In a stunning new development in the hacking scandal that is engulfing the Murdoch empire and which now threatens to spread to more of Britain’s tabloids, it is revealed in today’s Daily Telegraph that when appearing on the BBC’s long-running Desert Island Discs international TV personality and one-time editor of The News of the World Piers Morgan was referred to by the interviewer as being ‘middle class.’

The BBC has issued an apology, insisting that the script had him listed as being upper-middle, not middle-middle. “It’s all jolly unfortunate,” said spokesman Nigel Brill. “Gosh, no one wants to give the impression that Mr. Morgan’s some kind of grammar-school boy.”

In the tape of the particular programme, the shock is palpable in Mr. Morgan’s voice, shock which no doubt led him to boast about all the hacking going on around him in the office which he did not personally take part in, oversee, or directly witness.

Reached in her Hampstead flat, Margaret Drabble expressed her sympathy, “I want to be very clear,” she said, “that when I admitted I had middle-class friends I was not in any way referring to Mr. Morgan.”

CNN’s Piers Morgan ‘told interviewer stories were published based on phone tapping’ [Telegraph UK]

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Dan Savage threatens to redefine Santorum’s first name, with the help of a few Famous Ricks. Unfortunately — or deliberately, depending on your comedic taste — all the proposed definitions are bleeped.

[via TPM]

“We were walking into the gate area and the man taking the tickets told me he would need me to turn my shirt inside-out before entering the park. I questioned why and he told me because it was a family park.” —Olivier Odom, explaining why she couldn’t wear a “Marriage is So Gay” tee while visiting Dollywood Splash Country water park with her partner. Dolly herself supports gay marriage. [Knoxville News Sentinel, via RML]

We ignored Thomas Friedman’s column this week, because we always ignore Thomas Friedman’s columns, and ignoring Thomas Friedman’s columns is a right we cherish as an American.

However, upon reflection and incessant reminders from all over the fucking place, we realize that we have made a mistake — an exceptional mistake — because finally, Thomas Friedman has removed the mask and revealed himself to be a Tom Tomorrow cartoon:

Thanks to a quiet political start-up that is now ready to show its hand, a viable, centrist, third presidential ticket, elected by an Internet convention, is going to emerge in 2012. I know it sounds gimmicky — an Internet convention — but an impressive group of frustrated Democrats, Republicans and independents, called Americans Elect, is really serious, and they have thought out this process well. In a few days, Americans Elect will formally submit the 1.6 million signatures it has gathered to get on the presidential ballot in California as part of its unfolding national effort to get on the ballots of all 50 states for 2012.

Yes, an “Internet convention” does sound gimmicky, unless you’re talking about Comic-Con. But more to the point, it also sounds profoundly naive — because it focuses solely on one office.

Oh, and it also produces counterproductive results.

Read more »

Stinquer Tommmcatt forwards an email sent today by Team Sarah, imploring adepts to attend the Sarah Palin bomb movie to keep the Lamestream Media from calling it the abject failure it is.

At least we think that’s what it says. If you view the original at our Scribd account, you’ll see why we’re having difficulties deciphering it.

“According to Bachmann’s latest campaign finance filings, her campaign spent nearly $4,700 on hair and makeup in the weeks after she entered the presidential race on June 13.” [Mother Jones]

[ThinkProgress]