Congress Exempt from New Health Care Legislation

Have you noticed that Congress exempted themselves in the new health care legislation? Yup, members of Congress will still get favored treatment, and don't have to follow all the new health care rules they intend to force on us. If this new health care will be so wonderful, why doesn't Congress want it for themselves?

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan they vote for. Sign the petition if you agree.

Conference on the Affects of Pornography on the Brain

Last year, we told you about an anti-pornography conference in Idaho. The promotional video about that conference was viewed nearly 53,000 times!

This year's conference will be on Saturday, November 14, 2009, in Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and Rexburg, Idaho. Dr. Donald Hilton, noted neurosurgeon from San Antonio, Texas, will be the keynote who will speak on Visual Addiction: The Affects of Pornography on the Brain.

To see the conference schedules in these three cities, and to get free tickets, go to http://www.cfdec.org/ or http://www.citizensfordecency.org/. View/Print a flyer about the conference. See the TV commercial below.



At the conference, Dr. Hilton will share his recovery recommendations, as well as recent scientific findings which compares a brain that is on cocaine with one that is affected by natural addictions such as pornography. He says the similarity is remarkable and physical brain cell shrinkage occurs with all of these addictions. This shrinkage in the frontal lobe of the brain, according to Dr. Hilton, may cause impaired judgment, in a similar way to a head trauma patient. He then bridges the gap to help leaders and parents know what recovery methods have the greatest chance of success. To learn more about Dr. Hilton, see http://www.forwardpress.org/.

CNN Poll: Half the country disagrees with Obama on issues

A new CNN poll shows that for the first time people mostly disagree with Obama on the issues. And notice the trend downward.

Best Transformer Costume Ever

Increasing the Role of Government

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) says Democrats are "trying on every front to increase the role of government."

Watch the video.

People of Walmart

I just discovered an interesting site: peopleofwalmart.com. It is a collection of pictures of weird people photographed at WalMart. Here are a few. I selected the more normal from the group. Go to the site to see about 200 more pictures.

"Safe Schools Chief" Promotes Deviant Behaviors

Obama's Safe Schools Chief, Kevin Jennings, a gay militant activist, recommends using the movie "Gay Pioneers" in schools. This documentary touts as heroes the "pioneers" who have advanced causes of homosexuality, pornography, bestiality, and pedophilia.

Read the article "Porn practitioners promoted to children?"

How long are we going to stand by as Obama continues to appoint extreme liberal people who are making radical changes to the American way of life? Is this the kind of "transformation" we want for America?

Bottle Bank Arcade

Lifting Burdens: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Apostles of Jesus Christ testify of the Savior's power to heal, change, and purify us through His Atonement.



Watch more great videos at MormonMessages.org

Michael Jackson Medley

This Guy is amazing. A Yale University junior is making a name for himself by honoring the legendary Michael Jackson. Along with a buddy from school he's created a video that appears to be an A Capella group performing a Michael Jackson medley. You might be impressed with the vocals and even more impressed with the magical editing.

Turns out they're all the same guy! Connecticut student Sam Tsui is wearing the same jeans and sneakers but 3 different shirts. He's singing all the parts and his classmate, Kurt Schneider, standing off to the side did all the fancy editing to form the make believe group paying tribute to Jackson All Credits to: Sam Tsui - Vocals Kurt Schneider - Arrangement, Production



See their explanation of creating the video on the Bonnie Hunt Show.

Ten Commandments

The real reason we can't post the Ten Commandments in a courthouse or Congress is because you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians!

It creates a hostile work environment.

Lost Generation

Another Crazy Czar

Obama's Manufacturing Czar Ron Bloom is the guy in charge of creating jobs in the manufacturing sector. Watch this video where he mocks capitalism, trashes the free market, and then agrees with Chairman Mao Tse-tung (the former Chinese dictator who killed 70 million people during peacetime).

"Generally speaking we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market, or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money because they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults only, no limit game. We kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun. And we get it that if you want a friend, you should get a dog."



Why do we allow Obama to put these crazy people in powerful positions, without any vetting by congress? They are subtly destroying our economy and moving us away from democracy, the free market, and our traditional American way of life.

National Monuments Protected from Terrorism

Back in 2006, a Department of Homeland Security memo listed the following national monuments as likely targets of terrorism. The department's Freedom Budget provided the funding indicated below to protect them from terrorism.

• The World's Largest Ball of Paint in Alexandria, Indiana ($12 million)
• Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum in Alamo Heights, Texas ($10 million)
• The Museum of Bad Art in Dedham, Mass. ($31 million)
• Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska [automotive replica of England's famed Stonehenge] ($25 million)
• The Giant Lava Lamp in Soap Lake, Washington ($143 million)

Not included were landmarks and icons such as the Empire State Building, The United Nations, The Statue of Liberty and others found on several terror target hit lists. It also left off notable landmarks, such as the New York Public Library, Times Square, City Hall and at least three of the nation's most renowned museums: The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan and The Museum of Natural History.

