...Americans

I was not going to say anything about this but then I changed my mind. Today is 9/11, the day America was attacked by terrorist. I will not talk about the attacks, I already did that last year, instead I will talk about Americans. After the attacks we were united and we put aside petty differences to mourn together and try to understand the magnitude of what had just occurred. The President at that time, George W. Bush, told us to continue with our lives and not to let the terrorist win by abandoning our way of life. Eventually things returned to normal or as normal as they can be in this post 9/11 world. We played sports, we debated, we challenged each other and we argued and fought against each other. Many wondered what happened to this unity, this solidarity that w had right after 9/11. Well it faded. It is not as if we forgot about it, but we decided to do exactly what the President said and carry on with our lives. Were we faking our love for each other? No, but we felt okay enough to revert back to our previous selves. I am sure some of us changed forever in a good or bad way and that is something that many still struggle with daily. We are a strong and resilient group of people and we showed this. I myself understand what 9/11 means and will mean but I also choose not to dwell on it. It is easier for me than some because I did not lose anyone close to me or quasi close to me in the events that occurred on that day. Though we vow to never forget eventually we will. There will be new towers there and life will continue, business will continue and 9/11 will become as important as December 7, 1941, which was the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. It may take 2 or 3 generations before this happens but it will happen. For now I am going to decide not to write anything else about 9/11. After 10 years I have not forgotten, but I have decided to carry on with my life, as have millions of Americans. I am giving us Americans a Digit Up.

...Americans

It seems as if the world may not hate us so much. Americans were voted the coolest people in the world. Social networking site Badoo.com asked 30,000 people across 15 countries to name the coolest nationality and also found that the Spanish were considered the coolest Europeans, Brazilians the coolest Latin Americans and Belgians the globe's least cool nationality. Lloyd Price, Badoo's Director of Marketing, said, "America boasts the world's coolest leader, Obama; the coolest rappers, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg; and the coolest man in technology, Steve Jobs of Apple, the man who even made geeks cool." This may be true and I must agree that America is cool, but should we be #1? Most of our cool is due to European influence and other culture's influences. Also "America" is more than just New York City and Los Angeles and the romanticized Mid West or "The West". Also this mainly focuses on famous Americans, but who is really paying attention anyway right? I, along with others, will take this win. We beat Brazil, and they are very cool and mellow people who live to party and have fun. Yay Americans, Digit Up for us.

...Paris Hilton

Do you trust Paris Hilton? Of course you do not, and neither do 60% of Americans, so says a recent poll. Paris took the top spot. I guess I can see that. There has not been a favorable light on her since she was released from prison and her reality shows have not helped at all. Hilton was found to be the absolute least trustworthy celeb, beating out other morally questionable folks like Charlie Sheen (52% unfavorable), Britney Spears (45% unfavorable), and Kanye West (45% unfavorable). Others on the bottom of the list of unpopular personalities: Arnold Schwarzenegger (44%), Tiger Woods (42%), Kim Kardashian (38%), Mel Gibson (33%), Donald Trump (31%), and LeBron James (29%). Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears are more widely disliked by women than they are by men. Betty White was the most trusted receiving an 86% favorable score. She topped Denzel Washington (85%), Sandra Bullock (84%), Clint Eastwood (83%), and Tom Hanks (81%). Rounding out the top ten were Harrison Ford (80%), Morgan Freeman (79%), Kate Middleton (79%), Will Smith (77%), and Johnny Depp (76%). Paris needs some new PR and a new plan ASAP. It is true that while she was the 1st of the famous for nothing celebritant, she needs to evolve and take things to a new level. I am going to have to give a Digit own because it seems as if she is not getting the message that people, in America, are over her and her ways.

