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Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck Pretty much anything Bono or Sean Penn write is a festival of crap that would never be tolerated from another contributor. Even James Franco sounds like a moron in today's Wall Street Journal. Here's why: Celebrities sell newspapers: which apparently makes it fine to abandon your journalistic standards and give them tacit copy approval to get their name on the cover. Here's what one copy editor, who wanted complete anonymity because everyone gets all angry where celebs are concerned, said of working on a rambling diatribe by a famous columnist for a British newspaper. When it...

Kid Rock jumps during the performance of his hit song "Bawitdaba” during the 2009 “Tour for the Troops” event on Sather Air Base, Baghdad, Dec. 4. Pop newcomer Jessie James and comedian Carlos Mencia also entertained hundreds of troops at the event, aimed at boosting troop morale. Photo by Sgt. Lindsey Bradford, Multi-National Corps – Iraq. BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 U.S. service members packed an open field on a chilly Baghdad day, Dec. 4, to watch the 2009 “Tour for the Troops� at Sather Air Base. Pop newcomer Jessie James, comedian Carlos Mencia and rebel rocker Kid Rock took...

On Saturday's Huckabee show on FNC, host Mike Huckabee interviewed gameshow host Chuck Woolery, who admitted to being conservative and voiced support for term limits, the Constitution, and tea party protesters. As the segment started, Woolery -- who famously hosted the shows Love Connection, Scrabble, and even the first several years of Wheel of Fortune -- joked: "I'm now sacrificing my career coming out as a conservative. So I'll never be hired in Hollywood again once they find out I'm doing it on your show." When Huckabee brought up the tea party protests, Woolery spoke approvingly: "It's a grassroots movement,...

I found this list and thought it was something that we could be thankful for, on this day before Thanksgiving. Thankful that there are celebrities who are opposed to Polanski being above the law, and who think that he should be prosecuted.

11/24/2009 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band made their first appearance in Afghanistan performing for hundreds of Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Coast Guard members Nov. 23 here. This visit is one in a long line of entertainment and celebrity visits to boost morale of servicemembers who are away from home and their loved ones during the holidays, said Col. Edward Shock, the Armed Forces Entertainment director. That sentiment of thanking the troops during the holidays was echoed by the visitors. "We understand and appreciate your sacrifice. We do not take you for granted,"...

WASHINGTON --- President Obama has been rolling out the red carpet at the White House during his first term -- playing host to a who's who of business-world bigs and A-list celebs including George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey, newly released records reveal. Also among the Tinseltown drop-ins were megastars Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington, who paid a visit in May, according to visitors logs, which cover January to July. The administration posted the records on its Web site yesterday, two days after a report revealed that some of Obama's top financial backers had gotten White House tours and even use...

A star-studded panel including Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am will pick the winner of a contest to produce a video backing President Barack Obama's proposed health care reforms, competition officials said Wednesday. Poring over the 30-second video entries with will.i.am when the competition ends on 10/18 will be actress Kate Walsh, medical practitioner in TV series Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice; Seth MacFarlane, the creator of hit animated series Family Guy, and half a dozen other entertainment names. From the world of politics, the judging panel will draw on the eye of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who is also head...

Slide show of celebrities who support GOP or other right causes.

Celebrities... What Don't They Know? Today we'll have some fun discussing the brilliance and projection of celebrity utterances... from Michael Moore to Polanski's defenders and David Letterman. Plus some followups on ACORN, the New York Times, and Czarmania. Call in! Call-in Number: (347) 327-9710 Upcoming Episodes10/9/2009 3:00PM/E - Rays of Light from Zo Nation Unspun with AnnaZ on Blog Talk Radio

It's the newest craze sweeping through Hollywood -- celebrities with Swine Flu!!!! And now two new members are on the infectious bandwagon! CNN's chief medical expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta just got over his bout with the Swine Flu -- and Marilyn Manson just announced that he's got S.F. right now! "Harry Potter's" Rupert Grint had it ... "The Early Show's" Harry Smith thinks he has it ... and Lisa Rinna claims her entire family got down with the sickness. It's a full blown trend! According to Manson, he didn't contract it by "f**king a pig" -- we're guessing Gupta didn't...

