Oops!

“Don’t talk to me right now!”

“I’m sorry, you’re like a superhero.”

Americans just aren’t head over heels for hipsters – those independent thinking, indie rock-loving, vintage clothes-wearing Bohemians often found in places like the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

A new poll by Public Policy Polling found that only 16 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the subculture, while just 23 percent of Americans believe that hipsters make a positive cultural contribution to society.

Republicans are even less enamored by the Urban Outfitters-wearing, progressive-thinking subculture, with a mere eight percent of them having a favorable opinion of hipsters. Moreover, six in ten Republicans believe that hipsters “soullessly appropriate culture tropes from the past for their own ironic amusement.”

Americans’ opinion of hipsters also decreases dramatically with age. Four in ten Millennials have a favorable opinion of hipsters, who largely make up the members of the subculture. On the contrary, only six percent of senior citizens have a favorable opinion of hipsters today.

Sorry, I don’t know how much you’re paying for this.

Red = happy

Blue = sad

Forward.

A soldier who lost all four limbs when a roadside bomb exploded in 2009 has undergone a double arm transplant.

Brendan Marrocco, a 26-year-old from New York, had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday.

He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel approach is aimed at helping his body accept the new limbs with minimal medication to prevent rejection.

The military is sponsoring operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in the wars.

“He was the first quad amputee to survive” from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there have been four others since then, said Brendan Marrocco’s father, Alex Marrocco. “He was really excited to get new arms.”

What a hero! Not only did he survive the bombing but now he has survived the double arm transplant. Amazing.

Due to the high cost of corn and feed prices, chicken companies produced 1 percent fewer birds than last year, meaning we have a chicken wing shortage on our hands this year. Huffington Post reported that the supermarket cost of a pound of chicken rose in cost by over $1.97 from last year’s price. So that chicken you bought last year at $0.55/per pound is now going to cost you a whopping $2.52/per pound.

“Chicken companies produced about 1 percent fewer birds last year, due in large part to record high corn and feed prices,” Said Bill Roenigk, chief economist and market analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based National Chicken Council.  “Corn makes up more than two-thirds of chicken feed and corn prices hit an all-time high in 2012, due to two reasons:  last summer’s drought and pressure from a federal government requirement that mandates 40 percent of our corn crop be turned into fuel in the form of ethanol.  Simply put, less corn equals higher feed costs, which means fewer birds produced.”

Experts say no matter where you get your chicken, there is still a shortage, which means if you head out last-minute to get your wings, you may be stuck wing-less.

No chicken wings for the Super Bowl? Come on! I’m blaming this all on ethanol production. I’m sure Erika Johnson would agree.

And according to PolitiFact (and the FBI) it’s true.

Our ruling

The post uses data selectively, ignoring the significant role of handguns in gun violence. But the statistics it mentions are solid. FBI data backs up the Facebook post’s claim that in 2011, more people were murdered with knives, “hands or feet” or “clubs and hammers” than with any type of rifle. We rate the statement True.

You can read the whole assessment here.

Something stinks on Capitol Hill and it has nothing to do with usual suspect, Congress.

It’s more basic: There are going to be far fewer porta-potties at President Obama’s second Inauguration than his first. And while crowd estimates for Monday’s event are less than half the 1.8 million who flooded the Mall in 2009, the bathroom count has been cut by about two-thirds, meaning potentially long lines at the portable restrooms.

“It could be a pissy Inauguration,” said John Banzhaf, the George Washington University professor whose urgings in 2009 led to more porta-potties for the president’s first Inauguration.

Dubbed the “Father of Potty Parity” for his previous potty patrol efforts, he is calling for more facilities for the Inauguration.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee told Secrets that there will be a total of 1,500 porta-potties on the Mall, many by the Capitol where the crowds will be concentrated. There were over 5,000 in 2009, and some news accounts reported 7,000 porta-potties.

According to an online calculator of one of the two major firms supplying the restrooms, United Site Services, 3,400-4,300 porta-potties would be needed for the expected crowd of 600,000-800,000.

It’s going to be cold Monday. The cold weather, coffee and hot chocolate combined with a lack of facilities is bound to get frustrating and probably painful.

Adorable Baby Crashes Daddy’s Concert from coffey on GodTube.

Filmmaker Michael Moore’s (search) bodyguard was arrested for carrying an unlicensed weapon in New York’s JFK airport Wednesday night.

