Davy Jones Dies Of A Heart Attack At 66

Davy Jones, the British born musician singer for The Monkees has died of a heart attack at the age of 66. Reportedly, Jones was going out to look at his horses, and didn't feel very well in his car and had difficulty breathing, but died before he was able to receive help in a hospital emergency department.

Jones was part of the four member group, The Monkees, which were a TV band put together by producers for a TV show of the 1960's that were supposed to be like The Beatles. Being British, Jones added a Beatles-like voice to some of the hit singles of the band. Other members of the group included Mickey Dolenz, who was a star in the 1950's show, CIRCUS BOY, and Texan, Mike Nesmith, who added a little bit of country style to some songs, and Peter Tork, who sometimes did some of the more psychedelic songs of the band. These four very talented performers comprise one of the best of the fake Beatles-type groups of the 60's. Peter Tork eventually left th group, as did Mike Nesmith, But Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones carried on the act for a while after-wards. All three of the surviving Monkees had warm words of sadness for the death of their very popular and well loved friend.

It appears that The Monkees homepage has been taken down for repairs today, as it is being updated to respect their fallen friend.

Davy Jones wasn't only a great singer, but he was a real heartthrob to many young girls as well during his young years in The Monkees. Some of his hit singles that he sang lead on like "Daydream Believer" were among the biggest chart hits of the band.

Although various members were sometimes at odds with one another, Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz managed to perform together in various reunions of The Monkees over the years, sometimes including Peter Tork. A complete reunion of the old group is now out of the question.

While Mike Nesmith is often credited with creating what was seen as the first music video ever, with his short film, "Elephant Parts", Davy Jones was probably the best front-man for the group. Even The Beatles once had a reception for the band, which they welcomed, even if they were often viewed as a TV version of The Beatles.

Occupy Movement Domestic Terrorists Badly Damage Starbucks and Banks In Portland

In the latest escalation of violence by the domestic terrorist Occupy Movement, a Starbucks and at least two banks were badly damaged by rock throwing vandals who later issued a communique taking responsibility for their actions. ATM machines and other bank equipment was smashed and destroyed by the domestic terrorists. A Portland Police spokesman was concerned that the Occupy Movement was sending mixed messages today, at first claiming that they were going to launch some peaceful protests, but then struck with the coordinated early morning attacks on the businesses in different parts of the city.

In the case of the domestic terrorist attack on the 39th and Salmon branch of the U.S. Bank, not only were the doors knocked out, but the ATM machines were badly damaged. Even the bulletproof window of the drive-up teller window was badly damaged. Normally these are made of a high tech plastic that will repel bullets, so it isn't clear what sort of weapons were used by these domestic terrorists to make impact holes through any window of this strength. It isn't clear whether these terrorists did any damage inside these banks, but any entering of the banks were constitute an enhanced crime far beyond the normal serious federal felonies that these domestic terrorists now face. These domestic terrorists could face charges as serious federal banking crimes all the way up to homeland security act violations for domestic terrorism. Prison sentences could range from 5 years to life imprisonment if these federal charges are brought against these domestic terrorists.

The Occupy movement domestic terrorists sent Emails to news-stations like KOIN taking responsibility for their violent attacks in rambling and poorly misspelled messages. However, the Mayor of Portland, Oregon, Sam Adams failed to revoke the parade permit for the protesters after their early morning acts of violence, only leading to some disorderly street protests later in the day, resulting in dozens of arrests.

No doubt, the mayor's ability to handle a crisis will once again be called into question here. He had an opportunity to prevent further problems, but completely failed. He is not running for re-election after a sex scandal involving him and a 17 year old boy, badly damaged his reputation and resulted in a criminal investigation. A recall movement failed to remove the mayor as unfit for office.

MAD Magazine Features Mitt Romney Monopoly Game Cards

Call me a sucker for funny parody Monopoly cards, but the new MAD Magazine has a really funny great new feature of a select group of comic Mitt Romney edition Monopoly game cards. I can tell you that this is the best parody Monopoly game card pieces since "The Miracle Monopoly Cheating Kit" published in THE NATIONAL LAMPOON back in the 1970's. That featured some great cards such as "Shoot The Moon", which allowed you to get everything from all the other players with just one card. The new issue of MAD Magazine is a classic, and one of their best issues yet. I strongly recommend to buy a copy or two.

Lucy Lawless Gets Arrested For Burglary

Greenpeace environmentalist demonstrators don't seem to care much about $4, $5 or even $6 a gallon gas, and have taken over a ship with oil headed for Alaska sailing from New Zealand. Actress Lucy Lawless, 43, was among these demonstrators, and went way too far in their occupation of the ship, leading to arrest on more serious burglary charges which could well result in some jail or prison time for the former ZENA THE WARRIOR PRINCESS star.

Looking particularly unglamorous, Lawless was on a tower on the ship for four days, and bragged about using containers to conduct her bathroom business. It's been a pretty absurd fall from grace for the actress since her ZENA days, and a pretty sad comment on her life that she's now down to doing this wacky environmentalist nonsense.

Wacky environmentalists like this just don't live in the real world with the rest of us. In order for economies to provide jobs, a certain amount of progress is needed as nations work to develop new technology that burns less oil. The current wave of high gas prices will almost certainly result in more electric, hybrid or alternate technology vehicles which will reduce the need for more oil in the future. These environmentalists don't understand that the wisdom of the marketplace will fix many problems. such as oil consumption, leading to more environmental friendly and cost effective power sourced products. The markets will always drive new technology research and products as consumers will reject products that just cost too much to maintain, such as low mileage vehicles.

In 1977, the world pretty much went past a critical oil stage known as "peak oil", which meant that it became much harder to retrieve oil without air, gas or water injection to raise oil levels for easy access.

THE DICTATOR Does The Oscars

Of course, comic actor Sasha Baron Cohen did exactly what he asked not to do, and showed up at the Oscars dressed as his character from THE DICTATOR movie of his. It was an outrageous display of self-promotion on one hand, but also a great moment of comic levity for the big award event. Something tells me that this will be a big story from this year's big show.

In many ways, Cohen's antics remind one of a Howard Stern moment stunt. But, regardless. Score one for free speech!

The Incredible Career Ride Of Tony Orlando

Tony Orlando was a top of the pops headliner for years. But, there are some very fascinating stories behind his music you might not know.

Tony Orlando's baby sister was born with a number of serious health problems, which also had a complication of mental retardation. She would often cry and cry as a child when young Tony would take care of his sister. So he looked for ways to entertain her to soothe her crying. Soon he found out that singing and later playing guitar was the only way to make her content. Tony kept getting better and better with practice, because everyday was like a singing audition. Eventually, all of those hours of practice made Tony very good. So good, that he eventually formed Tony Orlando & Dawn, and had a long string of top ten pop music hit songs during the 1970's.

