Can the government ever stop spending money it doesn't have? Can we?

For many years we had a "Friday night Date" and went out to eat. About 60 years. Then came Covid. The restaurants closed, churches closed, libraries closed, schools closed, clubs closed, and no one was getting together to socialize. We had never been good at "carry-out," except for pizza. I'd look at the $50+ bill to eat in the kitchen that I could have fixed for $10. And still have a clean up. So we probably saved a lot of money. In 2020-21 the personal savings rate in the country went from about 10% to 30%. Now it's below pre-pandemic levels. We never went back to Friday Night Date. Now it's about once or twice a month. And we don't really miss it. Watch this video on I.O.U. U.S.A. Then figure out a way to decrease your costs for housing, transportation, or food. We need to ask our government also to stop spending money it doesn't have.

I.O.U.S.A.: Byte-Sized - The 30 Minute Version - YouTube

Full disclosure:  This week we did both have a pedicure.  We called it our Valentine Date.

Podcasts--true crime are the most popular

I'm not sure I knew what a podcast was until the summer of 2021, and now I have about 50 on my "library" list on my smartphone. It used to be I'd see them occasionally on YouTube and follow for awhile, but I really prefer the audio to the video.  It's easier to do other things. You can investigate a topic much more in 2 hours than in 30 seconds on the evening news. My list changes some as I learn more about the values and veracity of the host or if I don't like the quality of the host's voice or talking speed.  I first figured out that they were a popular form of entertainment and information when I watched the first season of   "Only murders in our building." Only Murders in the Building (TV Series 2021– ) - IMDb

"Follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it's too late."

Although it was very well acted the language was just too raw, so we stopped watching.  Now has finished up season three.

Pew Research says 24% of podcasts are true crime and about 10% are "politics and government." (Sort of the same thing, don't you think? 

"A new Pew Research Center study of 451 of the top-ranked podcasts in the United States shows this diversity of subjects: No single topic is the main focus of more than a quarter of these podcasts.

True crime is the most common topic, making up 24% of these top-ranked podcasts – perhaps reflecting the early popularity of Serial. The next most common topics are politics and government (10%); entertainment, pop culture and the arts (9%); and self-help and relationships (8%)." A Profile of the Top-Ranked Podcasts in the U.S. | Pew Research Center

Many of those on my list are former news reporters or programs I've known for years like Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, Hugh Hewitt, and Victor Davis Hanson.  I had either seen them on TV, listened to live programing on the radio, or read their columns. Probably ten are about religion, with some politics thrown in.  Another ten are politics, or politics with popular culture. Maybe ten are about health, or health related. I'd say five are "red-pilled"--they've left the Democrat party for a variety of reasons, usually Covid or Communism.  "Great books" is self-explanatory, as is "Boring books for Bedtime." Two are Canadian, Jordan B. Peterson, Dr. Gad Saad, others are American immigrants, like Patrick Bet David, born in Iran (business, entertainment, politics), or foreign, like Zuby, British citizen of Nigerian ancestry, Freddie Sayers, British with conversations on science, politics, free speech. Three are black and conservative, and they are also outspoken about their Christian faith. Jason Whitlock is sort of a two-fer x 2--black, conservative, Christian, and sports. A number of these have regular sidekicks or guest panels with whom they debate, disagree or affirm. Four of my favorites are medical shows. Often, they interview each other.  On the list I have a lesbian Jew journalist and a formerly gay man (very conservative Christian) who has a lot of Hollywood connections. 

I thought Covid had boosted the popularity, and according to Forbes.com in January 2023 it did. However,  "Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the art of the podcast became a full-blown renaissance. But in truth, podcasting predated the coronavirus, responding to the evolving wants and needs of young listeners who don’t just want to blast the radio in their cars. 

Around the globe, there are more than 400 million podcast listeners who tune in for all sorts of content. Because of that high listenership, there are over 2 million independent podcasts with tens of millions of episodes between them. That’s right: Over 2 million podcasts."

Netflix suicide series “13 Reasons Why”

Should the entertainment industry be held accountable? The Netflix series examines the suicide of 17 year-old Hannah Baker, who made 13 cassette tapes prior to her death.

