Chris Lee Resigns: Sex Scandal - Gawker, Deadspin, And Democrats

Wow, the resignation of Republican Congressman Chris Lee (D 26th District - NY) reveals yet another Republican Sex Scandal. (Is anyone keeping count?) And NY Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez and his 17-year-old girlfriend (as of this writing) Eliza Kruger can thank the randy Republican for effectively bumping them down the front page of the New York Post. (OK, well they're still on the front page of Deadspin.)

What happened was that Gawker, the main blog in the highly successful Gawker Media Network that includes Deadspin, ran a post of how the married Chris Lee was using Craigslist to find dates. Lee, apparently so horny he forgot he was a public official, decided to send a photo of himself shirtless.

Moreover, Lee told the woman via text that he normally dates other women but he lied about his position, age, and marital status - he's not divorced and is 46. Lee told the woman he was 39 and that he was a lobbyist, not an elected official from New York. (Geez. As a momentary aside, there's no shame in being in one's 40s, and someone who think's so has a massive issue.)

When the woman discovered Lee was lying on three counts, she cut off contact and sent his photo and information, including the text contact, to Gawker.

The result is, when it hit the media, Lee and his staff tried to say while the email account i his, that someone hijacked it. Eventually, and within the span of about 24 hours, Lee announced his resignation.

Gawker and Deadspin Score Again

I don't know to what extent Gawker Media's paying for these disclosures, but it's interesting both Gawker and Deadspin managed to issue blockbuster stories on Mark Sanchez and Chris Lee just a day apart, and while introducing a new blog design.

The new design is more "magazine" like, rather than the standard blog roll. There's one big story on the left and the other stories in a standard roll on the right. What I don't like is the blog is now so wide, it bleeds outside the standard web page width; I have to move the page out to see all of its contents.

But I digress.

A Chance For Democrats.

New York Governor Andrew Quomo will call a special election to fill the 26th District seat Lee held only for just under two years. This is a chance, a good one, for Democrats to realize a gain in a state that's traditionally blue. While the 26th District of New York has been a mostly Republican seat going back to 1857, Democrat Maurice Hinchey held it from 1993 to 2003, a ten-year span ending just seven years ago.

Stay tuned.

Kevin Smith Lost 65 Pounds

Kevin Smith is known as "Silent Bob" in his films, and he is also known as being the larger sidekick of Jason Muse. Kevin Smith is a film maker who is the brain behind a lot of great movies and has a funny relationship with Ben Affleck.

A while back Smith was kicked off of an airplane for being too heavy, and now he has lost 65 pounds as reported by People.

In CNN interviews he explains this entire endeavor to Joy Behar:

Kevin Smith Lost 65 Pounds

Kevin Smith is known as "Silent Bob" in his films, and he is also known as being the larger sidekick of Jason Muse. Kevin Smith is a film maker who is the brain behind a lot of great movies and has a funny relationship with Ben Affleck.

A while back Smith was kicked off of an airplane for being too heavy, and now he has lost 65 pounds as reported by People.

In CNN interviews he explains this entire endeavor to Joy Behar:

Eliza Kruger Mark Sanchez 17 Year Old Flame; Berlusconi Jealous

"Eliza Kruger, Mark Sanchez 17 Year Old" as a search has come to dominate Google Trends today, and as this story unfolds, what there is of it, that may continue to Thursday.

But, with all that's about to appear here and in other publications, one thing's clear: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, himself the focus of claims that he was with a 17-year-old prostitute, must be jealous of NY Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez, and may be saying "Man, I'm seen with a 17-year-old here and some cretins want my head; in New York, Sanchez is bragging that he got it."

Just kidding.

What happened was that poor Eliza Kruger managed to con her way into the New York nightclub Lavo with a fake ID...

Wait! Let's give Lavo NYC, also in Las Vegas, some pub to set the mood:



Ok, that's more like it.

Anyway, amid the dancing and movement, according to Deadpin.com, Sanchez some how spots Eliza. Then, it's explained that he was there on a "cameo" with NY Jets Tight End Dustin Keller. And he managed to "chat up" Eliza, and flirt a bit. Now, considering all the talent in New York City, you're thinking this Ms. Kruger's a real looker right? Well, I'll leave that to you, but let's just say she's got the appearance of a younger Megyn Kelly of Fox News.

But if you think a 17-year old version of Megyn Kelly's really hot and better than the real, older one in New York City, and you're Mark Sanchez and can have both...

Either than or he's been without for so long, it was just bleeding out of him and Eliza happened to be around, in which case she looked better than she had a right to, to him - which happens to single guys.

