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Will Your Pet Rock the Vote at Your Local Polling Place?

PetSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:00:46 -0700

North is six years old and it's high time for him to get a taste of our political system! Now I've already found a couple ways for him to rock (and eat) the vote, so I may just bring him along to the local fire station polling place next week. Have you ever done this with your furry friends or do you simply share the results with them later on?
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Obama's Nobel Peace Prize: Deserved or Premature?

TresSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

This morning, a humbled President Obama said he did not expect to wake up to the news that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maintaining that he did not feel that he deserved to be in the company of the transformative figures previously honored by the prize, Obama said he would accept it as "a call to action, a call for nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."

The Nobel committee cited Obama's rare ability to have "captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." The committee also strongly criticized Obama's predecessor, revealing that the award may have been a rebuke of President Bush.

But some aren't so convinced that Obama was deserving. RNC Chairman Michael Steele offered his opinion: "It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."

Do You Buy Meg Whitman's Excuse For Not Voting?

TresSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman wants to be governor of California, but it took her until the age of 46 to register to vote. (Reminder: the voting age is 18!) Whitman has apologized for the 28-year oversight while offering an explanation. She said:

"I was focused on raising a family, on my husband's career, and we moved many, many times. It is no excuse. My voting record, my registration record, is unacceptable."

Registering to vote is somewhat annoying, but it doesn't take that long! And it's a little strange that Whitman, an accomplished businesswoman, is citing her husband's career as one reason for not voting. Then again, Meg Whitman isn't the only candidate to have a spotty voting record. Carly Fiorina, who wants to run for the US Senate, hasn't voted all that often either.

Do you buy Meg's excuse that she was too busy with other priorities, or is this lack of democratic engagement inexcusable for someone who wants to hold elected office?

Would a Female Politician Get Away With This?

TresSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

On Saturday, Republican State Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the US Senate, desiring to fill in the spot left open by Senator Edward Kennedy's passing. He is branding himself as a fiscal conservative and Washington outsider.

But as political blog Wonkette uncovered in 2007, Senator Brown had a nude centerfold spread in a 1982 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine when he was 22. In law school at Boston College when he bared all, Brown said he'd take his "America's Sexiest Man" prize money - a whopping $1,000 - and put it toward tuition.

Not many people are in an uproar around this, but I doubt if a female politician had posed nude when she was in her early twenties that she'd make it past the day she announced her candidacy. A Newsweek blogger thinks no one cares about Brown's past "because he's a dude." I guess the anti-gay marriage candidate should feel lucky these pics weren't in Playgirl!

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Carly Fiorina's Spotty Voting Record: Shocking or So What?

TresSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman isn't the only businesswoman gunning for a political career in California. Republican Carly Fiorina, once the head of Hewlett-Packard, wants to challenge Barbara Boxer to her senate seat. Just one problem: she has a very spotty voting record.

According to Morris County, NJ, election officials, Fiorina registered to vote in 1997 but never actually voted there; her record in California isn't consistent either. A Fiorina spokesperson says that while "she didn't vote all the time . . . she did vote." Would you vote for a senator who doesn't vote much herself?

Do You Care If People Like You?

TresSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Nancy Pelosi might be one of the most powerful women in the United States, but she's not the most well liked. The Speaker of the House's favorability rating sits at 32 percent, while her unfavorability rating comes in at 48 percent. In other words: more people dislike Nancy Pelosi than like her. When asked if she cares about being unpopular, Pelosi recently said:

"I certainly want to be trusted. I’m not particularly concerned if I’m liked."

Pelosi might be on to something. Researchers recently found that women who exhibited so-called "masculine" traits earned an average of $65,224 more than their nicer or more passive colleagues over the course of their lives. So it might pay to care less about being well liked.

Hillary Clinton For President?

TresSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:30:00 -0700

What did Hillary Clinton say when she was asked yesterday if she still wanted to be America's first female president?

"That's not anything I'm at all thinking about . . . I don't know, but I doubt very much that anything like that will ever be part of my life."

My friends, Hillary's still got it. A non-denial denial is the first hint that a politician might be holding secret ambitions. Then again, maybe people are reading into the comment too much. Do you think she'll give a run for the presidency another shot down the road, say in 2016?

Do You Think Sarah Palin Has a Political Future?

TresSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:00:57 -0700

I'm still trying to make sense of the bombshell Sarah Palin dropped over the weekend. At first I thought Palin must have her eyes set on political office outside of Alaska and doesn't want her duties as governor to hold her back. No longer stuck in Alaska, she'll be able to travel the country if she decides she wants to run for president. But after watching her nervously announce her resignation, the decision to quit didn't come off as a well thought-out plan to win the presidency in 2012. It seemed more like political suicide!

Prominent Republicans can't seem to agree what this means for her future either. Karl Rove said he was "a little perplexed" by Palin's move, but conservative pundit Bill Kristol thinks she made a good decision in a "world where people don't value years of experience in Washington, or even conceivably two terms as governor of Alaska." As for Rush Limbaugh, he said: "I think these people saying she's an instant target because she quit is just inside the beltway formulaic. And she's not that."

Are Some Employees More Popular Than Others?

SavvySugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:15:36 -0800

Research in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology shows that workers evaluate their colleagues in terms of popularity. According to The Wall Street Journal, those who are considered popular are treated more favorably by their colleagues, and the study suggests that these workers aren't necessarily favored because of job merit. The researchers conveyed their opinion of the findings and wrote, "By valuing popularity, organizations may be promoting a certain ‘clubby’ atmosphere that mimics school culture."

Does your workplace possess this kind of dynamic, where some employees are noticeably more popular than others?

Blago Haircare Products: Funny or Lame?

TresSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich seems to have spent more time obsessing about his hair than his ethical behavior or political reputation. So the makers of Blago Hair have attempted to cash in on his hair obsession with a volumizing shampoo and conditioner. Given how brief his notoriety, and how unappealing a character he was, I think a quickie t-shirt would have made more sense. What do you think - are Blago haircare products funny or lame?

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