"According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, United States youth ages 10-17 had a 28.9% increase in suicide rates in young males in the month (April 2017) following the debut of the show."

www.ncregister.com/daily-news/study-finds-nearly-30-spike-in-male-teen-suicide-following-netflix-release?

https://www.phillyvoice.com/netflix-13-reasons-why-teen-suicides-increase-study/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2019/release-of-13-reasons-why-associated-with-increase-in-youth-suicide-rates.shtml

The entertainment industry, specifically TV and film, is a powerful mind control group whose representatives love to lecture the rest of us on man caused climate change, racism, sexual issues, gun laws, etc., yet are the most consistently violent, abusive, and life threatening force in our lives. It also brought us the MeToo hypocrisy, black performers as servants, criminals and/or dancers, and all the shoot 'em up car chase themes which they now decry as toxic masculinity.

Screen life isn’t real life

“Unfortunately, TV (any form of information/entertainment on a screen whether phone, video, film, computer)  floods the viewer with inauthentic images of real-life situations. This is why the Church has always had her doubts about theater and other forms of entertainment, not just because they can be bawdy, but because of the false vision of life that they present in such convincing ways. It’s our task to remain vigilant, to maintain a different way of viewing things, even when the spiritual dimension has been suppressed.” Bevil Bramwell, OMI https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/01/14/of-television-and-liturgy/

Trying to keep the TV and Facebook off today (a fast), but we do have a trip planned to the Columbus Museum of Art to see the Post Impressionism show after church.  Betty Zimmer, who’s had 35 years as a docent will be our guide, and we plan to have lunch there.

From the CMA website:

"In partnership with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, Columbus Museum of Art presents Beyond Impressionism – Paris, Fin de Siècle:  Signac, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec and Their Contemporaries. CMA is the only U.S. venue for this extraordinary exhibition. Featuring approximately 100 paintings, drawings, prints, and works on paper, the exhibition explores the Parisian art scene, focusing on the most important French avant-garde artists of the late 19th century, including Paul Signac, Maximilien Luce, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Félix Vallotton, Odilon Redon, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The Parisian fin de siècle was a time of political upheaval and intense cultural transformation."

We bought the tickets; we made them rich

For decades the entertainment industry has been pushing and eroding respect for sexuality, parenthood, women, men, children, family, and church, inserting its values into sit-coms, dramas and violent crime shows, until they convinced the world their values were normal. And all along, the men were pawing and raping boys and women, and the females were keeping quiet to protect their careers while performing the roles the men controlled and the women wrote in the screen plays. The industry glorified violence and crime while demanding gun control for the average person. They push dropping pronouns, changing the language and opening bathrooms in the name of "social justice." Sick. Too late now; we bought the tickets, we didn't change the channel, we laughed at their smarmy jokes. We made them rich.

The women blame power imbalance, the men blame their fathers for poor behavior modeling? Richard Dreyfuss calls it flirting and thought it was consensual. She let it go on for decades; I can see why he might get it wrong. So after 40 years of "I am woman hear me roar" it's still all about sex? Apparently, the Marxist message underlying much of the Feminist movement just didn't have much appeal for the ladies.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/richard-dreyfuss-accused-of-exposing-himself-to-woman.html?

 The Clinton News Network (CNN) last night at the Pub was featuring Putin and Trump meeting, making a big deal about it instead of pointing out the latest revelations from the entertainment industry, and all the people who knew all about Louis C.K. who could fill Madison Square Garden and masturbate in front of women and make films about 14 year olds and sex. And they all kept quiet while pointing fingers. I guess the late night comedians are not covering it either--comedians need to stick together, plus the Democrat Party hasn't given them the script.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/business/media/mike-oreskes-npr-sexual-harassment.html

Lakeside preliminary schedule for summer 2015 is shaping up

Spring Cleanup Day Saturday, April 25

Mother's Day Brunch Buffet  Sunday, May 10

Memorial Day Weekend Activities  Friday, May 22-Monday, May 25  Jack Hanna 'Into the  Wild – Live'  Sunday, May 24

2015 Bonus Weekend Activities Friday, May 29-Sunday, May 31 Guest Preacher: The Rev. Vernon Shepherd Sunday, May 31

West Ohio Annual Conference Sunday, June 6-Thursday, June 11

East Ohio Youth Annual Conference  Friday, June 12-Sunday June 14

East Ohio Annual Conference Sunday, June 14-Thursday, June 18

Chautauqua Season Opening Day & Classic Car Show Saturday, June 20 Miniature Golf Dedication Saturday, June 20  Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. Saturday, June 20

