Prager Group NEO

November 2009 Meeting reminder

2009-11-05T10:40:00.007-06:00

Welcome to our latest new members: Greg - Andrew - Chuck - Scott - Donald - Monica - Ron

Ever wonder how many members the northeast Ohio Dennis Prager Discussion group has? Here we all are:

* Milla * Bob * mike * Charlie * Phil * Terry * gabrielle * Mary * Pat * Michelle * mitchell * Kelly * Dan * P J * Jane * Julie * Dan * Tommy * maryann * Linda * Connie * Paul * David * Ivan * Mario * Ida * Angie * Marjorie * Gail * Marci * Dave * Ingeborg * Lori * Ricky * Oliver * jan * janice * John * Amy * Shary * Vicky * Jonathan * peter * SIMCHA-ARONA * Doug * Gail * John * Melissa * Tim & Karen * Jan * Kerry * robert * Ann * Aaron * cindy * Renee * Tom * Mary * Maryann * Randolph * judy * Dennis * Jan * Judy * rebecca * Ciprian * Sonino * Don * robin * Harvey * Lynn * Maryann * Stephen * Art * Stan * Joel * Rodger * Carey * Arthur * Susanna * Wendy * Lauren * Lynee * nancy * Dianne

There's a lot to talk about at our November 15th meeting at the Panera Caf, Golden Gate Plaza Mayfield Heights -

See you at 2 p.m.

Next Dennis Prager Group meeting Oct. 11, 2 p.m.

2009-10-04T12:01:00.004-05:00

At the upcoming meeting we will talk about looking for new or additional organizers for the northeast Ohio Dennis Prager discussion group. We have the West side, the East side and the South side and these folks might prefer new meeting locations.

The group could also probably benefit from fresh leadership - no change in Dennis Prager, of course! - but to market the meet-up concept, make the meetings more accessible to more people. We don't think the group could be more 'friendly' so it's just some logistical and marketing ideas that we're looking for.

Dennis has a new "meet-up" coordinator, Larry, who has taken over for Roy. We have contacted Larry for any suggestions he might have and we will, no doubt, hear something soon.

We will be meeting on Sunday at 2 p.m. on October 11, at the Tiedeman Road Panera Bread cafe.

Panera Bread, 5090 Tiedeman Rd

Will it make a difference going to Washington D.C. on 9\12?

2009-09-08T16:22:00.018-05:00

I'm not kidding myself that taking a bus to Washington D.C. will be a joy ride. I know it won't be a walk in the park. I've been trying to get myself in shape for the walk to the White House; my feet still hurt when I walk too far and my left hip still gives me some problems.

This is not going to be an easy venture by any stretch but I believe it's important to show my commitment to the cause of restoring the U.S. Constitution as the #1 set of rules for the United States.

I'm awake now. I know what is at stake now - thanks to W. Cleon Skousen, John Adams, Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, Dennis Prager, Senator John Cornyn, Hugh Hewitt, Mark Levin, Thomas Jefferson, Lloyd Marcus, Michael Medved, Senator Tom Coburn, Byron York, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Thomas Sowell, Barack Obama, Michael Barone, Michelle Malkin, Tim Grendel, Lawrence Wright, Steve Emerson, David Warren, Rush Limbaugh, Thomas Paine, Saul Alinsky, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, Congressman Paul Ryan, to name just a few - and I intend to stay awake until this country is well on its way back from Socialism and the Republic begins to heal - providing I live long enough to see it happen, of course.

I want to be one of the many who will stand in front of the White House or on the Mall, if for no other reason than to demonstrate that my will is strong even if my body isn't.

This time in my history is critical: Barack Obama has turned out to be the icing on the cake that the Left has baked and is serving to the populace.

It is urgent that I be there: Obama is the precious jewel in Left's crown of thorns that it wants Americans to wear as we all kneel at the feet of the statues of Lenin and Mao, and, oh, let's not forget Chavez.

Our glorious and well-designed republic is in terrible danger and I cannot stay at home while supporters of Socialism and Communism are laughing at our foolish naivete.

What Communists? Where? Socialists in the White House? That's ridiculous!

I could never forgive myself if I didn't stand up for my country in her desperate hour of need, or for all those real Americans who have fought and are fighting today to preserve our liberties, our Constitution - the Rule of Law.

I understand the lure of political power, to be lauded and adored and trusted by the sleepy masses, and how easy it must be to lie and cheat and steal from those who believe them. The Powerful believe there's a sucker born every minute, and millions of their constituents are fawning over themselves and proving them right.

What disappoints me the most is the vaunted 4th Estate where the writers, the journalists, the newspapers and periodicals are dipping their pens in poison ink, willing to sacrifice the golden geese who spend money on subscriptions to their propaganda. How easily the Media has given up its authority and its power to do good just for the privilege of getting to ask the first question during a presidential press conference or be granted an interview with the President of Iran.

No anti-American will ever understand what this country means to me or the millions of people who are not lucky enough to be born here but who daily kill themselves trying to get here. I told someone the other day that the only place where I was surrounded by people who looked like me was in my own house; outside, on the streets of my childhood everyone looked and sounded quite different. It wasn't a big deal, it was just how America looked then and now.

No ingrate will ever understand what magnificent opportunities they have wasted, or what important people they can become in land that appreciates how the efforts of anyone willing to work. They are truly the brave who toil for their families and their country.

No terrorist will undermine the will of a true believer, one who is grateful to God for the gift of liberty.

It's not going to be an easy trip to Washington D. C. this weekend, but as I have told you before, being an American is the best job I'll ever have, and who knows what difference an old woman will make.

I am happily different now and I need to repay the gift.

"Patriot Day" is a bad holiday

2009-09-08T13:26:00.002-05:00

The United States has somehow found itself divided on the subject of how to commemorate the murders of 9/11/2001. I will continue to remember the day in a sombre way, with no celebration of patriotism - my own or anyone else's - nor will I step out and do more for my country or my fellow Americans than I do the rest of the year.

I will continue to reflect on the evil intentions of those who tried to, and those who still wish to kill Americans. That's how patriotic I intend to be.

Time's up! Vacation is over

2009-09-08T10:53:00.004-05:00

We all thought we were busy last Spring, this past Summer, and now it seems there's not enough time in the day to do your laundry let alone read everything that comes across email - and to make matters worse, we have three more events to cram into your weekend:

1) Thousands of Christian churches across the nation are showing Joel Rosenberg's film "Inside the Revolution" and there are several churches in the Cleveland area showing the film. The Church of the Advent in Westlake is one; on 9-11-09 from 7 to 9 pm.

If you are interested in this event, please check the church names/locations below, and apparently the Church of the Advent, in Westlake should also be on this list.

Calvary Chapel of Cleveland
6770 Brookpark Road
Cleveland, OH 44129
216-394-1450

Bethlehem Lutheran Church
7500 State Road
Parma, OH 44134
440-845-2230

Chardon Christian Fellowship
401 South Hambden
St.Chardon, OH 44024
440-285-3535

2) The Dennis Prager Discussion Group NEO has its first meeting of the Fall on Sunday, September 13 at 2 pm, at the Panera Bread store in North Olmsted, Great Northern shopping Center. We have lots to talk about so we hope to see you there.

