The “gimme” generation finally has a spokesmodel. She is 18-year-old Liesel Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel chain. She is young, beautiful, and ostensibly, wealthy.She co-stars in movies with Harrison Ford (Air Force One) andplayed — prophetically, as it turns out — the title role in the 1995 Warner Brothers …

You know, it’s amazing to me the criticism this country’s been getting in the foreign press for these corporate scandals. The Financial Times writes, “another sad chapter in America’s wanton excess.” A Parisian investor sniffs, “they like to tell the world how to do things, but clearly can’t do it …

And now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine: Missed The Grapevine? Watch it! From Politics Back to ShowbizCombining his two careers, law and acting, Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., is on track to be the new chief prosecutor on NBC’s Law and Order. The Hollywood Reporter says Thompson will join …

When you’re behind on your bills, do you cut your pay? Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Then why do states and countries behind on their bills, seriously consider cutting your pay by hiking your taxes? I’ll tell you why. Because it is easier to slap on a tax or a surcharge …

NEW YORK – Everyone knows the “Kevin Bacon” game, which relies on the theory that links a shoe salesman in Sparks, Nev., through a series of six or fewer relationships to, say, the president of the United States. But now, a Columbia University professor is testing the idea that there …

Columbine shooting survivor Mark Taylor is suing Solvay Pharmaceuticals alleging the anti-depressant drug Luvox made shooter Eric Harris psychotic and violent. U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer, hearing the case in Denver last week, ruled the lawsuit could proceed and Taylor’s two scientific “experts” could testify. One of Taylor’s experts, …

The Europeans are angry at us. First for doing too much in the Middle East. Now, apparently for not doing enough. No less than The Economist editorializes, “George Bush’s cavalier approach to foreign policy is one-sided and simplistic.” May I offer you an alternative? Do it yourself. If your ideas …

WASHINGTON – They’re hot, they’re tough and they can carry an entire family of six along with the family dog. Even Cadillac, that purveyor of elite luxury vehicles, is making them. But despite their popularity, sport utility vehicles may be headed for extinction. If the environmental lobby is successful in …

WASHINGTON – Peter Kirsanow, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission’s newest member, enjoyed a brief moment of welcome from his chief opponent on the panel before Friday’s meeting returned to the usual tensions between its Democratic and Republican members. “Let us first welcome Mr. Kirsanow –welcome,” Chairwoman Mary Francis Berry said …

WASHINGTON – In a state that has become overwhelmingly Republican over the last decade, the last bastion of Democratic strength in Texas is found in two places – some large cities and the Hispanic border towns. That has many people thinking that Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Tex., who won his last …