OSU Alumni Band Saturday, June 27

Garden Tour Monday, June 29

Mike Farris "Sings the Soul of America" Friday, July 3

Fourth of July & Children's Bike Parade Saturday, July 4 Fourth of July Float Parade,  Fourth of July  Fireworks  Saturday, July 4

Preacher of the Week: The Rev. Dr. Jerry Root Sunday, July 5

Chautauqua Lecture Series: C.S. Lewis Monday, July 6-Thursday, July 9

Taylor Dayne Saturday, July 11

"State of Lakeside" Address Thursday, July 16

Three Dog Night Saturday, July 18

Lakeside Wooden Boat Show & Plein Air Art Festival Sunday, July 19

Lakeside Women's Club Tour of Homes Thursday, July 23

Steven Curtis Chapman Saturday, July 25

Light Up Lakeside Celebration Saturday, July 25-Friday, July 31

5k Raccoon Run Sunday, July 26

Lakeside Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Wednesday, July 29

Tim Hawkins Saturday, Aug. 8

Northwestern Ohio Gladiolus Show Saturday, Aug. 15

Little River Band Saturday, Aug. 15

Chautauqua Lecture Series: Civil War Week Monday, Aug. 17-Friday, Aug. 21

Antique Show Saturday, Aug. 22  "Summer Serenade" with Jim Brickman & Pavlo Saturday,   Aug. 22

Mike Albert & the Big "E" Band Saturday, Aug. 29  Labor Day Weekend Activities Friday, Sept. 4-Monday, Sept.7

Not sure why they left out the art show—my husband is always in that, but this isn’t the entire schedule.

BalletMet Nutcracker—a real delight

We enjoyed the matinee performance of the Nutcracker at the Ohio Theater on Sunday. Our 10 year old Lakeside neighbor who has been in several of Bob's paintings was performing in a small part. The devotion of the parents to exposing their children to this type of culture is admirable--her mother was probably there 8 hours Sunday because another child became ill and she will also do the evening performance. I did the football, baseball, track, cross country, soccer, cheerleader, Campfire, sports lunchroom, Jones musical gigs, UA high school choir--but I never told my kids about dancing lessons. It was fun to stand at the stage door after the performance to wait to see her. Bob gave her a Twinkie—other dancers got bouquets.

“We open on Christmas Eve, in the Stahlbaum house. There's music and presents and food, and the three Stahlbaum children are beside themselves with joy at the wonder of it all. There's danger on the horizon though, heralded by the arrival at the door of local magician Drosselmeyer. He brings bearing gifts for the children, including a wooden nutcracker. This is just the start of an adventure which will lead our characters into a war between mice and gingerbread men and through the Land of Sweets. “

We were pretty high up for $58/seat—not exactly nosebleed territory, but close.  Managing that many stairs was very difficult for me, and on Monday my legs felt like I’d been in a box for 2.5 hours—seats are pretty small.

Putting on my “fashion police” cap, I was so pleased to see that younger women are rejecting their mothers' idea of fashion (sweatshirts and jeans) for nice events in classy theaters. I was just amazed at the well turned out young ladies in dresses! and heels at this event. How refreshing. The "protest march" look was really getting old.

This photo is from the Internet and we think that is Lillian in the front (red hair). She was a “page,” and appeared in the 2nd act.

Heads and apologies are rolling at Sony

Hollywood hypocrisy? Fake kissy face? Oh surely not! The Sony hack shows you should never say in an e-mail what you wouldn't say to the face. . . of the president.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/11/a-sony-exec-cracks-jokes-about-obamas-race-and-eight-more-bruising-revelations-from-the-sony-leak/

Only 9% consider race an important news topic--the economy and terrorism are at the top. But if Hollywood is joking about Obama, maybe that should be a little higher.

Week 2 plans at Lakeside

Last night we enjoyed the wonderful Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. Nothing like their show to make me feel like a slug.

