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Wouldn't it be nice if these folks would just go away:
-- O.J. Simpson, who everyone believes murdered his wife and her friend, and still has the gall to thrust himself into the media spotlight. Simpson says he's innocent -- or maybe he doesn't with the attempted publication of his book, "If I Did It."
-- The family of murder victim Ron Goldman. They are now professional victims, and do nothing to enhance the memory of Ron Goldman. They are getting in on the "If I Did It" book, and will publish it with additonal commentary. A bankruptcy judge has given the Goldman family rights to the book because Simpson still owes them $38 million in a wrongful death judgment.
-- Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson. Like Fred Goldman, she can't keep her mouth shut. According to the Associated Press, Denise Brown was "shocked and horrified" to learn that the Goldman family had reached a deal to publish the controversial book. Of course, she and other members of her family had tried to get the profits from this book.
I'd rather hear from Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. At least they know they are scamming us with their contrived appearances in the tabloid press. Simpson, and the Brown and Goldman families are trying to persuade us about the righteouness of their cause.
I've always thought that Fresno's own Kevin Federline was a jerk, and his marriage to Britney Spears was like hitting the Lotto for someone utterly without talent. I haven't changed my mind about K-Fed, but I'm wondering now whether Britney has been given a break because her hubby was such a loser.
Now that Briitney has jettisoned Kevin, it appears that she's turning into him -- or maybe that was her all the time. I have six words for Britney: Show a little respect for yourself.
I can cut her some slack for wanting to break loose after divorcing K-Fed. But the image she's creating is just plain bad. The only one who has had a more damaging PR week is Michael Richards.
Surely she can do better than tramping around with Paris Hilton, first without pants, then without underwear. She turns 25 on Saturday. I have one more bit of advice for Britney. Don't get arrested on your birthday.
I'll now return control of this blog back to those interested in serious public policy issues.
We got slammed with spam comments -- something like 10,000 -- on Election Day and the system took all comments, even the legitimate ones, into our junk file. That's why several of your election comments did not get posted as timely as they should have been. I have pulled those comments out and posted them on the blog.
We apologize for that glitch in the system. Darn spammers. We're offering a reward -- an autographed copy (by me) of my Britney Spears/Kevin Federline blog item of Tuesday -- for anyone bringing me the keyboard of the spammers messing with our blog.
Thanks for playing.
Finally, Britney Spears showed some good judgment by dumping Fresno's Kevin Federline. Los Angeles authorities said the pop princess filed for divorce Tuesday. Does anyone think that K-Fed, a perennial backup dancer, was good for Spears? Now he's trying to tell everyone that he's a first-rate rapper. But I listened to part of his debut CD, which was released last week, and even I can tell that he can't rap.
Spears filed for divorce on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing "irreconcilable differences." But did she vote in Tuesday's election? There are many important California and Los Angeles issues on the ballot. Her political voice needs to be heard at the ballot box, especially with two infant children, whose father has just been kicked out of the house.
Spears, 24, married Federline, 28, in 2004. They have a 1-year-old son and a second son who was born Sept. 12.
But this is Election Day. Do you think Britney voted? Do you think she's even registered to vote? We won't even ask that question of Federline.
Here's the Britney/K-Fed divorce story.
Today on Internet Movie DataBase, there is a story about Britney Spears and her "diaper drama." According to the story, Britney "stunned shoppers and staff at a Victoria Secret's lingerie shop last week, when she changed her son's diaper on the store's dirty floor."
The singer was shopping at the shop in Mission Viejo, California, with 8-month-old son Sean Preston, when the infant needed to have his diaper changed. The 24-year-old mother, whose parenting skills have been questioned several times this year, plopped him down on the floor next to the cash register and did what needed to be done.
I am certain that if she had ignored the dirty diaper the outcry would have been just as loud. Give this young woman a break.
Parenthood doesn't come with a manual. Most of us are just lucky enough not to have the critical and watchful eye of every cameraperson and store clerk upon us as we make the mistakes that all of us have surely made at one time or another.
I'm no fan of Britney's and I certainly don't consider her a role model. But give her a chance.
In Sunday's Vision section, I wrote about two exceptional teenage girls I met recently, Chelsea Harkness and Kristina Fisher. Both are cancer survivors and both have had the good fortune to get wishes granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kristina was given her horse, Paint, when she was just 3 and Chelsea got to meet Britney Spears. These were life-affirming events for both girls during a very difficult time. Chelsea was battling leukemia at the time and Kristina had an inoperable brain tumor.