How to Destroy Capitalism

"The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens."

-- John Maynard Keynes (Yes, the philosophical mentor of everybody currently running the Fed and the Treasury.)

Want more great quotes? A few years ago, Connor Boyack developed the website quoty.org to be able to save and tag quotes he enjoyed. Users can create their own accounts and do the same. It's taxonomy-based, so as an example, you can go to http://www.quoty.org/tag/faith to see quotes about faith or http://www.quoty.org/tag/prophet to see quotes about prophets. You can also use the search page to look for keywords or portions of a quote. It's been up for a few years so it has nearly 5,000 quotes loaded up now.

Don't Take Offense

"A man’s a fool who takes an insult that isn’t intended." -- See Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham (1969), 288–89

Mental Attitude

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." -- Thomas Jefferson

Controlling Kids

Copenhagen Treaty

Learn more about the Copenhagen Treaty that is to be signed this December in the guise of global warming, but really starts the process of a world government:

• Creation of a World Government that is instituted without election or input by citizens of the world.
• Transfer of the wealth of developed, industrialized nations (mostly America) to third-world countries to satisfy the “climate debt” that we owe for having done so much damage to the environment in course of our development.
• Subjugation of the world’s citizens to policing and enforcement of treaty policies by the new world government.

Click the link above to watch videos and learn more about it. We must not let this pass.

The Cost of Things

"The cost of a thing is the amount of life that must be exchanged for it." - Henry David Thoreau

Catch Your Heart

"There are many things in life that will catch your eye. But only a few will catch your heart...." - Ben Crenshaw

Liberty or Pandering to Lust?

"Righteousness is an indispensable ingredient to liberty. Virtuous people elect wise and good representatives. Good representatives make good laws and then wisely administer them. This tends to preserve righteousness.

"An unvirtuous citizenry tend to elect representatives who will pander to their covetous lustings."

-- Ezra Taft Benson

Conservative vs. Liberal

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."

Thomas S. Monson: Most Powerful Person Over 80

See 80 Over 80," Slate magazine's annual list of the nation's most powerful people over 80 years old.

"The top spot this year goes to 82-year-old Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only person on the list to rule over millions of people as a prophet of God."

Spread the word on Twitter using tags #lds and #monson.

Awesome Ping Pong tricks by Islem Tbini

Also posted as Unbelievable from Islem Tbini on Facebook

What We Love

"For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, November 2009.

General Conference Highlights & Music October 2009

A video with highlights from the October 2009 LDS General Conference was just posted at generalconference.lds.org. This 16:16 minute video is available in English only. At the top of the English page for the October 2009 conference, you'll see the links to a Windows Media video and a QuickTime video.

There is also a conference music page associated with each conference (notice the link to it from the top of each conference page) that contains downloadable files of the music from the sessions of general conference in various formats.

New Look for LDSMediaTalk

This week, we’re proud to launch an updated look for the branding of LDSMediaTalk.

The LDS Media Talk blog shares ideas with LDS parents and youth who are interested in learning how to use technology and new media to strengthen families and build The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Join the 8,000 loyal readers of the blog. You can subscribe to be notified when new articles appear on this site. Note the various subscription options (e-mail, RSS readers, etc.) at the bottom right of the site.

Laughing

The guy in the yellow shirt is the funniest. Purple shirt guy is also pretty good.

Blond Joke

Three blondes walked into a bar. You’d think one of them would have seen it!

Talent, Fame, Conceit

"Talent is God given; be humble. Fame is man given; be thankful. Conceit is self given; be careful." -- John Wooden

Would you like to dance?

A guy walks into a bar where there is loud music playing. He spots a pretty girl at the end of the bar and approaches her. He says, “Would you like to dance?”

She replies, “I really don’t like this song. And even if I did, I wouldn’t dance with you.”

To which the guy replies, “I don’t think you heard me correctly. I said you look fat in those pants.”

The Cost of Things

"The cost of a thing is the amount of life that must be exchanged for it." -- Henry David Thoreau

Growing Up

Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.

Who Wrote The Book of Mormon?

“No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.” -- George Cannon, quoted in “The Twelve Apostles,” in Andrew Jenson, ed., The Historical Record, 6:175.

Watch a powerful witness of the Book of Mormon in yesterday's post.

Texting

Elder Holland: Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Street Light

Elder Scott: To Acquire Spiritual Guidance

No Domestic Violence

Ban on Flying American Flag

Residents at an apartment complex were told to take down their American flags or be evicted. Read the story here.

