Iowa Caucus Or 'Glee'? One Voter Stuns Andrew Jenks

'World of Jenks' star hopes young people invest in themselves by voting in 2012.
By Andrew Jenks

Andrew Jenks
Photo: MTV News

DES MOINES, Iowa — Today, Iowans will vote in the first primary (well, caucus, actually) that could set the 2012 presidential race in all sorts of directions. Some candidates may drop out (sorry, Michele Bachmann), others may become front-runners (welcome to the big leagues, Rick Santorum). I don't know what to expect — nobody does — which is kind of what makes Iowa amazing.

But amid the building energy, I'm also kind of let down. Last night, someone looked at me as I watched a few candidates campaigning around town (it was hard not to run into a candidate in the state's capital this week) and said, "You realize there's 3 million of us. Only 120,000 vote. That's 4 percent."

Damn.

All of a sudden, I was feeling kind of hopeless. I spoke with one twentysomething and asked, "You going to vote tomorrow night?" He laughed: "There's a repeat of 'Glee' on." Wow, really? A "Glee" rerun trumps participating in one of the truly unique democratic processes our country offers?

But I am no glass-half-empty guy — I hope today, more than anything, isn't just a day when I get to see what it looks like when someone my age goes into a caucus for the first time. When they lock the doors at 7 p.m., not a minute later. When I follow a decided voter as he/she finds out who wins. Or when I follow an undecided voter as they hear each person make a case for their candidate and then make a final decision before the caucuses close at 9 p.m.

More than anything, I hope to see that people my age actually care. It makes sense that we don't trust the system, but we are hopeful about our future. So rather than relying on everyone else to decide the rest of our life, we might as well start investing in ourselves.

Plus, you can always catch "Glee" on iTunes.

MTV is on the scene in Iowa! Head to Iowa.MTV.com for all our Iowa caucus coverage, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season to follow Andrew Jenks on the campaign trail.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676681/iowa-caucus-young-voters.jhtml

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Following in Spud Webbs footsteps Dennis Rodman reportedly plans to coach a topless strip club basketball team is looking fo...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jan 2, 2012 @ 11:31pm ET)

9:00 PM: Following in Spud Webb's footsteps, Dennis Rodman reportedly plans to coach a topless strip club basketball team & is looking for talent: "You don't have to have too much experience, just know how to throw the ball into the hole."

8:45 PM: Oregon defeated Wisconsin 45-38 for the Ducks' first Rose Bowl win since 1917. The Ducks & Badgers also set a new Rose Bowl record for most combined points scored in the game.

8:30 PM: During his dad's post-bowl press conference, the toddler son of Houston Cougars coach Tony Levine picked his nose & ate what he found. Young Eli Levine may soon get a job with the Wisconsin football staff.

8:15 PM: Tennessee Volunteers receiver Da'Rick Rogers tweets after the loss of coaches Justin Wilcox & Peter Sirmon to Washington: "So many recruits lost today ... wish I could tell you otherwise fellas .. but that's whats goin on here."

8:00 PM: Baylor assistant AD Heath Nielsen tweets that Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III does not have a Twitter account & any that do exist are fakes.

7:45 PM: New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck on the reputation of the Atlanta Falcons' offensive line: "Most people, you would call them dirt bags. But it is what it is .... You got to protect yourself and hopefully the referees have 20-20 vision this week."

7:30 PM: An MRI on Chicago Bears LB Brian Urlacher's knee revealed damage to his MCL & PCL, but no surgery will be necessary.

7:15 PM: SI's Peter King on Tony Dungy possibly being interested in any NFL or college job openings: "Doesn't want to coach right now. Trust me."

7:00 PM: Oregon & Wisconsin set yet another Rose Bowl record with 56 combined points in the first half, topping the 45 points Wisconsin & UCLA scored in 1999.

6:45 PM: After Wisconsin RB Montee Ball tied his NCAA single season TD record, Barry Sanders tweeted: "wow - I was actually trending on TWITTER... Makes an old man feel young again"

6:30 PM: Oregon RB De'Anthony Thomas set a new Rose Bowl record with his 91-yard TD run against Wisconsin, while both teams set another Rose Bowl record with 28 combined points in the first quarter.

6:15 PM: Twitvid & an animated gif of Wisconsin tight ends coach Joe Rudolph appearing to pick his nose & eat what he found during the Rose Bowl.

6:00 PM: The agent for New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien says that any talk of his client signing an imminent deal to take over at Penn State "is just off-base."

5:45 PM: Denver Broncos coach John Fox is asking fans not to sell their seats to Steelers fans for next weekend's home playoff game.

5:30 PM: Bob Anderson, a former Olympic swordsman who played Darth Vader during the original "Star Wars" trilogy lightsaber fight scenes, died Sunday at the age of 89.

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=32296

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Santorum, Romney gain fans on Facebook

Socialbakers

Screenshot of Mitt Romney's latest fan gains on Facebook

By Athima Chansanchai

While the political focus of the country is trained on Iowa ??where tomorrow the Republican caucuses will give the rest of the nation an idea of who will emerge as the favored Republican presidential candidate ??eyes trained on Facebook will find Mitt Romney with the most fans, but Rick Santorum with the most recent uptick in fans, up 22.6 percent.?

Social media statisticians?Socialbakers have created a microsite for gauging Facebook fans' of the presidential candidates, and which ones are gaining and losing fans, whose fans are commenting the most (and with whom), as well as what they're saying to their fans.

Sitting president Barack Obama has the most fans on Facebook, by a comfortable margin: 24.3 million to runner-up Romney, with 1.26 million. But Romney has about twice as many fans as third-place Ron Paul, with 672,483.?

