Rebel Brown: Unstoppable U - Blog Business Success Radio

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Management consultant, author, and director of the UnstoppableUFoundation, Rebel Brown describes how the organization help kids overcome their fears and achieve their full potential. Rebel Brown shares the story of how she and her horse, Maverick the Mustang, provide guidance and inspiration to young people of all ages and backgrounds. Rebel demonstrates how understanding and courage are discovered and enhanced through hearing and experiencing Maverick's story from about to be destroyed mustang to gentle saddle horse. Rebel presents information about how she created, funded and operates Unstoppable U, offering proven ideas for other non-profit organizations. Rebel also provides insights into how social media helped to establish and spread the word about Unstoppable U. Discover how to overcome fear and become unstoppable too.

Rebel Brown is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, October 2, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Management consultant and strategist, author, and director of the UnstoppableUFoundation, Rebel Brown describes how the organization help kids overcome their fears and achieve their full potential. Rebel Brown shares the story of how she and her horse, Maverick the Mustang, provide guidance and inspiration to young people of all ages and backgrounds. You will learn:

* What it means to be unstoppable at any age

* How to overcome fear and take charge of your own life

* How Maverick the Mustang's life story inspires kids of all ages

* How to establish and fund a successful non-profit organization



Rebel Brown (photo left) consistently challenges the status quo to deliver optimum solutions and high velocity growth for her clients. She combines the strategic expertise and tactical savvy of a global Corporate Strategy, Launch and Turnaround Expert, along with the leadership and motivational skills needed to get the job done.

As an international consultant, Rebel has worked with over 100 clients – from larger companies to smaller, more entrepreneurial concerns - in start up, growth and turnaround situations in both the B2B and B2C markets.

My book review of Defy Gravity: Propel Your Business to High-Velocity Growth by Rebel Brown.

Maverick the Mustang (photo left) is an American Mustang who was captured by the BLM. He was abused, beaten and branded with a big U as a 3 Striker - Unadoptable, Untouchable and Unlovable. Maverick was an outcast - and he almost starved to death at the hands of humans.

But then Maverick found courage, faith and trust, thanks to the love of gentle humans - two-leggeds who are so very different from those who hurt him.

When he stepped into his courage and faced his fear, Maverick found his Unstoppable self.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with management consultant, author, and director of the UnstoppableUFoundation, Rebel Brown, as she describes how the organization help kids overcome their fears and achieve their full potential. Rebel Brown shares the story of how she and her horse, Maverick the Mustang, provide guidance and inspiration to young people of all ages and backgrounds. Rebel demonstrates how understanding and courage are discovered and enhanced through hearing and experiencing Maverick's story from about to be destroyed mustang to gentle saddle horse. Rebel presents information about how she created, funded and operates Unstoppable U, offering proven ideas for other non-profit organizations. Rebel also provides insights into how social media helped to establish and spread the word about Unstoppable U. Discover how to overcome fear and become unstoppable too on Blog Business Success Radio.

Adoption Monday: Caleb, Labrador Retriever Mix, Deerfield, NH

Check out this wonderful boy at Mary's Dogs Rescue & Adoption!

Caleb is a sweet boy.  He appreciates the little things.  

Love, play, a warm bed, and a full tummy!  

He is a little lab mix puppy, about 3.5 months old.  He will be a medium sized adult dog, and someone's best friend. Caleb is house trained, neutered and up-to-date with routine shots.

Want more info on Caleb? Call Mary's Dogs: 603.370.7750 or send along an email: marysdogsrescue@gmail.com

Ready to bring Caleb home? Tell us about yourself and your interest in Caleb in our adoption questionnaire. Check out all the wonderful dogs on Mary's Dogs Facebook Fan Page.

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Mary’s Dogs rescues and re-homes dogs and puppies from Aiken County Animal Shelter, a high-kill shelter in South Carolina, USA. They also serve as a resource to communities in Southern New Hampshire and pet owners nationwide by providing education and information on responsible pet ownership, including the importance of spay/neuter, positive behavior training, and good nutrition.

The Obscene Wealth of the Saudis

By Alan Caruba

Some facts: Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserve of 263 billion barrels making it the largest producer and exporter of oil, 11.6% of the world’s supply. Oil represents 90% of its exports and 75% of its revenue. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have had strong relations dating back to World War II and yet much of the funding for al Qaeda came from there until it became a threat to its benefactors. Individual Saudis reportedly still provide funding.

Of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 attacks fifteen were Saudis..Others were from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of the Wahhabi sect, the most orthodox of all Islamic factions. Though the Saudis are Sunnis, the majority sect of Islam and Iran is Shiite, the two nations resemble each other in their indifference to human rights and the general suppression of rights that Americans and other Western nations take for granted.

I have been a book reviewer for more than fifty years and I keep a watchful eye for the occasional book that says more about its topic than a stack of academic or geo-political books by scholars. Such is the case with Jayne Amelia Larson’s “Driving the Saudis: A Chauffeur’s Tale of the World’s Richest Princesses (plus their servants, nannies, and one royal hairdresser).”

Larson has degrees from Cornell University and Harvard University’s American Repertory Theatre Institute. Like so many with aspirations to act in films and television, she headed for Los Angeles, but show business is a tough life to pursue and only a handful find great success. The rest often have to moonlight as Larson did, chauffering to pay the bills.

When members of the Saudi royal family arrive, they require all manner of security and a caravan of limosines to take them where they want to go. Larson would be the only woman driver for one such trip, chosen to drive the princesses, their children, the children’s friends and their nannies, but the full cast included secretaries, tutors, trainers, cooks, doctors, servants, a message therapist, and a royal hairdresser, among others. The logistics required to cater to their every whim is extraordinary.

They also brought with them some of their own furniture despite staying at LA’s most luxurious hotels as well as fine silk rugs, silver serving trays, ornate gilded and ceramic semovars, and “extraordinary coffees, teas, dried fruits, rice, beans, grains, spices, cand, and a rich chocolate that you can get only in the Middle East.”