3) The RJC discussion group/presentation in Willoughby, Sunday morning 9:45 - 11:30. Please RSVP to Barbara Amper by phone: (216) 831-2083 or e-mail: bamper@earthlink.net to RSVP.

Cleveland Chapter's September Discussion Group presentation by
Mikhail Alterman"SNEAK PREVIEW: WHAT'S COMING TOTHE U.S.!!!"
Sunday, 9/13/09 9:45 - 11:30.

Never a dull moment!!

Regards,
Dianne Mueller

Hiatus for Prager Group NEO

2009-05-17T18:20:00.002-05:00

Attendance has been down the last couple of months and people are taking trips and, in general, need a little break from meetings.

So, unless you have a hankering to meet with fellow Pragerites, we'll cancel meetings for June, July and August and see you in September.

Any of you wishing to meet, let me know and we can pull something together.

Thanks to everyone who has made the Dennis Prager Group NEO the place to be every 2nd Sunday at 2 pm.

Have a great Summer!
Dianne
diannemueller@yahoo.com

Prager Group meeting takes a back seat to Mother's Day

2009-05-02T18:30:00.003-05:00

I'm sure Dennis would agree that Mother's Day is pretty important and would also probably agree that we should postpone our next group meeting to the following Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m. at the Panera's at 5090 Tiedeman Rd.

Mothers, enjoy your day. And, Children, hopefully you can enjoy time with your mothers.

But if one, or neither, is possible it's still a special day worth celebrating in some way.

Perhaps we can share "mom" stories at our next meeting.

See you on the 17th.

Next Meeting - April 19 - Mayfield Hts

2009-04-17T06:12:00.002-05:00

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. at the Panera Bread cafe in the Golden Gate Plaza in Mayfield Heights.

Next Dennis Prager Group NEO meeting...

2009-03-05T08:53:00.007-06:00

My apologies, Prager Group members, for not sending out a reminder sooner. I was actually just updating two home calendars (so my poor husband, John knows where I'm going to be at any given moment) and got to March 8 and saw "PRAGER GROUP meeting.

Holy Cow!

Here's the details, right from Dennis himself **:

We have new members to welcome, too. Intern Roy Hadavi sent me an updated list yesterday and so we welcome: Arthur, Mitchell and - forgive me if I get your name wrong - Liss.

I missed the last meeting and although I spent the weekend having good times with my East coast family, I hear I missed a great meeting.

A special message to our newcomers: We are an amazing conglomerate of people who just love Dennis. We decided at our first meeting that we would have no stated agenda, loosey-goosey discussion, as it were, leaving the meeting open to those things that are timely and important to the members. All of Dennis' specific hours are open to sharing: Man-Women, Ultimate Issues, and, of course, The Happiness Hour.

Shyness is not encouraged but we respect it. Not everyone is the perpetual chatterbox that I am.

We all are fans of Dennis, students of the Prager Philosophy, and are therefore, Works in Progress. I never leave a meeting without having something new to chew on, without some mental evolution having taken place - and it's all due to the Dennis Prager Movement.

If you haven't been to Paul Croshaw's web site yet - BaseballDennisandtheFrench.com - please go and see how Paul is progressing on what should be an Oscar-winning movie.* I've watched the rough cut a couple of times now and am looking forward to the finished version.

If you're still recovering from the election - recovery doesn't seem possible, though, since there's daily something new to raise our collective blood pressures - the Floor will be open for those discussions, too.

A message for the Old-Timers, those of you we haven't seen for a while (and you know who you are) We miss you and look forward to your return.

See you Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Panera Bread cafe on Brookpark Road, facing the Great Northern Shopping center.

Regards to All,
Dianne

PS - Friends are welcome, too, especially if they're new to Dennis Prager, or considering switching to a Clarity Over Agreement philosophy
PPS - The newsletter, Clarity, took a backseat to some other stuff I was doing, but you will be seeing a March issue. PLEASE SEND ME STUFF TO INCLUDE! Thanks.

* Although we all know that the good stuff rarely gets noticed in Hollywood, there are signs and conservative people who are making waves out there.

** You may recognize that it's not really Dennis speaking to us; I borrowed the image from Paul's web site.

Feel the Love!!!!

2009-02-05T12:26:00.002-06:00

Don't forget our Dennis Prager Group meeting, this coming Sunday, February 8 at 2 p.m.

We'll be meeting at the Panera Bread location on Tiedeman Road, in Brooklyn.

See you then!

Prager Group meeting in January 2009!

2008-12-31T05:52:00.013-06:00

Just a reminder that we have a Dennis Prager Group meeting on January 11, 2009, at 2 p.m., at the Panera's at Golden Gate Plaza, in Mayfield Heights.

Don't forget that we also need your news items for the January 2009 issue of "Clarity." We especially want to read how Dennis Prager influenced your life this past year. (Dianne had an unexpected break-through this past year and will be sharing that in the upcoming issue of "Clarity." )

Please send your contributions as soon as possible, be they words or pictures, or words and pictures, it doesn't matter. Dennis sets the example for growth through sharing his life with us and we can perhaps touch someone else's life through our own.

Maybe it wasn't Dennis who made you yell at the radio or TV. Maybe it was a spouse, a relative, another talk show host?

Did you save a story from the internet or the newspaper and file it under "Keep"?

Let us hear from you.

Happy and safe New Year, Everyone!

Pictures from Solon Chabad!!

2008-11-20T11:53:00.010-06:00

Renee's husband, Donn Nottage, has come through again with fantastic pictures from the Happiness lecture that Dennis gave at the Solon Chabad.

(I was sitting right near Donn and thought, "How in the world is he going to get good pictures from this distance?" As you can see, I had nothing to worry about!)

I'm only putting up a few of them here, but they are the important ones: With Prager Group people standing with Dennis.

If you would like the entire set, please let me know and I'll contact Donn before sending them to you. Rabbi Greenberg already received his set and so did Dennis.

Thanks, again, Donn!

PS - In the picture below is Kobe Japan's very own Dennis Prager Group member, James Domingo.

Upcoming Prager Group NEO header for our newsletter

2008-11-18T14:37:00.005-06:00

Every newspaper or newsletter needs a banner. We now have one. Now all we need is some news and a good NAME for our newsletter.

I was thinking the Newsletter could have

1) West-side / East-side sections
2) Suggested topics for the Monthly Meetings
3) Subjects that we would like Dennis to cover
4) Field trip ideas
5) Birthdays - with or without the year
6) Pragerisms - an ever-expanding list of Dennis' best quips, from either his books, lectures or the shows
7) "If I were Alan Estrin, I would... " section
8) If I had only minutes to pack, what would I take?
9) Our bucket list (things to do before we die)
10) A good cartoon
11) New members intro

12) Pictures

This is just a start, of course, as I KNOW you guys have other and probably better ideas.

Looking forward to your contributions, and they don't have to be continual, they can be seasonal, intermittent, or just once in a while (which might be the same as 'intermittent," but I'm not sure).

I think, too, that with as busy as people are, we can try for a once-a-month publication but once-every-other-month would work, too.

If you offered to help with the newsletter, please email me.

Thanks,
Dianne

Terrorism's Global Impact I - RJC event Dec. 14

2008-11-18T14:16:00.003-06:00

The Republican Jewish Coalition of Cleveland invites you to attend our December Current Events Discussion Group

Terrorism's Global Impact, Part I

Michael (a former intelligence officer) and Beverly Goldstein attended the World Counter-Terrorism Summit in Herzlia, Israel last September and will debut their power point presentation on Afghanistan.

