Riley's Corner

This week's question on Riley's Corner is a doozy. The question is: if the Motion Picture Association of America had to choose one movie to keep in existence, and the other is lost forever, which one will you choose? Dumb and Dumber or Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

McCain's Costly Calculated Risk

With McCain announcing the suspension of his campaign and his return to Washington to focus on the impending economic crisis, he has taken a calculated risk that may or may not backfire depending on how it appeals to the American public.

Here are my thoughts: By John McCain being the one to announce this move (not Senator Obama) he took the offensive and placed Barack Obama on the defensive. You see, Obama has to respond to McCain's move and here are his options:

1. He can go along with McCain's plan and suspend his campaign as well until a plan passes Congress that is acceptable to the lawmakers and good for the country (hopefully). This makes Obama look like a follower and not a leader as he was not the one to suggest this strategy.

2. He can criticize McCain for bailing on the debate and mock him for not being able to handle both the campaign's responsibilities and his job as a senator of this great country. This is risky for Obama as this shows arrogance on his part and could show his green-ness when it comes to his experience in the Senate. After-all, this is similar to the situation in which President Bush was in when he stayed to read with the children instead of getting out of the classroom and in the loop of what was going on during the September eleventh attacks. He has been criticized ever since by the Democrats for this move (the same move the Obama campaign is advocating now.

Either way, John McCain has put Obama on the defensive and caused him to have to respond to the move Senator McCain is making. There may be another option he or his campaign staff are working on but regardless, he will have to make that move as a response to McCain which puts him in a reactionary role.

It doesn't sit well with me that these men were hired to do a job (the campaign is not one of them) and currently this nation is at a crossroads that could wind up costing tax-payer's billions of dollars and only one is willing to go back to Washington and do what he was hired to do. Did they both agree to the debate? Yes. However, they both were sworn in to fight for the good of this country as Senators and they both have a responsibility to lead in this regard. I say forget the debate as they are about as meaningless as they can be (that is another topic for another time). For one to say that that both should be doable if they have good staff around them and that they would go back if they were needed... well, again, that smells of the move Bush made during the Sept. 11th attacks and has been criticized for. Plus, it appears to show that Obama does not take seriously the economic issue that is gripping the nation and will affect every American in some way.

So while McCain is back in Washington working both sides of the aisles to help produce a plan that will stave off a disaster for tax-payers across our nation, Obama is out campaigning. I don't know about you, but this speaks volumes to me. Your thoughts?

New Choice For Presidency: Move Over Obama & McCain

Not wanting to settle or vote for the lessor of two evils, I decided to jump in the race and apparently I have made quite a splash with only grassroot campaigning. I did not expect such a big media push but apparently this is what the country is looking for and has not had since the early 1900's. So, before you cast your vote for the lessor of two evils, please take a look at my platform. All money donated to my campaign will be used for paying off the national debt.

Thanks for the motivation Riley.

Materialism Is Hurting Our Children

Children feel under pressure to own the latest designer clothes and computer games and most adults believe the "commercialisation of childhood" is damaging young people's well-being, a poll said Tuesday.

A survey by GfK NOP for the Children's Society showed that out of the 1,225 adults questioned, 89 percent felt that children are more materialistic now than in previous generations.

You can read more here.
You can see the poll results here.

Some questions:
-If materialism is truly harming our children, why would we ignore it and go about our busy, consumer driven lives?
-Do you think that God allowing such things as a materialistic-driven society is in a way giving "us" what we want and in the same instance giving us the consequence of our heart's desire? Similar to the meat that fell from the sky that the Israelites ate and died?
-How do we turn from such a culture as this?
-What do you teach your kids about materialism? What does your actions teach them?

Super Bowl XLII 2008 Commercials

Below are some commercials that invoked a comment from me. Let me know what your thoughts are. What was your favorite commercial from the Super Bowl?

1. My favorite overall commercial

2. Most creative.

3. Can't go wrong with the song, but why does the lizard "break wind"?

4. This one just makes me uncomfortable (and for the record, it makes me not want to buy peanuts!).

5. Sad use of celebrity to sale a drink. I feel sorry for that horse.

6. Pretty creative. Best use of baby in commercial.

7. See what happens when someone believes in you.

8. The best childhood toy ever invented!

9. Why are clowns kind of creepy?

10. Cars.com made some funny commercials as well.

You can watch them all here.

Who Will You Vote For?

Will you vote for the person in the party you are affiliated with or will you vote for the person who most closely aligns with your world view?

Peter Rieke posted over on Tim Ellsworth's site a link to a short, simple survey that will give you some idea of who you most align with on the current issues. After you choose your stance on the issues, it tells you which candidates you most closely match with.

You can check it out here.

Some questions:
-Did your views line up with the candidate you thought it would?
-If it didn't does that influence your thinking about who you will vote for?
-Do you trust things like this?
-If your views did not match the candidate you were going to vote for and you are going to vote for that candidate anyway, why are still going to vote inspite of your views?

Gay Backing Is No Big Deal To Voters

In a recent poll to see how a presidential candidate would fair given they had the backing of a gay rights group resulted in the following:

In Ohio, 54 percent say such endorsements make no difference, while 34 percent said it would make them less likely to support a candidate and 10 percent said it would make them more likely to back a campaign.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Are these the results you would like to see?
-If a president backed gay rights, would that lend itself to legitimizing homosexuality in a way that is currently is not?
-Twenty years ago a gay rights endorsement was not even an issue; why is it now?

The Most Important Thing In Life

What would you tag as being the most important thing in life? Does that thing only favor one individual or all of mankind? Please give an explanation along with your answer.

Paris Hilton: Jail or No Jail, That is the Question

Opinion Polls & Market Research

I wasn't going to post on this, but I am interested in what you think justice is in this case. Should she go to jail? Should she not? What is fair? When you choose your answer, please comment as to why you chose what you did.

You can read more here and here.