Hannity Bashes Ostroy Over ABCNEWS.com Gore Story. Will "The Hannitizer" Accept "The Sanitizer's" Challenge to an On-Air Debate?

Needless to say, I was surprised when a friend informed me Tuesday that I was the subject of a Sean Hannity tirade on the conservative talk-show host's radio program. I have not yet been able to get a recording of the show (if anyone has any ideas as to how to get the 2/27 show please contact me), but apparently he was berating me over the Al Gore Will Not Only Run, But He Can and Will Win opinion piece I wrote for ABCNEWS.com. The self-anointed "Hannitizer" took issue not just with my predictions about Gore in the '08 presidential election, but with me personally (personal attacks seem to be a Hannitizer specialty). In his rant, I was told Hannity was asking something like "Who is this guy, Ostroy, anyway," followed by a nearly 10-minute dissection of my Gore story, refuting it point by point. And how do I feel about all this? Well, I guess having been politically disemboweled by Sean Hannity means I've been somewhat lifted out of my relative obscurity. Pissing off Hannity feels, well, damned good.

Not one to take a bitch-slapping lying down, I contacted Hannity's producer Jennie Lubart on Wednesday to suggest an on-air interview so that, rather than whip me in absentia, Sean could confront me mano-a-mano...that is of course if he has the cajones to engage in debate with someone who (a) isn't drunk on GOP Kool-aid, and (b) won't be blown over like a feather like his TV show co-host Alan Colmes. We can even bill this event as "The Hannitizer vs. "The Sanitizer," because I vow to clean him good of all that irresponsible rhetoric in his daily spin cycle. My guess is that the patriotic, right-wing, flag-wavin' tough guy will run scared from truth and logic, choosing instead to spew the vitriol towards me and others while unchallenged from his safe studio perch. When I spoke with Lubar she said an interview "could be interesting" and that she'd have to "speak with her senior producer" about it. Haven't heard back yet, and suspect I won't. Engaging the opposition in a civil discourse is not Hannity's typical M.O.

Well, how about it Sean? The Hannitizer vs. The Sanitizer. Can ya handle it? Are ya up to the challenge? Let's see what you're made of. Come on and surprise us....


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing film school scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

The Hillary/Obama Slugfest: It's Gore's Master Plan

As I've been saying for over two years now, Al Gore will run for president in 2008. And also as I've been saying for some time, he's waiting patiently on the sidelines for the two front-runners--Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--to slug it out. When it gets ugly enough, he'll leap over the carnage to the front of the line. And make no mistake: these two opportunists are getting as ugly on each other as white on rice. For Clinton and Obama, the stakes are tremendous. One wants to be the nation's first black president, the other its first female. Hillary comes from the Clinton school of highly aggressive, highly calculating, political mastery. Obama's the smooth "stay-above-the-fray" guy who's already shown that he can fray it with the best of 'em. And Gore's the guy who's kickin' back and waiting for the girl and boy-wonder to deflate each other's heretofore colossal hype.

Last week David Geffen got the flying fur off to an early start when he made sweet L.A. music with Obama, helping the junior Senator and presidential hopeful rake in a cool $1.3-Beverly Hills million from his rich and powerful friends on the Left Coast. This is the same Geffen whose nose used to be so far up Bill Clinton's butt that he could see Hope, AR. Adding insult to injury, the music mogul told NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd that Hillary was unelectable and questioned both Clintons' ethics and trustworthiness: "Everyone in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."

Enter The War Room. Clinton's chief spokesman, Howard Wolfson, aggressively responded by demanding that Obama disavow attacks from Geffen and return his money if Obama is "indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics." This brought a terse, sarcastic reply from Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs: "We aren't going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when he was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom."

Meow! And it's only February '07, for Pete's Sake. By Summer, Gore will likely be stepping over the bodies to claim his rightful frontrunner status. And what's that you say...you need even another reason it's clear Gore will be tossing his hat into this three-ring circus? Check out the new and improved slimmer Goracle at Sunday's Oscars. Now if that isn't proof he's running.....


