The Left Coast Report: A Political Look at Hollywood
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Paris Hilton Praises Gunslinger Boyfriend
2. Playboy Mansion Turns Stomachs
3. Everyone Wins in 'Jeopardy!' Man-Machine Match
4. 'Glee' Producers Plan TV Swipe at the Right
5. Justin Bieber's Pro-life Stand Spurs Liberal Meltdown
1. Paris Hilton Praises Gunslinger Boyfriend
After Paris Hilton's personal brush with crime and firearms, we now know where the heiress stands on the Second Amendment, in case anyone was wondering.
Hilton has publicly lauded her current boyfriend, business tycoon Cy Waits, for thwarting a burglary by brandishing a gun.
Last summer Paris was startled in the middle of the night by a strange sound. She discovered that a man was attempting to break into her home. Making it all the more frightening, the would-be intruder was actually holding a couple of large knives.
Waits' quick draw of his gun ultimately prevented the crime from proceeding, and police were able to arrest the suspect outside the house in Hilton's garden.
The reality show star gushed about the man to whom she is soon expected to be engaged, telling E! Online, "He's so loyal and I feel so safe. He's my hero. He saved my life when that guy came with two big knives."
Hilton then expressed her gratitude to the Almighty, saying, "Thank God he had a gun with him and he had to literally put it to the guy's head. We waited a half-hour for police to come."
The suspect has since pleaded not guilty to a felony burglary charge and is awaiting trial.
2. Playboy Mansion Turns Stomachs
The Playboy Mansion is being inspected by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health after 200 partygoers got sick.
Evidently, folks began to feel queasy, nauseated and some even vomited on the famed Playboy mansion floors. Four guests were later diagnosed with a mild form of Legionnaire's disease.
Legionnaire's disease is actually a type of pneumonia. You can contract the illness from breathing in the mist or vapor of bacteria-ridden water, so the health department is targeting the mansion's grotto, pool, and a fog machine near the dance floor.
The L.A. county agency issued a statement indicating that it "has not determined that the source of exposure is limited to a specific location. The department is working to conclusively identify the source of exposure and the likely cause of illness for this suspected outbreak."
Rumor has it that officials had first thought people had suddenly taken ill because they stumbled upon Hef modeling his new Hoodie-Footie.
3. Everyone Wins in 'Jeopardy!' Man-Machine Match
"Jeopardy!" recently pitted man vs. machine over the course of three installments.
IBM developed a supercomputer, code-named "Watson," at a cost that the company chose to keep secret. Reportedly, the final tab was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Watson battled the all-time "Jeopardy!" champ, Ken Jennings, as well as another standout on the long-running quiz show, Brad Rutter.
The two humans were initially able to stay fairly close to Watson in score. However, they were eventually defeated, their central processing units apparently no match for that of Watson.
The media went to work on the spinning of Watson's victory as the end of human intellectual superiority.
In my estimation, though, the remarkable capabilities that the cyber-participant displayed actually served to underscore the height to which human inventiveness has soared.
This was aptly illustrated in the clear technological genius that gave birth to Watson itself. The programmers used higher-level machine learning, innovative algorithms and additional techniques to advance artificial intelligence to a level in which metaphors, jokes, and puns were fully comprehended.
4. 'Glee' Producers Plan Swipe at the Right
Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, two executive producers for Fox's hit show "Glee," appear to be gearing up for a smackdown of Sarah Palin, the tea party, and maybe even the Catholic Church.
The show's casting breakdowns recently indicated that producers were seeking an actor for a character named Tammy Jean, described as a middle-aged "Tea Party candidate and home schooler — a Sarah Palin type."
Producer Murphy had talked about wanting to add a right-wing character to the quirky cast.
"We've taken a couple jabs at the right wing this year," he told TV Guide in June of 2010.
He claims that he is including a character "who Christian kids and parents can recognize and say, 'Oh, look — I'm represented there, too!'"
Murphy and the other producers chose to award the Palin-esque role to noted Sarah-hater Kathy Griffin. Guess Tina Fey wasn't available.
Griffin's Palin character will be one of the judges for the show's regional glee club contest. The Bravo network personality is apparently looking forward to the portrayal.
"So excited!! It's true!!" Griffin posted on Twitter.
Jane Lynch's character, Sue Sylvester, slammed the former governor of Alaska last season while putting down a couple of the show's teen protagonists.
"You may be two of the stupidest teens I've ever encountered — and that's saying something. I once taught a cheerleading seminar to Sarah Palin," the coach snapped.
Loretta Devine, who used to appear on "Grey's Anatomy," will also play a judge on the singing contest panel. She will reportedly portray a nun named Sister Mary Constance, who prior to joining the convent was a stripper.
The airdate for the "Glee" attack on the right has not yet been disclosed, but production of the episode has reportedly already started.
5. Justin Bieber's Pro-life Stand Spurs Liberal Meltdown
Justin Bieber has riled the left. Bieber, who happens to be a Christian, was asked in a Rolling Stone interview to express his views on abortion. Not only did he equate abortion with murder, he suggested that it is wrong even in cases of rape and incest.
"I really don't believe in abortion . . . It's like killing a baby," the teen icon told Rolling Stone.
The interviewer followed up with a question about cases in which pregnancy was the result of rape. Bieber replied that it was his belief that "everything happens for a reason." He then added, "I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."
Some in the media flipped out and immediately became diss-Beliebers. The liberal panelists on ABC's "The View" provide a prime example.
Guest co-host KaDee Strickland said, "[Bieber] won't be in that position because he cannot give birth." She added that "he doesn't have a choice like that."
Joy Behar fumed over Bieber's "everything happens for a reason" comment regarding a pregnancy resulting from rape, saying that it was "really insulting to people who have been raped or victims of incest. There is no 'reason' for that."
Both co-hosts expressed trepidation about whether Bieber's views might influence his fans.
Beleaguered "View" host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was left to defend the pop star on her own, saying, "I don't think we can discount somebody's opinion because they happen to be 16."
Barbara Walters fretted that the reporter had been "asking questions that may or may not be appropriate. You think they are; I think it may be a bit of a stretch."
Curiously, Rolling Stone took the unprecedented step of amending Bieber's comments on abortion, claiming that the magazine had made an editing error that included an incomplete quote from the teen star.
On its website, the magazine republished the revised quote as follows: "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."
The New York Times responded with a navel-gazing critique titled "Twilight of the Teen Idol." The Times suggested Bieber had overstepped his bounds, stating, "By taking a stand against abortion, Mr. Bieber risks finding out how frail and tenuous that bond [with fans] might be."
The CNN website touted an article with the headline: "Backlash over Bieber's view on abortion."
A Boston Herald blog titled its analysis of the singer's position as "Justin Bieber Sounds Like an Idiot."
On her Twitter account, Rolling Stone reporter Vanessa Grigoriadis defended herself on the issue of whether the subject matter was appropriate.
"A 16-year-old kid, to be 17 in a couple weeks, who has control over a large population should be asked all questions," Grigoriadis wrote.
The reporter also explained Bieber's remark that "everything happens for a reason."
"I think he meant that God has a plan," Grigoriadis told PopEater. "Even for the most die-hard Christian, it's hard to justify rape as part of God's plan, and harder to justify rape that leads to pregnancy and abortion. I think [Bieber] was wrestling with that in his answer, which I found to be solid and logical."
She added, "I think it is being widely misunderstood. He did not say that rape was part of God's plan."
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