The Actual Anderson Cooper Attack Footage

Anderson Cooper got attacked in Egypt

He's a rich white American. Who knew these pro-Mubarek folks had a problem with that?

2010 US Census Says There Are Lots of Us

Here's the summary of below; population rate is slowing down by all accounts due to lower immigration numbers.  Women are popping at babies at about 2 apiece.  One interesting line in the story...."India's technicians and engineers who came here sent word back home that it's hard now," Haub added. "The IT industry is not the golden goose it's been in the past."  SO perhaps we are holding onto our technical positions more strongly than we were in the past?  Interesting position considering the struggles of our education system.  This is worth a second look.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The population of the United States grew 9.7% to 308.7 million people over the past decade -- the slowest rate of growth since the Great Depression -- the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday.

In the 1930s, the population grew by just 7.3%. Comparatively, the nation added 13.2% more residents during the 1990s.

This is the first time the Census Bureau has released data from the population surveys filled out earlier this year. And the counts include everyone -- not just citizens or legal immigrants.

"The mandate is to count everyone living in the United States," said a Census Bureau spokeswoman.

The U.S. Constitution charges the Census Bureau with the task of counting residents every 10 years to track population shifts in the country. And the law requires the Census to report the official population counts -- both national and by state -- to the President before Jan. 1. The numbers are used to apportion Congressional seats.

The winners are concentrated in two of the nation's four regions: Both the West and the South experienced double-digit growth rates, 14.3% in the South, already the most heavily populated region, and 13.8% in the West. The Midwest and the Northeast grew 3.2%

Nevada was the fastest growing state over the decade, followed by Arizona and Utah. Michigan was the big loser, with Rhode Island, Ohio and Louisiana also lagging badly.

Growth comes from both live births and immigration -- and births are down and fewer people have been moving to the United States.

The fertility rate of the United States is nearly 2.1 children per woman, just about the natural replacement rate, according to data from the United Nations World Population Prospects. That is down from the baby-boom years, when it hit a peak of 3.7, but above most developed countries.

And the recent recession resulted in a slowing immigration rate, according to Carl Haub, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington-based non-profit. "The population growth rate drop is largely because of a couple percentage point dip in immigration," he said.

"India's technicians and engineers who came here sent word back home that it's hard now," Haub added. "The IT industry is not the golden goose it's been in the past."

Despite the slowdown, the nation's growth rate is much higher than most developed countries. The populations of Japan and Germany, for example, are in decline, while France and the United Kingdom are growing at a rate of 5% per decade.

The Green Guide to Obama's State of the Union Address

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Wednesday covered a lot of ground, but a significant portion of the speech was dedicated to the all-important topic of energy security. Below, some choice quotes from the speech.

* "From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There's no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean-energy products. Tomorrow, I'll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act." As we suspected, Florida will be the first to reap the benefits of Obama's $8 billion in spending on high-speed rail. Clearly, Obama believes that we will lag behind as a nation without a high-speed rail infrastructure.

* "These nations, they're not standing still. These nations aren't playing for second place. They're putting more emphasis on math and science. They're rebuilding their infrastructure. They're making serious investments in clean energy, because they want those jobs. Well, I do not accept second place for the United States of America." And that, we presume, is why the White House recently invested millions in math and science funding.

* "Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history, an investment that could lead to the world's cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched. And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy." Innovation is important, but the most important kind of innovation right now is in the energy sector. And that means we can expect to see a lot more of it under this administration--with the ARPA-E program, for example.

* "But to create more of these clean-energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives, and that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development." This part is a little contentious. Many green energy advocates think nuclear power is far too unsafe to be able in the long term. And what does opening up offshore areas for oil and gas have to do with clean energy? We're guessing Obama is advocating it as a means to secure American-made energy, albeit in a not-so-sustainable way.

* "I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But--but here's the thing. Even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future, because the nation that leads the clean-energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy, and America must be that nation." Bingo. It doesn't matter what side of the climate change debate you fall on. The fact is, clean energy is only going to become more important as oil supplies dwindle and coal continues to be vilified. Again, Obama equates dominance in clean energy as the key to our economic future--sounds reasonable.

It's Official...GM Is DUmping Pontiac?

One of our nations oldest corporations crumbling is terrifying for our countries economic place in this global market.

General Motors Corp. (GM) said Monday it will cut 21,000 hourly jobs and eliminate its Pontiac brand by the end of next year as part of a stepped-up restructuring plan.

The auto maker will also start an exchange offer for $27 billion of its unsecured public notes as the company looks to become viable, saying a successful exchange offer would allow it to stay out of bankruptcy court.

GM, which is surviving on federal loans, is racing to restructure by June 1 under close ...

Kal Penn Joins White House Team

Yes, Kal Penn who broke into the Hollyweird scene as Van Wilder's lovable Banglapoor-ean (?) Taj, has been appointed as an associate director in the Office of Public Liason. Yeah, the clip leads to Taj very discretely discussing his plans for de-virginizing himself.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has hired actor Kal Penn as a liaison between President Barack Obama's administration and Hollywood.
White House spokesman Shin Inouye said Tuesday that the actor who has a recurring role on Fox's TV show "House" and has starred in several movies would join the staff as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison. His role will be to connect Obama with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as arts and entertainment groups.
Penn starred as Kumar in the movie, "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."
Penn was an Obama supporter during the campaign. The White House says a start date for Penn hasn't been set.
The hire was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.

I really wish I knew more details here but the story is only a few hours old so more to come. Any man who stands besides Van Wilder's bulldog is cool in my book.

Jon Stewart Hands It To CNBC and Rick Santelli

A sound 8 minutes of analysis on the analysts. Apparently each time CNBC says anything, the market reacts adversely. Quite intriguing.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

McCain Is An Abba Fan

Normally I'd take this opportunity to make lots of jokes and sarcastic comments, but this one will have to speak for itself...

In South Carolina last October, McCain confided in reporters on his campaign bus and told them that if he's elected ABBA would be the background music in "elevators all over the White House."

McCain told the deejays that before big speeches he pumps himself up by listening to the Swedish quartet's 1977 hit "Take A Chance On Me."

Oh just imagine what could have been.

Click here for the full article 

The Election Is Over....What Do We Talk About Now?

Obviously the work for change really starts now, but the best story the press has had for a year and change is now over.  So what should we talk about now?  I don't have an answer.  Later today I'll probably pick up with my inane offerings from around the web and gadgets and all that.  But for now, I thought I'd keep it light hearted and send everyone to Daily Puppy for some fun.  Why?  Because dogs are cute and are free from all of our daily concerns that keep us tired, stressed, overworked, underpaid, under inspired and everything in between.  

Yes We Can

Congrats to Barack and to all of us. A great man not of my political party said of tonight, "Change is on the horizon." This is a country where anything is possible. I've never felt a pride like this.

"Dear Red States..."

We all deserve a laugh...Oldest Living.

Great Election Day Quote

I wish I could credit the original source, but I found it at Oldest Living:

Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Barack could run.
Barack ran so our kids can fly.

Obama Supports Tech Innovation and Start Ups

McCain Attack Ads Get Hollwood Makeover From Woo, Smith, and Anderson

"The Pocket" has yet again searched and delivered the great content we need to break up a day and just laugh out loud...

Mother Jones magazine's Riff Blog just posted this hilarious video made by The Landline with the following premise:John McCain turns to famous Hollywood directors for help with his attack ads. Watch this video for John Woo, Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson.