Gather Weekly: Super Earth, Hellenic hijinks, fix-it bills and more

This week's Gather articles (12/12-12/19):

Finance

• Has Obama sold out to Wall Street? Matt Taibbi thinks so
• Turn-back-the-clock financial reform: McCain-Cantwell Senate bill would reinstate Glass-Steagall Act
• Risky business: Will Moody's downgrade of Greece's credit rating result in EU economic collapse?

Politics

• Corruption in the Commonwealth: Lawrence, MA's Lantigua to be both Mayor and State Rep
• Why stop at mere medical usage? Marijuana legalization referendum to be on 2010 California ballot

Social Media

• Social media in business: Twitter beta testing contributor feature
• Social media shockers: 10 amazing Facebook tales
• Most popular topics on Twitter in 2009

Unemployment

• Xmas comes early: Senate passes bill approving unemployment benefits and COBRA extensions
• Senate passes cloture vote on war funding, unemployment benefits extension bill; final vote tomorrow morning
• House approves two-month unemployment extension in war funding bill
• Season of hope: House to vote on jobs, unemployment benefits extension bills this week
• Clock is ticking on new unemployment extension legislation

Science

• Astronomers discover water-rich Earth-like planet GJ 1214b

Humor

• Holiday humor: SNL's "Schweddy Balls" sketch (video)

Health Care Reform

• Finish line in sight: Reid announces final Senate health care bill

Has Obama sold out to Wall Street? Matt Taibbi thinks so

Reading this article will make you furious. In a recent article for Rolling Stone , titled "Obama's Big Sellout," Matt Taibbi eviscerates the Obama White House, saying that President Obama has . . . more

Gather Weekly: pot politics, social media, spending galore

This week's Gather articles (12/5-12/11):


Web

• Google launches real-time search feature (video)

Economy

• Obama on jobs creation, new stimulus: US must "spend our way out of this recession"
• Millions may lose benefits as Congress debates unemployment extension
• Obama may support using TARP funds to pay for jobs bill
• Cash for Caulkers could rebate up to $12,000 per home

Politics

• Coakley, Brown win primaries for MA Senate seat
• Senate Dems agree to drop public option from health care bill
• Senate vote on abortion amendment to health care bill expected today
• New Jersey is next gay marriage battleground
• House passes huge $447 billion omnibus spending bill

Social Media

• Hate Facebook? Sick of social media? Check out Seppukoo
• Social media wish list: 5 Twitter feature requests for 2010
• Facebook for business: 5 tips to increase fan engagement

Money

• 9 top international retirement destinations from Mint.com
• Twitter stock investing app StockTwits closes $3 million series B round of funding
• Is a falling dollar good or bad for you?

Marijuana legalization (yes this deserves its own category this week)

• Cannabis in the capital? Omnibus bill allows for medical marijuana legalization in D.C.
• Denver's Ganja Gourmet to provide culinary cannabis

Science

• Hot air in climate change debate: 2000s warmest decade ever

Hate Facebook? Sick of social media? Check out Seppukoo

Tongue-in-cheek anti-social network Seppukoo seeks to provide social media-haters with a way to display their disdain for the explosive social-technology phenomenon. The site offers users a way . . . more

What's this I hear about your TPS reports?

This caused me immense hilarity (click to biggify):



So meta.

Gather Weekly: unemployment, piracy stocks, health care

This week's Gather articles (12/1-12/5):

Health care reform

• Senate Dems seek to limit tax deduction on compensation for health insurance executives
• Politics, Lumbergh style: Senate will vote on health care bill amendments this weekend
• Glimmer of bipartisanship: several Dems join GOP in health care bill amendment
• But what about the death panels? AARP backs Dems' health care bill

Web

• Mashable's Pete Cashmore on 10 Web trends to watch in 2010
• Explosive growth of social networks: infographic

Sports

• The Importance of the World Cup 2010 Draw: Preview and Breakdown

Economy

• Is the tide turning for unemployment? Initial jobless claims fell to one-year low last week
• The new green economy: marijuana market booming in Humboldt County, CA
• The 10.2% solution: Obama hosts jobs summit today at White House to address unemployment

Politics & legislation

• Duct tape legislation: House bill will fix deadline glitch in unemployment benefits extension bill
  
