WaPo's Justin Moyer has created a list of other celebrity eccentricities to rival the "bendy straws" and luxurious jets of demanded by Sarah Palin when she travels. None are quite as egregious -- with the possible exception of Rudy Giuliani's demand that his transport be " the private aircraft MUST BE a Gulfstream IV or bigger..."
I bet I can explain Aretha Franklin's demands: "Aretha Franklin is to receive from the promoter, a portion of [her] payment in the form of $25,000 in cash," according to an undated contract rider." So would you, if you'd been stiffed with bum checks by promoters in the past. And the fact that Aretha grew up in Memphis, the hot-'n'-humid capital of the USA surely explains her desire for a friendly atmosphere.
"Aretha Franklin's dressing room must be supplied with a cool mist humidifier," the rider stipulates. In addition, "all air conditioning vents must be turned off or taped shut, to prevent any cold air from flowing."
As for the Dick, you may have guessed already what realities he wanted excluded from his travels.
BRING: The Fox News Channel. "All Televisions [must be] tuned to FOX News," according to an undated memo published by the Smoking Gun in 2006 and titled "Vice Presidential Downtime Requirements."
FORGET: Regular Sprite -- the veep prefers four cans of "Diet Caffeine-Free Sprite." (Cheney needn't have worried: Sprite does not have caffeine.)
