Here's a mockup of what Michael Jackson might have looked like had his brain and self-esteem not been ruined at such a young age, leading him to pay doctors to cut his face with sharp knives over and over again. The guy on the right still looks kinda scary, but he's a whole lot less frightening than the specter haunting the left side.

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Kanye West's mother, Donda, who died of a heart attack after extensive plastic surgery, will live on forever in West's song, "Dear Mama." But she might also be remembered for spurring medical reform in California? Donda's niece has teamed up with California Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter to try and pass the Donda West Bill, which will require plastic surgeons to give patients a physical exam before performing any surgical procedure. That plastic surgeons don't already do this is a sign that there is definite room for reform. Dr. Jan Adams, the surgeon whose career was crushed into a million tiny pieces after West's high-profile death, did not give her a physical exam before the procedure, although his reps say she was "thoroughly questioned." According to EUR, incarnations of the "Donda West Bill" are sweeping the continent, with legislation inspired by her death being introduced in Florida, Canada, and elsewhere.

If you showed people who had never seen or heard of Lil Kim this picture from 1997 and one from today, they probably wouldn't that it's the same person. That's how much work — all of it bad — Lil Kim has done to her face in the past decade. Below, a look at her yearly progression.

• Tyra Banks goes hard (in a Tyra Banks Show way) on Mike Huckabee for his opinions about gays. [MG]

• Oops. Someone with the same government name as Kool Herc is suing Jay-Z for slave reparations. Glad we got that cleared up. [AHH]

• Barack Obama is Chris Dodd's man. [HP]

• Unless I'm trying to stay up all night, I try to avoid coffee after 5:30 pm, anyway. Close away, Starbucks! [CNN]

• A California congresswoman has proposed the "Donda West Law," which would require patients to get medical clearance before undergoing plastic surgery. [PE]

Donda West, whose post-plastic surgery death contributed heavily the total downfall of her surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, died of a heart attack and post-operative "factors."

"In summary, it is my opinion Ms. West died from some pre-existing coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors following surgery," Deputy Medical Examiner Louis A. Peña wrote in the report, which was obtained by MTV News. However, "based on the history and available information, as currently known, the manner of death could not be determined."

The medical examiner said that, while it seems that the post-operation factors (intense pain, labored breathing) exacerbated her heart condition, there is no conclusive evidence that she would not have died had she avoided surgery. Also, "there was no evidence of surgical or anesthetic misadventure. … There was no evidence of a surgical procedure problem leading to hemorrhage or infection postoperatively or during the procedure."

Dr. Jan Adams, the unlucky (to say the least) surgeon who performed the breast reduction and tummy tuck that may have caused Donda West's death, just got unluckier. The Discovery Health Channel decided to stop airing Plastic Surgery the show that Adams hosted for five years.

With talk show appearances and his own show, Adams had been riding the wave of plastic surgery popularity until his bubble very publicly burst early this week. According to a story in the Washington Post a few months ago, plastic surgery is getting more and more popular within the black community, with black plastic surgery patients rising from 16 percent in 2002 to 23 percent in 2004. Blacks are seeking out surgeons who specialize in "ethnic plastic surgery" — meaning they preserve ethnic characteristics when they do facial work and pay special attention to issues such as scarring and keloids during procedures like breast reductions and tummy tucks.

This is possibly why Donda West sought out Adams, a prominent/well-known black surgeon. Who knows? Adams might have performed the surgery by the book, and West might have met the same fate no matter who she had gone to. But as evidence builds against Adams, you've got to wonder what would have happened if Adams was a plastic surgeon with a board certification on his resume instead of television credits.

As a woman plagued by rhinoplasty rumors, Halle Berry should really be more sensitive about noses. At yesterday's taping of the Tonight Show, Berry made an off-color joke while she was showing Leno and the audience distorted pictures of her face taken with her Apple PhotoBooth program. In one where her nose is enlarged she apparently said, "Here's where I look like my Jewish cousin!" When the show aired, the comment had been replaced by a laugh track. And never fear, Berry's Jewish employee came up with the joke.

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• Thanks for making sure we know who you are from the back when you're shirtless, Vince Young. [Jossip]

• A University of Memphis football player was fatally shot on campus yesterday, and, even though police believe the shooter left campus after the incident, classes were canceled today. Happy first semester. [AP]

• Who doesn't love a celebrity plastic surgery quiz? [BV]

• It took a white kid getting tasered to shed some light on a pretty messed up police practice. [NAM]

• Another one that should always wear a hat. [C&D]

Pepa: Look! There's the plastic surgeon that did my rhinoplasty!

Salt: Ooh, really? He needs to have his license revoked!

After the jump more pics that double as promos for the Salt 'n' Pepa Show and proof that a certain former rap star is not growing old gracefully.

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• I don't see boob job, I see well-placed "cutlets" and Hollywood Tape. But that's me. [SOHH]

• The other woman speaks! And its quickly apparent that no matter how nice or well-spoken she is, she's still pretty much an ass hole who had a baby with another woman's man. [SR]

• Please don't say Remy Ma was actually the inspiration for this look. [C&D]

• Try to resist the urge to get up and do it when you think no one's looking. [BV]

• DMC changed his name recently from Devastating Mic Controller to Deliver My Children. It's for a good cause, but it makes him sound a little like he's in need of an ob-gyn, right? [AHH]

• Something else the church prevents in the black community: youth smoking.

• Why commit suicide when you're going to die sooner than everyone else, anyway!

• Unhealthy sleep patterns among African Americans may contribute to the well-documented health differences between blacks and other races.

• Doctors don't know who the hell is the most eligible for the HPV vaccine.

• "Vaginal rejuvenation" surgery is neither safe nor recommended, which is just shocking news to me.

Plastic surgery for blacks used to mean making your features whiter (see every single member of of the Jackson family's before and after nose pictures), but there is a growing trend of cosmetic surgery treatments for ethnic woman and men that have nothing to do with making them look less like their race.

At the black-owned, DC-based Cultura Medical Spa, which specializes in "ethnic plastic surgery," two-thirds of the patients are non-white. Clinics like Cultura cater to the special needs of minority patients, most notably concerns about scarring and hyperpigmenation. Despite these concerns, the number of minority plastic surgery patients is growing. According to the Washington Post, in 2002, 16 percent of plastic surgery patients were minorities. By 2006, that number had jumped to 23 percent.

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