Some people loved Tony Orlando's music, while others thought it to be lightweight and not very serious. But, this music had it's roots in being a lightweight form of entertainment for his handicapped sister. Millions have loved Tony Orlando's music including his sister, his biggest fan.

One of his biggest hits was a song, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree", which actually had a couple of very serious meanings. In the 1800's, women used to use yellow ribbons to signify that they had a loved one serving in the calvary. It was a sort of way of honoring soldiers at the time. But, there was also a very serious story in which a young man committed a serious crime in his hometown, and was set for release. But, he was unsure whether his father and family could ever forgive him and whether he would ever be welcome back home again. He asked that the family just tie one yellow ribbon on a familiar oak tree as his train pulled around the corner where his station was. If he saw one ribbon, he's get off the train, otherwise he's ride on and never bother the family ever again.

As his train pulled around the corner, he looked for a yellow ribbon on a tree. First he saw one ribbon, then another. Then another one. There had to be a hundred ribbons on trees. This meant that he was more than welcome and more than forgiven. It was a heartwarming story.

Tony Orlando's music reflected his strong sense of family, whether it was rooted in his love for his sister or in a great message of redemption in "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Ole Oak Tree".

Strangely, it was Jerry Lee Lewis who introduced Tony Orlando to a friend, Elaine, who became his wife until they divorced in 1983, but they have one son, Jon, who became a comedian. Tony Orlando has since remarried. His father was Greek and his mother Puerto Rican, making Tony Orlando one of the most successful entertainers among the American Puerto Rican community.

At the age of 67, Tony Orlando still performs to this day. His career actually started in 1961, a full nine years before he hit #3 on Billboard with his hit "Candida", which introduced his fresh new pop style with Dawn as his backup singers. "Candida" actually was attributed to Dawn, as Tony Orlando had actually retired as a cover singer by 1970, instead working for music publishers April-Blackwood. His voice was dubbed over the male vocals on the song, and the song became a big hit, allowing Tony Orlando to quit his job at the music publisher and to embark on a huge career as a front-man performer. Not a bad ride for someone gave up performing, only to come back bigger and better than ever. Tony Orlando and Dawn were so hot that they even had their own comedy -variety TV show from 1974-1976 on CBS. That's big.

Not bad, Tony Orlando. Not bad at all.

China's Own Scion xB Clone

Toyota's Scion xB has been such a success story that you could only expect some sort of ripoff version to eventually hit the market. Well, Great Wall Motors, China's largest SUV producer has also gotten into the automobile business as well in recent years, and Great Wall's CoolBear sure looks an awful lot just like the Scion xB. In fact, both are powered by a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine to add to the awesome similarity of the two cars. You'd swear that Toyota helped Great Wall build this car. But, apparently Toyota sure didn't. Even worse, copyright or trademark infringement cases in China often go nowhere. Fiat attempted to sue Great Wall over their Peri model which has a more than coincidental similarity to the Fiat Panda, but lost their case in the Chinese courts. Toyota's luck will probably be no better either in the Chinese courts. Toyota will likely have to live with the Scion xB ripoff and just swallow their anger.

But, you have to hand it to the Chinese. They've created a functional and attractive enough automobile that it will likely sell well in the 80 countries that Great Wall exports to. In Australia for example, just one Great Wall SUV model holds about 4% of their market. Some Great Wall SUVs slip into the EU as commercial vehicles to avoid much stricter standards for consumer trucks. But, several Great Wall models have fully complied with strict EU automobile safety standards and are available for sale.

When a Chinese brand of automobiles goes up for sale, you can almost expect it to be a Great Wall brand, because Great Wall is in the best position of any Chinese automaker at this point to export worldwide.

Gerard Butler Leaves Rehab

Actor Gerard Butler, star of the film 300, apparently spent three weeks in rehab at the Betty Ford center due to substance abuse problems he developed from prescription medications. He is now out of rehab, and was photographed by TMZ relaxing. Butler blamed his problems with pain medication on an injury he sustained while working on the film OF MEN AND MAVERICKS back on December.

Unfortunately, some prescription pain killers have a high threshold to create an addiction potential. Doctors need to use extreme caution when they prescribe some medications if a substitute drug exists with a much lower addiction risk potential.

Thanks to TMZ for this unique photo. Each day, TMZ fills our Email box with news tips and becomes one of our best parners in celebrity news coverage.

CD Review: Amy Winehouse LIONESS: HIDDEN TREASURES

This first posthumous release by Amy Winehouse is an interesting little collection of 12 demos, unfinished songs and other left over items, packaged together as a compilation. "Body And Soul", a duet with Tony Bennett was the first single off the album, released back in September 14. It was her final recording before her death. Her very decent cover version of the old Ruby And The Romantics hit, "Our Day Will Come" was released as a single in December. It was a very fine remake of this old classic, with some fine sultry vocals by Winehouse along with some slightly reggae tinged music. This single peaked at #29 on the UK charts. Some sources indicate a third single from the album might be released in March. "Like Smoke" has been added to BBC radio play recently, and might well become a third single for the album making the 12th single released by Amy Winehouse. Tracks on the album were recorded between 2002 and 2011, however "Our Day Will Come" is actually Amy Winehouse's first solo single to released since 2007, because of the long drought in her career as her life fell into disarray and she just couldn't manage to get on track and record very much new music other than her duet with Tony Bennett which made it to his own album.

Despite being a collection of loose end songs, LIONESS: HIDDEN TREASURES is a very fine and listenable collection of songs that makes you feel very sad at the death of this young star at the age of 27. She only issued just two s studio albums in her short career, which was unfortunately too much characterized by drugs and other problems rather than settling down to record music. Not only could Amy Winehouse have achieved so much more than she did, but she would still be alive if her life would have been more together. She was mostly a great untapped talent although she managed to win top top Grammy honors with her BACK TO BLACK being nominated for six top Grammy honors, helping Amy Winehouse to win five Grammy awards. She was considered to be the best white R&B singer since Dusty Springfield. With her young life cut short by alcohol poisoning, you only could have wondered "what if" if her life could have been better and she could have only fulfilled her potential for greatness. Leaving her massive audience of fans with only two studio albums, FRANK and BACK TO BLACK, plus this compilation of great little odds and ends seems hardly enough for this great voice.

LIONESS:HIDDEN TREASURES almost seems to be her most listenable project for me. Filled with a few great cover versions of classic songs, songs like "Our Day Will Come" deserved to be remade in modern digital sound by a modern singer. And Amy Winehouse carries out a great haunting version of this song since she is now gone. First hearing this song, my heart was struck with great sadness. I enjoyed this album far more than I ever expected. What a great talent she was.

The Bottom Line: LIONESS: HIDDEN TREASURES is a great collection of some pretty fair, but mostly unfinished songs. Only two songs were actually finished on this album, so apparently some additional music or other production work was required to finish this album. ***(Three Stars, Good. You need to add this to your well stocked cd library).

