The news about Lindsay Lohan gets worse, not just with TMZ.com and RadarOnline.com both claiming she failed a drug test last week, but both blog news sites stating that it was for Cocaine and now, TMZ.com claiming she failedmore than one test.
Meanwhile, her dad Michael Lohan chimes in.
What's of concern to this space is that it's obvious someone in the LA court system has been trying to help her by not reporting the news, only to be countered by someone who's leaking information to the media.
That's how it appears.
The source told TMZ.com the second test Lindsay failed was not for Cocaine but for another type of drug. Just what kind is not known as of this writing.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, Lindsay Lohan's father Michael Lohan piles on, adding insult to injury by saying the reason she tested positive is that he's not in her life.
Except online and on television.
Rather than quietly try and contact her in a moment of negative news, Michael Lohan can't resist grabbing the spotlight.
For anyone who had doubts that President Barack Obama wasn't serious about reforming America's financial system, today's appointment of Elizabeth Warren should cause them to change their minds.
Warren is special advisor to President Obama in charge of forming a new consumer protection agency to watch over the banking system, to be called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). And considering the bank overdraft scandal at Bank of America and at Wells Fargo, the new agency and her appointment to form it could not have come at a better time.
The Harvard Law School professor and former candidate for Supreme Court Justice has developed a track record of chronicling and advocating for the middle class family. Professor Warren is described as a "Republican Nightmare," and wants to be called "the dog catcher." Her intense focus of concern has been on abusive bank lending practices. Now, she has what for her is a dream job: forming the agency that will attack banks known for them. Moreover, it's an agency Warren reportedly had the original idea for.
Democrats and Liberals Wanted Warren
According to VeteransToday.com, Elizabeth Warren was the choice of many liberals who have seen her work on issues of how banks mistreat people. Indeed, today's Wall Street Journalblog asks why "everyone" (on Wall Street) is afraid of Warren.
WSJ Blog quotes FBR Capital Markets Banking Analyst Paul Miller as saying:
They are afraid of the whole institution itself. There is very little oversight. Elizabeth Warren is one of these true believers who believes that banks really take advantage of consumers, and therefore she is going to set the tone of this organization down the road….and what banks are afraid of is that the rules will be so complicated that they will be afraid of going out there and lending without being sued and things like that.
Obama should not stop there. His next move should be to do what JFK did with the Steel Industry: send the Attorney General and the Department of Justice to subpoena the expense accounts of the top steel executives and send F.B.I. agents to "interview" them, according to LA Progressive's Joseph Palermo.
Obama taking that action with U.S. Banks with respect to lending and credit would turn the American economy around, and they know it.
According to The LA Times Blog, today, Friday, was to be the date of the arraignment for ESPN sports commentator Jay Mariotti on seven misdemeanor counts of domestic violence, and other charges including theft, but the case was pushed back to October 1st.
To recap, Mariotti got into an argument with his girlfriend because he thought she was flirting with another man at a Santa Monica nightclub. When the two returned to her apartment, Mariotti allegedly pushed and shoved her around.
Part of the incident was reported by a witness who called 911.
TMZ.com's upping the ante in a battle with Lindsay Lohan sources, stating that the former Disney actress tested positive for Cocaine.
About just over an hour ago, TMZ.com reported that their sources claimed Lohan failed her drug test last week. As part of a harsh set of conditions of her new probation sentence, Lindsay has to undergo a random drug test twice a week, on top of visits to a psychiatrist, calls to her counselor, and enrollment and involvement in a 12-step alcoholism treatment program.
Now, TMZ.com rolling out more details, but the feeling here is this is turning into a PR battle of potentially massive proportions unless one side gives in. Lindsay has a lot to lose in going back to jail if it's true, and frankly there are many who hope it's not true.
All this blogger can say is thank God for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Their Rally To Restore Sanity - and they should add "To America" - could dwarf Glenn Beck's rally that was an insult to Dr. Martin Luther King and bring as many people to Washington DC as came for the inauguration of Barack Obama as President Of The United States.
That's this blogger's prediction.
And before we go deeper into what this rally's all about, and yes, this blogger's going, CNN's Rick Sanchez should be called to task for mocking the rally as being by faux news reporters, referring to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Well, let's see. Rick Sanchez is the one who keeps covering Sarah Palin when we're all trying to avoid paying attention to her. Sarah Palin's not a top search or top Twitter trend of late, and unless she does something stupid, so why focus on her? Sanchez show gave lip service to the Rally To Restore Sanity, but since his own ratings are tanking, perhaps its decisions like the over-coverage of Palin that are the reason for CNN's problems?