A discussion and Q&A will follow.

Sunday, December 14th - 9:45 - 11:15 am

The Four Seasons Party Room
26400 George Zeiger Drive
Beachwood, Ohio

There will be no charge to attend this program.

To RSVP, please contact Barbara Amper by phone:(216) 831-2083 or email: bamper@earthlink.net . Just mention your Dennis Prager group affiliation.

Sincerely,
Republican Jewish Coalition Cleveland Chapter

A little late but here are Donn's pictures from the Townhall Meeting in October 2008

2008-11-18T07:30:00.004-06:00

Donn Nottage (Renee's husband) gave me a disk with these great photos on it but I'm just now getting to put them up on a web site for you all to see. I'll get one of his videos up as well.

By the way, the pictures appear in reverse order, the first ones are the last ones Donn took; it was just the way I uploaded them. You can start at the bottom of the web page if you like. (Sorry.)

It's not all the pictures but a representative selection of Donn's awesome pics.
Thanks, Donn!

In case you weren't there, Hugh Hewitt arrived late because he was doing his show live from LaCentre, but to his right is Michael Medved, then Dennis, then Joe Lieberman arrived near the end. Donn's early pictures show some of the Pragerites sitting in the front row.

Dianne

The "Pragerhead" experience

2008-11-17T05:49:00.015-06:00

I think it was Janice last night who compared us to 'Deadheads,' those die-hard fans who are willing to travel anywhere the band the 'Grateful Dead' is performing.

That's us, Pragerheads, Dennisheads ... We braved the cold, the snow, the slush, the long trek from the Cleveland Clinic or Church parking lots to hear Dennis speak on one of his favorite subjects (and ours), Happiness. Thankfully, members of the Solon Chabad, invited us to share the experience.

When Dennis took up the microphone last night he wanted to know right away who in the audience had never heard him on the radio. Quite a few people raised their hands, and Dennis wondered aloud, "What are you doing here then?"

I was mystically jealous of those people who had never heard Dennis on the radio. These were first-timers, 'virgins,' as it were. They were about to experience those "Wow!" moments the way I did when I first heard Dennis Prager on the radio, when I first heard "I prefer clarity over agreement," or even "Write that down, Alan!" - that kind of wisdom which only comes from long-dead grand-parents or even, say, Will Rogers or Homer Simpson.

I knew what was coming and I silently begged these people to pay very close attention because they were about to have their worlds changed forever.

But then, like any good experience, I found myself enjoying re-living those same moments, just the way I would if I were listening to a favorite song, or watching for the billionth time one of my favorite movies.

I didn't care if I knew I was going to hear something I had heard before, I was actually listening for it, waiting for it, and, of course, hoping that everyone else would revel in it, too. And, yes, I think they did.

Last night's Happiness lecture reminded of the time, a number years ago, when we had tickets to hear Victor Borge. We were polite, an appreciative audience, (in Asheville, NC, the stage set outdoors on the terrace of the Biltmore estate, overlooking the Smokey Mountains). But we didn't really come alive until Borge started doing his old routines, the ones that first made us laugh all those years ago. We fairly screamed when the elderly Borge fell off his piano bench while his beautiful opera singer belted out some aria or another. It was the 'old' stuff that drew us there in the first place. The kids in the audience even got the jokes. I don't think you can get enough of a good thing.

There was another process going on in my mind when I should have been listening to Dennis. I love watching couples, not necessarily married couples, it just has to be two people who know each other well. I like to observe their body language when they are sharing the same experience. They are subtly sharing it with each other through whispers, side glances, and the hardly-noticed leanings into one another, as if to say, "Did you hear that?" They don't usually turn fully frontally and face their companion because that might be too much of a distraction or intrusive. Most of these communications, of course, are designed to go unnoticed by anyone else.

I can see why this sharing of the "Dennis Prager experience" is analogous to the Deadhead one, and why we are then drawn to communing with each other every month at our Dennis Prager Group meetings.

But I think my most memorable and perhaps profound "Wow!" moment last night came when Dennis spoke of the minister who surprised his congregation one Sunday when he told them, "God isn't enough." From our human beginning God knew that He wasn't going to be enough for us, that we were going to need other people. It just so happened that Adam needed a wife (don't they all!) but more importantly God knew that Adam needed someone other than God Himself. Who would have thought! Even Will Rogers would have appreciated that revelation!

Pragerheads come from very diverse experiences, some religious, some secular and some combination of secu-religious ones, but Dennis reminded us last night where happiness needs to come from and that we owe it to other people to at least act happy even if we're not feeling it at the moment.

Dennis also spent a good bit of time on how the Chronically Unhappy and 'Moody' people can have an adverse effect on children, too. I felt empathy for the young father in the audience, the one who was looking for advice on how to keep a three-year-old from becoming a chronic complainer. (I'm not sure if the young father ever heard someone say, "If you don't stop that crying I'm going to give you something to REALLY cry about!" The line worked on me as a child so I used it on my kids.) Dennis did his best to offer advice but in the end he fell back on the one staple and really ancient tenet: You'll figure it out.

Like most important experiences I will regurgitate pieces of the evening over time and it will be as though I am just tasting these morsels for the first time.

I also feel a little like a pearl diver who already knew what was inside that crusty old shell but then was surprised to find there were two pearls this time. One pearl looked a lot like all the other pearls and then there was this new one, one I hadn't ever imagined before.

I look forward to hearing from you about the other pearls you found last night. Send me your emails or log on here yourself and we can all re-live the night.

Dennis Prager Group NEO badge

2008-11-16T10:43:00.004-06:00

For those attending tonight's Happiness lecture at Solon Chabad, please look for me and pick up your new laminated DENNIS PRAGER GROUP NEO ID badge.

I'll have more with me at future meetings, too. Or if you know you won't be able to attend a meeting, please let me know I can mail you one.

Thanks,
Dianne

Mustard Seed has it!

2008-11-14T07:31:00.005-06:00

Enough votes are in to determine a winner in the "Where do we meet before the Happiness Lecture on the 16th" campaign, and the Winner is The Mustard Seed Cafe!

See you all at 5'ish on Sunday, November 16th.

Happiness all around!!!

Please vote!

2008-11-11T11:38:00.005-06:00

You're probably tired of this voting thing, but this one's really important. We're voting on which place we want to meet before the Dennis Prager "Happiness" lecture this coming weekend, on the 16th of November.

The poll is on the right, and you just have to pick which place you'd like to meet. They are all on Kruse Road, and we know (from Prager people) that the The Rusty Bucket and The Mustard Seed are near each other.

Where ever we meet, we have Dennis' lecture to look forward to. And to those of you who are going to Solon Chabad for dinner, we'll look for you there.

I "heart" Veterans!

2008-11-11T06:37:00.000-06:00

You gave us your best, your heart and soul, and now we take this one day a year to give you the honor you deserve.

You probably don't hear it often enough, but millions of Americans really appreciate your service.

Thanks!

The honeymoon begins

2008-11-05T06:16:00.013-06:00

To those who wrote me in the almost-and-then-post election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, thank you for sharing your thoughts. My thoughts, my feelings, are normally like bright and cheerful cherry Jello, but today are more like molten lava, searing and painful to the touch.

