New RNC Chairman Named

In a last ditch effort to show that their party is indeed diverse the Republicans have picked Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, to chair the Republican National Committee. Steele will be the first African American to hold the position.

Republicans have also announced that they will be replacing house minority leader John Boehner with Saved By The Bell Star Mario Lopez.

Friday Poll

Well Friday has rolled around once again which means it's poll day!

With Superbowl Sunday in two days, I think I'll give this week's poll over to my sports fanatic friends and ask Who do you want to win the Superbowl this year?

The Pittsburgh Steelers?
or
The Arizona Cardinals?

STD's in the Red States

Wow big shocker apparently STD rates are higher in red states than they are in blue ones. And people thought abstinence only education was working.

The Lilly Ledbetter Act

President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter act into law today. The new law gives women the right to file a lawsuit against the company they are working for, if they discover that they are being paid less than their male counterparts because of their gender. Prior to the act being signed into law women only had 180 days after they started their job to sue for pay discrimination, but the new law gives women 360 days to to file suit after finding out that they have been discriminated against.

Lilly Ledbetter had been working for many years as a supervisor at a General Motors plant in Alabama when she found that she was earning much less than her male co-workers, who performed the same tasks as she did. Ledbetter filed a suit against GM, and the case was taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court who then rejected her case 5-4, because she did not sue within the 180 day time limit.

Unfortunately the new law is not retroactive, and Ledbetter will not see any money from this new ruling, but President Obama signing this bill into law is a giant step forward for all women in the workplace. However, it is disgusting to me that it took until 2009 for this law to be put on the books.

Baby Bump

The View co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck is expecting her third child with football player husband Tim Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck announced her pregnancy this morning on The View. She is due in August.

White House Bambino?

Perez Hilton posted this blurb yesterday about the rumor swirling around DC that First Lady Michelle Obama is preggo. I think it would be very exciting if she were, but in my honest opinion I do not think she is. If she were pregnant then why was she drinking what looked like champagne at the inauguration?

What do you think? Is Michelle Obama pregnant?

If You Give a Republican a Drink...He's gonna vote No on your Economic Stiumulus Package

The House approved of an 819 Billion dollar economic stimulus package last night, without a single Republican vote. I don't get it Republicans Obama opened up his home and his liquor cabinet to you, and you can't even open your wallets you bastards!

Business Casual

Every morning I make a strawberry and banana smoothie, and then I sit down to read the New York Times. This morning I came across this great article on the front page. The article basically describes how the Obama White House is a lot less formal then the Bush White House was. In the Bush White House one could not even enter the Oval Office without a coat and tie on, in the Obama White House aides are allowed to wear khakis if they so desire.

Also while Bush's schedule was strictly regimented, meetings started early and ended early, Obama's meetings start on time, and end late. The article even describes a time when former Secretary of State Colin Powell was locked out of a meeting by then President Bush because he was a few minutes late. For those of you who know me personally, you can assume that if I had been a part of the Bush administration I would have found myself face to face with a locked door on a daily basis.

As much as I already love the new administration, this article made me love it even more. I love that in a time when there are serious issues at hand, we don't have a President who is wasting time on stupid formalities such as dress code. I mean the Bush administration once wasted an entire 15 minutes just to chew out an aide for wearing a sweater and not the standard coat and tie into the Oval Office on a Saturday, no wonder the Bush administration was such a failure.

House to Vote on $825 Billion Dollar Economic Stimulus Plan

According to CNN.com the House is expected to vote tonight on the $825 billion dollar stimulus plan that according to President Obama is needed in order to curb rampant job loss. (www.cnn.com) While the bill is expected to pass, many House Republicans have complained that the bill is too costly, and the tax cuts included in it do not go far enough.


Well that's enough with my news jargon, would someone who knows what they're talking about please explain this plan to me? I was not an economics major in college, nor am I the greatest with numbers so I would very much appreciate an explanation!

I also received an email today from The Planned Parenthood Action Committee saying that, ''provisions to expand access to affordable family planning will be stripped from the economic stimulus bill"

So essentially I am just really confused about exactly is included in this bill, and what it will mean for Americans.

Clip of the Day

This clip from CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer was posted on Gawker this morning.

Bennifer, Brange, & Marack?

I stumbled upon this blurb this morning while cruising my favorite website, Jezebel. Apparently some people have taken it upon themselves to start calling the first couple Marack? I am assuming these are the same fools who brought you the word Billary (Bill & Hilary), but at least that was clever, because the Obama's couple name isn't even good! For a great couple name you have to mix both partners names equally, and the only part of Michelle that is in that name is the M. Now if Barack and I were a couple it would be perfect, because my nickname is Mar but, sadly that is not the case. So for Barack and Michelle the chosen nickname of Marack is just sucky. I would go for something like Barchelle or MIRAK (as in the car dealership in the Boston area), but because I think it's stupid to give the first couple a nickname, I will not be referring to them by anything but their given names. Although doesn't Laurge (Laura & George) have a nice ring to it?

