Okay, all you news folks and paparazzi - and Dr. Phil!  Let’s give Britney Spears a 3-month break.  You’ve been hounding her unmercifully for years now.  She’s legally an adult, but she’s still young.  Let’s give her a break - a chance to start on the road to recovery without such relentless pursuit.  Take February, March and April off from the Britney patrol.  Come May, you can go at it again.  Is this too much to ask?

 That includes YOU, Dr. Phil.  Stop talking about Britney on TV.  What a jerk!  Dr. Phil is on TV as I write this, trying to justify his actions.  “I had an absolute right to talk about anything that I wanted to talk about because I wasn’t seeing her professionally.”  That’s a direct quote when he was asked, “Is it your place to be speaking about her private matters in public?” And he’s right.  Our country has freedom of speech.  One would hope, however, that a person would be kind and compassionate about what they say - especially a professional person talking about someone who is obviously troubled.   Ethically, Dr. Phil is absolutely wrong.  “I made it [the statement about Brittney] to quell speculation.”  That is such a lie.  He made the statement to drum up business for his talk show - to try to get people to watch what he hoped would be an on-air intervention.

Let’s just give it a rest when it comes to Britney

I laugh at the paranoia of people who truly believe that George Bush STOLE the presidency in the 2000 election.  Do people really believe that silliness?  Whenever I surf left-wing blogs, I see countdowns to the end of the Bush presidency.  Widgets are available to install on one’s website to track the time until the “stolen” presidency is over.  They write about it on their blogs and in comments.  Are they serious?   There was nothing shady about the election.  If Bush and Gore swapped places and Gore was the one in office and people on the right were crying that he had stolen the presidency, the left would be laughing at the absurdity of the claim.

Apparently, left wingers seem to enjoy wallowing in their role as the eternal victim.  Most importantly, these silly claims help them get people who are incapable of thinking for themselves into thinking that there is a conspiracy against them.   That line of non-thought should be good for some votes for whoever the Democratic candidate might be.  I really don’t understand why the Democrats want to make people dependent on the government - except to move us even closer to socialism.  If a Democrat is elected, that’s exactly where we’re headed.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Dr. Phil ended up at the hospital to talk with Brittney Spears this past weekend. If he had been there in order to truly help her, we wouldn’t have known he was there, or he would have downplayed the visit. But he didn’t do that. The fact that he has already announced that he will discuss his visit with her ON HIS SHOW next week tells us his purpose immediately. Dr. Phil saw an opportunity to boost his ratings by exploiting this young woman in trouble. It doesn’t matter to him that Brittney is obviously a young woman with serious problems - one of the problems being the invasion of her privacy by the media. I think it’s shameful, and as far as I’m concerned, Dr. Phil just lost all credibility. He’s just another self-absorbed Hollywood type.

I feel sorry for Brittney. Yes, she has brought this all on herself. However, she is young, and she is likely dealing with some depression after the end of her marriage and having two children back to back. I’m sure she also feels a lot of betrayal from the people she thought were loyal to her who have sold her out what they could get out of it. She also has the media in her fact all the time. I’m sure if they could put cameras in her bathroom, they would.

I’m sure the fact that I think he’s slime won’t bother Dr. Phil one bit. I hope that this incident will show others (and Brittney) that his attention to her situation isn’t about her - but it’s all about him and publicity for him.

I was just watching a show on E! called “Chelsea Lately.”   Along with Chelsea Handler there are three other people around the table discussing various people and issues.   I have no idea who the three people are - one white guy, one black chick and one white chick.  Oh yes, there’s a hispanic little guy, too.  At one point in the show, the black chick declared - when a television show was mentioned - ”I don’t like that show.  There’s too many white people for me.”  She thought she was funny - and Chelsea and the others all laughed on cue.  All the white folks on the show just laughed it off.  I wonder if the black chick would have laughed it off if Chelsea had said she didn’t care for a show because “There’s too many black people” on it?  Chelsea could very well be looking for another job by now.

There is a huge double standard in our culture.  If something is wrong for one racial group to say or do - then it’s wrong for other racial groups.  We fought for and won equal rights for everyone.  Equal rights - not special rights for privileged groups.

Unfortunately, I kept watching the show.  The black chick was full of “racial humor.”  Maybe that’s her thing.  She wasn’t funny.  I wonder if she is actually successful as a comedian using the type humor she showed on the show.   As part of this particular Chelsea Lately show, she went to a Spice Girls concert and interviewed people.  She selected a black guy and gave him a hard time for attending a Spice Girl concert: “What the HELL are you doing here?  Martin Luther King is rolling in his grave right now!”  Then she asked him how many times he’d voted for Mel B in “Dancing With the Stars.”  When he replied that he’d voted for Mel B twice, her comment was “Another brother that don’t vote!”  You notice she didn’t ask if he’d voted for any of the white dancers.  The question assumed that since he was black, he should have supported the black finalist on “Dancing With The Stars.” 

Racism is racism.  Just because it’s black against white racism shouldn’t make it any more acceptable.

I didn’t particularly enjoy Clash of the Choirs as a whole, although there were parts that I enjoyed a lot.  Mostly, though, it was a dud of a show. I watched the first night and the last night - and bits and pieces of the other night.  I’ve never been a Nick Lachey fan, but as I watched the show, Nick came through as one of the more humble musicians.  His choir sang songs that were believable.  I really disliked Patti LaBelle’s rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”  She shrieked through the song from the beginning - and it seemed so staged and fake.  When Nick’s choir sang “What a Wonderful World” it was melodic and well performed.  It was also a win for the choir - not for the celebrity.

