Ever wanted to buy Kyrsten Sinema’s old shoes?

Shopping Kyrsten Sinema style

Kyrsten Sinema has been honing her independent streak during her time in Washington — a noted departure from the progressive activism of her youth. The Arizona senator who left the Democrats last week has filed paperwork to run as an Independent in 2024, a reflection of her state’s purple values. At the same time, Sinema seems to have developed quite an entrepreneurial side hustle. Slate’s Christina Cauterucci discovered that Congress’s most ostentatious dresser has been hawking old clothes on Facebook Marketplace.

The user is currently hawking — among other things — a $215 cycling ensemble, a $25 trucker hat, and a $150 stainless steel watch with a silicone strap. Within the past six weeks, she has offloaded a $150 fitness tracker ring, an $80 cycling jersey, and a $500 bicycle travel case. Over the past two years, and across at least five Facebook groups for athletes, she has listed several dozen personal items, including a $100 pair of sunglasses (“Just too big for my tiny head!!”), two $50 puffer jackets, three $75 pairs of high-heeled boots, a $75 cycling bib, a $60 Lululemon raincoat, several mesh tanks at $55 a pop ($20 off the current retail price), and multiple bikinis, priced between $60 and $70, that ranged from “never worn” to “in great condition.”

Sinema may be wildly unpopular among members of her former party — but she’s “highly rated on Facebook Marketplace.” Cockburn thinks that counts for much more — he’s keeping an eye out for more bikinis as he hopes to get his last-minute Christmas shopping done.

Rich bitching

The most talked about title in digital media at the tail-end of 2022? That would be Bari Weiss’s Substack, which last week got a fancy new website and renamed from Common Sense to the Free Press. Cockburn understands the reason for the name change is practical: Weiss is said to have been unable to secure the domain for commonsense.com, which currently redirects to commonsense.org, a charity. Instead her title has secured the much more lucrative thefp.com.

Weiss, who is one of the few anointed to pore over Elon Musk’s Twitter Files at the company’s headquarters, was slammed by her former New York Times colleague Taylor Lorenz this week: “Notable what gets framed as a ‘buzzy media startup,’” Lorenz wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “If u start off rich, have a rich spouse, rich friends, don’t follow any journalistic ethical rules, and focus your content solely on serving the interests of extremely powerful rich ppl, you can go far!”

That would be the same Taylor Lorenz from the mean streets of Greenwich, Connecticut, who by her own admission once attended a $90,000 a year Swiss boarding school and is currently on the payroll of Jeff Bezos, the fourth wealthiest man in the world.

Weiss, for her part, criticized her pal Elon today for his decision to kick some of the more annoying progressive reporters off his app last night. “The old regime at Twitter governed by its own whims and biases and it sure looks like the new regime has the same problem,” she tweeted. “I oppose it in both cases. And I think those journalists who were reporting on a story of public importance should be reinstated.” Maybe pop down the corridor and tell him to his face?

Jet set

Elon Musk said that his Thursday night purge was targeting reporters who “doxxed” him by tweeting about ElonJet, a Twitter account run by a man named Jack Sweeney that tweeted the location of his private jet using a bot and publicly available flight data. Sweeney, now posting on Mastodon, said that Musk had “suspended all of my accounts, half of which track aircraft (NASA aircraft, experimental aircraft, weather, airforce etc).”

“Doxxing,” according to Cockburn’s well-thumbed copy of Merriam-Webster, is defined as “to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge.” It would usually refer to publicizing an individual’s private phone number or address that wasn’t otherwise available. The public nature of Musk’s aviation data means, by definition, that it can’t be doxxing. So Cockburn has no qualms in letting you know that Musk’s jet is in San Jose, California, at the time of writing (nice knowing you!)…

Prince of prosecution

The litigious Prince Harry is at it again. This time H is taking legal action against the publishers of the Daily Mail and the Sun for yesterday’s front pages that referred to him as a treacherous traitor.

Prince Harry is taking legal action against the publishers of the Daily Mail and the Sun. (And also the Daily Mirror). pic.twitter.com/EZfDsenKL1

— Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) December 15, 2022

Royal watchers weren’t surprised, but they were quick to point out that neither Meghan or Harry have filed lawsuits against Tom Bower or Valentine Low, the authors of two of this year’s most scandalous books about the couple.

Why you read this column

Then

Cockburn’s gossip column, October 28: “Donald Trump is accelerating his plans for another presidential run. Cockburn hears that Chris LaCivita — known for running the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry — is looking like a top prospect to be Trump’s 2024 campaign manager.”

Cockburn’s gossip column, November 4:”Cockburn also hears that Michael Glassner, who was the COO of Trump 2020, will return, along with advisor Boris Epshteyn and Steve Bannon associate Alexandra Preate. Epshteyn is said to be particularly close to Trump and has advised him on major legal issues.”

Now

Alex Leary, Wall Street Journal, December 15: “Mr. Trump’s campaign will be led by longtime advisor Susie Wiles, who oversaw his 2016 and 2020 victories in Florida, and Chris LaCivita, a Virginia-based strategist known for orchestrating attacks on the military record of John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. A number of top positions have been filled, with Brian Jack and Boris Epshteyn tapped as senior advisors.”

Cockburn’s gossip column will return on Friday January 6, 2023. Send your tips in the meantime to cockburn@thespectator.com — and have a wonderful Christmas, Chanukah and New Year!