The Voice Of Common People Everywhere

Economic Stimulus -
You Know When It’s Real

What A Difference A Year Makes … Not!

Maybe you’ve seen one of the Wendy’s “You know when it’s real” commercials. They are from a really great ad campaign which is comparing Wendy’s “real” food to other “not so real” food. Here is a sample of one:

[flv]http://tid-bytes.s3.amazonaws.com/You Know When Its Real.flv[/flv]

We are now one (1) year into the Economic Stimulus Plan that President Obama and our political leaders put into place to ‘save’ the U.S. economy. As expected, both parties (Democrat & Republican) in Washington are attacking each others claims about the $787-billion package of tax cuts and spending known as the Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

President Obama stated, “… the stimulus had saved or created 2 million jobs and is on track to add 1.5 million more this year.” But many are questioning his word because of the fact that the economy has lost more than 4 million jobs in the last year while unemployment is currently hovering near 10%.

Vice President Biden has also been on TV and in the news, making the following claim, “The Recovery Act is working. Not only is it working, but it is working well.” When asked by Harry Smith this week on the CBS Early Show if “Americans really got their ‘bang for the buck’” from the Act, Biden replied, “Absolutely, but I don’t think they realize it.” He then went on to explain that we have only been half-way through the Act and that the “job creating portions are really loaded at the second half (here).”

Well if we apply Wendy’s “You Know When It’s Real” concept to the question, “Has today’s economy improved over that of one (1) year ago?”, the “voice of common people everywhere” shouts, “Not !“

Harry Smith pressed the question saying, “with unemployment hovering around 10% – the real unemployment number is probably closer to between 15% and 20% – people don’t think you, or a lot of other folks in Washington – ‘get it.’ Does the Obama administration ‘Get it?’” to which Biden replied, “We get it… we understand why they’re angry. Look, um, we are in good shape compared to the Congress. No one in Washington is in good shape.” (Watch the video below)

Biden went on to say, “Washington is Broken” and, “I’ve never seen it this dysfunctional.”

The video below contains three excerpts. The first is from the speech VP Biden gave this week, the second from the Early Show interview, and finally from a speech President Obama gave on the anniversary of the first year of the Stimulus Plan.

[flv]http://tid-bytes.s3.amazonaws.com/What_A_Difference.flv[/flv]

In the video (above) Obama says, “Millions of Americans are still without jobs, millions more are struggling to make ends meet, so it doesn’t feel like much of a recovery.” Defending the Stimulus Plan, President Obama said, “one year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second Depression is no longer a possibility.” (see http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-obama-stimulus18-2010feb18,0,6738826.story Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2010 Author Don Lee)

Does anyone else feel like you want to take your knuckles and tap on top of some politicians’ head and say, “Helloooooooo?” We do “get it!” We “know when it’s real!” And we are still waiting!

Mr. President, Mr. Politician, when will YOU “get it?” You’ve bailed out the banks, the huge car companies and even some of our friendly insurance and investment behemoths. When is it our turn? After all, we’re the ones who are out of work. Those jobs that were lost – those were ours. Those homes being foreclosed upon – we lived there!

Note to: ALL POLITICIANS

From: Common People Everywhere

To those who aren’t concerned:

Sir/Madam,

We’re tired. Tired of working hard, doing the right things, paying our taxes and listening to your excuses. Mr. Vice President, do you really think the Administration is doing okay just because it has a higher approval rating than Congress? We wouldn’t let our kids use an excuse like that to explain their bad conduct (ie: I’m okay Dad because Johnny broke the window and all I did was tell that little lie.) I can’t tell my employer that I know my work has not been up to par but that it is okay because most of the other employees are doing sloppier work than me.

It is high time that each of you were held personally responsible! Stop spending our money without asking us. Stop telling us what we feel and believe. Contrary to your popular opinion, we are not stupid. We have had enough already. You need to listen up or the consequences will not be to your liking. We know how to vote! We can replace every one of you if need be. You were sent there to represent us – remember? Not the big companies, not the lobbyists, not each others campaigns!

No more excuses! We just can’t take it anymore! You can fix things by doing what is right – not by doing what you’ve always done. Do it now – if you don’t, we’ll elect someone who will!

Sincerely,

We the People

Note: The video above contains excerpts from the following sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/biden-touts-stimulus-bill-start-lent-9863574
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6215854n&tag=related;photovideo
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6219508n&tag=morephotovideo

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Dear readers, please leave your comments and thoughts! You do have a voice – and Tid-Bytes is your place to speak out – they ARE listening.

Controversial FOTF Super Bowl Ad

Well its that time of year again! Hard bench seats. Large men in tights wallowing around in the mud, chasing after a pigskin… all part of the competition for one of those coveted rings! Hot Dogs, barbecue, tailgating and oh… the parties, both before and after the game.

I don’t really like football. There. I’ve said it! I don’t watch it. I didn’t like playing it in school (yes, we did have football back then). However; I respect your right to love the game, and to spend as much time and money on it as you want.

