So it seems there's a little scandal brewing at the Huffington Post. We can't say we entirely understand it, but the facts — as reported in London's Guardian today — seem to be this: There's a dude named Peter Rost, a doctor and former Pfizer bigwig, who has been posting on the site. He noticed he was getting a lot of very antagonistic responses from a certain commenter, and he further noticed that those negative comments were quickly and, he thought, rather easily getting ranked as among readers' favorites. So he did some sleuthing and figured out that the flamer was actually the HuffPost's technology manager. The doctor wrote up his findings in a post to his HuffPost blog, and he hypothesized the tech dude was using his server access to somehow boost the popularity ranking of his comments. So what did Arianna and pals do in response? Can the techie attacking their contributors and allegedly mucking with the system, right? Wrong. Instead they suspended the doctor.

• Times Baghdad bureau likes 'em young; Times Mag editor Gerry Marzorati likes 'em late-30-something and in business. [NYO]
• And James Wolcott likes 'em monocled and on a compiliation DVD set. [New Criterion]
• Seth Mnookin says Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown is a plagiarist, if not necessarily by the legal definition. Brown says Mnookin is a pain in his ass, if not necessarily by the legal definition. [NYT]
• Huffington Post launches a media blog, "Eat the Press." Clever, eh? [HuffPost]
• Laddie McLadlad Greg Gutfeld also launches a blog, "The Daily Gut." Clever, eh? [Jossip]

It's been a year since Arianna Huffington launched The Huffington Post (and, of course, the same amount of time since noted media analyst Nikki Finke described the site as, "the sort of failure that is simply unsurvivable. Her blog is such a bomb that it's the movie equivalent of Gigli, Ishtar and Heaven's Gate rolled into one."). David Carr takes a look at HuffPo and finds the site to be an overwhelming success, proving that a model based on dodgy celebrities, no-name web-types, and the siblings of even-less impressive bloggers is certainly sustainable as long as you also provide a space for ineffectual lefties to rant in the comments against anyone who fails to share their blinkered, doctrinaire world view. Huffington takes a bit of stick for social climbing ("with the finesse of a ballerina and the ferocity of a fullback") but if your alternatives were hanging out with Peter Daou and Nick Denton, you'd be kissing Condi Rice's ass too. Carr concludes that Huffington "has introduced the sparkle of celebrity to the frat-house world of blogging," which is the best explanation we've seen so far for why reading Greg Gutfeld makes us feel like we've been date raped. Thanks, Arianna! We'd always wondered what the dude who does Mr. Burns' voice on "The Simpsons" thought about the Army Corps of Engineers; now we know!

But the more I've thought about the subject and the more research I've done, the more I've realized that the print-vs.-online debate has become as much an outdated cliche as the old Ginger-vs.-Mary Ann barroom argument. Why choose? This is 2006 — why not just have a three-way?

If there's one charming detail about the political bloggers at the Huffington Post, it's their knee-jerk righteous anger. Eric Boehlert dismisses Wired Magazine's Al Gore cover story (complete with hero cover shot) as a "make-good" for a little incident in '99. Way back then, Wired News quoted Al Gore's "inventing the Internet" line, sparking (according to Boehlert) that whole PR debacle. So the HuffPo writer writes, "Wired Owes Al Gore an Apology."

• Beloved perv Dan Savage discovers another note left by Village Voice Media tribal warlord Mike Lacey: "I recently discovered that many of the young ladies who advertise in the back pages of the Voice actually have PENISES. They appear to be ladies until it s too late." [Slog]
• The Huffington Post agrees: Tomatoes are delicious. [Media Mob]
• Everyone's favorite lady from the now-defunct Black Table takes her act elsewhere: Amy Blair writes Week in Craig for Animal mag's online venture. [Animal NY]
• The Times online is all hopped up on bloggy goofballs: today they launch yet another blog, The Pour. Written by resident wino Eric Asimov, it promises to be an exciting look at the world of, uh, overanalyzing your booze. [The Pour]
• Determined to win an Ellie in the court of public opinion, the Atlantic puts all of its nominated material online. [Atlantic]
• Blondie builds stuff. [The Gutter]
• Grammar cop cites a Paris Hilton-inspired advertisement on the Drudge Report. Isn't that, like, a triply offensive violation? [Banterist]
• The only thing truly worth failing: the Ann Coulter Quiz. [Minor Tweaks]

It's a sad day to be a Briton: BrandRepublic reports that UK Maxim editor and beloved HuffPo pixie Greg Gutfeld is saying farewell to the little boys' club, as his contract is up in May and Dennis Publishing has decided not to renew. Additionally, circulation has dropped 16.2%, due in no small part to the proliferation of weekly lad mags, which are all the hotness in the UK right now. When asked for comment, Gutfeld busted out the Blackberry and told Gawker:

• Why is it that one of the most powerful women in the world is still doing interviews about her weight, diet, and workout regime? Because her triceps are fucking awesome, that's why. [Wonkette]
• For their 10th anniversary issue, Fast Company loses their mind and lets photographer Phil Toledo disturb the hell out of everyone. Babies may be cute, but baby-suits are not. [Young Manhattanite]
• Our globe-trotting brother at Gridskipper is looking for some sacrificial virgins for internships. Go forth and impress the hell out of him. [Gridskipper]
• NBC White House correspondent David Gregory never calls Don Imus without first enjoying a nice glass of Alize. [Drudge]
• Coinciding with the release of the film version of The Da Vinci Code is its corresponding porn video, The Da Vinci Load. Considering both star Tom Hanks, it'll be tough to choose which to see first. [Book Standard]
• Live MSNBC facing death? [TMZ]
• Deconstructing the HuffPo scholarship. [Snarksmith]
• Smokey Fontaine takes over the helm at Giant; Robert Goulet to assume managing duties. And then there's a rumored merger with Complex, which would be cool just for the sake of having a magazine called Giant Complex. It'd be a must read for everyone in media. [Mediaweek]