The Scoop

-After Sunday Night's SAG awards SAG award winner Alec Baldwin asked asked fellow SAG award winner Meryl Streep if she would appear on 30 Rock, and apparently she said "Yes!"

-Jennifer Aniston is reportedly one of the presenters at the Oscar's this year. Hey at least we know she wont be presenting the award for Best Actress. (Angelina is nominated in that category this year)

-Sarah Palin has formed a PAC, which I guess means we'll be seeing more of our favorite moose hunting you betcha talking Alaskan in 2012. Goodie!

Sources:
Jezebel
Gawker
The Superficial

Trivia Tuesday!

Well it's finally Tuesday, and that means it's trivia day!! I have composed three questions in three separate categories, today's categories are movies, television, and sports. Leave your answers by leaving a comment using your Gmail account. Remember no cheating, and the winner of today's contest will get a prize!

Movies
-For what movie did actress Kate Winslet earn her first Oscar nomination?

Television
-What 1980's television show featured Bronson Pinchot and Mark-Linn Banker as two roommates with opposite personalities?

Sports

-What baseball player was the American League recipient of the 2008 Rookie of the year award?

Real Women Have Curves

I am by no means a Jessica Simpson fan, in fact I find her extremely annoying and only minimally talented. But, today I read this post on Perez Hilton, and I was extremely offended. Jessica Simpson performed at a concert in Florida over the weekend, and she clearly had gained some weight. In my opinion she looks great, she looks just as a woman of her proportions should look, but Perez took it upon himself to call her 'fat'. And I ask this of Perez as a giant lard ass yourself, who the hell are you to call anyone fat? And If J. Simp is fat then that makes 98% of all American women fat! Jessica Simpson may not be a Hollywood toothpick, but in my opinion that look is disgusting! I have not and never will find a protruding spine even remotely attractive, although apparently that is hot in Hollywood. And with so many young women who visit Perez Hilton each day, what kind of message is he sending to all women, who struggle with weight issues and body image on a daily basis. Only in the diluted mind of Hollywood is being a size 0 with EEEE boobs considered hot. In reality it is unhealthy and disgusting. I applaud Jessica Simpson for being comfortable enough in her own skin to look like an actual human being and not an object that you would hang your coat or hat on.

Como Se Dice "Gross"?

I stumbled upon this blurb on Jezebel this morning (http://jezebel.com/5138922/berlusconi-italian-women-need-military-protection-because-they-are-so-beautiful_
)

Apparently sleazy Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made another offensive remark. After announcing a plan to put 300,000 soldiers onto the streets of Italian cities in an attempt to curb a recent spike in violent crime Berlusconi proclaimed "We would need so many soldiers because our women are so beautiful."

So for those of you who miss Bushisms, I suggest you start reading the Italian papers, because I think Berlusconi's comments can give you the fix you crave.

Friday Poll Results

Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The results from Friday's poll are as follows.

JFK emerged the winner with 4 votes
William Howard Taft with 1 vote
Martin Van Buren with 1 vote

And there you have it. Stay tuned for this friday when I will have a new poll question!

Friday Poll

Okay Kids so today is Friday, that means marmusings poll day!! In honor of Tuesday having been inauguration day, this week's poll asks: Who was our best looking President?

Would you have loved running your hands through George Washington's wig? Or would you not have been able to resist the allure of Ulysses S. Grant's wild beard? Tell me your answers over the weekend, and I will post results on Monday! You can either comment on this entry using your gmail account, or simply IM or facebook message me! I look forward to hearing from you! May the hottest President win!

Awesome

Earlier today President Obama signed an executive order reversing the ban on providing federal funds for groups that either perform abortions, or supply information on them.

Thank you President Obama for taking us out of the dark age in which we had been living. Now if only Barack had some sort of way to perform an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" on the the past eight years, and we as a country could just forget that Bush was ever President.

If I ever get Famous, Remind me Never to Hire a Bodyguard

Angelina Jolie's ex-bodyguard is in the process of writing a "tell-all" book about his time with Angelina, apparently he wants to tell the world what we all already knew, that Angelina and Brad were (alright get ready for it) getting it on, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston (Okay I know that is shocking, so just let it seep in before you continue reading). Wow what a big surprise, maybe I should pretend that I was a bodyguard for Amy Winehouse and write a "tell-all" in which I reveal that Wino is a crack addict, oh but wait we all already knew this.

