The Pioneer Woman: Meet Ree Drummond

It might remind you a bit of “Green Acres” since it’s a story of home on the range. Meet former city girl Ree Drummond, better known as the Pioneer Woman after her award-winning blog.  She’s a writer and photographer living the down home country life in Oklahoma with her hunky rancher husband, Ladd (whom she calls the Marlboro Man) and...

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Highest Grossing Bond Films

After a four year absence, Agent 007 is back. “Skyfall” hit the screen last week and has already establishing itself as the fourth highest grossing film in British history. Some critics say that the new 007 is so good that it could be James Bond's first real shot at Best Picture at the Oscars. Are you wondering which Bond films captured the title...

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Let's Fix What's Broken-HAVA 2.0

Several broken pieces added unnecessary drama to Election 2012. One major cog in the wheel was our election system in some key states. Florida must take pride in embarrassing the country with it's election rules that had voters waiting three, five, even eight hours to vote. Long lines, insufficient voting supplies, untrained and partisan...

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My Take on Obama's Victory in Election 2012

Nobody's talking about Obama's victory in the 2012 Election. Rather, bewildered Republicans and pundits are focused on "why Romney lost". All the media analysts, political commentators and cable news contributors have theories on the election results, but if you want a novice blogger's ideas on Election 2012, take a walk with me. My cause-effect...

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On The Record: Meet Joy-Ann Reid

Joy-Ann (“Joy”) Reid is the managing editor of TheGrio.com and an on-air contributor on MSNBC. She is also a political columnist for the Miami Herald and editor of the political blog The Reid Report. Joy has worked in television and radio news since 1998, including for WTVJ and Fox station WSVN. In addition to the Herald, her columns have appeared...

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Big Daddy's House: Meet Aaron McCargo, Jr.

Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr. I've developed a love affair with some of the finest Celebrity Chefs and enjoy introducing them to all my friends. You're invited to Food Network's "Big Daddy's House" to meet the man himself, Aaron McCargo, Jr. Competing in season four of Food Network Star in 2008, "Big Daddy" beat thousands of culinary hopefuls for the...

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The Security Freeze: Locking Down your Credit

I called it "Bad Day at Big Rock". It was the day my computer crashed and someone stole my purse from my car. I made a police report, cancelled my credit cards, re-keyed my locks, and replaced my driver's license. Thanks to the Geek Squad, the computer was up and running again. But, how would I know that a year later, I'd still feel the repercussions...

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Meet The Neeleys: Pat and Gina

After a high powered career, who would have ever thought that one of my favorite activities in my retirement would be watching television cooking shows. Paula Deen, Ina Garten, Gida De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay became good friends. We hung out together and traveled the world through a variety of tasty dishes. I didn't realize something...

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The World of Fan Fiction: Harry Potter Lives Again

When I finally realized that J. K. Rowling probably wouldn’t be writing any more Harry Potter books, it took me awhile to learn that Harry Potter would live again. An introduction to the ever growing FanFiction.net opened up new worlds, among them 526,085 entries in the Harry Potter section alone with many of them full-length novels. Fan fiction...

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The Conservative Bubble

Most weekends, I watch Up With Chris Hayes on MSNBC early on both Saturdays and Sundays. On a recent show, one of the topics discussed was "the Conservative Bubble" which lead me to post this blog. The guests included Republicans Josh Barro of Bloomberg.com, Linda Bair, former Chairwoman, FDIC, and Joe Weisenthal of Businessinsider.com....

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The "Catholic Vote" Wants Social Justice

According to a poll released Monday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, most U.S. Catholics think the church should focus more on social justice and helping the poor, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion. The 2012 American Values Survey finding on Catholics goes against the focus of many U.S. Catholic bishops,...

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Religion and Political Views

  A survey taken between September 13 and September 30, before the presidential debates, and involving 3,003 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent gives us some significant information on the link between religion and political views. Here are some of the finding...

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Halloween: Time for Horror History

Humans beware. It's the Halloween season of ghosts, goulds, and goblins. Witches, black cats and screams through the night cause our hearts to pound and our teeth to chatter. Hollywood surrounds us with supernatural beings that assail, afflict and torture humans and cause dreadful mishaps, even death.  Follow along with...

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Freshen Up Your Finances

Don't limit seasonal cleaning to your closets and cupboards-it's time to get your finances in order too! From reviewing your retirement plan to updating your budget, here are some tips to help you freshen up your finances. 1. Check your credit It's important to check your credit once a year. You need to make sure there aren't any errors dragging...