I admire those of you who are stable enough to live somewhere in the middle of Jello and molten lava. You will do the right thing by getting behind the new president and support him and I will look to you for my dose of the healing balm of logic and reason that you will bring to the Dennis Prager discussion group.

My husband, clear and steady thinker that he always is (even when he's totally wrong) was not trying to console me this morning as much as he was trying to keep me from going "Rambo" and spew anti-the-new-president invectives. He knows me well enough by now to know that I cannot hold on to anger very long, just like I can't wear too-tight jeans for any length of time; they have to come off so I can relax and breathe again.

Dennis Prager will have to come to my rescue with his plethora of feel-good platitudes, and his far-sightedness, anything to remind me that the "sun will come up tomorrow."

Come to think of it, the sun did come up today and I was here to witness it, and God-willing, everyone you know and care about was here, too.

Don't let that last Jello-ey statement fool you, though. I have merely resigned from the McCain/Palin presidential campaign to sign on as a Watch Dog for anti-conservative, anti-American, anti-capitalism, and pro-Left activities. As Obama said in his acceptance speech last night that "anything in America is possible," I have to try and believe that We the People can prevail in the long run and pass on the America that our ancestors wanted for us.

If you catch me looking backward it is only because I never want to forget the reprehensible disservice that was done to an honorable and courageous president, George W. Bush.

Happy people make the world a better place...

See you all at the next meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 9, at the Panera Bread store in Brooklyn.

Michael Reagan: "You Can't Be Half-Socialist"

2008-10-31T07:52:00.002-05:00

October 30, 2008

"The other day I went to a Hollywood luncheon crammed with producers, directors, writers and other film industry notables.

One of them, Larry Gelbart of "MASH" fame, spoke telling the group that since capitalism has failed, why don't we try socialism?

Try socialism? Take a sip of it and see how it tastes? It doesn't work that way.

There's an old saying that you can't be half-socialist any more than you can be half-pregnant; get knocked up with a socialist fetus and you'll have to deliver a full-born Marxist. There's nothing in between. Try it, you'll like it, and if you don't, as the lads in the Gestapo used to tell people, they had ways to make them like it.

Larry Gelbart gorged himself at the capitalist table and came away with untold millions, now safely banked, and continues to collect even more millions from never-ending reruns of the "MASH" sitcom. Having made his bundle from our capitalist free-enterprise system, he seems to be telling us now that the rest of us should get in the socialist bread-line and eat crumbs while he feasts on caviar.

One of the realities of this age is that the great mass of the American people haven't traveled abroad to see how the rest of the world lives, a lot of it under dreary socialist regimes with stalled economies and no real chance for advancement for the ordinary citizen.

Moreover, our shoddy educational curriculum that has left most younger Americans so deficient in the study of history that vast numbers of them think George Washington was a Civil War general, or a lumberman who chopped down cherry trees. They have no real understanding of the economic system that allowed us to become the wealthiest and most powerful nation since the Roman Empire ruled most of the known world 2000 years ago.

Given that mournful reality, the moment the economic Rolls Royce engine that drove this nation to the top of the hill stalls, instead of installing new spark plugs to get it going again they go looking for an alternative mode of transportation.

In the present case, Obama and the Democrats are directing them to Larry Gelbart's used-economic system lot where he shows them a jalopy with a fancy paint job on the outside and a one-cylinder motor inside that goes chug-chug.

Listening to the advice of a man who made his name and his money on a show about America's military at war -- yet told the same audience that our armed forces are nothing but "mercenaries" -- doesn't seem the smartest thing to do.

We are now a few days away from an election in which one of the presidential candidates is trying to sell that jalopy on Larry Gelbart's lot and convince us that it is really a luxury limo that will get hundreds of miles to the gallon and carry us off to the promised land, where the rich will be impoverished and the middle class enriched and everybody will be deliriously happy.

Call Barack Obama's program socialism, however and he'll swear on a stack of Qurans it isn't. He calls it change. He says it's fairness, not Marxism.

Oh?

How does he explain the proven fact that he has been wallowing in a sty surrounded by fervent socialists and sharing in their swill for most of his life?

According to Fox's Bill Sammon, his Messiahship recalled that when he attended Occidental College in Los Angeles: "To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully," he wrote in "Dreams From My Father," his memoir. "The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."

And that was his milieu for all his years in Chicago.

To anyone familiar with socialism, Obama's programs fit comfortably within the pages of Karl Marx's playbook, the root of which is the redistribution of the wealth, the key to the entire Obamian vault. What's mine is yours, and he's the middle man.

It's socialism lite and it can only evolve into socialism heavy. Remember, you can't be half-socialist, and Barack Obama knows it.

---

Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is heard on more than 200 talk radio stations nationally as part of the Radio America Network. Look for Mike's newest book, "Twice Adopted" and other info at www.Reagan.com. E-mail comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com."

[Thanks, Marj, for this contribution.]

View from a VIP table - from Mary O

2008-10-31T05:55:00.006-05:00

Hi, Dianne,

Please feel free to pass this along to all the Prager people that might be interested.

I had the privilege of attending the VIP dinner before the Townhall program. My husband Mike (who I just about dragged there- he's a Democrat!) and I were a few minutes late so we just sat at the first table we saw that had 2 empty chairs. The event started with the WHK General Manager thanking us for coming. He then introduced a Deacon from St. Augustine's Church in Tremont who gave the invocation and blessing of our meal.

Michael Medved thanked us all profusely for our dedication and sacrifice of giving up our evening to watch The BARACK OBAMA INFOMERCIAL that was being broadcast that night. Everyone, of course, laughed at that one!!

The food was excellent but the company was even better. The 8 others at our table were much like our own Prager group,(perhaps some of them were Pragerites?), because it was a mixed group of younger, older, male and female from different walks of life. All very nice and all very passionate about our upcoming election. I'd say there were probably about 50 people in the room including many from WHK/Salem Broadcasting and I kept looking around for "our man Dennis" but I couldn't see him at first.

I was just finishing my coffee when Michael Medved came up to our table to say hello. We spoke briefly about "getting the message out" about the importance of the choices in this election. We all told him what a great job they were all doing.

At this point I'm getting a crick -in -my -neck from turning around to look for Dennis. Finally ---there he was!! I grabbed by husband's leg and said "OH MY GOD HE'S HERE!"

After dessert the WHK station manager (who's name I can't remember) thanked everyone again for coming and said that everyone was welcome to come up and have their picture taken with Michael and DENNIS.

Now, I have to tell you all that I am in awe of Michael Medved's intellect and recall of history. I admire so much the way he takes on so many disagreeable people that call into his show with such a command of historical facts and pertinent information, and I just marvel at the way his show is both educational and very entertaining.

But let me be honest here, --to me there's just something about Dennis! Sometime at one of our meetings I'll have to explain where "my head was at" when I first started listening to talk radio and just happened to stumble upon The Dennis Prager Show.

Anywho.... As I was standing in line to meet the guys, I was thinking to myself "Self, what could you possibly say to Dennis Prager to thank him for all the clarity, humor, passion, integrity and moral guidance that he gives you every time you listen to him? Is there any way you could ever convey what a different way you have of looking at the world since you started listening to this man, reading his books, buying his CD's. Maybe you could invite him over for a meal, or ...???"