They arrived with a chest of cash. The Saudis paid for everything with cash and one estimate put the amount at $20 million; $1 million in stacks of hundred-dollar bills weighed about twenty pounds and fits into a five-inch Halliburton attache case. Twenty such cases fit into the chest that was large enough to fit a human body.

America has its billionaires and millionaires, but they would look like busboys beside the Saudi family’s princes and princesses.

Larson, an acute observer, quickly discovered “an elaborate hierarchy and pecking order opervading the royal family’s and accompanying entourage’s behavior at all times. I noticed that no matter the position in even the detail’s hierarchy, everybody wanted to have one beneath them to order around. It was insidious and endless.”

What the princesses were here to do was to shop. They did not shop like Americans. They did not buy one purse, but many purses. “All the booty would be thrown into the back of a waiting van that would make periodic runs back to the hotel to dump the goods. I watched as every week, hundreds of huge moving crates were filled and shipped out to Saudi Arabia to be opened and sorted by the servents back at the palaces of the Kingdom.”

“There was absolutely no regard for what something cost, no inquiry whatever. If they wanted it, they bought it, then bought some more, then bought some more, then bought some more.”

When her seven weeks with the visiting Saudis were finished, Larson figured out she had driven more than 10,000 miles on an average day that could run to eighteen hours, seven days a week. She had heard that the Saudis always tipped handsomely when they left, but because she was a woman, she received a mere pittance.

What Larson got, however, was a closeup look at the obscene wealth of the Saudi royals and a look at a life that some women might envy, but which was a velvet prison, especially for the favored wives whose entire purpose in life was to produce more royal progeny. None of them, unlike Larson, would ever be allowed to drive a car or to go anywhere in the Kingdom without a male relative to supervise. They were segregated in that society and would wear Islamic garb that covered them from head to toe.

It wasn’t just the amount of money that was obscene. It was a lifestyle out of the seventh century. It was a look at what life would be like if these people are ever able to impose their values and restrictions on the world. We got a glimpse at that when Barack Obama bowed to the Saudi king.

© Alan Caruba, 2012

Test Your Dog's IQ

Looking for something fun to do with your dog? Try a dog IQ test.



***
Dogs Trust (formerly the National Canine Defence League) is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. Their mission is to bring about the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.

Obama's Tyrannical Executive Orders

By Alan Caruba

A September 24 a Wall Street Journal editorial warned that President Obama is moving to control the Internet by executive order. “Any day now, the White House will issue an executive order on cyber security, according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who said last week that the measure ‘is close to completion.’”

It noted that “the White House intends to go ahead with its order in the face of vociferous opposition on Capitol Hill.”

“According to leaked versions of the draft, the executive order would impose security standards for 16 critical industries” and that “private companies have innovated and invested heavily to protect themselves without regulatory prodding. What they need from the government is an information-sharing program and liability protection.”

This is just one more executive order that would, along with others, impose a totalitarian control over every aspect of life in America on the pretext of a national emergency. We had a national emergency on 9/11 and no laws were abrogated, no Constitutional freedoms denied.

A Homeland Security Department study, “Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States 1970-2008”, listed Americans who are “fiercely nationalistic”, “suspicious of centralized federal authority” and “reverent of individual liberty” as potential terrorists.

Jeffery T. Kuhmer, writing in The Washington Times in March, noted that “On March 15, the White House released an executive order, ‘National Defense Resources Preparedness.’ The document is stunning in its audacity and a flagrant violation of the Constitution.”

To understand how extensive this is, the Western Center for Journalism published a list of “Obama’s Worst Executive Orders” asserting that some 900 Obama executive orders had been initiated when in fact Obama has signed 139. However, added to active EOs from previous administrations, the Center is correct in its fears that he is "creating a martial law ‘Disney Land’ of control covering everything imaginable.”

Executive Order 10990 allows the Government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports.

Executive Order 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.

Executive Order 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels, and minerals.

Executive Order 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.

Executive Order 11001 allows the government to take over all health education and welfare functions.

Executive Order 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.

Executive Order 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.

Executive Order 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate and establish new locations for populations.

Executive Order 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways, and public storage facilities.

Executive Order 11049 assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issues over a fifteen-year period.

Executive Order 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.

Executive Order 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute Industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.

Executive Order 11921 allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit, and the flow of money in U.S. financial institutions in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when the president declares a state of emergency, Congress cannot review the action for six months.

These executive orders are a blueprint for the takeover by the government by White House fiat, by-passing Congress.

By declaring that “international tensions and economic or financial crisis” or a “national emergency” exists, it puts all powers of governance in the hands of one man, Barack Hussein Obama.

Do you want to live in such a nation?

(c) Alan Caruba, 2012

What Causes Bladder Infections in Dogs?

by Dr. Greg Magnusson, DVM

This question comes up pretty much EVERY time a dog comes in with a bladder infection, and I totally understand why. Humans like to know cause-and-effect for things. Like, I ate a yucky dinner, so now I have a tummy ache.

I think this need to know primarily stems from an owner’s desire to take good care of their animals. Which means, then, that the corollary to the question is “am I a good dog mommy?"

"Did I do something to cause this?"

So first, let me answer the question you DIDN’T ask – no, you did nothing to cause your dog’s bladder infection. You’re a fine dog mommy. Thank you for bringing her in, so we could treat the infection!

That aside, if we shall delve into this further… let me now warn you that the answer to this question may get a bit yucky. 

Maybe even a lot yucky. Like, you probably don’t really want to know, and should consider not reading further. If part “A” above was all you really needed to hear, you’re fine. You don’t have to be an expert in everything dog, that’s what we’re here for.

On the other hand, if you’re brave and bold and curious, let’s move on…

Female dogs get bladder infections because of a particular design quirk, that of a short urethra positioned right downward of the anus.

First, a lesson about poop. 

Poop is primarily made up of bacteria, solid undigestible components of food, and metabolic waste products from bile. But mostly poop is made of bacteria.

Imagine, if you will, poop falling out of your dog's butt. 

