Caption update: Where Are They Now?

At least MSNBC had the grace to call this "Gossip" instead of "News" - the TomKat nuptials may be on hold.

Gee, with pics like this, ya think there might be something wrong? As Gary Hart discovered too late, if you invite constant public scrutiny, said public may possibly discover things they don't like. In this case, the public includes Katie Holmes' parents, since the PR machine is about the only contact Katie's handlers in the Cult of Scientology are likely to permit - and especially after the following:

With a new year beginning, Cruise “decided to take the opportunity to mend fences with the family of his fiancée, Katie Holmes,” according to the upcoming issue of "Life & Style Weekly."

Brace yourself for the Blinding Flash of the Obvious:

It didn’t go so well.

Jumping on the Holmes family sofa may not have been the winning move, Maverick.

“Tom and Katie ended up leaving — three days earlier than planned,” according to a “close friend” of Cruise. “Katie was in tears, but that’s standard when it
comes to dealing with family matters and Tom.”

The odds that "Close friend" translates to "$cientologist enforcer"? Off the charts. Even Vegas would be embarrassed to take your money. Probably, it's unfair of me to think that this "friend" subtly implies that the fault lies with the family, not the cultists... but I don't expect I'm wrong, either.

A spokesman for Cruise denies the story, but there have been previous reports that Holmes’ lawyer father is not thrilled with the prospects of the two getting hitched.

Just make your own joke there. My only observation is that either he's wised up, or that his quote in this story was bushwah. Or maybe he just read the story itself to the end, saw that Cruise somehow screwed up three previous relationships with smoking Hollywood babes, and asked his slowly-zombifying daughter to be cautious, leading to her getting whisked to a secret, thetan-proof bunker. It took less than two months for this story to follow, with nary a mention of anything from Kate's folks.

Asked by PEOPLE privately if they plan to have children, Holmes paused and then said, "Yes," as both she and Cruise broke into smiles.

Pretty much right then, Mr. Holmes probably had that Salieri moment - "I knew that he had had my darling girl." (I still maintain that Mr. Cruise contributed no DNA to the occasion, but the sentiment remains.)

Why I am going over it again? Simple. This isn't the usual round of vapid, self-serving celebrity twaddle. This is a real woman who seemed decent and sweet having her reason utterly overthrown by rapacious bastards who see her as a cash cow for their cult and a mouthpiece for their message. This is someone's little girl. I would burn with cold fury if it was my own child. I do this because these freaks are dangerous, and because I hurt for her parents, forced to witness the publicly-admired abduction and brainwashing of their child.