I come in praise of…Jamie Spears?

Michael Jackson’s problems started at home, with his father Joe. They are well documented. The Jackson family is first in line among those who used and abused him. It is hard to believe that his father, at least, ever had his best interests at heart. Exhibit A, his performance today, as reported by MTV,

Birds of a feather

Michael Jackson’s Family Still Considering Funeral Plans
Father Joe Jackson calls press conference to announce record label; says Michael will not be buried at Neverland.

Reporters gathered outside the Jackson family compound in Encino, California, on Monday morning for a press conference from Michael Jackson’s father, Joseph, during which they expected to hear about plans for the singer’s funeral.

But instead, Joe Jackson deflected most of those questions and talked about a new record label he’s launching with a former member of the classic R&B group the Chi-Lites, even as he defended detractors who questioned his comments about the label on the red carpet the previous night at the BET Awards, which were a tribute to the singer.

That got me thinking about pop tart Britney Spears. Like MJ, she was young, world famous and filthy rich. She was clearly going off the rails and headed for real problems. Her father, who may never have been a father of the year candidate, stepped up, stepped in and most likely saved his daughter from an early grave.

April 2007: Britney Spears’s Father Says She Was ‘Out of Control’Britney Spears’s father has publicly criticized his daughter, saying she blames her family and her manager for problems that are her own fault.

October 2008: Britney Spears’ Dad Granted Permanent Control of Her Affairs

January 2009: Britney Spears’ Father Obtains Restraining Orders Against Adnan Ghalib, Sam Lutfi, Jon Eardley

Is he the world’s greatest dad? Hardly. He has one teenage daughter who got pregnant and he allowed Britney to adopt the slutty school girl image to sell records. It worked like a charm, at first, thanks to shots like this 2003 Rolling Stone cover,

However, when it stopped working and things got really dark Jamie Spears did what he had to in order to save his daughter and for that I give him all the credit in the world. That is a lot more than can be said for Joe Jackson, that’s for sure.

I come in praise of…N.O.W.?

Well blow me over with a feather. Wednesday afternoon I did a very rare Tweet ( @punditreview) asking a simple question,

What time is the N.O.W. press conference denouncing David Letterman for his jokes about Palin’s 14-year old daughter?
1:59 PM Jun 10th from web

Tounge in cheek as the silence was deafening and the double standard too obvious to ignore. Turns out, on this issue anyway, NOW is being intellectually honest about the situation. Here is a portion of the statement they released tonight,

NOW’s Media Hall of Shame: David Letterman
Comedians in search of a laugh should really know better than to snicker about men having sex with teenage girls (or young women) less than half their age.

The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days — it is exploitative and has a negative effect on how all women and girls are perceived and how they view themselves. Letterman also joked about what he called Palin’s “slutty flight attendant look” — yet another example of how the media love to focus on a woman politician’s appearance, especially as it relates to her sexual appeal to men. Someone of Letterman’s stature, who appears on what used to be known as “the Tiffany Network” (CBS), should be above wallowing in the juvenile, sexist mud that other comedians and broadcasters seem to prefer.

On that point, it’s important to note that when Chelsea Clinton was 13 years old she was the target of numerous insults based on her appearance. Rush Limbaugh even referred to her as the “White House dog.” NOW hopes that all the conservatives who are fired up about sexism in the media lately will join us in calling out sexism when it is directed at women who aren’t professed conservatives.

They proved me wrong and did the right thing. Good for them for speaking out. That said, I certainly think negative publicity and sustained anger over the comments played a role in their decision, not to mention Letterman’s weasly apology.

Ever the diplomat, ALLAHPUNDIT offers this grand compromise,

People on Twitter are grumbling about that last paragraph but (a) given how peeved the sisterhood will be that they’re defending Palin, surely you won’t begrudge NOW some sort of ass-covering knock on conservatives here, and (b) their point is, unfortunately, too often valid, as a scroll through righty blog comments about Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton (at least before 2008) will attest. A compromise, then: The right will join in calling out sexism directed at liberal women when the left stops treating conservative women as “inauthentic” or traitors to their gender because they happen to be pro-life. Deal?

Hat Tip: Kathryn Lopez, The Corner

I come praise of… Bradley Whitford’s landlord

Actor Bradley Whitford is best known as deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman on West Wing. While on the show, Whitford had to get by on something between $80,000 and $150,000 PER EPISODE.

When Whitford is not playing a liberal on TV, he plays one in real life on the Huffington Post.

One thing about liberals that is so admirable is their concern for the working class, those struggling to get by.

New York Post
May 25, 2008
Page Six Magazine Interview

Q. What was your first apartment in New York like?

Whitford: It’s funny you should ask, because I recently got evicted from my $328 a month apartment on 88th and Columbus, which I started renting when I came to Julliard about 25 years ago. Apparently, rent control does not apply to people who are on TV. The landlord actually used the phrase “liberal hypocrite” to describe me, which was correct.

For a quarter century this jerk has been hording a rent control apartment in the heart of Manhattan. Incredible. I’m sure there are no single mothers working three jobs trying to provide for their kids who couldn’t use a NYC apartment for $328/month. One episode salary on West Wing paid for fifteen months worth of Whitford’s NYC rent.

This is disgusting, what an A-Hole.

UPDATE: It didn’t take long for John to let me know my math is way off. It is more like 38 years, not 15 months.

I come in praise of Shakira

The “I come in praise of” series started with this post,I come in praise of Danny Bonaduce.

Shakira, a pop singer that I cared little for before today, knocked my socks off when I saw this,

Shakira announces $40 million in aid for Latam

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Colombian pop star Shakira announced a $40 million donation on Thursday to repair damage caused by an earthquake in Peru and a hurricane in Nicaragua…

…The two-time Grammy Award winner, who started another foundation to help poor children in Colombia when she was only 18, said 40 million infants do not go to school and 51 million people don’t have access to clean water in Latin America.

“These are challenging problems that no one person can address, but working together everyone can help make a difference,” she added.

I don’t know which is more surprising, that Shakira has $40 million, or that she’s donating that much to charity? It doesn’t matter, she’s doing it and good for her. That is an impressive number, $40 million.