Limbaugh Criticizes FLOTUS For Ribs

So, what should be a good thing -- fighting against childhood obesity -- instead gets twisted and turned into something sinister by none other than Boss Hog himself -- Rush Limbaugh. Seems that good ol' Limbaugh has nothing better to do than to attack First Lady Michelle Obama's dinner choice of ribs during a recent ski trip to Vail, Col.

Can First Lady O catch a break? Not if Limbaugh has his way. Apparently, she can't eat a rack of ribs, because Limbaugh detailed the calorie count and fat grams of her meal. I mean, damn! I thought the parents and kids were the ones who were asked to check their kids' diets -- not the FLOTUS. Last time, I checked, Mrs. Obama never came out and said SHE was on diet.

And if she was, so what? We all know that, she's into physical fitness.

Those guns? 'Nuff said. Even my puny arms wish they were more like hers. And what other FLOTUS have you seen running and playing relay games on the White House Lawn? Umm... Lemme check .... NONE! Damn sure wasn't Laura Bush and it definitely wasn't Barbara Bush.

No other FLOTUS has tackled childhood obesity. Period.

But you let Limbaugh tell it, FLOTUS wants everyone to eat "cardboard and tofu" and proceeds to assail her eating habits and chastises her for not leading by example.

Newsflash, Limbaugh: It's just ribs. What's next? Will he be checking for her when she eats a Snicker's bar? Or how about when she munches on a few potato chips?

I'm surpised that Limbaugh even cares, considering his reported battles with substance abuse. You know, all those Oxycontins must really be getting to him. A drug addict really really needs to be careful about the battles he picks, since I don't think healthy lifestyle and Oxy have ever gone together.

But I get it.... It's just one more thing for the uber conservative Limbaugh to criticize FLOTUS about.

I'm sure the FLOTUS likes junk food like the rest of us, but the key is moderation. That doesn't mean that you ban everything that's "bad" for you. And, truth be told, how "bad" are ribs, anyway? I can think of a lot of other foods that are much worse than a rack of ribs.

As long as the FLOTUS is fighting childhood obesity, she can eat what she pleases. A rack of ribs doesn't mean that Mrs. Obama isn't committed to a healthy lifestyle; it just means she's human like the rest of us!

The O and Iyanla Square Off

Before there was a Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Suzie Orman or even a Nate Berkus, there was Iyanla Vanzant.

An Oprah protege in the making, Vanzant dazzled Oprah's audience 11 years ago with her practical, common sense advice. Part spiritual leader, part psychologist, part motivational speaker and relationship coach, Vanzant's candid style, along with her sistah girl delivery that crossed racial lines, made her an Oprah fave, with a standing Tuesday slot on the O show every other week. Oprah didn't "make" Vanzant; she enhanced her, welcoming the author and self help guru to her audience of women worldwide.

Everyone was surprised, when, all of a sudden, it all disappeared. No more Vanzant. All we knew was that Vanzant was off Oprah's show and now had a talk show of her own, albeit short-lived. Rumors cropped up, especially after Oprah's success turning virtual unknowns into talk show host successes with syndication deals with Oprah's Harpo Studios.

Just what happened between Oprah and Vanzant? On Wednesday, Vanzant and Oprah set the record straight on her talk show. It was, according to Oprah, the very first time that the two had spoken.

Now, I wondered why this conversation couldn't have happened between these two women -- without the glare of the TV cameras and perhaps without the interference of attorneys.  And couldn't this conversation have happened, say, 10 years ago? Apparently, not, because Vanzant apologized to Oprah and Oprah recanted the story as she remembered it.

Oprah offered Vanzant a show. She wasn't really ready, but meanwhile, Barbara Walters offered how a talk show deal. Vanzant went to Oprah, told her about the deal, and Oprah felt like Vanzant was forcing her hand. Ultimately, Vanzant went on to do her show with Walters. The show failed miserably (Vanzant didn't even have an office).

On the show, Vanzant appeared just a tad bit disheveled and, I don't know, different. Hard to put my finger on it. No matter the back story, I think she gave us some lessons. Vanzant didn't feel she was "worthy," and sabotaged her own efforts subconsciously. The former abused welfare mother turned uber relationship coach was trapped in her old life, even with books on the New York Times Best Seller list and a looming deal with Oprah.

Today, Vanzant has a new book out and she's appearing on a Part 2 show on Wednesday.

I can't wait.

President Obama Tries To Avoid Government Shutdown

Let's get one thing straight. I love President Barack Obama. There's not a whole lot he can do wrong in my book; I'm an abashed, unapologetic Obama lover.

But, given all that love, I would not want to be him right now. He's on the cusp of a monumental budget battle that, if left unsolved, could virtually shut down government operations by March 4. Then, there's that record $14 trillion national debt -- and counting.

It's a political and budget nightmare, as Congress weighs what to cut, and whether to raise the national debt limit. The political lines have already been drawn in the sand, with both sides jockeying for control. Republicans want bigger budget cuts; Democrats want less. And Obama is trying his best to staunch massive red ink, as the nation careens to a deficit that, for the very first time, will equal more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the amount of goods the U.S. produces each year.

So not good.

And Obama is right in the thick of it. He's got to juggle a massive budget deficit, weighing big entitlement expenses like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, as he laid out Tuesday during a press conference about the 2012 budget. He compared the nation's fiscal crisis to the economic crisis many Americans face daily. Difficult decisions must be made.

