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Ever since Sarah Palin captured the nation's attention with the juxtaposed images of her toting a baby and toting a hunting rifle, there has been a growing cadre of tough-as-nails women in our popular culture.  We see it on the big screen in the popularity of Angelina Jolie's wild spy role in SALT, to the small screen's relentless marketing campaign for shows like Covert Action.Whether large or small, these women resemble Superwoman only in their tolerance for pain, as they are catapulted off of moving trucks or thrown across rooms and emerge unscathed. They are tougher than any female superhero we have seen before, and far more complicated in their motives and their actions.More...

A New Kind of Toughness?

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It's official. China is now #2.  Its economy (measured in nominal GDP for the second quarter) is now bigger than Japan's (according to numbers released today from the Japanese government). And at the rate it's growing, China could be the world's biggest economy in a little more than a decade (Goldman Sachs says by 2027, PricewaterhouseCoopers says by 2020).Don't be misled by these numbers. The important thing isn't China's ranking, nor the total value of China's production, nor even the extraordinary speed by which China has reached #2.More...

The Truth About China As #2

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Actors and actresses stole the style spotlight last night with movie premieres and screenings all over the globe. Check out who wore what to walk the red carpet and vote for Monday's best-dressed.More...

Out & About On Monday: 'Salt' And 'The Switch' Premieres (PHOTOS, POLL)

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The "Founding Fathers" of declareindependence.org, a project of the Campaign for Fair Elections, recently embarked on a manhunt for Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) in his home district in order to highlight his "cash-for-Speaker" program.George Washington and Benjamin Franklin scoured corn fields, parking lots, golf courses and tanning salons, but found no trace of the Minority Leader, leaving the "Founding Fathers" to wonder why "John Boehner has promised VIP access to any lobbyist willing to bundle $100,000," but wasn't around to meet with his constituents.More...

'Founding Fathers' Look For John Boehner In Ohio Golf Course, Tanning Salon (VIDEO)

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Colorado is known for its active citizens and vigorous outdoor activities. However, with the summer winding down, the amount of outdoorsy summer activities is beginning to dwindle. Therefore, we have compiled a list of this weeks best active summer events to check out while the warm weather persists.From 5K runs to a citywide scavenger hunt, be sure not to miss these essential summer activities. Let us know which ones you plan on attending in the comments section below.More...

Colorado Active Events Calendar: What's Going On The Week Of August 18?

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Cutting costs is the byword of our time, but it is not always clear which expenditures are essential and which can be eliminated more painlessly. For instance, a growing number of artists and art galleries are experimenting with getting rid of printed and mailed event announcements and flyers. It is a clear source of savings and allows people to feel ecologically-conscious. In the digital era, too, a paper trail can seem superfluous, and modern, online forms of communication have offered a variety of other ways for people to be in touch. What remains to be seen is if the buying public responds to e-announcements in the same way they do to printed ones."We just started doing email announcements of our shows this past September," said San Francisco gallery owner Rena Bransten, "and it's a big cost savings." The old flyers, which needed to be designed, printed and mailed, cost the gallery between $30,000 and $36,000 per year. The gallery still hires a designer to create eye-catching announcements, but otherwise the "email announcements cost almost nothing."More...

Can E-Mails Replace Printed Exhibit Announcements?

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The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether to hear Arizona Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, a First Amendment challenge to Arizona's unconstitutional "Clean Elections" system of public funding for political campaigns.  This system provides taxpayer dollars to candidates simply because their opponent--or even an independent group--chooses to spend or raise more than a limit set by the government.  As my research shows, the effect of these "matching funds" is to punish the speech of candidates who refuse government handouts.To see how this Byzantine system works, consider a general election Arizona House race between three candidates--Alex, Bob and Carol.  Bob and Carol participate in the public funding system, but Alex does not.  Instead, Alex works hard and raises $20,000 more than Bob and Carol each receive from public funding initially.  Meanwhile, an independent group spends $10,000 apart from Alex's campaign, urging voters to elect him.  Under Arizona's system, Bob and Carol receive additional subsidies of $60,000 ($30,000 each) from the government (less a small amount to account for Alex's fundraising costs).  You read that correctly.  Alex's successful fundraising, exceeding an arbitrary government-mandated limit by $20,000, plus the decision of a group he has no control over to spend $10,000 supporting him, mean that his opponents receive nearly $60,000 in additional government funds.More...

"Clean Elections" Stifles Speech

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When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced that he was formally leaving the Republican Party, it was seemingly in label only. An impossible primary path to a Senate nomination compelled him to launch an Independent bid. On philosophical terms, he remained a fairly basic-conservative, albeit one who backed the president's stimulus package.Months later, it's becoming more and more difficult to label Crist's departure from the GOP as simply a superficial endeavor. Either out of electoral expedience or ideological disenchantment, the governor has spent the past few days either purging himself of his Republican roots or actively courting Democratic audiences.More...

Charlie Crist Moving Left: Independent Thanks God For Leaving GOP, Gets Interview With 'Bill Press Show'

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Devoid of any real competition for the Governor's mansion until either Republican Dan Maes, third-party candidate Tom Tancredo, or both drop out of the race, Democrat John Hickenlooper stayed non-controversial in his first campaign ad.  Hickenlooper, whose quirky ads helped him become Mayor of Denver in 2003, used his first ad to attack negative campaigning itself.Hickenlooper expresses his distaste for negative ads in the commercial's opening frames, saying they make him feel like he needs to take a shower.  The rest of the ad features Hickenlooper entering and leaving the shower wearing different clothes, a statement on the prevalence of attack ads in politics.More...

John Hickenlooper Hits The Showers For First Ad (VIDEO)

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SAN FRANCISCO — If you're looking for Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts or Jessica Biel online, look out!The movie stars top the latest list of the most dangerous celebrities to search for online, according to new research by computer-security software maker McAfee Inc.More...

Cameron Diaz Tops List Of Riskiest Celeb Searches