And speaking of money, the reports are out:

• According to USA Today, the average ticket price for recent Super Bowls has ranged $2,600-$4,300.
• Sports Illustrated reports that one of the NFL’s highest paid players, defensive tackle Dwight Freeney of the Indianapolis Colts pulled in a cool $30.7 million for one year, and there are more than 25 players making $10 million a season.
• In America, Super Bowl Sunday is second in food consumption behind only Thanksgiving Day. An estimated 14,500 tons of chips, 4,000 tons of popcorn and 8 million pounds of guacamole will be eaten on the couch and the bench. More than a $270 million increase in average weekly sales is expected by the food industry.
• An estimated 3 million new HDTVs will be sold before the game is aired on Sunday.
• A 30-second commercial during the upcoming 2010 Super Bowl will cost roughly $2.5 and $2.8 million, according to Reuters. Companies like Pepsi, FedEx and GM have all opted out this year due to the current economic conditions, but all of the available spots have still been sold.
• The Census Bureau is paying $2.5 million for two pregame spots, two on-air mentions and an ad during the game to promote this year’s census.

One out of every 12 people watch the game only to see the commercials. And its the commercials that prompted this post. There is a growing controversy surrounding one particular ad that will be aired during the 2010 Super Bowl game. It is a pro-life ad produced and paid for by Focus On The Family The Ad features Tim Tebow (2007 Heisman Trophy winner) and his mother and focuses on the theme “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” Click Here To View the Video. You can also get More Information here.

Below is a video interview with Tim Tebow courtesy of the AP:

Several women’s groups have had a negative response to the Tebow ad, and have asked CBS not to run it. When asked if they would run a competing Super Bowl ad, Terry O’Neill, the President of the National Organization for Women, said, “The fact is, if NOW had an extra $2.5 million lying around, I’d spend it on working for women’s equality…. I wouldn’t give it to CBS.”

Planned Parenthood has released a response, with its own football player, Sean James, who played for the Vikings, but it won’t be in the Super Bowl. PP had asked CBS for air-time during the game, but it was not offered.

Frances Kissling and Kate Michelman, in a Washington Post op-ed wrote, “Instead of trying to block or criticize the Focus on the Family ad, the pro-choice movement needs its own Super Bowl strategy… the conversation is being led by Focus on the Family and its quarterback ambassador… women’s and choice groups responding to the Tebow ad should take a page from the Focus on the Family playbook.” Responding to what they wrote, Amy Davidson of The New Yorker wrote, “That is quite reasonable, except for the “or criticize” part. One can believe in the Tebows’ right to tell their story and still be annoyed by a proselytizing Super Bowl ad, just as one can be annoyed by a startlingly tacky ad. There is no free-speech hypocrisy in complaining about dancing lizards or about cloying quarterbacks… People are allowed to put bad ads on television. Other people are allowed to boo.”

Responding to the controversy, Focus President Jim Daly said he has had, “the chance to share the true message of the ad in interview after national interview – and the sheer volume of coverage for our message of celebrating family and life has been worth far more than the cost of the ad itself. Besides that, the media, in covering the controversy, has conveyed many more details about the difficulties surrounding Tim’s birth than we’ve been able to put in one 30-second ad.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to stimulate a discussion about the beauty of life and a mother’s determination to bear that life. Wow, is that conversation ever happening.”
Focus President Jim Daly

So what does the voice of common people everywhere say? If you have the money to spend, run the ad. This ad is no different than those run by both sides of the abortion issue during the recent presidential campaign in 2008. I’m sure that much could be said about the money being spent, and whether it is wise for Focus On The Family to spend so much for the ad. I’m also sure that the pro-choice groups could have run an ad and it would have generated as much controversy from the right.

At issue here is our right to free speech. We hear about it all the time – at least when the media wants to use it to their own advantage. But Americans have the right to speak (and advertise). We don’t have to watch, listen, or support any particular opinion, but we certainly believe in free speech.

Related Resources:

This week’s Focus Action Update online video discusses Focus on the Family’s Super Bowl ad. Click the link to view the video.

Punxsutawney Phil

PETA Attempts To Free Punxsutawney Phil

On February 2nd (Groundhog Day), 2010 at sunrise at Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil came out of his hole, spotted his shadow, and declared six (6) more weeks of winter weather.

Punxsutawney Phil

While Phil was performing his annual task, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was actively attempting to free him from his poor treatment. On PETA’s Blog, they are requesting that Punxsutawney “retire Phil to a sanctuary and replace him with an electronic groundhog.” In a January 21 E-mail to Bill Deeley, President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, PETA wrote, “To most people, Groundhog Day—celebrated annually on February 2—is a welcome midwinter diversion, but Punxsutawney Phil is forced to be on display year round at the local library and is denied the ability to prepare for and enter yearly hibernation. These normally shy animals—who are constantly on alert when they are out of their burrows—become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling.”