OH! it's my turn to meet them. So I walk up and shake Michael Medved's hand and tell him that I'm a big fan and then I turn to Dennis and politely shake his hand and then I blurt out "would you mind if I gave you a hug??? My husband is over there and he says it's OK." Dennis laughs and says "are you sure he says it's OK? Where is your husband? I point to Mike who is looking at me like "you are nuts" but is waving and laughing and says "It's OK, Dennis." So he gives me a big bear hug and then I stand between him and Michael Medved and have my picture taken. I tell them that I am sending this picture out as my Christmas card to all my Liberal-Democrat family and friends. They both thought that was so funny!! (I'm not sure if they were laughing at me or with me, but I don't care.)

It was a great experience and an awesome night. It was definitely the most hopeful I've felt about this impending election in months. There was such a positive energy in the air. We then went into the main room for the Townhall event and Mike is muttering something about, "I hope nobody finds out about me being at this (Republican) rally." But lo and behold there are 2 other Firefighters in the room that come up to us and slap Mike on the back.

By the time the evening was over I could tell everyone there was feeling more positive about the outcome of this most important vote. I could tell Mike was getting caught up in the excitement of the evening and was happy to see him standing and applauding with everyone else when Joe Lieberman walked up to the stage.

When we went next door to Hoolihan's for a drink to wait for the parking lot to empty out, I asked him what he thought of the events of the evening. He said "you know I have to admit, these guys are very clear on their message and I admire the way they present the facts with such passion. I've been very torn about which way to go on this election, but I have to tell you, after tonight I'm definitely voting for McCain/Palin."

Good Night!!!

Mary O

Dennis was vintage "Dennis" last night

2008-10-30T10:05:00.006-05:00

DP-NEO - Townhall Meeting, LaCentre, Westlake Ohio

Seeing and hearing Dennis Prager (along with Joe Lieberman, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt) was a real treat. I'm hoping that one of our members who attended the VIP dinner beforehand will share the experience with the rest of us.

I could close my eyes while Dennis was talking last night and it was the same Dennis we hear on the radio, same vitality, humor, passion - it was all there. It was a truly unique opportunity for which I will always be grateful.

Speaking of passion, I felt that kindred spirit of Americans really united in a desperate cause, further inspired and buoyed by an intelligent and articulate and thoughtful panel.

Personally, I couldn't help feeling proud to be surrounded by other conservatives (and I'm sure there might have a few liberal-conservatives in the mix, too) who made the commitment to travel - one even from Michigan! - to share the experience. It's these shared and uplifting experiences that gird us, fortify us, for the day-to-day grind and the battles that we face now at this election time, and in the future.

Dennis Prager does that well: He makes us feel we are not alone in our concerns about everything from politics to relationships; nothing that concerns a human being is off the table, out of bounds or too risky to bring up. Alan Estrin was there but I never did get to speak to him and thank him for all he does to keep Dennis on the straight and narrow.

Hugh and Michael specifically reminded the crowd that it was also important to support candidates Jim Trakas and Josh Mandel. Hugh spent time earlier in the day with Josh and, like many of you who know him, Hugh was really impressed with this young man. Jim Trakas, of course, is running against Dennis Kucinich.

Senator Joe Lieberman was the primary point man last night to deliver the message about the threat of Islamic radical jihadists. Each of the speakers, if I recall correctly, reiterated the global threat that this evil movement poses to Jews and Christians everywhere in the world.

Boiling down the evening to a few short paragraphs doesn't do it justice, but it's the best I can do. Again, any of you who can share with the e-group what you experienced during the VIP dinner we would welcome it. We're due to get photos in from group members and will post them on the blog site.

*******************

Earlier in the day (from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) I was there at LaCentre had the opportunity to watch Michael Medved get ready to do his show live from the lobby. To say that there were technical problems getting Michael on the air would be the grossest understatement in broadcast history. If Michael couldn't hear Jeremy in Seattle, he was on a cell phone with dwindling battery trying to find out if he was even on the air.

Taking phone calls from listeners was impossible until the last hour of the program. Each time there was a cut to commercial, there was frantic running, cables and switches pulled and twisted to try and make everything work like a radio studio should work. (Even remote broadcasts are so standard nowadays that it's a fantastic mystery what could have kept going wrong, time-and-time again.)

Michael started his remote out the lobby at the WHK radio set-up and when that wasn't working, he was then moved to a spot at the rear, inside the huge conference room hall, and finally ended up in a little space that looked like small coat room that could double as a bar.

Michael's laptop and microphone and all his newspaper items and printouts were indelicately but carefully strewn on the countertop. Each of Michael's moves - from one location to another - had to take place within the span of time that commercials were running, not a very big window, three minutes at most.

I was first in the lobby, then in the hall, sitting as quietly as I could, trying to be unobtrusive, actually wishing I had the cloak of invisibility and yet, like people fascinated by car accidents and train wrecks, I was frozen in my chair. I tried to make myself useful by sending "good vibrations" to the technical guys and if Michael needed anything fetched I could do that, too. I wanted to hear Michael's show and my chair was only the place that would allow me that.

Fortunately, I had my cell phone solitaire game to help me stay still and as "small" as possible.

Michael was getting more apoplectic with each electronic failure, his frustration palpable. At at least one point he threw his hands up in the air, "... never in the twelve years of doing radio...."

You get the picture. I was amazed that in spite of the chaos Michael was a professional on the air.

I heard him keep apologizing to listeners for the technical difficulties but later, in the "coatroom" studio he talked to callers (or argued with them) all the while more cables were being run, people were passing him by, waving and smiling, Townhall guests were beginning to arrive; it was a dizzying circus and Michael kept talking. That was cool.

There was some discussion about having Hugh Hewitt go the WHK Independence studio and do his show from there, but at the last minute, when it appeared that Michael was going to be able to finally take phone calls from listeners, Hugh was brought to LaCentre and set up out in the lobby.

Hugh was very gracious but said he was little nervous, not because he was doing a remote but he still had the big evening townhall event coming up later on. Just like Michael, Hugh was talking on the air while people were passing by looking for the meeting room, chatting with our friends, stopping to wave at him. How these guys focus amid all this chaos is a mystery to me.

Since his show comes on live a 6 p.m. I asked Hugh about missing the VIP dinner; he implied that Dennis Prager wouldn't even pack him a doggie bag, that this was typical Prager. (Of course the respect that each of these three men have for each other is obvious and only guys seem to be good at poking fun at one another; I think it's how they show how much they care.)

It was very important to all these guys that they do the job they volunteered to do, to show their support for John McCain and let us all know that there could be no coasting, that we had to make every attempt to contact and convince people that America is standing at a precipice, poised for the kind of change that will make it harder for all Americans to succeed and in some cases to just get by.

Near the end of the Q&A a woman named Andrea reminded us that these guys on stage couldn't do it alone, that we all had to get out and make phone calls from the Victory Centers, the headquarter offices all around us, we had to walk the neighborhoods, talk to our friends and acquaintances, and make them understand

Andrea made one of the best points of the entire evening. November 4 isn't that far off and we have work to do.

Some of us got to shake Dennis' hand after the townhall meeting. I just wanted Dennis (and all of the guys) to know that they weren't just "preaching to the choir," that we would be taking these messages out the field to help convince people to vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Dennis responded,

"We know!! That's why we're here!!! That's why we're doing this! "

Think good thoughts, People!

