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Maybe listing the 15 worst reality shows ever made is sort of stating the obvious. Even the ones that have been on for years (Toddlers & Tiaras, we’re looking at you) are so bad and so ridiculous that we should really be ashamed that we plop ourselves down to watch them. But we do, because in their complete awfulness, hilarity ensues. But which reality shows put more of an emphasis on awful than hilarity? Check out this list.

Source: WENN

I’m just going to get straight to the point. This is a press release we just received from Aretha Franklin’s publicist, Gwendolyn Quinn:

The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin may have discovered another famous new leaf on her family tree.  Franklin reports that, according to a family member, her grandmother and Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry’s grandmother were first cousins. Franklin is currently investigating the authenticity of the family members’ claim. Franklin has stated in the past that Berry reminds her of the younger version of herself.  Maybe it will turn out to be a family resemblance.

Couple things:

1) Who puts out a press release announcing who they might, maybe, could possibly be related to?

2) Aretha is going too hard to try to get Halle Berry to play her in a biopic.

Yes, point two is what I think this entire news release is about. If you think back just a short while to the beginning of this year, Aretha Franklin appeared on the Wendy Williams show and said she wanted Halle to play her in a film on her life. Hearing the news, Halle responded saying someone should tell Aretha she can’t do her justice because she can’t carry a tune. But not giving two damns about Halle’s singing inability, Aretha continued to petition for the American Academy Award winning actress to take the part. So far the entire prospect of the movie seems to be just one big idea floating around Aretha’s head and something tells me the Queen of Soul is trying to guilt Halle into this role, and in turn, spark Halle’s interest. I mean if they’re family how could Halle not play her big cuz in a movie right?

What makes this even more odd is Halle just came out with an interesting family fact earlier this week with a nearly identical story about a family member informing her she’s related to Sarah Palin. I feel like someone told Aretha, hey, if Halle didn’t know Sarah was related to her, we can tell her she has some other unknown relatives too! Of course, this could all very well be true, but the whole media leak is just…suspect. Thoughts?

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Source: WENN

You know how there are some people in your family you just don’t ever claim. I would imagine if I was related to Sarah Palin she would be that person for me, but for some reason the unlikeliest of relatives decided to share that information in an interview with Extra TV: Halle Berry.

Halle was doing an interview with Tom Hanks for their upcoming film, “Cloud Atlas” and as they were discussing the fact that Tom is a distant relative of Nancy Hanks, Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Halle divulged this little tidbit:

“You wanna know who I’m related to?,” she asked the interviewer. “Sarah Palin”

Insert ghastly shriek.

Halle responds: “That’s what I said! “Noooooooo! Ah!”

After the shock subsided, Tom asked was there some sort of DNA analysis done to find out this information, and Halle said:

“In some twisted way… somebody sent me this information that she was my distant…”

The jokes kept going at that point and Halle’s voice trailed off but I’m sure the word she was going to use was cousin. I’d definitely say Tom got the long end of the celebrity relative stick. I wonder how Sarah Palin feels about this.

Source: Zimbio.com

Wayne Brady rolled into dangerous 50 Cent territory the other night. I’m not talking Southside Jamaica, Queens, get shot nine times in front of your house danger, I’m talking making a reference to special needs individuals while cracking a joke in public.

The “Let’s Make a Deal” host was a part of Comedy Central’s recent roast of Roseanne Barr, but the laughs died down a bit when Wayne turned the jokes on fellow comedian Jeff Ross. He told the stand-up comic:

“Now the thing is Jeff … these are all jokes, and I really like you. I really, really like you. But a lot of people hate you, especially Sarah Palin because you remind her of what Trig is going to look like when he’s 40.”

Ouch.

There were some laughs from the crowd — and Jeff— but they were drowned out by the overpowering boos. Wayne Brady didn’t care though, he got a little buck in his response and told the audience

“Oh, now you boo me? F**k y’all. I don’t want to hear that. These people say all of this s**t about me, and you boo me because of Trig?”

OK then.

When 50 made his special ed joke about kids with autism, Holly Robinson Peete diplomatically put him in his place with an open letter. So far, no on has come for Wayne Brady’s head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do.