That's why we need The Rally To Restore Sanity.
The Rally, planned for October 30, 2010, is designed to bring together rational people. Or as the website explains it:
Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) -- not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point.
Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement; the Million Man March, only a lot smaller, and a bit less of a sausage fest; or the Gathering of the Juggalos, but instead of throwing our feces at Tila Tequila, we'll be actively *not* throwing our feces at Tila Tequila. Join us in the shadow of the Washington Monument. And bring your indoor voice. Or don't. If you'd rather stay home, go to work, or drive your kids to soccer practice... Actually, please come anyway. Ask the sitter if she can stay a few extra hours, just this once. We'll make it worth your while.
This is going to be an exciting event. More details as they come in.
About 39 minutes ago, TMZ.com reported and Zennie62.com echoed that Actress Lindsay Lohan failed a drug test given last week.
This blogger wrote:
According to TMZ.com, sadly, Actress Linday Lohan reportedly failed her drug test. The test occurred last week and according to the terms of Linday Lohan's probation she will get 30 days in jail.
Really, will that help? This blogger's starting to form the view that this attempt to control Linday Lohan's actions is silly. It's obviously not going to help her. But what's also interesting to know is what she tested positive for?
There's no court date set, and TMZ.com reports that Lindsay's office was notified.
Lohan Under A Hard Test
Lindsay Lohan was under a hard, breast-breaker of a test given by Judge Elden Fox, who replaced Judge Marsha Revel. The new rules called for her to remain in California until November 1st, take psychiatric treatment at least four times a week, and attend addiction meetings at least five times a week as part of a 12-step program, contact her counsellor at least seven times a week, and attend behavioural therapy twice a week, and submit to random drug testing twice a week.
Now, a TMZ update has it that other Lindsay Lohan sources say that TMZ.com's wrong. TMZ.com's standing by its story. Personally, here's hoping TMZ.com's wrong.
According to TMZ.com, sadly, Actress Linday Lohan reportedly failed her drug test. The test occurred last week and according to the terms of Linday Lohan's probation she will get 30 days in jail.
Really, will that help? This blogger's starting to form the view that this attempt to control Linday Lohan's actions is silly. It's obviously not going to help her. But what's also interesting to know is what she tested positive for?
There's no court date set, and TMZ.com reports that Lindsay's office was notified.
Lohan Under A Hard Test
Lindsay Lohan was under a hard, breast-breaker of a test given by Judge Elden Fox, who replaced Judge Marsha Revel. The new rules called for her to remain in California until November 1st, take psychiatric treatment at least four times a week, and attend addiction meetings at least five times a week as part of a 12-step program, contact her counsellor at least seven times a week, and attend behavioural therapy twice a week, and submit to random drug testing twice a week.
It was the last one that got her, but the question is what did she test positive for?
Today was yet another missed opportunity by Obama to address the 99er fiasco. The President held a town hall meeting this afternoon on CNBC. Today’s meeting began as the first questioner from the audience, a woman who said she voted for him and is "deeply disappointed with where I am now."
"My husband and I thought we were beyond the hot dog and beans of our lives. ... Is this my new reality?" she asked.
"I understand your frustration," Obama said. He defended his administration's efforts to help the middle class, listing achievements such as better protection for mortgage loans and health insurance for those with preexisting conditions.
Then a 30-year-old law school graduate said he's no longer able to make the interest payments on his educational loans, much less able to have a mortgage or a family. He said he had been inspired by Obama's campaign. But now, "that inspiration is dying away," he said. "I really want to know: Is the American dream dead?"
"Absolutely not. ... There is not a country in the world that would want to change places with us," Obama responded. "We are still the country that billions of people in the world look to and aspire to."
The one question that seemed to throw him off was about the "tea party." A Georgetown University MBA student asked him to comment about the conservative movement's calls for the administration to get the budget under control. After saying that the United States has a "noble tradition" of being "helpfully skeptical of government," Obama went on the attack. He said members of the tea party are "misidentifying sort of who the culprits are here." He said the government has been dealing with two tax cuts that weren't paid for and two wars that weren't paid for -- alluding to actions by the Bush administration.
Obama challenged the tea party to come up with specific tax cuts to control spending, rather than just talking about the need to reduce the $4 trillion deficit and hoping that: "magically somehow things are going to work. "We're not going to be able to solve the problem just by yelling at each other," he said.
Conspicuously missing from the town hall questions was any mention of the long term unemployed Americans, called the 99ers. The President avoided the subject of long term unemployed - without benefits for 8 months now like the plague.
