In other “vulgar displays of power” news, Sen. Arlen Specter will finally get his sit-down with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the NFL’s puzzling investigation into the Patriots Spygate controversy. Specter, who took full advantage of the Super Bowl media spectacle to publicly lob conspiracy theories, will meet with Goodell today in Washington, D.C., which should result in either conclusive answers, a messy judicial hearing, a prolonged investigation — or an Eagles Super Bowl victory by default.

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It’s official: CBS 3 has given alleged name-caller and cop-slugger Alycia Lane the boot. The Mighty Dan Gross has the early details.

Come back to the Daily Examiner tomorrow morning for wall-to-wall Alycia madness with A.J. Daulerio.

Former treacly rapper-cum-movie star Will Smith is infuriated by the way a comment he made about Hitler has been perceived in tabloid media, and now he’s coming out to defend himself. The quote, published in The Daily Record of Scotland, went something like this:

“Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘let me do the most evil thing I can do today’ … I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was good.”

Taken out of context, it’s a pretty dangerous quote. Some gossip websites and other mainstream outlets chose to hammer on it and, well, use headlines like “Smith: Hitler Was a Good Person.” Smith, incensed, embarrassed, and just not gonna play dat, bit back with this remark:

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Bald-headed microphone fiend Michael Smerconish emerged from his Murdered by Mumia plug-fest to finally address the Alycia Lane controversy in his Daily News column this morning. Smerconish writes that his personal website received quite an uptick in traffic over the weekend thanks to a harmless photo showing him and Lane together. Interesting. But Smerconish also goes on to write that he’s convinced some of the allegations from that fateful Manhattan morning are most likely true:

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Yesterday’s late-breaking Alycia Lane news might be the most startling yet: For some reason, Lane chose to call Governor Ed Rendell soon after she’d been released from prison in New York City. This latest report, on top of the alleged derogatory insults and police officer assault, paints a clearer picture about the real person — not the anchorperson — at the center of all of this unwanted, unnecessary attention.

The Rendell call, however innocent, was a mind-blowing display of tactlessness and hubris that’s almost beyond comprehension: Of course a popular local anchorwoman should ring up one of the most influential men in the state after a night in jail to “get her side of the story out” — who better? Does Ukee Washington have that kind of pull as well?

Based on how CBS 3 is not-so-discreetly erasing her from its promos and coverage thanks to the allegations, this bubble-headed breach of boundaries will probably be (or should be, rather) the reason she loses her job.

It was funny watching some of the 11 p.m. news coverage of Lane last night — NBC’s Tim Lake, in particular, could barely contain his shit-eating grin while reporting it. Then, at approximately 11:12, CBS 3’s Larry Mendte solemnly, soberly reported the news about the NYPD’s allegations and police report, almost chastising his co-anchor in the process: “Ah-lee-see-a,” he said in a fatherly, scolding tone, “allegedly also made a derogatory remark …” What else could he do?

Regardless of how this story shakes out — pre- or post-April 3rd court date — it’s probably a safe bet that Alycia Lane is in dire need of a professional makeover. It’s probably more accurate, however, to say that she needs a personal one as well.

Fast lane to guv [Daily News]
Rendell talks Alycia on 610 WIP [The Mighty Dan Gross]
Rage’ Anchor Dropped from Special [New York Post]

Use your best Larry Mendte voice and read this aloud:
 

CBS 3 anchor Alycia Lane is facing a preliminary felony charge of assaulting a police officer in New York City.
 
A police report indicates that Lane, holding a camera, approached a police officer involved in a dispute with a person traveling with her.
 
According to the report, when another officer tried to grab Lane’s arm in an effort to move the camera away, Alycia struck the officer and made a derogatory comment.
 
Alycia categorically denies she made any comment, or that she struck the officer.

But nobody can stop The Mighty Dan Gross from finding out the status of Alycia’s involvement in the Celebrate the Season holiday show scheduled to air on CBS 3 tomorrow at 7 p.m.: Apparently she’ll be edited out of the whole holly-jolly affair. No word on whether Rosie O’Donnell will be blue-screened in to emphasize CBS 3’s support of the gay community.

