Obama's religion shouldn't matter By Nikky Raney

President Obama's religious views have been put under close speculation by the media and other public figures for quite some time, but it doesn't make any sense as to why this matters.

The media has been covering and people have been debating this since before he was even elected president.

Photo courtesy of Getty images

In the United States according to the First Amendment within the Constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."


Those who are proud to be an American and are using their First Amendment rights of free speech to criticize Obama's religious views are really wasting their time. And all this media coverage all about Obama's religion is really unnecessary. Stop reporting about all the people who think he is a Muslim - it shouldn't matter. Stop reporting about it and let those people think whatever they would like to think - if they don't have an outlet of the media allowing their voices to be heard then there wouldn't be so much of a discussion.

The First Amendment clearly states that Congress cannot prohibit the free exercise of any religion or establish that the country has a religion.

Politico reports:

"Recent polls have shown that 20 percent of Americans still believe Obama is a Muslim, despite the fact that he has been practicing Christianity."


Religion shouldn't matter. Religion isn't the reason that Obama was elected was it? The reason that a President is chosen is to run the country - USA does not have a specified religion so the religion of the President shouldn't matter unless the President was trying to force his religious views upon the rest of Americans which he clearly is not trying to do.

If people are so upset by thinking he is a Muslim does that mean it is wrong to be a Muslim? There are many Muslims living in the United States who are given the same rights to freedom of religion. By scrutinizing Obama for possibly being a Muslim gives the impression that being a Muslim is negative. Would it matter if the President was Jewish, Buddhist, Atheist, Catholic or even apart of Scientology?  Apparently it does matter, but it shouldn't.

The press is to blame for this. The constant coverage of Obama's birth certificate controversy was already over the top, but now the coverage on religion. Let those who care so much about this use their own outlet to let this out, but the press and large news sources should not be giving these people so much attention. Ignore them like so many other issues are ignored.

President Obama says he is a Christian - so why should so many try to prove otherwise? If the people doing so are Christians themselves then why would they be trying to disprove the religion of another Christian?

Obama has said:

"Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else."

The fact that Obama is not opposed to the building of a Mosque shows that we have a President who does not stand for religious intolerance or persecution - which should come as a positive attribute.

There are so many other pressing issues to be worried about and to spend time covering - so how about focusing on the matters that are pertinent and stop wasting time on all the sensationalism.

Martin Short's Wife Nancy Dolman Dies at 58 years of age

Martin Short and Wife

Actor and comedian Martin Short's wife Nancy Dolman died at the age of 58 Saturday at the couples home in Pacific Palisades, California.

Nancy Dolman's cause of death has not been officially reported. However, EOnline UK explains that Dolman has battled cancer since 2007.

Nancy Dolman and Martin Short, 60, married in 1980. The two reportedly met while working on a Toronto production of Godspell in 1972.

Dolman then appeared in a recurring role in the ABC TV dramedy series Soap in 1981. In 1985 she retired to raise her family with Short.

Short and Dolman have three children: Henry, 21, Oliver, 24, and Katherine, 26.

Paris Hilton: Knife- Wielding Man Tries To Break Into Hilton's Home

Police At Paris Hilton's Home Arrest Man (Photo from Paris Hilton)

Just about 43 minutes ago, Model, Actress, and Socialite Paris Hilton got on Twitter to share a tweet that a knife-wielding man broke into her home, with her there. Paris tweeted:

So Scary, just got woken up to a guy trying to break into my house holding 2 big knifes. Cops are here arresting h http://twitpic.com/2hrfnm
43 minutes ago via Twitpic

According to TMZ.com, which contacted law enforcement officials, Paris Hilton said that the man, who's in his 40s, was banging on her windows at 6:30 AM PDT, but never got into her house.

Paris saw the man on her security cameras and called the police, who arrived and arrested him. Hilton was told he was "armed and dangerous" and that she was lucky he did not enter her home.

TMZ.com reports that Paris did not know the man at all. It's a fair bet he was some kind of stalker. This kind of person is becoming disturbingly all too common in the news.

Stay tuned.