...Americans

Hey America! Why are you so fat!!!!!!!!? Less than 20 years ago no state had an obesity rate over 20%, not anymore! Now all but one state, Colorado, has a rate lower than 20%, and even they are at 19.8% I do not understand how a nation with million of jobless people can still find money to eat, and eat poorly enough to get and stay obese. Look at these numbers:
Percentage of obese adults in all 50 states

•Mississippi: 34.4
•Alabama: 32.3
•West Virginia: 32.2
•Tennessee: 31.9
•Louisiana: 31.6
•Kentucky: 31.5
•Oklahoma: 31.4
•South Carolina: 30.9
•Arkansas: 30.6
•Michigan: 30.5
•Missouri: 30.3
•Texas: 30.1
•Ohio: 29.6
•North Carolina: 29.4
•Indiana: 29.1
•Kansas: 29.0
•Georgia: 28.7
•South Dakota: 28.7
•Pennsylvania: 28.5
•Iowa: 28.1
•Delaware: 28.0
•North Dakota: 28.0
•Illinois: 27.7
•Nebraska: 27.6
•Wisconsin: 27.4
•Maryland: 27.1
•Maine: 26.5
•Washington: 26.4
•Florida: 26.1
•Alaska: 25.9
•Virginia: 25.9
•Idaho: 25.7
•New Hampshire: 25.6
•New Mexico: 25.6
•Arizona: 25.4
•Oregon: 25.4
•Wyoming: 25.4
•Minnesota: 25.3
•Nevada: 25.0
•California: 24.8
•New York: 24.7
•Rhode Island: 24.3
•New Jersey: 24.1
•Montana: 23.8
•Vermont: 23.5
•Utah: 23.4
•Hawaii: 23.1
•Massachusetts: 22.3
•Connecticut: 21.8
•District of Columbia: 21.7
•Colorado: 19.8

The Southern states dominate the list thanks to their love of fried foods. Something has to be done about this. You may not believe it but this is a national security risk. The army has already lowered its standards to let people who are not in the best shape in, but in another decade we will have to do that again and again and again until we have tons of out of shaped people serving in our armed forces and the others will be able to outlast us on the battle field, our weapons can only do so much in certain areas of the world. What will it take for us to become healthier? I partly blame the food, but as we know it is also the people. The Internet and other creature comforts have created a nation of lazy lazy people. We are dumber and lazier than ever before and yet we do not seem to recognize or care. I am giving American 2 Digits Down. Get your shit together people!

...Television

Television ownership is down this year for the 1st time in 20 years. Now 96.7 percent of American households now own sets, down from 98.9 percent previously. There are 2 reasons for this decline: One is poverty. Many low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas. The other is technological wizardry. Young people who have grown up with laptops in their hands instead of remote controls are opting not to buy TV sets when they graduate from college or enter the work force. Instead, they are subsisting on a diet of television shows and movies from the Internet. The 2nd reason is prompting Nielsen to think about a redefinition of the term "television household" to include Internet video viewers. I own many televisions, and I own computers. I do not mind watching television shows on my computer, but I love watching television shows on an actual television. It is larger, clearer, less likely to freeze or have a pop up, etc. Also if you can afford Internet then most likely you can afford cable, sense they almost force you to buy it as part of a bundle package. I do think that a lot of people are just giving television for the time being due to financial situations. Once the economy rebounds, do not hold your breath on that one, television sets will be returning back into the homes of many Americans. But for now I am going to give this news a Digit Down.

...French Fries

It seems as if french fries are on the decline in America. We as a nation have stopped eating about 500 million pounds of potatoes, 3 potatoes per person, in just 1 year alone. Some say it is because the economy is bad and while we will not give up the main food, burger, we are willing to give up the fries. Also a lot of fast food chains have removed a biggie or extra large size portion of fries from their menus. Others say that it is because Americans are more health conscience and are giving up the unhealthy side for much healthier ones like apples and salads. I would like to agree with that opinion. Will it last? Maybe, but those same experts predict that as the economy stars to recover that the rise in french fries will as well. That may be true but if fast food sales are up then fry sales should be as well. I do hope the trend continues downward, though I do expect a minor rebound, but not a full on rebound. I am giving French Fries a Digit Up for going down. Ha, up and down, it is....yep.