Today we attended church on the Lakefront with pastor Irwin Jennings and then enjoyed breakfast at the Patio Restaurant. One of my husband's paintings has sold, so he swapped it with another one he had brought along. This afternoon I went to the Heritage Society Lecture on the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol--we have a huge border with Canada, and here on Lake Erie it is patrolled by boats but also on the highways. There was a big bust in May involving many levels of law enforcement. There is a new border patrol office in Sandusky (or reopened--it closed in 1957).

My husband plans to take children sailing today. Then this evening we're hoping to see the movie, "Letters to Juliet." I think $6 is too much to pay for a ticket to anything in Lakeside, but this one has scenes of Tuscany in Italy where we travelled in 2008 about this time of year.

I stopped at the art center to see if I wanted to sign up for drawing class, but it was a pastels class, and I really don't enjoy that. I was really looking for basic drawing skills.

This week's seminars are on Challenges in Mexican-U.S. Relationships, most of which I'll pass, but Joanna Swanger, daughter of our friends Gene and Carolyn is doing a 2-parter, so I may look into that. Another theme is "Provocative Social Movements," and that doesn't interest me. On Friday there will be a focus on Haiti, so we hope to go to that.

Tuesday Wellness at 3:30 is Genetic testing, which sounds interesting, and Wednesday in Herb class we're going to paint a canvas bag. I might do the historical walking tour on Wednesday after herb class, and the tree walk on Friday at 10:30. Friday evening is the Artie Shaw orchestra and Saturday is Capitol Steps which is usually political satire--fair and balanced we hope.

Thunder storms and tornado warnings, so I'll turn off the computer and unplug!

Lavish state dinner for Mexican hypocrite

I don't know the cost of Wagyu steak, but a hamburger is $40.00 for half a pound. It's over the top that President Obama so lavishly entertains a "neighbor" who is so critical of us, when Calderone's own immigration policy is much more harsh, "anti-brown" and racist than ours.

State Dinner Menu for Mexican President Calderon: Oregon Wagyu Beef in Oaxacan Black Mole. Briefing Memo - Lynn Sweet

For example:

An immigrant who becomes a naturalized Mexican citizen can be stripped of his Mexican citizenship if he lives again in the country of his origin for more than five years, under Article 37. Mexican-born citizens risk no such loss.

Foreign-born, naturalized Mexican citizens may not become federal lawmakers (Article 55), cabinet secretaries (Article 91) or supreme court justices (Article 95).

The president of Mexico, like the president of the United States, constitutionally must be a citizen by birth, but Article 82 of the Mexican constitution mandates that the president’s parents also be Mexican-born citizens, thus according secondary status to Mexican-born citizens born of immigrants.

The Mexican constitution forbids immigrants and naturalized citizens to become members of the clergy. Article 130 says, “To practice the ministry of any denomination in the United Mexican States it is necessary to be a Mexican by birth.”

The Mexican constitution singles out “undesirable aliens.” Article 11 guarantees federal protection against “undesirable aliens resident in the country.”

The Mexican constitution provides the right of private individuals to make citizen’s arrests. Article 16 states, “in cases of flagrante delicto, any person may arrest the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities.” Therefore, the Mexican constitution appears to grant Mexican citizens the right to arrest illegal aliens and hand them over to police for prosecution.

The Mexican constitution states that foreigners may be expelled for any reason and without due process. According to Article 33, “the Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action.”

http://www.c4ads.org/files/waller_csp_apr2006_mexico.pdf

Watching Glenn Beck

If you're not watching Glenn, if you're only getting him through the George Soros funded marxism filter (Media Matters), you're missing one of the best shows on TV. It's part theater (comedy, mime, silliness), part classroom (lots of blackboard and visuals) part spirituality (heavy redemption theme) and part politics and patriotism (libertarian). The left has no response except to ridicule, call him names, and threaten his sponsors. Because most of his sources and guests are very solid--Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Joe Lieberman, Judge Napolitano (the guy with a hairline down to his eye brows) and he gives them time to talk without interruption, you can actually understand different perspectives.

