More John McCain-Snooki Madness

The Left Coast Report: A Political Look at Hollywood

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. More John McCain-Snooki Madness
2. Charlie Sheen's Woes Might Include Toothless Grin
3. A Rush Limbaugh-Elton John Bromance?
4. Obama’s Lack of Transparency Miffs the Mainstream Media
5. Lindsay Lohan Eyed for Missing Jewelry
 

1. More John McCain-Snooki Madness

The connection between John McCain and Snooki keeps getting weirder.

When the second season of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” kicked off, reality star Snooki praised the former GOP presidential candidate and current Arizona senator for knocking President Obama over the tanning tax.

Following Snooki's arrest in Seaside Heights, N.J., McCain said that Snooki was “too good-looking to go to jail.”

After the announcement that Snooki would be appearing in the nation's capital for a book signing event, McCain's office apparently felt that it was necessary to issue a puzzling statement.

A spokesperson for the senator indicated that McCain would not be having a meet-up with Snooki. As unprecedented as the digital relationship between the cable TV celeb and the often-described maverick may be, the announcement that McCain wouldn’t be having a face-to-face with Snooki tops it.

2. Charlie Sheen's Woes Might Include Toothless Grin

In a story that may persuade young folks to keep off the drugs, one of the porn stars who partied with Charlie Sheen has recently made some shocking revelations.

She said that the sitcom star, who is reportedly now in some sort of rehab, has actually lost the majority of his teeth, has some gold in his mouth and must wear a white dental apparatus for his public and media appearances.

According to the Daily Mail, Kacey Jordan told Howard Stern, “All his teeth have fallen out from partying.”

“He said he had to get gold teeth. He wouldn't say why, but we all know it's because of the drug use,” Jordan added.

Of course, many things can precipitate tooth loss, including a high-sugar diet or poor dental hygiene. But in Sheen's case, if his teeth are failing, the massive amount of drugs he has reportedly put in his body could indeed be a significant factor.

In a text interview with E! Online, Sheen chastised the press and public for paying too much attention to his personal problems. The actor was questioned about whether his father, Martin Sheen, was seeking a conservatorship over his finances.

Charlie responded, “Believe nothing. I will never speak about any of this as long as I'm alive. You're all gonna have to keep towing the same redundant line, guessing wrong.”

In another online post, he ranted, “Btw, two wars are in an endless state of sorrow. Egypt about burned to the ground, and all you people care about is my bulls**t . . . pathetic . . . Shame shame shame.”

3. A Rush Limbaugh-Elton John Bromance?

It just goes to show you. People who are wildly different from one another can still be good friends.

Rush Limbaugh and Elton John are best buds; this according to a recent interview with Elton that appears in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

The rock star references his gig at the radio star's wedding in June of 2010.

“I could not believe when I was asked to play. I thought it was a joke,” Elton confessed.

He revealed that Rush told him to bring his 12-year partner, David Furnish, to the event.

Elton recalled Rush saying, “I'm not anti-gay.”

This comes as no surprise to Rush's radio listeners who know that conservatism is not anti-persons, but rather it is anti-liberal ideas.

Rush and Elton used to agree that a civil union, as opposed to same-sex marriage, was the preferred way to address gay lobby concerns.

“My goal is for Rush to say, 'I support civil partnerships,' and if I rang him right now, I think he might agree,” Elton said. He was apparently unaware that Rush had already publicly said as much.

“Elton John is not a supporter of gay marriage. Elton John is on the same page as I am, as is Obama on gay marriage. He's for civil unions, but he's not for marriage,” Limbaugh explained on his radio show.

However, Elton has since switched his position and now supports same-sex marriage. He still clearly has a soft spot for the nation's most influential conservative, though. “He [Limbaugh] was one of the first people to congratulate us on the baby,” Elton pointed out.

He and his partner have adopted a baby boy, Zachary, who was born to a surrogate mother in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.

4. Obama’s Lack of Transparency Miffs the Mainstream Media

A sizable portion of the mainstream media is furious over President Obama’s uber-limited access.

