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The largesse has transformed Thiel, an early Facebook investor and PayPal co-founder, into an outsize figure in the fight for control of the 50-50 Senate, providing fuel to two longtime associates who embrace his populist-conservative views. Top Republicans have expressed astonishment at the size of the donations and say theyve turned Vance and Masters whove never before run for elected office and will have to overcome primary rivals with far longer political resumes into formidable contenders in the blink of an eye.

A lot of people didnt know if they should take Blake [Masters] seriously as a candidate before the money came in, and when the money was announced Blake became a serious prospective candidate, said Kirk Adams, a former Arizona state House speaker. Before folks didnt really have any metric to judge his prospective candidacy, but now they do. Ten million dollars is a pretty damn good metric.

Thiel declined an interview request. His donations are by far his largest in two decades of giving to Republican candidates a partial reflection, friends say, of his intensifying interest in politics.

The tech investors profile in donor circles grew during the 2016 election, when he contributed around $1.5 million to pro-Trump outfits and spoke at the Republican National Convention. The 53-year-old, German-born Thiel would become an influential figure in Trumps orbit. He served on Trumps transition team and saw several of his aides become senior figures in the administration. He maintains a close relationship with Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner; the two both have homes in the Miami area.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump shakes the hand of Peter Thiel during a meeting with technology executives at Trump Tower on Dec. 14, 2016. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

But Thiels latest contributions stem not only from his growing political involvement but from his closeness with Vance and Masters. Vance became acquainted with Thiel when he was at Yale Law School and then went to work for Thiel in Silicon Valley; Thiel later became an investor in Vances venture capital firm. Masters, meanwhile, was a student of Thiels at Stanford University and eventually became chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and president of the Thiel Foundation. He maintains a website in which hes posted detailed notes from Thiels class at Stanford.

Vance and Masters appear to closely embrace Thiels ideological beliefs, including his distrust of globalization one of the issues that drew Thiel to Trump.

Vance, who authored "Hillbilly Elegy," a bestselling memoir about growing up in working-class Ohio, laid out his views during a July 2019 speech lamenting the shifting of jobs overseas. Last year, he published an essay titled End the Globalization Gravy Train.

Masters, meanwhile, co-authored with Thiel the 2014 book Zero to One, in which they portrayed globalization as the enemy of innovation.

Thiels support for 2022 candidates is expected to go beyond Vance and Masters, those familiar with his plans say. The list includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising star in Republican politics up for reelection next year, with whom Thiel has met privately.

Thiel is also looking at donating to an assortment of House candidates, including Army veteran Joe Kent, who is waging a challenge to GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Trump impeachment backer, in Washington state's all-party primary next year. Earlier this year, Thiel contributed to Brian Harrison, a former Trump administration official who ran unsuccessfully in a Texas congressional special election.

Over the years, he has supported an array of libertarian-leaning politicians, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash.

But Thiel has never made political donations at this scale before and not all of his political bets have paid off. In 2018, he backed the gubernatorial campaign of Kansas Republican Kris Kobach, an immigration hardliner who defeated the sitting Republican governor in the primary before losing the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly. Two years later, he spent more than $2 million in support of Kobachs failed Senate campaign, which ended with a loss to an establishment-backed candidate in the Republican primary.

Thiels giving drew scrutiny in 2017, when he donated to then-Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawleys Senate campaign. The contribution landed just days before Hawley launched an antitrust investigation into Google, a company Thiel has criticized as monopolistic.

Within Republican circles, Thiel is seen as an unconventional donor. Unlike other major givers, he lacks a singular political adviser or gatekeeper for candidates looking to court him. The billionaire has operated mostly independently of those in the tight-knit world of Republican operatives, though he counts the incendiary conservative commentator Ann Coulter, with whom Thiel co-hosted a 2019 fundraiser for Kobach, as a friend.

