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Tonight my co-host Candi and I discussed the best – and not so great – news stories of 2011. Listen in to see if we brought up your “biggest story” of the year.
Tim Tebow voted Most Desirable Neighbor
U.S. adults would most like to be neighbors with Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow in 2012, according to the fifth annual Zillow® Celebrity Neighbor Survey.
The cast of the reality TV show “Jersey Shore” was named least desirable neighbors of 2011.
The Kennedy Center Honors 2011
The 2011 Kennedy Center Honors were bestowed on five giants from the world of the arts — not just for a single role or a certain performance, but for a lifetime of greatness.
The recipients, Yo Yo Ma, Meryl Streep, Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond and Sonny Rollins, were honored at the White House in early December and the ceremony aired last night.
Happy birthday Joe Manganiello!
Kellan Lutz sends you holiday wishes
Not sure what to think here, but hey – it’s Kellan Lutz.
Ron Paul: Everything is Unconstitutional
If it wasn’t in the original original Constitution, Ron Paul wants it gone.
Departments of Energy, Education, Labor, Agriculture… You name it, Ron Paul wants it gone.
Las Vegas only 14th in America’s Drunkest Cities
Wow – can’t believe my resident city of Las Vegas only came in 14th!
Top honors for America’s Drunkest City goes to…. Boston!
From The Daily Beast: To compile the second annual list of the “drunkest” cities in the U.S., The Daily Beast first analyzed data from Experian Simmons, a leading market-research firm, which provided data on the average number of alcoholic drinks per month the residents of more than 200 cities across the country reported to have consumed in a survey from earlier this year.
As well, consideration went to the percent of the population that are either binge drinkers or heavy drinkers for each metro area, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control. The average number of drinks was given twice the weight of the heavy- and binge-drinking population for the final rank.
NC Family Policy Council: Gay snipers will shoot newlyweds
Above is the latest image from North Carolina’s Family Policy Council.
The North Carolina Family Policy Council, the leading anti-equality group in the Tar Heel State, is running this in its quarterly publication in order to scare citizens into voting for the state’s proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Clearly the implication is that unless the coming constitutional ban on gay marriage is successful, gay snipers will lurk in wheat fields to slay unsuspecting newlyweds.
Same-sex couples pay more in taxes
The lack of federal recognition of same-sex couples results in higher taxes for those couples, CNNMoney reports.
CNNMoney based their information on a series of same-sex versus opposite-sex tax scenarios it presented to H&R Block. A seemingly equal household with one working parent earning $100,000 per year and one stay-at-home parent earning nothing produced radically different results when toggled between opposite-sex and same-sex situations.
In this particular scenario, says the article, the same-sex household would owe $4,543 more tax than the opposite-sex household. This is because the “head of household” designation pushes more income into a higher tax bracket and the individual filings provide lower standard deductions than “married and filing jointly.” The gay head of household is also subjected to a tax on the stay-at-home spouse’s health insurance premiums that the heterosexual breadwinner isn’t responsible for.
Also, there are many marital exemptions given to other families for inheritance taxes and gift taxes for which same sex couples do not qualify. In addition, same-sex households receive lower tax exclusions for capital gains on the sales of a home (unless the home is jointly owned and each spouse qualifies for the exclusion).
Cheetah the chimp from 1930s Tarzan movies passes away
Cheetah the chimp from the 1930s Tarzan movies passed away this past December 24th.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor announced that Cheetah died Dec. 24 of kidney failure.
Sanctuary outreach director Debbie Cobb on Wednesday told The Tampa Tribune newspaper that Cheetah was outgoing, loved finger painting and liked to see people laugh. She says he seemed to be tuned into human feelings.
Cheetah came to the sanctuary from Weissmuller’s estate sometime around 1960.
Most captive chimps only live to be about 35-45 years old. Cheetah was 80.