That’s like one big solid ball of E. coli falling, and guess where it passes by before it hits the ground? The urethra.

Yes, it’s true, she “wipes” afterwards with her tongue, but do you REALLY think that’s clean? This is the same tongue that licks her feet after she walks outside, and she doesn’t brush her teeth between butt wipings, so expect that her mouth is full of bacteria too.

Remember, I warned you not to read this.

Compound this problem if she has diarrhea. Not only is it harder for her to clean up, but some might get on the tail, which then falls in front of the urethra…

So essentially, by attempting to clean herself free of poop, she wipes E. coli from the poop and Staph from her skin all over herself. It’s really no wonder some of that bacteria gets into the urethra once in a while...

…causing a bladder infection.

Oh wait, you have a MALE dog? Yes, they get bladder infections too, but MUCH less often because the prepuce is nowhere near the anus, and because the urethra is WAY longer from the tip of the prepuce all the way up into the bladder, making it harder for bacteria to “climb” into the bladder.

Now you know!

SPECIAL NOTE: Remember how I said bladder infections are primarily caused either by E. coli or Staph? That’s a GROSS oversimplification, there are TONS of different kinds of bacteria in poop and on skin. Each bacteria responds best to a different antibiotic. This is why your friendly neighborhood veterinarian needs to obtain a urine sample using a STERILE NEEDLE AND SYRINGE and send some of that pee to the lab so they can culture it and identify which nasty bacteria we’re dealing with. Yes, it’s expensive for you  – lab fees are pricey!! But, you know… valuable, and essentially the most efficient way to get the CORRECT answer and FASTEST treatment possible, rather than me just guessing what kind of bacteria it is and choosing an antibiotic off the shelf.

Reprinted with permission from Leo's Pet Care, 10598 N College Ave # 200, Indianapolis, IN 46280 | www.leospetcare.com | indianapolisvet@gmail.com

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Greg Magnusson, DVM describes himself as Leo's daddy. Public educator, mender of wounded bodies, healer of troubled souls, veterinarian in Indianapolis at Leo's Pet Care - out to change the world for one little boy...
Contact Dr. Magnusson via his Leo's Pet Care Facebook Fan Page or @IndianapolisVet on twitter.


Articles by Dr. Magnusson:
What's In The Blood? Blood Testing And Interpretation  
Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Anal Glands 

Related articles:
The Always-At-Hand Diagnostic Tool: Whoa, Girl Dogs Have Anal Glands Too! 
Symptoms To Watch For In Your Dog: Bad Odor

Cartoon Round Up

Veterinary Highlights: Canine Lifetime Health Project

Do you have a Golden Retriever?

Morris Animal Foundation's Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, the first study of the Canine Lifetime Health Project, is a pioneering study focusing on identifying risk factors for development of cancer and other diseases in Golden Retrievers.

More than half of Golden Retrievers die from cancer, and it is the leading cause of death in all dogs over the age of two.

This study aims to:

• Identify ways in which genetics, environment and diet may affect a dog's risk for cancer
• Determine risk factors for other major health disorders in Golden Retrievers
• Learn how to better prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and other canine diseases
• Improve the health of future generations of Golden Retrievers and help create a healthier tomorrow for all dogs

Morris Animal Foundation's Canine Lifetime Health Project is an online community of dog lovers willing to have their dogs participate in studies that will improve the health of dogs. By participating in the project, dog lovers will support Morris Animal Foundation's efforts to give dogs longer, healthier lives.

To determine if your dog is eligible for participation in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, you must first register for the Canine Lifetime Health Project. After you sign up for the Canine Lifetime Health Project, you will be notified by email if your dog qualifies for the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study or any future studies managed through this project.

From Haile Selassie to Bibi Netanyahu

By Alan Caruba

On June 20, 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia addressed the League of Nations following the annexation of his nation by Italy the previous year, after Mussolini’s army had invaded. Both nations were members of the League. It condemned the invasion and had imposed economic sanctions that were weak and ignored by its members.

In the wake of having been driven from Ethiopia, Selassie warned the League’s assembled diplomats “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”

World War II would begin three years later when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.

There are lessons to be drawn from history if one is inclined to learn history. On Thursday, September 27, just as he has for the last few years, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Natanyahu again addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and again warned that time was running out for a confrontation with an Iran intent on producing its own nuclear weapons to fulfill its repeated threats to destroy Israel.

The fact that Netanyahu was back again in front of the General Assembly, essentially giving the same warning tells you how weak the United Nations is, much like its predecessor, the League of Nations. Stalin once asked how many divisions does the Pope of Rome have, mocking his moral authority, and Iran is doing the same, but it is mocking the entire world.

Netanyahu said, “If the Western nations had set red lines in the 1930s, I believe World War II would have been avoided.” He said that a clearly stated “red line” forbidding the enrichment of uranium to weapons grade levels would induce Iran to stop. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say, he hopes for that outcome.

“Today a great battle is being waged between modernity and the medieval,” said Netanyahu in the opening minutes of his address, warning that what was at stake was “not just the future of my country, but the future of the world.”

He asked of a nuclear Iran, “who would be safe in the Middle East, in Europe, in America, anywhere?” Just as Selassie had told the League of Nations, Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly a blunt truth, but it has not stirred many, including the U.S., to action except to park warships in the Persian Gulf, a familiar warning.

Netanyahu produced a simple chart in the familiar shape of an old-fashioned bomb and discussed the role and outcome of enriched uranium, noting that seven years of diplomacy has not deterred Iran from its continued, relentless program. “Sanctions have not stopped Iran ever.”

And then he said something that I suspect many in the Assembly and those watching on television probably missed. He talked of the plants in which the enrichment process is taking place and said, “These plants are visible and vulnerable.”

“The relevant question,” said Netanyahu, “is not at what point Iran will get the bomb, but when they can be stopped from getting it.”