It was a great forum, don't get me wrong and he made many very important points, but to ignore millions of Americans without jobs or benefits or how that a Tier 5 for all states could immediately inject at least 1.5 billion dollars directly into the economy every week. Based upon the law of 'Supply & Demand', through the purchase of goods and services, S3706 would provide the demand required to keep the recovery going in the right direction, prevent further layoffs and stimulate the creation of jobs within the individual communities throughout America. [Based on 5 million Americans who have exhausted UI benefits X $300.00 average weekly benefit]
To ignore this vital fact is irresponsible at best and does not serve America well. 99ers who are out of money and options, are getting so desperate that many are opting to take their own lives rather than face life on the streets. Not even including the 99ers in the national discussion, takes away any and all hope given when 2 bills for a Tier 5 UI benefits extension were introduced in Congress last month. Currently, both bills are languishing in Committee Limbo” with no plans to bring them to the floor for a vote prior to the next scheduled recess on October 8, 2010.
Apparently, American Idol star singer Adam Lambert - who will be forever remembered for his on-stage kiss of a male band member - took issue with being photographed on Miami Beach by a photog, and tried to grab his camera, Mafia-style. The result is the photographer went to the Miami Beach Police Department and filed a battery complaint.
The trouble is, the photog's complaint doesn't seem to match the photos posted on TMZ.com.
Basically, for one thing, the guy who claims he's the victim reports that the camera was in his shoulder bag and that Adam Lambert wrestled him to the ground. The photo shows the camera in the photog's hand, not in a backpack.
On Twitter, Lambert gives his explanation:
Anyway, everyone should check out the beautiful Raleigh Hotel in South Beach! Had a great stay. Excited for the (cont) http://tl.gd/637fd0 about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone
Battery? Nope. I attempted to grab a camera, no punches were thrown and no one was on the ground.... It was (cont) http://tl.gd/63774c
about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone
Hahha the photos are hilarious !! Lol please everyone forgive me for that hat. - I was attempting a disguise- clearly failed. Hahah
about 15 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone
They're real good at provoking, but there ain't any pics or video of the b.s. they spew out... Haha well... I (cont) http://tl.gd/62qkrg
about 20 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone
Eeew paparazzi killed my peaceful afternoon on the beach! #howisthisok?
about 20 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone
Adam Lambert should copy this blogger's reaction to photogs. At LAX some woman tried to hide and take my photo. I saw her and her camera and just waved hello.
The weather is definitely changing as we’ve had what appears to be the 6 or 7th tornado warning and perhaps third tornado to touch down in New York City in the past few years. For many living in the Big Apple, tornadoes were a phenomenon limited to Hollywood movies, the Discovery Channel and’ far off’ in the Midwest. The thought of a twister striking a metropolis like NY was unimaginable..Apparantly thats all changing..
I’m not sure what to make of all this. Is it global warming, the earth shifting or something that’s always existed but was under reported. In any case God help us if a category 4 or 5 ever touched down in mid-town Manhattan. All the shards of glass raining down from those massive high rises would do unspeakable damage. In addition, I’m not so sure many New Yorkers would know where to go and how to seek adequate shelter. Do you open your windows to relive pressure which was advice given back in the days? I’m not sure if it works now.. Do we rush down to the nearest subway station and use them as makeshift storm cellars? Would New Yorkers simply scoff at the idea of a tornado and not heed any warnings till it was too late and a funnel cloud is barreling down upon them?
Here’s some footage of the windstorm hitting the Redhook and the South Parkslope sections of Brooklyn..Now for folks living in places like Oklahoma or Kansas, this is just a windstorm. As far as they’re concerned NY has away to go befor it becomes the new tornado alley.For folks in NY its a big deal. Shout out to Adrian Mueller / fabrik studiofor capturing this.
Now the report has all sorts of numbers that may be of use to news reporters, but for the average person going about their business day-to-day, whatever numbers the report put out doesn’t even began to tell half the story. To start, we have a number, (1 in 7) that talks about people ‘living in poverty’, that number doesn’t include the folks who are part of the ‘working poor’. That’s where you really likely to hear tales of woe.
Nor does this report reflect those who simply fell off the proverbial grid. In other words, there are folks who been out of work for over a year, who have run out of unemployment benefits, lost their homes and have fallen through the cracks. Many have been led to believe their downfall is their fault and thus they have been too embarrassed to speak out and emerge from the shadows. How they’re making it may be stories onto themselves. I see folks like this everyday.
