Was it really just an act?

Via CNN - Hilton to Walters: I'll no longer 'act dumb'

Paris Hilton says she will no longer "act dumb."

The reality TV star and relentless publicity-seeker spoke with Barbara Walters by phone Sunday, a day after releasing a statement saying she hoped the media would focus on "more important things" than her 45-day jail sentence, according to ABC News' Web site.

"I used to act dumb. ... That act is no longer cute," ABC quoted Hilton as saying.

She is certainly right, there are much more important things going on in the world than her being in jail, and her dumb act certainly isn't cute anymore, if it ever was. Now whether anything will change or not, only time will tell.

Paris is not out of the woods yet

Via the BBC - Paris Hilton must return to court

A Los Angeles judge has ordered Paris Hilton to appear in court on Friday morning to determine whether she should be returned to jail.

The celebrity heiress was allowed to leave jail on Thursday, only three days into a 45-day sentence for violating probation on a drink-driving ban.

She was given an electronic tag and ordered to remain under house arrest for the remainder of her sentence.

Her release on unspecified medical grounds sparked widespread criticism.

She is due in court at 0900 (1600GMT) on Friday, where Judge Michael Sauer, who sentenced her to jail at her trial in early May, will hear the case.

[. . .]

When Hilton was originally sentenced to 45 days for violating probation on a drink-driving conviction, she was told there was no prospect of early release.

Judge Sauer had also specifically ruled that she could not serve her sentence at home under electronic monitoring.

Even if she was suffering from some medical condition (most likely claustrophobia), I'm not sure why it should be a get out of jail free card. If so, is it a get out of jail free card for any poor schmuck who comes along? I have to agree with Al Sharpton on this one:

Civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton condemned the release as showing the "double standards" of the US legal system.

"This early release gives all of the appearances of economic and racial favouritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of colour," he said. "There are any number of cases of people who handle being incarcerated badly and even have health conditions that are not released."

I certainly hope the judge makes her do her full time in jail.

It's sad

Via WaPo - An Ocean City Icon Faces Turn in Economic Tide

For 117 summers, generations of children have frolicked through Trimper's Rides on this beach resort town's signature boardwalk. But this Memorial Day weekend might begin the last summer they circle the antique wooden carousel, fling around the Tilt-a-Whirl and loop through the Tidal Wave roller coaster.

The Trimpers say they are considering closing the amusement park and arcade this year.

As Ocean City has exploded into a megaresort, property taxes have soared for Trimper's, which operates on the last chunk of undeveloped land on the town's three-mile boardwalk. In the past three years, family members said, their assessed property value has tripled, from $21 million to $65 million.

So the Trimpers are facing reality. Revenue from thrill rides and arcade games can't keep pace with the skyrocketing value of their three-block site, they say. In addition to property taxes, insurance and energy costs are up, and the family is split over what to do: Some members want to sell, but others want to find a way -- perhaps through a change to lower the park's assessment or a historic designation -- to keep going.

I have been there. We go to New Jersey every summer, and we have made the drive to Ocean City once or twice. We've been meaning to go again, but the weather wasn't so great the last few times we had planned to go, so we didn't get to go. Trimper's Rides closing wouldn't stop us from going back, but it would certainly make it seem different.

Trimper's is not the only small amusement park affected these days.

Across the nation -- from Coney Island, N.Y., to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Panama City, Fla. -- beach amusement parks have become victims of the ocean-view development boom.

Growing up not too far from Panama City, Fla., we used to go to Miracle Strip every summer. I actually haven't been back to PC since it closed down in 2004. Not that Miracle Strip closing is the real reason I've stayed away, it is just simple one symptom of the overall problem.

To me, the beach is just no fun anymore. It is overcrowded, the traffic is awful and you can't even see the water from the street anymore. From what I've heard, Panama City wants to turn itself into another Miami. I don't really see that happening, but if it did I don't think I would ever go back. I have no desire to visit Miami, and no desire to visit a Miami North either.

Oh, well, they don't ask me nor do they care about my opinion. So I'll just keep spending my money at mountain retreats in the summertime and leave the beaches to those who like high rises and over crowding.

More from Moore

Via CNN.com - Healthy praise for Moore's 'Sicko'

"Sicko," Michael Moore's ferocious and funny attack on the U.S. health care system, got a warm welcome at the Cannes Film festival Saturday. At home, it has started a firestorm.

The movie doesn't open until late June, but it has already been criticized by conservative politicians and sparked a U.S. government investigation that could land Moore a fine or jail time.

[. . .]

Moore's previous films were praised and reviled in equal measure. Americans will likely be just as divided by "Sicko" -- especially scenes in which Moore takes the sick 9/11 rescuers to Cuba for treatment.

The trip led the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate Moore for possibly breaking the U.S. trade and travel embargo on Cuba.

[. . .]

Moore says the criticism of the Cuba trip is misplaced. He said he intended to take the workers to Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base on the island where terror suspects are held -- and, the film claims, receive top-notch medical care.

"The point was not to go to Cuba but to go to America, to go to American soil ... being in Cuba was just an accident in a sense," he said.

I've only ever watched one Michael Moore documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, and I found it interesting. However, one must always consider the source when receiving any information. I think that Moore has some good points to make, but I don't think that he always makes them in the best possible ways. And any incendiary material in the film is doubtfully there by chance.

This country does need health care reform. Too often it seems like insurance is nothing more than a racket. People pay and pay believing that they will be covered if they have medical problems, but when a problem actually arises, the insurers want to do as little as they can get away with. It is true of all types of insurance, not just health insurance. I'm not really sure how Michael Moore's film is going to change that any though. The people who already agree with him will watch it and agree with him. Those who do not agree with him will likely not watch it and dismiss it out of hand because of the source from which it originates.

It ultimately boils down to entertainment. For those who agree with Moore, it can serve as a cathartic device or a voice for what they already believe. For those who hate Moore already, it just gives them further justification for the hatred. Ultimately it affects nothing and changes nothing.

Sanjaya goes home

Via FOXNews.com - Reality Check: Sanjaya Down and Out on 'American Idol'

I've never even watched American Idol and I know this a big deal.

Imus Fired!

Via the Chicago Tribune - CBS Fires Don Imus From Radio Show

CBS fired Don Imus from his radio program Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast.

"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."

One has to wonder how much of the decision was based on ethics and how much was made on economics, but I'm glad to see that he's bearing the consequences of his actions. I'd be surprised, however, if he doesn't get a new job somewhere else once the dust settles. Shock jocks make their living by saying outrageous things and getting away with it. And eventually someone will decide it's okay for him to get away with it again.