The Happiness Hour Theme Song - Lyrics by Alan Miller

Just for the hell of it, I decided to write some lyrics to the Happiness Hour Theme Song ("Apples and Bananas" by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra - 1965).

I'm not really a singer, so I had to change the key. I added video captions to help you understand the words.

How Modern Liberals Think

This was done last March, but if you haven't seen it, it's well-worth seeing.

Evan Sayet gave this presentation at the Heritage Foundation. Ironically, he used to be a comedy writer for Bill Maher.

Click Here

For Anyone Who Cares About Israel - This is a "MUST-SEE"

Although this link is listed in the sidebar on the right, it doesn't stand out and can easily be missed.

This is a video (or you can just listen to the audio if you prefer) of a panel discussion that took place at Temple Emanuel in San Francisco on December 9th just a few weeks ago.

If you have the time, it's really worth experiencing.

The topic is entitled, "American Foreign Policy in the Middle East / Dangerous Times in a Dangerous Neighborhood."

Moderated by Michael Medved, panelists include Dennis Prager, John Podhoretz, and Mona Charen.

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In case you haven't heard - Dennis Prager will be in Cherry Hill, NJ on February 7th

"An Evening With Dennis Prager"

Topic: Does G-d Have A Vote? A Healthy Mix of Religion and Politics in 2008

Date: February 7, 2008

Location:
Congregation Beth El
2901 West Chapel Avenue
Cherry Hill, NJ

7 pm Reception - 8 pm Program

$36 General Admission / Event Only

$118 Reserved Seating and Reception with Dennis Prager preceding event

For more information:

email: PragerEvening@gmail.com

or

Call 856-675-1166 ext. 137

The Latest Poll

According to the latest poll, 2 entire people will be showing up at Congregation Beth El to see Dennis Prager on Febuary 7th.

A word to the wise: This is why you cannot trust polls. I personally know at least 20 people who will be in attendance.

And several of them are bringing guests.

And that's not even including Jeff Epstein and his wife and his sister.

And one of the members of the local Prager Discussion Groups happens to be co-chairperson of the event.

Happy New Year.

The Elephant in the Living Room

Everyone seems to be getting caught up in the 2008 presidential election campaigns. We’ve all seen some of the Democratic and Republican debates. It’s politics, politics, politics, but has anyone noticed what politicians have done that will have a huge impact on the lives of Americans? I’m not talking about taxes; I’m talking about the mandated requirement that in 2009 all television transmissions will HAVE to be in high definition (HDTV). This means that, one day soon, all non-HD televisions will stop receiving a signal. We’ll turn on our televisions, and there will be nothing but snow.

Ignoring HDTV is like trying to ignore an elephant in your living room. The media, politicians, and most Americans are ignoring this issue. What is not being discussed is the fact that, in order to even be able to receive television broadcasts, all of us are going to be forced to spend hundreds of dollars on an HDTV or an HD tuner. Gone will be the days when we were able to have television sets in the family room, the kitchen, and various bedrooms. My husband did some online HDTV pricing today, and the best price he found was around $700. The only alternative to an HDTV will be an HD tuner, which will connect to a standard definition television, allowing it to receive the signal. Unfortunately, HD tuners are not readily available, and the only one my husband could find cost $200. Many of us will be lucky to have one television set in the entire house.

There are so many negative implications connected with this legislated intrusion into the airwaves. First, of course, is the burden of a large expense for every household in America that wants to be able to receive television transmission. My answer to this is that Congress, which passed this legislation, should give full tax credits for expenses related to their brilliant idea. Also negative is the fact that most televisions are now made in China. Imagine how much worse the trade imbalance will become when millions of Americans are literally forced to buy new television sets. And what about the people who can’t or won’t buy an HDTV? Since television is the main medium for communication in this country, information about a national emergency would not be available to all Americans–only the ones who have HDTV.

I would like to see every single presidential candidate from both parties asked about the HD situation at every single debate. I also want every member of Congress asked about the coming HD crisis that they have created. Everybody in the government seems to be quietly hoping that we won’t notice, including the FCC, which does not seem to be doing anything at all to help Americans understand what’s coming or make the transition to the mandated HDTV. We’re on our own.

I guess I’m very cynical, but when it comes to politicians and legislation, the old adage kicks in–follow the money. Why was this legislation passed, and who stands to make a killing from it? That’s what I really want to know.

Blog Authors

So far - Kimberly, Dave Merc, Gene, Harris, Lynda B, MikeG, Robert Baker, M.D., and Mama Padawan have accepted invitations to be blog authors on this site.

I encourage all of you who haven't yet responded to the invitations to do so, because it enables you to post - not just to leave comments.

I visited one of the sites that are listed on the right-hand sidebar - the "Prager Fans Bulletin Board," and got involved in some interesting conversations with people in other parts of the country.

I'm pretty sure we can do the same on this site, so if you get the inclination and when you have the chance to do so, please start posting (topics, ideas, questions, links, etc.) and/or leaving comments.

By the way, if anyone has time to watch (the video) or listen to (the audio) of Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Mona Charen, and John Podhoretz speaking at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco on 12/9/07 (the link is also on the sidebar), it's terrific!

Also, further down on the sidebar is a link to "Attitude and Gratitude" - the memoirs of Max Prager (Dennis' father). It's really rich - and you can find pictures of Dennis when he was a kid and a young man.

Holiday Greetings

To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

Suggestions Needed

Encouraged by Diana Mitzner to do so, I adapted this blog from the "Minnesota Prager Discussion Group" blog. The Minnesota Pragerites seem to be a lot further along with regard to organization of meetings than we seem to be in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. They even have minutes posted.

Since our local membership covers a pretty big geographic area, a variety of meeting places seems like it might be a practical thing to have. I don't even know how many meetings actually took place in the Philly/S. Jersey region on 12/17/07. On the other hand, a more limited number of meeting locations might result in bigger turnouts.

Perhaps a blog like this can serve as a means for us to better communicate and coordinate. I've never set up a blog before, so I'm not exactly sure about how to go about organizing it, but I suppose we can use it to post ideas, updates, suggestions, anectdotes, meeting and event suggestions, etc.

So, if you're interested, please feel free to start leaving comments.

(It's currently after midnight, and I re-edited this post because I just now learned how to make this a "Team Blog" so that everybody not only has the ability to leave comments, but also to post topics. If you didn't receive an invitation to be part of the "team," please email me at amillermd@comcast.net, and I'll make sure that you get one.)

- Alan Miller (amillermd@comcast.net)

First Cherry Hill area Prager Meeting

On Monday, December 17th at 7:30 pm, three Prager aficionados met at the Barnes & Noble on Route 70 in Marlton, NJ. After we introduced ourselves to one another, we made great strides toward providing solutions to the many macro issues we all face. (Just kidding, but as I experienced at another Prager meetup I attended in Wynnwood in November, it's amazingly comforting to meet fellow Prager fans.)

Welcome!

I'm not exactly sure how to go about constructing this thing, so for the time being please just consider this to be a work in progress ...

- Alan Miller