I laughed out loud watching this video of Andrew Klavan's 'serious' delivery identifying the way that inferior celebrities are grouped and treated as special as an accurate mirror of the democratic platform. Funny AND true!

A bunch of bored celebrity idiots got together and ruined a classic song. All in the name of raising awareness to global warming.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 16, 2009 – Celebrities stopped by here yesterday to entertain troops as part of the star-studded USO’s Summer Troop Visit. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the celebrities are travelling throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations to thank troops for their service and sacrifice. The celebrities include actors Bradley Cooper and D.B. Sweeney, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn, National Football League Hall of Famer Don Shula, and sports commentator and model Leeann Tweeden. The group’s first stop was aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft...

July 15, 2009 Note: The recent untimely and controversial deaths of actor David Carradine, mega-star Michael Jackson and football great Steve McNair beg a re-reading of a column posted in October 2003 about Denver businessman Justin Rosen. Stellar professional careers, as well as ordinary lives, can be sullied, overshadowed and devalued by circumstances surrounding our deaths. It’s essential that we end well. In death, Justyn Rosen was caught with his pants down. An alleged adulterous affair erupted and killed him. Few would have suspected his dalliance with Teresa Perez, 40, had she not reacted so murderously when the 79 year-old...

Poor Farrah Fawcett. A month ago, People magazine's Larry Hackett admitted to the Times that she only had one remaining chance for some friendly press: "At this point, Farrah has to die," he said. "It's the only cover left for her." Needless to say, she's missed her chance. Having vanished from the headlines after Michael Jackson's sudden demise, Farrah is just the latest to join a peculiar group: the Eclipsed Celebrity Death Club.

The Los Angeles Police robbery and homicide division has been assigned to investigate the death of Michael Jackson, department officials said today. "There is no immediate indication of a crime," a police official told ABC News, "but because of the high profile nature of the case the robbery and homicide detectives with review all evidence and work with the coroner's office." Los Angeles police were reported to be seeking a doctor who was with Jackson when he collapsed yesterday at his rented mansion in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles. The LAPD is also reportedly searching for a doctor who...

It is not surprising that such far left Hollywood celebrities as Sean Pean and Danny Glover would support an outright communist dictatorship in Cuba but many other seemingly sane folks also have expressed their sympathy for Fidel Castro. I'm talking about people like Kevin Costner and Steven Spielberg. Costner is not known for any extreme leftwing politics and Spielberg, while liberal, has embarrassed himself with his support for the communist regime. Why? Well, we might have the answer: blackmail. According to an article by Humberto Fontova pubished in the Canada Free Press, it was the task of a high ranking...

Last night’s Costume Institute Gala was probably the biggest red carpet event of the year, as it gathered all of the fashion elite including designers, models, and celebs in a stylish symphony of luxurious glamour and elegance. Dream dresses, radiant attendees, more beauty than ones eyes could safely behold, together in glorious aesthetic reverence. If only they could stage such a magnificient soiree every day!

When celebs like Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Demi Moore and Eva Mendes gather at one location, they literally take turns outshining each other. This is what happened at last night’s Cartier 100th Anniversary in America Celebration. Anne Hathaway appeared wearing a modified version of a Jill Stuart Fall 2009 lacy dress.

Celebrities Can Just Waltz Into the White House Whenever They WantBy Pareene, 3:08 PM on Wed Apr 22 2009 So this morning, Usher just showed up at the White House, apparently uninvited, and he and his entourage just walked in the northwest gate. But President Obama wasn't home. Informed that Obama had just left for Iowa and wouldn't be inside, the singer seemed disappointed. "He did?" he said. What an odd story! Usher just came over for a chat, apparently. And there is an open door-to-R&B superstars policy, at the White House, even when the President is a thousand miles...

