Judge’s Ruling Leaves Little Dannielynn Penniless
Remember when former stripper Anna Nicole Smith died leaving $300 million to her heirs and several men argued that they were the father of her baby? Well, a US federal appeals court ruled Friday that Anna Nicole Smith’s heirs will not receive a penny of the more than 300 million dollars she claimed to her billionaire husband’s inheritance.
Essentially, Larry Birkhead and his daughter are broke.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled in favor of E. Pierce Marshall, the son of Texas oil tycoon Howard Marshall, whom the late Playboy centerfold married in 1994 after meeting him while working at a strip club. She was 26 at the time and he was 89.
Marshall died in 1995 after a 14-month marriage, sparking a prolonged legal battle over his 1.6-billion-dollar estate.
At the time of her death from an accidental drug overdose in a Florida hotel room in February 2007, Smith’s will — which had not been updated — left all her wealth to her son Daniel, who had died six months earlier, with attorney Howard Stern assigned as the estate executor.
The person who had stood to gain from her estate was Smith’s daughter Dannielynn Hope, born in September 2006, who was at the center of a court battle over a fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
When Smith died, the identity of the girl’s father was unknown.
Stern, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband Frederic van Anhalt and celebrity photographer Larry Birkhead all filed paternity suits claiming they were the father.
Birkhead was determined to be the girl’s father. It remains unclear whether he will pursue further litigation. Source
Photo Of The Day
I saw this pic on a message board and I cracked up laughing! Rapper Jay Z, who still wears his pants on the ground at age 41, is never going to retire. As this hilarious pic suggests, Jigga will still be making records when he’s 90 and hobbling around on an iced out cane.
What The Health Care Bill Means To You
Last night the Democrats rammed through a historic landmark health care bill that included sweeping reforms in health insurance. While some say health care reform was needed, this bill will take four years just to put a dent in the problems plaguing the health care system. In the end, this bill will not be a fix, and America still does not have free health care.
Here is what this bill means to you in a nutshell:
- No free health care
- Insurance premiums will rise astronomically to cover the uninsured
- Insurance companies will go out of business throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of work
- The bill includes more taxes for those making $250,000+ per year (the people who hired you and will now lay you off)
- Insurance coverage expanded to 32 million people who will be forced to pay their own premiums
- $500 billion in Medicare cuts means more doctors will drop Medicare patients
In anticipation of this bill passing, the giant drug store chain Walgreens has already announced its decision to stop taking Medicare patients. And other chains have already dropped Medicare patients. This won’t mean anything to you if you don’t have elderly parents or grandparents who will have a more diffcult time finding a doctor who will take them.
- By 2014, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a (minimum) $695 annual fine.
Remember when you got laid off and you were offered Cobra coverage that you declined because you couldn’t afford it? Well, now you will be forced to pay for insurance whether you can afford it or not. If you don’t pay, you face that aforementioned fine and/or jail time. Aren’t you anxious to see what your new premiums are going to be?
In addition to paying for car insurance (if you own a car), you will now have to pay for health insurance. If you can’t afford to pay the premiums, you are eligible for subsidies (as long as your income is at poverty level)– but even then, you will still have to pay something. Whereas, before this legislation was passed, you didn’t have to pay anything if you didn’t want to.
- Six months after the bill is signed into law, insurance companies can no longer deny children coverage based on a preexisting condition.
- Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions.
- Insurance companies must allow children to stay on their parent’s insurance plans through age 26.
What they don’t tell you is that there is no cap on the premiums that insurance companies will charge you for a preexisting condition. Yes, you will now be covered for a preexisting condition, but your premiums will be sky high. But I guess paying $1,500+ per month in premiums is better than paying nothing, right?
Illegal immigrants are exempt from paying for health insurance. Which means they will continue to be a burden on the emergency health care system. And guess who pays for their medical care now?
- This bill closes the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole by 2010 will receive a $250 rebate.
- Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The bill also includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade.
And please don’t think that this bill lowers your current premiums. In reality, your premiums will rise so the insurance companies can still make a profit. Insurance companies are operating at a 4% profit margin. Compare that to Coca Cola which operates at 19% profit margin (quadruple what insurance companies make).
With such a hit to their bottom line profit margin, more insurance companies will go out of business. Millions will be left without insurance, which is where the government will step in.