This observer thinks Israel is on its own and knows it. There may be cooperation from other nations who take the Iranian threat seriously, but whatever steps Israel must take to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, it will largely have to do while the diplomats and leaders of Western and other nations cower in their embassies, chancelleries, consulates, and seats of government in storied capitol cities.

Israel will be tasked to save the West because the West, once again, cannot find the courage to save itself, just like in 1936.

© Alan Caruba, 2012

1.9 Million Page Views--100,000 Hits a Month

By Alan Caruba

"Warning Signs" has passed 1.9 million page views this month and a check of the records indicate we crossed 1.8 a month ago and 1.7 the previous month, each within a 30-day period. That's 100,000 visitors a month these days.

It's great to know that a lot of folks enjoy my daily commentaries and, if I may, it helps around here to receive donations to underwrite the research and IT costs involved.

In the remaining time between now and Election Day, November 6, we are all going to need to separate the truth from the massive manipulation by the mainstream media. That's the job of "Warning Signs" and we also keep an eye on international events. The world is on fire these days from Islamic terrorism to the European Union's economic crisis.

And then there is the threat of economic collapse here in the USA. No nation can sustain a $16 trillion debt and $1 trillion a year deficits. Real change, not the socialist transformation Obama has delivered, is needed. Voters need to step up and make that change!

Keep coming back, tell your family, friends, and co-workers about "Warning Signs" and, by the end of October it will cross the $2 million mark.

Did I mention that your donation is needed?  

Great (Or Not So Great) Expectations with Femoral Head Osteotomy (FHO) Part (I)

by Susan E. Davis, PT

Femoral head osteotomy (FHO) is the surgical excision (removal) of the ball and neck of the femur, at the hip joint.

It is used in cases of advanced hip dysplasia where the hip joint has also become arthritic, in complex fractures and for cases of avascular necrosis (lack of blood supply to the bone). A genetic condition called Legg Calve-Perthes, seen mostly in toy breeds, is an example of avascular necrosis.  

When I get a new referral to see a canine patient post-FHO, two immediate questions come to mind: 

1. How long ago was the surgery and 
2. Are the dog parents realistic in their expectations of the outcome?  

From experience I know that if the parents have waited a month or 2 (or longer) after the procedure to call me and/or are expecting their dog to walk as well or better than before the surgery, I am about to face some heat!

FHO is not the only option for these conditions, but it is probably the most commonly chosen.

If you think I don’t sound like a fan of the FHO, you are right.

Nobody, even the surgeon, is a fan of FHO. 

This is because it is a non-reversible “salvage” procedure and not a truly corrective one. Given the other options available, however, it is usually a very practical choice!
       
Other options include:

• Triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) available for young dogs up to 1 year of age and involves cutting and re-positioning the bone and re- angulation of the joint
• Total hip replacement (THR) inserts an artificial hip (endoprosthesis), and is used in dogs over 1 year of age.  

Both options have a high success rate, but involve longer recovery and are much higher in terms of cost. 
The FHO becomes, if not the optimal treatment of choice, an economical solution with a shorter recovery period.  

It is performed more on smaller dogs, less than 40 pounds and it is not as highly recommended for large dogs.

The key is to understand why it is being done and what to expect afterward. 

When the hip joint is damaged by one of the conditions described above and conservative measures have not been effective, the hip will continue to worsen without surgery.  By “worsen”, I refer to degenerative changes as arthritis, fragmentations and bone spurs which will become painful and debilitating for your dog.

When the FHO is performed, the removal of the head and neck (the” ball” portion of the hip) allows a false joint to form in place of the normal ball and socket. 

Photo OrthoVet Super Site

From that point on the “hip” is biomechanically altered and the leg becomes shortened. Even with physical therapy and rehab, there can be some recurring deviations and lameness in gait with less weight borne on the leg than before the surgery.

Many times I have heard a dog owner state “My dog seemed to walk just like this or better before, so why did I have this done?

My response is “Your dog is now free from pain and secured from future crippling” arthritis and degeneration”.  

Though, with FHO, the return to full function is guarded, the quality of life is enhanced, and the owner still has his/her retirement savings intact.

***
Susan E. Davis (Sue) is a licensed Physical Therapist with over 30 years of practice in the human field, who transitioned into the animal world after taking courses at the UT Canine Rehabilitation program.  She is located in Red Bank, New Jersey.

She has been providing PT services to dogs and other animals through her entity Joycare Onsite, LLC in pet’s homes and in vet clinics since 2008.

She also provides pro bono services each week to a shelter and sanctuary for neglected and abused animals.  Sue is the proud “dog mommy” to Penelope, a miniature Dachshund with “attitude”.  For more information see her website www.joycareonsite.com , or follow on Twitter @animalPTsue.

Further reading: 
Femoral Head and Neck Excision


Related articles:
You Say Hip Dysplasia, I Say Knee Injury ... Forrest Gumbo's Story
From The Case Files: Hunter's Hip Dysplasia Was Nearly A Death Sentence 
Hip Dysplasia Prevention And Treatment Options 
Hip And Elbow Dysplasia: Are They The Same Thing?
Just When You Thought You Knew Everything About Hip Dysplasia
Indy’s Struggle with Dysplasia

Articles by Susan E. Davis:
Functional Strengthening Exercises: the What, Why and How
One Thing Leads To Another: Why The Second ACL Often Goes Too
Compensation: An Attempt To Restore Harmony
Paring Down to the Canine Core
Canine Massage: Every Dog ‘Kneads’ It”
Photon Power: Can Laser Therapy Help Your Dog?  
Physical Therapy in the Veterinary World  
Reiki: Is it real? 
Dog Lessons: Cooper  
The Essentials Of Canine Injury Prevention: 7 Tips For Keeping Your Dog Safer 

The Challenge Of Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Knowledge Is Power (Part I)
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Top 10 Management Suggestions (Part II)

Celebrities and Politics

By Alan Caruba

America seems to produce more celebrities than anywhere other than Great Britain with its royal family and its musical and theatrical performers. Here, movies and televisions produce celebrities by the bushel and it comes as no surprise that some fancy themselves political pundits as well.

