Freebies

You might as well get something out of today's election as Democrats take control of Congress.

Coffee, doughnuts and ice cream are being offered up in election day giveaways by Starbucks Coffee Inc., Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. and Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc.

But Starbucks' giveaway may violate state and federal laws because it specifically targets voters, according to the attorney general of Washington state.

Seattle-based Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) said it is giving away a free "tall" 12-ounce cup of coffee to anyone who votes.

North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme (NYSE:KKD) is giving away star-shaped doughnuts and Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's is offering free scoops of its ice cream Tuesday. But those companies aren't requiring people to say they voted to get their treats.

Starbucks Factor

Just after getting introduced by a women's rights activist and NOW leader in LA over the weekend, Sarah Palin drew a reluctant Madelaine Albright into the conversation.

Albright, showing little class, backed off of her words of wisdom to be true to the tenets of the women's movement - we care about women getting ahead only when they follow the liberal dogma.

Ban the Media!

Are most Americans conscious of liberal bias in the media? Oh yes.

...49% believe most reporters are trying to help Barack Obama win the election this year. Just 14% believe they’re trying to help McCain.

Do Americans get that the influence of money is a huge problem? Yup. But it's not as bad as media bias!

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 55% believe media bias is more of a problem than big campaign contributions. Thirty-six percent (36%) disagree and think that campaign cash is a bigger problem.

Would voters favor banning all TV commercials to get rid of the influence of money in politics? Nope. They feel that they need to commercials to protect them from.... media bias!

Just 22% believe it would be a good idea to ban all campaign commercials so that voters could receive information on the campaign only from the news media and the internet. Sixty-six percent (66%) disagree and think that, despite the annoyance factor, it’s better to put up with an election-year barrage of advertising rather than rely on the news media.

And how do folks feel about the price of coffee?

Seventy-three percent (73%) of adults say Starbucks Coffee is overpriced. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 6% disagree.

Just threw that in to see if you're paying attention.