Many are living in their cars or couch surfing. Many will park their cars in their old neighborhoods where they can no longer afford to live, but know its safe and familiar. They keep their 30 dollar a month gym membership so they can shower and keep themselves up. They take advantage of the free wi-fi at coffee shops where they spend lots of time looking for jobs on trying sell things via E-bay or Craig’s list. Today’s homeless person is not some drunk or crackhead type of ‘undesirable’. He or she may be your next door neighbor trying to put up good appearances so as not to lessen their chances to bounce back.
The sad part is for many there will be no bounce back and thats where we have this major disconnect between the Have and Have Nots. Many who Have are completely out of touch and hold a fairytale view of what’s going on with folks who are in economic peril. They think this is temporary and with a little more elbow grease things will turn around. Sadly at times this notion seems to be one held by our president.
When this Census Bureau economic report came out, I immediately thought back to a scathing video put out earlier this year by longtime scholar, author and Civil Rights leader Cornel West. On the one year anniversary of President Obama‘s presidency the Princeton professor took him to task for not talking about the plight of poor people. West an early supporter was very pointed in his remarks as he expressed his profound disappointment.
He said the President Obama and his cabinet had‘technocratic’ approaches for dealing with the poor folks and that it was far removed from what is really needed. He noted that the approach much be such where they as political leaders are in the trenches alongside the people, building with them from where they stood and not so detached.
Cornel’s remarks suggested that its one thing to look somberly into a camera and say ‘Many Americans are having a tough time’ as if this is a temporary thing like missing a car payment that could made up next period. It’s another thing to truly understand what its like when a family has run out of options and will be out on the streets with no skill sets on how to navigate and survive.
West like many who work on the front lines for change understood that part of this disconnect complicating their challenge to Obama were seemingly high-profile, well to do media pundits and opportunistic politicians who would give lip service to the plight of poor people or use them as political footballs.
We saw this at the start of the summer when GOP Senators held up unemployment benefits for a few weeks as a way to send President Obama a strong message and ‘teach him a lesson’ about spending. It was also a way to get Democrats to cave into lobbying efforts from Wall Street hedge fund managers who wanted to see proposed tax increases included in the spending bill, disappear.
Senator Jim Bunning upheld payment benefits to the unemployed
While Bunning and others tossed these political footballs around, many lost homes. Many had their electricity turned off. Many had their cars repossessed. What we saw on TV was Bunning standing firm and shaking his fist at the camera calling for economic restraint. What we didn’t see or hear too much were from those who were seeing the last of their world crumble.
We didn’t hear from the person who lost their job, lost their home and simply didn’t have enough deposit money for an apartment. We didn’t hear from the person who lost their job, fell behind on their bills and suddenly couldn’t get a job because their credit rating was bad. We didn’t hear from the person who was out of work and had been looking for a year only to discover that because he or she had been out for so long was now deemed undesirable in the job market.
When such viewpoints were brought up in public space, you always had news anchor with a million dollar salary be dismissive or some sort of pundit with lucrative speaking dates lined up telling us times are tough but they’ll soon get better.
Here in California we saw how Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger implement ‘furlough Fridays where all state workers would be required to take a certain number of unpaid days off. This was essentially a 10-15% decrease in salaries in a state notorious for having a still increasing high cost of living. The practice was put on hold and declared wrong. Workers were told they could get back pay and it gave thousands a sense of relief. Sadly that wasn’t good enough for the governor who fought the ruling and eventually got it overturned. So as this census Bureau report comes out showing 1 in 7 Americans are in poverty, Furlough Fridays return to places like California.
We’ve also seen this play out locally in the city of Oakland when last year the entire city council voted to raise parking rates and increase strict enforcement. It was later discovered that this enforcement would only apply to the city’s poor neighborhoods. This was taking place in a city with a 20% unemployment rate where its been estimated to be even higher in those poorer districts.
Oakland City Council member Jean Quan
During a recent mayoral debate the issue of aggressive parking enforcement came up and generated more buzz on outlets like twitter than any other topic brought up that night. When this was brought to one of the city council people who favored this plan, mayoral candidate Jean Quan she seemed oblivious to the hardships this was causing.
She went explained to me, how the city shouldn’t have free parking and seemed impervious as to what happens when an unemployed or under employed person in the city gets their car towed for unpaid parking ticket which many argue shouldn’t have been issued in the first place.
Columnist Zennie Abraham broke this down in a column he penned last year about Oakland’s parking sting operation. For those who don’t know, the city of Oakland like many other municipalities invested in a machine that reads license plates and so late at night or in the wee hours of the morning parking enforcement officers scour the poor neighborhoods looking for cars to boot or tow.