Recently, he's been going after Robert Creamer, the convicted felon husband of Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Because Glenn made light of being unable to pronounce her Slavic name, they got all over him and tried to inflame the Chicago Polish community. After that made the rounds of all the lefty bloggers they found out she was of Russian heritage, not Polish. And really, the way names get transliterated and adjusted by the census takers and Ellis Island gate people, who knows how Poles would pronounce it if she were Polish. (I used to work with an Illinois woman 40 years ago who had a Polish surname with a -wiec ending (vee-etts or vee-etch) which she pronounced -wick because she was 3rd generation American and didn't even have relatives who spoke Polish. But Beck was supposed to know. That's the level the left has fallen to--judging not his information, but his pronunciation of a Russian name they thought was Polish. It's not like the Left ever mispronounced BUSH as SHRUB or anything.

I've read through the Media Matters columns (many) on Glenn's Creamer story (from Breitbart TV) and they can't dispute anything Glenn says about Creamer, only that the facts are "smears." I believe Creamer has called him a McCarthyite--problem is McCarthy was an elected official going after the media and celebrities, so what to make of that? A bit like Creamer, one person removed from Congress, and author of the President's health care plan, going after someone in the media and or entertainment field to shut him up, isn't it? I don't know what you have to do in Illinois to get convicted as a felon, but it must be tough. He and his wife were also big Blagojevich supporters--or am I thinking of another Illinois politician?

Did you hear the lefties are now threatening Joe Lieberman's wife because he won't walk the plank for Obamacare? How low can they go?

Only Americans can save the economy

Stop waiting for the President to do something. Stop applying for phony "shovel ready" stimulus money (as of yesterday less than 14% had been spent by federal agencies).

1. Go out and buy something from a local business today. Skip the internet.
2. If you are in business, put an advertisement in a local newspaper or magazine or TV channel.
3. Take the kids to the zoo or go to a movie and then out for ice cream.
4. To to the lumber yard or hardware store and buy that item to do the home repair you've been promising.
5. Leave bigger tips--bus boys pay rent too, you know.
6. Buy school supplies for a low income family at the neighborhood five and dime dollar or drug store.
7. Have a party--invite the neighbors.
8. Put $5 more in the collection plate next Sunday.
9. Buy stock in an American company whose products you know and trust.
10. And if you live in a state like Ohio that is proposing more gambling to bring in jobs, consider the fall out, the outside interests, and cost of social problems before you vote.

The Obamacare Infomercial

ABC really looked foolish. What was apparent during the 2008 campaign is now chiseled in stone--we have no free broadcast press in this country anymore than they do in Muslim countries. And the other sources like cable and talk are under great pressure through regulatory agencies run by Obamaclones to preach and teach the Obamadminews. Wonder what the ratings were? Saying "others disagree," is hardly giving 2 or 3 sides to the debate. So, what are our TV choices here: sitcoms with snarky, skimpily clad, jiggly women with few lines, law and crime investigative shows where plots involve cops or priests who are crooked, PBS green-go-only shows, or "news" media falling at the feet of the President. I may have to start watching football.

The Emmys

Primetime Emmy Awards “inexplicably attracted the franchise's smallest audience in its history. A mere 12.2 million viewers watched an . . . “orgy of trophy dispensing and politically charged speechifying.” (WaPo, Sept. 23)

Yes, ageism and sexism was in full flower--racism of course, has been entirely eliminated from their scripts. The entertainment industry mined that vein dry years ago. For that you have to read the recent polls of the Democratic party which show some ordinary working folk are tired of being called names and constantly insulted by the rich know-it-alls in their party. They're just not sure they want to pull the lever (punch the button, mark the ballot) for Obama.

It’s been years since I’ve seen an awards show. 12 million people with nothing to do--sounds like a lot of dumbed down couch potatoes to me. But I’ve seen snippets of this one. Oh, that prune political joke was almost as amusing as the SNL joke on incest, which is also going around and continues to insult women who make a difference and run for political office. Yes, the American entertainment industry deserves an award all right. You begin to understand better the view of the radical Muslims on the worth of pop culture. But hey, I share the blame. I have a TV in every room (except the dining room), and went to three or four movies this summer.

Stephen Colbert, eating from a bag of dried plums, told co-presenter Jon Stewart: "Right now, America needs a prune. It may not be a young, sexy plum. Granted, it is shriveled and at times hard to swallow. But this dried-up old fruit has the experience we need."

