Politico launches "Politico 44: A Living Diary of the Obama Presidency"

Former Chief Strategist David Axelrod accepts the position of Senior Adviser in the White House. Joins new Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Another call to ease up on the race and sexuality Prop 8 rhetoric

Prop 8 opponents concede defeat

Maureen Dowd forgets that gays took a hit Tuesday night

Below, the South Park view of the Obama win.

You know, there is so much talk today about Sarah Palin and what a monster she is. She's stupid! She doesn't know Africa is a continent! She spent even more money on clothes! She's a hillybilly who raided Saks! She talked to reporters wearing nothing but a towel! She's a diva!

The shark attacks are coming from both sides, and every single anchor on TV is taking a piranha bite out of her, too. Enough is enough. These attacks are repulsive. Look, I could not disagree more with Palin's views on pretty much everything, but she has been a trouper. Was she in over her head? Of course. Did she make a lot of mistakes? She sure did. Is she ambitious? As much as any politician is. Is she just plain wrong? Yes. But you know what? She jumped into the deep end of the pool without floaties, and she just about sank. And what does everyone do? Try to push her head back underwater at the moment she is about to take her first breath of air.

She must be exhausted. She must be overwhelmed. Still. And she must be sad. And she is still battling the sexist and classist media? (This Newsweek article is suspect. And everyone knows it. Everyone.) Imagine if the entire world were to call you stupid and backward and evil and monstrous. Every day, all day, for months. And just when you think it's over, the attacks instead double. Palin is not a monster. She is not evil. No one doubts that her intentions come from a place that she believes is good. But she is wrong. On so many things. But being wrong is not the same thing as being evil. Where is our compassion for this person?

Obama just won because he demonstrated that there is a better way to do politics. There is a better way to live and interact with each other. These attacks on Palin are part of the old world, the world before Obama was elected President. And it's our responsibility to make the promise of the world he unveiled a reality.

Pork here with this week's Chart Attack.

T.I. bounces up and down, Beyoncé just goes down.

T.I. is continuing to carve out one of the strangest paths to chart history ever as two of his songs refuse to stop switching spots at the top of the chart. This week it’s “Live Your Life” (feat. Rihanna) that bounces back from No. 2 and sends “Whatever You Like” underneath it. It looks like this flip-flop lock T.I.’s had on the top two spots might be just about over as “Whatever You Like” loses its bullet. No sweat off his back since with these two singles alone, he should be able to have ‘whatever he likes’ for the rest of his life. The boy did somethin’ right. (P.S. Don’t count out P!nk’s “So What” as her chance to reclaim the No. 1 since it’s regained strength and climbed back up to No. 3. Go, P!nk!)

The fate of the first single from I Am Sasha Fierce ain’t so fierce. After an impressive 68-3 leap last week, “If I Were A Boy” loses its steam and falls to No. 5 in only its third week on the chart. Uh-oh, B. I can’t say I’ve felt the aura of success anywhere around this project. It’s time to take a break. How about you don’t give us anything new for a year or two and let us appreciate you a bit more, eh? You’re drowning in a sea of hip-hop mediocrity. Fact is, Sasha Fierce sounds just like Beyoncé. Without any sort of reinvention, you won’t achieve your emancipation.

P!nk couldn’t move AC/DC, but she does possess the Hot Shot Debut on this week’s Top 200 Albums chart with a stunning No. 2 entry. Two spots below, John Legend jumps in with Evolver, which tops this week’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in its first week.

Off-The-Chart: Thank you to my friend Scott for designing Chart Attack’s new eye-catching logo! It’s one step closer to the kind of fun I want us all to have here. :] Thanks, Scott!

That’s just about all for now, but take a little time and enjoy . . . .

A View From The Top:
After the jump, a look at what’s sitting atop this week’s Billboard charts.

November 15th, 2008 (week ending)

Singles:
-Hot 100: T.I. feat. Rihanna: “Live Your Life”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
-Pop 100: P!nk “So What”
-Mainstream Top 40: P!nk “So What”
-Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
-Hot Modern Rock Tracks: The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”
-Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: Metallica “The Day That Never Comes”
-Triple A: Snow Patrol “Take Back The City”
-Hot Rap Tracks: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
-Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks: Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”
-Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks: David Cook “The Time Of My Life”
-Hot Digital Songs: T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life”
-Hot Digital Tracks: Taylor Swift “You’re Not Sorry”
-Rhythmic Top 40: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
-Hot Dance Club Play: Mary Mary “Get Up”
-Hot Dance Airplay: Ercola & Daniella “Every Word”
-Hot Dance Single Sales: M.I.A. “Paper Planes”
-Pop 100 Airplay: P!nk “So What
-Hot 100 Airplay: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
-Hot Singles Sales: Artists Stand Up To Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales: Artists Stand Up To Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: Ne-Yo “Miss Independent”
-Hot Adult R&B Airplay: Jennifer Hudson “Spotlight”
-Hot Singles Recurrents: Michael Jackson “Thriller”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents: Keyshia Cole “I Remember”
-Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay: Natasha Bedingfield “Pocketful Of Sunshine”
-Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay: Keyshia Cole “I Remember”
-Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles: Zac Efron & Corbin Bleu “The Boys Are Back”
-Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: E-40 feat. Shawty Lo “Break Ya Ankles”
-Hot Ringtones: Grupo Montez De Durango “Adios Amore Te Vas”
-Hot Country Songs: Carrie Underwood “Just A Dream”

