TALK RADIO'S BEST TALKERS

As a conservative Christian, I avoid much of the main street media because of it's blatant liberal bias. So as a result I rely on conservative talk radio for much of my news and analysis. Here is a list of my 5 favorite conservative radio talk show hosts:

1. Hugh Hewitt. Listen to him daily. Met him last month in Sacramento. Appreciate his wisdom and his Christian faith.

2. Rush Limbaugh. Don't get to listen to him every day. But he is the master of the humorous political parody, and of succinctly telling it like it is.

3. Laura Ingraham. She is no longer on in the Sacramento market and I miss hearing her program.

4. Sean Hannity. I don't watch him much on the tube, but I do enjoy his high energy, fast-paced radio program. I really like tuning into his show when there is a scandal brewing.

5. Tie between Michael Medved and Dennis Prager. Hardly ever get to listen to their programs. But when I do, I am always impressed with their passionate defense of Judeo-Christian values in America.

DCOM TOP 5

With a little one, we watch a lot of the Disney channel in our household. By rights, it makes sense then that we watch a lot of DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies). Here is my current list of my 5 favorite DCOMS.

1. High School Musical 2.

2. Hatching Pete.

3. Minute Men.

4. High School Musical.

5. Tie: Camp Rock and Princess Protection Plan

NOTE: High School Musical 3 would be on this list if it were eligible. But since it was released first in theaters, it is not technically at DCOM.

IPOD ITINERARY

Just for random fun, here are the next 5 songs on my MP3 player, while it is on Scramble. Let's see how eccentric my music tastes turn out to be.

1. Voices Carry by 'Til Tuesday.

2. Sure Enough by my all time fave, Amy Grant.

3. Shower the People by James Taylor.

4.Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Amy Grant.

5. Christmas Can't Be Very Far Away by Amy Grant.

Oh well, so much for variety -- 3 Amy Grant songs. And two of them are Christmas songs. But Christmas music is great all year long.

GALL MY CHILDREN

I grew up watching "All My Children" (AMC) and other ABC soaps with my Grandma. As a teenager, I caught episodes during the summers. And in 2002, during a 9 month period of unemployment, I became reacquainted with AMC and the daily escapades of Susan Lucci's Erica Kane. It has been 7 years since I tuned in, but I can't say I am sorry that I am missing it. According to what I read in TV Guide, AMC, and practically every other daytime serial, is rushing into gay-themed storylines. Not only is Erica Kane's daughter Bianca a lesbian, but AMC even experimented with a separate transgender storyline. I don't understand the fascination with pushing the envelope and exploring gay romance. TV Guide's soap opera columnist Michael Logan seems to demand it! While the worldly may eat it up, it alienates a lot of viewers with traditional and conservative values. With the overall audiences for daytime dramas slipping, we may, unfortunately see more gay and lesbian characters in an effort to shore up a niche audience. In the long run, though, this is not a formula that God can bless.

HIGH SCHOOL DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

I have been an active Facebook user for about 8 months now. I love it. It has allowed me to reconnect with so many former classmates, co-workers and relatives. I have a lot of fun on Facebook. And recently I have started looking at it as a ministry. I have had the chance to share aspects of my Christian faith with 3 friends from high school. That has been a privilege and I am praying for more opportunities in the future. But even with the fun and the ministry outlook, I still find those old insecurites from high school creeping in. Does this person even remember who I am? Will they want to confirm me as a friend? Will they understand my post and get my sense of humor? That person hasn't written to me in a while, are they upset with me? Did I do something wrong? I swear, all these insecurites are exhausting. It is just like being back in high school again.

CHRISTMAS IN JUNE

Our 3 year old son Parker loves to sing. And lately all he has wanted to sing is Christmas carols. Maybe it is because his favorite toy is a stuffed animal reindeer with a red nose we call Rudolph. So of course we sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" along with "Winter Wonderland" and "Go Tell It On the Mountain." Obvioulsy "Go Tell It On the Mountain," made famous by Mahalia Jackson (see above) is considered a Christmas song because it is about the birth of Christ. But even more so than a holiday carol, it strikes me as a song about missions. The song says that we are to tell the message of Christ "on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere." Sounds a lot like the Scripture -- "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). I've never heard the song sung in church outside of the Christmas season but it would be a perfect theme for a missions service or conference. And it is the perfect song to sing with Parker to celebrate Christmas, and teach him about missions, all year long.

RICH IS RIGHT

I read this verse in my morning devotional today. Maybe this is why I am a Republican:

Ecclesiastes 10:2 - "The heart of the wise inclines to the right (emphasis mine), but the heart of the fool to the left."

AND IRAN SO FAR AWAY FROM SAYING ANYTHING

Today will be a telling day in the history of Iran. And yet the current administration in the U.S. isn't telling anything of meaning to the protestors in Iran wanting greater freedom and democracy. President Obama has not done anything to stoke the fires of freedom and the end to that nation's oppressive regime. It's not polite to question what his religious ties are. And it is not appropriate to accuse him of lacking patriotism. Yet when lives are on the line, he does not have the courage or will to speak out against radical oppression and promote democracy. I think he is telling us more about himself than he wants us to know.