The most egregious among them of late is Madonna, possibly the world’s worst role model. At a recent concert in Washington, D.C. she endorsed Obama as a “black Muslim” amidst an expletive-filled burst of inane thoughts regarding the President.

The transcript reads: “Y'all better vote for f--king Obama, OK? For better or for worse, all right? We have a black Muslim in the White House. Now that's some amazing s--t," she said. "It means there is hope in this country. And Obama is fighting for gay rights, so support the man, goddamnit."

I fully expect the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to announce she will be receiving one any day now.

Lady Gaga—Madonna 2.0—has not been given to political pronouncements but remains a permanent embarrassment to all except adolescents.

Roseanne Barr was on with Sean Hannity recently as the candidate for president of the Peace and Freedom Party, a thin stand-in for the Socialist pretenders. She managed to embarrass herself by being unable to answer his question when they required more than five brain cells working in tandem. Like most of her ilk, she thinks that taking all the money away from billionaires will solve the nation’s fiscal woes even if it would only cover a few days of what the government spends to function.

Far be it for me to say celebrities don’t have a right to express themselves on political issues or, as Hollywood does, give gobs of money to Obama and other liberal causes. It is, I’m told, still a free country. Well, at least until Obama’s executive orders kick in and he declares himself president-for-life.

The Huffington Post has a slew of celebrities whose liberal views are published on the site. Alec Baldwin—who has been known to have anger management problems—is a regular contributor as is Marlo Thomas who holds forth on feminist issues. Russell Simmons writes about racial issues.

Political personalities and events have been the life blood of Saturday Night Live for decades, providing oodles of entertainment. I am still convinced that Chevy Chase was personally responsible for the defeat of former President Gerald Ford because of his portrayals of him falling down all the time. In his place we got Jimmy Carter who gives thanks nightly that someone worse than him is in the White House. These days Chevy occasionally erupts with a burst of liberal gibberish that is swiftly forgotten.

We can thank a former SNL comedian, Al Franken, for the passage of Obamacare. Franken, now a U.S. Senator, won by 243 votes out of nearly three million cast and those last votes were found at the bottom of a well or in a decaying tree stump somewhere in Minnesota. His was a critical vote. One of his books was devoted to slandering Rush Limbaugh.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the likes of the late Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, along with Jay Leno and even Jon Stewart for their lampooning of political figures and events. David Letterman is so in love with Obama that he is a general embarrassment and HBO’s Bill Maher should be broadcasting from the dark side of the Moon.

The current batch of Hollywood and television celebrities offering their political advice and endorsements of Obama is cringe-worthy. Oprah’s career nose-dived after endorsing him. Arnold Schwarzenegger was once a GOP-star until he served as California’s Governor and turned out to be an environmental nutcase. Jane Fonda is a pariah among veterans. And among Sean Penn’s heroes is Venezuela’s dictator, Hugo Chavez.

Clint Eastwood, by contrast, created an indelible image of Obama by talking to an empty chair at the Republican national convention.

That the entertainment industry is predominantly liberal is no secret and, if you don’t believe it, the fall season of television shows has its share of homosexual couples with one show called The New Normal. No, it’s not normal and it’s not new. If you are heavily addicted to sexual innuendo and bathroom humor then just tune in CBS, NBC, and ABC.

The recent Emmy award show opened with a comedy sketch that included a naked actress (naughty parts blurred out) on the potty. The awards were so politically correct millions of viewers were constipated the following morning.

We can expect to hear from more celebrities opining why we should vote for Obama over the next few weeks. Remember, these are people who get paid to pretend to be someone else or musicians who just might be enabled by dubious medications or booze.

The attention they get and the obscene amounts of money they’re paid tends to warp whatever common sense their parents tried to impart.

© Alan Caruba, 2012

So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport - Book review

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

By: Cal Newport

Published: September 18, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1455509124
ISBN-13: 978-1455509126
Publisher Business Plus/Hachette















"My question was clear: How do people end up loving what they do? And I needed an answer", writes assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University, Cal Newport, in his insight filled and thought provoking book So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. The author describes his quest to discover why so many people end up loving what they do; why so many other people fail in that regard; and offers some deeply personal thoughts based on his journey.

Cal Newport recognizes that something crucial has long been missing from the standard advice of following your passion toward career satisfaction. The author presents a compelling case that this usually presented axiom is not only incorrect, but also dangerous. Instead of leading to the sought after love of the job, the constant follower of passion may suffer from anxiety, and change jobsso many times that no career is ever established. Cal Newport turns the old adage upside down and suggests that perhaps instead of following the passion, that the passion should instead follow the person. The author considers the alternative path of gaining skills and abilities that make the individual good at the job, and that the passion will emerge from that sense of achieving great things on the job.

Cal Newport (photo left) understands that clear empirical evidence and scientific studies contradicts the cliche of following your passion. Indeed, the author points out that simply trying to figure out where tat elusive passion lies can result in complete career derailment. Instead of creating job engagement and satisfaction, the misguided search for passion can result in complete job dissatisfaction. Cal Newport presents the contrarian position of developing skills, and becoming very effective at the job, and that the passion will flow naturally from that skill level.

Cal Newport presents four guiding principles as rules to achieving real and lasting job and career satisfaction. Those four rules are as follows:

* Don't follow your passion
* Be so good they can't ignore you: Importance of skill
* Turn down a promotion: Importance of control
* Think Small, act big: Importance of mission

For me, the power of the book is how Cal Newport combines his personal quest to answer the question of following one's passion, with scientific studies and case studies of how following passion is st best an incomplete thesis. The author presents a compelling case for establishing skill as the forerunner to passion. Cal Newport points out that passion follows skill and achievement, and not the other way around. This critical insight transforms the understanding of how the dynamics of career satisfaction really work.

The author provides his four rules based on research and observation that provide an alternative approach to finding an appropriate career. A combination of autonomy, skills, experience and a mission are more essential elements in job satisfaction. With these principles in place, Cal Newport describes how they lead to achievement, which in turn creates and establishes the personal passion.

