Daily Intel

Goldman’s Sachs-Cloth and Ashes Tour Continues

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:02:00 GMT

In response to public backlash against them, Goldman Sachs has been going out of its way to apologize for how well they have performed post-crisis. They have canceled their holiday Christmas party, and it's said that the firm has discouraged others from holiday cheer (though a spokesperson tells us that's not true). They have set up an initiative to help small businesses. They have picked up an unconscionably high veterinary bill for some stray kittens. But they're willing to go further. What do you have for them? A couple thousand plates of yams gummed by homeless people? Great. Perfect. Sign them up.

The Salvation Army, along with Marc Spooner, a winner of the Food Network's Chopped TV contest, is planning to give away 10,000 dinners next week. According to the AP:

Three hundred employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Wall Street's richest firm, have volunteered for the holiday feast and will be tasked with taking out the garbage.

"Goldman wants their volunteers to sweat," joked Spooner.

If this doesn't help to quell public outrage, the board is going to have to go with their backup plans of distributing hair shirts to everyone at Christmas, and sending Lloyd Blankfein to Calcutta for a photo op with some lepers.

Goldman Sachs to take out garbage at Thanksgiving [AP]

Williamsburg Drug-Den Bust Turns Up $800,000 and Eighteen Kilos of Cocaine

Chris Rovzar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:30:16 GMT

The cops tore open the heart of a massive hipster cocaine ring in Williamsburg this week, turning up $800,000 and eighteen kilos of cocaine from a building on North Seventh Street between Wythe and Berry Streets. (That's off the Bedford stop, people.) The group of dealers worked out of an apartment over the former site of Laila Lounge. Three suspects — Ronald Lugo, 44, Christina Ladeveze, 48, and Johanny Olmedo, 51 — have been accused by cops of heading up the drug ring. Being older, they struck their artistic young neighbors as "weird." Cops eventually raided the place and discovered the incredible stash of drugs (worth an estimated $3 million) and money hidden under the seat of a portable sauna in the apartment. The ring, cops say, extended to all boroughs of New York City.

Here's our takeaway: There's such a thing as a portable sauna??? That is the greatest thing we've ever heard. If only we could afford something like that! We're clearly in the wrong business.

Huge bust at hipster drug den [Brooklyn Paper]

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Filed Under: ballsy crimes, cocaine, crime, drugs, hipsters, williamsburg

Larry King’s 76th-Birthday Party Had an Old Western Theme

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:49:14 GMT

At first when we saw that on Ryan Seacrest's Twitter we were like, "Oh, because he's old, and the party was on the West Coast? That's funny!" But no: There were hats. Look at these crazy kids: Larry may be getting on in years, but damned if he doesn't still know how to party. Ryan Seacrest is rocking the feathers like an extra in La Cage, and what's that Don Johnson's got, a kazoo? This is the real-life Entourage, folks.

[Twitter via Best Week Ever]

Is Liberal Disdain for Sarah Palin a Victorian Holdover?

Thaddeus Russell — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:40:21 GMT

Palin at the Republican National Convention in a $2,500 Valentino jacket.

Sarah Palin is back, much to the chagrin of the nation's liberal cosmopolitans. In less than 30 minutes last week, at a dinner party in a plush Upper West Side apartment, several members of what Palin calls the "liberal media elite" — book editors, magazine writers, and Hollywood filmmakers — were raging at the wave of publicity for the Alaskan rogue's book. "She can barely construct a complete sentence, and it'll be a best-seller," fumed one. Another remarked that Palin's "trailer-park accent" sounded like "fingernails on a chalkboard." Her style and profligacy were major topics: "She spent all that campaign money on clothes and she still looks cheap"; her recent hairdo "makes her look like a school principal trying to be sexy"; and "that lip gloss is so whorish." Summing it up, the wife of a film producer firmly placed her wine glass on the table, paused to gather attention, and declared, "She just has no class."

