Komen had to decide between its ability to help women and its promise to not get involved with entities currently under investigation by U.S. authorities.  After some outrage on both sides, Komen decided to amend its language and considered Planned Parenthood’s issues with the government to be strictly political and not criminal.  Wanting to keep the focus on promoting a cure for cancer, Komen chose to stay out of the political fights and simply continue to help out women as they have in the past.  Naturally, Planned Parenthood was pleased with the end result as was many liberal supporters of the Komen foundation.  Some conservatives against abortion still had issue with the idea of helping a group that supports abortion.

It’s a very strong and important topic, and no matter which side of it you are on, you likely have an opinion on this story.  Now you have some facts to go with it.

Read on:

Komen reverses move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

Need more?  You’ll notice that each website and news outlet differs in the way it reports Jong-il (Jong Il, Jong-Il, etc.).  From what Dinner Topics has been able to gather regarding Korean naming conventions, “Kim” refers to the surname as most have already assumed, just like the Japanese naming structure of putting the “last” name first.  In the ”first” name, each syllable is separated by a space, so some journalistic standards take to adding a hyphen to avoid confusing people into thinking the last syllable is a middle name.  Thanks, Wikipedia!

For those keeping score, first there was Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea.  Il-sung was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-il, and now Jong-il is succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un.  One last piece of interesting news regarding this topic:  because of Jong-un’s youth (his age is reported to be in the late 20s), North Korea will be ruled by the existing governing body until Jong-un develops some needed leadership skills.  According to a Bloomberg news story quoting a professor from Seoul, it will likely take a year before Jong-un assumes total responsibility.²

Need even more conversation pieces regarding North Korea?  Check out our post from back in 2009 or another from 2010.  Or, just…

Read on:

CNN.com – North Korea’s Kim Jong Il dies; South goes on high alert

Reuters.com – North Korea mourns dead leader, son hailed as “Great Successor”

(image taken from ThomsonReuters.com)

Like all politicians (and people for that matter), these current Republican candidates are flawed, but we still like to root for someone with whom we associate the most.  The problem lately is that Americans spend more time assessing their likes and dislikes of a candidate based on a handful of sound bites or how he or she looks behind a podium rather than voting for the candidate who matches most closely with one’s own beliefs.  That’s why Dinner Topics is here to help. 

While even the websites themselves might be accused of being biased, it doesn’t hurt to give these polls (found in the links below) a try.  Answer the questions according to your own stance on each issue, and the sites will match you up with the candidate most in line with your way of thinking.  This way, before you start bashing the “crazy” Michele Bachmann or the overly dry Mitt Romney at your next holiday party, you can find if you should actually be voting for that candidate!

Read on:

USAToday.com – Candidate Match Game

VoteSmart.org – Vote Easy

ProCon.org – 2012 Presidential Candidates Quiz: Find Your Match

Check out the links below for more details, but the basic idea behind “Pay As You Earn” is that student loan payments would only consist of 10% of discretionary income.  This would come in sequence with additional steps that would allow former students to consolidate loans at a lower rate.  In an economy where jobs are scarce and the ratio of debt to income is climbing for many young people, the proposal gives them an opportunity to defer some of the debt for a longer period, at potentially lower rates, and most importantly, in a way that is tied to income so the debt doesn’t swallow up one’s entire paycheck.  Of course, adding proposals which decrease the incentive to earn or pay off debt quicker could backfire, but that’s why nothing in politics is ever a slam dunk.

The current news surrounding the “Pay As You Earn” proposal is regarding the attempt to move up the original start date from 2014 to 2012.  Will it work?  Does it make sense on a micro and macro level?  That’s what the dinner table is for.  Argue on your own time or post a comment below!

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Read on:

WhiteHouse.gov – We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration to Lower Student Loan Payments for Millions of Borrowers

USAToday.com – Obama sets new rules for student loan payments

DailyFinance.com – White House Announces Plan to Ease Student Loans

(image taken from http://www.costello.house.gov/issues_MythsFacts.shtml)

photo by Gage Skidmore

If politics sometimes enters your conversations, you’re going to have to know about the latest Republican candidate of the hour known as Herman Cain.  Keeping things short, Cain is a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election, and he is also the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, a national pizza chain.  Currently, Cain is leading in some polls solely on the strength of his simplistic 9-9-9 proposal to overhaul the entire tax code.

Basically, the 9-9-9 refers to Cain’s desire to completely restructure the tax code so that everyone pays a 9% income tax, 9% corporate tax, and a 9% national sales tax.  The results are obvious: many people would pay much less in income taxes, but everyone would pay much more in purchases.  Cain chose “9″ as his magic number because he says that his research shows that the numbers are “revenue neutral” compared to our current confusing tax rates.¹  That part of the plan can be debated ad nauseum, as can the idea of what constitutes a “fair tax” – does a fair tax mean a flat tax, does it mean a fixed rate for everyone over a specific income level (to avoid being tax on income used for necessities), or does it mean something entirely different to you?