Peter Thiel and Ann Coulter pictured in April 2019. | Theo Wargo/Getty Images

While some other Republican contributors, such as those in the Koch political network, have used their money to invest in building party infrastructure, Thiel has so far refrained from doing so. And unlike other donors who delve into the minutiae of how candidates they invest in build their campaign teams, Thiel has taken a largely hands-off approach with Vance and Masters, those familiar with the discussions say.

Thiel, who according to Forbes is worth more than $4 billion, made his first splash in conservative politics in 2009, when he penned an essay in outlining libertarian views that sharply diverged from the liberal bent of Silicon Valley. His attraction to Trump, friends say, partly stemmed from their shared distaste of the media. After the gossip blog Gawker in 2007 wrote that Thiel was gay, Thiel retaliated by secretly financing wrestler Hulk Hogans lawsuit against the website over its posting of a Hogan sex tape. The suit, which resulted in millions of dollars in damages being awarded to Hogan, forced Gawker out of business.

Republicans in Ohio and Arizona say Thiels money by itself wont be enough for either Vance or Masters to win the GOP nomination. Vance is squaring off against a handful of wealthy candidates with the ability to pour millions of dollars into their own campaigns, which would offset Thiels funding.

Masters will need to get by Jim Lamon, a deep-pocketed energy executive who could self-finance his campaign, and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a potential candidate who would benefit from widespread familiarity among voters.

There are also limitations as to how far Thiels money can go, given that super PACs must pay higher rates for TV advertising than a candidates official campaign. Both states include expensive media markets, making it necessary for Vance and Masters to build formidable war chests on their own, say Republican strategists in Arizona and Ohio.

Its unclear whether Thiels $10 million donations are a one-time investment or if more money is on the way.

Unless youre Stephen King with successful movies, bestselling authors are not household names, Doug Preisse, the chair emeritus of the Franklin County, Ohio, Republican Party said of Vance. Its a super start, but hell need every bit of that and more in a race with a number of other well-connected self-funders.

Read more:
Rise of a megadonor: Thiel makes a play for the Senate - POLITICO

Frank Denton| Florida Times-Union

You probably think your opinions are your very own and superior to everyone elses, of course so you may not realize how much Mike Clark helped shape them.

Sure, you roll your eyes and rant and rave about your newspapers editorials and other opinions on these pages, and thats exactly what Mike intended in the 15 years he was the Times-Union editorial page editor until he retired in December.

The goal of editorials is not so much to convince you of one truth but rather to stimulate you to think about the issues and form your own opinions, and ideally to act on them with your behavior, your attitude, your money or your vote.

Communications experts have long understood that opinion journalism does not tell you what to think; it suggests what you think about and arms you with facts to interpret on your own. An editorial endorsement of a political candidate wont change your personal belief system, but it might well legitimize a candidate you hadnt taken seriously.

Fortunately, wielding such influence, Mike was the complete professional, built over almost a half century in journalism. After some years as a reporter, he was the Times-Unions reader advocate for 15 years, actively and assertively representing the readers in their interactions with the newspaper. Then he was editorial page editor those last 15 years.

As we admirers said in announcing a tribute to him: Eschewing any political extreme or special interest, he favored optimism over pessimism, civility over attack, fairness over foulness, good news as well as bad and, as in his earlier years, always the interests of the ordinary person on the street.

Mike didnt believe in sitting aloof in the media castle and tossing elite opinions out to the masses. As a way of adding diversity to the editorial board of staff and executives, he started the practice of adding rotating citizen board members and listening to them. Over the years, about 75 people served.

I remember one such member, a very conservative woman who had always lived in a small echo chamber of like-minded people, complaining after a few meetings that she had never before heard people talk as we did, with opinions and ideas ranging across a wide spectrum of experiences and beliefs.

Mike also conceived the E-mail Interactive Group comprised of as many as 4,000 loyal and diverse readers on whom we could call anytime to add their opinions on a specific issue or topic.