• Gay marriage bill defeated in New York state Senate
• Capitol Hill's taxing agenda: Congress ponders tax legislation to end 2009
• Democratic leaders advocate additional unemployment benefits extension
• House to extend unemployment benefits, estate tax break before Xmas; jobs bill delayed until 2010

International

• Somali pirate "stock exchange" lets investors fund, profit from piracy

Books

• Christmas gift ideas: NYT Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2009

Don't cross the blogs

Due to, shall we say, constructive criticism, I will no longer be cross-posting all my Gather articles here. I have an RSS feed of my Gather articles in the sidebar to the right, and you can also subscribe to my Gather feed directly if you want to follow. This actually makes sense for a number of reasons.

I will likely cross-post occasional articles of interest here, unlike my recent post on green bean casserole recipes, which drew a whopping 40,000 visitors (!). Talk about keyword selection.

Blogging for fun and profit: become a Gather Socialwriter and earn $

Gather is expanding their Socialwriter program. Socialwriters are Gather members who post about current trending topics to increase awareness of the Gather social network and promote discussion around these "water cooler" topics of the day.

I've been a Gather Socialwriter since the program went through its experimental phase in September, and it has been very successful for both us as writers and for increasing traffic to Gather. It's an enjoyable and rewarding program.

This is a great opportunity for people who:

• Enjoy blogging
• Would like some part-time additional income
• Are retired
• Work from home
• Are students
  

Blog about whatever interests you, within the confines of popular topics. Pay is based on page views for content, with bonuses for certain levels. Earn up to $500 per month.

If you are interested in learning more, leave a comment or email me: mrhe25@gmail.com.

Government, Geithner screw taxpayers in AIG bailout

Disgraced ex-governor-turned-columnist Eliot Spitzer over at Slate talks about the report issued by Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky concerning why AIG's counterparties were paid 100 cents . . . more

Advertising on Twitter? Making money by tweeting presents potential ethical dilemma for users

Advertising is making its way into users' tweets on Twitter. This raises ethical questions for many users of the popular micro-blogging service. This weekend in the Sunday New York Times Business . . . more

Social Media ROI: Socialnomics video

Erik Qualman over at Socialnomics has created another excellent video in his Socialnomics series about social media and the impact it's having on marketing, customer interaction, and business. This . . . more

Mary Landrieu wins $100 million concession to entice vote on Senate health care reform bill

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) of Louisiana has apparently secured $100 million in federal aid for Medicaid to help low-income people in her state. Landrieu has been pushing for extra aid since Hurricane . . . more

Cash for Clunkers a clunker?

	Cool infographic over at The Detroit News about the Cash for Clunkers program by state . Michigan is a clear outlier with a high ratio of buying American instead of foreign cars. Other states are spread . . . more

Reid announces Senate health care reform bill: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Yesterday afternoon Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced his chamber's version of a long-anticipated (and dreaded) health care reform bill . The bill was the result of a merger between . . . more

Who pays taxes in the US?

Who pays taxes in the US? Mint.com has an excellent infographic showing the breakdown of tax burden in the United States by income level. It's pretty amazing to see this data. Consider that the median . . . more

Unemployment benefits extension considered as part of jobs creation bill

	Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had previously expressed interest in the possibility of extending unemployment benefits through 2010. In a new conference yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny . . . more

2009 Word of the Year: Unfriend

"Unfriend" was selected by the New Oxford American Dictionary as the Word of the Year for 2009 . unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking . . . more

Flipping the $250,000 bird: Bud Adams' middle finger draws fine from NFL

The NFL fined Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for flipping his middle finger at Buffalo Bills fans after his team triumphed over the Bills 41-17 in this past Sunday's game. From SportingNews.com: . . . more

Cannabis Cafe opens in Portland, Oregon

The nation's first marijuana cafe - the Cannabis Cafe - opened recently in Portland, Oregon. The opening comes following an announcement by the Obama administration that federal attorneys will not . . . more

The economics of marijuana legalization and taxation

	There's been a great deal of talk over the last year or so of legalization and taxation of marijuana. In fact certain states have decriminalized possession of the narcotic - including the great Commonwealth . . . more