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Did You Know: Heavenly Bodies

The recent death of Astronaut Neil Armstrong made us pause to recall the moon landing and his “one small step for mankind”. Caught up with our day-to-day struggles, most of us don’t give much thought to things like space or its heavenly bodies. Take a pause, put on your thinking cap, and determine if the statements below are true or false. Ready,...

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The Choice for Our Kids: Early Childhood Education

America may be one of the richest countries in the world, but it ranks #28 out of 38 countries in the percent of 4 year olds enrolled in pre-primary education programs like Head Start. The United States ranked behind countries like France, Spain and Mexico according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Head Start began...

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"Sleep Wars": Mattress Buying Scams

Let me start by saying “I LOVE my mattress”. Just thinking about making a change sends chills down my spine, but it’s been twelve years and I’ve been told, by my husband of course, that it’s time to make a change. So, against my better judgment, we started checking the mattress market and quickly found out that buying a mattress can be a challenging...

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New Hip-Hop Cash King Crowned

Photo: Johnny Nunez With $110 million in pretax earnings, Dr. Dre is this year's Hip-Hop Cash King—despite the fact that his long-awaited album, Detox, remains on the shelf. He's not the only one on the list who banks the bulk of his bucks outside the recording studio. Diddy ranks No. 2 with $45 million, thanks mostly to a share of profits...

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Golden-Career Favorites: 50 Years on the Job

Can you satisfy five generations as you serve the public, 50 years on the job and counting? AARP identified some in the 50-Year Career Club. Let's take a look. The Rolling Stones Rock Legends On the job since 1962, they signed with Decca Records in 1963. The Stones could be the world's greatest rock band with 92 singles, 29 studio albums...

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All My Children- An Actors' Road to Fame

  Everyone who has ever heard of All My Children remembers mega daytime star Susan Lucci in the role of Erica Kane. Lucci was nominated 19 times for her lead role before winning a Daytime Emmy in 1999. Hidden amid the hot-button stories right out of the day’s headlines, are a number of feisty and beautiful characters who travelled the...

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Utah's Mia Love : G.O.P. Candidate for Congress

Mia Love, Mayor of Saratoga Spring, Utah spoke at the National Republican Convention in support of the Romney-Ryan presidential ticket. Her theme was "The America I know". “My parents immigrated to this country with $10 in their pockets and the hope that the America they learned about really did exist. When tough times came, they didn’t look...

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Summer Movies 2012

School's out, the temperature is soaring, and family and friend are on the way to the movies. Want a little non-stop action, or maybe a scary thriller? Need a good laugh or even a good cry? Grab some popcorn and a cold drink, then sift through the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of some of this summer's big screen offerings: ...

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The Woman Behind the Man: TV Talk Show Host Spouses

A wide TV viewership knows the most popular TV talk show host better than they know some members of their own family. Many embrace a faithful relationship with these media stars who share their lives through their television shows. Over the years, they often mention their spouse and even include references to the children, but the details are sketchy....

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Ex-Governor Mark Sanford Engaged to "Soul Mate"

In the summer of 2009, then-Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford disappeared from his office for a week on a trip to Argentina to visit Maria Belen Chapur. Aides said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. When Sanford returned, he gave a tearful, State House press conference admitting he had been unfaithful to his wife and calling Chapur his...

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Kanye West Wins Lawsuit But, Will He Win Kim

Vincent Peters claimed music rapper Kanye West copied portions of his 2006 song “Stronger”. West’s 2007 song by the same name, as well as Peters’ song both reference 19th century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche’s idiom: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” All Hip Hop reports, Judge Diane Wood of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals...

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Step Up Your Game-Please (Don't) Be Seated

Hey, you in the chair. Have you ever looked up from your desk and realized you've been sitting for three, four or five hours? The average person sits for nine hours a day. It turns out that all that chair time isn't good for your health or your weight-loss efforts-even if you exercise consistently. Do your body and your mind a big favor. Make...

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Tips on Managing Credit

Time you realize the cold hard truth: to the big banks, you’re nothing but a number.  All that matters is your credit rating, otherwise known as your FICO score. It’s a number between 300 and 850 based on your financial history. Your FICO score helps the banks decide whether you qualify for charge cards, car financing, a mortgage, or insurance. ...

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The Massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics

Forty years ago, the 1972 Munich Olympics was the target of terrorist attacks by Black September Palestinian terrorists against the Israeli Olympic team. Twelve people were killed. As September 5th approaches, reflect on the tragic and global policy-changing events that transpired. About.com provides a detailed account: The...

