The first half of January has seen a massive increase in user participation on Mahalo Answers. The top 80 users have all earned at least a Green Belt, meaning that they have accrued 500 points or more. Our top contributor at the time of this writing is darcy logan, who has just eclipsed 6,000 points. Congratulations, Darcy, in your attempt to become the first Mahalo Answers member to don the coveted Brown Belt!

Earning the Brown Belt isn’t as easy, however, as simply acquiring 8,000 points. The profile of every member to reach this plateau will be reviewed by several members of the Mahalo staff. The staff will analyze the user’s behavior and judge whether the quality of their questions and answers are high enough to warrant the Brown Belt. This method will eliminate the possibility of someone gaming the system to appear to be a respected member of the Mahalo community. If you want to be a Brown or Black Belt, you must be helpful. That is, after all, the Mahalo mission.

Our Top 10 users are now all purple belts, earning at least 2,000 points within Mahalo Answers. Congratulations to you all!

Left or Right?
Whatever your political beliefs, Mahalo Answers remains a place where you can pose questions on the modern social landscape and receive thoughtful, non-biased answers. Ann Coulter’s appearance on The View this week encouraged some healthy debate on the controversial author’s opinions. Despite Coulter’s infamous reputation for inspiring ad hominem attacks among both her fans and foes, the Mahalo Answers discussion remained respectful and fact-based.

This question also exemplifies the benefit of being able to embed media within Mahalo questions. Even a user unfamiliar with the segment can click ‘play’ and be a part of the discussion within minutes.

Expanding Categories
As our community grows, the questions are becoming more specific and targeted. To further foster individual communities within Mahalo Answers, we’re continually expanding our categories to include more focused subjects. To see the sub-sections in every category, simply click on the blue arrows next to your selected category, and the more specific sections will appear below.

The categories will be continually refined in the coming weeks. E-mail feedback@mahalo.com with comments, or make a suggestion in the “Suggestions” category on Answers. As always, keep your questions and answers coming!

Vice Presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden went toe to toe on Thursday October 2, 2008, in their first and only debate before the general election in November. The two sparred on foreign policy, the economy and other tangential topics like gay marriage and Iraq.

Though a CNN/Opinion Research poll shows Biden as the winner by a small margin, there were few fireworks during the debate and neither candidate landed a decisive blow. The poll also showed that Palin performed better than expected, especially in light of her recent fumbles in the press. Palin went as far as to say that Couric “annoyed” her with her quizzy questions.

Remains of adventurer Steve Fossett were finally found on October 2, 2008, amongst his plain’s wreckage in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. DNA tests are pending, but Fossett is thought to be dead. He first went missing in September 2007.

The House of Representatives approved (263-171) the $700 billion bailout bill today, after initially rejecting the bill on September 29. The bill gives the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson free reign to purchase flailing financial institutions, in what is being dubbed the biggest act of governmental intervention on record. According to an article on SFGate.com, the bill was repackaged to include billions in earmarks and tax breaks for home-town interests in the Senate, two examples being: $2 million for wooden arrow manufacturers in Oregon, and the extension of a tax break worth $478 million for Hollywood filmmakers who shoot in the U.S.

In somewhat lighter news, a user with the handle “johntw” purported a hoax through CNN’S iReport system that Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) had a heart attack. This caused Apple’s stock to temporarily plummet, falling below $100 per share. Apple’s stock has recovered, and Steve Jobs is fine.

Need some games to dig into over the weekend? Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the action-adventure title that lets you violently wield the force, has broken sales records and defied reviews (check out our full game guide). Or, if you would like to be terrified, Silent Hill: Homecoming, the fifth title in the chilling Silent Hill series, was released this past week (game guide is pending).

A turbulent third financial quarter comes to a close, with the Dow surging up 485 points after a record 777-point drop the day before. After voting down the bill on Monday, a reconvened Senate will vote on the bailout again on Wednesday morning, with affirmative votes more likely.

As both candidates face tough questions in the month before the election, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to be under the most heat, with the fourth part of her interview with Katie Couric airing today. In one of the more tense moments of the interview, Couric asks Palin which news sources she would read before being selected as the running mate; Palin generalized, but did not list any specific sources. Her debate against Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s Democratic running mate, is Thursday night in St. Louis, Missouri.

In lighter news, Charlie Ebersol, son of NBC Sports producer Dick Ebersol, is dating tennis star Maria Sharapova. Ready to rock, country style? Kevin Costner’s debut album will be released on November 11. His band’s name is Modern West.

