Oops, we did it again. The uproar from the Christian community and the boycott campaign from the American Family Association has given unmerited sympathy to a horse that should have been shot Friday night. I wonder if NBC wouldn’t have quietly let the show “The Book of Daniel” die without the always predictable controversy that the evangelical community generates.  The network is now likely concerned about appearing to give in to the pressure. No doubt the show will receive support from the usual suspects entirely because of the controversial boycott attempt. From my view “The Book of Daniel” did more damage to the television industry than it did to Christians. I haven’t seen a family with this many problems outside of “COPS”! In fact I would recommend that the families of “COPS” watch “The Book of Daniel” to feel better about their families. The beleaguered clan of show patriarch Daniel Webster has hit the sin lottery. You list a sin…they have a family member knee deep in it. But the show’s
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As I read about the brewing evangelical storm over the new TV series, “The Book of Daniel,” I was tempted to paraphrase the immortal words of Ronald Reagan. “Well, there you go again.” I am referring to the call by the American Family Association to boycott the show and put pressure on local affiliates and NBC to not air the show. The strategy includes downloading a document, filling out the call letters and phone number of the local NBC affiliate, and passing it out at church services around the country. Then churchgoers are to call the local affiliate and besiege some poor receptionist who will likely resign and never go near a church again. Christians are urged to forward the email located on the website to get the word out. Here is the description of the show from the American Family Association site. While the public has not seen the program, NBC is promoting “The Book of Daniel” as a serious drama about Christian people and the Christian faith. The main character is Daniel
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A few people who likely need a hobby subscribe to this modest effort to get an occasional laugh. I have to warn you that recent events in my world have temporarily suspended the shows at Dave’s Chuckle Hut…one show daily…tip your blogger. Readers of yesterday’s post know that a dear friend died this week and with that comes a lot of reflection. I admit that I sporadically sample country music and one song oddly resonated with me this week. Kenny Chesney has had his own struggles lately but his recording of ‘The Good Stuff’ should remind all of us about what really matters. The song revolves around a man who has his first real fight with his new wife and he leaves in search of some liquid comfort at a local bar. The bartender walks up and asks him what it will be… I said,”The good stuff”He didn’t reach around for the whiskeyHe didn’t pour me a beerHis blue eyes kind of
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Each year Time Magazine honors its Man or Woman of the Year. The magazine states that the criteria for selection are “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse.” This year’s selections were Bill and Melinda Gates of Microsoft fame and wealth along with rock star Bono. They were honored for their financial and political contributions to world poverty. I don’t have an issue with Time’s selections. I admire Bill and Melinda for giving significantly and Bono for his passionate campaign. But if Time magazine came to me and asked for my Man and Woman of the year it would be much different. I would nominate four people that you likely have never heard about. These are the people that affected my life for better because of their unquenchable faith. I would first nominate Bob and Susan. Susan was diagnosed with cancer over a year
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I used to be terrified by Dracula when I was a kid. Bela Lugosi played the Transylvania terror and I did not sleep well for many nights after seeing that movie. The standard defense methods against a vampire were generally not available to an eight year old kid. I did not have any silver bullets, did not possess a crucifix, was too chicken to think about the wooden stake, and could not figure out an excuse to put garlic on the shopping list. So I hunkered down under the covers, stayed close to beloved mutt Penny, and began my first foray into earnest prayer. God does work in mysterious ways. So it brought back a lot of memories when I picked up an article in yesterday’s “Dallas Morning News” headlined Give the slip to ‘energy vampires’. The premise of the piece written by Patrick Pemberton is that certain people possess bad vibes, passive-aggressive tactics or outright meanness that simply wipes you out. The concept
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I have a friend who believes in nominal predestination. He thinks that your name determines a great deal about who you will become. For example, was Yogi Berra more likely to become: a) a nuclear physicist  b) a malaprop spouting baseball hero The answer, of course, is b. If your name is classy, he theorized, you would tend to be more sophisticated. If your name was Bubba you might not be predestined to enjoy an opera libretto. I viewed his theory with interest but a bit of confusion. What nominal predestination awaited a person with a pedestrian name like Dave? The concept of creative naming had not blossomed when I arrived midway through the Baby Boom. My moniker was the fifth most popular of my birth year. Numbers one through four were Robert, James, Michael, and John. So I imagine that the millions and millions of Bobs, Jims, Mikes, Johns, and Daves would be sympathetic to someone wanting a bit of unique identity in their lives. I remembered an
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The blogosphere is alive, not with the sound of music, but with opinions on Victoria Osteen’s recent incident while flying with the family to Colorado. I am assuming that unless you just returned from a filming of “Survivor”you have most likely heard the story (if not refer to the Dec.21st or 26th posts). Reader Jackie posted on this site the following comments (note – all italicized comments are from blog sites). I found Ms Osteen “apology” to be more of a “spin” than an apology. I don’t care when she flies, where she flies to or what her title is. I do find that rudeness and poor behavior is unacceptable from anyone .What bothers me most is that she can issue a statement saying this was a “minor” event. A plane being held for 2 hours and the passengers leaving the plane ( whether they ask to leave or are asked to leave) is not a “minor” event. I do
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