This is my nephew Alex showing off his Bronze medal in Bocce ball at the Special Olympics in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He also got a gold medal in the 50 meter dash. He is such a cool kid, I miss him so much, can’t wait until he is back in the States.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18568.htm
This is an absolutely fantastic little op-ed about national politics:
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.
I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.
No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY
Don’t you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O’Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.
The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.
O’neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.
REPLACE SCOUNDRELS
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can’t think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it’s because they want them in Lebanon.
There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.
Just wanted to tell everyone that the new Star Trek movie is awesome. It is very honoring to the original series, exceptionally written, great action sequences, and suprisingly funny. Kirk was true to character (but thank God not the Shatner voice), Scotty was hilarious, Spock was good, McCoy had a perfect voice inflection, and Anton Yelchin is the perfect Checkov. It had some good lines as well:
Sarek to Spock at about 18 years of age: You will always be a child of two worlds, and fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is: which path will you choose?
Captain Christopher Pike to Kirk: You’ve always had a hard time finding your place in this world, haven’t you? Never knowing your true worth. You can settle for less in ordinary life, or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special?
From http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_050109/content/01125109.guest.html
This is a letter from Andrew C. McCarthy of New York to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding his denial of an invitation to come discuss prisoner and torture policies. There are the parts I liked:
Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people.
Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.
Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.
I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.
In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.
This guy rocks, standing up against the brainwashing that is going on with most Americans.
Barack Obama has been President of the United States for a little over 100 days. As day one hundred came and went, political commentators and news agencies across the country “graded” the President on his first 100 days. As I listened to the few news organizations that attempted to present both sides of this argument, I found that the democratic side is suffering from a severe case of fundamental attribution error in relation to the state of this country. I am amazed at how they want to attribute all of the positive things going on to President Obama, and all of the negative things to President Bush.
How long do we have to wait for the Obama supporters to hold him accountable for his actions? Until that point, we won’t be able to open up a real discussion about what his policies are doing (or not doing) for this country. But my question is, what damage will have been done at that point. Will we have an unrecoverable debt? Will we be heading down the road to socialized healthcare? Will we have a communist-type ownership of the auto and banking industries? Will we still be completely free to protest our government? Will individuals still have a voice in American politics?
United States Congressman Arlen Specter today said “I am not prepared to have my record judged by the Pennsylvania Republic primary electorate.” Excuse me, Mr. Specter, your record has to be judged by the electorate, that is how you get elected. This is pandering at it’s finest, rejecting one group of your constituents because another group likes you more. If the communist party were to gain strength in the state, are you going to jump to them?
So, last week, the Department of Homeland Security release a 10-page statement regarding “Right Wing Extremists”, how because of the downturn of the economy, the war, and the election of a black president raises the threat of domestic terrorism from those that have right wing views (who have strong relgiious views, or oppose abortion, or oppose immigration, etc.)
And today, the FBI placed their first domestic terror suspect on their infamous “Most Wanted” list. So, is he a right wing extremist, blowing up abortion clinics or something similar? NOOOOOOOOOO, he is a left wing animal rights activist who bombed 2 companies in California in 2003. The only domestic terrorist on the FBI’s most wanted list has left wing views. Shocking!
Look at some recent protests:
April 15th (Right-Wing): hundreds of thousands, even possibly millions all over the country, there was not a single incident of violence, and the events had a family friendly atmospheres (no profanity), and no arrests.
April 14th (Left-Wing): At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 30-40 students protested former congressman Tom Tancredo, calling him a racist (based solely on his stance against illegal immigration). The students shouted obscenities, disturbed free speech, and did not disburse at the direction of police until after pepper spray was sprayed in the hallway, then they went outside and decided to vandalize property by throwing a brick through a window
April 20th (Left-Wing): 250 Protestors gathered in front of Duke Energy to protest the building of a coal power plant. 42 people were arrested for trespassing.
Who is more dangerous again?
So, now that we’ve talked about Disney and how Disney has been able to reach girls, and how they can reach boys, the question that I really wanted to answer, and what started off this rant, was a conversation started with our Children’s Pastor, Jody Mitchell, which is this: considering all this, what can we do to reach this age group for Christ? So, here we go:
Disney has mastered the art of storytelling, whether their stories were created or borrowed, they visually created a masterful story. I previously worked for a marketing company, and we talked constantly about what story we are telling, what image or we presenting as we show this video or image or website, what story are we telling?