The Case of the $180,000 Wardrobe

Remember in the 2008 election when the Republicans spent $180,000 giving their Vice Presidential candidate and her family a makeover. And remember when that same candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, told the media that the clothes she received from the RNC would be going directly to charity after the election? Well unless you consider the RNC headquarters a charity (although with the state the Republicans are in right now, I guess maybe the RNC could count as a charity) those clothes have yet to be donated. According to The Huffington Post/New Majority the candidates campaign clothes are literally sitting in trash bags at the RNC.

Who?

Some Congresswoman who I have never heard of, Kirsten Gillibrand, is expected to be appointed today by New York Governor David Paterson to Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat. Alright now that, that dilemma is over, lets focus on finally getting Al Franken to DC! Norm Coleman please drop it, you lost!

He's Just Not That Into You

After being pushed back from an original release date in October, the movie single girls everywhere have been waiting for, "He's Just Not That Into You" is set to debut in mega-plexes on Friday February 6th just in time for us ladies to spend our Valentines Day stag, sitting in a dark theater ogling Bradley Cooper (or maybe thats just me).

While the movie shares the same title as the book, the book is actually a member of the self-help genre, so the movie basically just shares a name and little else. Now I am excited to see this movie, but the book in my opinion sucks. I am sorry but I do not need to spend money on a book that will tell me everything I already know. OF COURSE I know that if a guy is not calling, texting, or IM-ing me that he is just not that into me! But some of us girls like to live in a place called la la land where there's a perfectly legitimate excuse for why the guy is not contacting us, for example maybe he is on a very important top secret space mission, and for that reason cannot get in touch with us! Okay I am kidding about that, but I cant for the life of me come to the conclusion that everything is so black and white when it comes to girl-guy relations. I mean yes most of the time I agree, and from my experience I can say that when a guy is not making an effort to contact you it does essentially mean that you are not floating his boat, that you are not the apple of his eye, and he will not be showing up to your sister's wedding after the Chinese foreign exchange student tells him that you are the one getting married (Sixteen Candles anyone?), etc etc, but that does not mean it's true for every girl and guy, so I don't think people should take the book so seriously. It is not a bible for relationships, because there are exceptions to every rule.

"He's Just Not That Into You" comes out February 6th, and stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Bradley Cooper, ScarJo, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, and Justin Long. Okay so basically it stars everyone on the planet except for your dog that died last year.

PS: If you did actually have a dog who died last year, I mean absolutely no offense. And I am sorry for your loss.

The Oath of Office Pt. 2?

When President Obama was re-sworn in yesterday after the flub made by Chief Justice Roberts at Tuesday's inaugural ceremonies he became a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in America. The club of Presidents who have had to re-take the oath of office. The first President to do so was Chester Arthur in 1881, who was sworn in first in NYC by the Chief Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, but Arthur then re took the oath in DC, because he felt it had more federal jurisdiction that way. In 1923 Calvin Coolidge was sworn in by his father in Vermont, but his father's legitimacy as a notary was questioned, so Coolidge was sworn in again. An exclusive club it may be, but lets face it neither Coolidge nor Arthur are considered to be great Presidents, so lets hope Obama fares better than those two!

Oh and my favorite Obama administration cutie, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (yeah yeah I know about the gawker vote declaring Rahm Emmanuel the admin hottie, but seriously ROBERT GIBBS PEOPLE!!) held his first press briefing today, and he was brilliant!! We finally have a Press Secretary who most likely knows what the Cuban Missile Crisis was, yes I'm talking to you Dana Perino!

However, many in the press are angry that television cameras were not allowed into the room when President Obama took the oath of office for the second time.

Barry O. eclipses LBJ

The Washington Post is reporting that the inauguration of President Obama drew nearly 1.8 million people to the National Mall this bests the previous inauguration record of the 1.2 million who gathered in 1965 to witness the swearing-in of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

And the oscar goes to.....ME!!

Oscar nominations were announced this morning! Listed Below are the nominees in each category:

Best Picture:

• Frost/Nixon -( Have yet to see it, but I have heard it's phenomenal. The academy loves Ron Howard so I am not surprised to see this movie on here)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Loved it, I cried of course, although its 13 nominations seem to be a bit undeserved, there were better movies this year..i.e. MILK)
• Milk (AMAZING favorite movie that I have seen this year, run do not walk to see this movie!)
• Slumdog Millionaire (Another brilliant movie, although the song and dance scene at the end was a bit bizarre, but I think that was some sort of reference to Bollywood)
• The Reader. (I don't know too much about this film other than that Kate Winslet is the star, which by default makes it a good flick)

Mar's Commentary on Best Picture Noms: Um where is The Dark Knight??? I am also surprised to see The Wrestler is not on this list, given the reviews were amazing. But I am rooting for Milk all the way, but given the Academy voted for "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain" I am not holding my breath.