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. And we're already underway: We've just made plans with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts to provide an annual Adrienne Shelly Foundation Scholarship; and at Columbia University's graduate school an Adrienne Shelly Foundation Grant to an end-of-year student film competition finalist. Other initiatives will soon be finalized as well. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Can This War-Mongering Maniac President Really Be Planning Military Action Against Iran?

The supplying of weapons. The state-sponsoring of terrorists. The threat to America. Sound familiar? It ought to. It's President Bush waving the red flag again, only this time it's not about Iraq (which he was 100% wrong about) but Iran. And why not. The rhetoric is easy to regurgitate. And all he needs to do is change one little old letter and he's got a whole new target.

Yes, the man who brought us the worst foreign policy fiasco in U.S. history is up to his old tricks again. Almost four years and 3000 dead soldiers later, this delusional, lying sack of political poop has determined that Iran is the new Iraq. That we face a grave new threat from the mullahs who he claims are arming the Iraqis with sophisticated weapons used, for example, in roadside bombings that kill our soldiers. This irresponsible lunatic is the master of diversion. Failing miserably in Iraq (itself a diversion from his failure to bring Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 monsters to justice), he's setting his sights on Iran and trying to convince a once-stupid, once pro-war public that they should once again support his dangerous, reckless pseudo-macho battle fantasies. But who in their right mind is going to accept as truth anything this arrogant, irresponsible fool has to say at this dreadfully pathetic low point in his historically unsuccessful presidency? But that sure as hell ain't stopping him from trying. Give him points for stubbornness.

Speaking to (or should I say ducking and evading) reporters in the East Room of the White House Wednesday, Bush warned of the Iranian threat. "I can say with certainty that the Quds Force, a part of the Iranian government, has provided these sophisticated I.E.D.’s that have harmed our troops. And I’d like to repeat, I do not know whether or not the Quds Force was ordered from the top echelons of the government. But my point is, what’s worse, them ordering it and it happening, or them not ordering it and its happening?" He said it didn't matter whether Iraqi leaders were involved or not. "What matters is, is that we’re responding," and that if the U.S. determined who is responsible for "moving these devices into Iraq, we will deal with them." He added, "Whether Ahmadinejad (Iran's president) ordered the Quds force to do this, I don't think we know. But we do know that they're there, and I intend to do something about it."

So just what exactly is Bush planning to do? The great "uniter" refuses to meet with Iran's leaders, just as he's refused to engage any enemy in meaningful diplomatic dialogue. What a leader: miserable at diplomacy, awful as commander-in-chief. Sadly, I think I'd make for a better president. And he's very bad at lying too. If he thinks that any of us in the sane world don't see this new round of incendiary rhetoric as laying the groundwork for another war, then he's even more delusional than I suspect.

The real question is, how do we stop this dangerous nitwit before he kills again? Will Congress, the U.N. and the American public lay down again as the Busheviks, those natural born killaz, drag us down another deadly path? Stay tuned...


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. And we're already underway: We've just made plans with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts to provide an annual Adrienne Shelly Foundation Scholarship; and at Columbia University's graduate school an Adrienne Shelly Foundation Grant to an end-of-year student film competition finalist. Other initiatives will soon be finalized as well. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Grammy's to Bush and Rednecks Everywhere: Drop Dead

To quote Don Henley Sunday night as he announced another award for the Dixie Chicks, "Yeah!" Good for the girls! The Chicks, with their five-Grammy-winning album "Taking the Long Way," fired back a big fuck you to the Bush administration and bigots everywhere who vilified the group after lead singer Natalie Maines' harsh Iraq war criticism of President Bush back in March 2003. Maines had told audiences that "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." Well, back in 2003, some people actually still liked Bush, and called for boycotts and the ladies' heads. Funny what effect a few years has on the national pulse.

The Dixie Chicks--Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison--took the Grammy in all five categories they were up for: record, song and album of the year; best country album; and best country performance by a group or duo.

The group's members were obviously quite moved by their tremendous vindication. "I think people are using their freedom of speech here tonight with all of these awards," Maines said. "We get the message. There's a lot of awesome music this year and fantastic performances. I'm very humbled. I think people were using their voice the same way this loudmouth did."

Robison acknowledged the stress the controversy placed on her family: "I think they're the ones who probably had it the hardest there for the last three years. I just wanted to recognize that we know what you went through."

