It’s 5:30 on Friday and that means the weekend has begun! Be safe, have a blast and enjoy today’s video of the day.

Praise be to David Letterman for allowing us to once again laugh at Paris Hilton by pointing out inaccuracies in her Larry King interview:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has teamed up with our favorite Democrat-minority-leader-over-thrower John Thune (R-S.D.) and our favorite New Englander-turned-Mid-Westerner Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) to introduce what looks to be a good piece of legislation aimed at preserving some key First Amendment freedoms. The “Broadcaster Freedom Act” seeks to bar the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the “Fairness Doctrine” - a regulation that, until repealed by Ronald Reagan, required broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on issues of public importance.

In a press release from his Senate office, McCain trumpeted the legislation as necessary to prevent the FCC stifling Constitutionally-protected free speech or policing the airwaves.

“Since President Reagan’s repeal of the ‘Fairness Doctrine,’ the number of talk radio shows nationwide has grown from fewer than 100 to over 1,000 today,” McCain said. “In addition to talk radio, Americans are able to find opposing viewpoints in more places than ever before, including the Internet.”

It’s not much compared to the GOP frontrunners, but with the second quarter reporting deadline less than 36 hours away, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he will surpass the $500,000 his campaign raised during the first quarter. The Associated Press reported that, “the former Arkansas governor says that will leave him in a strong position to compete in an upcoming Republican [Iowa] straw poll in August.”

None of the other Republican candidates have yet hinted at their second quarter numbers. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is expected to raise at least $27 million, which she says will be trumped by rival Barack Obama.

Read more on the “Fundraising Expectations Game.”

Palmetto State blogger Will Folks, a former spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, is reporting on his website FITSNews that the South Carolina governor may have “agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the family of a drowning victim in 2002.”

Rumors about the settlement - said to have been in the $300-350K range - have been whispered about in Palmetto political circles for years but never reported on until now. [FITSNews]

This is the first we’ve ever heard of this story, but Folks is well-known for his investigative abilities, especially when covering Sanford.

We’ll let you know what we know as this develops.

The always witty and sometimes sassy conservative blogstress Elizabeth “Media Lizzy” Blackney, one of The Palmetto Scoop’s favorite bloggers and GOP strategists, has just released her first book, Sex, Lies & Politricks. The book details how Blackney feels the political process is working, and reminds Americans that they “have an obligation to participate.” And it does so with her characteristic “Buck the Beltway” flare.

“It is not anyone’s kiss and tell,” Blackney said in a press release heralding the book’s arrival. “I do not want to get into the personal lives of any political figure.”

Sex, Lies & Politricks addresses the Bush Doctrine, the Conservative Ground Game, and the perils – and payoffs – of American Politics from Blackney’s unique perspective. It presents her argument for a robust and preemptive, foreign policy through her hard-hitting approach to politics and policy.

Blackney, a political consultant by trade, decided to write the book because, as she says, “For years, I have marveled at the people I have in my rolodex.” And through the publication, she fully-harnesses her “stable of advisers” and their “wealth of political, corporate and publishing experience.”

But the native Oregonian - don’t hold that against her - who was raised in Atlanta, Ga. is quick to note that Sex, Lies & Politricks is not an effort in promoting any particular party or agenda. “When I highlight the political shortcomings of some leaders, which I have in this book, I am articulating publicly what I have advised friends and clients privately for years.

“Not all Republicans and Democrats fit the stereotypes we see on television.”

Her forward-thinking, conservative mindset in present throughout the book as she lays-out her vision for the generation beginning to take power. “I believe the struggles we see in Washington are really about the generational turnover beginning to happen,” she cautions. “It’s goodbye Reagan, hello globalism.”

The book is more than an account of the American political process though. According to Blackney, it opens with a high impact, controversial statement and delivers a punch straight through to the end.

Sex, Lies & Politricks by Lizzy Blackney is available on Amazon.com or on her website, MediaLizzy.com.