Gingrich's Give Up Desert For Lent, But Not Half A Million In Diamonds

Newt Gingrich and his former mistress who is now his wife, Calista Gingrich, have reportedly given up desert for Lent. Gingrich is a Catholic, but his wife is a former Southern Baptist who converted to the Catholic faith. Giving up desert for Lent may be a more symbolic gesture, because there are some reports that Gingrich has spent as much as half a million buying diamonds and jewelry for his wife at Tiffany's since the days she was first his mistress when he was still married to his second wife Marianne Ginther.

By Catholic law, divorce is generally not acceptable except in rare circumstances, and remarried Catholics are not supposed to celebrate Communion. Gingrich's current marriage is his third, however over the years many women have come forth claiming affairs with the former Speaker Of The House. Some women have claimed that Gingrich often preferred to have oral sex, because he could then use a Bill Clinton-type legal argument that he didn't have intercourse with them. As Speaker Of The House, Gingrich led the battle to impeach Bill Clinton when Clinton used the same sort of legalistic argument, but had oral sex with intern Monica Lewinsky according to her own claims and left some sperm ejaculation DNA on a blue dress she owned.

Gingrich has condemned his opponent Mitt Romney for being out of touch with the average person because Romney is worth an estimated quarter billion dollars or better and has made some public $10,000 bets. However, the reports of Gingrich's opulent spending on diamonds at Tiffany's for his wife raise some questions about the genuine quality of Gingrich's complaints. At any rate, the owners of Tiffany's can now breathe easy that the Gingrich's are cutting back on cheesecake and not diamonds.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend you know.

Big Time Sissyass Stuff: ProOsama Bin Laden Rant Nonsense On A Passenger Airliner Earns Disturbed Saudi Arabian A Trip To Jail

Terrorism is complete B.S. Some political radicals want to impose their nonsense extremist views of religion or politics on others so bad that they pull tricks like injuring or killing innocent people in public places such as the 9/11 assaults on public airline transportation. On a public airliner flight set to take off from Portland Oregon's main airport some young Saudi Arabian got himself arrested on federal charges for what had to rank as the absolute stupidest bit of pro-terrorist B.S rant on a passenger airliner ever in history.

Yazeed Mohammed A. Abunayyad, 19, completely embarrassed his 21 year old cousin who tried to get his dumb-crap relative to shut up and put out an electronic cigarette that he started smoking on the flight although he was asked repeatedly to stop by the flight crew. Abunayyad instead interfered with the flight crew and may have hit several passengers, while speaking and singing of the praises of Osama Bin Laden, the big time sissyass loser terrorist leader who's crimes only earned him a bullet in the head by Navy Seals for all the innocent persons he conspired to murder with his worldwide terrorism cult.

But, Abunayyad's cousin Fahad Alsubaie, made every good attempt to get his relative to behave on the flight, and certainly didn't approve of his wacky conduct or proOsama bin Laden rants. Alsubaie claims that his relative is mentally ill and the two were headed back to Saudi Arabia to visit his sick mother.

Local FBI spokesperson Beth Anne Steele noted that the criminal charge against Abunayyad was for interfering with the flight crew and terrorism charges wouldn't likely be filed against the crazy proOsama bin Laden ranting passenger. Regardless, it was certainly big time sissyass stuff for Abunayyad to act up on the airliner and to create a big incident and scare for the other passengers.

According to a spokesperson at Sonoma State University, Abunayyad came to the U.S. as an exchange student to study language, but certainly displayed plenty of "disturbed" behavior while at college.

Here's to you, Abunayyad, our big time sissyass loser of the day. Your cousin, a decent young man, tried to get you to shut the F up and behave so you could give a little comfort to your sick mother, instead you won't be going home very soon because you acted up big time on the flight home and earned a trip to jail instead.

Portland Trailblazer Greg Oden Faces Career Ending Microsurgery

The career of center Greg Oden for the Portland Trailblazers is being threatened by a third microsurgery on his knees. Normally, a first microsurgery is a career ender. No NBA player has ever returned from a third surgery and ever played again. All of this is more likely than not to spell an end to Oden's career. Oden probably will announce his retirement from the Blazers in the near future based on the latest bad news about his health. Although, well loved at home by fans, injury issues have always been a major topic of discussion when Oden's name was brought up. Now, these health issues are likely to result in a career ending discussion, just not a sideline issue.

For now, Oden is only signed through the rest of this season. Likely, it will be his last. At the age of 24, his career likely is over. It's a very sad end for the player who never really got to live out hi s full potential as a player. His best years were when he played 82 games between the ages of 21 and 22. Now, that seems like a million years ago.

Lindsay Lohan Will Host SNL In March

Well, nothing can certainly go wrong here. Apparently all of the other celebrities must have been taken, so SNL has booked trainwreck actress Lindsay Lohan to host the show in early March. It will be interesting to see whether she can do the show without it resulting in additional public service time. Actually, it might be cute to see little Lindsay Lohan performing her skits with a little ankle monitoring bracelet.

But, seriously. The show might be part of Lindsay Lohan's attempt to publicly rehabilitate her image. Some stars have done that successfully, and some not. Look at Robert Downey, Jr. for example. There's a guy who really came back from the brink, only to become a top box office draw. Then, there's others like Whitney Houston, where the decline only resulted in an early death. Lindsay Lohan is at a crossroads right now. This SNL appearance may well be her most important gig in her life. She needs to make the most it.

DEGRASSI HIGH Actor's Death Made Public After Five Years

For some strange reason the death of Canadian actor, Neil Hope, has only now been made official, although he actually died in 2007. Apparently, the actor that played the character, Wheels, died of natural causes at the age of 35, but his death was kept a family secret until only the last few days for some odd reason.

DEGRASSI HIGH was a controversial series in that it dealt with some very serious topics such as AIDS, sex, suicide, cheating, and other topics. In the U.S., an episode dealing with abortion was edited because of political pressure from pro-life political forces, however in Canada and Australia, unedited episodes of the series played. PBS ran the series in the U.S. , but had to be sensitive to political pressures because some members of Congress attempt to cut funding for public TV or radio if some political or social opinion air that they do not agree with. Working under such blackmail pressures, controversial series like DEGRASSI HIGH represent something of a dilemma for the network. Shows like DEGRASSI HIGH are very good TV, and represent significant programming, but some outside political forces want to control what others think and don't approve of opinions different than their own.

DEGRASSI HIGH aired for two seasons from 1989-91, but has has been followed by a sequel series, DEGRASSI HIGH: THE NEXT GENERATION. The series was filmed up in Toronto.

Bobby Brown Leaves Crowded Whitney Houston Funeral Early

Because of an overflow crowd for the funeral of Whitney Houston, her former husband Bobby Brown found seating difficult and left the funeral of his former wife early after briefing touching her coffin. But other celebrities such as Kevin Costner, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keyes, Clive Davis and Tyler Perry not only stayed, but many offered either songs or speeches in her honor. It all proved what a well loved personality that Whitney Houston was.

