By Justin Swibel on November 6, 2010

In Government: The Obama Administration: Obama Remarks On Midterm Elections
While the deadlock resulting from this week’s mid-term elections doesn’t spell ‘great news’ for the next two years for either Democrats or Republicans, the press conference in which President Obama weathers a heavy shower of accusatory questions provides food for thought for politically-minded folk. Obama squirms in a sea of aggressive and abrasive (unfair?) journalists. Like many before him, the President fails to do much beyond assuming a vague, personal blame. On the other hand, when it comes to policy, Obama seems unwavering, assuming a still enthusiastic stance toward his ten-billion dollar high-speed railway initiative, among other plans. For a supposed opponent of partisanship, Obama sure seems stubborn. Nobody likes to lose, but it’s sure fun to watch in a sad sort of way.

In Science: Do Positive People Live Longer?
It is official. Harry Belafonte’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” has credence beyond the realm of common sense. Thinking happy thoughts translates to increased wellness and longevity, at least according to a few studies recently performed by reputable sources from Mayo Clinic, Yale University, and Carnegie Mellon University. This is excellent news for pretty much every positive person out there. We all have the ability to use our state of mind as means to change the way we feel, both physically and emotionally, and now science will back up what always seemed to be mere New Age thinking. That’s right. Just thinking happy thoughts can help you beat the common cold.

In Technology: Online services security report card
A think tank called Digital Society has shed important light on the lacking security of ever popular social networking websites including Facebook and Twitter. Said websites both received an ‘F’ on their report cards, indicating that our worse fears are in fact true. When it seems like you’re sacrificing your privacy, and it looks like you’re sacrificing your privacy, wouldn’t you know it? You’re sacrificing your privacy. Your account information is not protected and any hacker worth his or her salt can find you, your friends, and everything you ‘like’ without much effort. Creepy, to be sure. Perhaps this report will cause us to start taking our personal information a little less for granted.

In News: Olbermann suspension ignites debate
A political indiscretion on the part of MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann has caused his boss, network president Phil Griffin, to suspend him indefinitely without pay. Surprisingly, it’s inter-office politics that are at play here. A failure to abide by a provision that requires employees to obtain company approval before making private campaign donations has landed the liberal newsman in the penalty box with no clear end in sight. Perhaps Olbermann’s position as a free-flowing pundit went to his head, convincing him that donations he made to three democratic candidates in this week’s election would go unpunished. In any case, what a contemporary holding a grudge might do when one makes him or herself vulnerable by abandoning protocol argues for a clear conscience, free of hubris and carelessness. Every step counts.

In Entertainment: Zach Galifianakis Came To Party
HBO’s comedy panel show “Real Time with Bill Maher” featured as a guest actor/comedian Zach Galifianakis, among others, this past Sunday night. Something unprecedented on television occurred when during a debate about the bill seeking to broadly legalize recreational Marijuana in California, Galifianakis lit and smoked a joint on the show’s set. The actor explained that he “toked” on camera in order to illustrate that cannabis, labeled by the DEA as a narcotic and widely classified as a hallucinogen, has mild, non-dangerous effects on its users. How used to the effects of the drug Galifianakis is remained unclear, so his point became somewhat muddled and represented no more than a daring political gesture. Still, this casual happening marks an historic moment in television history. Mainstream celebrities are now smoking joints on HBO. Times are changing.