On Monday morning, I got the nicest e-mail from Diana Rambo, the new executive director for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central California. She did such a good job of explaining the needs and the mission of this organization, so I'll just share it all with you in her own words:
Continue reading "Making wishes come true" »
The $103 million Save Mart Center has proved to be more than a sports arena. It's now known worldwide as a top-notch entertainment venue. The latest big name to agree to play Save Mart Center is Madonna. She'll be here June 5. These kind of acts help pay off the bond. And the debt service is definitely not cheap. Fresno State officials say payments on the campus arena bond require between $5 million and $5.5 million per year for most of the first decade and up to $7.8 million in succeeding years.
The Madonna concert announced Monday is part of her tour that starts May 21 in Los Angeles. It's designed to support her 2005 album "Confessions on a Dance Floor," according to Billboard.com. Here's a story by The Bee's Mike Osegueda about Madonna's Fresno stop. The Save Mart Center says tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. They aren't cheap. You can see Madonna in Fresno for $56.75, $96.75, $166.75 or $351.75.
Fresno has reached a different concert level because of the Save Mart Center. This is what Arthur Fogel, president of The Next Adventure, which is promoting the concert, just told Mike Osegueda: "Given the area's growth and its new, state-of-the-art facilities such as Save Mart Center, we're thrilled to be able to play the city for the first time and to bring the 'Confessions Tour' to Fresno."
As Mike told me in an e-mail: "It's cool that people are saying that about Fresno." I agree. Mike will have an extensive story on the details of Madonna's Fresno concert in Tuesday's Bee.
This isn't just about the music. World-class entertainment has huge economic benefits for our region. The acts bring in money from across the state and improves the reputation of the area. The concert business also pays for a very nice arena for Fresno State's men's and women's basketball programs.
The Save Mart Center has brought in concerts to fit everyone's taste: Andrea Bocelli, Britney Spears, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Prince, the Eagles, Shania Twain, Aerosmith, Kiss, Sarah Brightman, Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Green Day, System of a Down and Kenny Chesney. Now Madonna. Wow.
My colleagues were discussing ways to drive traffic to our blog and I suggested an experiment. If I listed terms that are among the most searched on the Web, would that by itself bring people to our blog? I don't know, but at a recent gathering of editorial board members, everyone said give it a try. . . So in the interest of journalistic exploration, here goes:
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, prom dresses, prom hairstyles, taxes, IRS, poker, Texas Hold'em, music lyrics, lottery, baby names, horoscopes, tattoos, American Idol, CSI, Harry Potter, Michael Jackson, 50 Cent, Usher, Three 6 Mafia, R. Kelly, NCAA, NFL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, WWE, Ultimate Fighting Championship, digital cameras, iPod, xBox 360, Nike, PS3, V For Vendetta, celebrity news, chat, dating, loans, South Park, The Simpsons.
Remember, this is only a test to find out a bit more about how the Internet works. I hope you're not disappointed if you came to this blog hoping to find in-depth information on any of the topics listed in the previous paragraph. But we have plenty of other interesting postings on a variety of subjects. You might like what you find on our opinion blog.
I'll let readers know the results of this experiment soon. Thanks for searching.
This had to be one of those Internet rumors that would quickly turn out to be false: The Bush administration has given a contract to provide security and oversee other operations at six American ports to a state-owned business of the United Arab Emirates. But it's no rumor -- and Bush administration representatives even say it was a wise decision.
Who cares if the United Arab Emirates had been a base of operations and a financial haven for terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001? Who cares if the UAE continues to allow terrorists to thrive?
I have a four-word response for the Bushies: What are you thinking?
This not only doesn't make sense from a security point of view, it's bad politics from an administration already reeling from its mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the Medicare prescription drug mess, the CIA leak case and the recklessness of Vice President Dick Cheney.
But it seems that nothing has really changed since 9/11, at least when it comes to handing out government contracts. They'll outsource anything.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff doesn't see a problem, according to the Associated Press. Of course, Chertoff also oversaw the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Maybe it's time to put Britney Spears in charge of homeland security. At least we'd know what we're getting. Britney couldn't be any more out of touch than Chertoff.
Call me silly, but I'm very concerned about the six ports whose operations are being outsourced by the Bush administration. Those ports are in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Can't the administration find someone in this country to run these ports?
Please say this is a joke!
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