He talks and reportedly expresses interest. It goes something like this according to Deadspin:

"You know I'm 17, right?" she remembers saying. Sanchez kept his cool. "Well, we can still talk, but I can't see you until you're 18," he said. "Actually," E.K. (Eliza Kruger - author) replied, "17 is legal in New York."

Damn! She said "Actually. 17 is legal in New York." That means two things: First, Mark didn't know that, and second, it reads like she's been with older guys before!

So, he gets her number and they meet up for dinner later in the week. This after the Jets last NFL game of the 2010 season, against the Buffalo Bills.

But the issue is just why is this story the trending topic on Google (and on Twitter during the noon hours on the West Coast), today? First, it's the fact that she's 17, making the relationship legal in New York, but not in California, and add to that he's the NY Jets star quarterback, and in the media capital that is New York.  Second, Kruger's a semi-looker with a rich dad, a hedge fund manager named Konrad "Chip Kruger.  Third, we're in the age of the teen sex pop star, started by Britney Spears, and gamed up to a new level by Miley Cyrus.   Lastly, we all like talking about sex scandals, even over what's happening in Egypt.

So where does all of this go?  Right into that giant bin of things that make up Mark Sanchez public persona.   It also goes right into that giant bin of things that make up where our society is today.

It must be hard for women in their 20s in America, because they have to compete for male attention against aggressive 17-year-old sex pots and randy Cougars, all the while hoping some guy sees them for who they are.

Stay tuned.  I'm still curious just how this wound up in Deadspin's lap.

Chevron Ecuador: Restraining Order Slapped On Plaintiffs By Judge

In an interesting development, according to Law. Com, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan slapped a temporary restraining order on Ecuadorean plaintiffs, which by extension should include the Country of Ecuador itself, and the new law firm, Patton Boggs, hired to shield lead lawyer Steven Donziger, formerly of Kohn, Swift, and Graff.

Apparently, Judge Kaplan thinks the whole Ecuador case is a sham and since Ecuadorian courts are known to be corrupt, and the plaintiff's case has evidence on top of proof that Donziger was in bed with the Country of Ecuador, the Judge decided on his own to block any attempt they might make to come to America and collect a damage claim of whatever billions in damages Ecuador's court may come up with. (First it was $16 billion and then $27 billion, and the recently $100 billion, and all from cooked reports created by the plaintiffs, and not, as claimed, an independent research analysis.)

See, Chevron has zero assets in Ecuador. None.  It's not operated their since 1992, and to show you how misguided the paid advocates have been, the fields they point to claiming damage by Chevron, were actually fields that have been used, to this day, by the State-run oil company Petroecuador.   Moreover, there have been over 100 oil spills since Chevron left Ecuador.

The point is, Ecuador continues to pollute its land and exploit its poor, all while continuing to pretend as if it's America's fault.

Ecuador Signs Contracts With Foreign Oil Firms

Meanwhile, and while Ecuador has successfully eliminated American Oil Companies from production in that country since Occidental Petroleum was kicked out in 2007 and Chevron left in 1992. The country, as recently as January, signed brand new oil production contracts with seven foreign firms, not one American: Petrobellfrom Brazil, Tecpecuador, from Argentinia, and as Spanish Petrosud-Petroriva, Spanish-Argentine Repsol-YPF and Colombian Pegaso. In the new contracts, and as part of its move to nationalize oil, Ecuador will keep 100 percent of oil production profits, and while promises have been made to help Ecuador's poor, there's no evidence of programs in operation to make good on those claims.

Remember, Ecuador is a member of The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, having been reinstated in 2007, after a 15-year absence. The overall objective of OPEC is:

to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

That "steady income" now comes to Ecuador, but its poor continue to suffer.

Sad.

Multimillionaires Collecting Millions in Jobless Benefits

With the Republican Study Committee, (think: conservative House members) saying that they still wanted $100 billion in spending reductions as per the GOP's campaign pledges, what will they make of a move to cut unemployment benefits for millionaires? In a written statement explaining why he supports the bill introduced yesterday, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) said, "Ending this practice will save nearly $100 million and correct a gross injustice against the millions of Americans who are out of work. Congress should pass this bill without delay. If there was ever a common sense spending cut, this is it."

Unemployment insurance for somebody who earns over $1 million a year? That's right, the way the system currently works, they qualify, too. So the safety net provides for people who pull down a million or two -- or even ten million dollars in a year -- did you know that? Here's the scoop from TheHill.com:

"As many as 2,840 households who have reported an income of $1 million or more on their tax returns were paid a total of $18.6 million in unemployment benefits in 2008, according to Internal Revenue Service figures.

