Sarah Palin Drops LL Cool J

An upcoming Fox News Channel special hosted by Sarah Palin is titled “Real American Stories.”  But rapper-actor LL Cool J says his participation in the show was bogus. In response, the network has snipped him from the program.

In a Twitter posting, the entertainer wrote that Fox “lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW.”

Country singer Toby Keith was similarly caught by surprise, his publicist said.

Elaine Schock said a radio reporter contacted her seeking details about Keith’s announced appearance on Palin’s Fox News program.

“I said, ‘You’re wrong. There is no Sarah Palin special with Toby Keith on it on Fox,’” Schock said.

She said the reporter then e-mailed her the press release issued by Fox News, which said Keith would “explain the inspiration behind his song ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.’”

Discovery Snatches Sarah Palin

Several Hollywood trade publications report that Discovery will pay more than $1 million per episode for the reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” It may be her Alaska, but no word yet on whose reality it is.

Producers began pitching the series earlier this month, billing it as a show about Alaska seen through Palin’s eyes and shot in the style of Discovery’s “Planet Earth,” feasting on the state’s natural beauty.

The Discovery Channel’s latest nature project, “Life,” debuted Sunday with the network’s best ratings for a new series in a decade. The series, four years in the making, shows animal footage in eye-catching high definition. It had 11.8 million viewers for its first episode.

Alaska is already the setting for one of cable TV’s most popular series, “Deadliest Catch.” The Discovery Channel series follows fishermen trying to make their living in the forbidding waters off Alaska.

Palin has been busy on TV in recent months, having signed on as an analyst for the Fox News Channel. She also appeared on “The Tonight Show,” where she performed a stand-up routine.

Without Groundhogs Alaska Celebrates Marmot Day

Alaska now has its own version of Groundhog Day.

Then-Gov. Sarah Palin signed a bill last year to make every Feb. 2 Marmot Day in Alaska.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Linda Menard, a Wasilla Republican.

Because groundhogs are not common in Alaska, Menard says it made sense for the marmot to become Alaska’s version of Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog famed for his winter weather forecasts.

Menard’s bill didn’t give marmots any weather forecasting duties, but she hopes the state will create educational activities around the animal.

Schmidt: Palin Believed Candidacy Was ‘God’s Plan’

Sarah Palin believed that Sen. John McCain chose her to be his running mate in 2008 because of “God’s plan,” according to a top political strategist in the Arizona Republican’s campaign.

In an interview with the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes,” Steve Schmidt described Palin as “very calm — nonplussed” after McCain met with her at his Arizona ranch just before putting her on the Republican ticket. McCain had planned to name Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., as his vice presidential choice until word leaked, sparking what Schmidt called political blowback over picking the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Schmidt said he asked Palin about her serenity in the face of becoming “one of the most famous people in the world.” He quoted her as saying, “It’s God’s plan.”

Sarah Palin ‘Brims’ With McCain Pride

Sarah Palin announced Thursday night that she ended a Hawaii vacation early because of the ruckus raised after she blacked out “McCain” on her sun visor in an effort to elude paparazzi.

After the former Alaska governor was photographed on the beach earlier this week, TMZ.com portrayed the visor marking as a slight of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), her running mate last year.

Palin, in the midst of a book tour for her million-selling “Going Rogue,” released this statement:

“In an attempt to ‘go incognito,’ I Sharpied the logo out on my sun visor so photographers would be less likely to recognize me and bother my kids or other vacationers.

“I am so sorry if people took this silly incident the wrong way. I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago.

“Todd and I have since cut our vacation short because the incognito attempts didn’t work and fellow vacationers were bothered for the two days we spent in the sun. So much for trying to go incognito.”

Sarah Palin and William Shatner Face Off

Sarah Palin made a surprise appearance on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” on Friday — and turned the tables on actor William Shatner.

In recent appearances on the late-night television show, Shatner has adopted a serious pose and recited some of Palin’s less serious observations.