It's ironic that many of Palin's critics on the left rely on Victorian  arguments to attack the self-styled maverick. They complain of her brashness  and lack of humility, seemingly unaware that these were the very charges  made against women who fought for suffrage. Suggestions that Palin's  inability to speak proper English disqualifies her from holding public office  echo charges made by nineteenth-century politicians who wished to  disenfranchise blacks and immigrants on the grounds that their "ignorance" of genteel customs would degrade democracy.  Just as Palin's detractors delight in exposing her shopping sprees, Victorians routinely chastised the lower classes for their spending on  "frivolities," especially clothing styles above their station.

Francis  Wayland, a prominent nineteenth-century theologian and purveyor of Victorian  norms in the United States, attacked "reckless expense" for objects and  garments "which yield no other utility than the mere gratification of the  senses, or, which are rendered necessary by command of fashion, or the love  of ostentation." Mary Augusta LaSelle, the author of moral primers for young  women in the early twentieth century, condemned "the flashily dressed"  working-class woman "in her attempts at finery." According to LaSelle, such  a woman "lacks sufficient judgment to discriminate concerning a style of  dress suitable to a woman of wealth … to that suited to a girl in an office  on a salary of possibly $12 per week." 

That contemporary liberals' distaste for Palin's brazen and unrefined  sexuality unites them with nineteenth-century conservatives is demonstrated  by the title of a forthcoming book edited by Nation editors Richard Kim and  Betsy Reed: Going Rouge: Sarah Palin — An American Nightmare. The book,  featuring an all-star liberal lineup of authors including Naomi Klein,  Gloria Steinem, Katha Pollitt, Jim Hightower, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Thomas  Frank, Frank Rich, and Robert Reich, includes numerous references to the  makeup worn by the "Affirmative Action Babe" who is "Flirting Her Way to  Victory." Similarly, the Huffington Post revealed during the campaign that  Palin's makeup artist was "McCain's highest paid staffer."  Puritans were the first to attack the wearing of makeup. Clergyman Thomas  Tuke's 1616 "Discourse Against Painting and Tincturing" warned that  cosmetics were "brought into use by the devil" to make women worship  themselves. During the Victorian era, according to the historian Kathy  Peiss, makeup was commonly viewed as "the aesthetic side of vice." Lipstick  and rouge were known as "the scarlet shame" and were associated not just  with prostitutes but also with women who dared to appear in public  unescorted by men.  Of course, Palin herself has declared her devotion to "good, old" American  values. But just as the right has long delighted in coded sexist attacks on  Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, the left can often sink into a  surprisingly offhand Victorianism.

If You Go Down the Rabbit Hole, It’s Going to Take More Than Gossip Girl to Drag You Back Out

miserable — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

"I'm a way better Wicked Queen than Kelly Kapowski was."

The theme of this week's episode of Gossip Girl was artfully elucidated by the song crooned by grand dame Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance." Serena and Tripp justified their lust, Nate lamented his stupidity, and Vanessa, unsurprisingly, mistook fag-hag status for "like." The ending was bittersweet, as Olivia followed her fate to do more teenage occult films and Dan went back to being "Lonely Boy." In the comments, you praised these decisions — and illustrated an excellent knowledge of Saved by the Bell. Commenter Miserable has compiled the best ones.

Realer Than Serena Having Fake Tranny Nails
• Plus 2 for Nate's ballwashing of Serena not including the words smart or intelligent. "Full of life?" Okay, I'll buy it. —onceuponatime

• Also, plus 50 for the return of the REAL Blair Waldorf. Scheming, black mail, braggadocio, manipulation and beret-wearing. Now we just need the return of Dorota to fully amplify the one and only Queen's powers. —countrymaeve

• Plus 2 for Nate calling Serena out on having a crush on Trip when only two months ago she was all blissed-out in love with Carter. Because who better to call out the kettle than the pot. —shmay

• Nate and married men: Freudian slip? Plus 5. —dignell

• Didn't Hilary once have a career as a pop star? she sounded terrible. Plus 5 because most pop stars can't actually sing. —chuckbassismybabydaddy