This included more than 800 earning over $2 million and 17 with incomes exceeding $10 million. In all, multimillionaires were paid $5.2 million in jobless benefits..."

Vicki Needham at

Now I don't know about you, but I expect anybody who pulls down a 7-or-8-digit income to have acquired some assets and set some of it aside. If you're having trouble making payments on the Lamborghini or Bugatti maybe you could trade it in for something that gets a little better mileage, like a Lexus hybrid, and stop going to restaurants that don't have prices on the menu, until you get your cash-flow going in a positive direction. Mooching off the government at that level is just plain abusing the system even if it's technically legal - for now.

I applaud U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mark Udall (D-CO), and Jon Tester (D-MT) for being willing to take on the injustice. I hope this bill passes both houses of Congress swiftly.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, former Democratic Campaign Manager, strategist, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community. You can follow him as @kabiu on twitter.

Gregg Rosen to Appear on Jobless Talk Friday February 11th

Co-founder of the American 99ers, Gregg Rosen will appear on Jobless Talk this Friday, February 11th at Noon Pacific.

Fresh from the press conference in Washington D. C. earlier today to introduce The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act, legislation to extend emergency benefits to long-term unemployed workers - Gregg will be Paladinette's special guest on her Blog Talk Radio show which airs every Friday at Noon Pacific time.

From the conference today: "I represent 19 groups and tens of thousands of individuals from every corner of this great nation who have come together with a common goal: extending unemployment insurance for all Americans. I applaud Representatives Lee and Scott and others for introducing this bill that will assist in curing the disease that is unemployment, The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act," said Gregg Rosen of the American 99ers Union. "Passing this bill will save American lives, assist in rebuilding the American Economy, and get Americans back to work. This vital piece of legislation needs to be enacted into law without delay."

After the conference, Gregg appeared on CNN and we are very excited he will be guesting on Jobless Talk again, this time to give a first hand account of his experiences in D.C. at today's conference.

CNN interview:

Lee & Scott Call on House Republican Leadership on behalf of 99ers

Barbara Lee and Bobby Scott today called on House Republican Leadership on behalf of the 99ers to allow a vote on the Emergency Relief to help Long-Term Unemployed Americans now.

From Lee's website this morning:

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) joined Gregg Rosen of the American 99ers Union and Dr. Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) at a press conference earlier today to introduce The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act, legislation to extend emergency benefits to long-term unemployed workers. The bill would provide 14 weeks of emergency unemployment benefits to people who have exhausted all their benefits and are still unemployed. Many of these long-term unemployed workers have exhausted their benefits and need this assistance to support their families, make ends meet and contribute to our economy. The speakers called on the Republican leadership to allow for a vote on this critical legislation to provide emergency relief to millions of working class people.

"Millions of workers across the nation, many of whom live in my district, are experiencing a true state of emergency. Our bill would ensure these long-term unemployed workers get the long overdue assistance they need to support their families, make ends meet and contribute to our economy," said Representative Barbara Lee. "The Republican leadership has given a lot of lip service to creating jobs for our working class, but they have yet to even produce a plan. Now they have a chance to support emergency relief to millions of working class people who can contribute to our economy as they fight to support their families. I call on Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor to bring this to a vote on the House floor as soon as possible"

"The Great Recession has been devastating for so many American families," said Representative Bobby Scott said. "Not only will this legislation help these hardworking Americans make ends meet, it will stimulate the economy. According to the Center for American Progress’s recent report on the impact of the recession, economists estimate that the U.S. economy grows by $1.61 for every dollar the government spends on unemployment compensation because unemployed persons usually spend all of their benefit payments quickly. Put simply, unemployment compensation is one of the most efficient and effective ways to stimulate the economy."

"I represent 19 groups and tens of thousands of individuals from every corner of this great nation who have come together with a common goal: extending unemployment insurance for all Americans. I applaud Representatives Lee and Scott and others for introducing this bill that will assist in curing the disease that is unemployment, The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act," said Gregg Rosen of the American 99ers Union. "Passing this bill will save American lives, assist in rebuilding the American Economy, and get Americans back to work. This vital piece of legislation needs to be enacted into law without delay."

"With December’s tax deal, we just committed to spending nearly $140 billion over the next few years on tax cuts for the richest 2%. These tax cuts are unfortunately one of the least cost-effective forms of stimulus available, since wealthy people are much less likely to spend that money in the near term," said Dr. Heidi Shierholz of EPI. "We remain in a severe jobs crisis and extending unemployment insurance is a lifeline to the most deserving - to the families who have actually been the most hurt by this downturn. And it is one of the most efficient things lawmakers can do to generate jobs."

