Don’t worry about how you’re going to stomach all those hot dogs and hamburgers without a “reversal of fortune;” just prepare your body and mind before you start packing away the pounds and six-packs. I know that I’ll be eating twice my own body weight this weekend in order to get over Kevin Jonas being off the market. Well, at least there are two JoBros left! But we may need a bigger bed if we want a chance with either of them (psh, purity rings don’t stand a chance against a girl on a mission – although open-mindedness is not a bad thing, either).

Speaking of celebs, what a crazy week it’s been for them and their adoring fans! Having to dispel rumors about their own deaths can’t be too fun. Hopefully, the coming week will bring with it some things to smile about (and really smile about) in spite of all the bad news we’ve been hearing. The recession is still laying into universities’ budgets and leaving college grads lost in the job search (or just literally lost); but we’ve heard that if you try sometimes, you can get the advice you need to make it in the world.

However, this week still leaves us with one burning question that we have yet to find the answer to: what’s with hipsters and PBR?

While I may be one of the only people still undecided for the upcoming election, I came across something today that I thought was important to share with you all. A girl I know posted a video on her Facebook status and I had nothing better to do except check it out (and by that I mean, of course I had a million things better to do but procrastination seemed like the best choice).

Anyway she posted this video showing John Mccain from last March swearing numerous times to an NY Times reporter.

It already has over one hundred thousand views.

The only problem is: it’s not true. Far from it actually.

Take a look at the ORIGINAL video; it is true that the clip is showing McCain on edge when being pressed about his private conversations with John Kerry. However, he did not swear during the interview. Not even once. And now, because some guy with too much time on his hands got crafty with his computer gadget editing tools, over one hundred thousand people are judging his character over something that is just not true.

So, I’m just writing to remind you that no matter who you plan to vote for, do your research – on both sides. It’s so easy to believe the first audio snippet you hear or YouTube clip you see, but the fact of the matter is, the media loves to sensationalize and turn everything into breaking news (i.e. Jamie Lynn Spears being knocked up for the second time). (Editor’s Note: WHAT!? That isn’t true?!)

As a journalism major, I learned the importance of fact checking EVERYTHING with at LEAST two credible sources. Even minor things. My job would be so much easier if I passed things along without verifying their validity first; I would have a lot more time for Happy Hours and keg stands, for one. But, if that was the case, I also would have probably passed on hundreds of things that I thought to be true or accurate on first glance that turned out to be so 1000% false.

Things get taken out of context more often than not and the fact is, once something is out there, you can’t take it back and opinions are formed based on things that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I went to a friend’s synagogue over the Jewish High Holiday, Yom Kippur and the rabbi made a really interesting point with his sermon. He was talking about how we are all bit hearing impaired; not because we’ve spent the better part of our high school days at obnoxiously loud Backstreet Boys concerts (or was that only me?!), but because we choose what to hear and what not to. Stephen Colbert refers to this as truthiness.

The Rabbi referred to some book/study (the name I can’t remember), saying that, basically, once we believe something to be true, we only pay attention to things that prove that point. For example, if you believed wholeheartedly that Britney Spears can sing, you are more likely to tune out on the TV segment, or skip over an article in the paper, whose headline seemed to be trying to prove why in fact, she really can’t. Instead you would only focus on the articles that seemed to assure you that you are right in your beliefs. And since it’s hard to find an unbiased media source these days, it’s so easy for us to find what we want to hear and believe to be true instead of what actually is true.

So in the next few weeks, I ask that you don’t forward an email or a YouTube clip on without knowing if it is categorically correct. This does nothing more than a disservice to others… and to yourself. Before you believe what you hear spewed out by commentators, newspapers, and even the candidates themselves at debates/interviews, follow up and do the research.

So here’s to not skipping over this.

Obama created a group called Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack) 9 months ago and it currently sits at 381,000 members. There is a anti-support group called Stop Hillary Clinton: (One Million Strong AGAINST Hillary) started 8 months ago that currently has over 488,000+ users.

These were the strongest two political groups on the Facebook network until Stephen Colbert officially entered the 2008 presidential race on October 16th.

1,000,000 Strong For Stephen T Colbert was created on Wednesday Oct 17th at 5PM and quickly overtook Obama’s “1,000,00 Strong” in less than 5 days. Currently at 441,000 members the group will pass the Hilary group later this afternoon.

Whether or not you support Colbert (or even think he is a legit candidate) it’s worth visiting the page, waiting one minute and hitting refresh to see the number jump.

Their goal of 1 million by the end of this week could actually be reached.

UPDATE: As of 2:00 PM Eastern, October 25th, Colbert’s Facebook group membership totals over 1.1 million-  Read more about it here. 

Say it ain’t so! It looks like Stephen Colbert’s faux presidential campaign is already off to a rough start as some are saying his campaign is illegal!

Because he has a sponsor (Doritos) and his own TV show (The Colbert Report) election officials are saying he is in breach of laws that prohibit any corporation from donating money or backing any one candidate.

“How serious can you get about running as a joke?” said Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign finances. “The Federal Election Commission doesn’t have a great sense of humor.“

This can’t be happening! The one candidate that is truly about what the people want is going to go down because of his love for chips and his hilarious television program? Okay, I know it’s a bit more complicated than that, but it’s time for the FEC to wake up. While Colbert seems to have a huge following and countless supporters, he’s in it to run…not necessarily to win.

When asked about the legitimacy of his candidacy on Meet the Press, Colbert responded, “I would say to everybody, this is not a dream, OK? You’re not going to wake up from this, OK? I’m far realer than Sam Brownback, let me put it that way.“

Now, who wants to pack their stuff, get in a car, go to South Carolina and register to vote? We have a Colbert to nominate!

• Note: Using a traffic cone as a wizard hat isn’t cute…even when you’re 3. (Daily Mail)

• The average person in the UK drinks 189 bottles of wine, 37 bottles of whiskey or 1,137 pints of beer per year…which is roughly half of what the average American going to a state school consumes. (Daily Mail)

• Top Story! Theives steal potatoes!! In the UK (of course). (thisislincolnshire.co.uk)

• Hey guys, smoking is bad for you! Now you know. Oh! And it doesn’t help you lose weight either, so just quit already! (news.com.au)

• Barack vs Hilary vs Colbert? You decide…on Facebook! (COED Magazine)