Old Spice Man Wins Outstanding Commercial

Old Spice Zennie

On the same day that this blogger created the video Old Spice Man, Thanks For Making Shirtless Brothers Cool, Old Spice Man won "Outstanding Commercial" at the 2010 Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

The commercial beat out a number of entries including a Snickers ad featuring Betty White.

The Old Spice Man ad series has attracted 29 million views on YouTube online, and is the feature of an SF AMA conversation panel Wednesday in San Francisco. Click here for more information.

The Old Spice Man Commercial and concept was created by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Oregon.

Avatar Special Edition; 67 Percent Polled Say They Will Not See It

Cover via Amazon

It is too early for an Avatar re-release? If a recent and current poll is any indication, the answer is "yes."

According to Deadline.com, an unscientific poll of front page readers indicates that a surprising 67 percent will not see Avatar: Special Edition.

While the problem with the poll is it's lack of numerical reporting - one can't tell how many were polled and it could easily be gamed by its design - the results are still is a reflection of how the public feels about an early release, even in Hollywood, which reads Deadline.com.
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Deadline.com is the website of long-time movie business columnist Nikke Finke. The site really gained traction with her insider accounts of various Hollywood scandals. It has become the go-to online publication for news about the business of hollywood.

Egg Recall : Were Iowa Farms Targets Of Bioterrorism?

The massive egg recall, now into its first full week, involves an estimated 550 million eggs but from just two Iowa Farms, The Wright Egg Company and Hillandale Farms.

According to ABC News, the salmonella bacteria contamination has now sickened 2,000 people, up from just 1,000 people a few days ago. But just how did this happen?

There's still no official answer to that question. The effected eggs were transported and sold under the following major brands: Lucerne, Mountain Dairy, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Albertson, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Lund, Dutch Farms, Kemps and Pacific Coast. That's a very significant portion of the total market of egg retailers.

Given that regulators can't spot a reason for the contamination, the fact that it seems two very key egg farms were impacted, and the resultant giant spread of the contamination, it's only reasonable to speculate if it could have been the work of bioterrorists?

To date, that question has not been widely introduced or discussed at all in the media. And while it may seem far-fetched to some, this blogger discovered a 2004 online document entitled SALMONELLOSIS: Bioterrorism Agent Profiles for Health Care Workers and by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

In it, the section focuses on how the bacteria Salmonella could come to be in the food supply, states that the mortality rate is "slow to moderate," and states that "In a terrorist attack, salmonellosis would most likely occur due to intentional contaminationof food or water supplies."

The document comes under the heading "Bioterrorism & Epidemic Preparedness & Response" on this web page of the Arizona DHS called "Bureau of Epidemiology & Disease Control."

The Arizona DHS defines Bioterrorism as...

Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs (agents) to cause illness or death in people, animals or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but can be altered to enhance their morbidity rate, resistant to medicines and virulence.

Biological agents can be spread through the air or water or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be difficult to detect and have incubation periods of several hours to several days.

Salmonellosis is called a "Category B Disease" where it is "moderately easy to disseminate, results in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates, and require specific enhancements of CDC's diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance."

Why Is The Media Avoiding Bioterrorism Talk?

To date, the causes of The Egg Recall have focused allegations that a man named Austin "Jack" DeCoster, the owner of The Wright County Egg company, was a frequent violator of heath and safety regulations. But the problem is the egg recall impacts not one, but two farms. Jack DeCoster only owns one of them.

One listing for Hillandale Farms, as listed online, is headquartered in Pennsylvania and by Gary R Bethel, Orland R Bethel, and Steve Vendemia in 2004. A search for Hillandale Farms Of Iowa at 2128 McCloud Ave. New Hampton, Iowa 50659 641-394-4116, does not return a corporate website. This is the only website for Hillandale Farms at http://www.hillandalefarms.com. The media has not listed the name of the owner of Hillandale Farms.

The website reads:

Hillandale Farms is one of the nations leading supplier of shell eggs. With production facilities in the northeast, midwest and southeast, Hillandale Farms supplies retailers and distributors throughout the eastern half of the United States.

