Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the saga of Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his lawsuit against WCP.

Just in case, to bring you up to speed:

Snyder is seeking $2 million in “unspecified damages” plus more in punitive damages and court costs because he says the paper libeled him in a series of articles, including a cover story from November by WCP‘s Dave McKenna. WCP‘s publisher, Amy Austin, has refused to back down, despite threats from Snyder’s representation that the lawsuit would “presumably quickly outstrip the asset value” of the paper. She maintains that there’s nothing wrong with the articles the paper has published: “The facts are correct.”

Tonight, Bill Duggan, the owner of Madam’s Organ in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood, is hosting a benefit for the paper.

The party will feature a four foot tall custom piñata designed to look like Snyder (“pretty much life size”), an “anatomically correct nude Daniel Snyder cake” for party-goers to “gag on,” and a number of actually cool prizes. Among them: a trip to Costa Rica, sports tickets, and dinner at the Watergate. Proceeds go to WCP‘s legal defense fund.

Madam’s Organ has made an event page on Facebook and implores you not to “let this rich twit silence the press through litigation.” The party starts at 7.

Today we delicately pair TBD‘s Arts & Entertainment Editor Andrew Beaujon and Phili radio host and MSNBC Contributor Michael Smerconish. Anyone complaining that their only likeness is their balding, my response is: true. A clear, contributing factor, without a doubt. But it’s the glasses and eyebrow shape, too. The brows are equally thick and fuzzy. Beaujon doesn’t appear too sensitive about his balding…he has mentioned it on his blog and compared himself to the late Telly Savalas. Note to readers: In case you think your eyes are playing tricks on you, they are not. We needed to switch out our original photograph of Beaujon because WCP has certain photo ownership rules and that picture was taken by Darrow Montgomery. We think this one works just as well.

Andrew Beaujon

Perhaps it’s the slow news week or maybe a cry for attention…  Whatever the cause (though I assume it’s the latter), TBD.com Arts and Entertainment Editor Andrew Beaujon jumped on the Betsy-bashing bandwagon today with a “hard-hitting investigation” that asked the tough question: does Betsy Rothstein (FishbowlDC)  hate the people she covers?  The basis of the hypocritical hit piece was an aggregation of Rothstein’s Twitter spats over the past year.  In his article, Beaujon hates on Betsy for hating on people who hate on her. Whatever the motivation, the outcome was success for the traffic-starved site as a slew of hateful tweets highlighting Beaujon’s hit on Betsy’s “hatred” toward haters poured in.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and WaPo‘s Ezra Klein are just a few of the journalists who chimed in over Twitter to piss on the ever-tarnishing Golden Rule:

@KeithOlbermann: Wonderful reading: tweets & tribulations of the self-inflating Betsy Rothstein of @FishbowlDC http://tbd.ly/fu4A1z

@LoriMalloryTO: @KeithOlbermann @FishbowlDC That was fairly awesome. She’s like the Soup Nazi of Twitter, but without the talent. #NoSoupForYou!!

@ezraklein:@FishbowlDC Aww, Bets, aren’t you just the sweetest piece of pie in the mid-Atlantic?

@ezraklein: @fishbowldc‘s Betsy Rothstein is a charming individual: http://tbd.ly/fu4A1z

@KeithOlbermann: That’s the best you’ve got? My dad died last year, want to work that in somehow? Psycho.

@ezraklein: @FishbowlDC But to be fair, it’s only because I think you’re a bad journalist and don’t trust you. Don’t take it personally!

@ParkyBill: @fishbowldc is proof that “stupid is the new smart” in Republican DC. Mmm! Figs!

@alisavino: unfollowing @FishbowlDC Betsy’s childishness is too grating on my sanity. she is emblematic of the very worst of DC

@ezraklein: @FishbowlDC Of course journalists and journalism are worthy of coverage. But you’re a gossip writer. It’s different.

In a matter of an hour Betsy (FishbowlDC) was taunted, teased and bashed. She was labeled “psycho,” “self-inflating,” “stupid,” “worst of DC,” “a bad journalist,” untrustworthy and  talentless.  Geez- I can’t imagine why her tweets aren’t sugary sweet.

Which leads us back to TBD’s story about Twitter feuds.  Beaujon admits that Rothstein rarely instigates the supposed spats so  what exactly is he criticizing?  That Betsy doesn’t abstain from the act of self-preservation?  That she fights back under attack?  Or maybe the post was more about an unknown editor of a lonely beat at a quiet website finally getting his day in the spotlight…

Keep it klassy, folks.

Washington City Paper presents “Fisticuffs at the Washington Post,” starring Andrew Beaujon as Marcus Brauchli, Jason Cherkis as Chris Richards, Erin Niedowski as Lynn Medford, Erik Wemple as Manuel Roig-Franzia, Amanda Hesse as Monica Hesse and Mike DeBonis as Henry Allen.

Happy belated birthday to Christie Findlay and Kevin McVicker! Good morning FishbowlDC! What we know and what we’re reading this Thursday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE | MAGAZINES | NEWS NOTES | WEST WING REPORTAGE | IN MEMORIAM

NEWSPAPERS

WSJ launches a San Fran edition today.

Washingtonian: Having taken a beating for trying to set up evening salons where reporters could mingle with corporate types who’d pay big money for the privilege, The Washington Post now is attempting a more benign way to raise revenue: wine tastings — with reporters as guests.

TV

Fox News’ Glenn Beck has appendicitis.

Changes at CNN.

More reality shows… Bravo’s in DC to recruit contestants for “Top Chef.”

ONLINE

TVNewser’s Twitter list picks.

MAGAZINES

Looks like there are layoffs to come at Time Inc. Layoffs were the topic of convo on mediabistro’s Morning Media Menu earlier today.

NEWS NOTES

On Election night, Twitter seemed to beat cable for insight and analysis.

And Election night ratings via TVNewser.

WEST WING REPORTAGE

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on year one.

ABC’s Jake Tapper on President Obama, Air Force One and Twitter on Politico‘s podcast.

IN MEMORIAM

Politico: John W. Mashek, a political reporter who covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996, died of a heart attack Tuesday. “He was one of the great political reporters of the last quarter-century,” said Jerry Seib, executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Epiphany, on Dumbarton Street between 27th and 28th Sts., N.W., in Georgetown.

AWARDS & EVENTS

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser, Politico

Good morning Washington.