The buildup to today’s 6 p.m. release of Apple’s new iPhone has created a mass hysteria far exceeding that of any Harry Potter book. The company claims its product will “revolutionize” the industry. And that has had thousands of people lining up outside Apple and AT&T stores across the U.S. since Thursday night.

We’re big fans of being on the “cutting edge” of technology, but we’re not big fans of camping out for a phone. Yeah, yeah, it’s “more than a phone,” but we would still rather wait until the hysteria settles down a bit and consumers have had their say.

If you are, however, one of the lucky few to snag an iPhone tonight, we hope you’re first stop will be to the Palmetto Scoop.

A South Carolina judge has denied Tony Pough, Tim McQueen and Joseph Brunson of the 3 Hebrew Boys LLC a request to unfreeze $17 million in assets and grant them the right to vacation in the Caribbean, The State is reporting. The men are implicated in a scheme that attempted to victimize churches and U.S. soldiers. The plot was uncovered by Attorney General Henry McMaster who, in late May, prevented the men from liquidating or moving the suspect funds.

McMaster’s office contends the three men “have violated the State Securities Act by engaging in fraudulent sales practices and by selling securities in and from the State of South Carolina without properly registering them.” If convicted, the men face 10 years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines.

“Everybody needs a vacation,” their attorney, Hemphill Pride II, told the judge.

Their July vacation, which Pride said was planned for months, included a five-day stay in Orlando following a six-day Caribbean cruise from Miami to the Grand Cayman Islands.

Attorney General Henry McMaster’s office objected. Investigators say the trio had purchased real estate in the Bahamas and Panama and possessed up to $400,000 in cashier’s checks.

If any of them fled, international travel would make extradition complicated, said Jennifer Evans, the lead prosecutor from McMaster’s office.

“They can have a vacation in South Carolina,” she said. [BEN WERNER, The State]

According to an email just sent-out by BurnLounge, the Internet-based, virtual music store has “come to a cooperative agreement with the Federal Trade Commission based on its recent decision to eliminate the network marketing portion of its business.” Said the company:

“This is the first time in recent history that any company has emerged from such charges by the FTC and survived entirely intact,” said D.J. Poyfair, a partner from Shughart Thomson & Kilroy and lead outside counsel for BurnLounge. He added, “The Judge’s ruling allows the company to continue to move forward with its new model unabated and unrestricted.”

“″This is the first time in recent history that any company has emerged from such charges by the FTC and survived entirely intact,” said D.J. Poyfair, a partner from Shughart Thomson & Kilroy and lead outside counsel for BurnLounge. ”

”Network marketing was a unique channel to promote our products, but the strategic decision to voluntarily remove this part of our business was the right decision on all fronts,” said Grant D. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer, BurnLounge. “With this hearing behind us, we are aggressively moving forward and will focus on our new free model to help fuel the next evolution of business growth to better benefit our employees, artists, partners, and independent retailers.”

BurnLounge executives anticipate a formal statement from the Federal Government in the next couple of days regarding the company’s former business model. Poyfair noted that, “The interaction with the FTC has been professional and fair and has led BurnLounge to make the decision to simplify its model.”

”While we still disagree with the FTC’s contention that our previous model violated FTC statutes; agreement to the stipulation was the only way to protect our retailers and artists while we continue to run our business and work towards a final resolution,” stated Ryan Dadd, co-founder, president, and chief operating officer, BurnLounge. “We can now focus on keeping our retailers’ businesses viable and enhancing our product offerings so our retailers and artists can generate revenue from the sale of higher margin goods.”

We’re not sure if this is true as the FTC has not yet released any information, but we’ll let you know when or if we can confirm it.

On June 8, The Palmetto Scoop broke the news that BurnLounge executives, including former Gamecock star Rob DeBoer, were being sued by the FTC for allegedly operating as a pyramid scheme. Such schemes are a violation of federal law because, by design, a majority of participants end up losing a great deal of money and inevitably cause millions of dollars in consumer injury.

Since then, the company has repeatedly denied the FTC’s allegations, but did alter its business model just over a week ago.

Stay tuned…