I highly recommend the paradigm transformational and successful career building book So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport, to anyone beginning or at any stage of their career path who is seeking an alternative and research based case for competence over passion. Instead of spending time figuring out your passion, this book makes a strong case for using that time to develop your skills, as they will lead to the passion being sought.

Dog Cartoon Of The Week: Trying To Tell Us Something

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Dog Cartoon of the Week is brought to you by Andertoons. Check out the website for more great cartoons.


Cartoonist Mark Anderson lives in the Chicago area with his wife, their children, two cats, a dog and several dust bunnies. You might have seen his cartoons in a number of publications including Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Barrons, Woman's World, Harvard Business Review, Saturday Evening Post, American Legion Magazine, Funny Times.

Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: Blogging As A Marketing Hub - Blog Business Success radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Marketer, author, and BlogTalkRadio show host JoAnne Vandermeulen describes the importance of a blog as a hub for your marketing program. Jo-Anne Vandermeulen offers proven ideas for integrating a blog into your overall social media campaign. Jo-Ann points out that the tremendous value of a blog, as a means to establish expert status, as well as to build relationships is often overlooked. In a world where Twitter, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn and YouTube grab the headlines, the traditional blog continues to attract visitors and build real value. Jo-Anne shares ideas for increasing your blog visitor traffic, creating blog post ideas, and for establishing your blog as your social media hub. Jo-Anne also presents ideas for utilizing the blog as the base for a platform to establish credibility as a speaker or author. Learn how to transform your blog into the very heart of your social media presence, as you build your online presence and reputation.

Jo-Anne Vandermeulen is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, September 27, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Marketer, author, and BlogTalkRadio show host JoAnne Vandermeulen describes the importance of a blog as a hub for your marketing program. You will learn:

* Why a blog is so important as a social media hub

* How to create content that visitors will read and return to read

* How to add more blog visitor traffic that returns

* How to utilize a blog to build a platform for any type of business



Jo-Anne Vandermeulen (photo left) graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in Education and a major in English Literature. For 20 years, she enjoyed a full life raising her two daughters as a single mom and working as a full-time teacher. That left little time for fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing.

At the age of forty-two, Jo-Anne’s life drastically changed. She was diagnosed with a medical illness that sent her home from the classroom. Determined not to let this devastation ruin her life, she used the unplanned turn of events as an opportunity to fulfill her dream. In just seventeen days, Jo-Anne wrote her first novel, a story that was unbelievably self healing.

Since that time, Jo-Anne’s second book, a romantic thriller titled Conquer All Obstacles, has been published. She has welcomed her new career, the journey to publication, while developing an expertise in the promotional industry. Now having the time to pursue her writing and develop her goals, she has produced four completed novels in addition to the practical non-fiction resource, Internet Marketing Made Easy,, which was pre-requested by thousands of followers. Her previous book, Premium Promotional Tips for Writers, earned many 5-star reviews.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with marketer, author, and BlogTalkRadio show host JoAnne Vandermeulen, as shedescribes the importance of a blog as a hub for your marketing program. Jo-Anne Vandermeulen offers proven ideas for integrating a blog into your overall social media campaign. Jo-Ann points out that the tremendous value of a blog, as a means to establish expert status, as well as to build relationships is often overlooked. In a world where Twitter, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn and YouTube grab the headlines, the traditional blog continues to attract visitors and build real value. Jo-Anne shares ideas for increasing your blog visitor traffic, creating blog post ideas, and for establishing your blog as your social media hub. Jo-Anne also presents ideas for utilizing the blog as the base for a platform to establish credibility as a speaker or author. Learn how to transform your blog into the very heart of your social media presence, as you build your online presence and reputation on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Blogging As A Marketing Hub, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, blogging strategies, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

The Voter ID Thing

By Alan Caruba

On September 25th, according to Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Emmanuel Cleaver, “we cannot even find an instance of voter fraud” but the NAACP would disagree as it strives to keep Voter ID laws from being passed.

The NAACP is so concerned about voter rights that it has taken its case to the United Nations, claiming that “Millions of United States citizens are denied the right to vote because they have been previously convicted to a felony offense.

At a NAACP-sponsored panel, a member of its board of directors, Lorraine Miller, called upon the UN Special Rappateour “to investigate racially discriminatory elections laws” given that many felons are black and many states deny voting rights to convicted felons. The NAACP is on a tear to defeat Voter ID laws, claiming they are racially based.

At this point, between thirty-one and thirty-three States have enacted laws that require all voters to show an ID at the polls in November, depending on whether the laws are declared strict or not.

Rep. Cleaver is, shall we say, misinformed. According to a Justice Department fact sheet dated July 2, 2008, more than 140 individuals have been charged with election fraud offenses and more than a hundred have been convicted since the Attorney General’s Ballot Access and Voting initiative was launched in 2002. This is, in actuality, a fairly pathetic enforcement record.

On September 19, one day after being sued over a controversial ballot box citizenship question, Michigan Secretary of State, Ruth Johnson, said there were an estimated 4,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls of the estimated 305,000 non-citizens that live there. This is why Ms. Johnson is insisting that Michigan’s 7.34 million registered voters be asked to confirm they are citizens on Election Day in November.

The election outcome in 2000 had to be decided by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and this initiated efforts to avoid a repeat by tightening voter laws to avoid all manner of fraud.

In their book, “Who’s Counting: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk”, authors John Fund and Hans Von Spakovsky, say that “Election fraud, whether it’s phony voter registrations, illegal absentee ballots, vote-buying, shady recounts, or old-fashioned ballot-box stuffing, can be found in every part of the United States, although it is probably spreading because of the ever-so-close tight red state/blue state divisions that have polarized the country and created so many close elections of late.”

“In 2012, the voter rolls in many American cities include more names than the U.S. Census listed as the total number of residents over age 18. Philadelphia’s voter rolls, for instance, have increased dramatically as the city’s population has declined.”