Maguire said, ..."I think our core fans have always stayed true to us, and I want to thank them for staying with us. And we wouldn't have done this album without everything we went through, so we have no regrets."

Accepting their final award of the night, Maines thanked bandmates Robison and Martie Maguire for their support: "For the first time in my life, I'm speechless. Thank you Martie and Emily, for stickin' by me. I told you I'd take you to the Grammys. Stick with me. Thank you everyone. We are very, very appreciative and honored."

Success is the sweetest revenge. Here's to not just Maines' incredible artistic achievements, but her political prescience as well.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing film school scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

"Run, Al, Run." Here's Another Notable Case For Al Gore Running and Winning

In his February 8th Rolling Stone piece called "Run, Al, Run," Tim Dickinson begins with the following:

"A stiff vice president campaigns on his administration's legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in the race, he re-enters the fray. Promises to change the course of a disastrous war founded on lies. And charges to victory. I'm referring, of course, to the 1968 campaign of Richard Milhous Nixon. But four decades later, history has a chance to repeat itself for Albert Arnold Gore.

"If the Democrats were going to sit down and construct the perfect candidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to improve on Gore. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has no controversial vote on Iraq to defend. Unlike Barack Obama and John Edwards, he has extensive experience in both the Senate and the White House. He has put aside his wooden, policy-wonk demeanor to emerge as the Bush administration's most eloquent critic. And thanks to "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore is not only the most impassioned leader on the most urgent crisis facing the planet, he's also a Hollywood celebrity, the star of the third-highest-grossing documentary of all time."

Dickinson is dead on. As I've said for over two years now, Al Gore is the Democrats' best hope for regaining the White House in 2008. The will he or won't he charade has gone on too long, and Dickinson essentially predicts that The Goracle will soon toss his hat into the ring, and he cites several of the nation's leading political pundits to back up his contention:

"He's running in a nontraditional way, which has been powerful," says Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic consultant. "It has made him look much more interesting than if he had just been the former vice president sitting out there and thinking about a run...If Howard Dean could raise $59 million on the Internet, the mind boggles as to what Al Gore might do."

"Gore may have more money than anybody within days of entering the race," said
Joe Trippi, Dean's 2004 campaign manager, who believes Gore could raise $200 million or more on the 'net.

"There are millions of people who call themselves environmental activists, but until now, no one has ever been able to make the environment a voting issue," says GOP strategist Frank Luntz. "Gore took the environment from deep inside the newspaper and put it on the front page for the first time. He would be able to say to people, 'If you really care about global warming, you have to vote for me.'"

"Gore seems committed to being a late candidate," says Bill Clinton's former strategist Dick Morris. "He's not going to be out front as a playmaker. He's going to wait and see if there's room for him."

"Jumping in too early is a huge mistake for him," says Tony Coelho, who chaired Gore's 2000 campaign. "If the party wants to have Hillary, there's nothing Gore can do or say to stop it. But Barack Obama could be a godsend for Gore. Obama makes Hillary look like just another politician, as opposed to a fresh woman's face. He could slow her up, and John Edwards can create further doubts."

And the Hillary, Edwards, Obama slugfest could be a big boon to Gore, according to David Gergen, who's former bosses include Nixon, Reagan and Clinton. "If the three of them fight each other to a bloody draw, nobody emerges as the cherished front-runner. Then you to turn to Al Gore as someone who is not scarred up by the battle. He would look very formidable.....If Gore secures the nomination, his chances of victory would be strong."

The push for Gore is becoming louder and stronger. Clearly, the top strategists are really starting to stir, and the pressure on Gore--from a timing perspective--is intensifying. Make no mistake: Al Gore saying he's not running is not Al Gore not running. He will run. And he will likely win. As Dickinson writes, "he would also have history on his side: Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, both of whom won the popular vote but lost the presidency, reached the White House on their next tries." And let's not forget Nixon, the other Comeback Kid. That Gore is now a Nobel Peace Prize nominee only makes him even more attractive.

2008 presents Al Gore with truly the best opportunity in his political career to capture his life-long dream of becoming president. Don't think for even one second that he will not seize the day. He's just playing it smart.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing film school scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.