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Many children have gazed up at Mickey D's famous golden arches on their way in to grab a burger, chicken nuggets, french fries or a sundae with their parents. Today the company celebrates its 50th anniversary. Who doesn't remember sitting on the swivel chairs with school friends and biting into the crunchy sliced pickle that was always perfectly centered in the sandwich? McDonald's aptly titled Happy Meals put a smile on tots' faces while their moms and pops noshed on a Big Mac or Filet-O-Fish. Sometimes even Ronald McDonald or the Hamburgler made an appearance and then it was time to hit the brightly colored playground that was attached to the establishment. Children were so smitten with the fast food joint that they threw their birthday parties there but is the love affair with drive through and paper wrapped entrees a thing of the past? To see why I ask, read more

Megan McCain knows how the GOP can become a more modern party: it should go back to its roots. In her column this week, Meghan argues that Republican resistance to gay marriage goes against conservatives' values, and their own self-interest. Plus! Ronald Reagan was totally pro-gay. Sounds like Meghan's appealing to the GOP's mind and heart.

On her own coming out as a pro-gay-marriage Republican, she writes:

Recently, I seemed to have rocked a few individuals within my party by saying that I am a pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican. So if anyone is still confused, let me spell it out for you. I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone in this country—“All men are created equal.” If you think certain rights should not apply to certain people, then you are saying those people are not equal. People may always have a difference of opinion on certain lifestyles, but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn't just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it's un-American.

Does Meghan sound like a true Republican to you?

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Hey CitizenSugar readers! I have a surprise for you! We've been dying to get in on this whole "change" thing over here on CitizenSugar. I can't tell you about it quite yet, but keep your eye on CitizenSugar Wednesday evening to find out what's in store!

How do you feel when Twittering? Do you feel elated as a rush of pure joy surges through your body? OK, I won't continue down that path, but I am interested in finding out how Twitter really makes you feel.

I just read an article on CNN that describes how scientists are learning that Twitter is having detrimental effects on the mind, since a constant stream of byte sized updates (known as tweets in our world), are too quick for the brain to fully absorb. They claim that this lack of "proper processing" could actually harm a child's emotional development as well as desensitize our sense of morality and compassion towards others. Researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang said this about the issue:

"If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality."

Sometimes sites like Facebook and Twitter leave me with a sense of guilt (for not updating/checking them enough) and a feeling of being overwhelmed (since there's so much to catch up on and I can't devote enough of my time to certain people). What are your thoughts?

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A Sacramento police officer hands out eviction notices to residents at a homeless tent city. The hundreds of residents living in a tent city along the American River were told to relocate to a shelter at the Cal Expo center.

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• HP's new dv2 ultraslim notebook comes with this shiny, sleek, and sexy external Blu-ray drive. — CrunchGear
• Here's another tool for Twitter addicts. A new service called Birdhouse acts as a place for you to store your tweets before you post them online. — Boing Boing
• Pick up an Olympus Stylus 830 8-megapixel digital camera today for only $99 (in silver or orange). That's $150 off the regular price. — Switched
• The Nikon D5000, which offers 11-point autofocus, a 3200 ISO, movie image editing, and a 2.7-inch LCD screen, is coming out in Japan on May 1 and will cost $830. That means it may just make its way to the US by the Fall or Winter. — Gizmodo
• This robotic table, which was created by UK designer Chris Murphy, is perfect for those who constantly need tables that vary in height. . . one for eating, working, playing, you get the point! — Unplggd

• Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich plead not guilty to 16 federal criminal counts today, saying, "Black care never catches a rider whose pace is fast enough." — New York Times
• Use condoms or make Hitler? — The XX File
• Interracial smooch photo on St. Louis Post-Dispatch magazine causes a controversy. — Gawker
• You're born with your personality so stop trying to change it. — LemonDrop
• Why bathroom breaks before going on national TV are important. — GiggleSugar
• Facebook makes your grades drop! — geeksugar

First Lady Michelle Obama made a stop at the Department of Homeland Security today to thank federal workers there for all the hard work.

So what have Secretary Janet Napolitano and DHS been up to these days? Well, the Department just warned law enforcement officials about a rise in "right-wing extremist activity." The recession, the election of a black president, and the return of disgruntled war veterans could cause a rise in influence for white-power militias.

The DHS report explains it's not just about race: "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

Hmm . . . what about opposition to taxes? One neo-Nazi message board claims that the tea party movement is the "white revolution we've been waiting for," since (according to them) it's the whites who are taxed to support worthless social programs.

Let's hope Homeland Security protects Americans from radical criminals, while peaceful protectors are allowed to exercise their rights!

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