• Trip, as would any guy, would use any excuse to cheat on his wife. "Serena, she helped me get elected! By Lying! IN POLITICS! Now come sleep with me." Plus 15 points. —isgoodatmath

• Plus 10 for Lady Gaga knowing Cyrus! Maybe she can get him to make an appearance on the show! —fashionrat

• Also I'd like to add I'm in Europe and we very much know what "I'm Chuck Bass" means here. Plus 20. —im_chuck_bass

• About Tripp: Plus 10 because now that he's been unfaithful with a young blonde, he can now consider himself a real politician. —delawhere16

• Jenny dating a drug dealer and perhaps experimenting with drugs in the future? Plus 5 for art imitating life. —mmkious

• Plus 5 for Serena thinking that finding Tripp as hot as Jude Law was five years ago is justification for sleeping with a married man. Only someone that shagged her best friend's boyfriend on a bar would consider that a reasoned argument —rosemaryhoyt

• Plus 5 for trip's hair swoosh. because all politically-active wasps want to look just like JFK —revelry53

• This morning there was a story on NPR about a shortage of Eggo waffles. I guess little J's queendom really does extend beyond Constance. Plus 5. —ggblast

Faker Than Nate Being the Person People Turn To for Reasoned Advice
• Minus 10 for Dan stealing the basic concept of Snow White and the Seven Dorks from Saved by the Bell. —seanathan

• Didn't anyone find it shady that 16 year old Jenny just dashes off with a 20-something foreigner who's also a total stranger? Hello, Rufus? Are you still a parent? Minus 50. —ewallace

• Why is Nate the only person Serena can confide in about having feelings for a married man? I’m pretty sure Lily has slept with lots of married men. In fact, I’m marginally sure Cece has too. Minus 10. —iludythink

• Did anyone else notice that Dan and Nate run into Vanessa in Tribeca (you can see the Tribeca Tavern in the background) and then later Dan and Olivia are walking around the same corner again? NYU (much less COLUMBIA) is NOT close enough that they'd be wandering around there for their morning coffee. Minus 6. —isinbed

• After last week's elevator confession, I really thought it would be Chuck helping Serena deal with her Daddy issues (since those two have the worst Daddy issues out of everyone). But then I realized that Papa Bass can only save one stupid, blonde sister at a time, and this just happened to be Jenny's week. Minus 5. —nurseluvbass

• I look forward to thinking of Cyrus every time I hear "Poker Face" from now on. But minus 5 for him not popping out from under Lady Gaga's dress for the big finish. —purpleandgreen

• Did Blair lock Dorota in the basement or sell her to a sex slavery ring? Minus 50 for the continuous absence for the 2nd best character on this show. —polishpierogi

• Little J can't wander over for lunch at Jean Georges, there's a dress code! She should be on the Alice in Wonderland statue eating a Sabrett dog. Minus 10 points —silkpants

• Rufus has never heard of gonorrhea of the throat? And he toured with his band? Minus 5 because anyone whose been on tour with a band (even an awful one like Lincoln Hawk) would have had at least a handful of STDs by the end of it. —jnp1013

• Um there is a "Bitches Of Eastwick", it's called The Craft. And if this version doesn't have Fairuza Balk or Skeet Ulrich then it's automatically worse. Minus 20. —kdow3

• Also, can we stop pretending that Serena actually reads ANY newspapers. She would just scan gawker or some other gossip site that only has articles in 250 words or less. Minus 10. —misschristypoo

• Minus 50 for Chuck's "I saw that look in your eye when I first saw you..." to Little J. What was that look? Fear? When you tried to rape her? —thejacqueline

• While we are at it, this new guy is far too preppy for little J to like. He doesn't look anything like a Vampire and the "dead but alive" thing she has going would attract someone more greasy and unwashed. —annie_in_ny