FLY IN OUR OINTMENT

We abort a million babies a year in the U.S.A., to our great shame. Yet PETA is concerned about the fly President Obama killed during a recent on-camera interview. Our priorities are so screwed up.

It is interesting to note that the fly appeared while he was dissing FOX News. Thus far, FOX has been the only TV media outlet willing to criticize our President and hold him to account. The other networks are shameless shills for his administration.

May this blog be another annoying fly in his ointment.

DRIVE BY KISSES

I spend a lot of time for my job in my car. At least once a week I find myself making a delivery or picking up a client in the neighborhood where my wife works. So I have developed a romantic little gesture that she loves. We call it the Drive By Kiss. Whenever I am in her neck of the woods, I call her and give her 5 minutes notice. Then I call again when I make it to the parking lot. She meets me out front of her office building, and the makeout session begins. OK, it's not quite that hot and heavy. But it is a nice way to add a little pizazz and romance to your day. And bring a smile to your wife's face. Husbands, if you have the ability to work drive by kisses into your routine, believe me, it pays dividends.

IRAN and IRAQ

Would regime change and the freedom it might bring even be possible in Iran if not for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and that country's movement toward real democracy? I think not. Praise God for George W. Bush and the American military. May God bring peace and freedom to the oppressed people of Iran.

CALLING ALL SOLDIERS

Recently, a caller on the Sean Hannity Show said her son was leaving this week for basic training. She described his decision to join the military as a "calling", as if it was something he was born to do. She said she was very proud of her son and his decision, and indeed we all should be. For those like me who grew up in Christianity, we're familiar with the idea of a "calling." It seems it is most closely identified with religion, as if God has "called" you into the ministry, spoke to you directly and told you to become a pastor or a missionary. But I believe it can be applied to other fields as well, outside of religion. After all, this young man felt "called" to be a soldier. And in these dangerous times that we live in, we should all be thankful he did. I read an interesting book that talks about this drive in men and boys. "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge talks about how God creates boys to be rambunctious, rowdy, to play with toy guns and pretend to be cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers. We need boys to play like this. Our society needs to let boys be boys. Sure, they need to follow the rules at school and obey the law, but don't try to feminize them and take away their toy guns or their rowdiness. Let them be and act like boys. After all, we may one day need them to harness that rowdiness, that energy to become soldiers. Thank God there are so many men who are willing to do just that.

PRANKS FOR NOTHING

I work for a well-advertised business in Northern California. TV advertisements for the company run multiple times daily. In addition to the TV exposure, the business has a uniquely memorable phone number. So between the TV ads and the easy to remember phone number, we get a lot of business. And a lot of prank phone calls.Usually it is my job to check the voicemail for messages. We usually get about 10-15 prank calls a day. And on the weekends, when the office is closed, we get a ton of prank calls. (Real cowards!) I checked messages earlier and of 42 messages, only 5 were legitimate business calls. That means we got 37 PRANK PHONE CALLS in less than 24 hours. That is pathetic.

Now you might think that most of the pranksters are youngsters. And many of them are. Their cheesy calls for pizza orders and attempts at humor are annoying, but not the end of the world. More of the young people calling though with a hankering for a prank these days are using violent and sexually suggestive language in their pranks. This is disturbing. When an 11 year old voice leaves a message either in person or on the machine that is of a distinctly sexual nature, something has gone terribly wrong in this child's life. I know kids, especially teenagers, need a chance to rebel. And prank phone calls are probably one of the safest ways for kids to do that. I understand. But when the prank phone call is stuff that I, as a 41 year old male, wouldn't even say in public, then I think there's a problem.

You might also think that all of the pranksters are young. You'd be wrong. I am repeatedly shocked at how many adult voices leave nonsense and derogatory messages on our voicemail. Sure, I get a few heavy breathers. But the business also gets random death threats and extremely graphic descriptions of bedroom behavior. Don't these adults have better things to do with their lives then to leave anonymously nasty messages? I am embarrassed for them. Maybe they think they are being funny or clever. Trust me, when you leave a prank message as an adult, you are only being pathetic.

I wonder if anyone has ever done a scholarly study on the changing content of prank phone calls. I bet it would be a fascinating study. And I would guess that the content has become much more graphic over the years. It brings a whole new meaning to using the phone to reach out and touch someone.

TEACHABLE LESSONS AT "HOME"

May I suggest that if you are a parent with (young) children still living at home, you encourage your family to make watching ABC's reality series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a weekly assignment. Mrs. Media Matters and I enjoy this show. Every episode depicts an American family down on their luck, through circumstances of illness, injury, poverty or the like. The program, and it's charismatic carpentry staff, come on the scene and renovates the family's home. Through this gesture, the family is encouraged and enlivened and given a second chance. Home Makeover, I as I like to call it, is always fun, silly and moving. Mrs. Media Matters and I cry almost every episode as the individuals and families are touched by the generosity that has been bestowed upon them. It is dramatic and heartwarming TV at it's best. But even more than that, it can serve as an object lesson to American children and families who have never known poverty or severe trauma. Watch it with your kids and discuss the program and the family afterwards. Remind your children of all that they have to be grateful for and encourage them to take risks in helping those less fortunate, as Ty, Paige, Paul, Tracy and Michael do every week.