Another blowie at the White House

ITEM!: I love it that the Internal Revenue Service is taxing the celebrities on the "swag bags" that they receive for showing up at awards shows and presenting a statue. It's no secret, at least among us entertainment whores, that these gift bags are worth upwards of $70,000, depending on the event. (I think the Oscars' bag was worth that last year.) It's ridiculous that a celebrity, who already makes a ton of money, should get stuff as random as a new phone, trip to a spa, invitation to a store opening or something like that, when they'd probably get it anyway, just for showing up at the phone store, spa or store that morning. At any rate, the taxes for the Academy Award bags will be paid retroactively by the Academy (through last year). This year, however, I wouldn't be surprised if such gifts were nowhere to be seen. (And lest we forget, the wonderful George Clooney donated his Oscar bag to charity to be auctioned off for hurricane relief.)
ITEM!: Paramount has severed ties with Tom Cruise's production company. Huh. It seems that becoming a kooky guy of the highest order can get you thrown off the lot -- no matter how big a star you were.
ITEM!: President Bush met with the guy who drove his FEMA trailer from Louisiana to Washington, D.C. today. The guy made news because, well, he wasn't invited to D.C. At any rate, it should be mentioned that the gentleman was on his way north to thank Bush for all the help that the government has given the region. Tell me that isn't a photo op waiting to happen! OF COURSE Bush would choose to meet this yahoo, instead of someone who has issues with the administration, like Cindy Sheehan, or the millions of other Hurricane Katrina survivors that are venomously unhappy with the president's reaction to the hurricane. Why try to solve something by hearing about people's problems when you can get blown on the White House lawn by a guy who just wants to get on television?
ITEM!: I'm loving the new Christina Aguilera. As a diehard Brit fan, you know how tough that is for me to say, but Aguilera's new single, and the potential in the new album is enough to make me bust out to get my computer fixed tomorrow so I can download the tunes on the Pod.
ITEM!: This image is brought to you by some organization's public service announcement in Scotland (I think). It's designed to ward people away from taking that one last drink that they know they shouldn't have, but are peer pressured into downing anyway. Seriously, it is disturbing, but it brings to mind my first year of college. Is that bad?