TV star Isaiah Washington just volunteered to go into rehab because he made anti-gay remarks. So, with Isaiah on the road to recovery, yet another actor or singer enters rehab. His is a new reason, but it won’t be the last way Hollywood will dodge the responsibility bullet. Lately, rehab happens every time an actor says something stupid in public, gets caught drunk driving, kills someone on purpose or by accident, is arrested with a snoot full of cocaine or beats a spouse.
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| Has Hollywood Gone Rehab Crazy? |
Of course, rock stars often do the same, but those guys inevitably end up in rehab anyhow, dozens to times. What will be the next Hollywood excuse for one of its troubled stars going into rehab? Bad acting? Stupid script? Making a lousy movie? I guess not. There just couldn’t possibly be enough rehab facilities to hold that many patients.
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No joke here, just sadness. I’m very sorry to hear Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro had to be put to sleep. Several months ago I wrote a harmless joke about him and got a bunch of virulent hate email, all with almost identical messages, obviously from the same group of horse-loving kids who got together and decided I deserved their obscene scorn. I should have forwarded their emails to their parents.
If their words to me hadn’t been so inappropriately hateful, I would have apologized for inadvertently hurting their young feelings and demeaning their love for horses. I share that love. Now that the wonderful Barbaro has died, I do want to offer my condolences to his owners, trainers, riders and all fans who loved and respected him. Including those hateful kids.
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Despite the growing American public opposition to the war, Presidential spokespeople keep insisting that George W. Bush did not mislead us before invading Iraq. Of course, we all believe him. And we also believe Chicken Little did not mislead us about the sky falling.
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Marijuana had been planted illegally among regular feed crops in Russia. It was too expensive to weed it out, so it was seized and used for cattle food. So, if a cow ever jumped over the moon before, maybe after some heavy munching at the pot lot, she’ll make it all the way to Mars.
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Speaking of drugs ... if you think that guy at the next desk to you was irritable before, wait till he tries the new breakfast treat. A doctor has developed a doughnut that has the equivalent of two cups of coffee in it. Aren’t America’s caffiene freaks high-strung enough without inventing something that gives them a double dose of the nerve-busting stuff?
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The Army lab nerds who are always inventing more miracle weapons have come out with a heat-beaming gun that points at people and burns their skin without causing lasting harm. We already have something similar. It’s the first time we stay out in the sun too long on Memorial Day weekend at the beach.
Ledger Lite is a weekday feature that provides "A Daily Brew of Humor in the News."
Ted Sherman is a retired corporate PR manager and executive speech writer. Today he's a humor and travel writer, and occasional contributor of jokes to a major TV comedy show. He's a graduate of the University of the Arts and the University of Penn Grad. School of Communications, and a US Navy veteran of WWII and the Korean War.
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