Britney Spears Candie's (Photos) Michael Jackson Auction & LA for Rihanna

By Tina Johnson

Mar 3, 2009

Rihanna and Chris Brown are back where they started and the Ike and Tina Turner comparisons are flying as they land in Los Angeles. You can own a piece if Michael Jackson if you are a high auction bidder. Britney Spears looks so much better and she is stripping down to her little Candies. Us Magazine goes behind the scenes of "Britney Spears' Candie's Ads!"

ritney Says, "I’m so excited to be the face for Candie’s Only at Kohl’s," Spears said. "Candie’s and Kohl’s are doing such great things with my tour. It’s great to work with a line that has such cool clothes and accessories." Photos and more at Us Weekly

TMZ was right in the thick of things in the alleged Rihanna and Chris Brown fight and they have new pictures of the reunited couple and this, "Rihanna and Chris Brown are both back in the city where she was beaten to a bloody pulp just weeks ago, and get this -- the twosome traveled to L.A. together!" Lots more here at TMZ.

"For a full grown man, Michael Jackson sure has a lot of arcade games. Weird, huh? If you’ve got some money burning a hole in your pocket, why not head out to Beverly Hills in late April to see if you can pick up some of these machines at deep, deep discounts." Crunch Gear has lots more.

Recessions and Depressions: What Causes the Crisis of Confidence?

By Dick Morris

Mar 3, 2009

Ultimately, all recessions and depressions resolve themselves into crises of confidence. The instant, global, 24-7 communications of today make them ever more so. President Obama, in his pursuit of liberal big-government spending, has totally neglected the role of the president of the United States in reversing global panic. To the contrary, his every remark and the constant preoccupation of his Cabinet is to heighten the sense of crisis and to escalate the predictions of doom if we do not do as they tell us and raise spending now and taxes later.

Instead of being a firewall, reassuring Main Street even as Wall Street crashed, he has become a conduit of panic, spreading the mood of desperation from the stock exchange floor to kitchen tables across the world.

There are bad loans, which became bad assets, that lie at the root of the crisis. Through deregulation by the government and the greed of financial institutions, they spread to every portfolio in the world. But these basic facts have metastasized out of all proportion to their real harm into job and financial insecurity for every family on Earth. It is President Obama, not the markets themselves, who has spread this fear. A global Paul Revere, he has not only aroused us, but incited fear and trepidation in his wake.

Previous panics have been global in impact, but local in focus. The world panicked because of developments in Mexico or Argentina or Thailand or South Korea. Now, with Collateralized Debt Obligations spreading the poison of a bunch of bad loans all over the world, infecting every portfolio, the panic is not only global in impact but in focus as well. Modern communications have hastened the spread of the virus of panic throughout the global bloodstream.

In addressing this panic, the president of the United States must truly be the leader of the world -- showing the way back to confidence.

Instead, Obama has been instrumental in purveying fear and spreading doubt. It is his pronouncements, reinforced by the developments they kindle and catalyze, that are destroying good businesses, bankrupting responsible people and wiping out even conservative financial institutions. Every time he speaks, he sends the markets down and stocks crashing. He doesn't seem to realize that the rest of the world takes its cue from him. He forgets that he stands at the epicenter of power, not on the fringes campaigning for office. This ain't Iowa.

Why does Obama preach gloom and doom? Because he is so anxious to cram through every last spending bill, tax increase on the so-called rich, new government regulation and expansion of healthcare entitlement that he must preserve the atmosphere of crisis as a political necessity. Only by keeping us in a state of panic can he induce us to vote for trillion-dollar deficits and spending packages that send our national debt soaring.

Can Kathleen Sebelius Turn GOP Hypocrisy on Health Care?

By Mary Shaw

Mar 3, 2009

President Obama has nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. In addition to the other challenges that Sebelius will face in this new role, I hope she will be able to implement the affordable health care for all which Obama has promised us. To that end, Sebelius will be working closely with Nancy-Ann Deparle, who will direct the White House Office for Health Reform.

Hopefully Obama's team will have better luck than the Clinton administration did in getting us universal health care, like people have in the rest of the industrialized world.

But it will be an uphill fight. With things like this, which provide for the public welfare, the Republicans always love to cry "socialism". And, in the case of nationalized health care, they like to warn the sheep that such a program would result in bureaucrats deciding what kinds of treatment you can and cannot have.


But that is exactly what we're dealing with today! Today it's the insurance company bureaucrats who are making the decisions on what kinds of treatment you can and cannot have. The insurance companies are in business to make money, so the less treatment they spring for -- at the expense of your health -- the richer the insurance executives become. In his movie "Sicko", Michael Moore brought us statements by former insurance company employees who were paid bonuses for denying claims that could save people's lives.

