Lodge's Owner Was Set to Talk Cap and Trade With Newt. Till She Was Stripped of the Invite.
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Anyway, the gentleman's club owner and her PR man, Michael Precker, followed up with a phone call, during which they were told that Newt would also need $5,000 by way of a RSVP. Which Rizos promptly put on her credit card. Because, hey, sounds fun.
"I know how it works," Rizos tells Unfair Park. "It's a fund-raiser. I'm not naive. I know how those things operate: They'll give you an award if you cough up some money. I thought it would be a great thing to hang in the foyer of the club -- a certificate, a gavel, a picture of me and Newt. I thought it would be a lot of fun." So did Gingrich, who, on September 16, sent Rizos a letter in which he wrote, "Dear Mrs. Rizos, thank you very much for speaking with my assistant Linda Anders and for your generous $5,000 contribution to join my Business Defense and Advisory Council. ... I also want to personally congratulate you on being selected as one of our 2009 Entrepreneurs of the Year representing Texas." (That's after the jump as well.)
So, flights were booked, and hotel reservations were made. Then came the call Monday evening from Newt's people. "They left a message Monday evening," Precker says. '"They didn't say why. We finally spoke yesterday morning. There is a fellow named Michael Johnston. He works for InfoCision, which works with 527s to assemble donor lists." At which point Precker says he was told that, sorry, Newt had made a mistake -- thought Rizos was somebody else. And, um, the invite has been rescinded.
"They said it was a misunderstsanding, a mistake," Rizos says. "They know what we are. All they have to do is Google my name."
We called Gaylord's number, only to reach a woman who said he was "traveling with Newt" and could not be reached for comment. A message was left.
Rizos has said Gingrich's people have promised to return her money -- even the airfare -- but, still, she's bummed. And, a little relieved. And, a little pissed off.
"That would have been very stressful," she says. "I don't think our business is anything to be ashamed of, and I don't think they shouldn't honor us. We're a big convention draw for the city of Dallas, we employ a lot of people and do as much good as possible no matter what other people think of it. I can't believe they waited a week before."
Newt Rescinds an Invite
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"We're a big convention draw for the city of Dallas." Oh, Good Lord, that's funny! Yes, Dawn, conventions are coming to Dallas because of The Lodge and, oh yes, that liquor superstore on the corner and also the availability of cheap crack. That's how it works. Riiiight.
Please, Unfair Park, more stories of such "entrepeneurs" and their naked ambitions. Keep those back-pages advertisers happy and crazily megalomaniacal.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:06PMNewt Gingrich always struck me as a man who could appreciate a good titty bar.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:11PMThey send out thousands of those letters every year and just about anyone with their name in the phone book gets one. I thought no one could be dumb enough to fall for this trick. Wrong again. Besides, other than being a former speaker who was thrown out of office who the heck is Newt anyway?
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:16PM@Steve - Whether you agree with it or not (I'm guessing you disagree), strip clubs have historically been a big draw for conventioneers in the City of Dallas, especially given the City's relative lack of other compelling selling points. Indeed, it appears that the crackdown on strip clubs initiated on former Mayor Laura Miller has played a contributing role in Dallas' attractiveness as a convention location. This was discussed in a news story (either in the Observer of D Mag-- can't remember which) sometime within the last year.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:24PMHey Steve! Just what do you think draws a convention to Dallas? And I read her quote as saying the industry as a whole is a big draw, not just her club. Doesn't sound crazily megalomaniacal to me.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 2:47PMWell, it wasn't that long ago that Schutze wrote that he thought the Lodge "seemed sort of Republican":
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-03-19/news/dallas-a-great-convention-town-for-nuns/
Saying that convention attendees like strip clubs is often true. For someone to say that they should be honored because their strip club is "a big convention draw for the city of Dallas" is off-the-hook nutty and a statement indicative of a bloated sense of self-importance.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 3:10PMBlog spam cleanup needed on aisle 26...
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 3:31PMHey "Been There", did you get your invite? Oh......sorry, I guess they don't give them away to people who make under $40,000 a year.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 3:53PMNewt is a Republican Bill Clinton, both total scumbags, whose sexual morals are lower than whale shit.