• Hey Nate? You know why Serena thought that line was so blurry? It's because you were feeding her shots all night, and Serena doesn’t get metaphor. Way to cock-block yourself Archibald. Minus 5. —hookedonbass

• Minus 1 because Dan wouldn't have a Smythson or a marbled Mead. He'd have a Moleskin- Hemingway used them, omgggggg! —breebuckley

Tinsley Mortimer Caught on Film Canoodling With Constantine Maroulis

Chris Rovzar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:40:11 GMT

Guest of a Guest obtained pictures of socialite, soon-to-be reality star, and recent divorcée Tinsley Mortimer in an intimate moment with Rock of Ages star and American Idol runner-up Constantine Maroulis. Guest of a Guest infers that Tinsley has dumped her boyfriend the Price-Chopper Prince. After all, the tipster who sent the pictures did say "This girl is changing! She hiding out from Park Ave, left the Prince sitting alone on his thrown [sic] and went undercover to meet an American Idol. This was a legit date. They are really cute together." So we can understand why one would think it was real! But when we saw these pictures, we had six simultaneous reactions:

1. Everything about this is fake. Clues include the amount of makeup Tinsley is wearing to a cheesy Broadway jukebox musical, the fact that no else one is around at this intimate moment, yet someone took a cell-phone pic from maybe six feet away, and the fact that, well, Constantine Maroulis.

2. The Tinsley of old is basically over. At her peak, she was at best a Becky Sharp. Now she's about at Bridget Marquardt level. Which isn't bad — it's just, well, not good.
3. God bless Guest of a Guest for caring enough to collect these tips, so we don't have to.
4. Constantine, come on. You were on American Idol and you're in a hilarious Broadway show everyone loves! You don't need a B-grade CW reality show that won't make it past half a season.
5. God, we are embarrassed that so far we've had four thoughts about this. It must be Friday. Oh, God, here comes another one — we can't stop it. It's like a brain vomit!
6. Tinz, you're one Michael Lohan cameo away from being Jon Gosselin. For the love of Calvin, get a hold of yourself!

Tinsley Mortimer Ditches The Prince For An American Idol [Guest of a Guest]

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Filed Under: hellivision, constantine maroulis, do not worry there is no need for you to care about or remember these people, reality tv, rock of ages, socialites, tinsley mortimer, tv

Financial Bloggers Felix Salmon and Henry Blodget Have a Fight, Make Up

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:15:00 GMT

The Internet: It's a terribly vulnerable place. Here we all are, a bunch of quivering egos, flailing around in cyberspace, unencumbered by our physical bodies. With a mere click of a mouse, even the most reasonable adults can find themselves in flaming, finger-pointing bitchfights or long, boring arguments that then remain there, online, for all the world to see. Financial journalists, it seems, are perhaps more prone to getting into these kind of contretemps, since most of their job consists of telling people they're wrong about stuff. This week, an online scuffle broke out between two titans of the field: flame-haired Business Insider upstart Henry Blodget and the dark prince of the financial blogosphere, Felix Salmon of Reuters. Here's what went down.

Opening Shot: In a post about Michael Whitney, who until yesterday worked as a Bloomberg reporter after being fined by the CFTC for false reporting and attempting to manipulate the energy market, Salmon in passing mentioned that Blodget's Business Insider bio makes scant mention of the fact that he was indicted for insider trading. "Is it OK for a financial services professional who has run into major trouble with the law to simply move over to journalism and cover the same asset class there?" he writes. "Henry Blodget certainly thinks so: the former technology analyst is now publishing earnings estimates on his website despite being barred from ever doing exactly that for the securities industry."