As editor of the Times-Union, I was Mikes boss for 10 years. Or I thought I was; Mike pretty much ran the editorial page on his own. Early on, I asked him whether we shouldnt diversify the pages daily Bible verse by rotating it with other faiths. Well … the Bible verse is still there.

And when I told him I believed we could represent a conservative viewpoint with a more thoughtful, substantial syndicated columnist than Ann Coulter, whom I considered lazy, shallow and mean-spirited, he said a sizable portion of readers would disagree strongly. Coulter stayed.

It wasnt a political judgment. After 10 years of working with him and hundreds of editorial board meetings, Im not sure I can categorize him politically. We used to tell our owners that we wanted the T-Us editorial positions to be generally center right, so maybe that comes closest to Mike.

I asked Mike what his toughest stance was, and he pointed to the multi-month investigation of the City Council ignoring the Sunshine Law. They all denied wrongdoing and it took examining the calendars of all 19 of them. A grand jury chastised the council and commended the T-U for its work.

When Mike retired, the current City Council thanked him for making the T-U a truer voice reflective of the full diversity of people and ideas that populate our city, and his calm and friendly demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge of local affairs will be greatly missed. … His contributions to civic discourse in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida have been monumental and will be long and gratefully remembered.

Mikes biggest regret was outside his control: the directive by the T-Us then owner to endorse Donald Trump in 2016. Knowing readers already had made up their minds, he would not have made any endorsement, as the paper did in 2008 for Obama-McCain.

On the positive side, where Mike always tried to be, I am proudest of comforting the afflicted, for those who lost babies before the first birthday, for victims of mental illness and suicide, for bringing Black history to light as Jacksonville history, for hiring four women and a Black male, for supporting the HRO, for writing about climate change before it was cool, for pushing smart justice reforms, for fighting blight in needy neighborhood.

So whether you know it or not, Mikes retirement in December has left a void in your and our communitys life, and now we owe him the cheer he always provided for worthy others on the Opinion page every Monday.

On April 1, 6-7 p.m., his admirers will hold a virtual celebration of Mike and his career. The event will be a benefit for the First Amendment Foundation, which shares and advances Mikes commitment to open government via Floridas open-government laws, continually under attack across the state and annually in the Legislature. Please join us. You may register at http://www.floridafaf.org.

Frank Denton is the retired editor of The Florida Times-Union and a member of the board of the First Amendment Foundation.

Read more here:
Guest column: Cheers to Mike Clark for a career focused on the positive side - The Florida Times-Union

BILL Maher's ghosts of girlfriends past includes models, CEO's, journalists, and more.

Maher plays up his distaste for monogamy but the man has an extensive dating history.

2

Maher has said before that he does not plan on getting married.

His website says: I'm the last of my guy friends to have never gotten married, and their wives they don't want them playing with me. I'm like the escaped slave I bring news of freedom.

In 2020, Maher made an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, where spoke candidly about his reason for not marrying.

He explained that he never understood how anyone could be with the same person day after day and is not a fan of monogamy.

He elaborated that he valued his "me time" saying: "I like all my time. I like to decide what to do with all MY time."

However, Maher has an extensive list of ex-girlfriends and has been in a relationship for almost a decade.

2

Maher has had a boisterous dating life with a range of different women from models to CEOs.

Throughout the 90s he was tied to women including: Tracy Richman, Adrienne Barbeau, Heather Hunter, Amber Lee Smith, Arianna Huffington, Karin Taylor, Brook Lee, Vanessa Kay, Aiko Tanaka, Bai Ling, Kaya Jones, Rochelle Loewen, Thora Birch, and Ann Coulter.

In 2003, Maher dated Playboy model Coco Johnsen for 17 months.

Their relationship was short-lived but their breakup made headlines when Johnsen sued Maher for $9 million claiming he caused her pain and suffering, with degrading racial comments and humiliation.