Alycia Lane Denies Comment, Striking Officer [CBS3]

That’s according to Smoking Gun editor Andrew Goldberg, who says the NYPD typically doesn’t release mugshots of individuals unless they’re on the lam or wanted for a heinous crime.

Right now, there isn’t enough space in the internet universe to keep up with all the reactions to Alycia Lane’s impassioned freak-out against some plainclothes police officers in Chelsea early Sunday morning.

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After a quiet month on the WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO OUR DEAN OF ADMISSIONS beat, the Daily Pennsylvanian once again employs hitman Anthony Campisi in an attempt to bully president Amy Gutmann into disclosing why former dean of admissions chair Lee Stetson abruptly retired earlier this fall.

In a piece published today, the paper asked members of the board of trustees, essentially, “Do you think President Amy Gutmann is required to tell you, good, well-meaning Trustee, what happened to our beloved dean of admissions, who may or may not be tangled in an unspeakable scandal that could shake this venerable university to its Ivy core?”

Most of the trustees responded, “Eh, not really.”

Trusty trustee Robert Gleason perhaps said it best: “As a trustee, I hold [Gutmann] responsible for the operation of the University day-to-day. I’m not even concerned about the reasons why anybody leaves.”

Translation: Beat it, punk.

However, the scrappy little Woodward-in-training bites back with his own source designed to undermine the lifeless quotes of the uncooperative trustees:

“When the situation turns into an intrigue like this … it would make sense if the president of the university would chat with the board and give some explanation of what happened,” said Outi Flynn of BoardSource, a consulting firm for nonprofits.

Faced! Sort of.

Sadly, the half-hearted scolding from Flynn did nothing to dislodge further trustee quotes. At least we know the staff at the DP is a determined lot, and will not stop until they unearth the truth. Or until Anthony Campisi graduates.

Pressure on Gutmann Absent After Resignation [Daily Pennsylvanian]

Days after his loss to incumbent City Council at-large member Jack Kelly was certified by the city’s Board of Elections, candidate David Oh isn’t backing off his voter fraud allegations or his criticism of an absentee ballot process he considers flawed — and he says he’ll continue to gather evidence to expose the people he thinks are behind the “shenanigans.”

“I’m actually OK with the fact that I lost the election — that is Philly politics,” Oh tells the Daily Examiner. “When I entered into this election, I knew I wasn’t going to get the kind of support that I needed to win because of the shenanigans involved in it, and quite frankly, we counted on shenanigans going on.”

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After their public condemnation of the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society on Tuesday morning’s Today show, the puppy-saving crew at Dogs in Danger is willing to make amends.

Brenda Bush, one of the website’s co-founders, contacted the Daily Examiner late last night to explain her position and dispute the claims of PAWS CEO Tara Derby, who was outraged by Bush’s singling out the shelter on national television for not participating. Derby told us on Tuesday that PAWS was willing to participate, but felt that some of the tactics used by DID were dishonest and manipulative. Derby’s biggest problem: the scheduled euthanasia date DID prominently displays for each animal. PAWS, says Derby, doesn’t assign kill dates to any of its dogs.

Bush, however, says that’s impossible: “We don’t buy the fact that there’s no methodology. We really want them to participate. We said we’d be willing to do what we can, but we can’t take away the euthanasia date. We’re hoping we can work something out because we want to get their dogs on the site. If they say our site doesn’t fit their way of doing business, well, we’re saying your system doesn’t work.”

Bush realizes her Today comments may have appeared scathing, but says that wasn’t the case.

“It wasn’t an attempt to make them look like bad guys, it was an attempt to motivate them to help the 20,000 dogs that are dying every year,” she says. “We gave them the technology and means to do that. If the real motivation is to save the dogs, why wouldn’t you do it?”

Meanwhile, Bush partner Alex Aliksanyan went ballistic in our comments section last night. Much to our unrepentant chagrin, well, we have no idea what the hell he’s talking about in most of it. But we sincerely hope Dogs in Danger and the good people at PAWS can come to some sort of peaceful resolution and not resort to badmouthing each other. Leave that job to us.

PAWS to Crackpot Dead Puppy Countdown Site: You’re Full of Crap [Daily Examiner]
Local Animal Shelter Barks Back at Expiration Web Site [NBC 10]
Dogs in Danger [Home]