• Martha Stewart disses Donald Trump when discussing her failed version of The Apprentice; the Donald fires back with an open letter promising a world of pain. Battle of the inflated egos; let's get these two behemoths scheduled for a cage match. [Reuters]
• Morrissey used to love Maureen Dowd — until he found out she ate meat. Maybe that's why she's still single. [True to You]
• As far as we know, New York Times bestselling authors don't really troll Craigslist for ghostwriting gigs. Actually, maybe James Frey does. [Craigslist]
• Mag marketing from hell. [Big and Sharp]
• UK Maxim editor Greg Gutfeld introduces the Huffington Post style guide, Aryan Nation edition. [HuffPo]

You know, as opposed to regular Bravo.

• Arianna: "The qualities I look for in a man are the qualities I look for in a blogger: passion, relentlessness, risk taking, and a light touch." [Esquire]
• Mags remake Katie Couric's life. Because she could never afford to do it on her own, of course. [WWD]
• Valerie Plame is a MacGuffin, says Frank Rich. [LA City Beat]
• Ford cannot say no to the gay mafia. [NYT]

TimeWarner crapped all over our afternoon yesterday, meaning we were unable to get to the following minutae. We're sorry for inconveniencing your ADD.

Hey, so remember last week when everyone said Judy Miller was on her way out of the Times? Well, hold up there, cowboy, because the winds they are a-shiftin'. As of today: Judy's back!

Hey, remember the Huffington Post? Maxim UK EIC Greg Gutfeld is continuing to wipe his hilarious drool all over the high-minded blog, and his latest post outlines his "new line of environmentally friendly sex aids." Some examples:

• WSJ's Weekend Edition launches Saturday, with nearly 100 advertisers. [NYP]
• Will Bush's popularity meltdown hurt Fox News? Nope, Fox News will just be less Republican, bets The Tina. [WP]
• Arianna loves blogs, and Adam Penenberg loves Arianna, and it's all just so lovable. [Wired News]
• John Tierney says he's not a contrarian, which is contrary to what we expected he'd say. [Reason]
• The hangover continues from the worst merger ever, and Time Warner is now in talks to sell AOL to Microsoft. [NYP]
• Google gives Technorati a big fuck you, launching its own blog search engine. [PC Mag]
• Christopher Hitchens debates British MP George Galloway in Manhattan, and we can't figure what's going on — except that Hitch was boozing at Denton's pad, and trading limericks, till the wee hours. [Times]

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, American Tragedy, one question burns a bit more brightly than the rest: Is New Orleans' David Duke, former KKK leader and failed politician, doing all right? Beloved HuffPoster and UK Maxim editor Greg Gutfeld simply couldn't sleep at night unless he knew that his favorite white supremacist was safe, so he used his HuffPo soapbox for good (instead of evil) and expressed his concerns. Lo and behold, Duke responded to Gutfeld in the comments section:

• Maybe it's just us, but does the image of what Tara Reid may look like come 2025 not seem all that different than how she looks now? StriVectin, darling — you've been warned. [Gallery of the Absurd]
• Apparently, we're not the only ones disturbed by the possibility of reading Dave Eggers' emails. [TMFTML]
• The crazy kids at the HuffPo welcome Endeavor agent Ari Emmanuel to the fold, and he manages to write an entire post without mentioning that he's the inspiration for the Ari Gold character on HBO's Entourage. You have to admire his restraint. [HuffPo]
• Demi Moore launches a new beauty product line, Demetria. Her special illuminating foundation, no doubt, is made with the milk of Ashton Kutcher. [AdRants]
• Gay Chelsea is dead, and Gay Hell's Kitchen is born. Will the Gays continue northward to plant their flag on Gay Washington Heights? [Curbed]
• Strangely enough, Vanity Fair's New Establishment List does not include Maddox Jolie. [FishbowlNY]

We find most newfangled warning labels ridiculous — yes, a plastic bag is not a toy; no, you shouldn't use the hairdryer in the bathtub; TV-MA-VSL means, well, what? But here's a warning trend we can get behind: Obnoxious, gratuitous emailers pre-announcing their incoherent rants.

• The HuffPost is like a town car, says Simon Dumenco. And he likes Town Cars. [Ad Age]
• Who'd have thunk it: Al Gore TV ain't so bad. [NYT]
• The newsweeklies are dying, apparently. Of course, the newsweeklies are always dying. [USAT]
• Lizzie Grubman, muse. [NY Mag]
• One vote for Charlie Gibson as the new Peter Jennings. [B&C]
• TK soon in Septmeber GQ: "Supreme Court Justices: They're Just Like Us!" [WWD, third item]
• Remember how the Post said the Bancrofts want to sell Dow Jones? Well, the Post also said Dick Gephardt would be running for vice president. [NYT]

Big news in today's Publishers Lunch: