Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"The Journal tallied the Clintons’ speaking fees, fundraising for their foundation and the sums raised for Bill Clinton’s two presidential campaigns, for the Democratic National Committee while he was in office and for Hillary Clinton’s Senate and presidential campaigns. Between $1.3 and $2 billion came from U.S. companies and industry sources, making up at least 75 percent of the sum — more than the 60 percent industry sources contributed to the two Bushes’ political operations. The Journal reports that if Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, as expected, she could return such donors to the Democratic Party, a source of concern for Republican fundraisers as they gear up for what’s expected to be the most expensive presidential election in history. Overall, the Clintons’ political operations raised $1.2 billion, their nonprofit drew between $750 million and $1.7 billion and they made about $100 million in speaking fees. Hillary Clinton’s financial ties to Wall Street have brought her criticism from some progressives, who worry she’ll be too soft on the financial sector if elected. According to The Journal’s analysis, financial-services firms made up about 12 percent of the total raised by the Clintons — nearly as much as the 13 percent they contributed to former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. Like Romney in 2012, Hillary Clinton has come under fire for her wealth in recent weeks, after initially commenting that the Clintons were 'dead broke' when they left the White House, and struggled to find a way to pay for mortgages on their multiple homes." (TheHill)





"This term, the Roberts Court gave America a glimmer of bipartisan unanimity, an example of how members of one branch of the federal government can, at least some of time, set aside their ideological agendas for the good of the country.The term ended, of course, with two high profile 5–4 decisions split along familiar ideological lines, involving the religious liberty rights of corporations and the rights of unions. And throughout the year, there were other 5–4 splits on campaign finance and school prayer. But overall, only 14 percent of the cases involved 5–4 decisions—the lowest percentage since Chief Justice Roberts took the helm of the court in 2005. And 65 percent of the cases this term were unanimous—the highest such percentage since the 1940s. These unanimous cases included a landmark decision translating the Fourth Amendment into a digital age and recognizing that the police can’t search our cellphones on arrest without a warrant. In that 9–0 case, Riley v. California, Chief Justice Roberts inspiringly compared blanket surveillance to the general warrants that sparked the American Revolution. Other unanimous cases involved presidential recess appointments and the First Amendment rights of abortion protesters. This unanimity is a tribute to Chief Justice Roberts, who came to the court pledging to try to persuade his colleagues to converge around narrow unanimous opinions, and to set aside their ideological agendas in the interests of preserving the court’s bipartisan legitimacy." (Politico)


"Two female former Goldman employees are seeking class status for a gender discrimination lawsuit against the bank, alleging that during their time at the bank, they experienced systematic mistreatment including lower pay and slower promotions than their male counterparts, meetings at strip clubs, and not being invited to golf outings with their colleagues. (Sound familiar? Probably. Almost every major bank has been sued for gender discrimination at some point.) Overall, they say, Goldman's culture created a 'boys' club atmosphere" and 'an uncorrected culture of sexual harassment and assault' that put women at a disadvantage. The women, Cristina Chen-Oster and Shanna Orlich, are seeking to expand their suit, first filed in 2010, to include at least 1,762 female associates and vice-presidents at the firm since 2002. Goldman, clearly, doesn't agree with their allegations. 'This is a normal and anticipated procedural step for any proposed class action lawsuit and does not change the case’s lack of merit,' Goldman spokesman David Wells said in a statement. Much of what's in the latest lawsuit will sound depressingly familiar to people who have followed earlier Wall Street gender discrimination claims – outings to strip clubs, push-up contests on the trading floor, a comment from a male manager that 'I have to compensate the men better. They are heads of households.' The women allege that Goldman pays female associates 8 percent less than male associates, and that the promotion process is 'invalid' and 'opaque,' according to The Wall Street Journal. Most serious, Chen-Oster claims that she was sexually assaulted by a male colleague at a 1997 work outing and discouraged from reporting it to higher-ups.  Unlike many lawsuits brought by former bank employees, this latest suit includes a woman currently employed by Goldman: Allison Gamba, a veteran trader who claimed that Goldman 'has discriminated against me in the way it evaluated my performance' and 'has denied me compensation that it has provided instead to similarly-situated men,' according to BuzzFeed. Bloomberg Businessweek says the Goldman allegations 'almost have a banal feel to them.'" (NYMag)





"Truman Capote’s inner circle of top socialites and style icons — dubbed his 'swans' — included the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ sister Lee Radziwill, Vogue editor Babe Paley, Italian aristocrat Marella Agnelli, Gloria Guinness, original 'California Girl' Slim Keith and C.Z. Guest. For its August issue, Town & Country has compiled a list of '50 modern swans,' which will no doubt spark debate as the list is peppered with as many 'celebrity' DJs, fashion bloggers, models and children of stars and rockers as upper-crust types. Making the cut of modern debutantes, who according to the magazine are 'likely more interested in mastering warrior pose during Christmas in Tulum than in learning how to waltz,' are Man Repeller blogger Leandra Medine, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter Tallulah, Zoë Kravitz, Lily Aldridge, Cara and Poppy Delevingne, Mick Jagger’s daughters Georgia and Lizzy, Sting and Trudie Styler’s daughter Coco Sumner, Amber Le Bon and Town & Country’s special projects editor Amanda Hearst." (P6)





"James Fairchild, who’s embroiled in a nasty divorce with his estranged wife, Whitney St. John, is facing more legal woes. The former Ralph Lauren VP and his ex-girlfriend Dr. Christine Borelli are being sued by their Sag Harbor landlord. Papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court say Fairchild and Borelli are more than three months behind on rent for the $80,000-a-year pad, The Post’s Julia Marsh reports.The couple shared the $2.5 million, 8,000-square-foot estate, but a rep for Fairchild said he and Borelli have split — which may explain the suit. They rented the home in April 2013 under a one-year lease and then extended the terms through March 2015. But the landlord hasn’t received a dime since April of this year, according to court papers." (P6)

Jackie and Rod Drake.

"Yesterday afternoon in the Episcopal Chapel at the General Theological Seminary on 440 West 21st Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, about 300 New Yorkers and family attended and grieved, at a Memorial Service for Rodman Drake who passed away on Monday night a week ago (June 23rd). Rod was 71, a member of the financial community, father, animal lover and the husband of Jacqueline Weld Drake, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this past January. He was a very very well liked man, a kind man who liked people and  who made friends and kept them. He will be missed by many." (NYSD)













"I went to a benefit party in the Hamptons over last weekend — yes, they have them there, too, just like everywhere. The very wealthy Fred and Robin Seegal turned their Georgica Pond mansion into a venue for money-raising for Dr. Mitch Rosenthal's Phoenix House, which does such great work for the addicted. (They could illuminate you on the latest 'date drug' called Molly which is very dangerous indeed.) Movie director Joel Schumacher was 'honored' though he couldn't see anything to do with getting off drugs as "honoring" but I notice his pal, the generous financier — philosopher Pete Peterson gave over a third of all the money raised by a lot of folks who want to stand near the water at night where they drink, eat and look over the accumulated wives in their high, high heels and sleeveless clothes. (The colder the fashionable woman is at night near the ocean, the better.)It's not like those years when we huddled at the beach in sweaters and blankets before a roaring fire and told ghost stories. Nevertheless, I had a good time and saw a lot of nice people I used to know." (NYSD)