What a week!  The introduction of Apple iPad and State of the Union delivered by Barack Obama.  It was an incredibly persuasive speech by a charismatic leader trying to take over the U.S. economy and control the way every American lives.  But we’ll discuss  Steve Jobs launching the iPad later.

The Cult of Personality  (The idealized and heroic public image of a nation’s leader)

First, the State of the Union Address.  You know, I don’t see any reason to buy one of those expensive Jane Fonda-type work-out videos.  I just watch the speech and stand when Nancy Pelosi stands to clap, and sit when she sits.   I only made it half way through the speech

until I nearly collapsed in exhaustion.

It’s amazing. No – I mean their stamina.  I wonder if they spend all fall working out in preparation of applauding at the big speech. (more)

Yeah – that’s right.  I said it.  Congress, the White House and every cable TV pundit is talking incessantly about the need – no the right – for free healthcare for everyone.  Although no one is saying it, let me tell you why that’s a very bad idea, and how we can fix it.

The root cause of our entire healthcare crisis comes down to a single factor: society not understanding the hidden costs of healthcare.  Simply making the costs transparent will revolutionize our healthcare system, save tens of billions of dollars of waste and change our personal behavior regarding our health. (more)

There’s dozens of sites that list the best American Idol performances. Most are flat out wrong by the way. The MullerOver editorial team has pored through hundreds of hours of video to get the final, definitive list of the best Reality TV singing performances, period.

Editors’ Note: Since this posting, there has been countless comments on message boards around the Internet with agreement or disdain. We’ve gathered some of the videos that viewers said we should have included, and posted them here.

Please take a moment to post your comments and suggestions at the bottom of the page. (more)

Sports can underscore the best in our society. It shows the determination to excel. The courage to do what is thought to be impossible. Or the compassion to help those in a time of need. The following ten videos demonstrate the very best in sports. Some happened before a world stage while others in front of just a few hundred. But all are the very definition of inspiration, and remind us the power of sports.

Editors’ note: There were several complaints on other message boards that this list was too American-centric. To our overseas readers, please let us know the most inspiring moments in your opinion. (more)

The MullerOver.com editorial team again decided to open ourselves to the ire of frustrated fans worldwide by publishing the Top 10 Greatest Live Singing Performances of All Time. Understanding that it’s very difficult for us to gather all the best performances, this list is currently unranked and only features nine performances, with your comments to finalize the list.

If you have a favorite not included, please take a moment to comment. (more)

Over the past month, the debate has raged with jeers and cheers at our Top Ten Reality TV Singing Performances of All Time.  Who knew we could have hit such a nerve, especially with international music fans.  If you haven’t seen our original list, be sure to click on the link above to view it.

Then, watch the list below and let us know which ones are missed in the comments.  Note, these are grouped together geographically and no rank order is intended.

(more)

Our favorite parts of YouTube aren’t the videos of cats falling off pianos or amazing basketball shots, but the exchange of innovative ideas worldwide in a format that previously simply wasn’t possible.

Is there a better way to conquer poverty around the world other than traditional philanthropy?  What’s the root cause of men behaving badly?  Can an intellectual believe in God?

These are just a few of the concepts discussed below.  Of course, there’s hundreds or thousands more thought provoking videos out there, so please post your ideas in the comments below. (more)

The MullerOver editorial staff is back from a long awaited Christmas break.  Countless people around the Internet have lamented that they were completely lost on how to interpret the news of the day without our weekly commentary.  Unfortunately, we lost a day of productivity at MullerOver Headquarters because we couldn’t come to a consensus as to who should clean the coffee pot/giant Petri dish from before Christmas.  Fortunately, we found a pack of instant coffee in the back of Smitty’s drawer which should hold us over until a new coffee maker arrives from the Brookstone.  Now – onto the news …

The Solution to the Conan – Leno Mess

It’s made for great TV, and for the first time so far, the major late night shows have been mildly entertaining to watch.  You see, it all started with Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld.

“Cosby and Seinfeld?!?,” you say.  Yes, that’s the insight that only our half-caffeinated editors can come up with.  Back in the mid -80’s, “The Cosby Show” ruled the airwaves making pretty much everything else NBC touched turn to ratings gold.  The success bled from The Today Show to The Tonight Show , and continued until Seinfeld decided to finally sing his swan song.  Since then, NBC took a ratings plummet that even Tiger Woods would now say was a dramatic fall from grace.

