Since August 2008, Sarah Palin has been one of the most famous political figures in the country. Since August 2009, she's been one of our most famous figures, period.

By August 2010, she may be unrivaled in the fame department.

Last week, we reported how the former Alaska governor was working on a TV series about her home state, pitched by none other than famed producer Mark Burnett.

A day before that, her publishers at HarperCollins announced she was embarking on a second book, a follow-up to her blockbuster best-selling memoir, Going Rogue.

The day before that, she was the marquee guest on The Tonight Show, upstaging the likes of Olympic champion Shaun White and American Idol star Adam Lambert.

No small feat there.

Sarah Palin speaking at some event recently.

At least on the surface, she remains engaged in politics, praising the Tea Party movement, and somewhat involved in journalism ... or whatever Fox News is.

A joke she told on The Tonight Show said it all: "The truth is, though, I'm glad that I'm not vice president. I would not know what to do with all that free time." Bam!

Seriously, though. No one works harder at being a celebrity than Sarah Palin, whether she's hitting an Oscar gift suite or trying to cash in on teen mom Bristol Palin.

But toward what end? A 2012 presidential run? Tens of millions? A daily talk show? Oprah-like, single-name dominance of pop culture and soon the entire universe?

Everyone wondering exactly that simply enhances her star power, as does the blurring of the worlds of politics, celebrity and the media, which extends beyond her.

Continue reading this article here ...

Thank goodness.

Despite John Mayer's recent comments, in which he spoke in no uncertain terms about boning Jessica Simpson, she says she's still a trusting person deep down.

"I'm not as guarded as you would think. I should probably be more guarded. I trust a lot of people, actually," the actress told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show.

Not that she's over being disappointed in John, who has apologized for calling her "sexual napalm" and "crack cocaine," and whose apology she did not accept.

"That's truly how I felt and still feel," she said. "Somebody that you have cared about for a long time, you just hope they can keep the intimate things intimate."

LIKE CRACK: We hear that describes her in bed. Someone said that ...

In all honesty, as much as we think John Mayer is a pretentious a$$clown who needs to go the hell away, does Jessica really have to keep harping on this issue?

• How "betrayed" can you be? You dated a guy, he bragged about it later. That makes him a jackass, absolutely, but it's not like he boned CaCee Cobb.
• He said she was amazing in bed! Again, he's an idiotic douchebag, but at the crux of Mayer's Playboy interview was praise for Simpson's sex moves.

After taking John to task, she spoke warmly of Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who worked with her on the theme for her show The Price of Beauty.

"I can't find good enough words to speak about Billy," Simpson said. "He's a very, very dear friend. For him to give his time and his talents and share them with me, it was a great experience. And I hope we can do more music together."

Sexual Napalm denies making anything more than music with him, though.

Charlie Sheen can soon start uttering unfunny Two and a Half Men quotes again.

Next week, the actor will resume shooting the terrible CBS sitcom, but there's a caveat: he'll have to return to rehab every night. There are four episodes of the show remaining to the filmed this season.

On Monday, March 15, Sheen will be in an Aspen court for his felony arraignment. He'll then go back to Los Angeles that evening, where he'll stay at a treatment center and then head to work first thing Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, insiders say Sheen is in good spirits and his doctors have given him permission to resume shooting.

As for that woman who claims to have done drugs, as well as Sheen AND Brooke Mueller... no word from her yet.

You gotta give it to Heidi Montag here. Mocking her own plastic surgery addiction as part of an effort to urge Congress and consumers to enact fiscal reform? Genius.

The Hills star is now joining the rest of the country in laughing at The Hills star with the help of Funny or Die and director Ron Howard, who created this new video.

The goal? To urge Congress to enact financial reform.

"I was honored to work with the amazing Ron Howard," Montag said. "He was kind, generous and made me feel so comfortable ... feel so confident in my talent."

Whatever that might consist of.

Heidi Montag's "talent" is on full display. [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

In any case, Montag's video is part of a series by the Americans for Financial Reform that urges, among other things, massive call-ins throughout the week to push Congress toward forming a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Heidi jokes in the pseudo PSA that reality stars who max out their credit cards for unnecessary plastic surgery need financial relief. What is a poor gal to do?!

Funny and Die is working on additional videos to urge the government to act on and pass financial reform. Follow the jump to see Heidi Montag do her part ...

Emmy-winning CBS News producer Robert 'Joe' Halderman pleaded guilty to shaking down David Letterman as payback for the host's affair with his girlfriend.

Today, Halderman admitted giving Dave a "screenplay treatment" that was "a thinly veiled threat to ruin Mr. Letterman if he did not pay me a lot of money."

In exchange for the guilty plea, the extortion plotter will receive a six-month prison sentence, 4 1/2 years probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Outside court, he expressed his remorse for the sordid episode.

"I apologize to Mr. Letterman, to his family, to (girlfriend) Stephanie Birkitt and her family, and my family and friends," said Halderman in a brief statement.

The plea came five months after Halderman threatened to expose Letterman's affairs with several female staffers, including the blackmailer's ex, Birkitt.

David Letterman and his blackmailer, Robert "Joe" Halderman.

Letterman released a statement thanking city police and prosecutors for their help in resolving the bizarre case that exposed his fondness for staffers.

"I had complete faith that a just and appropriate result was inevitable," Letterman said. "On behalf of my family, I am extremely grateful for their efforts."

Halderman would have faced up to 15 years behind bars if he had been convicted of a bizarre blackmail scheme involving the long-time Late Show host.

David Letterman's affair with Halderman's girlfriend, Stephanie Birkitt, ended shortly before his blackmail bid, but also predated her living with Halderman.

Halderman was arrested after Letterman - in a stunning admission on air - admitted cheating on wife Regina Lasko and detailed the blackmail attempt.

Halderman actually collected a $2 million check from Letterman as part of a sting operation started after the host went to police about the shakedown.

He was busted after depositing the check in his Connecticut bank.

The music world's answer to Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson gave a radio interview with Q102 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania yesterday.

Justin Bieber met and greeted fans that turned out to see the young star, prior to chatting with deejays about his upcoming album, My World 2.0.

The CD will be released on March 23 and Bieber will support it with his very first headlining tour. In other words: expect to see A LOT of this face over the next few weeks. But that's not a bad thing, is it?

[Photos: Splash News]

Controversial, frequently absent Grey's Anatomy cast member Katherine Heigl may be returning  to the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital, but she won’t be doing it as a blonde!

The actress stepped out for lunch yesterday in L.A. as a brunette, and while Katherine has become one of Hollywood’s most noteworthy blondes, the dark 'do does the job.

It may not be her signature look, but we like the length as well, and sometimes, a little change is good. We just wonder if Izzie Stevens will now become brunette, too.

Which hair color do you like best on Katherine? Vote below ...

What's Katherine Heigl's best hair color?