In her suit, she alleged that Maher had promised to marry her and support her financially, convincing her to quit her job as a flight attendant and model.

His lawyers defended him saying that he is a confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that who never promised to marry."

Maher maintains his denial of her claims saying that Johnsen tried to extort him for money when their relationship ended.

Then in 2005, he began dating Karrine Steffans, a best-selling author and hip-hop model.

He seemed serious about the relationship, and when Steffans commented on all the men she has been with in bed, she said that nobody compared to Maher.

From 2009 to 2011, Maher dated Cara Santa Maria, a science communicator, journalist, television host, and podcaster who hostsSkeptics' Guide to the Universe.

Santa Maria and Maher both confirmed to the press that their split was mutual and they "continue to be friends and work together."

Since 2014, Maher has dated singer Canadian signer, Anjulie Persaud.

Anjulie and Maher have been dating for seven years.

The Indo-Guyanese 37-year-old has released one self-titled album in 2009.

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She has since collaborated with major names such as Diplo, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj, and Benny Benassi.

She has been nominated for several awards throughout her career and won the 'Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year' for the song 'You and I' in 2013.

She's also done work with Maher producing the theme song for his show Real Time with Bill Maher.

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Does Bill Maher have a wife?... - The Sun

Photo/Video: Bill Maher/Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel

Bill Maher is a late-night host extraordinaire. He has been on the air for almost 30 years now and he shows no signs of stopping. Maher is a leader in the movement against political correctness and towards free speech but he still holds the views of someone on the left.

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#1- He was born and raised on the East Coast.

Maher is known for being the poster child for California nowadays, with his constant promotion of a certain green leaf. But he grew up on the other side of the US.

#2- His mom is of Jewish heritage.

A young Maher was unaware that his moms family was Jewish until he was a teenager.

#3- His dad worked for NBC News.

This might explain how Bill gained an interest in politics and current events. His dad was a news editor for NBC and current events were often discussed among the family.

#4- He grew up Catholic.

Currently, the only deity Maher prays to is whatever Greek God is in charge of marijuana production. His father was Catholic and Bill was raised in a Christian household until he turned 13 and his family split with the church over their anti-birth control views.

#5- At one point in his younger years, he worked at Arthur Treachers.

One of Mahers first professional experiences was working at the fish and chips chain stocking shelves.

#6- Huge surprise, he sold weed in college.

Maher credits his pot-dealing for earning him enough money to pay his way through college and start off a career in comedy. The life lesson here: kush makes dreams come true.

#7- He started doing stand-up in college.

Like all the greats, Maher performed his first stand-up gig at a Chinese restaurant off Route 17 while attending Cornell.

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#8- Maybe his mom and dad had expected something a bit more practical as a career choice.

A young Bill graduated from an Ivy League school in 1978. His parents were probably not expecting their Cornell-educated son to go into a profession in which at the beginning of your career, you earn no more than $30 a night, and if you do a really good job, maybe a free Arbys coupon.

#9- His first film role was in 1983 in the movie DC Cab.

The movie is about a bunch of wise-cracking cab drivers in DC. Mahers character was named Baba.

#10- He guest-starred on Roseanne.

He played Bob in the season 5 episode, 20 Years Ago Today.

#11- Dammit Bill!

Maher supported Ralph Nader in the 2000 election. Trying not to get too mad at him, but if more liberals had supported Gore in that election instead of going for a third party, we wouldnt have gotten President Bush, and a sequence of events that led to the US electing its first orange president might not have happened.

#12- He loves dogs.

As any good human should, Maher has an intense passion for mans best friend. He currently owns two dogs which he proudly featured on Real Timewhen the show was filming at his home.

#13- Hes a minority owner of the Mets.

There are two things all non-baseball fans know about the sport: Babe Ruth was a thing and the Mets suck at baseball. But apparently, Maher has faith in the team because he is a minority owner of the Mets.

#14- In 2002, he earned the LA Press Clubs highest honor.