Harry Reid Supports Gay Causes; Criticizes the Church for Participation in Prop 8

Read this story in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Obama's First Six Months' Accomplishments

1. Offended the Queen of England.
2. Bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia.
3. Praised the Marxist Daniel Ortega.
4. Kissed Socialist Hugo Chavez on the cheek.
5. Endorsed the Socialist Evo Morales of Bolivia.
6. Sided with Hugo Chavez and Communist Fidel Castro against Honduras.
7. Announced we would meet with Iranians with no pre-conditions while they're building their nuclear weapons.
8. Gave away billions to AIG also without pre-conditions.
9. Expanded the bailouts.
10. Insulted everyone who has ever loved a Special Olympian.
11. Doubled our national debt.
12. Announced the termination of our new missile defense system the day after North Korea launched an ICBM.
13. Released information on U.S. Intelligence gathering despite urgings of his own CIA director and the prior four CIA directors.
14. Accepted without comment that five of his cabinet members cheated on their taxes and two other nominees withdrew after they couldn't take the heat.
15. Appointed a Homeland Security Chief who identified military veterans and abortion opponents as "dangers to the nation."
16. Ordered that the word "terrorism" no longer be used and instead refers to such acts as "man made disasters."
17. Circled the globe to publicly apologize for America's world leadership.
18. Told the Mexican president that the violence in their country was because of us.
19. Politicized the census by moving it into the White House from the Department of Commerce.
20. Appointed as Attorney General the man who orchestrated the forced removal and expulsion to Cuba of a 9-year-old whose mother died trying to bring him to freedom in the United States.
21. Salutes as heroes three Navy SEALS who took down three terrorists who threatened one American life and the next day announces members of the Bush administration may stand trial for "torturing" three 9/11 terrorists by pouring water up their noses.
22. Low altitude photo shoot of Air Force One over New York City that frightened thousands of New Yorkers.
23. Sent his National Defense Advisor to Europe to assure them that the US will no longer treat Israel in a special manner and they might be on their own with the Muslims.
24. Praised Jimmy Carter's trip to Gaza where he sided with terrorist Hamas against Israel.
25. Nationalized General Motors and Chrysler while turning shareholder control over to the unions and freezing out retired investors who owned their bonds. Committed unlimited taxpayer billions in the process.
26. Passed a huge energy tax in the House that will make American industry even less competitive while costing homeowners thousands per year.
27. Announced nationalized health care "reform" that will strip seniors of their Medicare, cut pay of physicians, increase taxes yet another $1 trillion, and put everyone on rationed care with government bureaucrats deciding who gets care and who doesn't. Daschle says, "Health care reform will not be pain free. Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them," while former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm says seniors have "a duty to die." Remember that the President, Senators and Congressmen have their own special gold-plated health care plan which is guaranteed the remainder of their lives and they are not subject to this new law if they pass it.

Breaking News

Obama wins the Heisman Trophy after watching a college football game on Saturday!

World's Deepest Trash Can

Thank Our Military

Piano Stairs

Best DUI Stop

Gyrowheel Instead of Training Wheels

Check out this Gyrowheel, the salvation from the embarrassment of training wheels. The 12-inch wheel (a 16-inch version is in the works) replaces a standard front tire and has an adjustable-speed spinning disc inside, powered by a rechargeable battery. The idea is that you get the kid started on a high stability setting, and step them down until they're not using the gyro at all. It goes on sale this December and should retail for around $100.

People Can Change Sexual Orientation

In The Big Lie: "No Evidence of Change," Rich Wyler debunks the "bald-faced lies told over and over by the professional mental health associations...that there is supposedly no reliable evidence that sexual orientation change is possible."

In this blog post, he summarizes 23 empirical studies and case studies published over the past 40 years.

"The ONLY reasonable conclusion is that there is in fact substantial empirical evidence that some homosexually oriented individuals have experienced at least some sexual orientation change."

Read the whole article

Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill April 2009

Analysis of Text from the Oct 2009 LDS General Conference

Check out this interesting linguistic analysis of the text from the October 2009 LDS general conference provided by Brian Shellabarger, via Connor Boyack.

See the analysis from the April 2009 conference.

Star Spangled Banner

The video below is a performance of the Star Spangled Banner at a Texas Tech University Basketball game. It is sung by five young ladies. You have never heard it performed better than this! An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song. You could hear a pin drop.

The two young girls on the right are six years old. The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight. Wow!

Talks Now Online from Oct 2009 LDS General Conference

The English text for all the talks from the October 2009 LDS general conference is now online at generalconference.lds.org.

Old Testament Visual Resource DVDs

For Use in Homes and Church Classes

Take an exciting visual journey as you study the Old Testament.