Her funeral was nearly four hours long due to all the speeches and songs, and was quite an event. No doubt weekend entertainment and news programs will air extensive footage from the event. Some live footage was streamed on the Internet earlier today.

Robin Gibb Performs Onstage Again

After a recovery from both liver and colon cancer that his doctor's have termed "miraculous", legendary Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb actually returned to the stage last night for a benefit for injured servicemen in the UK. Robin Gibb's appearance before the charity event, Coming Home, was something of a surprise to many celebrity observers who believed that the singer was terminally ill. Gibb later explained in an interview that his lead doctor is a brilliant man, who now has him mostly cancer free. with only a little "mopping up" left to rid him of the last of the dreaded disease.

THE MIRROR over in the UK carried the news about Robin Gibb's amazing return to performing, and their website can be checked out for further details about Robin Gibb's return from what appeared to be certain death. Back in October for example, Robin Gibb looked very gaunt during an interview when he reviewed that he was in a very serious cancer battle for his life.

Well, we're so glad to have you back, Robin. You're a legend. Maybe all those prayers and good wishes counted for something here.

GM Posts Record $7.6 Billion Profits For 2011

As a sure sign that GM has successfully restructured their worldwide corporation, the company reported a record $7.6 billion dollars in profits for 2011. Further, a profit sharing program with UAW GM workers also promises many employees a $7,000 bonus check as well. All of this is very good news for a company that in recent years came within a hair of economic collapse. GM was a beneficiary of the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program(TARP), signed into law by President Bush and continued by the Obama Administration which offered some emergency financial help to a few select industries considered vital to the American economy such as banks or large employers or military contractors like GM. TARP offered some help to ailing companies, but also has produced some handsome interest rate returns for the U.S. Treasury as well, making the program largely a win-win situation for business and the federal government as well.

The new GM is a smaller company than before, no longer including Hummer, Saturn or Pontiac. A few years ago, the Oldsmobile brand was discontinued as well. GM also divested of Saab, which attempted to operate as an independent brand for a short time. But, when Saab sought to sell to a Chinese company, GM helped to nix the deal, because a large part of Saab's revenues came from the sale of military hardware such as advanced aircraft. GM apparently not only supplied this military technology, but was concerned for national security reasons with a large sale of military technology to China, which could benefit their military in a shortcut manner.

On national nightly news programs last night, the CEO of GM spoke how the government TARP program was essential to the survival of not only GM, but also the American economy as a whole. Campaigning in Michigan, presidential candidate Mitt Romney continues to oppose the TARP program that rescued GM, instead preferring that troubled American companies instead work through bankruptcy proceedings to either restructure or else liquidate their assets. The CEO of GM believes the company would have disappeared without TARP and disagrees with the position of Romney, the son of George Romney, the former top CEO of the now defunct American Motors Corporation which was absorbed by Chrysler 1n 1987 in their buyout bid to acquire the Jeep assets of AMC.

Part of the turn-around success of GM is the huge sales of GM Shanghai, China company. Buicks are wildly popular among the wealthy Chinese, and are selling in numbers far larger than in the U.S.

The stock value of GM should gain value as well, as the company appears to be in sound economic health, posting their new record profits.

All of this should be good news for fans of Chevrolets, Cadillacs and Buicks. Not only will new models continue to be produced, but parts for existing models will also continue to be available as well. GM isn't going anywhere, but up.

GM also narrowly took back their crown as the largest auto producer in the world in 2011, putting them narrowly ahead of Toyota and Volkswagen. But, Volkswagen has undertaken an ambitious five year plan to become the world's number one auto producer, and Toyota has shaken off some of their image problems after having some troubled automobile models a few years ago that were far below normal Toyota standards. You can expect all three car-makers to work hard for the top position for some years to come.

Nancy Grace Attempts To Defend Absurd Claim That Whitney Houston Was Murdered On GOOD MORNING AMERICA

While medical evidence has already proven that Whitney Houston didn't die from drowning, but from some other condition before she fell into the bathtub where she was found, that sure didn't stop former prosecutor Nancy Grace from advancing the absurd claim that Whitney Houston may have been pushed into her death in the bathtub on GOOD MORNING AMERICA today. Hosts on GOOD MORNING AMERICA remained perfectly calm amid the foolish speculation by Grace which has already been completely discounted by the physical evidence of the autopsy since Whitney Houston's death.

However, it is important to note that some doctors who have prescribed medications for Whitney Houston are stating to be interviewed by investigators. When toxicology tests come back, that could possibly lay the legal basis for any possible prosecution if any doctors wrongly prescribed medications for someone that they knew suffered from drug abuse problems. Some medical experts have already condemned the prescription of at least drug by one of her doctors as being completely inappropriate for anyone suffering from drug addiction.

COLBERT REPORT Suspends Production Because Of Family Emergency

Comedy Central has suddenly suspended production of THE COLBERT REPORT after production of the very popular and influential comedy series was interrupted by family emergency. For now, reruns are scheduled, with no date set for the series to return. Stephen Colbert's 91 year old mother is reportedly very ill. Hopefully, she has a full recovery very soon, and Stephen Colbert is able to return to his normal schedule.

The very popular comedian is also operating a super PAC that has so far raised about $1 million in political donations, allowing him a war-chest to air funny political ads later this season during the presidential campaign.

February Sweeps are a very critical time for ratings and one heck of a time for THE COLBERT REPORT to go into reruns. So, you can guess that the illness of the comic's mother is probably very serious.

In other strange news, Rick Santorum of all people will appear before Stephen Colbert's super PAC. What's up with that?

Romney Tries To Woo Detroit Voters By Driving Around In Canadian-built Car In Two New Ads

Mitt Romney's campaign handlers have found a horrible new faux pas attempt to attract Detroit, Michigan voters in two new campaign ads. Romney is filmed driving around in a Canadian-built Chrysler 300 and then talking about his love for "American cars" and proclaiming himself as the "Son Of Detroit" in the misguided ads. Mitt Romney was of course the son of former American Motors CEO George Romney, so American made cars were very much a part of the young Romney's life. So you have to wonder how in heck anyone who claims to be a car guy could make such a goof as this.

Well, "Son Of Detroit", what have you got to say for yourself?

BTW, the economy of Detroit is now so depressed, that many excellent homes can be bought for less than $9,000 in the city in many neighborhoods. Why is this so? Well, many former American brand cars are built in Canada now.

In more bad news, a new poll from the biggest news-station in Boston has Mitt Romney losing his home state to President Obama in a theoretical match-up by about 20 points. As a rule, you can't win the presidency if you can't even win the electoral votes of your home state in a presidential election.

You know the late night comics are going to have fun with this Canadian car thing. How unfortunate.