Mahers show Politically Incorrect was canceled in 2002 because he was being politically incorrect on the show. Just days after the show wrapped, Maher was awarded the Presidents Award from the LA Press Club for championing free speech.

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Click here to read more on Hollywood Insiders vision, values and mission statement here Media has the responsibility to better our world Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy.

#15- He wants to make sure audiences know his shows are not safe spaces from the get-go.

Politically Incorrect as a title made it pretty clear Maher didnt care if you were offended by his show. He wanted to carry on the tradition of titles that warned snowflakes not to approach with his next show. Unfortunately, HBO rejected the title he proposed, The Truth Hurts.

#16- Its good Real Time is on HBO.

Thanks to airing on a premium network, Bill can speak on his show uncensored and be as politically incorrect as he wants.

#17- Hes friends with Ann Coulter?

Most people on the left view Coulter as the symbol of evil conservatism. But she cant be that bad if shes friends with Maher. There have been rumors that the two media personalities dated, but Maher quickly shut them down.

#18- He apparently used to have a thing for supporting the losers of presidential elections.

Of course, well give him credit for siding with every sane American and supporting Biden. But, not only did Maher support Nader but he also openly supported John Kerry in 2004.

#19- He describes himself as a libertarian.

Maher says I want a mean old man to watch my money. Maybe in a different world where the parties swapped views on weed and the Republicans would leave a 64-year-old lady killer in peace, he might be a Republican.

#20- He has a star on the Walk of Fame.

He is the 2,417th person to be awarded this honor. If you want to go looking for his star, its in front of 1634 Vine Street in Hollywood.

#21- Were still waiting, Bill Clinton.

Ten years ago, Bill Clinton promised hed make an appearance on Mahers show. It still hasnt happened.

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#22- He dedicates time to making the world a better place.

Maher is the type of guy who firmly believes the saying facts dont care about your feelings. This is why hes a board member of Project Reason, a foundation that exists for the purpose of spreading scientific knowledge. I sincerely hope foundation members dont go door to door saying, Id like to talk to you about our lord and savior, the periodic table. He also is involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

#23- Hes a busy guy.

Maher hosts his own show on HBO and does volunteer work. You think the guy would want some free time alone with his bong, but he also performs roughly 50 stand-up shows a year.

#24- He made a cameo as himself in Iron Man 3.

Unfortunately, only a small snippet of the MCUs version of Real Timemade it into the movie. But it makes you wonder, does Maher have a superpowered alter-ego?

#25- Hes buff.

He keeps up with a daily exercise regimen and keeps his diet in check.

#26- He never misses a day of work.

Maher has been there for every episode taping of both of his shows: Politically Incorrectand later Real Time. Hes never called in sick and never taken a personal day.

#27- Hes related to actor Stubby Kaye.

Stubby Kaye was a comedic actor back in the era of vaudeville. He starred in several comedic and musical movies including originating the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls.

#28- He is weirdly obsessed with obesity in the US.

I kind of have to call him out on this because Maher seems to mention the obesity epidemic every chance he can get on Real Time. Yes, obesity is a problem in America and big people are usually at least partially responsible for their own weight. However, there are some genetic factors such as metabolism that lead it to be significantly harder for certain people to stay thin.

#29- He was close friends with Hugh Hefner before his death.

I suppose these hound dogs in their twilight years stuck together. Unfortunately, Hefner died in 2017 due to an E. Coli infection. Hefner was a big donor to the Democratic Party.

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#30- He holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a win.

Maher has earned 40 Emmy nominations and not a single win. Given the amount of effort he puts into his shows, never missing a day of work, he definitely deserves a win by now.

#31- In 2018, a documentary was made about his career.

For the 15th anniversary of Real Time, Maher took a one-week break from ranting about current events to air a documentary about his career.

#32- Hes an executive producer on Vice.

Viceis a documentary TV series investigating news stories from around the world. Maher has worked on 111 episodes.

