Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.
I’ve heard it said that there are four types of people:
I’d like to think I belong to the first group, especially in regards to my business. [Read more…] about Groupthink. Sort of.
I’m an Anglican, nee: “Episcopalian.” At one time, those two words described the same thing. Not today. As I’ve previously recounted on these pages, in the late 60’s and early 70’s, a new breed of Episcopal priests – all of whom espoused theology that was far to the left of the mainstream – infiltrated the Episcopal Church hierarchy and eventually took over. They subsequently enacted changes to our denomination such as the ordination of women, followed by the ordination of openly homosexual priests, culminating in the ordination of a practicing homosexual bishop and support for homosexual marriage with the blessings of the church. This has resulted in a cataclysmic schism within the largest group of Episcopal churches in North America, and the virtual excommunication of those that support this group, by Anglicans in the rest of the world. That much is fact. In the last week or so, another large diocese – this time in Fort Worth – has chosen to leave the mothership (a.k.a. “The Episcopal Church” or “TEC”) and align themselves with other Anglicans who cannot stomach this endorsement of theological liberalism. Predictions are now that, within the next year, there will be a new organization of affiliated Anglican/Episcopal churches in the U.S.A. – a group that will have the blessings of the worldwide Anglican community, and one that will offer an alternative for communion to the liberal TEC bunch.
The larger question is, “what happened?” How did one group – the secular/progressive/liberals – stage what amounted to a very quiet coup, and hijack an entire denomination? I’ve wondered about that for years. And now, thanks to the Reverend Dr. Peter Toon of the Prayer Book Society, I have the answer.
They rewrote the Book of Common Prayer – and used it as a tool to attempt to remake our faith. [Read more…] about How to Hijack a Religious Denomination.
I took my progeny and a classmate of hers to see Madagascar 2 this afternoon. I used to see a lot of movies. In my single days, I probably saw at least one movie in the theaters per week, and rented a couple of tapes as well. One wife, one stepson, and one daughter later…not so much. Why? Frankly, I didn’t leave the movies…the movies left me. As Hollywood has lurched to the Left, it became an accepted practice to slip in a political or ideological message of a secular/progressive nature. I have a hard time swallowing that. It’s aggravating to sit there, enjoying a flick, and then find that I’m being indoctrinated with the latest in Liberal Groupthink. [Read more…] about At the Movies…
With apologies to Jonathan Swift, I have my own modest proposal for the Bailout Bucks Sweepstakes.
I think the government should write me a check. (And every other taxpayer for that matter.)
Think of it this way…if the government is going to start bailing out every Tom, Dick and CEO, why not me? And you? I run a small ad agency in Amarillo. Like most people today, money’s tight. I have bills to pay. Fortunately, I didn’t do anything dumb like buy a house out of my price range, or rack up a huge debt for capital equipment I couldn’t afford. But because of some unexpected expenses (medical, family, business), I’ve got very little cushion left. We did all the right things – saved every penny we could, made extra house payments when we could, stopped buying non-essential things. Still, it doesn’t take much to shoot one giant hole in our savings parachute. Mind you, I’m not whining or complaining. At all. In fact, I think we are some of the lucky ones. Mrs. Digital and I are gainfully employed. We have a roof over our heads, and food in the refrigerator. We are self-reliant, and if we screw up, we’ve got nobody to blame but ourselves.
So here’s my plan… [Read more…] about A(n im)Modest Proposal.
News item:
Zogby Poll: Almost No Obama Voters Ace Election Test
Released: November 18, 2008
UTICA, New York — Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
Only 54% of Obama voters were able to answer at least half or more of the questions correctly. [Read more…] about Wanna hear something REALLY scary?
The CEOs are up on Capitol Hill, hats in hand, begging for small change. $85 Billion in change, to be exact. And the Big Three have marshaled the troops to hit all the news shows, declaring (in no uncertain terms) exactly why bankruptcy is not the answer, and why we MUST give them a “loan” to keep them afloat. Here are some unanswered questions – and oddly enough, for once they are the questions that some in Congress are actually asking the Big Three honchos: [Read more…] about Car-mageddon Update.
Let’s get one thing straight. I love American cars. My wife and I both drive Jeeps. While Mrs. Digital has, on occasion, driven a rice-burner, I have never owned anything but an American automobile. On the other hand, I think that American automobile manufacturers management is clueless, the Unions are parasitical, their boards of directors are derelict in their duties, and the whole thing needs to have one giant hycolonic, so it can be reformed into something that is once-again a shining example of American know-how and productivity.
Lord knows, it’s miles away from that today. [Read more…] about Motor City Madness.
I’m not in the habit of endorsing products or companies. For a couple of reasons. First, it’s not like people are looking at me as if I’m the Great White Hope to dethrone the Oprah-centric world. Second, I like to think that people should make up their own minds as to how good a product might be. And Third, if you’re gonna buy my endorsement, my price is pretty high (a chalet in the Swiss Alps) and frankly, nobody’s been willing to meet my price (as of yet…I’ll let you know).
That not withstanding, a catalog came across my desk the other day, and I can’t help but to recommend it to you, my loyal readers. [Read more…] about You need to see this.
When I was a kid, I used to do a lot of powerboating with my family. My Dad is a very gung-ho kinda guy; anything he thinks is worth doing is worth OVERdoing (which is sort of the unofficial family motto). When he got interested in boating, he didn’t just buy a boat – he bought a boat and took every course the U.S. Power Squadron and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offered. Seamanship, Navigation, Meteorology – you name it. He took it. (He got interested in shrimping, and ended up with a commercial pilot’s license to take people out for hire 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico, but that’s a story for another time.) Anyway, once upon a spring vacation, we were cruising along the Intracoastal Waterway in South Louisiana. Dad had us on a boating cruise looking for the grave of the famous pirate/War of 1812 Hero Jean Lafitte – and the location of his secret hideout known as the Temple.
As a kid, the treasure hunting aspect of this fascinated me. The cruising down bayous at about 5 knots (5 nautical miles per hour for you landlubbers) interested me a lot less. Boring doesn’t begin to describe. But I digress. [Read more…] about You can’t get there from here.
I’ll be playing a private party tomorrow, up in Dumas. That’s “DOO-mas.” (I know what you were thinking. And you were wrong.)
I’ll be gearing up for the gig most of tomorrow, so don’t expect another post until Sunday.
Until then, here’s one of my favorite commercials to keep you company: