Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States of America. Discuss.
Most assessments today of last night's presidential debate are grim. Under a picture of Barack Obama and John McCain squared off in Tennessee, the Drudge Report presented a single-word critique: "Boring." Politico is calling it the "worst debate ever."
We beg to differ. Instead, how about worst electorate ever?
There's the political cesspool that is Washington, D.C., and then 100 miles away is the real melting pot of intelligent minds in The Middle of Nowhere, Virginia. Lovely reader Ruby Jackson snapped these shots in the area and passed them along to us as a morning boost. Who are these people and why are they allowed to breed?
Says Ruby:
I was recently in semi-rural Virginia, about 100 miles outside DC near Luray, and saw this display in front of a farm. Not sure what the significance of the rocks are, but it was disturbing, as well as typical sentiment for that area. Enjoy!
Today marks the seventh anniversary of the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center, and Samantha Ronson, of all people, wrote a quite eloquent MySpace post in honor of the tragedy. Sure, it's not Shakespeare, but it's coherent and touching, which is all we could ask of a person who tends to think only about herself.
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We love watching the Olympics for moments like the clip above, showcasing last night's men's 4×100m free relay (yes, the quality is bad and we can't understand a word the announcers are saying except for "Michael Phelps"). Let us set the stage for you: The team from France is favored to win. One of the French swimmers reportedly told the media: "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." Oh, and Phelps is still on his quest for eight gold medals. It all comes down to the final leg, where Jason Lezak must swim the greatest race of his life. OK, maybe we're being overdramatic, but how can you not be excited after watching this?
Next week I'm scheduled to set foot on US soil for the first time in three months. I suppose it's about time I begin to get reacquainted with my mother nation's traditions and values, so I'm really happy this article ran in today's Wall Street Journal, reminding me that America is a place where serious thought is put into whether our politicians are fat enough to be good leaders.
… in a nation in which 66% of the voting-age population is overweight and 32% is obese, could Sen. Obama's skinniness be a liability? Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them.
The candidate has been criticized by opponents for appearing elitist or out of touch with average Americans. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted in July shows Sen. Obama still lags behind Republican John McCain among white men and suburban women who say they can't relate to his background or perceived values.
"He's too new … and he needs to put some meat on his bones," says Diana Koenig, 42, a housewife in Corpus Christi, Texas, who says she voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
"I won't vote for any beanpole guy," another Clinton supporter wrote last week on a Yahoo politics message board.
USA! USA! USA!
Duck, patriots!
Just a precaution, as many 'mericans were out in herds this weekend to celebrate their nation's glorious, important and hard-earned autonomy the best way they know how: with violence! Drunken, brutal violence!
TMZ has not one but two stories up today about a couple different acts of aggression revelers in the western part of the country faced this holiday weekend. In one instance, new mother Nicole Richie had to be escorted off the Hard Rock Hotel premises in Las Vegas after getting into an altercation with someone in the valet line. And in Los Angeles, two men were shot multiple times in front of a Hollywood club. USA! USA! USA!
After the jump, TMZ's unflinching and unnecessary image of the back of a shooting victim. (Don't worry, it's not bloody and the guy's alive.)
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Here's hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday. We'll be back with some weekend updates on Sunday, but until then, enjoy your Bale.
[Source]
Barack Obama has released his first national campaign commercial, creatively titled "Country I Love." Other names considered were "Yes, This Is Still Going On" and "This Ad Is Pointless Because You Already Know Everything About Me."
Christina Aguilera put on her best red lipstick and wrapped baby Max in an American flag to film a Rock the Vote PSA in LA. We're assuming it wasn't her choice to cover up her new, um, "additions" with the baby.
[Source]
Everyone's favorite relationship guru, Spencer Pratt, gets patriotic on us this week with his Radar advice column. A woman writes in to ask if she should stay faithful to her deployed husband or begin a secret lesbian relationship with another military wife. Um, OK. Spencer then describes what cheating means to him, and it's kind of deep until he suggests a three-way.
The aforementioned husband must be really proud to serve our country in order to protect our freedoms — freedoms like receiving cheating advice from a D-list reality show loser.
'SEX' BY THE NUMBERS "… during the course of 94 episodes and six seasons, the women of 'Sex and the City' hit the sheets with a combined total of 94 men and one woman. … Of the four women, public relations exec Samantha racked up the most sexual partners. She bedded 41 men and one woman, while Carrie hooked up with 18, Charlotte 18 and Miranda 17. Everyone has a 'number.' But how many is too many and were the 'Sex and the City' women oversexed? Definitely - compared to the average American woman, who has nine sex partners in a lifetime."
THAT'S JUST GREAT "For the 77th consecutive month, [Fox News Channel] finished first in total day and prime time ratings during May. FNC was the sixth highest rated cable network on all of basic cable during prime time for the month (CNN and MSNBC finished 19th and 26th) and the seventh rated network in total day (CNN and MSNBC were 19th and 27th)."
HOW SOON UNTIL IT DEVOLVES INTO PORN? "In a deal with Nokia, Spike Lee will assess video, music, photos and text material created by consumers with their cellphones, then help assemble the various snippets into a three-part short film … The film will have three acts with the theme loosely based on the concept of humanity."
AMERICA FINALLY NOT WATCHING TV! "The May sweep starts Thursday, but the nets aren't exactly in a mad dash to reach the starting line. Ratings are down for the hit shows that recently returned to action for the first time since the writers strike, and they're also off for some established reality skeins that have been unable to take advantage of softer competish. That list includes Fox's 'American Idol,' whose year-to-year declines have accelerated of late."
According to The New York Times, CATholic cat lovers around the world are quite imPURRessed with Pope Benedict XVI's exceptionALLEY strong aPAWreciation of felines. Apparently the President of the Bible is a well-known cat fancier who often accommodates strays of Rome and who adorns his home with cat figurines. A cat's even penned a book about the Pope (with the help of a creepy Italian journalist, of course. Cats cant type, silly!).
Indeed, the guy loves him some cats, but at least one papist thinks this affection is indicative of something else: That being that Il Papa is the Lord: " … I believe it shows that God lives in a person," says Jan Fredericks of Wayne, NJ, owner of nine cats and, perhaps, yet another vessel of God. Also God: My friend Kristen, who promptly bought three cats when her boyfriend left her.
In a survey of over 2,500 adult Americans, 51 percent of respondents said that celebrity endorsements have little to no effect on their feelings toward a product or cause. You're right, that number IS too low, particularly when one considers that 45 percent of those surveyed say celebrities have a "large or positive" influence over their life decisions. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
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