Best Actor:

• Sean Penn (Milk) (Brilliant performance by Penn, you forget that you're watching Sean Penn)
  
• Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) (I NEED TO SEE THIS MOVIE!)
  
• Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) (I need to see this movie!!)
  
• Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
  
• Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) (No comment here since I really just dont like Brad Pitt, although he was good in this movie I guess)
  

Mar's Commentary on Best Actor Noms: I am not surprised to see that Leonardo DiCaprio was left off this list, while I have not seen Revolutionary Road, the film was quite buzzed about, yet DiCaprio does not seem to be favored by the Academy, which is weird because I consider him to be a far superior actor to Brad Pitt. I imagine Tommy Cruise is somewhere crying because no one nominated Valkyrie for anything, "BUT I EVEN WORE AN EYE PATCH!!"

Best Actress:

• Kate Winslet (The Reader) - Kate Winslet is the new Meryl
  
• Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)- Why I have not yet seen this movie is a mystery
  
• Meryl Streep (Doubt)-Meryl Streep could be filmed staring at a wall and she'd still get nominated for Best Actress
  
• Angelina Jolie (Changeling) -The academy must have been like hey if we nominate brad lets nominate Angelina too, but mar says: WHERE IS MADDOX's NOMINATION!!?!??
  
• Melissa Leo (Frozen River)- Am I a bad person for having never heard of either this actress, or this movie?
  

Best Supporting Actor:

• Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)-The other nominees should just not even bother to show up, because this category is in the bag for Ledger
  
• Josh Brolin (Milk)-I love Josh Brolin, even his performance in the widely panned "W" I thought was brilliant
  
• Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
• Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder) - One of the best actors out there right now
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)-Amazing actor, I have loved him ever since "Twister"

Best Supporting Actress:

• Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)-My parents saw this movie, and loved it. I'm not sure if their endorsement means I should see it. no offense
  
• Amy Adams (Doubt)-I love Amy Adams!! I believe this is her 2nd nomination after Junebug (but someone please correct me if I am wrong here)
  
• Viola Davis (Doubt)
• Taraji P. Henderson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)-She was great in this movie, I loved her performance. I hope we will be seeing more of her in the future
  
• Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)-If she wins, will people think the presenter messed up again? Like they did when she won for "My Cousin Vinny"

Best Director:

• David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)- I think Fincher has this one in the bag..although Danny Boyle may surprise us
  
• Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)-toss up with Fincher
  
• Gus Van Sant (Milk)- Long shot, but I HOPE HE WINS!!
  
• Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) - is there anyone who doesnt love Ron Howard, I mean seriously the guy is freaking adorable!
  
• Stephen Daldry (The Reader)

And there you have it for the major categories and nominees. Of course there are other categories, but please go look elsewhere for those since I am far too lazy to list the nominees for categories such as best sound. Although I will give a shout out to "Bolt" which was nominated in the best animated feature category, my niece Sammy loved "Bolt" so I hope it wins for her sake. Although my love of Pandas causes me to root for "Kung Fu Panda." Okay kids mar is tired from typing so I am signing off! have a good morning!!

Hillary's Seat Remains Open

It looks as though Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn her bid for Hillary Clinton's senate seat. As many of you probably know her Uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) suffered a seizure yesterday during President Obama's inaugural luncheon with members of congress. Senator Kennedy has been undergoing treatment for brain cancer since May.

Senator Kennedy's poor health is said to be the reason for Caroline withdrawing her hat from the ring, but some publications are reporting that Caroline withdrew after learning that NY Governor David Paterson would not be picking her to replace outgoing Senator/incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/24/caroline-kennedy-clinton_n_148671.html

Good Night and Good Luck

With President Obama now in office, I had been wondering if Keith Olbermann would continue to end his show with the number of days it has been since former President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq. I didn't have to wait long to get my answer, Olbermann signed off last night saying something to the effect of, 'even though there is a new administration the troops arent home yet.' So there you have it, until the troops return home Olbermann will continue with his signature sign off.

Have I Missed the Boat?

So tonight is the season premiere of Lost, I know this thanks to the plethora of Facebook profiles and away messages proclaiming "LOST TONIGHT WOOHOO!" Anyways all of this hooplah over the Lost premiere has gotten me thinking, as a self-professed pop-culture junkie I find it strange that I have never gotten into so many crazes that have swept the nation. Along with never having watched an entire episode of Lost, I never got past page 5 of the first Harry Potter book, and don't even get me started on the Twilight series!

Now I know my lack of interest in these things does not make me abnormal, but as someone who obsesses over my knowledge of all things pop culture I still feel weird that I haven't jumped on any of these bandwagons.