Welcome to our newest members!

2008-10-24T19:38:00.003-05:00

Ivan Gomez, Janice Koloda, John Mallen, Lynee Zarzycki,
Mario Gomez, Maryann Evans, Michelle Cario, Robert Musial, Susanna Woycitzky, Tim & Karen McKeogh

We have meetings once a month, the 2nd Sunday of each month, at 2 p.m., and the meetings are held at the Panera Bread cafes at three different locations (to make it easier for all the members to get to a meeting).

We try to send out a reminder the week before each meeting, but feel free to load the dates into your calendars.

This is your blog, too, so if you would like post anything let me know and I'll send you the log in and password.

Please feel free to introduce yourself via email or the blog, and, of course, we look forward to meeting you in person at the meetings.

As you may already know we have a great opportunity coming up next week:
On October 29, there will be a Townhall Meeting at LaCentre on Detroit Road in Westlake, and our very own Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt will be there, discussing the upcoming election.

If you haven't contacted WHK Radio yet, just go to their web site:
http://www.whkradio.townhall.com.

Again, Welcome to the Dennis Prager Discussion Group NEO (northeast Ohio)!

Best Regards,
Dianne Mueller
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"My Take," by Marjorie Henderson

2008-10-24T18:01:00.002-05:00

The following is from our own Marjorie Henderson:

"I sent this message in response to a dear friend, someone whom I love dearly, who has informed me she has voted for the "other guy" in spite of all the good stuff you all have been emailing to me. I'm passing these thoughts along FYI because they briefly state where I stand.

Marj

Hi, Betty -

I apologize for having become so passionate about my political stance, but I also had to do what my heart and conscience dictated by trying to dissuade you from making the choice you have made. This has nothing to do with what we mean to each other, you know that, but you were forthcoming with me concerning your reasons, and I respect them even though we are so politically polarized. You are New York Times...I am Fox News Channel and Townhall.

I have never been quite so passionate about an election as I have been about this one. Barack Obama shares absolutely none of my values. I am not an egalitarian. I believe we are equal only in God's sight. It seems to me Barack's idea of "equality" would rob us of incentives to achieve the American dream and would have us all "equally poor".

I have had the luxury of having the time to listen carefully to much of his and McCain's political speeches, and my feeling is that while B.O. is a smooth speaker, he has mesmerized the nation with elegant but empty rhetoric. I disagree that he has waged a good campaign. He hasn't had to. The media has done it for him.

John McCain was not my first choice as a candidate...I preferred, in this order, Mitt Romney, then Fred Thompson, then Mike Hukabee. I was dismayed when McCain was nominated, BUT I KNOW who he is. I can't say the same for Obama. My beloved America is in dire straits and needs a leader with experience. No one has been able to define Obama's accomplishments. There is a great deal of mystery about who this man is. There are so many unanswered questions about his personal history. The alliances he evidently sought out when he went to Chicago are all so anti-American as to leave me completely outraged, but the "drive-by media" are so in the tank for him they don't ask the important questions. Should he be elected president his "advisors" will be the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, who have exercised their power by keeping important legislation from being brought to the floor for a vote, and he will go along with them to keep the party intact. The Democrats will control Congress and we will no longer have a two-party system, and could easily devolve into a dictatorship. Heaven forbid! Our freedoms are being seriously eroded.

I also disagree with you about Sarah Palin. She is to me a breath of fresh air. She's plain-spoken and honest. What you see and hear is what you get. She's articulate and passionate in her love for America. The media has been so very unfair to her, and unfortunately they have subjected her to so much ridicule and this is what is heard constantly by a majority of television news viewers. On the other hand, that "doofus" Joe Biden is given a pass every time he makes some ridiculous pronouncement. Michele Obama is another mystery. I can't tell how she really feels about America. She's certainly no Laura Bush!

I have always believed that people get the government they deserve. I pray I won't be put in the position of having to say "I told you so"

Love you,

Marj

[Well said, Marj]

2008-10-17T19:12:00.003-05:00

WHK's web site now has the link up to register for the Townhall meeting with Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt on October 29 at 7:30.

The meeting will be at

LACENTRE™ Conference & Banquet Facility
25777 Detroit Road
Westlake, Ohio 44145-2492

There's also a phone number to call if you want to go the VIP dinner beforehand.

If you want to get there early to get a good seat, a few of us will be doing just that. I plan to arrive by 6:30 and will hang out by the front door until they open for seating. You'll recognize me because I'll be wearing my "Country First" sign.

Hope to see you there!
Dianne

Changing meeting place for October 11 meeting

2008-10-07T05:57:00.003-05:00

The plan was to have the October 11 meeting at my house. I've decided that that would be unfair to the East siders who can normally count on meeting at the Mayfield Heights (Golden Gate Plaza) Panera Bread cafe.

So, we'll postpone the meeting at Dianne's house until another West side meeting date and have our regularly scheduled Dennis Prager Group meeting at the Golden Gate Plaza Panera.

See you there, at 2 p.m. on October 11th.

Dianne

Since Dennis is talking about smoking...

2008-09-09T12:51:00.003-05:00

...and the hysterical over-reactions to it, I thought this recent post from a Bostonian known as "The Snob" was particularly apropos. He provides his interpretation of the Mayor Menino's tyrannical stripping of the "modest and ancient freedoms" related to smoking.

1. Henceforth smoking shall be banned indoors, outdoors, and in all public places in between. This includes outdoor patios, where the wind blows hamburgers off tables, five feet from corners where MBTA buses belch more smoke than an Everett family reunion, lest the delicate health of the cocktail waitress be harmed.

2. Drugstores shall no longer be permitted to sell tobacco, a drug legal in all 50 states and whose commerce even the Taliban saw fit to countenance.

3. Cigarette sales on colleges are banned. However, campus bookstores may continue to stock pipes and tobacco alongside the saddle shoes, raccoon coats, and adhesive-backed suede armpatches.

4. Cigar bars are verboten, starting 5 years from today. That is: banned, outlawed, stripped of all rights, expropriated, and driven off into the wilderness to die in the snow. How thoughtful and generous our Emperor is, to give his poor subjects such advance that they may have time to select an engraving for their tombstone!

5. Two dudes can come here, rent a hotel room, get married by a justice of the peace, and consummate their nuptials upstairs--but no cigarette afterwards!

6. The penalty for selling cigarettes to minors shall be waterboarding. Illegal immigrants caught doing so will be driven straight to Logan and put on the next plane to Chile. Try sneaking across a whole continent to get back in, you, you evildoer, you!

Recommended web site for conservatives

2008-08-24T14:28:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Janet we have a new web site/aggregator of all our favorite conservative thinkers:

From Peter Robinson and Rob Long:

"Dear Readers:
Why a new web site? Because we are lazy. It is that simple.