Earth Day Poseurs by The Daily Beast April 21, 2009 | 10:35pm As we fete all things green, The Daily Beast looks at six environmentally friendly faces who have some explaining to do to Mother Nature. (Simon, Barbra, Madonna—she’s listening.)Those who live in solar houses shouldn't throw stones, and yet an increasing number of celebrities are jumping on the green bandwagon before taking a look into their own public records. They're not exactly hypocrites, and most of the time Barbra Streisand and Al Gore (especially Al Gore) direct the public's attention to unsexy topics like climate change. But beneath...

Lindsay Lohan's eHarmony Profile

Lindsay Lohan's new post-breakup makeover hasn't won over singer Steve Nicks, who was less-than-impressed to hear that the troubled starlet is desperate to play her on film. "Over my dead body," the 60-year-old singer told the New York Times after learning that Lohan was interested in buying the rights to her life story in order to nab the lead role.

Hollywood has come to the White House. The latest celeb to be granted an audience with President Barack Obama is Brad Pitt, who was smuggled into the White House yesterday for talks about "green housing" in New Orleans. A couple of weeks back, it was George Clooney who met President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the White House to discuss Darfur. Afterwards, Clooney told reporters that he'd been assured by "the administration" that a "full-time, high-level envoy" to the region would be appointed. Also in on the White House meeting with Pitt was energy czar Carol Browner....

THE Obamas have promised to turn the White House into the “people’s house”, and as luck would have it the people visiting just happen to include George Clooney and Brad Pitt. They are not only two of the world’s biggest stars but are also leading players in the new “celebriplomacy”. Washington used to be known as “Hollywood for ugly people”, but the bold and beautiful are flocking to the capital. Pitt slipped quietly into the White House last week for a private audience with the president in the Oval Office. History does not record whether he met Michelle Obama or...

There's an oft-quoted joke from Chris Rock's infamous 1996 comedy show 'Bring the Pain,' in which Rock, after listing a variety of alleged infractions the murdered Nicole Brown Simpson had committed against O.J. Simpson, says "I'm not saying he should have killed her, but I understand." Hilarious, right? I probably laughed at that once. But it's not funny at all. Lately, I've seen this quote invoked in comment sections across the blogosphere in reference to the Chris Brown and Rihanna saga. Apparently, it's not so much a "joke" as it is a popular and accepted attitude toward violence against women...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51kAw4OTlA0&feature=related [Watch till the very end].

Check out this inauguration day “Presidential Pledge” video produced by aging starlet Demi Moore and her son husband Ashton Kutcher. It’s a perfect stage for a few big stars and a ton of wannabe big stars to reveal the depth of their newly discovered love for America. Here’s how the Moore and Kutcher describe their work: “Reflecting Barack’s call for change, the film features over 50 of the biggest stars in Hollywood revealing how they plan to personally participate in keeping America strong, proud and green.” We’re into pop culture in a big way here at IHTM. For god’s sake,...

President Barack Obama has an unusual ability to bring out the best in his enemies and the worst in his friends. Which is why former foe John McCain was leading the push for a Senate vote on Hillary Clinton as secretary of state; and why the most disturbing Obama video you’ll see this year was just posted by his biggest fans. Demi Moore and her boy toy Ashton Kutcher have put together a YouTube video called “The Pledge,” in which a cast of celebrities and semi-celebs pledge their service to Obama. Literally. The video starts harmlessly enough, with Hollywoodies like...

Many of the celebrities that were central to demonizing and making life impossible for President Bush for eight loathsome years NOW want to help with the heavy lifting of bringing America back together under President Barack Obama. Witness Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s cavalcade of shiny, happy situational patriots appearing in a derivative public servitude announcement: A “Presidential Pledge” to President Barack Obama. Forgive and forget? Right. President Bush was not holding back Moore from “free[ing] one million people from slavery in the next five years.” Nor was he holding back the Obama-biquitous Will.I.Am from “chang[ing] how [he] live[s].” Ditto:...