What do you think about his joke, fair game or too much?

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The second, and final part of The Most Hated rundown focuses on our favorite female celebrities everyone loves to hate. As you might have suspected, it’s a lot more fun to hate on the ladies than the men. Why?

Because female celebrities get hated on for being. That’s it. They don’t need to do anything especially rude like Kanye, or cheat on their spouse like Tiger. All these ladies need do is show up to make enemies.And yes, most of the hate does come from women. Guys just sit back as it all unfolds. It’s kind of like how a strange girl walks into a room and becomes arch enemies with another girl already in the room. Men never understand what all the dirty looks are about, but if a cat fight needs to happen, he understands.

In part two of The Most Hated, we rundown the female celebs that getting the most dirty looks:

I’m a relatively young cat when placed against the historical fabric of American politics. My first legal voting election was 2000, when I, along with the democratic majority of the country, agreed that the other guy should sit at the Oval Office.

An insightful course on politics and journalism in college taught me a few things about the changes that have occurred in the public approach to politics throughout the years, but nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of mind-numbing Fawkery accompanying the current political zeitgeist.

Succinctly put, white people lost their damn minds the moment a darkie stepped into the big seat. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Republican Party…a group of people with generally specious ideas that seems to have devolved in the past few years into a sad clown show. I can respect a fundamental difference in ideology between two people who simply agree to disagree on the issues. But the problem with politics in this young decade is that the issues have taken an absolute back seat to what makes people feel good on a superficial level. And superficiality is no way to determine the country’s leadership.

It’s been empirically proven that the voting populous gravitates toward attractive, strong-looking leaders (if Obama looked even remotely like Booger from “Good Times”, his ideology and ability to inspire wouldn’t have mattered a damn…he wouldn’t be in office). That’s fair enough, but the Republican Party has demonstrated that the “Dude, let’s be friends!” ethos is all that’s necessary to usher folks into office.

It all started with Palin. This woman came out of obscurity to dominate the political landscape during the 2008 presidential election. Her then-rapidly growing number of fans failed to care about the fact that she was wholeheartedly ill-equipped to run her family, let alone a superpower nation of over 300 million. But she had that support system because people thought they were “like her;” folks related to her willful ignorance to the degree that they thought she would be a good leader.

The current challengers to the 2012 GOP throne follow in this trend. Michele Bachmann – an intensified-in-her-batShytetiness version of Palin – got notoriety through her affinity of highly pious Christian values (and not being terrible-looking). Rick Perry can’t string a coherent thought together but looks like he used to bang sorority girls by the houseful. And Herman Cain only exists on anyone’s radar on the strength of a “9-9-9” tax plan proposition that any expert will tell you is devoid of substance.

Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are the patron saints of the party message, which plays up subtle racism the likes of which only those who understand it can recognize best. Even still, I’d like to believe that a rational adult who claims the GOP could tell that the party message is one of lunacy. I know a few Republicans who claim Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul – two “less” crazy individuals – but too many listen to what the media has to say and wind up making woefully Shytety decisions on what diseased horse to back.

I’m not exactly enthralled with Obama and what he’s got going on in the big seat. But if I were a Republican who looked at the situation objectively, I’d be absolutely embarrassed to claim the party.

It’s fairly easy these days to dismiss Michelle Bachmann as a serious Presidential contender.  After all, folks who run for President should, at the least, have their facts straight on basic U.S. history.  She should know the fundamental contours of the slavery debate; getting caught signing on to a conservative group pledge which praised it shows a certain ignorance on detail.

Sure, it’s amusing to watch the House Tea Party Caucus chair and self-appointed queen of the Conservative movement occasionally fumble on some key policy facts.  We’re all a bit amazed that she’s leading the manic charge of partisan Republicans who believe it’ll be all good if the federal government defaults on its loans next week.  We clown her and stare in pure befuddlement at her notion of Obama Administration “scare tactics” on debt-ceiling default, especially when regular folks get harassed, FICA scores plummet and phones blow up just for avoiding a small credit card bill.   And, right now, we’re pointing at reports of intense Bachmann migraines on the campaign trail and staff turnover on Capitol Hill as proof of a sociopath.

