Glenn Beck Kills a Frog on Live TV

UPDATE: Apparently it was a rubber frog. That's actually pretty funny.

Nate Silver's TED Talk

As a statistician, I'm a big fan of Nate Silver. And as a curious person, I'm a big fan of the TED talks. So, needless to say, I would highly recommend watching this ten minute video.

Protests!!!!11

It's been a long summer for a lot of lawmakers. We've all heard about the town hall meetings, tea parties, and protests by now. Here's a link to a few funny protesters. (I hate to link to such a one-sided site like Huffington Post, but hey, it's funny.)

[The Huffington Post]

Here's a news story you may not have read

For at least as long as I've been alive, the Republicans have had a reputation as being stronger than Democrats on matters of national security. This notion has persisted despite many former military men being elected to office as Democrats. (Jim Webb and John Kerry immediately come to mind.) This idea was further pushed in the final days of the Bush White House as many television pundits were saying "legacy" and "kept us safe" in the same sentence.

I'm hoping Obama can at least begin to put an end to that. The headline of this story reads "U.S. Kills Top Qaeda Militant in Southern Somalia." Here's the first sentence:

NAIROBI, Kenya — American commandos killed one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa in a daylight raid in southern Somalia on Monday, according to American and Somali officials, an indication of the Obama administration’s willingness to use combat troops strategically against Al Qaeda's growing influence in the region.

This guy was responsible for the bombing of a hotel in Israel in 2002, and is suspected to have played a role in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998. I just wish this sort of thing would get reported on a little more.

Three Hundred Million Beers

[The Washington Post]

Arlen Specter is switching parties.

This is good news. He said:

Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.

Swine Flu Map

I got this from pigflumap.com. I'm not sure how accurate it is.

It's hard not to feel good...

...when you watch the now-famous Susan Boyle video. Here's the clip. Here's a great reaction.

Global Cycle Ride

Mark Doherty is an Irishman who in November, 2008, began a journey to circumnavigate the globe via bicycle. In his words,

The 'dream plan' is to cycle around the world, but the 'reality plan' will be to continue cycling as long as its fun.

Since he started biking on November 19, he's been to Wales, England, France, Italy, and by now he's probably made it to Greece. Mark keeps a blog and updates it pretty regularly.

Here's a video of the first leg of the Global Cycle Ride. (In full disclosure, it was edited by Chris Lamar, a Friend of The Dialogue.)