Several CBS Shows Face Likely Cancellation

CBS may be the top broadcast network, but that sure doesn't mean that several of their current scheduled shows are likely to face cancellation and not be renewed for the Fall 2012 season. Nearly certain to be gone will be A GIFTED MAN, the Friday night medical drama. Friday night is historically bad for many TV shows, and not a very desirable time slot at all.

The days of the reign of the mighty CSI franchise shows may be coming to an end as well. CSI NY, another Friday night show is also highly likely to face cancellation as well. It will be the first of the three shows in the franchise to disappear. That's sad, because this is still a very fine show, with fine actor Gary Sinese in the lead role. CSI MIAMI might be considered to be on the bubble as well, however it could escape cancellation for this year. The original CSI series will more likely than not get another season starting in the Fall. Usually the original in a series can outlast the spin-offs by a year or two.

CBS will have to look closely at the February numbers for UNFORGETTABLE, which also seems like a very likely candidate for cancellation, although the program has recently posted some improved numbers, meaning that CBS is giving this show every last hope to succeed.

THE GOOD WIFE might also be considered on the bubble, although CBS might give it another year to play out. It was considered on the bubble in it's first year and has survived before.

Two CBS comedies are in interesting territory right now, where perhaps one or both could be gone for next year. David Spade's THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT is probably on the bubble right now, where either renewal or cancellation is probably a flip of a coin, depending on what new pilots that CBS may pick up. Then we come to Rob Schneider. Rob, Rob, Rob, what are we going to do about ROB. The series started out very strong as a surprise hit for the much maligned comic actor. But, since then, the ratings have started a slow erosion process, now making the show the weakest link in CBS TV's big Thursday night lineup. Between THE BIG BANG THEORY and PERSON OF INTEREST, ROB's ratings are something of a hole for the network. Many viewers seem to be tuning in to AMERICAN IDOL or something during ROB compared to THE BIG BANG THEORY. But, still the numbers for ROB are very good compared to all shows overall. Maybe CBS will actually give this show a renewal. Something of a surprise for anything with Rob Schneider's name on it. Usually the words "success" and "Rob Schneider" are not uttered in the same sentence. ROB might break that hex for a change.

Part of the reason CBS is the top network is because the network is so well managed. That means that the network is likely to make whatever fine tuning it needs to remain number one. That means that a few once proud shows such as CSI NY are more likely than not to disappear next year if they can't carry the weight that they once did.

Hugh Hefner's Son Arrested For Playmate Assault

The oldest son of PLAYBOY founder, Hugh Hefner, Marston Hefner, 21, was arrested for suspected domestic violence after a fight with his 20 year old girlfriend, Claire Sinclair, the 2011 Playmate Of The Year. He was booked on assault charges, but was able to get himself released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond. Sinclair is seeking a temporary restraining order against Marston, although she doesn't want to press charges against him. Oh, what a lovely Norman Rockwell moment this is.

Marston is the older of two sons that Hugh Hefner had with his former lover, Kimberly Conrad.

Today, TMZ reports that Claire Sinclair cannot drop charges against Marston Hefner, because the state does the prosecution of domestic violence crimes. Sinclair claims that Marston has anger control issues and needs professional counseling.

The baby-faced Sinclair has sported at least one big bruise on an arm after the claimed assault took place.

Grammy Ratings Skyrocket Due To Whitney Houston Death

Whitney Houston's death tributes at this year's Grammys have helped to propel the program to ratings a whooping 41% above last years level. According to some rough figures, 39 million viewers watched this year compared to 26.7 million viewers a year ago. FOX, ABC and NBC had no way to predict that Whitney Houston's death would propel the Grammys to such monster ratings levels, and each network got clobbered in the ratings accordingly. FOX experienced series lows for example despite some great new episodes to air.

Each network hoped to draw respectable ratings to satisfy their sponsors demands as well as to post good numbers for February Sweeps. Instead, everyone got smashed in the ratings as huge CBS numbers even pulled 60 MINUTES up significantly.

These huge Grammy numbers were the second highest in history.

Whitney Houston's Cause Of Death

TMZ is reporting that the family of Whitney Houston has been reportedly told of the likely cause of her death by the coroner's office, although more toxicology results have yet to come back from the lab. Reportedly, although there was some water in her lungs, it was considered to be too little to drown in the bathtub. She likely died from a combination of prescription drugs such as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and alcohol and other drugs which might have caused an accidental lethal interaction. At this point, without toxicology tests, it is difficult to determine more issues about the drugs and alcohol she used. Those results will answer more questions.

Some photos of the last moments of Whitney Houston this past week showed her looking like a mess, and it even looked like some blood drops were on her leg, which was a real mystery.

The nation has been struck with great sadness over her death, because she was considered to be one of the greatest singers of all time, and was related to several major singers herself. She was like musical royalty. The Grammys had a sad shadow cast over them by her death. And President Obama has called for the public to pray for her family, which was a kind gesture illustrating her importance as a major celebrity to the nation.

All of this sad news has to especially heartbreaking to Clive Davis, Whitney Houston's record producer. A very average looking teenager had been transformed into a glamorous and beautiful star to match her angelic voice, only to have her crash from personal demons that likely ultimately caused her death at an early age.

The Grammy Performance By The Doors That You Never Saw

The three surviving members of The Doors, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore have done a new music video segment for the upcoming ReGeneration Music Project Film with the electronic act, Skrillex. All three played on the song, "Breakin' A Sweat". But, you didn't see The Doors performing this song on the Grammys this year thanks to drummer John Densmore, who refused to join the other two members for a stage performance thanks to an ongoing feud. Densmore even went to the efforts to sue the other band members when they attempted to sell the song, "Break On Through" to Cadillac, so Cadillac had to use Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll" instead, some years back. And Densmore prevented the other two band members from using The Doors name when they sought to resurrect the band as The Doors Of The 21st Century.

At some point, fans of the legendary band can only hope that they can put all of their problems behind them. But, for this year's Grammys, no Doors onstage reunion.

Rumors Surround Health of Macaulay Culkin

Some recent gaunt pictures of actor Macaulay Culkin are fueling rumors that the actor may be ill, however his spokesman has denied these rumors in the strongest possible terms, claiming that the actor is just fine and that these rumors are "reckless, irresponsible and destructive". Speculation has swirled on both the Internet as well as among celebrity news sources when some new photos of the actor suggested that he didn't appear to be well. Recently, some speculation about thin photos of Demi Moore were confirmed when she ended up in the hospital and then apparently in rehab according to many entertainment sources.

Some other sources have claimed that Macaulay Culkin may be losing weight for a role in the new movie, SERVICE MAN, however other sources claim that he's not involved in that project.

So, this whole thing stands here as a mystery. Macaulay Culkin did break up with his girlfriend of eight years, Mila Kunis, last year.