The same programming geniuses behind, “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!”, announced five years ago that they’d bump Leno from his #1 spot for O’Brien.  That started an out-of-control spin like a car losing control on a slick road and we were just bracing for the impact.  Well, right now, we’re finally hearing the sound of  crushing network metal started years ago. (more)

You might have seen that Facebook has now crossed 350,000,000 users.  Really!   The MullerOver editors did some fact checking on Wikipedia, and it turns out that if Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest in the world behind China and India.  Like any country, the social networking site has it’s share of idiosyncrasies.

For instance, Facebook has become that gossipy friend everyone telling everyone what you’re doing.  Each day, it announces to all your friends, “I heard that Jim is now friends with Betty Sue.  I’m just telling you what I heard.”  Try to now plan a surprise party without Facebook being that friend that ruins everything.  Facebook’s live feed would announce, “Chris is planning a surprise party for you.”

And another thing … do you remember when MySpace was cool?    Now, mention MySpace to a Facebook user and you’ll receive a superior snort of derision.    That’s SOOO 2005. Or what about the omnipresent  founder of MySpace named Tom (pictured left – you remember him).  Believe it or not, since he is a human, he now has a Facebook page as well.   That’s like George Steinbrenner caught wearing a Red Sox cap or  Bill Gates typing away on a Mac Book Pro at Starbucks.  Or Michael Moore putting a “Palin in 2012″ bumpersticker on his Hummer.

And another thing … what’s with all these MafiaWars gifts we get everyday?   I’ve got enough imaginary lead pipes and sawed off shotguns to take on an imaginary army.  I’m really not sure what MafiaWars is all about, but based on how often its played, it seems to be more addictive than crack.  I’m wondering if Mafia Wars should be regulated by the FDA.  We’re worried about legalizing marijuana when these addicted Mafia Wars people have been sitting in a dark room surrounded by empty pizza boxes.

Then again, maybe that would solve our prison overcrowding problem.  Instead of putting them in cells, just give the criminals a Facebook account with Mafia Wars and we’d never hear from them again. (more)

Well, it’s the time again, and the MullerOver editors have been poring through the news to find stuff for you to mull over this week.  And now – on to the news!

Bird Prevents Black Hole from Destroying the Solar System

It’s not just me, is it?  The $7.3B Hadron Collider, also commonly called the “God Machine”, had a malfunction this past week which caused it to shut down.   If you haven’t been following this over the past few years, the Hadron Collider attempts to recreate conditions at the time of the Big Bang by firing protons round its 16.8 mile tunnel at almost the speed of light to smash them into each other.  Some scientists have speculated that it could cause a run-away black hole that would instantly swallow-up our solar system.  Fortunately, other, hopefully smarter scientists are pretty sure that won’t happen.  Just to be certain, we’re asking all citizens of the world to cross their fingers for the next year or so.

Well, back to the ridiculously complex machine that stopped working.  Scientists when researching the failure of the cryogenic cooling plant found a piece of baguette had caused the overheating.  No – you read that right.  They think a bird passing overhead dropped a piece of someone’s lunch and the machine that probably won’t destroy the world came to a screeching halt.

Yeah – we’re brimming with confidence here.  All we need now is Al Qaeda to figure out that to bring the massive device to it’s knees, they just need to stop by  Brueggers Bagels and start tossing the number 5 special over the fence … (more)

It’s early November in a year that ends with an odd number.  You know what that means.  Yep – local elections!  Is there anything that better proves that we’re all a heartbeat away from a third world country than watching two grandmothers running against each other for county legislature?  It’s the civility of a Michael Vick dog fight crossed with the class and dignity of a “Hee Haw” rerun.   Local elections bring a special kind of lunacy that make us wonder if Canada is that bad afterall.

Come to think of it, why do politicans always say they’re fighting for stuff?  I’ve never seen any fights break out in the government, (except that You Tube video from South Korea which is awesome by the way).    You’ll hear them say, “I’ll fight for more jobs” or  ”I fought for lower taxes”, but never see who they knocked out to get it, or who the insane politician was who wanted to double taxes that required intervention with brass knuckles.  In fact, since they already claim to be fighting all over the place,  I think  that just might work better.  Forget the votes and debate.  Today in the assembly, last one standing gets to choose the monetary policy. (more)

So I’m writing this while on the plane finally flying home from O’Hare after a three hour layover, and came up with a new MullerOver segment called “And Another Thing!”   It’s quiet, dark, and my knees taste funny.

In thinking about my time at O’Hare, I remember the nice intercom woman who warned everyone that the current threat level is high at “Orange”. I thought, “Orange”! That’s not good. I looked around – and everyone looked suspicious. They were going about their day, wheeling their luggage behind them which is exactly how a terrorist would act. I wondered if I should tackle that woman over there and put her in a headlock until authorities arrive?  Then again, she might hit me with her walking cane. (more)