, you know, he believes in states having the rights and I think that that’s very important.” Her superficial understanding of the issues is indicative of why Ron Paul’s campaign should remain focused on educating.

Unfortunately Clarkson is taking a lot of undeserved criticism over a joke at the end that she might endorse all the candidates (you know, for the record moneys bump). I can’t begin to explain to this poor singer what a terrible move that would be, but I’m pretty sure she’s already received more than a few outraged tweets.

Tiffany Briscoe (Maryland) was chosen as the Presidential nominee on the first round of voting. Kimberly Johnson (Arizona) was chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee after a second round vote.

BTP Chair, Darryl W. Perry says, “I would like to thank those of you who voted in the Presidential Nominating Convention. I would like to congratulate Tiffany Briscoe winning the BTP Presidential and Kimberly Johnson on winning the Vice Presidential nomination. You two ladies will represent the party well in the 2012 election.”

Additionally, it is estimated that the BTP will attempt to obtain ballot access in as many as fifteen states and will attempt to have the presidential ticket as a certified write-in candidate in the remaining states (excepting Oklahoma which does not allow write-in votes).

Ms. Briscoe’s website is http://tiffanybriscoe2012.weebly.com and she also has a facebook page.

The Boston Tea Party was founded in 2006 with a one sentence platform, “The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.” In October 2008, the party’s National Convention adopted the four point program of the Campaign for Liberty. Their program calls for an end to overseas occupation, a restoration of privacy and other liberties, no increase in the national debt, and a thorough review of the Federal Reserve. During the 2010 convention the party adopted a new program to “End the Wars of Aggression,” “End the Fed,” “End the War on Drugs,” “End the Abuses of Liberty” and “End the Immigration Fiasco.”

Value Voters
CPAC
RLC
California GOP
New Hampshire GOP

And speaking of polls and other flavors of the month: I like chocolate, but not with Federal Reserve notes sprinkled on it.

In a new press conference, Weiner said that he never met any of the women and that he feels he has not broken the law. He revealed that he never had any extramarital affairs and he’s not making any excuses for his behavior. He called what he did a “dumb thing” and said that he’s here to accept the blame. He said he exchanged text messages, but referred to WeinerGate as a “deep, personal failing.”

He said his wife is “remarkable” and she’s not responsible for any of this. He said, “I apologize to her.”

He also said that he will work very hard for his constituents and this should not affect his duties in office. He said, “I certainly used bad judgment”, but that he’s there “to accept responsibility.”

He also commented that he’s not revealing the identities of the women, but that they acted consensually.

Editor’s Note: Yes, the term is actually consensually, hee hee. Point of interest from Rep. Weiner’s website states “Sadly, the Internet is the predator’s venue of choice today. We need to update our strategies and our laws to stop these offenders who are a mere click away from our children.” Weiner is a 46-year-old man sending naughty pics to girls twenty years his junior. Make up your own mind about how much of a predator that makes him.

People of the world, allow me to introduce myself as Anonymous and only as anonymous for I am nothing more than an idea. An idea of a free world, void of oppression. Void of poverty and murder by the hand of tyrannical rule. Void of hopelessness and genocide. A world where the true purpose and priority in life is to live freely and without restraint by corrupted regimes.

This is the second address in a series [first video]. If you have not made yourself familiar with the current course of actions, please direct yourself to the following video prompted by the link on your screen now.

You may be asking yourself what Anonymous is about after hearing the rumors and blatant lies the media has associated with Anonymous. Allow me to simply inform you that Anonymous is and or are not terrorists much like the powers that be would have you believe. Anonymous has been demonized by these regimes simply because we have brought justice to the oppressed. When freedom is jeopardized, Anonymous will avenge the oppressed. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We are many. And for the record, Anonymous was not behind the PlayStation Network fiasco. Game on! We have defended Julian Assange and other members of WikiLeaks when they were persecuted for releasing information that provided evidence to the corruption within our government and military. We restored the internet to the people of Egypt when the Egyptian government tried to silence their voice to the world. We have defended and supported countless peoples in their pursuits for freedom. And now we will assist in the bigger struggle. It is time to rejuvenate the human spirit.

Allow me to elaborate on the previous video to eliminate any misunderstandings. We are issuing a calling to all cyber warriors to join with us as we turn the tables on the regimes who are oppressing their people across the globe. At this very moment, courses of action are being taken to restrict the voice of the net. The net is the last bastion of true freedom for the human race. We have begun sharing our stories and all the gritty details with one another no matter where we may be on this planet. This is worrisome for those who seek to control us. They want us silenced and this is the final straw. Digital supremacy will be the selective targeting of all organizations guilty of treason against the people, guilty of restraint from freedom. Any party who has violated and continues to violate the will of the people and the voice of true freedom will become a priory for a cyber assault unlike anything this world has witnessed.

It is the duty of the rest of the people to continue their pursuits for these freedoms by any means necessary. It is time to escalate your actions of spreading the word and reaching out to our neighbors and communities. Protest must become more frequent and grow in strength and size. Peace is our priority, but resistance will be met with a fierce and sharp defensive. Our voice and cause is our weapon. Our vigilance is our offensive. Begin your flyer campaigns, protests, art, music, literature and video campaigns now. Paint the walls in every city. Banksy, this means you, my friend. Gather the street artists as a new canvas has been layed out before you. The time for evolved tactics has begun. The resistance is here.

As the voices are attempted to be silenced by the oppressors, the guardians will be here to shut down these priorities and turn the tables on the digital landscape. Through this physical resistance we will grow stronger as our friends maintain the defensive on the digital realm. We are one. We are many…we are the resistance.

Freedom begins now.

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In a recent interview, she said, “I don’t stand by many of those unjust immigration laws in my country.”

Last year, Lady Gaga was condemned in the media after the law became public, for forging ahead with her Monster Ball Tour in Arizona. She was being pressured to cancel her concert there to send a message to lawmakers.