Sticker shock

Yes, you can vacation closer to home and help the local economy, but for those of us who own property in Lakeside, the first week-end when we buy our passes is always a killer. I just spent $967 for 2 adult passes and a car pass for the season. Those of you who come here for the occasional week or week-end seem to think that if we own property, we don't pay. We pay much more than the visitors, because we pay the association dues (like a condo, we don't own the land on which our cottage sits), the confiscatory real estate taxes of the township (we are their golden goose), and we also buy passes and car passes which get us in and out the gates and into the auditorium to see the programs. This year, because of our trip to Italy, we'll only be here part of the season. And then there's the maintenance, upkeep and utilities which goes on for 12 months, not just the season. There is really no way to make a vacation home pay--unless you sold it 2 or 3 years ago at the peak of appreciation. You have to want it for other reasons--the community of friends, the beauty, the programming, or the accessibility. We've been vacationing here since 1974 and have been owners since 1988--20 years. Each year I run through all the reasons we do this. . . so that's what this is. . . the reasons we do this.

Tonight's program is Mike Albert, an Elvis impersonator. I never really cared much for Elvis when I was a kid, but Mike has helped me with that. This will probably be the 6th time I've seen his show. Of all the Elvi that have appeared over the years, he is the best in my opinion. He does a lot of shows in the midwest, so if you ever have the opportunity, don't miss him.

This morning I had a wonderful cup of coffee at Coffee and Cream, read the paper, then stopped across the street at the Patio to join my husband and neighbors Bill and Marilyn who were having breakfast. We chatted with Brent--this is his 18th year of owning the Patio. We reminisced about the night it burned down. My husband has a nice art show there, and prints and a few originals at Artists-in-Kahoots up the street.

Last night we had dinner again at Evelyn's. Oh, you're going to love this place. Fabulous dinners, and desserts to die for. Evelyn's will be staying open to serve dessert after the programs. I've had the carrot cake, my husband the chocolate torte. My goodness. Don't miss this treat. This is their first season as Lakesiders and business people (here), so be kind and support them. We want them to stay!

He's probably a Democrat

Les Moonves' salary in 2006 was $5.6 million, plus a bonus of $15 million for a total package of $28.6 million, according to the week-end WSJ. He got a 29% increase for 2007, for a package valued at $36.8 million. Guessing from what CBS offers us in entertainment, I'm betting he votes Democrat and is supporting Mrs. Clinton.

My 2007 pension was under $20,000, and I'm a Republican even though they also spend money like a drunken Kennedy. Still, I believe he should answer to the stockholders and not liberals who want to put a cap on the compensation of CEOs and executives of corporations.

Despite the trash, fluff and fodder, the Rathers and Courics who get enormous salaries to read the news, they should get what they pay for. . . and they are. And when you read Rather's remarks about Couric, you realize how many words that man uses to say, Yes, No, or Maybe.

Maher and the Muslims

Don't you wonder how long Maher's head would stay on his scrawny neck (either on earth or on the air) if he were as insulting to Muslims as he was to the Pope and Catholics? I've never watched even 3 minutes of him. He's a twirp made of diseased sputum and fecal matter, of such filth that I'd be afraid to even step near his piles and splatters. But I do think subscribers to HBO should let the owners, producers, and stockholders know just how insulting he is to Catholics in particular, and all Christians in general. I would never say he shouldn't have a right to be an idiot or slanderer or scumbag, but I'd hit him and his owners where it hurts--his wallet. I mean, it's not like the entertainment industry protects the best interests of children by protecting porn and every imaginable filth for the big bucks.

"I'd like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult," Maher told his audience. "Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. That's right, the Pope is coming to America this week and, ladies, he's single."

I'm at risk

of sounding like Mama Obama, but I'm not proud of my country when I experience our entertainment industry, which seems to define us around the world--TV and film and popular music. I walked through the living room in time to hear Jon Stewart making Hitler jokes at the Academy Awards last night, and left in disgust. My husband and I disagree on how to waste time. I went back to reading blogs. Molly Willow of the Columbus Dispatch didn't mention it--just said he was better than last year. That must have been excrutiating or her decency meter is screwed up.