<p>Many of the celebrities that were central to demonizing and making life impossible for President Bush for eight loathsome years NOW want to help with the heavy lifting of bringing America back together under President Barack Obama.</p> <p>Witness Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher’s cavalcade of shiny, happy situational patriots appearing in a derivative public servitude video campaign: A “Presidential Pledge” to President Barack Obama.</p>

LOOKS like the party really is over. The days before a Hollywood awards ceremony were once a wonderland of fab freebies - fully loaded Mexico vacations! Private jet vouchers! $100 diamond Havaianas! - but just days before Sunday's Golden Globes, gifting suites have been reduced to serving Bundt cakes, pizza and toothpaste. Stuff you wouldn't want even if they were giving it away. Oh. Wait. "Companies don't even have budgets to pay their own marketing staff, let alone participate in gifting lounges. There is barely anything going on at the Golden Globes in terms of gifting - and Sundance will...

When during a pre-election debate Barack Obama and John McCain both said that an apparent rise in autism cases might be connected to vaccines, those who knew better squirmed at the lack of scientific knowledge of the two remaining presidential candidates on this topic. In fact, studies have found no link between autism and vaccines. But televised statements by such high-profile people have a way of perpetuating myths. In it's third annual report, the UK group Sense about Science calls the two candidates out on the inaccurate statements, along with a long list of celebrities' scientifically inaccurate claims.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2008 – Actor and director Ben Affleck and other celebrities joined more than 1,000 volunteers over the weekend to put together care packages for deployed troops at the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, Calif. Actor and director Ben Affleck helps Operation Gratitude volunteers assemble care packages for deployed troops in the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, Calif. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operation Gratitude, a California-based troop-support group, organized the event that also included actress and model Kathy Ireland and “Days of Our Lives” soap opera stars Deidre Hall, Jay Kenneth...

When they are not wearing elegant black little dresses under the limelight, the stars go casual off the red carpet in all-black ensembles. To rescue their outfits from dullness, celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Victoria Beckham accessorize with bright scarves, riding boots, expensive bags and sunglasses. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

It was a star studded night at the Fontainebleau Hotel Grand Opening in Miami last night. Everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson to Heidi Klum attended the party. Kim Kardashian’s style is improving by leaps and bounds, and she showed it off quite nicely with a black belted taffeta dress. She accentuated her look with bold red lips. A very complete look. Jessica Szohr stepped on the red carpet in skinny jeans and white shirt. She completed her look with black platform sandals and a black hat.

The modern obsession with celebrity started in 18th-century Britain with obituaries of unusual people published in what served as the gossip sheets of the era, an English literature scholar says. Some researchers think the phenomenon of celebrity was born with the 19th-century Romantic movement in art, music and literature (think of works by Chopin, J.M.W. Turner and Edgar Allen Poe). Instead, Elizabeth Barry of the University of Warwick in England claims the modern public fascination with celebrities can be traced back to the rise of newspapers and magazines and the popularity of the obituaries in the 18th century. "Different kinds...

What's that funk floating in the air? Fish? Skunk? Inhale deep, savor the stench and see for yourself in today's "Geeks On Caffeine" cartoon! NOTE The author of this comic requests that you please visit his web site and refrain from copying this cartoon within this thread. Thank you very much!

former contestant on hit US television show American Idol was discovered dead outside the Los Angeles home of Paula Abdul, the singer who stars as a judge on the series, a report said.

Matt Bernson shoes for Walter and Zac Posen A Shoe Designer to the Stars, Bernson is an American success story, who has led an interesting life with a career path that took him from travel writer to construction to a propitious journey to India, where he developed a fascination for footwear design, culminating in a full fledged line of designer shoes for women and men. And fervent acceptance by trend setting stars such as Gisele Bundchen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Gwen Stefani, Courtney Cox, Hills stars Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Gossip Girl...

Country singer Carrie Underwood may seem like America’s sweetheart, but just make sure you don’t ask her who she is voting for in this year’s presidential election. “There is someone I do support, but I don’t support publicly,” gossip Web site Just Jared quotes Underwood as telling TV Guide. “I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate,” she said. “It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions.” The American Idol alum added that she would never want “anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to.”