"This is not a matter of, `you go first, I go first,'" President Obama said. "It's a matter of everybody having a serious conversation about where we want to go and then ultimately getting in that boat at the same time so it doesn't tip over."

Couldn't agree with you more, Mr. President. Now, I'm sure the Becks and Limbaughs of the world will be busy today tearing to shreds everything in Obama's $3.73 trillion budget plan. They'll demonize it, I'm sure, for catering to Democrats, for its spending freezes on domestic programs and higher taxes on the wealthy.

It's enough to make anyone buckle under the pressure, especially when you consider that the nation had a surplus when President George W. Bush entered office. The president's actions on health care last year have already whittled the budget by billions. And a government shutdown if a deal isn't reached before March 4 is a very real, a dilemma not seen since 1944.

But you know what? It makes me admire Obama so much more. He's asking for bi-partisanship to get tackle all of these nasty problems, and it's what's needed right now.

"The key here is for people to be practical and not score political points," he said. "That's true for all of us."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. President.

Billy Ray Cyrus Needs His Ass Whooped!

"Achy Breaky Heart Break" crooner Billy Ray Cyrus is blabbing about the "evils" of Hollywood.

"I'll tell you right now -- the damn show destroyed my family," he tells GQ Magazine. "And I sit there and I go, 'Yeah, you know what? Some gave all.' It is my motto, and guess what? I have to eat that one. I some gave-all'd it all right. I some-gave all'd it while everybody else was going to the bank. It's all sad."

Cue the violins. Not feeling it, B-Ray. Umm,  this is what happens when you let your daughter act like  Hannah Montana in real life. Miley was making the big bucks, so you let her do whatever the hell she wanted.

Now, it's come back to bit you right in the ass. It's not just Billy Ray's fault; I blame her Momma, too. They let their daughter's handlers "handle" her to death.

That topless Vanity Fair shot when she was 15? Yeah, in retrospect, that was so not a good look, especially for a teen. And neither was that reported birthday bar party or her pole dancing antics.

Be a damn Dad, Billy Ray! Too late for that, cause Miley is a grown ass woman now and it's too late. The fact is, that her handlers couldn't do anything without her parents' approval. If they turned the blind eye, oh, well. Can't be a friend and a parent, especially in Hollyweird. You and your wife were responsible for Miley, not her "people."

Now, he waxes philosophical.

"I'm scared for her," he tells GQ. "She's got a lot of people around her that's putting her in a great deal of danger. I know she's 18, but I still feel like as her daddy I'd like to try to help. At least get her out of danger. I want to get her sheltered from the storm. Stop the insanity just for a minute."

Fame is a bitch.

Perhaps he should have said this, what, three years ago? Let's get to the real story. Since she was 11 years old, Miley's checks were paying the bills. Now, Miley is no longer doing Hannah Montana, her wholesome, squeaky clean image is in the toilet, and Billy Ray is in the middle of a bitter divorce.

Let's do the math, shall we? At her heyday, Miley was one of the richest teen stars at one point, earning a reported $25 million in 2007. She's a multi-million dollar franchise.

Billy Ray was willing to let her do whatever she wanted, as long as she was bringing home the bacon. Don't blame Hollywood now, when your daughter is smoking a bong for all of the world to see.

Bieber Fans Attack Esperanza Spalding

Photo: Harry Wad

Hours after Esperanza Spalding pulled a Grammy's coup and virtually ripped the favored Best New Artist Award from Justin Bieber's helmet hair on Sunday, the vitriol is in full throttle.

Seems that all those cutesy teeny bopper Justin Beiber fans are downright mad that the powers-that-be-that-bestow-Grammy-Awards don't have Bieber fever.

The debate has gotten, well, racial! *Gasp!* I'm shocked!

Damn, who knew Bieber fever could get so ugly? Seems that Justin Beiber stans went straight to Twitter, attacking Spalding, and even including racial comments.

I won't bother repeating too much of that nonsense here, but they hacked the Spalding's Wikipedia page and called her, Esperanza "Quesadilla" Spalding.

How not cute!

It's actually pretty depressing, considering that the average Justin fan is, what, all of 12 pre-pubescent years old! They're not even old enough to have a Facebook page, and probably had to get permission from their parents to even get on the Internet to post their racist rants.

So just who IS this Spalding, and how in the hell did she manage to capture the Best New Artist from the 17-year-old Usher wunderkind/protege, bubble pop rock teenage star who was all but a shoe-in to win? Well, for those of you who don't know, Esperanza is an accomplished 26-year-old Jazz bassist and singer.

And, despite all those, "who is Esperanza Spalding" posts on the Internet, she's no nobody. She's played for President Obama at the White House -- yes, the White House. Take that, Beiberettes! And the purple one, Prince, is a huge Spalding fan.

I do give Bieber a tiny bit  credit. At the Grammys, he looked shocked when he didn't win, but was a gracious loser. So, I don't think that Bieber is behind all of this, but so far, not a peep out of the Biebered one condemning his fans' actions. Bieber fans get a serious side eye!

Music accomplishments aside, I'm loving Spalding right now. I've got serious fro envy, and she's unapologetic about "fitting in." That's the kind of energy that is so lacking in the music industry right now. Talent over star power any day.

Congratulations, Esperanza!