I've always held it against right winger Newt that he managed to avoid military service during Vietnam, especially since he was an Army brat and was well aware of the military obligations of that time. His explanation was he didn't feel his service would make any difference, which seems extremely egotistical and self important, kind of like the little kid that threatens to take his football and go home if he can't be the quarterback.
Maybe Pete Sessions nominated her. This would seem to fall within his area of expertise. Well, this, and blimps.
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 4:58PMWomen with Successful business plan modeled on,( copied vebatum from the book)" The Oldest Profession In The World", sends RSVP donation to recieve "Entrepenuer of The Year" certificate or award, or sumthing, says I'm Not Naive,I know how those things operate!
News flash Honey, the topic of disscussion aint gonna be about THAT kind of Cap and Trade!
I dont care what anybody says, That there is FUNNY !
Double fake "Larry the cable Guy"
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 5:28PMJim, I think you meant to write "entrepooneer."
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 7:15PMThe Big Guy thinks The Lodge just got $100,000 worth for free nationwide publicity for nothing more than a $5k charge on her credit card, now refunded.
Bravo!
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 8:11PMR of B
Guilty as charged.
But!
Check your local cable TV listings. It has come to my attention that on a public access chanel,hopefully in our area of coverage,on the same nite,Oct 7, Chris Rock will present the Prestigious "CRACK HEAD OF THE YEAR" ,paid for award, to a certain EX Washington DC Mayor we all know and Admire.
Now thats "ENTERTAINMENT" !!!!
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 9:15PMA big draw for conventioneers AND Dallas Cowboy players. How else do you think Jerry got Michael Irvin to sign with Dallas?
Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 11:13PMIMO any successful business that treats it employees and customers well while generating profits in a completely legal fashion is eligible for a business award.
Oh, and if anyone wants to whine that the girls working at a topless bar is being taken advantage of, or is somehow being repressed, all I can really say to that is that you obviously have never talked to one for more than 90 seconds. (Drooling doesn't count.)
And yes, I have. When I lived in Texas, I was friends with a large number of 'exotic dancers'. It was easy to find my table, it was the one in the back away from the stage where all the girls that were sitting at. (No, it's not bragging, it's an example of what happens when you treat people like people.)
Oh, and by "treating people like people" Robert means "giving them sweaty $20 bills".
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 8:12AMand I'm a highly successful business stock kind of guy, buy and sell, import and export and I have a ton of influential friends. Oh yeah, I'm a millionaire too..I just drive the 92 accord because it's enviromentally friendly.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 9:13AMWhere are the attacks against her coming from? Newt's team INVITED HER. Yes, it's a fund raising scam, but I'm pretty sure that not everyone who get those letters are names "Entrepreneur of the Year", that would be ludicrous, even from Newt.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 10:29AMthe world needs more entrepreneurs like her XD
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 11:01AMCall me crazy but she's right, the strip clubs in Dallas are pretty damn good. I traveled a fair amount for work when I was younger and while in Dallas my IBM rep took me to some pretty good restaurants followed by some really good strip joints.
The only other memorable place was the converted warehouse shopping mall downtown which was also pretty cool.
Has anyone read the shit they're shoveling in this morning's DMN?
Read their take on it and you wouldn't think for one minute that Newt just screwed the pooch while trying to raise money. Treated it like he seriously just invited the wrong business owner and that he was truly interested in having dinner to hear her worldview...
Oh, yeah, and he returned the totally unrelated $5,000 because he's just such a swell guy.
So, maybe that's why subscriptions to the News are down... Nah! Can't be. Keep shovelin', boys!
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 1:24PMIt's a fundraising scam. They send a scattershot form letter to a whole bunch of businesses, hoping somebody will fall for it and give them money.
Republicans have pulled this before--check out Brian Ross' report Are Honors for Physicians the New Political Diploma Mill? http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=643826&page=1
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 1:32PMMaybe if this woman ran a public washroom the republicans would give her "award" back.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 2 2009 @ 4:30AM