After doing their level best to prop up his administration, frustrated reporters sounded off at the president for eluding them all week so that he wouldn't have to talk about his handling of the Egyptian crisis.

The White House Correspondents’ Association wrote a letter to outgoing White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, expressing their displeasure with the lack of transparency.

“Prior to the president’s statement Tuesday night, the press corps had not received a substantive update from the White House all day on the situation in Egypt,” the letter read. “In addition, the press corps did not have an on-camera briefing, or an off-camera gaggle, with you yesterday to ask the White House about its decision-making process during this major foreign policy crisis.”

The letter summed up their gripes in the following manner: “Now for two straight days the full press pool is being shut out of events that have typically been open and provided opportunities try to ask the [president] a question.”

A lot of folks, including members of the media, remember Obama’s numerous “transparency” promises. Folks recall, too, how then-candidate Obama assailed his predecessor George W. Bush as being too secretive.

Although he staged the signing of an open-government directive to executive agencies to supposedly encourage the flow of information to the public and the press, Obama’s transparency record is abysmal.

In August 2010, the president did away with the position in his administration that was ostensibly dedicated to transparency. The job was transferred to a partisan ex-lobbyist.

In November 2010, Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, spoke of the Obama Justice Department's transparency track record. Her group has experienced stonewalling when it comes to a host of Freedom of Information Act requests.

“They still have a presumption against disclosure,” Sloan told The Washington Times. “At least with the Bush administration, they told you there was a presumption of secrecy. The Obama administration is claiming a presumption of openness and yet everything [the Justice Department] does is in opposition to that.”

5. Lindsay Lohan Eyed for Missing Jewelry

It all began when a Venice, Calif., jewelry store reported a missing necklace. It was not your run-of-the-mill jewelry item but reportedly a one of a kind piece of bling, made with gold and semi-precious stones valued at $2,500.

According to police, Lindsay Lohan was seen in a store video, wearing the necklace prior to it having been reported missing. Photos of the actress taken a week later showed her wearing a very similar-looking necklace.

After police detectives obtained a warrant to search the troubled actress's Venice home, the necklace was turned in to a police station by a Lohan associate.

Lohan is chalking it all up to a misunderstanding resulting from paperwork. According to TMZ's sources, Lohan claims she does not fill out paperwork when she borrows expensive necklaces from jewelry stores, but instead leaves that task to her underlings. She reportedly told friends that she doesn’t “deal with things like that.”

She is currently still on probation in her ongoing DUI case and, according to TMZ, she is expected to be charged with felony grand theft. If convicted, Lindsay could spend years in prison.

However, the Los Angeles County district attorney disputes the TMZ report. “I don't know where TMZ is getting their information,” Los Angeles County district attorney spokeswoman, Sandi Gibbons, told the Beverly Hills Courier. “We have our investigation under review and a filing decision has not been made.”

Her case seems to turn on whether Lohan merely “borrowed” the costly accessory or took it without consent.

The shop owner tells a decidedly different tale. Sofia Kaman, owner of Kamofie & Company, told TMZ that there is a step-by-step procedure that is followed for a loan of jewelry.

Kaman admitted that typically, rather than the celebrity, a stylist who works for the star “will come in and ask to borrow the jewelry for a shoot or an event.”

“When we loan out jewelry, we have a whole procedure that needs to be done,” Kaman said. “There needs to be insurance information given or credit card information in case something happens with the jewelry.”

Shawn Chapman Holley, Lindsay’s on-again, off-again attorney, has released a statement saying that the actress plans to fight any charges brought against her. “We vehemently deny these allegations and, if charges are filed, we will fight them in court,” the statement read.

It's not the first time Lindsay has been connected with missing jewels. In 2009, British police investigated the disappearance from an Elle magazine photo shoot of $400,000 worth of Dior gems. Elle later released a statement exonerating Lohan.

Lindsay is also currently under investigation for allegedly assaulting an employee at the Betty Ford Clinic, where she was recently receiving rehab treatment.

The legal clouds forming over Lohan’s head could spoil her plans for a comeback film role in a thinly veiled autobiography.