How?

Sarah Palin: Up Among Republicans?
July 08, 2009 1:04 PM

Data analysis can be a subjective thing; so it is with today’s USA Today and Gallup coverage of their joint poll on Sarah Palin.

USA Today’s p.1 piece says Palin’s resignation “actually has boosted her a bit among Republicans.” Gallup’s analysis makes no such conclusion.

While its story didn’t provide numbers, USAT tells us it was referring to the fact that 15 percent of Republicans surveyed said their view of Palin had become more favorable because of her decision to resign, vs. 12 percent less favorable. (Using decimals the difference actually rounds to 4 points.)

One problem from my perspective is that this difference among the 316 Republicans surveyed is not statistically significant at the customary 95 percent confidence level (nor indeed at 90, 85 or even 80 percent confidence). Another is that a different result shows a 9-point drop in the number of Republicans who want Palin to be a major national political figure - a result that, by contrast, is significant.

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The above is from ABC News. Ok, so Sarah Palin announced on July 3rd that she is quitting her post as Governor of Alaska two and a half years into her first term. BUT she says she is not quitting. How?! She said in her press conference that she didn't want to be a lame duck governor and take trips and just cash a paycheck...you know, do what's best for Alaskans. If this is true, why didn't she resign while she was a vice presidential candidate traveling around the country???? She couldn't have been on top of her job as governor as she was stirring up fear at Republican rallies and bumbling her way through her only debate.

Furthermore, how can anyone seriously see Palin as a legitimate candidate for President? She showed as little command of the moment of her resignation as she did during her interview with Katie Couric and her debate with Joe Biden. Citing the constant complaints and attacks is a copout. If she can't hack criticism at this stage of her political "career," what makes her think the criticism will be any lighter at a "higher calling."

Meanwhile, Palin's number of Facebook friends continues to skyrocket.

Hey, if you are a Republican, PLEASE get off the "she's on our side" mentality and really ask yourself, "is this the best candidate our party can put out there?"

Thoughts on Michael Jackson

It's amazing that the above video is 19 years after Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out. He still had it going on then in 2001. Jackson still had game. Listen to the crowd and how loud they are. They drown out the music at times.

After Thriller came out, Bad was a pretty good follow up, but nothing he did would touch the success of Thriller.

As he got older, Michael's looks, his "strangeness", sexual abuse claims, and his being a recluse took over the headlines.


Random thoughts:
-I had a classmate in junior high who wore his Thriller jacket to school and it got stolen. I felt badly for the kid.
-There's no way, if I ever have kids, that I will nickname a child "blanket."
-I am stunned that Michael's death crashed wikipedia and Twitter. Also, Amazon.com sold out of every Michael Jackson cd. That truly is a measure of Jackson's super-stardom.
-It's strange that it took death for Michael Jackson and his music to be so relevant again.
-Regarding the last two points, I think whenever Madonna or Prince pass on, a similar effect will happen but not to the same level as what happened with Michael. Are there any others that their deaths could have a similar effect?
-I will remember that I was in the BG Student Union when I first saw the news on CNN and then a classmate confirmed that he died before my class started in East Hall.
-I wonder how long will it take for bootleg or undercover footage of his last rehearsals to be leaked.
-I wonder if it's really true that Michael weighed 108 pounds at the time of his death.
-Being that I was seven years old when Elvis Presley died in 1977, I didn't experience the hysteria around his death. So, just to live during this is a unique experience.
-Will Jordan Chandler, the boy who Michael Jackson paid $22 million out of court in 1994 to settle sexual abuse claims, make any appearances in the media?
-I wonder how show business will ultimately remember and honor Michael Jackson.

See that guy picking up litter...

that might as well be singer Chris Brown. Picking up the litter...not the actual garbage itself but.....nevermind.

Anway, today, Brown, in a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to assault charges for the alleged beating of Rihanna. In the deal, Brown will serve about 1,400 hours of "labor oriented service." He also must go to a domestic violence counseling class for a year.

