Wonkette

According to the textbook definition of “cultural hegemony,” MTV Arabia launched this weekend in an attempt to show Middle Eastern youths what their American counterparts were watching in 1984. Hopefully the new channel will never syndicate The Hills, because watching Spencer Pratt is known to encourage suicide bombings and other forms of jihad. MORE »

Grammy-winning Senator Barack Hussein Obama held a summit with popular Oprah-hating rapper Ludacris to discuss the AIDS crisis and new, experimental “Release Therapy.” MORE »

* Under the Dome: Justice Antonin Scalia drunk Corona and mingled with actress Doris Roberts at the Bloomberg party before looking “uncomfortable” with Ludacris. . . Meanwhile, Ludacris doesn’t care about Steve Scully. . . Anna Kournikova and Drew Lachey were among the no-shows. [The Hill]
* Heard on the Hill: “A longtime aide to a senior Democratic Senator” stole George Clooney’s place card. . . Cartoonist/author Anthony Haden-Guest fell asleep during Stephen Colbert’s routine. . . Court TV is opening a D.C. bureau. [Roll Call]
* Reliable Source: Bush’s low approval rating equal good business for impersonator Steve Bridges: “If they’re too high, people get nervous: ‘Is it okay to make fun of the president?’”. . . Bloomberg reporter Janine Zacharia scores a private lunch with Condoleezza Rice and Tiki Barber at the State Department. [WP]
* Page Six: Blind item asks, “Which Democratic party moneybags is getting divorced because he diddled with a candidate’s daughter? To cap it off, his wife, the mother of his children then had a go with her personal trainer (a woman).” [NYP]
* Rush & Molloy: Ken Mehlman: “I’m not gay. But those stories did a number on my dating life for six months.” [NYDN]

Here is all the money that’s not being spent on hiring more reporters.

The afterparty report, drunker and therefore more hazily-recalled than the pre-party report, but full of glorious Liz Gorman photography, is yours for the taking, after the jump.

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* Names & Faces: Barbara Bush skipped the WHCA dinner. [WP]
* Page Six: Harvey Weinstein, MTV exec John Sykes, and Madisan Square Garden owner Jim Dolan are collaborating on Clinton’s 60th birthday party. . . Al Gore: “If I had half the communications skills of Karenna, I’d be halfway through my second term right now.” [NYP]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Ludacris chilled with Antonin Scalia. [NYDN]
* Fox 411: Jason Binn threw a Capitol File party opposite the Bloomberg bash; Clooney, Rove, Albright made appearances. [Fox News]
* Heard on the Hill: Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) defends his participation in a frat party. . . Julia Thorne, first wife of John Kerry, dies of cancer. [Roll Call]
* Rush & Molloy: Pataki will launch his presidential campaign this week. [NYDN]
* Inside Politics: Powell asked for more troops to be sent to Iraq. [WT]

* Heard on the Hill: Fitness instructor at the Sports Club/LA makes anti-Bush remarks during a class attended by Jenna Bush and Henry Hager, who later complained. . . Celebrities attending the Correspondents dinner: Tiki Barber, Maura Tierney, Ken Mehlman, Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Peter Pace, Michael Strahan, James Denton, Isaiah Washington, Naomi Judd, Morgan Fairchild, Ludacris, and Anna Kournikova. . . Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute distributes “Coming Out Toolkit” to party officials and activists; Zogby poll finds that 74% of Americans “would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ continue to vote for an incumbent politician who shares their views if they later found out that person was gay or lesbian.” [Roll Call]
* Inside the Beltway: Founder of the National Defense Council Foundation warned Karl Rove in 2002 about the dire consequences of invading Iraq. [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: Sen. Kerry and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg attend book party for Sen. Kennedy, but Clinton steals the attention. [NYDN]
* Page Six: Mickey Kaus accuses The New York Times of puffery for writing a “PR-perfect” story about Bill Clinton and Ron Burkle. [NYP]

• Reliable Source: “Military Idol” takes off. . . Ludacris skips the Howard University Homecoming. . . Philanthropist Jim Kimsey “toasted and roasted” at Kennedy Center. . . At Sunday’s game, Andrea Mitchell kissed Alan Greenspan whenever the Redskins scored. . . Diane Keaton spotted at Starbucks; Nicole Kidman seen near K Street. . . Van Susteren sells her house. [WP]
• Under the Dome: U.N. interns blanket Capitol Hill with blue rubber bracelets to celebrate its 60th anniversary. . . Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) mingles with famed winemakers in his office. [The Hill]
• Liz Smith: Maureen Dowd’s next book is titled “Are Men Necessary?” [NYP]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Alec Baldwin critiques Hutchison: “Why are contemporary Republicans so full of shit?” Replies her flack, “We take criticism from Alec Baldwin about as seriously as advice from Michael Moore.” [NYDN]
• Rush & Molloy: Clinton autographs $11,000 lunch-box to auction it again. [NYDN] MORE »