But, we keep poking fun and joining in the Bachmann diatribes at our own peril.

Dismissing highly successful Republican career politicians like Congresswoman Bachmann and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as “wing nuts” and purveyors of conservative insanity defeats the need to seriously examine why they ended up here in the first place.  Black political commentators and so-called bloggers who think they know politics, footnoting for a moment here, are especially bad with this.  There is incessant drinking of the Democratic talking point Kool Aid spiked with doses of Daily Show and Keith Olbermann nostalgia.  While it’s all good to every now and then poke a funny bone or two in the pursuit of a laugh to cure moments of depression, it can’t be done at the expense of a solid analysis on the person in question.

Despite knee-slapping gaffes and bouts with incoherence, Bachmann is a pure political genius.  Sure, maybe in a megalomaniacal way, but we shouldn’t discount her. It would be wise to make a distinction between went-to-college or have-a-PhD smart and being political mastermind smart.  One need only look at her very fast-track political trajectory that spans the past decade – from State Senator to Congresswoman to now fundraising GOP superstar and de facto national head of the party’s extreme wing in less than 5 years.

We need to pay attention to that so we’re not ambushed when she puts plans in motion.  Bachmann’s run for President may appear quixotic by conventional standards, but she’s raising mounds of cheddar in the process, testament to a vigorous field operation and many followers at her feet.  But, she’s not stupid: even she understands the practical calculus and the long shot nature of her Presidential bid.  Still, she forges ahead because it serves a larger purpose.

Ever since candidate Barack Obama in 2008, keen and wily political animals on both sides of the aisle realize the power of an unorthodox campaign and where that can take you.  While she might not end up as the GOP nominee, there is the off-chance she can leverage primary trail power into becoming a running mate.

But, even if that doesn’t work, there is a more realistic route that Bachman is taking at the moment: capturing full power in the House of Representatives.  Still smarting from the rank-and-file establishment Republican diss of her leadership aspirations, Bachmann has been playing the Tea Party Caucus card rather well, coordinating her small contingent of fanatics into a powerful voting bloc that has repeatedly derailed any chance at compromise over the debt ceiling debate.

It’s a clever move worth watching more closely.  Bachmann has set herself up for a win-win with eyes on taking the House Speakership away from current occupant John Boehner (R-OH).  Either she appoints her own man or she takes it for herself.  In the end, she’ll still be where she likes it: in charge and talked about.

Charles D. Ellison is Chief Political Correspondent for The Philadelphia Tribune, author of the critically-acclaimed urban political thriller TANTRUM and a nationally recognized, frequently featured expert on politics.

By Jay Anderson

We thought 2012 was going to be the year of Palin. After quitting her governorship just two years into the job, Palin was supposed to buckle down, educate herself, and lay the groundwork for world domination (i.e., defeating Obama). Of course, a strange thing called money intervened. Palin is clearly too busy cashing in on her fame to worry about something so trivial as becoming leader of the free world. Palin’s gaffe-a-minute style is guaranteed blog fodder, so it’s sad that she more than likely won’t be running after all. Thankfully, an equally deranged substitute exists: official GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Her scramble-brained nonsense is better than any refudiation Palin has ever done. Here’s just a sampling of her crazy, in which she soundly trumps all competitors, even if she lags behind in the polls.

The Founding Fathers ‘Worked Tirelessly’ to End Slavery — NOT!
There’s revisionist history, and there’s “dude, are you serious?” While on the campaign trail, Bachmann made this dubious claim: “[W]e also know that the very founders that wrote [the Constitution] worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States.” For the record Michele — NO THEY DIDN’T. Several of the founding fathers famously owned slaves. This statement would almost be funny — if she hadn’t said it with a completely straight face. And if Bachmann wasn’t at or near the top of the polls in many states right now.

Beltway insiders and D.C. talking bobble heads may have found their star Republican candidate of the week in Minnesota Congresswoman and de facto Tea Party Presario Michelle Bachmann, but based on the latest YouGov poll in conjunction with The Atlanta Post, the numbers are telling a different story.  Even though she has yet to announce any intention for a jump into the wannabe White House tenant fray, former Alaska Governor and media lightning rod Sarah Palin actually gets the bump with a 20% approval rating against Bachmann’s barely registering 5%.  What’s up with that?