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Voter Supression: Applewhite Wins, but America Loses

Democrats who have been leading a campaign against voter ID laws had their sights set on Pennsylvania, where they felt they had a good chance to have legislation passed last year thrown out by the courts. Liberal activists held rallies in Philadelphia and have been asserting that the bill approved by the Republican-controlled legislature is nothing...

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Major General Marcia Anderson-One More "First"

Last September, Gen. Marcia Anderson became the first black woman with two stars in the Army or Army Reserve, and says despite 237 years with no female Major Generals, equality abounds in the military. "Currently, and I'm very proud of this fact, women serve in 93 percent of all army occupations, and women comprise 13.5 percent of the active...

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Two Women Join All-Male Augusta National Golf Club

Darla Moore and Condoleezza Rice For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members. The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the last decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women...

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Romney's $716 Billion Medicare Lie

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney Here’s how Romney put it in an interview with 60 Minutes shortly after selecting Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate: "There's only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare, $716 billion to pay for a new risky program of his own that we call Obamacare." First things first: Neither Obama...

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Romney-Ryan: Selling the Medicare Lie

Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan took the stage in The Villages with his mother Betty Ryan Douglas, 78. The Wisconsin congressman said he saw Medicare's benefits firsthand as a child when his grandmother, with Alzheimer's, moved in with his family. "My mom and I were her two primary caregivers," Ryan said before shifting to his...

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Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Gets Hair Makeover

Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber of the 2012 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Gold Medal Team ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 14, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) MadameNoire.com reports that Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas has a brand new hair...

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From Tarzan to the Kardashains: Olympians On the Big Screen

Missy Franklin Olympiad XXX draws to a close, carving new names into the record. We'll remember the U.S. gold medal swimmers, including Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Missy Franklin. Winning a medal at the Olympics has often been a springboard for Olympians to express their talents and prowess elsewhere, and it doesn't matter if you win a bronze,...

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Kill Germs, Repel Stains, But Improve Chemical Safety in Your Home

Do common household cleaning products live up to the hype? Whether or not they do isn't the real question. The more important question to ask is do these powerful chemicals adversely affect your health? As consumers, we are provided with minimal information on the toxicity of chemicals we bring into our homes on a daily basis. We know that toxic...

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Tips for Eating Healthy: Be A Kitchen Pro

Did you ever think about getting a professional to help you reach your goals? I've often wished I could afford to hire a chef to cook my meals, a personal trainer to manage my exercise program, a housekeeper to maintain my residence, and even a personal shopper to guide my shopping selections. That would make my world much easier, but my economic...

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Romney's New Campaign Targeting African Americans

The Romney campaign has released a new campaign commercial targeting African-American voters. It includes footage from Romney’s polarizing appearance at the NAACP’s annual convention in Houston. Perhaps not surprisingly, the boos the presumptive GOP nominee for president received are edited out. The overarching theme of the commercial is job creation and “getting the economy back on track.” Watch the video below and let me know if you buy the hype....

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On The Record: Meet Soledad O'Brien

Broadcast journalist María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien is anchor of CNN's morning news program Starting Point which premiered on January 2, 2012 . O'Brien co-anchored American Morning from July 2003 to April 2007, with Miles O'Brien. Their common surname is coincidental. After leaving the morning anchoring position, O'Brien worked with the...

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Donna Reed is Missing or Dead-Part Two

If you're asking, I'm answering. No folks, I'm not talking about Donna Reed, the television actress who starred in her namesake weekly show of the 1950's and '60's. That Donna Reed passed away January 14, 1986. I hope you took the journey through the television archives and met Donna Stone (The Donna Reed Show), Harriet Nelson (The Adventures of...

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Waging War on Belly Fat

If you're carrying extra pounds, you're not alone. In this case, following the crowd could be risky. While an expanding waistline is sometimes considered the price of getting older, carrying weight around the waist is a greater risk of serious health problems, even death, than accumulating fat in other areas. Belly fat is nothing to joke about. ...

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White Supremacists Convicted of Hate Crimes

Three alleged white supremacists who violently beat an African-American man while he waited at a Houston bus stop have been found guilty of a federal hate crime. On Monday, a federal jury convicted Charles Cannon, 26, Michael McLaughlin, 41, and Brian Kerstetter, 32, of a federal hate crime charge related to the racially motivated assault of 29-year-old...

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