Bill O'Reilly has a feature called "Pinhead or Patriot?" on his evening talking head hour. He examines recent actions of people, usually celebrities, and based on those actions, he brands them "Pinhead" or "Patriot". Sometimes I agree with him and sometimes I don't. Sometimes his choices for "Patriot" seem almost condescending, like the recent knighting of Lady Elizabeth Taylor for rolling out on a stage. Yeah, I know...that comment made me a pinhead, but it's true nonetheless. I really doubt that the woman I saw did a whole lot in the way of licking envelopes. Lately I've been disagreeing more...

So I thought I would do a little research. I am so sick and tired of celebrities pushing their liberal agenda on us, and using every opportunity to tell us how to vote. So I thought, what exactly qualifies these people to give us political advice? Well, it definitely isn't what they do for a living, so I figure maybe it was their education. So thanks to IMDB.com and Wikipedia, I found the following: Actor George Clooney briefly attended NKU but did not graduate Brad Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on...

by Eric "Mr. EPluribus" PorvaznikWe've definitely got a one of the good guys on our side Once upon a time, there was a man named Michael Moore. For far worse than better, he liked to get under people's skin, from local school board members to, quite honestly, just about anyone who merely happened to disagree with his (and only his) way of thinking. He released a few pieces of fiction posing as documentaries, proposed very few (if any) solutions to the problems he illustrated (or invented) in his movies, and became the darling of the cinematic world, even garnering enough recognition...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Robert Wagner says he was so distraught over the break-up of his first marriage to actress Natalie Wood that he pondered suicide and would sit with a gun outside the home of her lover, Warren Beatty, intent on killing him. "Pieces of My Heart," Wagner's autobiography released this week, reveals details of his career and life, including the split with Wood, their decision to remarry a decade later and her drowning death in 1981. "I was pretty young, and I don't think I could have ever gone through with that act, but I was pretty...

-- Ayelet Waldman e-mailed a few writer friends asking them to donate signed books she could auction as an "instant library" at a Barack Obama fundraiser hosted by Alice Waters in Berkeley on Sept. 26. She's received hundreds, from the likes of Stephen King, Ann Packer, Khaled Husseini, Jodi Picoult, Jonathan Lethem, Anne Tyler, Steve Martin, Jamie Lee Curtis and others.

Sorry for the vanity post but I wanted to give many of you an insight as to what's happening in downtown St Paul on the eve of the RNC. The area around Xcel Enegy Center has been walled off to foot and motor trafic. I approached one of the checkpoints from the W 7th St (or western side). There is A LOT of security present...plainclothes Secret Service, local cops, wildlife/game officers (yes, they're armed too)and a lot of National Guard. Groups of St Paul police are patrolling the perimeter on some really huge horses. Helicopters are constantly flying over downtown...

I thought it would be fun to compile a list of self-important celebrities who promise to move to Canada/England/Russia etc. when McCain wins the election. If anybody knows of any that I’ve forgotten, drop me an email at celebrity@wmbriggs.com and I’ll add them. Please include a verifiable link. More on this in a moment. You might recall quite a few actors, actresses and sundry entertainers made similar promises to emigrate when Bush won his second term. Not one of them did what they promised they would do. I even remember getting an email from a pal of mine when Bush...

Barack Obama's campaign has been seriously frightened by John McCain celebrity-mocking ads. Those celebrities were virtually nowhere to be found for most of the Denver convention. While the Obama machine may control the inside of the convention, outside these celebrities are clearly out of control – again.

The 7 Most Retarded Ways Celebrities Have Tried to Go Green By David Knight With the threat of global warming looming, it's more important than ever that all of us appear to care about the environment. Maybe no one works harder on this than celebrities, who make it a point to show up in the papers every now and then with their latest eco-friendly gesture. We would applaud them for this, if it wasn't for the fact that the gestures are often mind-blowingly retarded.