Thursday, January 09, 2014

What Grade Would You Give Barack Obama?

What grade would you give President Barack Obama for 2013?  If it's an "A" you'll really enjoy the thoughtful and detailed blog article by my friend Steve over on the peripateticblogger.com

Sadly I can't agree with Steve. My reply is printed below:

Whoa! I'm shocked to say the least.  It's one thing to be an Obama supporter and a strong and unyielding supporter of the Liberal agenda, it's quite another to give Obama any marks for success.

His signature accomplishment, The poorly named Affordable Care Act (to which he contributed absolutely nothing beyond overblown sales hucksterism) should be an F---.  The program will leave more people uninsured than ever before, will destroy the middle class (who will carry the financial weight of the program) and will quickly collapse into dust.  Unfortunately it may also destroy the actual health care system as it collapses.  Let us hope that doesn't happen.

Over the next four years it will be largely replaced.  Unfortunately the program is so tainted it might result in a rebound toward the Republican models rather than the single payer plan we all originally envisioned.  It certainly will cost Democrats control of the Senate in 2014.

Barack Obama is ill suited to be President and has been proven unable to accomplish the job.  None of this had to happen.  It was all avoidable and a more able politician and manager could have given us the Affordable Health Care Act we all desired and deserved.


Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Are You Gonna Stay the Night?

For the last forty years (and probably a lot longer) the question has been "How much does media (films, television, music, even commercials) affect behavior and morality and how much does it reflect current society and the reality of life?"

Liberals and the folks that control 99% of the media tell us music and films are reflective, showing real life and people's aspirations to find a place within it.

Conservatives and media critics generally blame the media for encouraging promiscuity, bad lifestyle choices and the decline of morality in society.

In reality it is more a vicious cycle with breakdowns in traditional society portrayed in a positive way, encouraging further breakdown and movement toward a new societal structure.

Forty years ago most families, from every ethnic and socioeconomic group, had traditional marriages and families with both a mother and father in the home.

In the 1950's and 1960's the general result of teen pregnacy was a hasty marriage, the so-called shotgun wedding.

Today teen pregnancy all too often results in either abortion or unwed teen motherhood, often in a cycle of poverty.

What caused me to reflect on this situation is a Time Magazine report out yesterday that "Sexting" of the use of cell phones to act out sexual activity (including the exchange of nude photos) is now rampant among middle school aged children, even preteens. 

Today's pop music, virtually the entire "Top 40" glorifies sexual activity, often eschewing any potential of a long term relationship.  One of my favorite songs today is "Stay the Night" by Zedd featuring Haley Williams.  

LYRICS include:

"I am the fire, gasoline,
Pour yourself all over me.

Are you gonna stay the night?
Doesn't mean we're bound for life."

Enjoy this amazing, creative video, but keep in mind, every ten year old in America loves this song and hears it a dozen times every day!



This video is legally displayed here, but due to tight copyright control the copyright holder may well delete this video in the future. We apologize if it is no longer available when you read this blog.

Now let's flip the coin and show you a video from Argentine for a relatively new product not available in the United States, Coca-Cola Life, a Stevia Sweetened reduced calorie (but not calorie free) Cola.  Currently Coca-Cola has no plans to introduce the cola in the United States.

Regardless, this commercial has gone insanely viral and one viewing will tell you why. It's absolutely brilliant. One of the reasons it's gone viral is because it glorifies the family, and glorifies parenting, mother AND father parenting!





Which message do you want your children or grandchildren to see?

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Melissa Harris-Perry

I have the utmost respect for MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry. I watch her show on Saturday and Sunday mornings as often as possible. She is bright, thought provoking and entertaining, a rare combination on this otherwise morbid network. 

She gets into trouble often because of her unflinching Liberal viewpoint and it a lightening rod for Conservatives. But her worst week was last week when she callously mocked the Mitt Romney family for their adoption of an African American child.  The Twitterverse, blogosphere and Conservative news outlets exploded in outrage. And I was certainly outraged, too.

However, I Tweeted Tuesday morning that I was absolutely confident that Harris-Perry would apologize. Not thirty minutes later she did. 

She also apologized on the air Saturday. It was the most heartfelt and genuine apology I've witnessed from a public figure.  Not only did Harris-Perry deeply regret her error, I believe she genuinely learned from the experience.

In short, Melissa Harris-Perry is no Joy Reid. She is an asset to today's political debate and the most valuable member of the MSNBC Team.