The church used to be the only story tellers on the block, they easily had the best story, and they knew at a certain level how to tell it, and people generally accepted it because there was no competition. So, now in a world where we are bombarded by stories in televisions shows, commercials, video games, billboards, cable news, the church is falling behind in being able to tell the best story. Many churches and ministries have been trying to keep pace with this by attempting to create equally compelling shows, commercials, news, billboards, and even video games, but where has that gotten us. Our message is now competing against every other story out there. But if you are only one drop of water in the ocean, the chances that you are going to ever get to land are very slim.
What I would propose instead is to first learn the story as best you can, and really understand and learn how to tell the true story. I believe that the greatest stories that our mainstream media can produce today are simply reflections of the greatest story ever told. When we understand how to tell that story and connect it to the story of people, the real story, not the reflection, I believe people will respond.
For girls, the primary desire is to be desired, to be wanted, to be chosen, to know that you hold a special place in the heart of someone. I love the shirt that says: “I am a princess, my father is the King of Kings.”. How do we tell this story? How do we tell young girls that their Heavenly father has a special place in his heart for them, that he desires their presence, that he desires to show his love for them?
For boys, they want adventure, they want to know that they are worthy, that they are competent. You have to look no further than the Bible aisle at your local Christian bookstore to see this. The Bibles for young boys are called “Adventure” bibles. However, how well do we tell God’s story of adventure, and even more importantly, because although they will not admit it, boy’s role models are crucially import. The more important question is are we living examples of God’s story of adventure? Are we showing boys that giving your life to God will lead you on the greatest adventure?
So, what about the tween boys market? Toon Disney is becoming Disney XD to specifically market to boys, huh? There is a saying in popular culture to consider here: “The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys”. I am of the opinion the difference in marketing to tween boys vs. boys under 8 years old is not as different as it for the same age groups for girls. The only difference is the toys get bigger and more expensive. This has been happening since the introduction of personal electronics, at some point, your little boy doesn’t want that sword, truck, or action figure anymore, they start wanting the computer and video games.
The only difference now is that age when they start getting those things is getting lower and lower. Most 7-8 years olds that I knew have their own personal video game system (gameboy advance, PSP, etc), and by 10 years old, most of them have some sort of gaming system for their TV. Looking back 5-10 years, only the indulgent parents gave their 10 year old a gaming system. This is partially due to the overall reduction in price of these systems.
So Disney wants to speak to this age group? Two words: competition and adventure. As stated above, boys are simply young men, and at their core, they want to find competence through competition and adventure. They want to feel like they are succeeding at something, they want to feel as if life is worth pursuing. Most boys of this age have few opportunities for true adventure, sheltered by the time commitments to their compulsory education, the demands of their urban or suburban lifestyle, or the mostly irrational fears of parents about perceived dangers if little Johnny were to stray more than 5 feet from the house.
Boys seek the computer and video games, because that’s a substitute for living a true life of adventure. They can more easily and more safely satisfy these needs through the virtual world than through the real world, and mom and dad are happy, as long as they do their homework and aren’t late for school because they were up late playing video games.
So, Disney, you want to speak to the tween boys market? Here you go:
By the way, Disney, I am available for consulting services.
I’ve seen a few articles in last few weeks about the re-launch of Toon Disney as Disney XD, to focus on boys age 8-14, because Disney felt that they weren’t connecting with that boys market as much as they had success connecting with girls of the same age through the changes made at The Disney Channel.From it’s beginning, Disney didn’t have to try that hard to connect with girls. Stories about princesses, animals in peril, the girl who discovers who she is or that she has an incredible gift, or just a good old fashion love story. All of these things speak right to the female heart: you can find love, you are special, you have value, you are worthy, regardless of what you look like or what is going on.
Since the breakout of the “tween” market, no single marketer has captured the essence of the tween market, particularly that of tween girls, better than Disney. Although probably unintentional in the beginning, Disney Channel has continued to produce and select shows that speak to tween girls. Behind Disney Channel shows and movies you will most likely find mostly older teenager female characters, either misunderstood, with a special gift, or being able to continue through confusing situations, particularly finding identity, and many times put in situations well beyond their years:
All of these series speak directly to girls and their world, but infuse enough elements of teenagers without making it overly serious, and at times, making it intentionally cheesy, because as much as they seek for the teenage world, most tween girls still think like children. I think this was unintentional in the beginning, but I promise you that the marketers at Disney were quick on the uptake, maybe that they couldn’t tell you why girls liked certain things, but that you needed these elements to appeal to the girls market.