Sitting around with our pal Hugh Hewitt, we were bemoaning the fact that all of our favorite writers were not collected in one place. Hugh said “Rob Neppell of Kithbridge can fix that.” Hugh was right. And Rob did.
The result is RobinsonandLong.com, our public service to lazy people everywhere (though we'd be happy to make a profit from it as well. E-mail info@robinsonandlong.com if you'd like to advertise.)
As you can see, this is a giant aggregator of the very best in interesting, smart, funny center/right writers and intellectuals. We have no doubt missed someone along the way, and we reserve the right to tweak the list, but at the outset we decided that we really would limit the writers we publicize to those we consider "must reads," that is, if we saw the byline, we had to read what followed.
Take a look around the site. There are old warriors, young turks, and all sorts of conservatives, from paleo- to neo-, crunchy to wet, but all deserving our, and we think your, attention. All under one roof.
We'll add features as we go along, but as we enter the season where the blizzard of columns, blogs, analysis, and essays that we want to read becomes an unmanageable maze of websites and hyperlinks, we are pleased to give you a virtual shortcut to the brightest stars in the conservative sky.

Enjoy! And come back often!"

http://robinsonandlong.com/

Thanks, Janet!

C-SPANers take a whack at the Civil Forum at Saddleback...

2008-08-17T17:49:00.003-05:00

WWDS? I'll be curious to see what Dennis has to say this coming week about the candidates' Q&A at the civil forum at Saddleback last night. I was probably like many people who watched, and had to see what the Sunday morning pundits had to say about the Obama and McCain performances.

I think I picked the wrong show to watch. I started out watching Fox News Channel but for some odd reason I switched over to C-SPAN. What was I thinking??!!?? Any and all civility that Rick Warren was promoting by asking a question and then letting the candidates answer at will was completely spent last night so that nothing was left for the C-SPAN callers. C-SPAN allows you to rake anyone over the coals as long as you don't use foul language.

The only thing I learned from listening to today's callers was that there are a lot of people walking around out there with tin-foil on their heads so as to keep the extra-terrestrials from taking potshots at their cerebral cortexes and implanting spy-ware and nano-monitoring devices.

Okay, maybe I'm being a little too harsh, a little too critical. Maybe there really are ET's who want to know what we're thinking, and if they can decipher our thoughts, their ET supervisors will replace humanoids in all the important earthly jobs with chimpanzees and Poodles.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and hazard a guess that Earth would be safer in the hands of Coco the Chimp. I don't know any famous Poodles but if any of them are related to the people who called into C-SPAN this morning, the dogs better ready for work.

Dianne

The Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency

2008-08-16T20:40:00.002-05:00

Did you watch it tonight, Saturday, August 16th? Rev. Rick Warren came up with some good questions for each candidate to answer, and each had an hour - separately - to do this.

I hope you all got a chance to see it. It dramatically pointed up the differences between Senators McCain and Obama on a wide range of issues, in a low-stress environment.

It was a well-thought-out technique of interviewing, with each man off-stage while the other answered.

Well done, Pastor Warren! And thank you.

"The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin"

2008-08-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

I have to recommend the book, "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin." Like many people, I thought I knew about Ben Franklin and what contribution he made to the new country of America but I was bowled over by the depth of this biography and just how long it took Franklin to get on board the "independence!" train.

I learned how well-respected he was overseas and disdained here, and why Benjamin Franklin became the standard bearer, the definition, as it were, of what being an American really means. It is Frankin's legend that drew immigrants then, as it does today.

Anyone who doesn't believe that America is unique in all of history should spend time with "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin."

Whopping good August meeting!

2008-08-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

When I say "Whopping..." I don't mean whopping as in large I just mean whopping as in great meeting.

There were only four of us (Angie, Marjorie, Roger and me - no relation to the Michael Moore movie) and yet - and not too surprising - it was the kind of meeting that covered the Prager Group gamut. Who would think that four people could keep up lively and inspirational conversation for two hours?

We owe it all to Dennis!

And we did it without smoking cigars. (I just listened to a podcast where Dennis bravely bared his soul and risked it all by admitting how much he loves to smoke cigars and pipes. It sounded like pipes take a backseat to cigars because I have never heard of a Pipe Bar, only a Cigar Bar. But you can correct me if I'm wrong.) Dennis spoke of the recent trip to a place with a humidor and where he and Allan spent a delightful two hours in conversation, puffing on their cigars. We just drank coffee and pop and snacked on sandwiches and potato chips at Panera's. The conversation put us on equal footing, me thinks.

We missed the rest of you, though. Didn't want you to think you weren't missed.

I have to keep this short because I'm supposed to be doing my homework but I wanted to mention that I found a wonderful treasure-trove of editorials when I loaded up I-Tunes with IBDEditorials.com podcasts. The subjects vary but all are very interesting and especially timely.

I put them on my IPod Shuffle and was in hog-heaven all afternoon at work listening to these 3-4 minute long audio versions of well-written editorial/opinion pieces by Investors Business Daily. There are tons of them in the archives, so many that I have many more to listen to tomorrow.

If you don't have an IPod or MP3 player, you can still listen on the computer, through I-Tunes. The advantage to I-Tunes is that they will probably run one right after another. At least that's what they do on my IPod.

One can also get the written op/eds as well as the audios here: http://www.ibdeditorials.com/Editorial.aspx#edit90days or subscribe to the audio versions through I-Tunes. I just couldn't help but share this with you all.

Oh, yes, another great - and accidental - find at my local library: David McCullough recorded a speech he gave in 1993 when he was receiving an award. The audio CD is entitled "The Course of Human Events" and is one of the best, and most inspiring speeches I've heard in a long while.

The Course of Human Events By David McCullough Read by David McCullough
Simon and Shuster put it together and I recommend everyone who likes David McCullough and history take a listen. I understand that there's a written version of the speech, as well, but listening to Mr. McCullough speak definitely added to the enjoyment. I haven't returned the CD yet because I plan to listen to it again.

Back to my homework. Have a good few weeks, folks, and hope to see you at the next meeting.

Dianne

Prager Group - July meeting

2008-08-16T11:18:00.005-05:00

I'm not the recording secretary that Sonny is, but I will do my best to share with you at least a sense of what transpired at our meeting at Panera Bread last Sunday afternoon.

Janet and her husband, Frank, were there along with Kerry, Owen, Angie and her "ball-and-chain" Danny (for a guy who doesn't listen to the radio show he hasn't missed a meeting yet!), and there was Kathy and Cindy. Mike was there long enough to get something to eat but had to answer his page to go help sick people. There was a really unexpected guest, Jim, from Kobe, Japan. And we had David with two of the world's best behaved children, and finally there was Renee, Harvey and me.

It was the first meeting for many people but there was no shyness that might be associated with being a first-timer. I've been to most meetings and I still love to hear everyone - old and new - introduce themselves and share what they feel about Dennis Prager, what we've learned from him and what a steadying influence he is.

We met in the Panera community room and had it all to ourselves. Except that there was a guy in the corner, ostensibly working on his laptop, with ear buds in. Jim kept his head down the whole time, and had said it wouldn't bother him for us to have our meeting. As it turns out - we learned at the end of our meeting - that he has also listened to Dennis.

Of all the subjects that Dennis brings to our attention, in those hours on the radio, we all seemed to gravitate toward the current political campaign. I believe - correct me if I'm wrong - that some of us would have really liked to talk Happiness Hour or Ultimate Issues Hour, but for the most part we just enjoyed being together, in what we believe to be a "safe" environment. There's a level of comfort that we don't always feel elsewhere among our family and friends.

We don't all agree on everything - even the big issues, we're not all religious, we're just a diverse group of individuals who seem to revel in the Clarity of Thought that Dennis Prager adds to the cosmos of ideas and events.