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Politics often makes for a spirited, if not violent, topic at the dinner table, and with the Republican primaries approaching along with a presidential election down the road, there will be plenty to debate.

Read on:

WashingtonPost.com – Herman Cain tests how far a campaign can go with few traditional strengths

Not running

No doubt the talk this weekend will be about the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.  As always on Dinner Topics, we try to give you some details, so regarding Jobs, here are a few things to know:

• He had a liver transplant in 2008 and ultimately died from a form of pancreatic cancer.
• Over 300 million iPods have been sold since inception, or about one for every American.¹
• Over 128 million iPhones have been sold² since the original, and in case you think market saturation is approaching, remember that worldwide, Apple’s iPhone only makes up 5% of the overall mobile phone market³, and the new iPhone 4S is a world phone available to be used anywhere.  Also, Sprint has been added as an additional carrier in the U.S., so as carriers as added and the phones are designed for global use, expect Apple’s market share of the mobile phone market to increase even without Jobs.

Among other news to know for the weekend, Sarah Palin announced that she will NOT be running for president in 2012.

In entertainment, an upbeat cancer movies (if that’s possible) called 50/50 is gaining some traction, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, while George Clooney’s new move The Ides of March opens today with costar Ryan Gosling.  If you can’t get enough Gosling, he is also starring in Drive, a film still in theaters about Gosling as a stunt driver/getaway car driver.  All three movies above have been favorably reviewed by most.  Lastly, the heavily promoted Real Steel opens today, starring Hugh Jackman and some “rock ‘em sock ‘em” robots involved in underground boxing.  Reviews are mixed according to RottenTomatoes.com, but if you’re going for the robots, you’re probably not concerned with Roger Ebert’s review. 

In sports, the NBA is likely headed toward a cancellation of a portion of the season (or more) with no end to the lockout in sight, while in baseball, the Tigers and Rangers will face off in the ALCS.  The National League matchups are still up for grabs with two series-deciding Game 5 matchups tonight.  One point to note is that in tonight’s game between the Phillies and Cardinals, Roy Halladay will be pitching against Chris Carpenter, former teammates in the Toronto organization and current friends.  Someone will have bragging rights shortly.

Read on:

WashingtonPost.com – Sarah Palin not running for president

RottenTomatoes.com – Real Steel

ESPN.com – Cardinals-Phillies Preview

The stock market took a big hit this past week after the Fed tried to stimulate the economy again by buying back about $400 billion in longer term Treasuries (by selling the same amount of short-term bonds) in the hopes of keeping interest rates low and entice more refinancing, more borrowing, and more spending in the economy.  Of course, someone forgot to tell the Fed that until the banks ease lending requirements, low rates are irrelevant for the masses looking to refinance.  As a result, the market looked at this tactic (known as Operation Twist as a nod to a similar tactic used in the ’60s) with little surprise but with acknowledgement that the Fed still believes the economy is in trouble, and continued problems with debt-ridden countries in Europe haven’t helped.  The result?  A falling stock market until it stabilized briefly on Friday.

The real Billy Beane

On the lighter side of the weekend is the cineplex, where the “non-baseball” baseball movie Moneyball opens starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.  Based on the book of the same name from Michael Lewis, the true story of Billy Beane (Pitt’s character) and his quest to even the playing field using statistical data to compete with larger market teams seemed like a tough sell for an entertaining night at the movies, but after several hiccups in trying to get the movie made, things must have gone right.  Roger Ebert gave it four stars, and many other critics seem to be praising the film, co-written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men, Sports Night, The Social Network, etc.) who seems to have a knack for making dry subjects interesting on the screen.

Abduction, starring teen heart-throb Taylor Lautner, debuts Friday but wasn’t screened for critics.  The very early returns are as expected for a movie now available for screening – critics are calling it one of the worst movies of the year, but the biggest critiques seem to be for the writing and not as much for Lautner’s performance.

Lastly, a family movie called Dolphin Tale debuts this weekend as well and is getting solid reviews.  Based on a true story, the plot revolves around a dolphin getting a prosthetic tail, thanks to some help from a boy in need of some life affirming events himself.  Some reviews peg it as “heartwarming” and “hokey.”  See it and judge for yourself.  If not, at least you will know what your niece is talking about when you hear something about a “tail-less” dolphin.

Read on:

Bloomberg.com - Fed’s ‘Operation Twist’ Fails to Convince Investors It Will Boost Growth

Freakonomics.com – Operation Twist 101

 RottenTomatoes.com – Moneyball

RottenTomatoes.com – Abduction

imdb.com – Dolphin Tale