Three of the best ensemble casts you'll ever see are found on the sets and story-lines of Ugly Betty, House, and Boston Legal. However, they are so anti-Christian and left leaning, I've stopped watching them. The assaults on sexual morality in Ugly Betty became very predictable even while clever and "fresh," gay jokes having been pushed aside for transexual. On Boston Legal, only the partner with dementia is allowed to make a conservative or sensible, practical comment. And B.L. isn't even subtle about bimbo women lawyers. I've lost track (haven't watched in about 2 years) of the female actors, each with fabulous looks and ever more plunging blouses and unbuttoned shirts--they were furniture designed to enhance the male leads.

Dr. House? He thinks people who talk to God are religious, but those who hear God's voice are crazy. As though Hugh Laurie would know God if he stepped out from behind a burning bush. Yes, Michelle, there are times we aren't proud of our country either.

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The Writers' Strike

Warnings of the Writers' Strike have been coming for weeks. But I'm ahead of the game (unless the writers contribute to the evening news, radio talk shows, and Book-TV). Except for re-runs, I stopped watching most of our cultural wasteland years ago. Dancing with the Stars was a top rated show on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and I did watch the first season, which was a summer replacement, and the second season. Not sure they use writers. I wouldn't watch Desperate Housewives even if I were desperate, but obviously many people do. John Corby (local radio) suggests they go back to the first season of shows like 24 so that people who joined the series late can get caught up.

I'm sure all the writers make more than nurses, librarians or teachers who contribute much more to society. And they probably don't even have to attend workshops on multi-culturalism or recruiting minorities for writing jokes for white performers. Which makes me wonder, how many in this union are actually minorities? Women? Over 55? Normal? Anyone know?

And what will happen to all the little guys, who probably make much less and may not be unionized, like the caterers, chauffers, parking lot attendants, make-up artists, hair designers, clothing alternations, set designers, or the stores and restaurants where these strikers shop and eat, etc. You gotta hope these folks didn't have adjustable rate mortgages.

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Damages

is a first season thriller series on FX cable with a stunning cast and a heart in your throat story line that is as current and biased as today's headlines. I saw it for the first (and I hope last) time on Oct. 20 when the entire season was on a marathon, with the final episode next Tuesday. The cast includes Glenn Close and Ted Danson, both at their evil best. I've seen both of them in TV series and movies, and they've never been better.

This Saturday, FX is running the entire first season (up to now) of its legal thriller Damages as an all-day marathon, which means theoretically there will be viewers who will get to experience this show the way it might work best: as a rock ’em, sock ’em miniseries, compounding all of the story’s elaborate and sometimes preposterous shocks and twists into a roller-coaster ride that doesn’t require waiting a week between chapters. TV Guide blog

Yes, I tuned in during the episode where one of the main characters (also evil) blows his head off. Messy stuff, both his personal life, and what the make-up guys had to do. So of course, I had to google it and watch the next episode. But it did cause me to do some heavy thinking about how we use our leisure time in our comfortable living rooms or home theaters.

This may be the one area where I agree with the fundamentalist Muslims--our entertainment culture (TV, music, gaming, movies, theater) in the west is the most God-awful, slime pit you can imagine, and it is addictive, sucking in even those who know it is bad and soul-rotting--people like me, little old ladies who grew up in the 50s without a television set and never missed it. The sides of this pit are cascading body fluids, diseases, feces, drugs, money, evil intentions, violence, putrid souls and blood, a thick goo that has been building up well over 50 years on walls sloped to make it impossible to climb out or return to a safer era. Even a terrifically performed ensemble cast like "Ugly Betty" filled with surprise and charm, and a delightfully innocent and pure main character, has at its base wild sexual escapades and power-driven, one-dimensional characters, formed by their own excesses, but with enough redeeming qualities that the viewer soon gets sucked into the story line. All the versions of the decade old "Law and Order" feature not only incredible violence and evil, but the most evil characters are often those most religious or most loving, such as a parent, spouse, or child--a poster for family violence and evil Christians.

So today, in my One Year Bible, October 21, I read in Paul's letter of advice to Timothy, a young pastor:

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. . ."

All Christians, whether baptized as infants and confirmed before witnesses later, or baptized as a believer before witnesses, have made a confession to follow Jesus' teachings. This trash we call entertainment could not survive without the support of Christians (however they call themselves--liberal, conservative, evangelical, main-line, fundamentalist). We make another confession to the entertainment god when we tacitly and often eagerly agree to worship heaps of stinking garbage on a daily basis.

Damages FX