It adds a whole new twist to the slow burning but heated competition between the two influential conservative women as observers are figuring a dust-up of cat fight proportions is about to bubble up.  Based on whispers between campaign consultants, observers and folks steeped in the political grapevine, Palin more than likely curled her lips and sucked teeth when she heard these famous words earlier in the week: “I filed my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today and I’ll very soon be making my formal announcement.”

The problem was that it wasn’t coming from her. Instead, standing where she assumed she’d be standing had stars correctly aligned was Bachmann. That, of course, became the hit sound bite of the highly anticipated and ultimately dry Republican Presidential debate in New Hampshire last week. Bachmann, who had carefully laid groundwork and built bricks leading up to that point, was now capturing the spotlight in new form.

Unraveling is what some observers are referring to as a death match contest for spotlight between the two titan conservative women — both white, both scrappy and as polarizing as the other, both elected officials (although one with a shorter political résumé), both moms … and both who carry huge political weight on the partisan right. Now, there is a sense of a political cat fight looming, each jockeying for the H.W.C.W.I.C: Head White Conservative Woman in Charge. It’s the conversation Republican strategists are having, but no one wants to talk about out of fear it could melt into distracting headlines as the GOP struggles to find a message for 2012.

The problem, based on the YouGov poll, is: Michelle Bachmann who?  That’s once you step outside Beltway World and the fantastic, self-congratulating universe that is mainstream media.  It still reigns true when looking at the RealClearPolitics.com aggregated polling averages in which we find Palin in second place at 16% points against leader Mitt Romney’s 24%.  Brother From Another Pizza Planet, Herman Cain (the only non-elected official in the pack who hypes up his experience as a former, 20^th century CEO of Godfather’s Pizza), snags about 7% in the YouGov poll; but, check it – he’s actually faring better than Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Ron Paul, cats who’ve been elected and in the game for a longer time than Cain.  Not bad for yet another black Republican talk show host with no track record. But, he’s got mad Tea Party sound bite cred.

Still, in the YouGov survey, Sarah Palin’s unfavourable quotient is the highest amongst any major national political figure: 40%.

By B. Hutson

Poll numbers change at the drop of a dime, but one recent poll could serve as an interesting foreshadow for the upcoming fanatical and volatile presidential election. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Wednesday, President Obama retains a big lead over possible Republican rivals Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, despite the American public’s fears about rising gas prices, high unemployment and a fragile housing market.

The poll reveals that Obama leads both of his Republican challengers by double-digit margins—he is ahead of Romney by 13 percentage points, or 51 percent to 38 percent. Of course, Obama’s boost in past weeks can be attributed to the killing of Osama bin Laden last month, and it’s no doubt worked in Obama’s favor that the Republican party has been slow to select any star candidates for the nomination race. Although the election is 17 months away, what can Obama do to keep his momentum up?

Since announcing his re-election, it’s evident that the same hopeful and optimistic feelings of his 2008 platform of “change” and “yes we can” have simmered into a more serious approach. This change in strategy is exactly what Obama needs to do says political consultant Ben Donahower. Though Obama is utilizing community organizing and maintaining his online presence (the campaign recently announced an app for the iPhone and iPad), Donahower says what will be different this time around is that the president will have a proven track record to back up his claims. “Obama needs to point to his legislative accomplishments and make a case based on what he has accomplished [and convince] the American people [that they] should send him back to the White House for another term,” he said.

John W. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. of Cross Cultural Communications, LLC, agrees that the president’s 2012 efforts need the same level of innovation and grassroots activity of 2008 to ensure that constituencies turn out. But with the American public’s fear that the country may slip into a second depression, Obama and his administration will need to convince voters that the economy is still on the path to recovery, says Cavanaugh. “The administration must quickly put together an aggressive economic council and endeavor to reassure the public that the country is moving in the right direction,” he said. “Perhaps a summit with people who have struggled with long-term unemployment and the modern equivalent of FDRs fireside chats would be the best strategy.”

It’s too early to tell how the 2012 elections will shape up, but it is sure to be a nail biter as it was in 2008.