I don't know if the two will stay together.

In other couples news, Jon and Kate of Jon and Kate plus 8 filed paperwork today to have their marriage dissolved. I know, previously I said I wouldn't watch the show. I watched tonight. It was one of the more uncomfortable hours of tv to watch. Jon said he was looking forward to an "exciting" new chapter in his life...while acknowledging it will be tough not being there everyday with the kids. At one point, he thought out loud, "What's going to happen if I get a job and have to move away?" Kate was obviously more affected by the break up than Jon. The lack of communication between the two, especially in front of the kids, was so obvious. The family all went out to a Sunday brunch for Mother's Day. Jon and Kate sat next to each other. Kate talked and tried to make the event as pleasant as possible. Jon was quiet the whole time.

And yes, they said the show will go on.

Who is to blame?

From Yahoo! comes this article about an amazing failure rate at a Chicago school. You have to wonder about the bias of the writer when they say "the school board claims that written notices were sent." It paints the board to be as guilty as can be.

Tough times at South Side school
A Chicago school made an alarming announcement this week. Close to 60% of its students won't graduate from the eighth grade. The startling figure sent lookups on "Myra Bradwell Elementary School" spiking. An article from CBS 2 Chicago explains that many in the community are wondering who to blame for the students' failure. Some are pointing fingers at the parents, while those same parents are claiming they didn't receive any notice that their children were struggling (the school board claims that written notices were sent).

Breaking News!!!!

Wow, I had no idea! Yahoo! News has released this earth-shattering study.

Survey: Family time eroding as Internet use soars
By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer - Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:45PM EDT

NEW YORK - Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together.

The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.

The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.

These people did not report spending less time with their friends, however.

Not really how it happened.

Knowing someone who has mental illness has made me so much more sensitive to issues regarding mental health, especially in the media. I detest hearing things like, "he's/she's mental" or "they're schizoid." I don't think the people saying them really know what it's like to have those symptoms or have interacted with someone who struggles with mental illness.

Yahoo! has an entertainment section called "omg!." It usually has gossip and photos of stars at their best and worst times. Recently, a photo of Susan Boyle was posted and the caption underneath it mentioned her checking "into a mental health facility." See how Yahoo! showed it below.



Susan Boyle, who shocked the world with her beautiful singing voice, had everyone talking once again when she failed to win "Britain's Got Talent" and then checked into a mental health facility.

****Now, I highly doubt Susan stood on the steps of the facility and belted out a song as it appears here in the photo. The way the photo and caption are paired together, it's inferred that the photo was taken as she checked into the facility.

Enough!

Now that the Obamas' dog has gotten in and out of the spotlight, what useless Presidential news is the media picking up on? His diet! Stories like these are helping drive the media away from the media and following the news.


CAPITAL CULTURE: World hangs on Obama's every biteBy JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck, Ap National Writer – Tue Jun 9, 12:07 am ET
At the bustling Pi pizza restaurant in St. Louis, the staff has come up with a new mantra: "It's just pizza!"

Just pizza, and yet still, they marvel, customers are happy to wait well upward of two hours at peak time for a table. That is, ever since news came out that Barack Obama loved this pizza so much during a campaign stop, the owners were invited to recreate it in the White House ovens.

"We tell them it'll be two to four hours, and they say, OK!" says owner Chris Sommers, who traveled on his own dime to prepare the presidential meal in April. "This has been our own private stimulus package."

Pizza from St. Louis, pancakes from Pittsburgh. A juicy burger or a chili half-smoke in D.C., soul food in Chicago. Our new president eats something and the world wants to eat it, too. We've always cared about the words that emerge from a president's lips, but has there ever been such attention to the food that enters them?

"Well, White House cookbooks have always been popular — but no, there's never been this flood of interest before," says Eddie Gehman Kohan, editor of the "Obama Foodorama" blog (subject matter self-explanatory.) She sees a fusion of two potent forces: An escalating interest in food and food policy, and enormous curiosity in anything Obama.