Santorum has had the biggest lift recently, up nearly 23 percent, but that still only leaves him with 40,816 fans.

In much of the way social media mirrors debates all over the country, Romney and Paul's fans are neck and neck in engaging with their candidates' on their Facebook pages, and Paul's Facebook page is especially vocal with his fans, with nearly 3,000 comments. On the other end of engagement is Santorum's Facebook page, with only 63 comments.?

We'll find out soon enough if what we see on Facebook reflects the contenders in the upcoming presidential race.

See the rest of Socialbakers' findings below:

Socialbakers

Socialbakers infographic of presidential candidates on Facebook

More stories:

Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/02/9899011-on-facebook-obama-reigns-but-santorum-romney-making-big-gains

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Ranger killed in Mount Rainier Nat'l Park shooting (AP)

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. ? A Mount Rainier National Park ranger was fatally shot Sunday following a routine traffic stop, and authorities closed the 368-square-mile park in Washington state as they searched for the armed gunman, a park spokeswoman said.

The ranger was identified as 34-year-old Margaret Anderson. She had set up a vehicle as a roadblock on a park road just before the shooting, which happened at about 11 a.m. near the Longmire Ranger Station in the southwestern part of the park, Lee Taylor said.

Ed Troyer, a Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman, said his department received a report around 11:30 a.m. of shots fired in the park and a ranger in need of help.

When authorities arrived, Troyer said, they also encountered gunfire, but no one else was hit. Authorities removed Anderson from the park and found that she was dead, Troyer said.

Authorities believe the gunman is still in the woods with an assault rifle. They are asking people to stay away from the park, and for those already inside the park to leave. Authorities were stopping and questioning people as they departed.

Troyer said his department has received reports of cars with bullet holes. He did not have further details and said communication was limited because there is no cellphone service in the park.

Park superintendent Randy King said that Anderson is a mother of two young daughters who has served as a park ranger for about four years. King said Anderson's husband also was working as a ranger elsewhere in the park at the time of the shooting.

"It's just a huge tragedy ? for the family, the park and the park service," he said.

The shooting occurred on an unseasonably sunny and mild New Year's Day. The park, which offers miles of wooded trails and spectacular vistas from which to see 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, draws between 1.5 million and 2 million visitors each year.

The Longmire station served as headquarters when the national park was established in 1899. Park headquarters have moved but the site still contains a museum, a hotel, restaurant and gift shop, which are open year-round.

The Washington State Patrol also was helping with the investigation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120101/ap_on_re_us/us_mount_rainier_shooting

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No. 15 Franklin hands Alma College a loss

By Morning Sun Sports

FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Alma College women's basketball team fell to 3-9 on the season Friday as the Scots lost to No. 15 Franklin 69-52.

The Scots struggled offensively as they shot just 33 percent from the field (20-of-59) and 21 percent from 3-point land (3-of-14) while turning the ball over 19 times.

Franklin (11-0) had just 10 turnovers in the game and shot 47 percent from the field (25-of-53).

Danielle Hicks had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Alma College on the day while four other Scots had eight points. Grace Wheeler and Mallory Pruett each had eight points and five rebounds.

Franklin was led by Lindsey Dall, who had 19 points and five rebounds.

Alma College will return to action on Wednesday when they host Albion at 6 p.m.

Source: http://themorningsun.com/articles/2011/12/31/sports/srv0000016426490.txt

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Lawsuit seeks to get Gingrich on Va. ballot (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/180772623?client_source=feed&format=rss

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93% Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

As a young child, my best friend was my stuffed Elmo toy. I took him everywhere and told him everything. My friends loved him, my family did, we all just loved Elmo. But until now, I never thought about why. Why did I love Elmo so much? Why is he so instantly lovable, and how was he created? What brilliant performer created the best friend of billions of children? Well my friends, be ready to be answered and moved by this lovely documentary.Being Elmo follows the career of Kevin Clash: a kid from Baltimore who loved puppets. When he got older, Kevin started to build his own muppets and was featured on local TV. As Kevin got better and better, he felt limited by his position. Then he met muppet builder Kermit Love (creator of Big bird, Snuffy, and Ms. Piggy), who taught Kevin everything he knew. After meeting Jim Henson, Kevin was well on his way to becoming the legend he is. And of course, the rest is history.Ok, I know that it looks like I gave the whole movie away, but I only outlined it. Kevin's journey through the world of puppeteering is so deep and interesting that there's no way I could cover it in a paragraph. Anyway, part of what makes the story so great is that Kevin is one of the best examples of someone who followed their dreams. He had real talent in a weird field and he made it through 100% pure hard work. He's never arrogant, never outspoken, and always thankful. Kevin is such a good person, you can see Elmo in him.Now, I don't consider myself a super macho dude, but I have my pride. And I am discarding that right now because I'm admitting that this movie made me cry. It wasn't sad, and I didn't cry a lot, but I cried. I remembered how much Sesame Street meant to me, and how amazing it is that Kevin Clash makes millions of kids believe they are loved by Elmo. Then there's the scene where all the muppets, including Elmo and friends, sing "Saying Goodbye" at Jim Henson's funeral. I dare you not to choke up.Being Elmo is special. It is a rare documentary that doesn't uncover political corruption or be pro environmentalism that isn't about a historical figure. Like Anvil last year, Being Elmo tells a story about someone who never, ever gave up. It's effective, informative, interesting, touching, and of course inspiring. Why does it work so well? To paraphrase one of the interviewed puppeteers: Elmo is love, and he loves you unconditionally. And you know what, I love him right back. Always.

November 17, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/being_elmo_a_puppeteers_journey/

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