obama obama obama poll?

Is anyone else, like, a little OUTRAGED that Obama wants to tax people who don't have health insurance? I am hanging on to mine by a thread, and the millions who can't afford it will be penalized for not being able to afford it. I don't get the logic.
What do you think?
It kind of makes me want to shout "You Lie", which incidentally was the greatest thing to happen to politics since the fistfights in Asia and shoe throwing in Iraq. Ain't nothin wrong with being passionate Joe, but I'm still not giving you cash.

Economics and Health Reform for DUMMIES

So chances are that the recession is over, or on it's way out (like Madonna). But, we won't be feeling the effects of the national economy righting itself for a while, this recession good bye party can't even be planned yet. This is because a) more companies are realizing they can run more efficiently with less people. b) that means the economic growth won't actually result in more jobs for a while.
(First off, I'm taking the recession is over! cue from Newsweek author, Daniel Gross.)
My friend D, blogger for Atlas Obscura and my favorite, Curious Expeditions explains why in simplistic terms. He says that because of lack of jobs, a lot of new companies and businesses are starting up. After a couple of years when these companies are solvent and financially able, they will be the ones offering new jobs to the growing number of unemployed.
He then went on to make the argument that Health Reform would also save the country tons of money, (I mean in weight, it would be tons, of gold bars or coins, like that vault Scrooge McDuck used to swim in). And it would ensure new companies the ability to offer healthcare to employees without having to go bankrupt in the process.
I guess, through all of this, all my initial thoughts are re-affirmed. And I just want to know the other side of the story... how are health insurance companies helping the economy? How are new businesses supposed to make it without any reform? What corrupt monopolies will pop up next to R us in the A? Where is Teddy Roosevelt's big stick when you need it most? (Those last two sentences probably shouldn't be put together, but que cera.)
-Kastoory
PS: answers would be mondo apreesh-iated, especially answers that lead to more questions.

Divas Diet Hard

Cher is offended Chia refuses to construct a head in her likeness. “Obama got one!” carped the aging legend. When we contacted Chia, the spokesperson said, “She called us herself, screaming, ‘You don’t got me babe,’ over and over again. She even airmailed us an ice sculpture of Sonny Bono.” It doesn’t look like Cher is going to get what she wants anytime soon. We think she’d have better luck dialing Trader Joe’s to see if they’ll make organic chicken nuggets that “sort of” look like her.

We have it on good authority Oprah has been drunk-dialing diet companies. Jenny Craig HQ has been getting strange slurry calls around 1 AM. A woman’s voice hollers, “I’m eating 1 pound of Cheese Whiz. What are you going to do about it bitch?” Nutra System is receiving similar calls around 2:15 AM. An inebriated woman rants, “I just ate 20 s’mores and tomorrow I’m giving away a car to a really poor person. Take that.” The calls became so verbally abusive, both companies hired private detectives who traced the number back to Oprah’s digs in Chi Town. We called, Harpo Studios to see if the queen would confess. Her intern’s intern yammered, “No comment.” And hung up.



-Lianne Stokes

****Disclaimer: All news fake as face-lifts

Screw Turkey, Let's Talk Chocolate

I’m on team chocolate. When my friend Sarah Michelson invited me to KB Hall Creative Group’s 11th annual chocolate show, I leapt at the opportunity.



There were at least sixty booths set up at packed Pier 94, devoted to all things cocoa. Each of these booths handed out samples of their best. The highlights were dark chocolate with chili and cayenne pepper, both milk and dark chocolate fountains, chocolate covered orange peels, and probably the most curious, chocolate covered fried bacon strips! Don’t knock it ‘till you try it. The most wonderful sight to behold was an enormous chocolate sculpture of Obama’s head. I made out with it.





Normally tickets are $28 for adults, and $250 if you attend the opening night super hero themed fashion show. Even though I was given a media badge, I still wasn’t allowed in on Thursday, the opening night. Something about limited space…I think they thought I was too fat, whatever. It’s okay though, because I was able to view all of the fashion entries at the general show, up close and personal, the way I like it. With 70 percent of each outrageous outfit made of chocolate, I could easily see why I wasn’t invited to opening night. I might have jumped up on the runway and eaten some important bits and pieces.





Surprisingly enough not everything was chocolate. There were two huge stages set up at each end of the convention center for chef demonstrations of both chocolate and non dishes. I’m a fool for the food network, so I found these demonstrations fascinating. I watched a chef make a fetching alternative Thanksgiving dinner from spinach and pigeon. How New York. There was also a whole flagged off section for tasting savory gourmet foods and alcohol. This was a welcome alternative to the chocolate, because after about an hour there I thought I was going to throw up from the sweet overload. Thank God I was able to stifle that feeling with glass upon glass of imported wine and liquor, each one better than the last.



By the time I had my fill I was somewhat delirious and thanking everyone, which got a little awkward considering some people were just regular goers like myself. They were gracious enough. They probably could smell my booze and coco breath and gave me a break. Don't miss the show next year guys, it's utterly orgasmic and worth the bones.



-Corinne Kassor

Obamanator

After my sweaty second behind the black voting booth curtain, I hopped on the L train to escape Manhattan. I headed for the emptier streets off Lorimer Street. I was on my way to the Union Docs (www.uniondocs.org) community house, a non-profit documentary artscollaborative and the home of a friend. I hoped this would be the site of a triumph I could almost taste.