Police took Patrick Burke, who says Moore employs him, into custody after he declared he was carrying a firearm at a ticket counter. Burke is licensed to carry a firearm in Florida and California, but not in New York. Burke was taken to Queens central booking and could potentially be charged with a felony for the incident.

Moore’s 2003 Oscar-winning film “Bowling for Columbine” criticizes what Moore calls America’s “culture of fear” and its obsession with guns.

Moore, who always pretends he isn’t filthy rich, can afford to hire armed protection (does this count as being “obsessed with guns”) yet doesn’t believe in allowing those less fortunate than him to protect themselves with firearms. The hypocrisy is hurting my head. Since the tragedy in Connecticut last week, Michael Moore has been demanding more gun control.

UPDATE: Here is a more recent video of Michael Moore and his gun hypocrisy from 2008. Moore explains that he owns a gun because he opened a bank account and in return received a free gun. He then proceeds to say he wants to raffle it off for a good cause. Why? He doesn’t need it because he has security. He had it then and he has it now.

“I don’t think that uh…I have enough security that I don’t really need to worry about that.”

With this logic, I’m sure Bloomberg feels the same way about his armed body guards; that the guns they carry to protect him “do nothing.”

BOB COSTAS: On Sunday night at half-time of the NFL game, I noted quoting Jason Whitlock who is now with FOX Sports, used to be Kansas City Star, quoting him saying that there is a gun culture in the United States that is corrosive. How do you see it?

CHARLES BARKLEY: I think especially in the black community, I don’t know if it’s a gun culture, it’s a crime culture. You know, we as black people always, we don’t have respect for one another. You know, we’ve got more black men in prison than we do in college and crime in our neighborhoods is running rampant. And I know everybody reacts when something like the Belcher thing happens but being black, this is something you deal with all the time. And it’s just sad. I’m a guy, I carry a real gun. I carry a real gun.

COSTAS: You live in Arizona where you can legally carry a gun.

BARKLEY: Even when I lived in Philadelphia, I’ve had a gun, I’ve carried a real gun in my car every year in my life since I was 22, 21. Never had to use it.

COSTAS: Are you packing right now? Just being sure.

BARKLEY: No, no no. I can beat you and John.

COSTAS: So you assess the situation. Whether you need an equalizer or not.

BARKLEY: I don’t think I would need it with you two. But I would never, I shouldn’t say never. I just feel safer with it because we have jocks that get robbed all the time. Road rage and things like that, I feel a sense of peace when I have it when me.

But it would take extreme circumstances to even touch it.

Barkley’s last line is key, especially since Costas argued on Sunday that having a gun only escalates a situation (which isn’t true). People who understand and respect firearms know that the use of one against another person should be a last resort option.

For more on the gun culture in America, read my column over at Townhall.

Since 2009, the Gallup polling firm has surveyed people in 150 countries and territories on, among other things, their daily emotional experience. Their survey asks five questions, meant to gauge whether the respondent felt significant positive or negative emotions the day prior to the survey. The more times that people answer “yes” to questions such as “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?”, the more emotional they’re deemed to be.

Gallup has tallied up the average “yes” responses from respondents in almost every country on Earth. The results, which I’ve mapped out above, are as fascinating as they are indecipherable. The color-coded key in the map indicates the average percentage of people who answered “yes.” Dark purple countries are the most emotional, yellow the least. Here are a few takeaways.

“Nothin’s for free, not even lunch.”

 Golden “Twinkie” Cake:

2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray molds/pan with non-stick spray.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Next, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute in between each addition. Reduce the mixer speed and add flour mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix until the batter just comes together. Over mixing with make your cake chewy. Makes 12 cakes.

Spray your Twinkie canoes and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until the cakes are just a light golden color and a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Cream Filling

¼ cup shortening (I prefer Crisco brand)
¼ cup margarine
1 cup sifted powdered or 10x sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat together the shortening and margarine until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar in a little at a time and beat on high until peaks form. Add vanilla and beat for one minute. Place in prepared icing tubes for piping into cakes.

To fill the cakes, insert the icing tip – preferably a large star tip – into three points along the flat-side of the cake, about 1/8 of an inch deep. Squeeze lightly until you see the filling begin to ooze out.

Chicago Tribune reporter Christi Parsons fawned over President Obama during today’s press conference. Parsons declared that she had never seen Obama lose while President Obama revealed that they “go way back.”

