(A Sprinkling of Things we Think you Ought to Know…)

Politico Takes It Personally – In a Breaking News alert this afternoon, Politico emails news that the Justice Department plans on filing suit against Apple computers over eBook pricing. It’s important to note that their breaking news email came in WELL before anyone else did. I don’t suppose it had anything to do with the fact that Mike Allen and Evan Thomas have a new eB0ok called “Inside the Circus.” We can’t help but wonder if they are taking it personally.

Red Versus Blue – Livingsocial has a unique deal available this week that is distinctly Washington D.C. It’s a chance to enter a Republicans versus Democrats dodgeball tournament later this month. Teams of 8 will be split up according to party lines and they will unleash their fury upon each other. Considering how competitive this town is, we fully expect lost teeth and bloodshed. Just make sure to leave NJ Gov. Chris Christie and filmmaker Michael Moore at home. This is dodgeball, after all. No need to have easy targets out there.

Cooper Can’t Handle Pussy – If you watch one thing today, watch this video of CNN’s Anderson Cooper. He is doing a story on Dyngus Day. It’s a Polish-American Holiday that takes place after Lent with some very strange rituals. Included is one in which men sprinkle water on women and women rub men with the branches of a pussy willow. Cooper finds this story so “stupid” that he can’t contain his laughter and giggles uncontrollably, much like a 7-year-old schoolgirl. The episode culminates in a snort. You cannot miss this. Watch the video below.

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D.C. area publicist Wendy Gordon has been the subject of our weekly Wendy Wednesday item that brings joy to the hearts of thousands of area residents each week. Maybe all this fame and attention is going to Wendy’s head. Maybe all the stress of being an internet superstar has led her to other pastimes? We certainly hope not. But if this picture is any indication, we should all say hello to Shitfaced Wendy. And remember…  If it’s Wednesday, it’s Wendy Wednesday.

Dennis Van Roekel, President of the National Educators Association, told attendees at last night’s screening of “Bully” that they were in for “an exciting, wonderful evening.” But clearly he was exaggerating. By the end of the film, half the audience, mostly female teachers, was sobbing and probably in need of a Xanax.

“Bully” is a documentary directed by Lee Hirsch about children who face ridicule and bullying at school. Two cases featured in the film concern kids, one 11 and another 17, who committed suicide after being picked on for years.

It was stirring and emotional, upsetting even. But not really “exciting” or “wonderful.”

The screening was held at the NEA’s headquarters on 16th street, NW.

Following the film WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart moderated a discussion with Van Roekel, Hirsch, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, National Center for Learning Disabilities Director James Wendorf, Katie Butler of Change.org and Jackie Libby, the mother of one of the children in the film.

“Bully” will be released in theaters April 23. See here for more information.

Important side note:  The NEA headquarters bathroom facilities are probably the most environmentally friendly place on Earth. That is to say, highly inconvenient for everyone. To activate the sink faucet, you have to move your hands around like a magician to trip the “hands-free” sensor. And the paper towel dispensers offer exactly three inches of paper per use. On the plus side, a slew of unhealthy snacks like potato chips, Wise popcorn, soda and chocolate chip and raisin cookies were aplenty before the show.

“In a rational world, it seems obvious…”

This is the promising start to an early morning memo from Politico‘s Editor-in-Chief John Harris to staff. Makes you wonder where he’s going with it. Our minds raced. 1. Mike Allen will attend Arianna Huffington‘s sleep away summer camp for insomniacs. 2. There will be an uprising during the next Politico live show in which Ginger Gibson, Juana Summers and Reid Epstein will all say f&@k on air. Or 3. National Politics Editor Charlie Mahtesian will soon begin writing a new blog called “Charlie Mahtesian on the American Political Landscape.”

Ding. Ding. Ding. If you guessed number three you’re onto something. Mahtesian will be relieved of some of his grueling line-editing duties to write the new blog but will remain Politics Editor. Harris says if anyone deserves more time in the cockpit and less in the control tower, it’s Mahtesian. On another important note, Dave Catanese will be taking “a breather” from his blogging responsibilities. Harris says news from his blog can just as easily be presented through quick news stories. What’s more, he says Catanese “excels on the road.”

See the internal memo…It’s all carefully worded to mitigate any possible bad feelings.

Read more

Thanks to “cutting edge” cyber technology, fans of “Colbert Nation” will now be able to get instantly e-connected to their member of Congress and urge them to do Stephen Colbert‘s “Better Know a District” segment. Let the accountability begin, says a release from Comedy Central this afternoon. See here.

