Yesterday JayBird reported on the anticipated hearing in which Jamie Spears, Britney's father, was to ask that his control over her estate be continued. The Commissioner ruled in his favor and Jamie will remain as Britney's conservator until another hearing March 10, which means he still has control over who she sees and how she spends her money. Britney's brother Bryan and an attorney are named as co-trustees and will take over for her father if he is unable to manage her estate.
While some question Jamie's motives, he's been working as a chef to pay the bills and seems to have cleaned up his act considerably since his earlier problems with alcoholism. Britney needs someone who will make sure she stays safe who isn't going to use, drug, and/or emotionally abuse her. Her father seems like he has her best interests at heart and is keeping her safe at home with a staff and occasional trips to the dance studio. She was taken advantage of by Sam Lutfi, who disabled her cars and phones, and bragged to her own mother about how he would routinely mash up medication and slip it into her food without her knowledge. Lutfi is now shut out of her life by restraining order, although no one has been able to serve the papers directly to him.
There have been a lot of stories in the tabloid papers about how Britney freaked out while she was in the psychiatric ward at UCLA's medical center, and I didn't cover them because I felt like I didn't need to know those details. One thing that both Star and The National Enquirer reported this week is that Britney was also diagnosed with schizophrenia along with bipolar disorder. That is incredibly serious and brought a kind of reality and depth for me to this situation that all the "Britney's freaking out!" stories failed to do.
I just got the new National Enquirer, and they claim that Britney tried to run away from the bodyguard that her father hired several times. Since she's tailed by so many paparazzi who would be able to see this, it sounds likely:
An enraged Britney Spears got into a violent brawl with her new bodyguard as she made a desperate attempt to escape from her home - and her father's control.
With her dad Jamie and the bodyguard in hot pursuit, Britney made it only two houses down the street in her exclusive Beverly Hills neighborhood before the bodyguard caught up with her.
"She was screaming at both men at the top of her lungs," said a source. "Britney was in a rage, cursing them as she was dragged and carried back to the house"
After a recent dance rehearsal, she begged her bodyguard not to take her straight home. When he refused, she began screaming and tried to jump out of the car at a red light, but he hit the gas and began moving before she could flee, said the source.
She again tried to make a run for it as the car stopped in front of the gate to her community.
"Britney was irate," said the source. "As the gate was opening, she jumped into the front seat and opened the door."
But Britney changed her mind when a photographer pulled alongside the car, and the bodyguard took her straight to the house.
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, February 25, 2008]
The Enquirer also reports that Lynn doesn't approve of the tough love that Jamie is showing their daughter, and that she would rather take her back to Louisiana. Along with Sam Lutfi, Britney's "cousin" Alli Sims has also been shut out of her life. Alli has been hanging out with Lutfi, and that's enough to show that she's a bad influence on her.
Britney has bipolar disorder and according to reports was diagnosed with schizophrenia too. She can't care for herself and her father is trying to make sure she's ok and is able to stay at home and go on occasional outings. If she knows what's good for her and wants to see her children again she'll buck up and figure out how to make it work. We're not holding our breath, but at least she's safe.
Here's Britney outside Millenium dance studio yesterday. You can see her mom Lynn in the background and TMZ reported that she left yesterday to go back to Louisiana. She's got that helmet hair cut that everyone is sporting lately, and it's not that bad on her. 