So, we can assume that Hillandale Farms is headquatered in Pennsylvania because this website page lists Gary Bethel as the company president, and is in the same design as the other site related to the Iowa location. It reads:

Hillandale Farms remains a family run business. Company president, Gary Bethel, continues to reinforce the core competencies that has enabled the company to grow:

For some reason, someone has an interest in putting out a lot of bad information about Jack DeCoster, and the media, as was the case with The Huffington Post using Associated Press material, has taken the bait hook, line, and sinker. And avoiding any look at Hillandale Farms in the process.

But suppose it's a cover to cause the media to avoid talk of Bioterrorism? There's no question that DeCoster would be the perfect fall person here.

But the reality is there may be more farm owners who have the same issues, it's just that it really looks like someone at some PR firm somewhere was hired to crank out information on DeCoster. Information the Associated Press is distributing without question.

That's fishy.

Stay tuned for more.

Cincinnati Bengals Defense Preview

Image via Wikipedia

Note - This was originally posted at NFL Business Blog, part of the Zennie62 Blog Network.

NFL 2010 CINCINNATI BENGALS PREVIEW - DEFENSE

By Draftnik and Don Stokes contributing writer Southeastern Ohio region-Football Reporters Online

COACHING

Other than the Head football coach I normally do not point out any individual members of a coaching staff of any team that I cover but I believe a special mention should be made to Bengals Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer. “Zim” as he is affectingly called by his defensive players became extremely popular from both the visibility of the “HBO Hard Knocks” show and also the sudden passing of his wife in October 2009. The Bengal team defense closed their ranks and played as a cohesive unit for the remainder of the season. This defensive turnaround was completed with no real impact lineman, linebackers or secondary players in their system (No All-pro or pro bowlers from this group). Cincinnati’s defense rose from ranked 19th in the NFL in 2008 to number 6th during the 2009 campaign. In 2010 the Bengals will employ a 4-3 defense (with a 4-4 sprinkle), so they must get maximum effort from their down linemen, which at times was a concern in 2009.

DEFENSIVE LINE

On the Defensive Line starting from the Left side is 7 year vet 6’3 280 Robert Geathers. He started 15 games in 2009 and registered 3.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The Bengals could use a 7 to 8 sack season from Robert to balance the QB pressure from the left. On the right side a big return to form will be 6’5 275 Antwan Odom who was injured and lost for the year during game 6 with an Achilles tear. Odom was having a fantastic start in 2009 but his unfortunately his season ended in October. Despite the injury Antwan still led all Cincinnati players with 8 sacks (A Bengal record 5 in one game against GB during the season 2nd game) A clean bill of health from Odom should bring double digit sacks from both DE’s. The Defensive End backups are 6’4 292 Jonathan Fanene who had 6 sacks in 2009 from the Left defensive side. On the right side is 4 year vet 6’3 280 Frostee Rucker. He played in 12 games and contributed with 1.5 sacks. Also seeking to contribute is 2010 2nd round pick 6’6 270 Carlos Dunlap a physical specimen from Florida. The Defensive Tackles starters are solid run stoppers who are both similar in size and strength. From the left is 6’3 320 Damota Peko (23 tackles) and the right is 6’3 315 Tank Johnson (29 tackles and 2 sacks). The DT backups are 6’3 308 Orein Harris, 6’1 293 Geno Atkins, 6’2 325 Pat Simms who led the linemen with 34 tackles in ‘09 and 6’2 297 Clinton McDonald.

LINEBACKERS

In 2009 The Bengal Linebacker play was what would be best described as steady but not spectacular. On the left side 6’2 255 Ray Maualuga who will play the “SAM” (strong side) must continue his growth as an impact NFL linebacker. Maualuga, who had 59 tackles from the LLB position, started 15 games in 2009. Ray had his season cut short in week 15 snapping his fibula. The Bengals were expecting a bit more big plays from their 2009 3rd round pick who was 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the year MLB Houston Texans Brian Cushing teammate at USC. MLB was manned by the veteran 6’1 236 Dhani Jones who led the team in tackles (113) and had a career high 3.5 sacks in 2009. The now 10 vet has played with 4 different teams over his career appears to found a home and has now become a solid defender for Cincinnati. At RLB former 1st rounder 6’2 232 Keith Rivers is the incumbent starter. The former USC alum after missing 9 games in 08 played 13 games in 2009 and recorded 72 tackles. The Linebacker backups are 6’5 240 Brandon Johnson who had 58 tackles in 2009. 6’7 268 Michael Johnson, 6’0 236 Abdul Hodge, 6’2 240 Vincent Rey, 6’2 252 Dan Skuta and 6’2 243 Rashad Jeanty.