Lawmakers have consistently been persuaded not to do Colbert’s segment in which he makes fun of the lawmaker. But some of the more nervier members partake anyhow. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was among the first lawmakers to do the series. “What has it been like living your life openly left handed?” Colbert asked him. Watch here.

Author Josh Meyer will be speaking at the National Press Club tonight to promote his book “The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.”

The book, co-written with Terry McDermott, is described as an inside look at “the US government’s dogged but flawed pursuit of this elusive and dangerous man… a heart-pounding trip inside the dangerous, classified world of counterterrorism and espionage.” The book published in late March.

Meyer is the Director of Education and Outreach at the National Security Journalism Initiative. McDermott is a former correspondent for the LAT.

The event is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m in the Bloomberg Room.

Note: If you already own the book and want it signed, too bad. Only copies purchased at the event will be signed.

Laura Rozen, a longtime foreign policy writer in Washington, has left Yahoo! News. Today The Envoy, a news blog she wrote for the site, is being written by Dylan Stableford. This morning a story on Iran’s nuclear program by Rozen has turned up in Tablet, a site on Jewish news, ideas and culture. Interestingly enough, her bio there doesn’t even mention Yahoo! News and reads as follows:

“Laura Rozen reports on foreign policy from Washington, D.C. She is a former senior policy reporter for Politico and Foreign Policy. Follow her on Twitter @LRozen.”

Her Twitter bio does not include any previous publications where she has worked, nor does her feed broach her leaving her most recent employer. We’ve reached out to Yahoo! News public relations for comment.

Carl Hulse, the deputy bureau chief for the NYT, has a band called The NativeMakers. Hulse is an accomplished drummer and the band has quite the following around Capitol Hill. They are best known for their covers of classic rock songs by the Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers, among others. Something tells me they won’t be covering Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Niggas in Paris” or Justin Bieber‘s “Boyfriend.”

The band has invited all of Washington D.C. to see them perform at the 18th Amendment this Saturday night at 9pm in a concert they are calling “Rock and Roll Apocalypse.” Previous gigs have lured Luke Russert and Rahm Emmanuel into the crowd, so you never know who might show up.

The right slams PBS anchor Gwen Ifill. The left takes a chunk out of FNC Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry. And a new feature is born: “Journo Bashing.”

Let’s take a look.

Both Newsbusters and Big Hollywood, well-known right-wing sites, blast Ifill for referring to Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman as “white” on her Monday night broadcast. On Newsbusters, Tim Graham, Director of Media Analysis for the Media Research Center, writes that Ifill “mangled” the story by calling Zimmerman white when Zimmerman has a white father and a Latino mother. He writes, “By that one-white-parent standard, you could call President Obama ‘white.’”

WTF?! Over at Breitbart.com, Tony Lee (recently terminated from Human Events) writes, “The mainstream media just will not give up in their efforts to fabricate racial motivations in the Trayvon Martin case, even when none likely existed.” Really? Quite a declaration considering the story has consumed the nation for racial reasons for the past month. Lee goes a notch beyond Newsbusters and insults Ifill, calling her work “dishonest.” He writes, “On Monday’s broadcast of PBS’s ‘Newshour,’ Gwen Ifill simply–and dishonestly–referred to Zimmerman as ‘white,’ trying to impose the false media narrative that Zimmerman was a ‘white’ guy who racially profiled and shot an innocent black teenager in cold blood.” Lee went on to bash Ifill for saying that Trayvon’s killing has sparked a national discussion on race, justice and self-defense. Lee declares that “Ifill is wrong,” and blames journalists like her for “forcing” a discussion that he says wouldn’t have otherwise existed. We’re calling major bullsh&t on this one. Read the story here.

Ouch! Firedoglake, meanwhile, rips on Henry for allegedly not understanding home loans. In a story bearing the headline, “More Terrible Media Stories About Housing,” David Dayen writes, “When Ed Henry shows that he doesn’t know how home loans work, it means more than just a commentary about the ignorance of one media personality. It means that more complex issues about housing policy have no chance of moving past the demagoguery stage.” He’s referencing this exchange between Henry and HUD Sec. Shaun Donovan from early February.

The White House Soup of the Day, as reported by MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” is…

Cream of Broccoli.

“Who doesn’t like cream of broccoli?” asked substitute host Luke Russert. “It’s a great soup.” Taking a page out of Chuck Todd‘s playbook, he added, “George H. Bush probably doesn’t like cream of broccoli.” Todd has pointed out Bush’s dislike of broccoli in previous soup segments. We’re just relieved Luke didn’t forget the feature on Chuck’s day off.