The financial markets continued to go haywire on Thursday, with the sale of struggling Washington Mutual to J.P. Morgan. In the midst of the crisis, lawmakers have still not reached an agreement on the mortgage bailout plan.

Though John McCain and Barack Obama have temporarily “suspended” their campaigns, the American public certainly hasn’t. Comedian Sarah Silverman is promoting The Great Schlep, encouraging young Jews across America to travel to Florida to convince their elderly relatives to vote for Obama.

With economic relief nowhere on the horizon, Americans can still indulge in television. Tonight sees the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy on ABC and the premiere of The Office on NBC.

Not laughing yet? Then you might need the 2009 Naked Clown Calendar, the proceeds of which go to benefit the Judy Finelli Fund, striving to discover a cure and treatments for multiple sclerosis.

If you missed it, check out Mahalo Daily’s coverage of the Eagle Eye premiere. Mahalo Daily co-host Lon Harris interviews Kristin Cavallari, Michelle Monaghan and Rosario Dawson.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the September 11th terrorists attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will make an appearance at ground zero to commemorate the anniversary. Also, the country’s first memorial to those lost in the attacks, the 9-11 Pentagon Memorial, was unveiled today in front of the Pentagon.

In other news, Hurricane Ike continued to barrel down on the Texas coast with 100mph winds, causing local authorities to call for the evacuation of Brazoria County, including the Houston and Galveston areas. Check back in with Mahalo for continuing updates on the storms progress.

In celebrity news, rap star Kanye West was arrested at LAX airport for assaulting a member of the paparazzi and smashing their video camera.

For more top stories, news and great links, check out Mahalo.com

It didn’t inspire the fervor that his running mate Sarah Palin’s speech did the night before, but Mahalo’s got the transcript and video for John McCain’s acceptance speech from the 2008 Republican National Convention nonetheless.

Speaking of the Alaskan governor, the controversy swirling around her seems to be picking up speed, if that’s possible:

More rumors arose questioning the nature of her relationship with husband Todd Palin’s business partner Scott Alan Richter when Richter sought emergency expedition of divorce proceedings from wife Deborah Marie Richter.

Oprah responded with a speedy and vehement denial, but the Drudge Report stuck by its story that the talk show host was reluctant to have Palin as a guest on her show due to Oprah’s support of Barack Obama.

And, Seattle’s favorite daughters, Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart, are none too pleased that the Republicans have adopted their hit “Barracuda” as Sarah Barracuda’s theme song.

Oh boy, the opinions are flying: see what the experts have to say about the top film and TV premieres of the week on our pages for Bangkok Dangerous reviews and True Blood reviews.

And last but not least, Mahalo wishes our pals over at Google a very happy tenth birthday! We were going to get you something, but what do you get for the guys and girls who have everything?

The blog world was a-buzz throughout the day with news of Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter, Bristol. She will reportedly be marrying Levi Johnston, the father. Johnston is also scheduled to appear with the Palin’s at the Republican National Convention.

Politics wasn’t the only gossip of the day, however. News also broke of a potential relationship between Anne Hathaway and Josh Lucas. We are also saddened to report that we now live in a world without voice-over performer Don LaFontaine.

This week has also seen some new episodes of popular shows. The Gossip Girl season premiere and the Prison Break season premiere both aired on Labor Day.

This morning’s episode of Mahalo Daily detailed some great techniques for improving your golf swing. That Leah D’Emilio. What wacky hijinx will she get herself mixed up in next?

Miss the Steve Jobs WWDC keynote yesterday? Get the 60 second roundup from the Mahalo Daily team.

Related discussion:

• Download Squad
• MacUser

Now that we’ve seen all six episodes from the six finalists, it’s your chance to vote for your favorite Mahalo VLOG Idol contestant! Head on over to MahaloDaily.com to place your vote and leave your feedback in the comments.

We want to hear from you and to sweeten the deal our friends over at Seesmic are offering a free Macbook Air for the best video comment! Watch the video below for more information from show Co-Host Lon Harris.

Getting a car is a huge investment: monthly payments, interest, insurance, and maintenance can really add up. You may be considering leasing as a way to get the nicest car for the least amount of money. But don’t just assume leasing can save you big bucks. Remember, you won’t own a car after handing over all those monthly payments? And leasing means you may face restrictions on how many miles you can drive (so no cross-country road trips).

To decide if leasing is right for you, visit Mahalo’s guide to how to lease a car.