No More Freebies For Those Foreign Pressies
Saudi Richy-Riches
When an investigator looking into payments to Saudi college kids in the United States told us "they're not going to school like you and I did," he wasn't referring to their course schedules. Turns out the Saudi Embassy provides an allowance of up to $60,000 a month for royal family members, a mere $1,219.43 for others. We know because the government is reviewing Saudi spending here to make sure terrorists aren't cashing in.
Limbaugh's Legions
Dittoheads this week launch an attack on prosecutors targeting Rush Limbaugh 's drug use, claiming he's the subject of a political witch hunt. "This is the first salvo to defend Rush against a blatant, liberal, and extralegal bid to run Rush off the radio," conservative PR guru Greg Mueller tells us. The first shot appears in the American Spectator this week with a claim that the Democratic prosecutor in Florida wants Rush's scalp to help in his re-election. Then look for conservatives to flood radio and TV talk shows to smear the prosecution.
Be On West Wing
Say what you want about liberals and their politics, but one thing can't be denied: They've got star power. That will be on display in Washington next weekend when organizers of the May 9 Million Mom March host an NRA Blacklist Ball feting the hundreds on the National Rifle Association's hit list. But the May 8 event won't just bring stars like TV's Richard Belzer to town. They'll be auctioning off walk-on roles on The West Wing and a spinoff of The Practice and a Kenneth Cole shopping spree.
Staying The Course
Don't look for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader to quit the race, no matter how much pressure the Democrats put on him. "You don't start a presidential campaign," he said, "and get tens of thousands of volunteers and people to work their heart out for you and then say in October, 'Well, sorry.' " Reason: It would undermine efforts to build a third-party movement.
Practically Twins
Thanks to last week's online Alexander Autographs auction, we learn that President John F. Kennedy and Sen. John F. Kerry , both Massachusetts liberals, have even more in common than we already knew. They share the same initials. No, silly, not the tired old JFK stuff. Turns out that Kennedy signed letters to his best friends "JK." And that's exactly how Kerry's pals refer to him, "JK." The auction also revealed that Bill Clinton 's signature is still golden but that nobody cares anymore about Gerald Ford. Of nine Ford autographs, only three sold, and the top price was just $95. An Abraham Lincoln won the highest bid in the presidential category, $7,000. And somebody paid $3,750 for a lock of his auburn-colored hair--or 40 strands of his "fine hair," to be exact.
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With David E. Kaplan
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