I hope that Obama, Sebelius, and Deparle will find a way to take those third parties out of the mix and leave health care decisions to the people and our doctors. However, my research suggests that the Obama administration will leave the insurance companies in the mix. Fingers crossed in hopes that we at least clip their wings.

But, to do that, they will need to get some Republican buy-in.

And, as the New York Times recently observed, "Despite a record of working with Republicans in some areas, health care was one where [Sebelius] often had trouble forging bipartisan agreement. She tried raising cigarette taxes to pay for health care for the poor but was rebuffed by a Republican Legislature. She promoted universal health care but never reached that goal. And she proposed consolidating health care programs, but lawmakers made sure she could not control the new independent authority."

Those "Christian" Republicans would rather support the cigarette industry that kills than support the health of the American people.So this won't be an easy battle to win.But we have to try, and hopefully our side will win. After all, it's one of the things that the American people voted for in November. And many of those Republicans will be up for reelection very soon.

Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on politics, human rights, and social justice.

The Heat Is On True Believers

By Debra Saunders
Mar 3, 2009

A Sunday New York Times story described an expected sea change in international global warming policy. The story noted that President George W. Bush, "pressed by the Senate, rejected" the Kyoto global warming protocol in 2001, but now President Obama is eager to negotiate a robust international global warming treaty to be signed in Copenhagen in December.

Prominently missing from the 1,584-word story was any mention of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. That's a surprising omission considering that Gore negotiated the treaty for Clinton in 1997, and that Clinton never asked the Senate to ratify the pact, which mandated that the United States reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Then again, Clinton knew that the Senate would not ratify the pact. Before Gore flew to Kyoto, the Senate had voted 95-0 in favor of a resolution that declared that Washington should not be a signatory to any protocol that exempted developing nations, like India and China.

Wrongly, Gore nonetheless agreed to a pact that set no limits on nations like China and India. And all those geniuses in the -- all bow -- international community agreed to a pact that the U.S. Senate had opposed unanimously. They were so dazzled by their good intentions that they botched their entire mission.

After Bush officially disassociated with Kyoto, Our Betters in Europe dedicated themselves to complaining that the Bush administration would not be part of the pact, and that ruined things. Indeed, some leaders were so busy pointing fingers at America that they failed to find the time to make their own countries meet their Kyoto goals.

During the Bush years, politicians found that they could demonstrate their environmental bona fides simply by saying they supported Kyoto. Even if they were Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., John McCain, R-Ariz., or any of the other 91 senators who voted for Resolution 98. The same applied to European leaders as well, as the Times reported on their quest for tougher laws, but barely their failure to meet Kyoto.

Listening to the Music of Robert Pattinson, Time to Explore the Talent

By J.M. Richards

Mar 3, 2009

I truly wish Robert Pattinson would record some new music. I have read in several interviews that he thinks it would be kind of tacky to put an album out in the midst of his new superstar status. I really hope that he doesn’t let his fear of the whole actor/singer cliché stop him from creating using other art, especially his music. His voice is very soothing and soulful. I love the acoustic guitar, and the unique tone of his voice, and the fact that I don’t always get all of the lyrics.

I didn’t expect his signing voice to sound the way it does. In fact, I remember watching the restaurant scene in Twilight and making a mental note to myself that I really liked the song playing in the background. I bought the soundtrack and imagine my surprise when I found out it was Mr. Pattinson himself. I had no idea.

Although I was disappointed to hear that he wont be on the New Moon soundtrack, I respect and admire his reasons for turning down the opportunity. He said in an interview he “doesn’t want to make money off the back of someone else’s work”. He seems like a very genuine and grounded person. I only hope he can stay that way with all of his recent success. Hopefully the hype will die down soon and he will be able to live a somewhat normal life, and more importantly record some music.

Jason Mesnick & Molly Malaney Stunner: Bachelor Winner Melissa Rycroft Loses

By Brenda Jones

Mar 3, 2009

The Bachelor winner is Melissa Rycroft. Now she is the loser, or something like that. Molly Malaney is the loser, or the winner. Melissa, the brunette, won over Jason Mesnick for a few weeks. She got the ring in New Zealand. But now the bed hopping Bachelor has jumped away from Melissa and dumped her and Jason goes right into the arms of Molly Malaney, the little blonde that told one of family members that she still loves Jason, and knows how to have a good time.

The show seems as wild as any season, at least at the end. The quick concise version is this, Jason picks Melissa to be his bride, she accepts and they hug (along with his 3-year old little kid Ty) and it looks like happily ever after. But this is reality Tv and a twist and turn always works good for ratings, so this should work if Jason dumps Melissa.