Opponent Reaction: In response, Blodget was moved to write a 1,400-word piece headlined: "Felix Salmon: Henry Blodget should be banned from the industry." In the piece, the tone of which vacillates between defensive and self-deprecating, he frets repeatedly about the "king of financial bloggers" being "annoyed with him," provides a rundown of facts about his "alleged depravity," and suggests that Salmon's concerns were merely fueled by bitterness: "Felix is ... irritated on behalf of journalists everywhere who have been downsized and now have no place to ply their trade," he writes. "If there was any justice in the world, Felix seems to be saying, one of these journalists would be sitting in my chair instead of me." He finishes with heartfelt words about how the Business Insider is a selfless bid on his part to save journalism. "If we defy the odds and make that happen, will it erase my scandalous past? Of course not." God's work.

Round Three: Salmon responds in the form of a letter directly to Blodget on the website of his employer, Reuters, the 150-year-old news organization. "Dear Henry," he begins. "I’m not annoyed by you! I think you’ve created a powerful, innovative, and disruptive franchise in The Business Insider, which employs some very smart people and publishes some great journalism — even if sometimes it’s neither checked nor correct." He went on to point out that in fact the blog entry wasn’t even about Blodget, "as you might have surmised from the picture at the top and the lead paragraph, which were all about Michael Whitney."

I just thought that if you were going to get into the business of publishing earnings estimates for technology companies — exactly the business you were banned from by the SEC — then it might be worth mentioning the ban as you did so.

So far, Blodget has not responded to questions on this particular issue.

Backstory: As you might expect, Salmon and Blodget are perfectly civil in real life. 'We even had breakfast together in September," Salmon tells us via e-mail. When asked if there were any other exchanges between them that had gone unpublished, Salmon revealed that after it was all over, they'd even exchanged pleasant e-mails, below:

To: Henry Blodget From: Felix Salmon Subject: your readers

love you! And feel ever so protective of you, too, judging by my comments...

From: Henry Blodget Date: November 20, 2009 7:09:20 AM EST
To: Felix Salmon Subject: Re: your readers

Quite startling! Usually all piss and vinegar.

H

Henry Blodget
CEO, The Business Insider
hblodget@businessinsider.com

Garbled by iPhone.

Everyone's friends.

Kicked Out of Finance, And Into Journalism [Reuters]
Felix Salmon: Henry Blodget Should Be Banned From The Industry [Business Insider]
Disclosing Journalists Pasts [Reuters]
Earlier: Battle of the Blowhards: Matt Taibbi and Charlie Gasparino Prepare to Face Off

Jessica Szohr Explains Her Sometimes Mysterious Hair on Gossip Girl

Sharon Clott — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45:30 GMT

This is not the only PR photo of her looking this way. There are others, too gruesome to reprint.

Don't blame Jessica Szohr for her hairstyling missteps as Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl. The 24-year-old isn't in control of her hair destiny. "They cut my hair when I first got here and it was shorter — the shortest I ever had it, and I had to get used to that," she told us last night at a Vogue Eyewear celebrity styling event at Bloomingdale's. "When I'm on set and doing that, it's about what's good for her and right for her." Which explains why she was helpless against her own better judgment when she was forced to wear an Elvira-inspired do for a recent promo picture. "I think they just used a bunch of long extensions and just curled it and curled the top to have volume," she explained, adding that a Bumpit was not required, even though the picture looked like at least four were stuffed inside her locks. "It was pretty simple and easy how they did it. I'm actually kinda shocked." But don't expect to see her on the red carpet with this style. "Personally, would I do that? Probably not. But it was Vanessa, and she's a little bit funkified," she said. "I mean, it was definitely for a certain occasion. I don't know if I would do it personally. I would have to do it messy in jeans and a T-shirt or something." Which is when we reminded her that this look certainly isn't casual.

One of the Many, Everyday Perks of Being a Supreme Court Justice

Dan Amira — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:15:00 GMT

Not only can you censor student newspapers, but when you forget your purse at a restaurant — as Sonia Sotomayor did at Brooklyn's Po last night — you can have your security detail go and retrieve it for you. [Plank/New Republic]

Trailer for Tea Party Movie Is Apparently Sincere

Dan Amira — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

We've noticed that Tea Party activists have a habit of unintentionally doing things to invite mockery upon themselves. Their use of tea bags as a political prop made it all too easy for liberal critics to refer to the group using a term for a sexual prank involving the scrotum. The full Revolutionary-era garb donned by their most devoted members without a hint of self-consciousness makes them appear less than serious and kind of insane. And then you have this trailer for a straight-to-DVD Tea Party documentary, which, with its vainglorious, Don LaFontaine–esque voice-over and melodramatic music, seems to be parodying the movement. But apparently, it isn't. Regardless, your search for the perfect stocking stuffer is over.