All unemployed Americans are urged to Contact:
Joel Payne, Lee, (202) 225- 2661
Larry Dillard, Scott, (202) 225-8351

There was NO live major media coverage of the Press Conference, but Ed Schultz will have 99er coverage on his MSNBC show at 10 PM EST tonight.

AOLington Post? Did Huffington just jump the shark?

$315 million from AOL to Arianna Huffington is a real eye-opener, and Zennie's written recently about how various blogs (including this one) are valued, but AOL has a history of getting things wrong, and this is surely a case of strange bedfellows (but hey, it's politics, right?) Consider that AOL's primary revenue stream remains their old-school subscribers, the messy divorce from Time-Warner, and the way their local news theory is - well - sputtering, thus far. Now AOL evidently hopes to capture the unpaid contributors and eyeballs that followed the drama of the 2008 elections. Good luck with that.

In an investor's ideal world, I suppose, they'd expect the HuffPo loyalists to stay interested, and the AOL subscribers to stay, and the buzz to generate more interest and more readers - right? More interest, more readers, more ad revenue, happy investors. It could happen, but I don't see it. Instead, AOL will further tarnish the already slipping HuffPo brand, driving HuffPo's core readers elsewhere (maybe here?) without significantly altering the AOL reader's habits. These are two utterly different groups of internet users.

The kind of folks who were enthused about what Huffington seemed to be about during the 2008 campaign cycle (and make no mistake about it, the rise is tied to Obama, Clinton, McCain and the most-watched campaign in history) are the sort of people who have disdained the AOL model since before the country had even heard of Monica Lewinsky. They'll go elsewhere, and AOL will be left holding the bag.

In fact, it's already begun. As reported Monday in the immediate wake of the wedding announcement, former Essence Editor Angela Burt-Murray is now out of the HuffPost "Global Black" lineup. So, perhaps part of the appeal to AOL was Arianna's ability to come to terms with BET co-founder Sheila Johnson in an attempt to lure more African-American readership, but if you know why Ms. Burt-Murray departed Huffington's fold so soon after the AOL announcement we'd love to hear about it here, since AOL doesn't have the best track record in that department.

It's a triumph for Ms. Huffington, who has been very savvy in building and executing her business model. She sold out at a very opportune moment - and $315 million is a handsome profit - a remarkable return on investment. As such, this may even represent, or spark, the next hot wave of interest from big investors; it's clear that many stalwart media companies would benefit from some infusion of newer know-how, and tying their brand to an up-and-comer. But this unlikely union may well be the beginning of the end for HuffingtonPost's Happy Days.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, former Democratic Campaign Manager, strategist, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community. You can follow him as @kabiu on twitter.

With Arianna Huffington Boss Of Michael Arrington, More Women In Tech?

One ironic development in the wake of AOL's purchase of The Huffington Post for $315 Million, is that, with Arianna Huffington now content editor for all of AOL's acquisitions, including TechCrunch, this question must be asked "Will we see more Tech Crunch content on Women In Tech?"

I put that in caps because last year the lack of representation of women in tech fields, and at TechCrunch events, morphed from a complaint to a full-blown TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco panel that can only be described as horrible. For all practical purposes it degenerated into a near-cage match between Rachel Sklar and Sarah Lacy, the moderator.

Meanwhile, Michael Arrington stayed out of sight from the panel, an interesting development for a man who was so out in front in hitting back against Rachel's criticisms of TechCrunch and women. (Which it really boiled down to far more than "women in tech.")

 Last year, Michael wrote:

Every damn time we have a conference we fret over how we can find women to fill speaking slots. We ask our friends and contacts for suggestions. We beg women to come and speak. Where do we end up? With about 10% of our speakers as women.

We won’t put women on stage just because they’re women – that’s not fair to the audience who’ve paid thousands of dollars each to be there. But we do spend an extraordinary amount of time finding those qualified women and asking them to speak.

And you know what? A lot of the time they say no. Because they are literally hounded to speak at every single tech event in the world because they are all trying so hard to find qualified women to speak at their conference.

Now that Arianna Huffington's basically overseeing TechCrunch, Michael has no excuse that he can't draw the best names from the vast pool of women in tech. He can just call her for help. The question is, will he?

The overall attitude expressed by male TechCrunch readers in Erick Shonfeld's blog post from February 7th is that it's not just about "Women, Power, and Local" as Eric's title was strangely named, but about their overall bitterness toward Arianna, as expressed in some of the comments - well a lot of them.

As one commenter put it:

Are you guys taking issue with being UNDER a woman now?

With that, maybe TechCrunch could stand more content from women to draw female readers.  There's no reason it has to be male-dominated, anyway.

Stay tuned.