PETA’s wants Phil to be replaced by an electronic groundhog similar to those seen in, “Performances such as “Walking With Dinosaurs, the Live Experience”—a theatrical show in which animatronic dinosaurs roar, stomp, and chase each other around an arena—which have been taking audiences by storm.”

Jurassic Park

The last time I checked, Dinosaurs were extinct. If they weren’t, there would be no need for animatronic imitations – we could just use the genuine articles (think Jurassic Park). Now before you accuse me of being an animal hater, I want to go on record as an animal lover. I do think that it is important to protect the animals that our planet has been blessed with. We have laws to do so. Is Phil being stressed out? I think not! He is arguably among the most protected and pampered animals on earth. As is true with most celebrities, he gets his three square meals, a fancy roof over his head and has lots of adoring fans!

NOTE TO PETA: I think you must have way to much time on your hands.

Abortion, Murder, And Religion

Scott Roeder – Murderer or Protector Of The Innocent?

As the trial of Scott Roeder continues this week in Wichita, Kansas, observers and protesters from both sides of the abortion issue are following every detail of the proceedings. Roeder is accused in the May 2009 slaying of Dr. George Tiller, a highly controversial physician known to perform late term abortions at his clinic.

After his murder, which occurred during a service at his church, pro-life proponent Randall Terry (Operation Rescue founder) said, “Dr. Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God.” Another pro-life proponent, Anthony Leake who visited Roeder in prison said, “I support the shooting of George Tiller as justifiable homicide. I only wish that it would have happened in 1973, before he was able to murder his first child.”

On the opposite side of the issue, pro-choice advocates are blaming pro-life organizations for the murder. “Some pro-life groups are issuing statements of condemnation and attempting to paint this murder as the work of an extremist. But this latest act of terrorism is, sadly, not an anomaly. It is part of a clearly-established pattern of harassment, intimidation and violence against abortion providers and pro-choice individuals. And mainstream pro-life groups shoulder much of the blame.” wrote Jill Filipovic on guardian.co.uk

A quick stop at Google reveals thousands of similar comments made from both the pro-life and pro-choice points of view.

If you follow this story for any length of time, it is easy to come away from it with a belief that all Americans are bitterly split over the issue of abortion. They aren’t. Let’s not allow the “vocal few” to tell us what we believe and how we think. Each of us has the right to our personal opinion(s) and also the right to join other like-minded individuals for the purpose of creating and/or changing the law(s) of the land.

As individuals, we should be able to openly express and follow our beliefs without fear. I believe that a majority of Americans do so, each and every day. We debate, we argue, we discuss. Sometimes we change our minds and sometimes we grasp firmly our convictions. We understand that being either pro-life or pro-choice does not a bad person make. We respect those on the other side of the issue.

As a group, we can work together for our common belief(s) and, while following the current laws of the land, we can work within their boundaries to change those laws that we feel are wrong.

This is a democratic and American process that our early leaders set in place. We should not allow one issue – such as abortion – to become bigger than the process. Americans coexist every day. Some are Republicans, some Democrats. Some are liberal, some are conservative. Some are religious, some not. Abortion is a complex social/religious/moral issue that will be debated far into the future. Our culture and legal structure allows for the debate.

So what is the voice of the common people regarding Scott Roeder and Dr. George Tiller? Dr.Tiller was an American who, depending on your personal perspective, was either:

• a great humanitarian who provided for the medical needs of many women during his lifetime, or
• a misguided physician responsible for the murder of numerous innocent unborn lives.

Whichever you choose to believe, Dr. Tiller was a law-abiding man who had the same right to his beliefs that you and I cherish so much ourselves. He did not deserve to be gunned down.

Scott Roeder; however; needs to be separated out from the anti-abortion/pro-life group and placed in a single category – that of murderer. He has confessed to committing the crime of murder and will be judged by his peers under the laws of the land. I believe that most Americans are able to detach Mr. Roeder, as an individual, from the pro-life, pro-choice debate. The abortion issue is complicated. Murder is not.

So, regardless of what the media and the ‘out-spoken’ on both sides are telling us, we commoners will continue to move forward – with more debate, more respect, more acceptance, and more freedom!

Tell me what you think. You’re opinion matters!

John Edwards’ Infidelity

(Part of the “Top 5 Things We’re Tired Of Hearing About” series)

The current stories – and he, himself, are OLD NEWS!

Again, for the sake of his family, can’t we let this whole mess just fade away? Why do so many Americans ‘feed’ on such trash? Are we so hungry for thrills that we will continue to stwwwoke the fires on this kind of “reporting?”

I think most Americans would prefer that trash be left where it belongs – with the National Enquirer. Then, if people want to read it, they can find it in the line at the grocery store checkout – and the rest of us won’t have to sit and listen to it while waiting for the weather report!

Tell me what you think. You’re opinion matters!

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