By Carrie Fishbane

An excerpt from the love letter: Hollywood Insiders CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, Hollywood Insider fully supports the much-needed Black Lives Matter movement. We are actively, physically and digitally a part of this global movement. We will continue reporting on this major issue of police brutality and legal murders of Black people to hold the system accountable. We will continue reporting on this major issue with kindness and respect to all Black people, as each and every one of them are seen and heard. Just a reminder, that the Black Lives Matter movement is about more than just police brutality and extends into banking, housing, education, medical, infrastructure, etc. We have the space and time for all your stories. We believe in peaceful/non-violent protests and I would like to request the rest of media to focus on 95% of the protests that are peaceful and working effectively with positive changes happening daily. Media has a responsibility to better the world and Hollywood Insider will continue to do so.

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Bill Maher: 32 Facts on the Political Talk Show Host - Hollywood Insider

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Legislators can't be the sole arbiters of what can be said and what cannot. So, some of this is on us.

Author of the article:

Well no, not here. Not in my city. And no one helped him out? How can this be? I suspect my reaction to the news of a recent attack on a man of Asian descent, while he was walking in the Plateau, was similar to that of many other Montrealers. We like to think were better than elsewhere, but all too often, what plagues other metropolises is also pestilent here. As in other corners of North America, racism targeting Asians is alive and well in the city.

Donald Trump might have never been our president, but he had and continues to have fans here. At recent anti-vaxx and anti-restrictions protests in the streets of Montreal, Trump-branded material from flags to tuques to shirts could be seen on demonstrators. That the former presidents hateful rhetoric reverberates here is no surprise, considering how loudly he shouted it. That his nicknaming the current pandemic after China would fuel a continuously increasing number of attacks against members of Asian communities was as predictable as the attack on the Capitol last January, even if many refuse to recognize it.

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Words matter and have influence. The Karens-of-the north, the racists who roam our streets and the trolls on our triple-Ws mostly get their cues from those with the largest of pulpits like the Trumps of this world, yes. But also from some of our own media hosts, pundits and columnists. When will they be held accountable for their racist and derogatory innuendos?

According to Section 319 (1) of Canadas criminal code, everyone who, by communicating statements in a public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of an indictable offence punishable by up to two years imprisonment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction. But beyond what is legally considered to be hate speech, there is much that we as a collectivity can consider objectionable and harmful. And legislators cant be the sole arbiters of what can be said and what cannot. So, some of this is on us, as the risk that comes with government-appointed committees to study what is offensive and consequential is that they could, above all, be guided by politics.

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We can set the tone of what well tolerate and what is intolerable while remembering that the rights of one minority cant matter more than those of another, both inside and outside of university walls. And as that collective, were not incapable of nuance, though, at times, it feels like weve forgotten what that is.

Today, when those on public platforms are called out for inappropriate comments relating to race or gender many who have been getting away with it for years will be quick to cry cancel culture, a now ubiquitous term that has been misused mostly by those who have been anything but cancelled. CNNs Brian Stelter refers to it as consequence culture instead, and I adhere to that way of thinking.

Eleven years ago this week, American right-wing pundit and religious supremacist Ann Coulter, who attacks not only ideas with which she disagrees, but the people who hold them in the vilest of ways, was to speak at a university in Ottawa. Following some opposition and security concerns, the event was cancelled. However, Coulter never was, as evidenced by the fact that over a decade later, she still has plenty of platforms to share her abject verbiage. But at least on that day in 2010, she wouldnt profit from vitriol. At that moment, away from governmental intervention, a tone was set as many citizens decided that well, no, not there. Not in their city. Its a good reminder of both the power that we have and also, of the responsibility.

Martine St-Victor is a communications strategist and media commentator based in Montreal. Instagram and Twitter: martinemontreal

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Martine St-Victor: In the battle against hate, we've got the power - Montreal Gazette