Albums:
-The Billboard 200 Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
-Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: John Legend - Evolver
-Top Digital Albums: Pink - Funhouse
-Top Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
-Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums: Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns
-Top Hard Rock Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice
-Top Internet Albums: Bloc Party – Intimacy
-Top Independent Albums: Kottonmouth Kings – The Green Album
-Top Electronic Albums: Lady GaGa – The Fame
-Top Rap Albums: T.I. – Paper Trail
-Top Soundtracks: High School Musical 3: Senior Year
-Top Cast Albums: Original Broadway Cast Recording – Wicked
-Top Country Albums: Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy
-Top Heatseekers: Deerhunter - Microcastle

…on the international front:
-European Hot 100 Singles: Guru Josh Project “Infinity 2008”
-European Top 100 Albums: AC/DC – Black Ice

…and…just where it should be:
-Hot Holdiay Songs: Bing Crosby “White Christmas”

A straight guy tests his straight friend to see if he's gay. The only way he knows how. Probably NSFW. (Turn the youtube volume control up.) Via feyfriends.

Nathan wins Top Design

The kind of bacteria in your gut may be making you fat. So eat your Activia!

Ryan Kwanten gets nekkid again on "True Blood." (NSFW) The more he gets naked, the more I'm gonna post about it.

3G tethering coming to iPhone

Another kind of Butt Bandit

Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton dies

Seann William Scott talks about squirting during sex. (Video - posssibly NSFW)

More Whoopi: We Have Finally Become Part of the Fabric of the United States of America

Tom Ford to direct movie based on Christopher Isherwood book

"Clash of The Titans" to be remade!

Via Charmants a few sexy boys.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

CNN poll results show that one in four gays voted for McCain, up 20% from 2004.

At first, this might seem surprising. Why would any gay vote Republican? Let alone MORE gays than four years ago? But I think this information tells us a number of things about the LGBT community.

First, both McCain and Obama are against gay marriage, but they do support civil unions. So, from that standpoint they are identical. Second, fewer gays voted for Bush because he is, well, Bush. Third, based on this poll information, gays were about half as likely to vote for McCain as straight people.

As I've said before, being gay cuts across race, gender, and class. With that kind of diversity, it's notable that we vote together as often as we do. This is also, once again, information that can point us to the areas we need to focus on in order to unite our votes even more.

Carrie Fisher was probably right when she said, "What are the two saddest words in the English language? 'What Party?'" Tragic, right?

Although I can think of three sadder ones: "I wasn't invited?" Because that's exactly what this feels like. We showed up to The Civil Rights Celebration Ball, all dressed up and ready to get drunk and have a great time. But, we weren't on the guest list! We thought we were invited, but it turns out that we're just like NeNe from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."

Yup, being gay is the new NeNe.

Yesterday was a little rough. The joy of Obama's win battled the loss of our civil rights. How could a nation elect Obama while simultaneously excising our equality? But, I don't want the setbacks to overshadow the successes. President-elect Barack Obama mentioned gays in his acceptance speech. This is not something he did in his speech on race. In fact, in that speech, there was a natural place for us to be mentioned, an organic moment where gays could have been bundled together with other people who have struggled, but this is what he said: " . . . as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past."

Right there, right between "black" and "Latino." Or right between "Asian" and "rich." Or "poor" and "young." Or after "old." There. Somewhere. Say "gay and straight."

But, BUT, this is what he said in his acceptance speech:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dreams of our founders are alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretch around schools and churches, in numbers this nation has never seen. By people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives. Because they believed that this time must be different. That their voices could be that difference.

It is the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who send a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states - we are and always will be the United States of America.

One door closes, and another one opens.

Wake Up With These:

The Rachel Maddow Show:
1) New Era 2) Lame-duck appointment 3) Building a team 4) Mandate to govern

The New York Times:
NYT The Front Page, 11/06 (4:31)

NPR:
Tell Me More
Stories: 1) Obama Surges To Emotional Win In Historic Election Victory 2) GOP Supporters React To Results 3) America's First Black President: What If, What Now? 4) Sound Bite: Rev. Jesse Jackson's DNC Comments 5) In Our Lifetime: Jesse Jackson, Myrlie Evers-Williams On Obama 6) Atlanta Reacts To Election Results

Slate:
The Culture Gabfest 11/06
In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Obama, Obama, and Obama. What happened with the election, how the media covered it, and what lies ahead for culture under future President Barack Obama.

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can browse while you listen. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there.

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
ABBA's S.O.S. We're sending out a signal . . . .


Television:
Whoopi on The View yesterday. When Whoopi said she feels like she can finally set down her suitcase? Man, that really got me.



Politics:
Okay, remember that scene in the first "Lord of The Rings?" When Gandalf says, "You shall not pass!" Yeah, check this out. And remember that Gandalf eventually came back better than ever.

Movies:
Steve Guttenberg jogs naked through Central Park. He used to be in the movies, so . . . although that does not explain why, when he was a movie star, he wore his shorts so high up.

Music Video:
Patti LaBelle
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
Ah, Pork . . . .

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
ABBA's S.O.S. We're sending out a signal . . . .

Television:

Whoopi on The View yesterday. When Whoopi said she feels like she can finally set down her suitcase? Man, that really got me.

Politics:

Okay, remember that scene in the first "Lord of The Rings?" When Gandalf says, "You shall not pass!" Yeah, check this out. And remember that Gandalf eventually came back better than ever.

Movies:

Steve Guttenberg jogs naked through Central Park. He used to be in the movies, so . . . although that does not explain why, when he was a movie star, he wore his shorts so high up.

Music Video:

Patti LaBelle
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
Ah, Pork . . . .