This set of three DVDs contains 56 videos (many of them new) and over 300 visual resources to assist you in your study of the doctrines and events found in the Old Testament.

The first two discs include the videos, as well as interactive charts, quotations from latter-day prophets and apostles, paintings, and ideas for family home evening study activities.

A scripture study activity is provided for each visual resource and can be used for personal, family, or classroom study. These resources can help unlock your understanding of Old Testament passages and bring the scriptures to life.

The third disc in the set is Old Testament Stories for Children, a non-animated video recording of the illustrations and narrated text from the book Old Testament Stories.

Many of these resources are new and have not previously been available for purchase.

Learn more about these resources by watching this brief introductory video. You can order a set for US$6.25 from LDSCatalog.com

Testimony About the Book of Mormon

Amazingly powerful testimony about the Book of Mormon from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (6:42) from the October 2009 LDS General Conference:



This is a shortened version (3:09) that contains some visualization:

Most Desirable Countries

The annual United Nations Human Development Report rates countries by an index based on multiple factors that rate how desirable it is to live in that country. This year's report ranks Norway the world's most desirable country to live in. The top 15:

1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Iceland
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. Netherlands
7. Sweden
8. France
9. Switzerland
10. Japan
11. Luxembourg
12. Finland
13. United States
14. Austria
15. Spain

The United Kingdom ranks 21st, Germany 22nd, Uruguay 50th, Russia 71st. The bottom two: Afghanistan at 181st and Niger at 182nd.

Instructions on Moist Towelettes

Thank goodness they print instructions on Moist Towelettes.

"Directions: Tear packet open. Remove towelette and spread to use." But, wait.... What do I do then? If I use it to wipe something up, do I use a circular motion or back and forth? What do I do with the towelette when I'm finished with it?

Gratefully, they print a dotted line on one side with the words "Tear Here." How else would I know how to open the packet?

What do we Expect?

"We can't not expect the unexpected."

Laziness

"Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now." --Steven Wright

What is Most Important in our Lives?

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." - Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 84–87.

Dilbert Quote Contest

Don't know if this is true or not, but let's pretend it is.

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. These were voted the top quotes in corporate America :

"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks." (This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA )

"What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter." (Lykes Lines Shipping)

"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business." (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

"This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it." (Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

"Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule." (Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)

"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them." (R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

"My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me." (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)

"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

Healthcare Public Plan Deception

More information at Analytical Insights

Finding & Sharing the Gospel Online

Have you read the article "Finding and Sharing the Gospel Online" by Michelle Stocking in the October Ensign magazine? It gives several great ideas about how you can create a blog to share the gospel.

At the end of the article, on page 27, see "Better Blogging: Tips for Safety and Courtesy."

Amazing Basketball Shot

Real or fake? You decide.

LDS Church General Conference, Oct. 2009

The 179th Semiannual General Conference of the Church will be held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4, 2009. The First Presidency has invited everyone to participate by attending, viewing, or listening via television, radio, satellite, or Internet transmission.

On the Internet, you can access

• Live audio broadcasts in English at the Mormon Channel (radio.lds.org).


• Live audio and video broadcasts at generalconference.lds.org in many languages. Watch video streams using the Church’s new video player in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and American Sign Language or watch video using Windows Media Player or listen to audio streams in 74 languages.

For more worldwide viewing options, see the general conference broadcast schedule.

Between sessions, watch live video broadcasts of The World Report of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a special broadcast about the new Latter-day Saint Edition of the Holy Bible in Spanish.

After the broadcasts, audio files will be available within one day and video files will be available in about two weeks.

For information on attending in person at the Conference Center, visit the Events page.

Cap & Trade By Any Other Name is Still a Tax

Apparently, the Democrats have realized that the term "Cap and Trade" has a hugely negative connotation with the public, so our genius Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry decided they'd sneak their latest climate bill by us unnoticed if they called it a "pollution reduction" bill.

John Kerry (quoted in the NY Times): "I don't know what 'cap and trade' means. I don't think the average American does," Kerry said. "This is not a cap-and-trade bill, it's a pollution reduction bill"

What about Obama's "firm pledge" that under his plan "no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

School Buses in India and Japan

The first 3 pictures are of a school bus in Japan. The last picture is a school bus in India. Now, where do you call when you have a technical problem with your computer? Japan or India?

Very Very Lucky People

Closing a State Government?

The liberal geniuses in California have done a great job showing how awful their policies really are. The state government is completely bankrupt, and they can't even pay their debts to citizens, but instead are issuing IOUs.

Michigan is now following suit and is facing a possible government shut-down, which probably is the best thing the state could hope for at this point. They may have to close highway rest areas, state parks, construction projects, and even the state lottery. Only the government could find a way to not make money on gambling!

How long before people wake up and realize that liberal policies just don't work?