Howard Stern And Michele Bachmann Trade Insults In New Public Feud

Although Howard Stern is something of a political independent with many Republican friends such as Donald Trump and former New York Governor George Pataki(Pataki would regularly call into Stern's radio show, where both Stern and Pataki would find common ground and laugh at more than a few things). Stern and failed GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann are now involved in a very public feud. Earlier in the week, Stern referred to Bachmann as the "worst person in the world". Instead of simply ignoring Stern's comments, Bachmann fired off her own nasty Email about Howard Stern claiming that he's "not a serious a person" and blaming him for "corrupting America's youth on public airwaves".

Hey, who could have ever expected that two of the most outrageous and silly personalities of our current civilization could ever be involved in a public feud?

Most politicians simply ignore comics such as Howard Stern, Jay Leno, David Letterman, etc. when they tell jokes or make funny comments about them. But, Michele Bachmann often seems compelled to respond to funny comments about her, often creating even more negative publicity. Bachmann has never received much over 52% of the vote in her three terms in Congress, and has probably hurt herself among many voters by her failed presidential bid and her involvement in some petty but high profile disputes with comics like Jimmy Fallon and now Howard Stern. Bachmann now has the some potential to lose office this year unless a strong GOP presidential candidate has enough coattails to pull her along.

On the other hand, Howard Stern's show often seems like a lot of small talk. However, any new controversy he can create only will drive up his ratings, as both his fans and critics like to tune in to see what he'll do next. Howard Stern never seems to lose in any public dispute with a celebrity. But, the celebrity or politician usually ends up on the low end of the stick. It's far better for some celebrity to ignore Howard Stern, then to keep the pot boiling.

Hostess Brilliant Plan To Come Back From Bankruptcy: New Chocolate Creme-Filled Twinkies

Boy, oh boy, do you have to admire the gutsy, live by the seat of your pants business decisions of some company like Hostess which hopes to come back from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by pinning all their hopes on new some product. The Irving, Texas based company is no less than $1 billion dollars into major league debt problems due to declining sales for Wonder Bread as well as Twinkies and their other traditional products. With just half a billion in corporate assets including the office equipment, machinery and the trucks, the company is operating on a thin life-line of financial support of just a $75 million last ditch operating loan, only hoping to continue producing products and not shut their doors forever. The best answer that Hostess has to all of this high tension business drama is some bold new business decision to start producing chocolate creme-filled Twinkies. Wow. That's real guts.

Corporate executives usually earn pretty good salaries. I'm not sure how much Hostess pays theirs. But, I sure bet all of the investors and creditors in Hostess are very happy to have him at the helm, keeping the company afloat with brilliant business strategies such as chocolate creme filled Twinkies decision. How can a scheme that brilliant possibly fail?

Usually, CEOs earn their pay because of their brilliance and their sheer willingness to make some bold business decisions. In all of the history of American business, this chocolate creme-filled Twinkie business decision ranks as a real milestone.

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY Mocks Rick Santorum's Sexual Ignorance

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, the pop journal of psychology magazines, is running a critical feature this month on the sexual ignorance of Rick Santorum. PSYCHOLOGY TODAY noted that in a New Hampshire campaign appearance Santorum made the scientifically wrong statement claiming that, "God made man and woman, and men and women come together to have children, which keeps civilization going and provides the best environment for children to be raised". Well, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY noted that scientifically speaking such observations from Santorum don't really apply to the human species of animals.

Humans tend to have sex hundreds of times, if not thousands in most cases, before some episode of sexual intercourse actually results in a pregnancy or a live birth. Many animal mammal species on the other hand only tend to have sex during specific periods, so that the act often specifically results in pregnancy to further the species. Rick Santorum doesn't understand that humans are a far more intelligent species, who give sex a great deal of thought and complexity compared to other animal species. For some odd reason, Santorum thinks that human sex is the same as much animal mammal sexuality which often only takes place during specific ovulation periods.

Santorum is also a fierce opponent of the use of contraception by humans. He sees this as blocking the procreation process. However, it also serves many important components such as disease prevention. Even in monogamous couples, the potential to carry components that could lead to cervical cancer can still be very high. For example, an estimated 20 million Americans, or around 8% are infected with the HPV virus. And this figure can include many married or monogamous persons. Sexuality between an infected person and an uninfected person must include the use of condoms for example. Santorum's hard-line Roman Catholic view of condom use doesn't seem to be intelligent enough to comprehend the important medical reasons why condom use is often essential to many people having sex, including married persons. Rick Santorum's job after being voted of office by one of the biggest landslides for any incumbent senator ever was being a hospital administrator, although he has been condemned by critics for his inept handling of that job as well, where he really didn't accomplish much more than steer millions of dollars of federal grants to the hospital while fraud, rapes, a murder, and other crimes made the hospital the subject of sanctions from state and federal regulators.

Rick Santorum, like former candidate Michele Bachmann, both signed a pledge to support the ban of all pornography in the United States. However, that was a legally ignorant position as well, as most pornography is perfectly legal for sale, only a tiny portion of material dealing with very extreme material is considered to be legally obscene and can be prosecuted by law. Santorum also doesn't understand that humans are able to give sexuality a great deal of thought because of their higher intelligence than other animals, and pornography is only a reflection of that higher intelligence of the human species. Dogs don't have their own version of PLAYBOY for example. But, humans have that title and many more titles because the human can comprehend sexuality in much larger larger and intelligent terms than dogs can.

Santorum also doesn't seem to understand that the powerful nature of the sexual drive also makes human society and civilization possible. About the only men who aren't inspired enough to get a job or amass some wealth to attract a mate are complete skid row bums. Writers such as Brandais University Professor Herbert Marcuse wrote books such as EROS AND CIVILIZATION, where he lays out a brilliant theory at how the sex drive makes human society possible compared to other animal species who have all failed to build any civilizations, although some primitive groupings such as bee colonies, wolf packs or ape groups do exist. But, none of these compare to the civilization built by mankind, largely motivated by the sex drive of humans which has only inspired this development.

Unfortunately, Rick Santorum doesn't seem to give human sexuality much more regard than the sex life of cockroaches. Rick Santorum also well proves that he has little understanding of medical science, psychology, anthropology or numerous other scientific disciplines either. For some reason, Rick Santorum has found an audience of voters who only understand both religion. society and civilization in some of the most primitive of terms. It's almost like Rick Santorum is the tribal elder of some lost tribe where books or other learning tools don't yet exist in this civilization yet, because their society hasn't yet advanced enough. Santorum seems to have made himself a pretty easy mark for the pointed stick of this new PSYCHOLOGY TODAY piece by his hard work to elevate dirt ignorance to the status of some political ideology. But, then again what is to be expected from some politician who has publicly self-described himself as "crazy" at least once before. Rick Santorum just won three primary and caucus contests this past week. Many voters apparently agree with his message no matter how factually wrong it is, although most serious political pundits give him little hope of winning the Republican presidential nomination. His 15 minutes of fame since his very narrow 34 vote win in Iowa are extended for at least another week.