Or did this just happen?

President Barack Obama won a second term by taking the majority of swing states. But a closer look at exit polling data shows Obama lost the independent vote in most of those states over the last four years. Independents, who do not align with one political party or another, make up a fast-growing and coveted voting bloc.

New Jersey Republicans are accusing Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) of having violated Senate ethics rules by failing to disclose or seek Senate permission for air travel and lodging provided by a wealthy campaign donor.

The Middlesex County Republican Organization is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into Menendez based on public records and media reports indicating the senator failed to disclose and seek permission for a series of flights to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic between 2010 and 2012.

Records indicate Menendez made at least four trips on a corporate jet owned by Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist who has donated more than $220,000 to Democratic candidates and committees since 1993. Melgen gave at least $12,600 to Menendez during that period.

“It does not appear that Senator Menendez’s apparent acceptance of private jet travel and luxury lodging was permitted by Senate gift rules,” the letter states. “Nor does it appear that Senator Menendez disclosed acceptance of this travel and lodging on his financial disclosure form—as he would be required to do even if the gifts were otherwise permissible.”

Menendez allegedly often used Melgen’s jet to fly to “Villa Melgen” in the Dominican Republic, where the men would allegedly engage in bunga bunga style sex parties with hookers, who they underpaid.

IMUS: Is he married?

BROADWELL: He is married to Holly Petraeus, who is a wonderful Military spouse and done so much for their children and for children of fallen soldiers, I respect her immensely.

IMUS: So he must have liked you obviously and you obviously liked him, I guess.

BROADWELL: Yes, it was a– you know, as I said earlier, he has a number of mentees and that’s one thing that’s different when you compare him to other Senior Commanders, he looks at the organization, the military as an organization and is willing to take ideas from any rank, not that my ideas were that good, but, yeah, we had a lot of rapport. I think some of that comes from a common ground of having gone to West Point.

IMUS: Right.

…

IMUS: Why the title “All In”?

BROADWELL: I think that captures his philosophy towards life and service and regardless of his rank as I sort of traced his live history. He goes all in and he works, you know, the– as far as the hours he puts in, so are many troopers, but he really puts the nation first and foremost and embraces the West Point mantra of duty, honor country and I was trying to capture something that personified the way that he viewed life, that’s all in.

IMUS: What kind of running do you do?

BROADWELL: What kind of running do you do?

IMUS: I don’t do much running anymore, do you run marathon?

BROADWELL: No, I run eight miles a day.

IMUS: What kind of splits?

BROADWELL: For my miles? Well, try to get down to run a six minute mile but in general I train around a seven minute mile.

IMUS: Your arms look good, like my wife’s arms. It looks like you’re in shape.

BROADWELL: And let’s bring it back to the book–

. . .

IMUS: You know, you don’t need me to tell you this, but somebody ought to do a book about you. Have you been on 60 Minutes.

BROADWELL: Just a soccer mom having a good time, Imus.

IMUS: Have you been on 60 Minutes?

BROADWELL: No, I haven’t.

IMUS: I bet you will be. Good for you, you made me he want to read it.

Just awful. Broadwell not only praises Holly Petraeus while knowing she was sleeping with her husband, but also mentions her own children in the interview.

UPDATE: Here is video of the interview. Broadwell refers to Petraeus as her mentor.

Early exit polls released on Tuesday evening show that about half of voters still blame President George W. Bush more than President Barack Obama for the country’s economic problems and most cite the economy as their top issue in the election.

The exit poll results released by The Associated Press fit with the argument Obama’s team has been making in the lead-up to the election.

His statement came after Romney adviser Ed Gillespie said there was “no doubt” Romney would win tonight.

“The fact is, we can’t afford four more years like the last four years. And Governor Romney has been out there putting forward a positive vision and a plan to turn the economy around, to create 12 million jobs, unleash domestic energy, get us to a balanced budget. That’s why he’s got momentum here on election day. And I think that’s why he’s going to win tonight, not just win, but win decisively. I don’t think there’s going to be any doubt at the end of tonight who the next president is going to be.”

With so much at stake at this critical moment, our voices — and our votes — matter more than ever. And after everything President Obama has done to stand up for women in the past four years, it’s time to speak, act, and vote.

Planned Parenthood has spent millions of dollars this election cycle promoting Barack Obama and attacking Mitt Romney.