or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
October 22, 2007
Post Leaves Something Out About Richard Mellon Scaife
The Washington Post is lapping up the grimy details of the divorce of right-wing sugar daddy Richard Mellon Scaife in a new article. It would be distasteful if Scaife weren't such an unpleasant person. Yet even while sniggering at his situation, the Post manages to leave extremely pertinent information out. Here's a story from Scaife's past, as the Post tells it:
Though he jousts, indirectly, with public figures, Scaife seems to detest attention. He almost never speaks to the media, and on one of the few occasions he did, it was to tell a reporter, who'd sandbagged him on the street, that she was ugly and that her mother was ugly, too.
Here's the story as the reporter herself, Karen Rothmyer, tells it:
After several unsuccessful efforts to obtain an interview, this reporter decided to make one last attempt in Boston, where Scaife was scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the First Boston Corporation.Posted at October 22, 2007 04:35 PM | TrackBackScaife, a company director, did not show up while the meeting was in progress...A few minutes later he appeared at the top of the Club steps. At the bottom of the stairs, the following exchange occurred:
"Mr. Scaife, could you explain why you give so much money to the New Right?"
"You fucking Communist cunt, get out of here."
Well. The rest of the five-minute interview was conducted at a rapid trot down Park Street, during which Scaife tried to hail a taxi. Scaife volunteered two statements of opinion regarding his questioner's personal appearance - he said she was ugly and that her teeth were "terrible" - and also the comment that she was engaged in "hatchet journalism." His questioner thanked Scaife for his time. "Don't look behind you," Scaife offered by way of a goodbye.
Not quite sure what this remark meant, the reporter suggested that if someone were approaching it was probably her mother, whom she had arranged to meet nearby. "She's ugly, too," Scaife said, and strode off.
I'm surprised this guy hasn't gotten an ambassodorship yet.
Posted by: PR at October 22, 2007 05:31 PMBut to where? Even the fucking cunts in Albania aren't Communist anymore.
So sad. So much money and wallowing in cliches.
Then, there's the strange case of Steve Kangas.
Posted by: Ted at October 22, 2007 08:45 PMI don't see what is so pertinent about that information. Anyone giving money to the new right obviously thinks anyone centre or left is a "Commie".
Posted by: En Ming Hee at October 22, 2007 08:54 PMI don't see what is so pertinent about that information. Anyone giving money to the new right obviously thinks anyone centre or left is a "Commie".
Posted by: En Ming Hee at October 22, 2007 08:55 PMWell, you know what Mom use to say,"Son, the world,s full of assholes.". Nobody's proved her wrong yet.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at October 22, 2007 09:04 PMWhat a charmer. Can you get me an introduction? I hear he's vewy, vewy rich.
Perhaps someone will throw him under a bus the next time he's rushing away from a reporter. One can hope.
Posted by: catherine at October 22, 2007 09:21 PMcatherine: Why expend the effort? Just roll a nickel in front of the bus. (those kind dive on it like pigeons after popcorn no matter how much they got in the bank)
Posted by: Mike Meyer at October 22, 2007 10:57 PMamazingly, studies show you actually live longer with an excess of toxic bile.
Posted by: hapa at October 22, 2007 11:02 PMSomeone married this guy!? Quite a sacrifice even if you get a trillion dollars after the divorce.
Posted by: MFB at October 23, 2007 02:46 AMThere's a building at Carnegie Mellon named Scaife, after a relative, a very ugly building I hated long before I learned of RMS.
Posted by: StO at October 23, 2007 05:41 AMMmmmm! I love it when fascists talk dirty to me.
Posted by: Bob In Pacifica at October 23, 2007 09:56 AM"You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny."
that was the expression when I was a kid... so when will RMS grow up?
Posted by: Pete Bogs at October 23, 2007 11:31 AMAnd we are not supposed to wish death or harm to people why?
Posted by: Bob at October 23, 2007 11:49 AMat prep school scaife was voted "class wit".
we were all surprised to learn that he grown up to become a boor. how disappointing.
Posted by: joe cantwell at October 23, 2007 01:45 PMIndeed, google "Steve Kangas" and find out more about Scaife's, uh, anger management difficulties.
Posted by: NoOneYouKnow at October 23, 2007 02:35 PMHooray -- someone has finally found a tactic for slowing down the network of right-wing foundations that promote policies that are insane in the real world but ideologically satisfying to their wingnut donors. Marry 'em, divorce 'em, take away their money. I like it, and it may actually be more valuable to the progressive cause than anything Noam Chomsky has ever done. :-)
Is it too much to hope that Tammy Sue Vasco is just Phase II of the plan?
Posted by: Whistler Blue at October 23, 2007 02:54 PMLife around good 'ole Ricky must be quite an experience:
*Ricky stubbing his toe: "You fucking communist table leg!"
*Ricky not liking what he sees staring back at him: "You fucking communist mirror!"
*Ricky not being able to uh, perform, for the umpteenth time: "It's all your fault you fucking communist cunt!"
I'd like to see RMS in a sitcom delivering his catchphrase:
Wife: "I'm sorry Richard, but I'm filing for divorce and seeking full custody of our kids. The sooner we can have a sociopath like you out of our lives, the better off we'll be."
Ricky: "You fucking communist cunt!" [wild applause and laughter from the audience]
Posted by: Ming The Merciful at October 23, 2007 06:32 PMI remember reading about this in Lies and the Lying Liars. Scaife is a CRAZY MAN! Franken asked the appropriate question when he wrote about this, "Who set the tone in Washington?"
Posted by: Ricky Bones at October 23, 2007 06:53 PMI remember reading about this in Lies and the Lying Liars. Scaife is a CRAZY MAN! Franken asked the appropriate question when he wrote about this, "Who set the tone in Washington?"
Posted by: Ricky Bones at October 23, 2007 06:54 PMI remember reading about this in Lies and the Lying Liars. Scaife is a CRAZY MAN! Franken asked the appropriate question when he wrote about this, "Who set the tone in Washington?"
Posted by: Ricky Bones at October 23, 2007 06:55 PMSorry for the duplicate postings :(
Posted by: Ricky Bones at October 23, 2007 07:03 PMMing, you think you're making a joke, but this TV show will be on next season. They're running out of reality show ideas (god, would that it were so.)
And Mike, I just really like the idea of someone throwing him under a bus. I don't know who first used this line, but it fits in so many places.
Posted by: catherine at October 24, 2007 10:01 AMcatherine: It's an old Mob hit tactic.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at October 24, 2007 12:01 PM