Tea Party, the movie [Politico]

Saycon Sengbloh Still Plays With Barbies

Vanita Salisbury — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Name: Saycon Sengbloh
Age: "Forever 12. I still play with Barbies." [Ed: 32]
Neighborhood: Harlem
Occupation: Actress; can be seen playing Sandra in Fela!, opening November 23 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Miles Davis. His time spent here changed American music forever. The dancers in Fela! are my favorite living New Yorkers

What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
The salmon, spinach, lentils at Serafina on Broadway.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I sing, I dance, I sweat, I emote.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
That depends on the project I'm working on. Heck, on my most financially rewarding gig I was not truly living! One can make less and be happy, if you're doing something that matters. But, woo, New York's expensive!

What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Race.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

What's your drink?
Seltzer with lime.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
Breakfast three days a week, dinner three days a month.

What's your favorite medication?
Ibuprofen.

What's hanging above your sofa?
An Indian tapestry.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
Best haircut I've had cost me 15 bucks, the worst I've had was $110.

When's bedtime?
3 a.m.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
I wasn't here for the old Times Square, but honestly, the new Times Square is too busy for me!

What do you think of Donald Trump?
I think Donald Trump is a brilliant yet simple guy who knows exactly what he wants out of life.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
Riding crowded, packed subway trains.

Who is your mortal enemy?
Any girl or guy who tries to purposefully take my man.

When's the last time you drove a car?
Christmas '08 in Atlanta.

How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
I had to get a roommate.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
All three.

Where do you go to be alone?
The bathroom. No one with any sense bothers anyone in there. I can write songs in there — the reverb is great!

What makes someone a New Yorker?
Living here for five years with little family around, making your friends your family, taking yourself to the movies. Going to visit friends and family no matter what borough they stay in or how far away they live from you.

Lou Dobbs on Meeting the Times Editorial Board: ‘There Were a Couple People There Who Didn’t Really Know the Issues’

Chris Rovzar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:16 GMT

For next week's magazine, writer Stephen Rodrick went along with recently departed CNN anchor Lou Dobbs to a taping of his radio show and enjoyed some of his conventional wisdom. [NYM]

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Filed Under: intel, cnn, lou dobbs

Business Week Lays Off 130

Chris Rovzar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:50 GMT

As expected, layoffs came down yesterday at Business Week, and the numbers were huge. Bloomberg's Norm Pearlstine, who will soon assume his role of chairman at the magazine, cut 130 staffers — or roughly a third of the entire workforce. It was assumed that when the title was bought by Bloomberg there would be changes, but it looks like the cuts mean that the newswire giant plans to entirely change the character of the title, too. According to Keith Kelly, 60 to 70 percent of editorial staffers are on the way out, including columnists closely associated with the brand, like media writer Jon Fine, Wall Street reporter Gene Marcial, tech writers Steve Wildstrom and Steve Baker, and "Business Outlook" columnist Jim Cooper. Kelly has an extensive list of the other top writers who were ousted. Chunks of the online department were also eliminated. Rebuilding a brand to such a great extent puts a lot of pressure on 37-year-old Josh Tyrangiel, whom Pearlstine stole away from Time last week. Taking over a business brand when you don't have a lot of financial-reporting experience is one thing. Doing it without the brand's best writers and columnists is entirely different.