For some odd reason, all of Rick Santorum's goofy pronouncements haven't yet caused political suicide. And that's very perplexing for a civilization where the availability of information is far wider than ever before, thanks largely to the growth of computers as an information exchange medium. Rick Santorum's brand of politics has apparently tapped into the greatest pool of sheer ignorance since the dark ages. But, it's difficult to believe that most voters would be willing to elect someone president who lacks basic skills such as good judgment.

Snooki Claims To Be Bisexual

Popular JERSEY SHORE star Snooki now claims that she is bisexual, and claims to have have "Done stuff with girls", but she also claims that she would never live with a woman because she claims to love "penis" too much. Well, that's very nice Snooki. I'm sure there are more than a few penises who also love you very much as well. But, you learn something new everyday, don't you? See, Progressive Values is practically an educational Website.

Randy Travis Apologizes For Drunken Arrest Outside Of Baptist Church

Country and Gospel music legend, Randy Travis, offered up a public apology for his drunken arrest outside of a Baptist church in Sanger, Texas. Travis just had a fight with his girlfriend, and sat outside the church drinking a bottle of wine. Travis is a favorite over on the TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), and is a frequent guest on programs such as Pastor John Hagee's CORNERSTONE broadcast. His arrest outside of a church of all places might cause some at TBN to re-evaluate whether Travis is a liability to the network's reputation.

Although a popular figure in Gospel music, Travis has had a troubled life after he dropped out of school, began using alcohol and drugs and faced some early arrests for breaking and entering and other crimes.

Taylor Momsen In FHM Magazine

Naughty 18 year old bad punk rock girl, Taylor Momsen, graces the cover of March issue of FHM. She's also interviewed inside. But, she's not entirely the bad girl brat that you think. Momsen claims that she works so much because of her strong work ethic that she usually only gets just 4 hours a day sleep. She loves working, and is so high-strung that she can work on this little sleep. And she's actually glad to be past GOSSIP GIRL, because music is her first love.

That's not a bad thing that Taylor is so much into her music. Her debut album from her group, Pretty Reckless, was a really great album of mostly hard rock that got a rave review here. Taylor has proven herself to be a great songwriter and singer both. Much of the album was written when she was just 16. And her band is playing one show after another for the next few weeks in both Canada and the U.S. Pretty Reckless is a great act, and their shows are well worth catching. Their schedule is posted over on their Website. Check it out.

DVD Review: CONTAGION

CONTAGION is a well crafted, all star cast, medical science fiction disaster thriller expertly directed by Steven Soderbergh. Currently available on DVD, this fast paced thriller manages to closely unfold the tale of a serious modern day plague epidemic transferred from a bat, to a pig, to humans, with terrible consequences of around 26 million killed before a cure is found by scientists working around the clock to save lives.

Gwyneth Paltrow plays an especially shocking role in this film as an early victim of this horrible and fast spreading modern day plague. Her path towards her death by this plague are carefully watched via security tape footage by CDC health experts who are trying to understand the method of transmission for this illness.

And, other actors such as Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet back up a cast that includes Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law. All all expertly cast, and play essential roles in this well spun thriller. It is also very nice to Elliott Gould back on the big screen as well. The veteran 73 year old actor well plays a deeply concerned medical expert, often just with facial expressions of concern. That's the mark of a very fine actor there. Often without saying a word, his face does the acting.

CONTAGION may not be for everyone. But, it's a very fine film certainly worthy of renting or buying on DVD for a nice well stocked DVD library.

The Bottom Line: Not a bad film at all. This medical disaster thrill ride is a fascinating film that will draw you in. It's a nice new genre version reboot for the old disaster films of the 1970's, and manages to capture plenty of drama without the big Irwin Allen type gimmicks of the traditional disaster epic. ***(Three Stars, Good. Buy or rent this one. This is a very good movie here).

NBC Has High Hopes For "Super Monday"

NBC is counting on the big debut of two of their best shows to pull up the ratings of the network. THE VOICE, NBC's answer to AMERICAN IDOL debuts tonight, along with the brand new and very highly anticipated new show, SMASH. SMASH is the new musical drama that stars AMERICAN IDOL runner-up Katherine McPhee as a woman vying for a lead role in a new Broadway play about the life of Marilyn Monroe. The show actually has been in development since 2009. where executive producer Steven Spielberg hoped to get it on Showtime. The original plan was for each season to involve a new Broadway musical under production.

SMASH features an amazing cast that includes veteran actresses such as Anjelica Huston, as well Debra Messing, the former star of NBC's big hit comedy, WILL & GRACE. Debra Messing has proven to be star power for NBC once before, and should certainly strike gold the network once again.

If shows like HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL or Glee have been big hits, then SMASH should be as well.

NBC should be very proud of both shows. They are certainly two of the best that they have to offer. Both should draw better ratings for the network, although CBS will certainly walk with the lion's share of Monday ratings with brand new top comedy episodes of TWO AND A HALF MEN and MIKE AND MOLLY .

CD Review; KISSES ON THE BOTTOM - Paul McCartney

69 year old music legend Paul McCartney has released something of a retrospective album of songs his parents beloved sons that helped to influence his own musical direction. On one hand, it's a very nice collection of digitally recorded standards crafted by one of the world's greatest artists. On the other hand, the album is yet another disappointing entry from a musician who once was known for his groundbreaking music when he was part of The Beatles.

KISSES ON THE BOTTOM unfortunately reminds me of one of those type of albums that someone like Linda Ronstadt recorded of easy listening classics after her own music "jumped the shark" and she was no longer a top selling pop act. Certainly, KISSES ON THE BOTTOM is a nice enough album. But, rock fans just won't be all that happy with this effort. Paul McCartney fans really want more music that's up to his Beatles' days standards. And this sure isn't it.

There are a couple of new songs here by Paul McCartney. But, neither are his best creations ever written.

Fans of The Beatles and Paul McCartney will buy this album solely because it will complete their collections. But, let's hope that Paul McCartney has a few better albums that this in his future before he decides to retire from music.

KISSES ON THE BOTTOM is Paul McCartney's 15th solo album. But it's such a lightweight collection of songs compared to what the legend is really capable of. Paul McCartney's solo career includes major milestones such as BAND ON THE RUN, but also some junk albums such as WILD LIFE, the first Wings album that sounded more like a quickly recorded contractual obligation album that anything, with many of the songs recorded in just one take, and sure sounding like it. Even the presence of Denny Laine, the former leader of The Moody Blues, didn't seem to elevate this album to higher standards of excellence. In the scheme of all things, KISSES ON THE BOTTOM is another of Paul McCartney's weaker effort albums.

The Bottom Line: Far from the best Paul McCartney album ever released, although certainly far more polished than weak efforts such as WILD LIFE. **(Two Stars, Fair. If you need to complete your Paul McCartney collection, or are looking for a soft romantic music album suitable for St. Valentine's Day, then get this album. Otherwise, you might want to skip it).