In 2008, following the election of Barack Obama, ACORN which engaged in widespread voter fraud had its operatives indicted in fifteen States. “At least 54 individuals who worked for ACORN have been convicted of voter fraud or related activities,” noted Fund and Von Spakovsky. It did not go unnoticed that ACORN had earlier hired Obama as a “community organizer.”

But Benjamin Jealous, the president of the NAACP asserts that blacks are the victims of “the greatest assault on voting rights…since the days of Jim Crow.” As noted, the NAACP has gone to the United Nations claiming Voter ID laws are a violation of human rights.” This is absurd. The former civil rights organization has devolved into little more than a stooge for the Democratic Party.

As Fund and Vop Spakovsky point out, “The evidence from academic studies and actual turnout in elections is overwhelming that—contrary to the shrill claims of opponents—voter ID does not suppress turnout, including among the ranks of minority, poor, and elderly voters.”

It has broad implications for the passage of laws such as Obamacare that was imposed by the slimmest majority in the Senate in 2009. In August 2009, Bill Frezza, writing in Forbes, noted that “The latest revelations that illegal votes may have given Al Franken (D-Minn) his 312-vote margin of victory in his 2008 Senate race—out of the nearly 3 million votes cast—gives one pause.” Franken’s vote was critical to its passage.

“Despite this,” noted Frezza, “Eric Holder’s Justice Department is pulling out all the stops to defeat the passage of voter ID laws, arguing that they place an undue burden that could result in some eligible voters being disenfranchised.”

How absurd is this? Valid ID’s are required by the DMV, airports, hospitals, pharmacies, when donating blood, by banks, gun shops, adoption agencies, the Social Security Office, pawn shops, courts, union elections and, yes, when voting in local, state, and national elections.

Voter fraud is not a racial issue. It is the central issue of the republic to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the election process and is crucial to the outcome of the forthcoming elections that will determine which party controls Congress and who will be President in the coming four years.

© Alan Caruba, 2012

Breaking The Bad News When It Could Be Something Else: Penny Does Not Have Cancer

Recently I received a distressed email from a friend, regarding her dog.

I wanted to reach out to you and tell you that my dog Penny is very sick and in the hospital.  She has had bouts of colitis and lethargy. The last few days very lethargic, suffered with bowel trouble and fever. The hospital discovered prominent lymph nodes and some abnormal results on the ultrasound and chest x-ray.

They aspirated lymph cells, and it looks inconclusive, so sending out to a pathology lab.They think she may have lymphoma!  I am a wreck.  Just asking you to please pray for her and for me and my husband as we love her so dearly.

What do you answer to such a heartbreaking email? What words could possibly make things better?

***

We were on the receiving end of such possibility twice with Jasmine. I know exactly how it feels.

The first time, Jasmine was still quite young, about 5-years old, when she suddenly developed a cough. She did a lot of barking that evening because neighbors had a loud party in the backyard, so initially we figured she just irritated her throat with that. But it was not going away. Kennel cough didn't seem likely, as Jasmine was not boarded or exposed to any environment crowded with dogs.

The next day, she was still coughing.

We took her to the vet that afternoon. He checked her out, discovered she had elevated temperature and enlarged lymph nodes. She was a good girl and demonstrated her cough too.

The vet turned to us and said like if it was all the same, “it's either infection or lymphoma. We could start antibiotics and see if the problem resolves.”

Either infection or what? My heart jumped into my throat.

I didn't know much about veterinary stuff then, but I knew what lymphoma meant... Jasmine's best buddy died to it. Trying the antibiotics made sense, so that's what we agreed to. But the word lymphoma lingered in the air.

Fortunately, the cough resolved very quickly with the antibiotics and, on the follow up exam, everything looked good.

Could I have lived without the “L” word being tossed around during the initial visit? I wouldn't have spent a night tossing and turning, that's for sure.

Of course, sometimes things get more complicated.

That was certainly the case the second time we had to face the possibility of the big “C”.

After Jasmine was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament, hubby dropped her off at her then new vet's to get more x-rays. While she was under, the vet decided to give her a good look over. And then we received the phone call, “I was palpating her abdomen and I felt a mass. Would you agree to taking additional x-rays of the abdomen.” We, of course, agreed.

And then we got called to his office. 

My knees were buckling underneath me.

Not only the mass could be felt, but it also showed up on the x-rays. Also both Jasmine's spleen and liver were enlarged. The vet recommended starting with a blood test, and if negative for cancer markers, exploratory surgery to see what it is and, if possible, get it out.

The world turned black. 

Wasn't it enough that Jasmine had a bum knee? The whole time we were trying to figure out what to do with that, and now, it might not even matter?

When we took her for a walk that afternoon, the ground was covered with fresh snow. Jasmine adores snow and she wanted to run around in it and dive into it … but we couldn't let her because of her bad knee.

We got some of the most beautiful photos of Jasmine that afternoon

We took a camera with us to take what, potentially, could be the last happy photos …

I was looking into here eyes, full of fire, and I could not accept that she might be THAT ill. It didn't make any sense. She had so much life in her!

Fortunately, the blood test came back negative. It didn't mean it could not be the big “C”, but it meant that it was not likely and that the exploratory surgery was on.

The exploratory surgery revealed that the mass was not an actual defined mass, but rather thickening of part of the stomach and small intestine. The vet did a biopsy and sent it out to the lab.

Another wait.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis isn't exactly a good news, but it certainly was to us! Heart wrenching week took good couple of years of our lifespan. But Jasmine was going to be OK!

***  

Back to Penny.

I really didn't know what to respond to my friend, except of words of support, so I asked further questions instead. If it wasn't the big “C” either time with Jasmine, maybe this isn't?

I knew it was grasping at straws, but maybe, if we can come up with another possibility, it will make it so.

I asked about the lymph nodes and whether spleen was enlarged also.

Yes, all the lymph nodes were involved and spleen was enlarged on ultrasound. However, Penny also showed positive for Lyme exposure, and she was started on doxycycline for that. They were waiting for C6 Lyme quantitative test and the cytology results to come back.