Daily Beast bites exec [NYP]

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Filed Under: ink-stained wretches, bloomberg, bloomberg lp, business week, josh tyrangiel, media, norm pearlstine

Brooklyn Man Finds Wad of Cash, Tries Desperately to Give It Back

Hope Reeves — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:21:00 GMT

When most New Yorkers find money on the street, they thank their lucky stars and pocket it without a second thought. But when 28-year-old grad student John Larsen found a wad of cash on an early-morning walk near his home in Clinton Hill, he decided he should give it back. Or at least try. "The top bill was a 50, and when I started to flip through it, I realized there must be at least a few hundred dollars there," says Larsen, a West Virgina native. "If I found twenty bucks I wouldn't really worry about it, but with this amount of money, I felt like I had to do something."

Larsen figured the loot must have been somebody’s rent or car payment. He couldn’t live with himself, he says, if his greed had led to someone being evicted — or worse.

Adding to his concern, he says a bit awkwardly, was that the wad — folded in quarters, a bit like a fortune cookie — smelled of perfume.

“I guess that made me worry more — like maybe it belonged to a single mom who really needed it,” he says.

So he waited, hoping the owner would rush back and claim the cash. When no one showed, he went home and put an ad on Craigslist.

Then he went back to the corner in question and waited some more. Finally, Larsen went home again, printed out some flyers, and canvassed the neighborhood, taping his message, with a contact e-mail, to utility poles.

"My wife was like, "Do what you have to do, but get it done and stop stressing so much," Larsen says. "So I did, and I felt better. I mean, the ad, the flyer, waiting around on the corner, what else could I do?”

Both (yes, he only got two!) responses he received were from the ad on Craigslist. The first came Monday afternoon, from a guy who claimed he’d lost about $400 on the way to the C train that morning. When Larsen asked him to be more specific — like giving him the exact amount — he got very specific about lots of things, like how he had just bought a pack of cigarettes and the design of his key chain — but failed to offer any proof he dropped the cash. The second respondent said he’d lost $310 in $20s (“except the last bill was a $10”) as he left a local bar at 5:30 Monday morning. Before Larsen could reply, the guy e-mailed him back saying he’d discovered his friend stole his money.

“That is a lesson in life to learn,” said the e-mail. “Especially when you’ve had too much to drink.”

More than 48 hours after the find, no one with a legit story has surfaced and Larsen says he’s thinking about what to do next.

“I really hope somebody does claim it, because I don’t want to have to make the decision about whether to keep it or not,” he says. “Being honest with myself, though, I think maybe I did what I did so that, in a month’s time, I could feel justified in keeping it. It’s not like I’m really that good.”

The Washington Post’s Dueling 9/11-Trial Op-eds, Condensed

Dan Amira — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Today the Washington Post runs two opposing op-eds on the topic of whether Eric Holder is making a wise decision in bringing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to New York to stand trial. In the interest of your precious time and energy, we've boiled the arguments of columnist Charles Krauthammer and former Bush administration Justice Department officials Jim Comey and Jack Goldsmith into their five most salient points. Memorize them for when the argument inevitably breaks out during Thanksgiving dinner!

Charles Krauthammer (not a fan of the decision):
• KSM has "been presented with the greatest propaganda platform imaginable."
• Holder's certainty that KSM will be convicted makes the trial a farce.
• A conviction was guaranteed in a military tribunal.
• The trial will be a security nightmare — both in terms of protecting the city and the exposure of intelligence secrets.
• It creates an incentive for killing Americans on American soil, by prosecuting such acts in a federal court, as opposed to a military tribunal.

Jim Comey and Jack Goldsmith (they like it):
• New York won't be any more of a target for terrorists than it already is.
• Unlike federal courts, military commissions are fraught with legal uncertainty.
• Federal courts were used to put away "dozens of terrorists," many for life, under the Bush administration.
• Defendants won't be able to make an argument about their legal rights being infringed upon.
• "The potential procedural advantages of military commission trials are relatively unimportant with obviously guilty defendants such as Mohammed."

Travesty in New York [WP]
Holder's reasonable decision [WP]