Consider it a strange dream, but I had some thoughts about the Jay-Z beef with the rapper Beanie Sigel. No, I'm not here to talk about keeping street cred. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Half of the artists in the hip hop industry are not nearly as hard or as real as they claim to be. They're too smart for that. The guys who are really as hard as most rappers claim to be are either in a jail cell or a casket. That's the truth.

What got my attention was when Charlamagne Tha God was fired from 100.3, "The Beat" in Philadelphia. I've known Charlamagne for years from our work on The Wendy Williams Show, so this made me a little upset. What was even sadder is the allegation that Jay Z may have played a role in getting Charlamagne fired, in large part because Charlamagne conducted an interview with Jay-Z's new rival, Beanie Sigel. This incident represents more than the standard thuggery that some might see on the surface. Instead, it brings forth a plethora of issues that relate to business, entertainment, money and corporate power. Here are some quick thoughts:

All of us are confused about health care reform. Many of us support the idea because we support the president. Some of us support health care reform because we know that the current system is terribly flawed. Well, getting informed on the issues might be a great way to ensure that you know what you are backing.

UFC fighter Pat Barry was thanking his lucky stars for his big win against Antoni Hardonk. The fighter won a $120,000 purse for his accomplishment, which was right on time given that he was literally six days away from being evicted from his apartment. Barry's win was emotional for obvious reasons and nearly everyone in his camp was in shock to hear about his financial situation. What is saddest is that his challenges are not uncommon among fighters in general.

Oprah Winfrey is expected to soon announce that she will be moving her show exclusively to her OWN cable network in 2011. A joint deal between Oprah and the Discovery Channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network is poised to launch in 70 million homes that same year. Her popular show will likely move to OWN on the heels of the network launch, as reported by The New York Daily News.

Oprah will be giving up the lucrative licensing and distribution deals her show now has with stations that syndicate her show internationally. In addition, Winfrey will move her staff and studios from her home base of Chicago to the future LA offices of OWN -- which will likely lead to layoffs. This business decision has already cost the Discovery Channel millions of dollars as the cable giant has been forced to shuffle staff and resources in anticipation of the change. Both sides in this deal are gambling that these sacrifices will be worth it in the end. But what about Ms. Winfrey's relationship with the public? Nikki Finke of the Deadline Hollywood blog writes:

BusinessWeek has broken the story that large employers like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among the first on the list to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Clusterstock, the business blog, has added the nuance that not only has Goldman Sachs received the same number of vaccinations as Lennox Hill hospital in New York City -- the finance giant got its hands on the doses before many hospitals.

Goldman Sachs' PR reps want to make it clear to the public that the CDC distributes vaccines to many types of large employers, such as Time Warner and New York University. The idea is to get the vaccine to people at many points of potential infection, giving the H1N1 vaccine to those who come into contact regularly with high risk groups within large companies. Goldman Sachs has received 200 H1N1 vaccines, Citigroup 1,200.

This "guest list" treatment makes sense for some early recipients of the H1N1 vaccine. Hospital workers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System clearly need early protection -- and got some of the first doses along with Goldman.

But Goldman Sachs? Citigroup? When you look at the list of people the CDC mandates must receive an H1N1 vaccination first at these employers, the reasoning for their special treatment seems sketchy:

Leading wholesale retailer Costco has announced that it will now accept food stamps in its stores nationwide. This news comes as a shock to many, who see Costco as catering to elite shoppers. Yet, this should not be surprising as more Americans than ever are using government assistance to feed their families -- 10 million people have gone on food stamps in the last two years alone. This is leaving shopping clubs like Costco and Sam's scrambling to attract an entirely new realm of consumer, who may not be technically "poor."

The New York Times explains:

»Marley Heirs Wage Global War on Trademark Pirates
Heirs of the Jamaican reggae legend are plunging into the global trademark wars, seeking to enforce their exclusive rights to an image that has grown steadily in scope and appeal since the Jamaican superstar died of brain cancer in 1981 at age 36. [AP]

»Debt Settlement and Debt Relief
The Money Coach does not recommend using debt settlement companies for debt relief. Debt counseling companies typically advise you to stop paying your bills for a few months. The problem with this is that you do some serious damage to your credit rating. And there's no guarantee that it will provide debt relief. [The Money Coach]

»Casino Denies Man Jackpot!
Imagine you go to a casino, play the slots, and pull the lever for a jackpot of $166,666,666.65. You'd think it was the luckiest day of your life. Before you know it though, the Casino is telling you that you haven't won anything and the machine glitched. [Post Chronicle]