BIG BANG THEORY Hauls In Record Ratings

Who loves nerds? Well, just about everyone it seems! Just as I had predicted at the beginning of the season, THE BIG BANG THEORY would overtake TWO AND AND A HALF this year as the top comedy on TV. Well, this past Thursday, a brand new episode of THE BIG BANG THEORY drew in monster ratings to become one of the biggest hit comedy shows in TV history. The show drew in an awesome 16.3 million viewers, while the new comedy, ROB, actually weakened slightly to 11.2 million viewers. CBS also scored big with brand new episodes of PERSON OF INTEREST with 14.9 million viewers, while a new episode of THE MENTALIST drew a strong 13.5 million viewers.

NBC attempted to explain away the terrible ratings for 30 ROCK by claiming that some mistake in the listed TV description of the show caused many DVRs to malfunction. but regardless, ratings of around 3.2 million viewers are very poor. ABC fared better than lowly NBC, but overall, AMERICAN IDOL and FOX won the night at 17.1 viewers, with CBS hot on their heels.

Oh Christ, Roseanne Barr Running For President

Loudmouthed, throughly annoying and outrageous comic, Roseanne Barr has announced that she's running for president, officially making this year's presidential campaign contest into a true three ring circus event. Barr is hoping to capture the Green Party nomination, which should at least be some comfort to both the Democrats and Republicans, because neither party really needs one more clown at this point.

Although Roseanne Barr is worth an estimated $80 million dollars, she claims to be a strong supporter of the "Occupy Movement", claiming that both political parties are owned by corporate America. The Greens are a leftist political party, which have brought together a strange mix of environmentalists, feminists and other anti-corporate leftists. Ralph Nader ran for president on this party ticket before. In the very close 2000 election, Ralph Nader likely helped to cost Al Gore the election because of votes he drew off in Florida. Nader's running mate that year was Peter Camejo, a former presidential candidate of the Trotskyite Communist organization, The Socialist Workers Party.

Some sources claim that Ralph Nader is leaning against running for president again in 2012, which might actually give a celebrity candidate like Roseanne Barr some hope of becoming the Green Party nominee, since the Green Party seems to draw from such a far out and not ready for prime-time pool of talent.

And if the 2012 presidential campaign won't be annoying enough, Roseanne Barr only promises to make the election even more ear-splitting and awful. Let's only hope to God that she isn't included in any of the debates. God help us!

Big Brother Starbucks Is Watching You

Employees of Starbucks Coffee in Fort Belvair was recently shocked to discover that they were being secretly videotaped and charged for any food they consumed. One employee was actually fired for theft after drinking a $3.75 coffee and expected to pay for the drink.

This particular Starbucks actually falls under two sets of rules. It follows both Starbucks and Army and Airforce Exchange policies as well, since it sits on a military base. Because it is on a military base, the videotaping of employees is allowed because of tighter military security rules.

When author George Orwell penned 1984, I bet he never dreamed that Big Brother would be coming to Starbucks Coffee, or a coffee would be $3.75.

Book Review: THE RESCUER - Dara Horn

Dara Horn has managed to capture one of the greatest little known stories in her very excellent nonfiction book about American journalist Varian Fry who might have saved as many as 4,000 persons from the Nazis during WWII. Fry was for all intents and purposes the American version of Oskar Schindler, the German businessman who was responsible for the rescue of so many Jews during WWII. Varian Fry was deeply troubled by the growing wave of Nazism in Europe, and when Germany went to war, systematically eliminating Jews throughout Europe, Fry formed a rescue committee that helped to save many artists, writers and intellectuals in Europe by helping to acquire both legal and illegal visas to get them to the United States or other safe havens. Fry had problems with anti-Semitic policies within the U.S. State Department at the time, only making his job far more difficult. And Britain also put sharp limits on immigration of Jews as well. Both the U.S. and Britain were very poor at allowing Jews to escape Nazi oppression, and both greatly contributed the huge number of deaths of Jews through their anti-immigration curbs at the time. The later creation of the state of Israel seemed to be the only real solution to allowing a homeland for Jews with open immigration policies to save them from historic oppression.


The long list of writers, artists and others that Fry helped to save is too long to list here. But, it includes some great names in culture. So many Jews were amazed that a White American Protestant, such as Fry, would help to save them , because their Nazi persecutors were Catholics, Lutherans and other supposed Christians. It was only after the war that the United States and other supposed Christian nations seemed to feel any great sense of guilt over allowing the brutal deaths of six million Jews in Europe. Church leaders in the Catholic Church and Protestant churches, didn't want to offend anyone during the war, and didn't really want to take sides or speak out against the horrible crimes against civilians in Europe, and did virtually nothing to stop the slaughter of so many Jews. Yet, today most churches self-proclaim themselves as being somehow guardians of morality or right and wrong in society, although most took a cowards path during the war or even in some cases actually supported the Nazis in some way. Spanish Fascist leader Franco ruled largely due to the support of both the Nazis and the Catholic Church, for example.


Dara Horn has managed an awesome read with her great book about Fry. It is a very compelling book that has been drawing five star reviews from in the public. You won't be able to put down this wonderful book. It is both deeply sad and damning book of the moral failures of some, and at the same time restores your faith that some Americans such as Varian Fry risked his life to make a real difference.


Art, music and literature is far richer today because Varian Fry wasn't afraid to step up and do the right thing, while many other Americans failed to save lives during the war, including in the American government.

This great book is available at Amazon including a speciial $1.99 Kindle version as well.

The Bottom Line: What a great work this book is. This is a great story that needed to be told. ****(Four Stars, Excellent. Buy a copy to love and cherish).

New Van Halen Album Out On Feb 7

Big news in the music world is the return of the hard rock band Van Halen. Their brand new album, DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH, is set to debut on February 7. It will be the first new album by the band since 1998. And even bigger news is that legendary front-man David Lee Roth is back with the band as well, making his first album with the group since 1984. This will be their 12th studio album. It should be a real treat since David Lee Roth really defined the group's vocals at their peak. And certainly, Eddie Van Halen is a great guitarist.

DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH will be available in both standard and deluxe editions. But, you'll really want the deluxe edition because it includes legendary songs like "Panama" from something called "the downtown sessions.

NBA Star Allen Iverson Forced To Pay For Huge Jewelry Bill By Judge

A judge has ordered that the bank account of NBA star Allen Iverson be garnished to pay for a giant jewelry bill. Iverson was said to have purchased nearly $900,000 in jewelry from a jewelry business, but only paid just $200,000 before he stopped making payments. The jeweler then had to take the basketball legend to court.....and we're not talking about a basketball court, to get the huge bill paid.

Most recently as 2011, Iverson had been playing in Turkey for a second tier international team. He had played with the Philadelphia 76ers twice in his career. At the age of 36, Iverson's best years are no doubt behind him. But, if the jewelry bill is any clue, maybe Iverson needs to keep playing in order to support the millionaire lifestyle he once enjoyed in his peak NBA days.