Welcome to the Internet, HealthCare.gov—There Is No Cure

Buzzy dotcom start-up the United States government introduced a new Web site, HealthCare.gov, conveniently located at the Web address HealthCare.gov. (The July 1 launch of the site was actually written into the health-care reform bill.) HealthCare.gov allows users to input their personal information—for instance, New York residency, under-26 age bracket—and browse and compare available coverage plans. Let’s play around with this. So, for our fictive 22-year-old New York resident, option No. 1 suggests attempting to seek (or keep) coverage through a parent’s plan for the next four years. Check, and check. But what if you’re a senior who has a medical condition but is not sufficiently covered by Medicare? Option No. 1, in that case: use Medicaid to help pay for Medicare. (Hey, we never said this was a fun game.)

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Welcome to the Internet, HealthCare.gov—There Is No Cure

The G.O.P. Won in Iraq—the Dems Lost Afghanistan

Ohmygod, a narrative shift. Of vast and shameless proportions. We won the Iraq war. Won! We’re losing in Afghanistan—or, Barack Obama is losing in Afghanistan—but George Bush & Co. won in Iraq. “Gen. Petraeus won in Iraq because George W. Bush had his back and the people of Iraq, friend as well as foe, knew it,” says Bret Stephens, the deputy editorial page editor and foreign affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and dedicated neocon. Continue Reading at Newser.com »

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The Top Five Most Outrageous Republican Primary Ads of 2010

With Tea Party momentum going strong and a whiff of grapeshot hanging around the midterm elections, G.O.P. primaries across the nation have seen an influx of homegrown candidates as well as a cascade of outrageous political advertising, as candidates vie to grab voters’ attention and prove their conservative bona fides. From taunts and tricornes to guns and God, VF Daily presents the top five most ridiculous Republican-primary campaign ads of 2010: 5. “We Are Better Than That!,” from former Alabama Agricultural Commission candidate Dale Peterson Peterson’s delivery is actually pretty great—just for a spaghetti Western, not a campaign ad. But despite his volubility, the sweeping strains of music in this commercial practically drown him out. A bit of trivia: Peterson, who failed to win his primary, went on to star in another highly entertaining campaign ad, this time endorsing his former opponent John McMillan, and also made a cameo in an additional outrageous video from the candidate who comes in at No. 4 on our list.

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The Top Five Most Outrageous Republican Primary Ads of 2010

Portland Police All in For Round Two of the Al Gore Sex Scandal Investigation

• President Obama will speak today about immigration reform—an issue which everyone widely agrees will not be touched by anyone until after the midterm elections. [The New York Daily News] • Police in Portland will re-investigate 2006 sexual abuse allegations against Nobel Peace Prize–winner Al Gore. Authorities did not indicate why they are doing so, though this will likely not stop everyone from trying to guess. [The Wall Street Journal] • A bitter, public fight between a Minuteman and Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) is the Internet’s most prominent Controversy™ today. [CNN] • Hurricane Alex was nothing more than a common tropical storm by the time it hit southern Texas. [The Houston Chronicle] • M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie, The Last Airbender, is just terrible. This should not come as a shock, given The Village and The Happening. [Gawker]

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Portland Police All in For Round Two of the Al Gore Sex Scandal Investigation

The Other Gehrys

Frank Gehry is best known for designing Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, the titanium masterpiece that V.F.’s World Architecture Survey has anointed the greatest building of the past 30 years. (See the results of the survey.) But the museum’s gleaming curves are not Gehry’s only marvel. Here, VF.com considers some of his other works of art, from a pair of waltzing towers in Prague to an icy beacon in downtown Manhattan.

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Architecture’s Modern Marvels

When V.F. asked 52 experts to choose the five most important works of architecture created since 1980, they named a staggering 132 different structures. Here are the top 21, in order of popularity.

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Architecture’s Modern Marvels

Michael Jackson: The Boy King

Fame came to Michael Jackson early, and fame—and an obsession with youth—defined him. He fed on attention and innocence, never forsaking his adoring fans on the journey from the littlest Jackson 5 to international superstardom (but fleeing reality for the Peter-Pan surrealism of his Neverland ranch). The childlike pretensions, the odd surgical transformations, the accusations and trial—nothing could diminish the appeal of his undeniable talent, in life or in death. Hail, hail, the King of Pop.

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Ruth Ansel’s Design of the Times

Ruth Ansel has been busy revolutionizing the look and feel of American magazines. VF.com celebrates the designer’s remarkable career with snapshots of her life and art—described by the subject herself.

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Ruth Ansel’s Design of the Times

Conan O’Brien Decided to Follow One Person on Twitter

Conan O’Brien has 538,309 followers on Twitter. This afternoon, he randomly selected one of them to follow. Internet, meet “LovelyButton.” She already has 5,856 followers of her own. “OMG. this is Fantastically exciting,” wrote Ms. Button. It strangely sort of is!

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Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow

As co-founder and C.E.O. of the world’s largest asset-management firm, BlackRock, Larry Fink invests more than $3 trillion—and services another $9 trillion—for a client list that includes Fannie Mae, A.I.G., and the New York Fed. Suzanna Andrews tackles the question: Could one man be too big to fail?

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Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow

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