Meanwhile, I dug out all the info I had about the latest and greatest lymphoma treatments.

But perhaps it really is just some systemic infection?

Given the signs, it was a long shot, but it was not impossible.

Penny seemed to be doing a bit better on the antibiotics and was able to go home from the hospital. She was still weak and coughing badly. But she started eating.

The Lyme test came back inconclusive. Cytology report still wasn't in.

I was turning the internet upside down trying to find some confirmation that all this could indeed be from a systemic infection. There was some chance that it could be ...

Finally they got the cytology report.

It came back reactive to infection and negative for lymphoma!

It wasn't clear what infection it was, probably tick-borne, but the important thing was that Penny was responding very fast to the doxycycline. Even the cough had somewhat improved.

Today, Penny is doing well. She is back to her full self, active and with a good appetite.

On her last re-check at the internal medicine vet, all looked good.

***

All good decisions need to be based on good information. Being well-informed is crucial. But sometimes I wonder, how much do we REALLY need to know, particularly when it could be something else?

Sometimes I yearn for the days of blissful ignorance.

When we were discussing this, my friend asked me a valid question, "Why couldn't they have just started the antibiotics before looking for the worst case scenario?" Wouldn't that be the kinder and better approach?

I certainly would have been happier if I've never heard the "C" word and Jasmine's name in the same sentence.

The truth is, that with Penny's presentation, the odds that those symptoms and signs could add up to lymphoma were quite high. This would make considering that possibility the diligent and responsible thing to do. How mad would one be, if they just started the antibiotics, the dog kept getting worse, and it turned out that precious time got wasted?

Sometimes the only choice is to consider all scenarios, no matter how painful, just to cover all the bases.

A friend's sister died just recently, to advanced cancer in her lung. It started in her shoulder. She was seeing doctors with her shoulder for a long time and nobody caught it, until it got into her lung and it was too late.

What do you think?

Distrusting the Press

By Alan Caruba

Some of the happiest years of my youth, after college and the U.S. Army, were spent as a journalist. My first job was as a reporter for a weekly newspaper and, after the editor left to join a daily six months later I became the editor. That was my first insight into the quality of journalism in the late 1960s. Suffice to say I had no training in journalism beyond what I learned on the job.

What journalism didn’t do is provide a living wage even in those halcyon years and to borrow a phrase from Mae West, a 1930s sexpot, “Like Snow White, I drifted.” In my case it was a natural transition into public relations. What that taught me was that newspapers and other news media could not exist without PR practitioners.

We developed the stories and we fed them to editors and reporters. Very little of what one reads in the news media represents anything generated by individual journalists with the exception of sports, crime reports, and obituaries. What we did then and do now is not unlike the legion of “public information officers" for government agencies and those hired to keep politicians in the news and hopefully out of jail.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, the first thing one learns in PR is to tell the truth because anything else will inevitably come back to bite the client. There are, of course, exceptions. PR undertaken for environmental, consumer, and other advocacy groups skew the information they provide. The Greens and consumer groups thrive on creating scare campaigns.

For the vast bulk of PR, whatever “spin” is involved is devoted to providing facts to reporters who lack the time or expertise to develop them on their own. For example, the details of how any particular industry functions are known to the ubiquitous trade associations, but rarely to a reporter. Unless they grew up or worked in a farm state, anything involving agriculture is a total mystery to them. Most news involving chemistry is likewise terra incognita to most reporters. News about health issues is frequently devoted to some disease guaranteed to kill you. Or not.

When on September 20th the Gallup polling organization announced that distrust, if not outright disdain, of the news media “hit a new high this year, with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly” it became news.

This is, however, not a new phenomenon. In 2005, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard released a study that indicated a rising mistrust of the press. The confidence that existed in the 1970s and 1980s turned into a deep slide in the 1990s. As that decade began, 74% expressed a great deal or some confidence in the press. A decade later that number had fallen to 58% while confidence in other institutions had remained stable.

The press, however, has long been in denial and I chalk that up to human nature. Those who still have jobs after a decade of newspapers folding, cost-cutting, and the growth of the Internet as a source of information not controlled by the media, are aware of the loss of confidence but tend to regard it as a “shoot the messenger” response to what they are reporting

Another factor that is rarely addressed is the way a generation or two of journalism school graduates were exhorted to be “change agents”, literally manipulating the news to advance various social and political goals. In a very real sense they engage in PR more than PR professionals!

The media that fell in love with Obama in 2008 and attacked the McCain-Palin ticket are still heavily invested in “the messiah.” Their problem is 23 million unemployed Americans with an official unemployment rate of over 8% for 43 straight months that is closer to 15% in reality, dismal economic growth, inflation, and other factors that individual voters feel directly. Many who voted for Obama in 2008 will stay home in 2012. Others will vote for Romney simply to be rid of him.

Events like the post-9/11 anniversary that sparked a huge anti-American Muslim explosion from Morocco to Indonesia anger Americans in deep, often unexpressed ways. We have been a superpower since the end of World War II and now that status has been jeopardized by nearly four years of Obama’s performance internationally and domestically. He hasn’t solved problems, he has exacerbated them.

In political terms, there is still a long time until November 6, Election Day, but the killing of an American ambassador in Libya, the siege of the Cairo embassy, and other events will play a large role in the collective consciousness of voters. The fact that the administration tried to pass it off as due to an amateur film that no one saw until finally admitting they were terrorist attacks will linger in voter’s memories. People do not like being lied to and the mainstream press was carrying water for the administration.

Nothing that the press has thrown at Mitt Romney has stuck. He may not be a rock star, but he is seen as a very decent man. The press doesn’t get it. They thrive on celebrity news, not on a serious analysis of Obamacare or economic issues. Their liberal bias is eating their credibility like termites.

It is likely to get worse for them in the run-up to the election and afterward. If Obama gets elected—an unlikely outcome—they will get the blame. If he is defeated, attacks on a President Romney will anger readers and viewers eager and anxious for some real change.

© Alan Caruba, 2012