However, I didn’t really have much hope that Nick’s choir would win.  Everyone had carried on so much about how wonderful Patti was - how “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” had been so outstanding.  I didn’t see it - If they hadn’t announced that the song they were singing was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I sure wouldn’t have known it by listening to Patti sing.  The actual tune of the song was lost in all the yelling, facial contortions, shoe-throwing and theatrics.

I was pleased when Nick Lachey’s choir was announced the winner.  They deserved it.  They were the consistently best choir there. 

Then I read about Patti LaBelle’s remarks when she realized she hadn’t won.  Here’s the story:

In comments published on Philly.com, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Web site, LaBelle did not appear overly gracious about her loss.

“It was a ripoff — somebody stole it from me,” she said before backing off a bit. “I’m still a winner, you know what I mean? I’m not taking anything away from Nick Lachey … I’m 63, he’s about 2. … It’s called Clash of the Choirs, not Clash of the Popularity.”

She’s not taking anything away from Nick Lachey? Well, yes she is. She’s saying he’s too young to win and that the only reason he won is because he is popular and not because his choir was the best. She insulted him and she insulted the people in his choir. Yes, it was called Clash of the Choirs, and that’s why Nick’s choir won. Patti’s choir was all about Patti. Even though Patti’s choir contained people who weren’t African American, she selected an African American charity. What a slap in the face for her non-African American choir members. It seems to me that she was interested in Patti and Patti’s interests - and not in her choir. No wonder Nick’s choir beat her so soundly. People like Patti LaBelle who lose a competition and, instead of congratulating the winners and being gracious, criticize the winners and claim that “somebody stole” the competition from them, just illustrate their own shallow, mean-spirited and self-involved personalities.

Julianne Hough has not only won the past two season’s of Dancing With the Stars, but now she has a record deal and will be recording a country song in early 2008.  She is absolutely as cute as she can be, and the girl can dance and choreograph like nobody’s business.

Here’s the story:
‘Dancing’ Champ Hough Signs Record Deal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champ Julianne Hough has signed a record deal with Universal Music Group and is expected to release a country single in early 2008.

Hough, 19, will be on the company’s Mercury Records label, said Universal Music Group spokeswoman Amber Williams. She’s expected to begin recording the album in Nashville early next month with producer David Malloy, Williams said.

Hough won the past two seasons of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” with celebrity partners Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves.

She released a country single, “Will You Dance With Me,” on iTunes in May.

I can’t wait to see the Sex and the City movie - coming in May 2008.  I could never afford HBO when the show was on, and so I never saw a single episode or even knew what it was about until a few years ago when I was living by myself in a tiny one-bedroom apartment and being a hermit.  Looking for something that looked interesting that I could watch at home to pass the time while I vegetated, I bought the first season DVD.  I liked it.  I subsequently bought the DVD set for every single season and for awhile I would spend literally hours watching one episode after the other.  Like I said, at the time I had retreated from the world and was nursing my wounds via marathon sessions of watching Sex and the City.  When I had finished watching all seasons, I started on the first season of Friends…but that’s for another post.  I still TiVo Sex and the City and watch reruns which doesn’t make a lot of sense since I have all the shows on DVD, but I do it anyway.

Now the Sex and the City movie trailer is available.  I watched it.  Not much to it, but I liked it anyway.  Now, when the movie premiers in May, I’ll have to figure out who I’ll take with me to the movie. I KNOW RT won’t want to go.  It is simply not his kind of show.  However, I will be be sure to see it sometime the first weekend it’s out.

“Dancing With The Stars” has been okay this year.  Not particularly exciting, but generally more interesting than washing the dishes or folding laundry.  So I’ve been watching it off and on.  I haven’t made any predictions yet, but since I’ve made my predictions a weekly even in past seasons, I’ll get back into my prophecy mode.

So who do I think will go home tonight on Dancing With The Stars?  There are five folks left: Jennie Garth, Cameron Mathison, Marie Osmond, Melanie Brown, and Helio Castroneves.   Marie Osmond is hands down the audience favorite - with Cameron Mathison and Jennie Garth following behind.  As far as dance technique, Mel B and Helio are the best dancers.  However, they don’t seem to have much of a fan base.  Maybe Mel B. ticked people off with the paternity suit she had against Eddie Murphy.  Maybe not.  She seems nice enough - and it seem that Eddie Murphy was the bad guy in that suit.  But that’s beside the point.  I think Mel B or Helio will be the one to leave the show tonight.

Really, though, it could be anybody - but Marie.  I think Marie has such an enormous fan following that she’ll definitely remain for another week.  I haven’t voted a single time yet this season, but last night I was really tempted to vote for Marie.  She’s obviously working so hard and has such a funny and deprecating sense of humor.  No, she’s not the best dancer, technically speaking.  However, I think she’s is the best “whole package” in the competition.

It’s always interesting to check my site meter to see the search words that landed people at THE MEDIAN SIB.  Someone Googled the following sentence - “How about rooting for our side for a change,  you liberal moron!” -  and ended up here.  They were likely looking for the following graphic which I will gladly provide.  Amen and amen.

I just glanced at my sitemeter and was astonished to see that I’d had more than a hundred hits the last little while as a result of internet searches with “Kellie Pickler Boob Job” (or some other version of the same theme) as the search words.  What is going on with Kellie Pickler, I wondered?  I’d written a post about her appearance on American Idol last March.  Why the sudden interest in her?  Since March I’ve had at least a few searches for her each day. . . but hundreds?!  Kellie was definitely in the news again.

Then a few minutes ago I turned on the TV and saw that Pickler was up for an award on the Country Music Awards.  She’s also scheduled to sing. 

Mystery solved.  I think. the Country Music Awards are being shown on ABC tonight.  I just caught a glimpse of Kellie when they showed her waiting to see who won in her category (she didn’t).  Maybe earlier she was interviewed and her breast augmentation was obvious and that inspired a lot of people to look her up on the internet