Richard Mellon Scaife Demands "You Can't See Me!"

If you've been following the soap opera that is the divorce of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Mellon Scaife, you're probably under a court order not to. From the respectable, if childishly giddy, Post-Gazette:

Attorneys for Tribune-Review publisher Richard M. Scaife have filed court papers demanding the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette return documents related to the divorce of Mr. Scaife and his wife, Margaret Ritchie Battle Scaife.

In response, the Post-Gazette, arguing that no court has the right to force a newspaper to surrender documents lawfully in its possession, has posted those documents on its Web site, with some personal, financial and third-party information removed...

Mr. Scaife's attempt to make court documents inaccessible is unusual for the head of a news organization. Historically, newspapers and television stations have fought for greater rather than more restricted access. In fact, Mr. Scaife's Tribune-Review joined other organizations in seeking to unseal the estate records of the late Sen. John Heinz during the presidential campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry, who is married to Sen. Heinz's widow, Teresa...

But the Post-Gazette countered that the story is newsworthy, given the Scaifes' high profile in the community and the large amounts of money involved, particularly the enormous monthly support payments. The newspaper argues that Mr. and Mrs. Scaife have already put their divorce in the public domain with arrests for trespassing and assault, accusations of dognapping, and derogatory yard signs.

Mr. Scaife's attorneys contend that further dissemination of the information "would not merely serve to embarrass the parties, but could endanger their security." The filing does not specify how the Scaifes would be endangered.

Mr. Roddy's story was based on court documents retrieved from the publicly accessible Allegheny County prothonotary's Web site...

Unfortunately for Mr. Scaife, unlike The Shadow, he is unable to render to himself invisible to the eyes of mortal men. At this point, he might as well close his eyes, stick his fingers in his ears and shout "LALALALALALA! YOU CAN'T SEE ME! I AM INVISIBLE!"

Frankly, I think that would make for a better editorial for the Trib.

Speaking of which, apparently Mr. Scaife considers the Tribune-Review to be "a hobby."

Mrs. Scaife, 60, contends that the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, one of a half-dozen local Tribune-Review Publishing newspapers owned by Mr. Scaife, 75, should be considered a hobby or personal cause rather than a business investment because the paper has lost $20 million to $30 million annually since it began publishing in 1992.

The IRS defines a hobby or not-for-profit activity as an activity not pursued for profit. "An activity is usually considered a business if it makes a profit during at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year," according to the IRS.

Now, my hobbies are limited to gardening, model railroad building, and limited cat confusing. Certainly non of these activities cost $20 Million. If it were me, I would plop down that $20-30 Million, buy the Mellon Arena and turn it into a kick arse model railroad... with like, real people and stuff.

Of course, non of my hobbies have ever been tied to a vast right-wing conspiracy.

Well, except for that one time when I helped G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt with that lock...