Jacko beats Cheney, Paris in 'Most Foolish' poll

Faded pop superstar Michael Jackson was yesterday crowned as America's most foolish person in 2006, narrowly beating out trigger-happy US Vice President Dick Cheney for the title.

The 47-year-old "King of Pop," who is living in exile in Bahrain following his acquittal last June on child sex charges, snatched the dishonour for the fourth year running, according to a survey by a US public relations consultant.

Sixty-nine percent of the 1045 people polled in a random telephone survey ahead of April Fool's day said the singer had "done something foolish" in the past year that merited the title, the poll showed.

"Michael Jackson seems to have a lock on the number one spot for the foreseeable future," said the poll's organiser Jeff Barge. "If Mr Cheney's actions weren't enough to oust him, it's hard to imagine what could."

"And he hasn't even been in the country," Barge said, noting that Jackson was last spotted in Dubai shopping in a market wearing woman's clothing.

Cheney tied with US hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton for second place in Barge's seventh annual April Fool's poll, with 59 percent of Americans saying that they had done "something foolish" in the past year.

The vice president became the focus of a media firestorm and the butt of a barrage of jokes after he accidentally shot an elderly friend in the face and neck with a shotgun while quail hunting last month.

Cheney's boss, President George W. Bush came in third in the 2006 survey, with 57 percent of those polled saying he had done something foolish.

Bush had received a foolishness rating of only 48 percent in the 2001, meaning that Americans believe he has become 19 percent more foolish since then, Barge said.

US movie star Tom Cruise snatched fourth place in the survey, entering its ranks for the first time after leaping on television talk show queen Oprah Winfrey's sofa while expressing his love for his fiancee, Katie Holmes.

Some 54 percent of those polled said Cruise had been foolish in the last year.

Fifth place was also a tie between embattled Republican politician Tom DeLay and troubled rock singer Courtney Love, with 41 percent of those polled voting for each of them.

Delay has been indicted on money laundering and campaign finance violations, while former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's widow was in and out of court on a series of drug charges last year.

Other fools of 2006 include actor Robert Blake, acquitted of murdering his wife, pop superstar Madonna, who fell off a horse, winning her 32 percent of the vote and British supermodel Kate Moss, who was caught on video snorting cocaine, the survey said.

AFP

I wonder where Gary Glitter fits on the British list.

Jacko beats Cheney, Paris in 'Most Foolish' poll

Faded pop superstar Michael Jackson was yesterday crowned as America's most foolish person in 2006, narrowly beating out trigger-happy US Vice President Dick Cheney for the title.

The 47-year-old "King of Pop," who is living in exile in Bahrain following his acquittal last June on child sex charges, snatched the dishonour for the fourth year running, according to a survey by a US public relations consultant.

Sixty-nine percent of the 1045 people polled in a random telephone survey ahead of April Fool's day said the singer had "done something foolish" in the past year that merited the title, the poll showed.

"Michael Jackson seems to have a lock on the number one spot for the foreseeable future," said the poll's organiser Jeff Barge. "If Mr Cheney's actions weren't enough to oust him, it's hard to imagine what could."

"And he hasn't even been in the country," Barge said, noting that Jackson was last spotted in Dubai shopping in a market wearing woman's clothing.

Cheney tied with US hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton for second place in Barge's seventh annual April Fool's poll, with 59 percent of Americans saying that they had done "something foolish" in the past year.

The vice president became the focus of a media firestorm and the butt of a barrage of jokes after he accidentally shot an elderly friend in the face and neck with a shotgun while quail hunting last month.

Cheney's boss, President George W. Bush came in third in the 2006 survey, with 57 percent of those polled saying he had done something foolish.

Bush had received a foolishness rating of only 48 percent in the 2001, meaning that Americans believe he has become 19 percent more foolish since then, Barge said.

US movie star Tom Cruise snatched fourth place in the survey, entering its ranks for the first time after leaping on television talk show queen Oprah Winfrey's sofa while expressing his love for his fiancee, Katie Holmes.

Some 54 percent of those polled said Cruise had been foolish in the last year.

Fifth place was also a tie between embattled Republican politician Tom DeLay and troubled rock singer Courtney Love, with 41 percent of those polled voting for each of them.

Delay has been indicted on money laundering and campaign finance violations, while former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's widow was in and out of court on a series of drug charges last year.

Other fools of 2006 include actor Robert Blake, acquitted of murdering his wife, pop superstar Madonna, who fell off a horse, winning her 32 percent of the vote and British supermodel Kate Moss, who was caught on video snorting cocaine, the survey said.

AFP

So, how is she Americas most foolish then? Or is it just an American poll of who is most foolish? If so, then I nominate the two bright Aussie lads in Colorado!

The BB-gun brandishing duo made no effort to disguise their accents when relieving a bank of $130,000 in deposits. With that linguistic clue, Vail police quickly reviewed the list of recent troublemakers. Bingo: a couple of 19-year-old seasonal workers who had grown up on Australia's Gold Coast had been previously suspected of shooting paintballs at a local house.

With names, accents and everything else in an all-points bulletin, guards working at Denver International Airport several hours later snagged the pair, who had round-trip tickets to Mexico. Instead of spending spring vacation on the beach, the two men - who the Vail Daily reports are being called Dumb and Dumber in their native Australian haunts - are biding their time in jail.

The True Meaning Of Service

At one time in my life, I thought I had a handle on the meaning of

the word "service... the act of doing things for other people."

Then I heard the terms:

Internal Revenue Service

Postal Service

Telephone Service

Civil Service

City/County Public Service

Customer Service

Service Stations

And I became confused about the word "service." This is not what I

thought "service" meant.

Then today, I overheard two farmers talking and one of them mentioned

that he was having a bull over to "service" a few of his cows.

Voila!

It all came into perspective. Now I understand what all those

"service" agencies are doing to us.

Have a wonderful day and I hope you are now as enlightened as I am.