This is a huge set back for those snared, one that has far-reaching consequences not just for the individual , but also for the small neighborhood businesses that person is likely to patronize. In other words if I own a business and customers suddenly has to scramble to pay 500-1000 for a towed car that’s potential revenue lost from businesses that could’ve circulated that dollar a few more times both in hiring and spending. Quan just didn’t get it.. But her view is reflective of that big disconnect. In her world its a fine. In someone else its a huge set back with far-reaching consequences.
The poverty report just gave us numbers but didn’t tell us about all the increased fees and hidden taxes besieging the poor and being explained away and justified by the rich. In other words, pay your parking tickets or credit car on time and avoid getting hit with exorbitant penalties.. that is of course if you can now afford to pay the bill in the first place.
Lastly this Census Bureau report doesn’t reflect those who are not living in poverty because they prematurely have dipped into their 401ks and have depleted their funds out of desperation.
I had a good friend tell me the other day that she had done everything she could to keep her family above water. She had cut backed, downsized, rented rooms and was working two jobs but none of this was enough with rapidly rising costs. Finally in a last-ditch effort she dipped into her retirement money. She explained it was a hard decision to make, but it was either that or be on the streets. She said “The person in front of you today at age 40 is relieved, but that same person at age 60 will be miserable“. So 20 years from now we may have another economic crises when folks are holding their hands out having spent their life savings 20 years earlier.
My friend was one of the lucky ones because she actually had a 401k to dip into. Many weren’t as fortunate. Many saw their money disappear overnight at the start of the economic downturn hence that 401k was no longer an option. Many never had a 401k to begin with. It was reported the other week a record number of people were raiding their retirement funds just to survive.
The reports showed that many middle aged people were the ones dipping into their retirements, noting that for those over 35 who lost work, it was going to be extremely difficult to get back in the job market. Some of it was due to changing fields and new technology which made old skill sets un-marketable.
The more pervasive but unspoken reality is that many employers don’t wanna pay someone who earned their keep after trolling for 10-15 years at a job. Their logic is ‘Why pay them their worth, when they can dip into a younger work poll of people who were being urged to ‘work for free’ as interns as a way to get their foot in the door or to take considerably less pay under the guise of ‘paying dues’?
The other story not being spoken about was the fact that today many middle-aged folks are in this precarious position of being both caretaker and caregiver. In other words they are taking care of aging parents, many of whom divorced years ago, so they have mom who needs help on one part of town and a father living in another.
At the same time they are taking care of kids. If they’re middle-aged, they may have kids who are 10-14 which can be incredibly expensive. Those who have kids ready to go to college are looking at increased fees, some as much as 38% which was the case in California.
It was scenarios like this we aren’t hearing being addressed by Obama and many other politicians. Its not being spoken about by those in mainstream media where the reporters and pundits are doing quite well for themselves. It isreality that with each passing day is rearing its ugly head and will in due time impact us all one way or another
Ines Sainz, the sexy supermodel TV Azteca reporter in the middle of the NFL's sexual harassment investigation after New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan and Jets players were allegedly involved in throwing footballs and making catcalls to Ines as she was waiting to interview Mark Sanchez, was said have been "asking for it" according to words uttered by FOX and NFL Network Analyst, and Merchant's NY bar regular Bryan Baldinger on Tony Bruno's show Thursday.
According to Sports Radio Interviews, Bryan Baldinger has a lot to say about Ines Sainz on Tony Bruno's show on 97.5 the Fanatic in Philadelphia:
We know a blue-chipper when we see one. This world is full of beautiful girls. But then there are those girls that are absolutely striking from any distance. There are those girls that are good from far, but far from good. No, no, no. This girl is in a category all for herself. I wish I was on the Jets practice field and they throwing me pass patterns by her as well. You would have seen me stumbling to get to her.
But Bryan, also a lover of fine cigars from personal experience, didn't stop there.
Listen, I don't know what she covers for that station in Mexico. If you come into the NFL dressed the way that she is dressed you are just asking for it. I don't know how you can justify any of the actions. Boys will be boys I guess.
.
But Baldy wasn't done. This blogger could almost hear Bryan Baldinger saying this in a bar, like Merchants, New York City:
Listen, these are painted on jeans. She's got a shirt that is just glued to her body. There is nothing out of place. If you want her to walk up there and do an interview with Mark Sanchez(notes), put her in a room with Mark Sanchez. Don't take her through the locker room. I don't think the Jets are wrong in any of this. I don't think they have to apologize for any of this. And for her to make any claims on harassment or of any harassment issues, I think she is just inviting it all upon herself in this case.