SECONDARY

With a former All-pro and some possible future ones, other than the wide outs this is the deepest position on the team. Cincinnati’s DB picked 16 passes in ‘09. At the SS position the starter is the former All-pro 6’0 222 Roy Williams. Williams has battled forearm and back injuries the past 2 seasons. He has played but 7 of 32 games since his last pro bowl season in 2007. A return to form by Williams would really give the Bengals a shot in the arm (no pun intended) in the secondary in 2010. At FS is NFL journeyman 5’11 202 Chris Crocker who in 2009 had 38 tackles and 2 INT.

The real Bengal strength is the CB’s. The cornerback tandem of 5’11 195 Leon Hall and 5’11 190 Jonathan Joseph who had similar numbers in 2009 and is considered two of the league’s best. On the right side Hall, who normally drew the toughest assignment against the opponent’s top receiver had 24 pass defended 71 tackles and 6 INT. The left corner is the steady Joseph with 20 pass defended, 69 tackles and 6 INT. Pressure from the pass rush will really make both shine brighter in 2010. A trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii awaits both in the near future. The backups are also solid with the return to the NFL of 5’10 188 LCB Adam (Pac man) Jones. Once considered a bright and up and coming star with fantastic talent, Jones (who will also help with the return game) has missed numerous games and an entire season because of suspensions. If Jones can stay clear of these past transgressions the Bengals will get a solid contributor on defense.

If Roy Williams continues his recent injury woes then ball hawk S 6’0 210 Gibril Wilson can take over. Wilson who had 93 tackles for the Dolphins in ’09 and with 13 NFL INT makes Wilson a nice insurance policy. Another backup is last season’s SS starter6’2 224 Chinedum Ndukwe. He had 89 tackles in ’09 starting 12 games. The rest in the defensive backfield are 6’1 193 Morgan Trent, 4th year pro 6’0 197 David Jones, 3rd yr pro 6’3 222 Kyries Herbert, 5’11 202 Rico Murray. Special team ace 5’11 200 Tom Nelson, and rookies 6’2 210 Jeromy Miles, 3rd round pick 6’0 Brandon Ghee and 6’0 184 Johnny Sears rounds out the secondary.

KICK RETURN/PUNTING

The Bengal Punting duties should be taken care of for many years to come. 2009 rookie P Kevin Huber with a 43.2 yard average and 36.3 net is as good as they come in the tough AFC North with the cold windy December months to come. The PR position is in good hands with both Quan Cosby (47 ret 470 yd 11.9 avg) and Adam Jones (4 lifetime punt returns). At KR Bernard Scott (16 ret 504 yds 31.5 avg 1 TD) and Andre Caldwell (29 ret 18.6 avg) who handled kickoffs in ‘09 are the incumbents.

FORECAST

With their recent additions (Owens, Pac man, Bryant etc.) the Bengals are making a strong push for a trip to SB XLV at Dallas. Unfortunately Cincinnati will not sneak up on anyone as they did last season. On their 2010 schedule the Bengals play 6 playoff teams from 2009 (Ravens, Jets, Saints, Colts, Patriots and Chargers) plus the annual 2 game challenge from the Steelers will make it tough. This should test whether Cincinnati is a serious contender or pretender. With the situation Pittsburgh must content with (QB Roethlisberger’s pending 6 game regular season suspension) this should help Cincinnati get off to a good start within the AFC North. A repeat 10-6 record from 2009 is attainable but it will be a reach. This would be enough to bring Marvin Lewis back for 2011 season and beyond. A 6-10 record will surely sign Lewis his walking papers for good.