He was brought out again to read passages from Palin’s blockbuster “Going Rogue.” The carefully selected passages included ones about rapper Kid Rock and stalking sheep.

Afterward, it was Palin’s turn to read from Shatner’s autobiography, “Up Till Now.” The former Alaska governor’s selections included one in which Shatner talks about visiting an African elephant “in my underwear.”

After the readings, there appeared to be no hard feelings. The two left the stage arm-in-arm.

Levi Johnson To Pose For Playgirl

Levi Johnson, the baby daddy of Sarah Palin’s grandson, is looking forward to his photo spread in “Playgirl,” but he promises to “keep it classy.”

In an interview with Star magazine hitting stands nationally Friday, Johnston said he hasn’t yet decided whether he will pose fully, frontally nude in the upcoming photo shoot.

“I don’t know. I’m going to decide that on the fly. I want to keep it classy. I don’t want to do something I’ll regret,” the hockey hunk said.

Johnston fathered Tripp with Bristol Palin, daughter of the ex-Alaska governor, but their engagement ended in rancor.

Since then, Johnston has capitalized on the notoriety by exposing what he claims is Palin family dirty laundry.

And now, he is taking exposure to another level. Levi said he’s exercising in preparation for the photo shoot, specifically his back side.

But he said he isn’t nervous about posing naked. “What’s to be nervous about? I guess some people would be nervous to pose nude, but I’m not,” he said.

“I’m ready to do it. I’m feeling confident. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Johnston, who isn’t dating anyone, said he doesn’t know what his former fiancee thinks of his Playgirl photo shoot. “I haven’t talked with her about any of that stuff,” he said. “We don’t really talk anymore,” he said, “except about the baby, my son. That’s about it.”

Sarah Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’ Is Already A Best Seller

Move over, Dan Brown. Sarah Palin is on top of the charts.

Just two days after HarperCollins announced that Palin’s “Going Rogue” had been moved up from the spring to Nov. 17, preorders for the former Alaska governor’s memoir made it No. 1 on both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Among the books “Going Rogue” is outselling: Sen. Ted Kennedy‘s “True Compass,” Mitch Albom‘s “Have a Little Faith” and Brown’s “The Lost Symbol,” his first novel since “The Da Vinci Code” and, perhaps until now, the year’s most anticipated release.

Palin, in collaboration with author Lynn Vincent, completed her 400-page book just four months after agreeing to terms with HarperCollins, which plans a first printing of 1.5 million copies. It’s the first book by Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor until suddenly resigning last summer.

She is regarded as a possible 2012 contender for the presidency. Past candidates, notably Barack Obama, have been helped by writing best-selling books, invaluable platforms for politicians to tell their story.

Sarah Palin Drops A Bombshell

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she is resigning from office at the end of July, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate made the surprise announcement from her home in suburban Wasilla. She said she would step down July 26 but didn’t announce her plans.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month, Palin spokesman Dave Murrow said.

Palin was first elected in 2006 on a populist platform. But her popularity has waned as she waged in partisan politics following her return from the presidential campaign. Her term would have ended in 2010.

PETA Weighs-In On Obama’s Run-In With A Pesky Fly

In the wake of the presidential housefly smack-down that was broadcast on CNBC, PETA has sent President Obama a humane fly swatter.

PETA had a bit of fun with the event, and stopped short of condemning the president’s agility.

“We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals,” PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said. “We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals.”

One can only wonder what PETA’s reaction would have been if Sarah Palin had been involved in a similar altercation.

The device that the organization sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is called the Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher.

The organization describes the gadget thusly:

Are you the kind of person who wouldn’t hurt a fly? Is your motto “live and let live,” even when it comes to tiny, six-legged, uninvited house guests? Then the Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher is for you!

Simply place Katcha Bug over the bug and slowly slide its plastic trapdoor shut. The bug will step onto the trapdoor as it closes, and you can carry Katcha Bug outside, where all you need to do is slide the trap door open, allowing the bug to walk away.

The device retails for $8 on PETA’s website.