Before most of the guests even arrived, Pennsylvania and Ohio had already been Obamanated, and the popping of balloons seemed to signify last gasps of air escaping from the war hero's wounded campaign. As the anticipation mounted and the smiles broadened, visitors donned candidate masks to enjoy the arm wrestling table--Palin imposters won most of the bouts. The line at the makeshift bar lengthened. For $2, you could get an "Obama Mama," a pineapple and rum concoction, or the "Cindy McCain Special," a good ole can of Budweiser, served with a fistful of painkillers for an extra $0.50. Just kidding!



When change officially swept over Union Ave, the dangling Bush pinata was promptly destroyed, while "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye" and "Signed Sealed Delivered" exploded from house band The Weight. We shook the building with dancing that would have summoned the cops on any other night.






Drained and elated, I jabbered to my Spanish speaking cab driver about the new man in the White House. Whether he understood my words I don't know, but with a huge smile he declared, "It's very good.”

Well said amigo.

-Jake Englander

What's your Obama-won-face?

Due to technical difficulties of feeling cut off from the world because of no election news coverage, the Pomp election watch was shortly canceled and we made our way down to another LES hang out, preferably one with drink specials and television screens; all the while staying close to the Williamsburg bridge so that the trip to BK would be quick and painless no matter who the victor. Our group consisted of Pomp editors, photographers, writers and illustrators, armed with red and blue glowsticks and huge Obama pins, we made our way through the strangely quiet streets. In bars, people were glued to television screens in a rapt alcoholic daze.



Inside Iggy's (great jukebox, $2 pbr and $3 red white and blue shots) with it's multitude of news channels and it's guardedly optimistic patrons we were able to rejoin the rest of the world in waiting with baited breath. Yes Obama's lead was pretty extensive but the talk of the town was "dirty tricks". The general murmur was of great enthusiasm - and as the night wore on and the red white and blue shots were imbibed aplenty - growing wariness.



In the middle of talking to a friend, a cheer went up. We turned towards the TV to see CNN declaring Obama president-elect. Everyone started screaming until someone shouted "Wait! Isn't it too soon to tell?" People immediately stopped cheering and started drinking like mad. Like I said already, guarded optimism.



Finally the news reached our paranoid minds! Whoops and shouts, people laughing hysterically, me and my roommate jump up and down and hold on to each other. Everyone else hugging, talking rapidly and smiling hugely. We find noisemakers and start blowing like Lewinsky. Strangers hugging, kissing and high-fiving as if there is absolutely nothing separating them (because at that moment nothing is). Like New Years but better, all that hope and expectation distilled into a balmy November night.





The rest of the evening was an ecstatic haze of taking pictures of Obama-won-faces, celebrating loudly and reveling in the noise. The LES was a parade of insane elation. The city felt like a community again.

- Kastoory










PostScript: Obama's speech was also a high point of the night as all the noisemakers and revelers silenced to hear him speak. It just further cemented his place in history. How many presidential acceptance speeches are that humble? And give we-the-people so much credit? I don't know, but seeing Oprah as just one of millions in a crowd thawed my cold dead heart even further, it might even start beating again.

You Have To Peep This

With election day looming, I'm beginning to wonder if I should cop a gun for the crib. Not to be a crunchy hippie and all, but at a time like this, we seriously need something, ANYTHING, to break this tension and crack a smile.

I grabbed this video from MissbehaveMag.com (cuz its sweet) and it seems safe to assume this was originally aired on CNN (derf).

I'm not sure where these kids are from or who wrote these genius lyrics, but i think its safe to say T.I. would be proud... and Obama.... and even maybe McCain. Besides, these kids have some fucken bad ass moves.



-Amanda S.

2012: A Space Prophecy

The Mayan calendar ends in the year 2012. If you aren't living under a rock, chances are you have heard and probably worried about this. Nostradamus, who predicted major wars around this time and a huge "space collision," also referenced the date. Biblical figures prophesied the planet Nibiru (also known as Planet X) will come flaming toward Earth in comet-form to finish off the stragglers left from WWIII. In 2012 the Hebrew calendar will climb to its highest point (5772), which could optimistically present this time as a new beginning. Nuclear warfare, singularity, aliens coming and allowing passage and salvation on the Mother Ship, and the theory that Earth will start rotating in a different direction all seem possibilities to visionaries and scientists.

You may say "I'll worry about it in four years." A select few obsess about the questionable future, failing to realize that future is happening now. We think endless solutions are wide open. We plan on moving out of the city, learning to farm. We save up for our hybrid car (or dream about saving up for them), but we're Tom Cruising forward with our eyes wide shut. 2012 is here.



The world has been thrown into dark, challenging times. Until recently, we have done nothing about it. We have grown lazy, looking to our elders to protect us from every bump in the road. Who do we expect to save us? Obama? He'll be busy cleaning up Bush's dirty diapers (of course assuming, as any liberal Canadian like me would, that Obama will be your next President). What will we do when the world's oil supply runs dry? It is estimated to be completely depleted in a decade. Who will you be without your fav party pics blog? What will you be doing instead of updating your Facebook status? Sowing a field? Probably not. I myself can barely keep a cactus alive. 2012 isn't the downfall of humanity, and it isn't in our future. The future isn't real, the present is—the present is 2012. The time we have to save ourselves is now. Not in some alternative apocalyptic universe.



-Jayme Keith