Little could lessen the fever-pitched excitement for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," but heavy rain nevertheless dampened the film's lavish Cannes party.
The best response to Abercrombie and Fitch CEO award goes to Greg Karber. This teenager from LA heard Abercrombie's chief exec say only cool, thin teenagers should wear his clothes. Now, when Kirstie Alley heard this, she got mad and made a stink, which only made her look silly and bitter.
Karber instead organized a social media campaign to encourage teens to round up old Abercrombie clothes they may have bought "by mistake" and donate them to a local homeless shelter. He made the cool kids comment look silly and petty and clothed some homeless at the same time.
Well done, kid.
Daddy-daughter and baseball
Did you see the great father daughter reunion at the Florida baseball game? These videos get to me EVERY time. This father was the "catcher" at a Tampa Bay Rays game and the daughter throws the first pitch. He stands up and takes his mask off. My favorite part is how she is walking toward the mound, thinking that's what she is expected to do, and when she sees her dad's face she breaks into a sprint. It's a great reminder to be grateful for all soldier homecomings as we head into next weekend's Memorial Day holiday.
The president said Thursday morning at a Rose Garden ceremony that he has complete confidence in his AG. But if this week has been a nightmare for Obama, you have to believe Eric Holder is having a bad dream of his own.
Holder has never been a favorite of Republicans on Capitol Hill, but that is never a huge surprise. Republicans always look sideways at Democratic attorneys general, especially those who are personal friends of the president who appoints them. But after the details on the Fast and Furious gun-running debacle came to light, Holder was an official target of some on both sides of the aisle.
The week of May 13th has not been kind to Holder either. First, the IRS controversy involving special scrutiny given to conservative tea party groups, and then the questions about the phone records being seized from the Associated Press. Holder was grilled about the issues on Capitol HIll on Wednesday and, much like his answer on Fast and Furious, basically said he had removed himself from the AP operation. That works sometimes, but not forever.
Thursday, a CNN report said that the Justice Department failed to oversee two terrorists or suspected terrorists in the witness-protection program, and that these two, with new government-provided IDs and passports, may be out of the country, How much did he know or not know about that?
There are mistakes and there is lack of oversight. This looks like both.
There's something interesting going on down at the State Capitol.
And it has to do with the state budget.
And the governor is on the right, or shall I say "correct" side of it. And so is the president of the United States.
I know, not possible, right?
Here it is.
The governor thinks that expanding Medicaid (allowing more Arizonans access to AHCCCs, our version of the Medicaid plan) is good for the economy because it makes us eligible for $1.6 billion every year as part of Obamacare.
There are already 1.3 million Arizonans on our state Medicaid/AHCCCS rolls anyway. That's a lot of working poor, both adults and children. But Arizona does a particularly good job at Medicaid -- it might be one of Arizona's best-kept secrets.
But here's the thing. We know Jan Brewer doesn't like Obamacare. We know she doesn't like Obama! But she looked at the numbers and decided that expanding Medicaid was best for the state. She can't run for governor again, so she's not pandering to an electorate. In fact, she is bucking her own party for what she thinks is right for the state. Are we really to believe she has some other motivation?
Let's hope common sense prevails at the legislature and she gets this done.
• 1:45p.m.: Governor Brewer agrees with President Obama on something and that "something" could save Arizona $1.3 million.
• 2:45p.m.: You know how the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO says he only wants skinny people wearing his clothes? Well guess what so-called "celebrity" has a problem with that? HINT - they're not skinny.
When I clicked the link I'd hoped there'd be some insight into why the accused kidnapper, Ariel Castro, had committed these vile acts, maybe some evidence or something along those lines. Instead I was just disappointed ... with myself.
Turns out Castro's backyard was just littered with junk more or less, and I clicked on to another article about something else, but I was left with a dirty feeling.
I guess I could be upset with CNN, the piece didn't have much news value, if any. But hey, they knew some photos of this creep's backyard would net them page views galore, so I can't really say I blame them.
I've always been curious about things my whole life. I love to ask questions, get to know people and figure out what makes them tick. Did I think I could learn insight into Castro's life by clicking on the link? Maybe.
Don't get me wrong, I think this was a huge story. It's not every day you see four females rescued from a kidnapper's house who've been held captive for 10-plus years.
But is it just me or do things get taken too far? Are photos from a neighbor who hopped Castro's fence and snapped a few quick shots necessary? What's Jodi Arias going to be eating in jail? How do the jurors sit in the courtroom? Ariel Castro's making Kool-Aid in his jail cell. It's ridiculous.
Does anyone really care about any of that stuff? I guess someone must or the stories wouldn't be getting made.
If I want fluff I'll turn to reality TV, or a sitcom, not the courtroom or a Cleveland house of horror.
Tuesday morning's headlines about Angelina Jolie have brought the breast cancer discussion to the table for everyone.
And while most of us know someone who has won their battle with breast cancer, and medical science can do more than ever to cure the disease, many women still lose. And a lot of women already know they can be tested for the gene most responsible for causing breast cancer.
But Tuesday, because someone who is a household name and Hollywood A-lister has taken matters into her own hands and aggressively, officially disarmed the disease, you can bet that women across the country will want to know how they can do it too.
The science is readily available. The surgery is neither new, nor cutting edge. But the biggest stumbling block for most women won't be the act of asking for a preventive mastectomy.
It will be the cost.
Insurance companies have yet to embrace, for the most part, personalize medicine like the kind Angelina Jolie just went out and got. For most of us, the answer to the question, "Can I have what she is having," is, "No."
Yet, because of genetic research, doctors are now able to treat the specific subtype of a particular disease and their rates of success keep going up. Pretty soon, we will have a test for just about every kind of cancer and doctors will be able to predict with certainty whether or not you ill get it. Maybe they'll even know WHEN you will get it.
Will your insurance company pay for that test? We have to hope so.
Lots of brothers in the news lately and not for good reasons.
The Tsarnaev Brothers, the Castro Brothers, heck, even the Dr. Joyce Brothers made headlines for all the wrong reasons. It's time to shed new light on brotherhood to remind ourselves that brothers are a good thing and that ultimately brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug.
The Five this week breaks down my favorite brothers and their evil antithesis...