And alas, Jason tired of the former NFL cheerleader and as an extra bonus he tells her to hit the bricks in the 'After the Final Rose' show. She calls him a bastard and he finally gets her off stage so he can bring in the fresh Molly for another roll at it with her.

Molly actually agrees to see the guy that dumped her on national television, then dumped his one time fiancee' right before asking her for another go. More on Jimmy Kimmel is promised from the network with a little cross promotion.

Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole and Audrina Patridge Spice Up The Hills

By Susan Hatch

Mar 3, 2009

It's catfight time reports In Touch. The magazine notes that although The Hills just started filming the fifth season, feuds have already erupted. The item notes that "On February 27, while enjoying a night on the town at Hollywood hotspot My House, Audrina Patridge, 23, and Brody Jenner's Playboy Playmate girlfriend, Jayde Nicole, became embroiled in a heated fight."

"They were filming for The Hills and Jayde was rolling her eyes and being rude to Audrina," an onlooker tells In Touch. "Jayde and her girlfriend finally approached Audrina and went crazy, yelling at her." It looks like Jayde, 23, wasn't very happy about Audrina's relationship with Brody, the report from ITW claims.

"Jayde has always been jealous of Audrina and thinks Brody has a thing for her," says an insider. "But Brody and Audrina are just friends." The night ended with Jayde leaving, but seeming to need assistance because she appeared tipsy. Audrina insiders insist, "She thinks Brody is a good friend and that's it." Jayde and Brody, 25 have been dating for five months.

Bachelor Winner: Jason Mesnick, Molly, Melissa and the Bachelorette

By Gene Byrd
Mar 3, 2009

The Bachelor winner is in. Jason Mesnick had all sorts of choices, he could choose Molly, Melissa or former bachelorette Deanna Pappas, and she just happened to make her way all the way to New Zealand for a little bacherorete drama and what she called a "visit." Wil he choose her? No. Jason Mesnick, the star of the ABC reality TV show has chosen Melissa Rycroft, the former cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys.

It seems like everyone except Jason was pulling for Molly Malaney, but she was sent home in the limousine, crying her eyes out. It was a tough moment.

The Rose Ceremony concludes with Melissa getting the final rose and the big ring. Buddy TV has the blow-by-blow here from the start of the show and adds, " Jason gets down on one knee, takes out the ring and says, "I love you. Will you marry me." She asks for one second, during which she turns around and shrieks excitedly, which is kind of adorable."

End Bachelor Shocking:DeAnna Pappas, Melissa Rycroft & Molly Malaney?

By Leslie Warren

Mar 2, 2009

Will DeAnna Pappas muck up the ending of "The Bachelor?" The bikini clad former Bachelorette may not have to. There have been more than a few reports about a switch by Jason Mesnick (aka 'the Bachelor') involving Melissa Rycroft and Molly Malaney. First let's deal with the saucy DeAnna, as she butted into this season. According to a report from celebrity magazine In Touch gives an insider look from a contestant on the show and details that Molly and Melissa still had to deal with one more major competitor in the form of DeAnna Pappas, the woman who broke Jason’s heart by turning down his marriage proposal on the July 7 finale of The Bachelorette.


The report adds that recently, the newly single DeAnna flew down to New Zealand, where Jason, Molly, Melissa and Jillian had traveled to film the final episodes of the Bachelor. Former contestant Jillian, the season’s third runner up, tells Life & Style it was a move that threw the other ladies off their game, but seemed genuine.

“I think DeAnna really cared for him, just like I did,” Jillian says. In the end, however, he opened his heart to a new love - who will finally be revealed on the show’s shocking finale. “What I do know,” Jillian says, “is that he will find the life he intended on finding.”

Megan Fox Flashes, Jennifer Aniston Shows New Ring, Miley Cyrus Assist

By Jessica Warren

Mar 2, 2009

Megan Fox is busy flashing a big smile and a lot of cleavage. Sightings for Monday morning also has a new Jennifer Aniston ring along with Madonna turning to Miley Cyrus for advice. Star has Megan as "Fox a Doodle Do." Who knew - Megan Fox has an artistic side! While killing time on the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen set, the brunette bombshell
picked up the habit of doodling on celeb photos. "Megan gets out her Sharpie and draws mustaches, black teeth and hats on other celebs,” an insider says.

John & Jen are wearing rings, and "Toe-Tally in Love!" and item form Star notes. Romance is definitely afoot for Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer. During a Valentine’s trip to the Bahamas, he surprised her with a ring! Not exactly the one she was hoping for, though - it’s an 18k gold gold toe ring!