Haven't the Jews suffered enough?

As reported Friday by the Associated Press -

NEW YORK -- Halle Berry is the latest celebrity to join the Foot-in-Mouth Club. The 41-year-old actress has apologized for making an inappropriate joke at last Friday's taping of NBC's "The Tonight Show."
Berry, who showed host Jay Leno photos of herself that she had distorted by using computer software, remarked that one snapshot - in which her nose appeared cartoonishly large - made her "look like my Jewish cousin."

Annals of hypocrisy: Exhibit A

The AP reports today that Barbra Streisand canceled a concert in Rome next month after "protests by Italian consumer groups angered by what they said were excessively high ticket prices" -- from "just under $200 to more than $1,200."

A tour promoter claimed the cancellation was due to "unexpected production delays" -- code, perhaps, for Streisand's dwindling number of fans in Italy willing to produce sufficient lira to watch the diva perform.

What a shock -- Grammy voters hate Bush!

Then again, rumor has it that many of those voting to award five Grammys to the Dixie Chicks actually listened to the trio's most recent album, and many of them are said to have liked it.

Who are these people kidding? The Grammys have always been the major award most difficult to take seriously -- is there any reason, to cite one example, for a distinction between "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year" except to drive up slumping sales? With this transparent farce, the politicization of the Nobel, Oscars, Grammys, et al., is all but complete.

Truth be told, I have yet to hear the Dixie Chicks last album, having been disappointed by the last one I bought, long before they criticized Bush with war looming against Iraq. And if it turns out there's a song or two on there that I like, or all of them for that matter, I'll be the first to admit it. Not that I'll be rushing to the record store or iTunes any time soon. As I recall, the Chicks sounded like twangy, warmed-over Bangles nursing hangovers.

Does anyone really believe the DCs would have snagged five Grammys, including those considered the top three, had they not thrown meat to the lions in the entertainment industry by lamenting that Bush is president?