During the course of a presidential campaign, the lucky few who remain competitive candidates share nearly every aspect of their lives with the American people– from how they care for their family to their views on the most personal issues. But while we get a great idea of what they would be like as leaders, it’s hard to imagine them as carefree children with no political aspirations whatsoever, or young adults who have no idea they will end up on the national spotlight.

The Pentagon has released the names of the 30 servicemen who lost their lives when a Chinook helicopter was shot down over Afghanistan earlier this month.

As such, we’re now able to learn more about the men, one as young as 21, who died fighting for their country. CNN has interviews with some of the loved ones left behind — definitely worth a watch if you have a moment.

There were over 200,000 people at yesterday’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and a whole lot of them had signs. Tommy Christopher covered the beat from the perspective of someone who arrived earlier and was much closer to the front; I covered the late-to-the-party-gee-it’s-crowded-can-you-hear-anything?-they-clearly-weren’t-expecting-this-many-people shift, who came equally bedecked and be-placarded, because apparently that’s how you take your country back. There were bears, puns, twins, Hitler mustaches but ironic Hitler mustaches,

Two years ago Glynnis MacNicol, Steve Krakauer and I — all working for different organizations back then — had just wrapped up two weeks in Denver and/or Minneapolis for the Democratic and then the Republican National Convention. Obama had blown the roof of Invesco Field, and the Sarah Palin blew the roof off that with her nomination and killer speech (and made me blow a gasket). Looking through a gallery of pictures from that time, it all seemed so long ago, like from another era. Two years ago, no one could have predicted that, as between Obama and Sarah Palin, it would be the latter who would dominate on Facebook and Twitter (remember how avante-garde it was for not-yet-President Barack Obama to announce his selection of Joe Biden as VP via text message? Back then it seemed like a BFD). Come to think of it, everything seems different now except for Sarah Palin – looking at her blithely making that speech, blaming the media for being mean to her even when she refused to sit for a Sunday morning show (she still hasn’t), or any interview (except for Fox and Oprah, has she since Katie Couric?). Her demeanor has been pretty unshakable through these last 2 years – you can say one thing for Sarah Palin that you can’t say for Obama – with her, you know exactly what you are going to get.

We see more and more reality shows now than ever, and that means more and more reality “stars.” But which reality TV stars have become actually famous? Here’s our list of the top 10.

Note: to make the list, you had to get your start on a reality show that you technically couldn’t get famous for anyway – American Idol or Project Runway contestants, for example, don’t make the cut.

2009 has been a year of controversies. Some of them were big, like Climategate. Some of them were not very big, but were nevertheless blown up by blogs and cable news, like Jackass-gate, when President Obama referred to Kanye West as a “Jackass.” Many were united by that ever-persistent “-gate” suffix. In this slideshow, Mediaite fondly looks back on a year of -gates (and wonders if it’s time to give the “-gate” suffix a rest):

White House Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the Council on Environmental Quality Van Jones – aka President Barack Obama‘s “Green Czar” – resigned this weekend after controversy about his past and a rather unfortunate signature on a 9/11 Truther petition. Ulp. Well, here’s another truth for you: Van Jones is HOT.

Where were you a year ago today? If you are a political journalist — or media hanger-on — chances are you were living out of a suitcase at the 2008 Presidential Conventions, with the Dems nominating Barack Obama in Denver and the GOP nominating John McCain in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Remember those heady days?

Coverage of Senator Edward Kennedy’s funeral and burial dominated this weekend. Both the networks and the cablers carried Saturday’s service live and then returned later in the day in order to broadcast Kennedy’s motorcade past the Capitol, and burial at Arlington National Cemetery. In case you missed any of it here’s a look at the top five moments from this weekend’s coverage.

The treatment of Senator Ted Kennedy’s death has received almost as much coverage as the death itself. Immediately, there were accusations of politicization from the right. Around the web, there has been the requisite cataloging of trollish actions and reactions, and the attendant pushback. But faced with the challenge of making the Kennedy funeral coverage less, well, funereal, Huffington Post has come up with a unique angle that ties it to the critically acclaimed AMC show Mad Men….

Let me just say this: I am no style expert. Most of you aren’t either. But we all have to put on clothes everyday and make decisions about how present ourselves to the world. Plus, we love to judge the fashion choices of others. Think you don’t? I dare you to watch the red carpet [...]

Miley Cyrus’ controversial Vanity Fair spread may have been in the name of art, but there was nothing artistic about cavorting around a stripper pole on an ice cream cart in shortie-shorts doing oversexed dance moves at Monday’s Teen Choice Awards. Miley’s fame and fan base will not be affected by Monday’s dance. But the shift into overdrive of Miley’s sexualization cannot go unnoticed. From VF all the way to the stripper pole, this girl is growing up fast. Or being grown up fast.