If you think the insurance companies are bad, wait until you have to deal with government workers to get approval for your surgery or treatments!
Meanwhile, the illegal immigrants (who can’t get insurance) will continue flooding emergency rooms around the country. And when Obama signs that amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, I hope you welcome them with open arms since your insurance premiums will be paying for their care)..
Instead of the states eating the cost for indigent medical care — the costs will be passed down to YOU in the form of high premiums that you will be forced to pay.
This is the Hope and Change you wanted!
Source: CBS
PICS: T.I., Tiny Celebrate Daughter Zonnique’s 14th Birthday
T.I. with his stepdaughter Zonnique Pullins
Tiny and the birthday girl
Zonnique, left, T.I., his daughter Deyjah and Tiny
Yesterday marked the 2nd public appearance of rapper T.I. since his release from an Arkanasas prison last December. The occasion was a birthday party for his stepdaughter and his baby mama Tameka “Tiny” Cottle’s biological daughter, Zonnique Pullins, who celebrated her 14th birthday at the Luckie Lounge in midtown Atlanta.
About 100 screaming kids turned out to celebrate with Zonnique, who is a member of the popular OMG Girlz singing group. T.I. arrived very early (around 6:30 p.m.) and stayed for two hours. In addition to the kids, there were several grown T.I. fans from Miami in the house who couldn’t resist calling out T.I.’s name for pictures.
It seems that someone at the party (I won’t say who) alerted the public to the party by tweeting about it on Twitter.com, which didn’t sit well with the party’s organizer (yes, even DJs can be groupies).
The Princesss/Rock Star themed event was organized by Grand Hustle’s General manager Hannah Kang and her partner Laura Giles, both co-owners of Music Business Politics. The party was filmed for an episode of BET’s Tiny & Toya Show.
Shouts to Hannah for the personal invite and to celebrity photographer Prince Williams of ATLPICS.net for the beautiful pics!
T.I. and his daughter Deyjah
MORE pics after the break!
More Pics From Zonnique’s Birthday Party
Tameka “Tiny” Cottle looked gorgeous! She showed off some of the many gifts she’s received from T.I. since his release from prison. Photos by Prince Williams/ATLPics.net
Daddy’s girl: Zonnique and T.I.
Tiny and King
Zonnique and her brother, King
The party atmosphere was designed by Hannah Kang and Laura Giles of Music Business Politics. Hannah is a longtime friend of the Harris’s and she helps run T.I.’s Grand Hustle empire.
Tiny and T.I. with their son King, 5. I’m told that King wants his hair cut short to look like his daddy’s. Little King is so smart. He memorized his parents’ and his grandmother’s phone numbers by heart.
MORE pics after the break!
Kimora is BACK Sunday on The Style Network
Everyone’s favorite model, mogul and mom returns with all new episodes of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, Sunday @ 9/8c on The Style Network. Don’t miss it!
37 States To Pass Legislation Blocking ObamaCare — If It Passes
Excellent article on Politico.com about the unconstitutionality of Barack Obama’s health care bill, which Congress will vote on this Sunday. If the bill passes, the government will force Americans to purchase health insurance even if they don’t want it. It will be like forcing people to buy car insurance when they don’t even own a car.
The bill will likely pass as Democrats buckle under the pressure from Obama. But individual states will pass legislation blocking the bill (if it passes). So there is still hope.
Read it and weep:
By now, most Americans know the dirty details of Obamacare. It raises taxes. It will force Americans to pay for other people’s abortions. It will put the government in charge of more than 18 percent of our private sector economy. It may provide benefits to up to 6.1 million illegal immigrants. It diminishes liberty and gives government more power.
Most egregiously, it is not constitutional. The Congressional Budget Office weighed in on an individual mandate to buy health insurance in 1994. The CBO stated:
“A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.”
We can expect lawsuits across the country challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare — if it passes. The Virginia General Assembly has already passed legislation prohibiting the federal government from forcing Virginians to purchase government-approved health insurance. Other states are sure to follow suit should the bill pass — setting up legal battles that will further drag out the debate.
If this bill passes, health care will cost far more than it does now, or ever did in the past. It will be more expensive for individuals and more expensive for businesses — and it will provide less service.
