He points out that artists are ultimately at the mercy of the music business. “Record companies find one type of music that sells, and they don’t do anything else.”

As for damaging effects of misogyny in hip-hop, he says, “America’s the most misogynistic place in the world.

"If we want to talk about misogyny, let’s talk about the beer companies putting women in bikinis to sell their product. People are blaming America’s misogyny on young black men.”

He argues that the violence and sexism of hip-hop are being judged by a hypocritical and racist standard.

“Everything that America crucifies young black men for is what America was built on—slavery, murder, misogyny. This is America’s problem.”   more »

The Misleading Vietnam Analogy

It's true that millions of Iraqi civilians have already paid a terrible price and may suffer even more as fighting may well worsen after a U.S. withdrawal -- whenever that occurs.

But it seems equally clear that the civil war cannot be suppressed indefinitely unless the U.S. plans to occupy the country for decades.

Killing fields? Iraq's already got them: A dozen or two corpses are found dumped in the streets each morning, and bombs go off daily.

Boat people? Two million Iraqis have already fled the country, and perhaps 50,000 more leave each month.

Could it get worse? Absolutely. But can we stop it?   more »

Where others see stardust, we must see ego and opportunity. Where others see altruism, we must look for the self-interest and hypocrisy. It's the gig, people.

Nowhere has this cynicism loomed larger for me than in considering the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah, whose fetishizing of celebrity and high-end consumer goods is legend, has fed compulsive consumerism as much as anyone in modern media.

I have seen the list of her favorite things -- which has its own website here -- and it ranges from a $20 pair of cashmere socks to a $600 Philip Stein teslar watch and beyond.   more »

Me and JB, we have this ritual. This funny little game. Every week we order an extra large double-cheese Hawaiian from Pizzeria Paradiso and then, while watching "O'Reilly Factor" or maybe "America's Got Talent," eat the whole thing and follow it with a big slab of cheesecake.

Then we both slam a few shots of Bacardi, flip on a DVD for 10 minutes of softcore and jump into the Serta for about 10 minutes of crazy sex. Then she runs to the bathroom and throws up. She says it makes her feel, you know, healthier.

Food is, of course, a big issue. Always with the weight thing. J particularly hates the Reuters photogs because they always make her look "totally bloaty ginormous" when of course she's just a little "big boned."

I remind her about the three Triple Vente Caramel Mocha Lattes with whipped cream she sucks down every single day, getting so jumpy and wired she likes to run into the briefing room and jump on Tony Snow's lap.   more »

America, even if it shifts to the left, will still be a conservative force on the international stage.

Mrs Clinton might be portrayed as a communist on talk radio in Kansas, but set her alongside France's Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany's Angela Merkel, Britain's David Cameron or any other supposed European conservative, and on virtually every significant issue Mrs Clinton is the more right-wing.

She also mentions God more often than the average European bishop. As for foreign policy, the main Democratic candidates are equally staunch in their support of Israel.

None of them has ruled out attacking Iran; Mr Obama might take a shot at Pakistan; and few of them want to cede power to multilateral organisations.   more »