Our concern over the upcoming election and the troublesome idea that a truly liberal candidate could make it into the White House next January has many of us losing sleep. We were all invigorated, though, with some caplets of rhetoric that we can use to promote the Republican candidate, John McCain.

I will be reaching out to all of you in the next few weeks to build our own set of talking points to use when we get an opportunity to promote our candidate. We're not all glib-tongued spokespersons but with a few points in our sack of speeches, we believe we can make a difference in the upcoming election. Of course, I just might take the easy way out and carry a sign, make a bumper sticker or wear a T-shirt that says something like, "McCain - The Only Change I Can Live With." Okay, that's not terribly pithy but I'm open to suggestions!

I'm still feeling the effects of a lively and enlightening Sunday afternoon well-spent with other Dennis Prager fans. I really wish you all could have been there.

Harvey's still looking for a downtown meeting place for us for next month. We'll keep you posted.

And, thanks to Jim, we have a great picture of the entire group from Sunday. I'll post the picture and names on the blog as soon as I can. We lost a dear friend to cancer this week and have out-of-town company coming in on Thursday, so my web work will probably have to wait until Sunday.

As for the birthday present for Dennis, I'll keep you posted on the progress. (You guys were great and I know Dennis will appreciate it.)

Until August then! Hang in there, Everyone.

Dianne

PS - We're going to try and keep our birthday present for Dennis under wraps until August 3rd, so mum's the word!

You don't have to follow the crowd to be going in the right direction.
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Recap of June 8 Prager Group meeting

2008-06-14T20:33:00.002-05:00

(DM: My apologies, Prager People, for losing Sonny's recap of last week's meeting; he had to send it to me again for posting.)

The Pragerites once again got together for what may have been the most exciting Eastside meeting to date. 13 ventured to Panera Bread in Mayfield on Sunday, June 8 and partook in the over two hour talk-a-thon.

Those present were: Dianne Mueller, Marjorie Henderson, Jane Curran, Ann Najjar, Connie Fleming, Maryann Tegowski, Angie & Danny Hall, Harvey Finkelstein, Michael Sauka, Rodger Weiner, Ayad Rahim, and yours truly.

Early on in the meeting it was brought to my attention that Danny was wearing a red T-shirt displaying the words: Ice Cold Conservative in white letters. We all thought it pretty neat. Personally, I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

The question: "Should topics other than politics be discussed at the Pragerite meetings" came up. Everyone agreed that, although politics are extremely important, there are several issues that ought to come to the table when Dennis’ fans get together. This meeting surely demonstrated that.

Of course, the major news was that, officially, it will be Sen. John "Wayne" McCain versus Sen. Barack "Hussein" Obama battling for the Presidency of the United States from now until Election Day in November. Sen. Hillary "I had it and lost it" Clinton completed the equivalent of a "Big Brown Collapse." After all, months ago she was the odds on favorite to win the Democratic nomination (like Big Brown was prematurely anointed to win the Triple Crown in horse racing). Her failure to do so will go down in history as one of the biggest political upsets in American lore.

So it’s McCain against Obama and Dianne made the very witty and honest statement that: "Obama’s not the kind of change I want!" If one really looks closely at what Obama plans to do, they’d find that the "changes" he keeps talking about are not going to be good ones for America. The changes he wants implemented will not cost taxpayers "loose change," but billions of dollars instead. Free healthcare & college are just some of the things he’s promising to those that vote for him.

Speaking of cost, Harvey brought up the soaring gas prices. He pointed out that one of the reasons for these skyrocketing amounts is that the environmentalists are stopping the oil companies from looking for more oil right here in the US. As a matter of fact, only a few weeks ago an oil company representative told Congresswoman Maxine Waters that the prices will continue to rise if they can’t get permission to drill elsewhere. Waters stumbled and mumbled before flat-out answering back that they (Congress) would simply take over the oil companies (can you say communist?).

Ted Kennedy’s name popped up. He’s not a friend of the Right by anyone’s standards. But perhaps his recent cancer diagnosis is God’s way of warning him to make amends for much of the evil he’s been involved with (Mary Jo Kopechne in 1969). The senator is also an avid Democrat and vile enemy of the unborn baby in the womb. He’s pro-abortion (pro-death) to no end, much to the regret of 50 to 100 million precious little kids who’ve been exterminated in the name of "Women’s Rights."

Keeping on politics, Rodger chimed in and pointed out that the Republican Party has, over the years, acted like wimps who just don’t stand up to the "Left" like they should. The Republican Party has failed its supporters by not acting like the "conservatives" they were voted in to be. They’re wimps like Rodger said and that’s why the Party’s in such a mess. Message to the Republican Party: be totally pro-life, totally pro-marriage (one man for one woman), and stand up for God at all costs. These are values that the Democratic Party abhors. These values, among other things, should be the major differences between the two Party’s. To date, it’s not perfectly clear that they are.

Tammy Bruce, Monica Crowley, and Jed Babbin, conservatives who filled in for national radio talk show host Laura Ingraham last week, were mentioned. Rodger stated that Crowley has a lot more insight than Laura does. In fact, as of Tuesday (11th), Ingraham still isn’t back on the air and rumor has it that she’s involved in a contract dispute.

By the way, it was pointed out that Dr. Laura Schlessinger, another syndicated radio talk show host, was knocked off the TV airways in March of 2001 by the radical and very powerful homosexual movement. Dr. Laura, for some unknown reason, was even removed from the Cleveland radio airwaves shortly after 911.

Rodger asked a very interesting question. He wanted to know where we all stood concerning the "Right" or "Conservative" position? So, one by one, each of us proclaimed whether we were just right/left of center, religiously/secularly right or far right. There was a pretty good variety of answers, but everyone was a right winger in some way, which is basically what brings us all together in the first place.

Concerning religion, Maryann said that she’s not completely sold on the idea of "organized religion." There’s no doubt about it. Organized religion, at times, has led to serious problems for some societies. Prager once pointed out that without organized religions such as Christianity and Judaism, the moral values of those religions would die out, which would lead to societal chaos. So, simply put, organized religion is good if the religion being organized is good.

Dianne made the statement that she believes in Heaven. Harvey then asked if she believed in Hell too? She does. In the New Testament Jesus talked twice as much about Hell as He did about Heaven, which is something a lot of people aren’t aware of. Yeah, Hell’s real. You can bet your eternity on it.

Michael said that a particular Catholic theologian promotes the theory of human evolution, as does the Church itself. But the Genesis creation account clearly states that everything was created by God in 6-24 days and, although it cannot be proven scientifically to be an actual fact of history, neither can apes to man evolution be proven to ever have occurred. Long ago the Catholic Church chose to side with the evolutionists because, in the Church’s view, the evolutionists somehow proved evolution was a scientific fact. However, billions of people, including thousands of scientists around the world, reject evolutionary theories based on the current scientific evidence.

Dianne pointed out that the young people of today don’t know what Marxism is. Prager often throws out the statement that: "Your average college student couldn’t recognize a picture of Joseph Stalin." Young folks really don’t know what Marxism, Communism, or evil are. They owe this lack of knowledge to our wonderful public school system that spends more time informing the students about the make-believe horrors of global warming. Is it any wonder the home schooling population is growing every day?

The issue of Health Care came up. Rodger reminded us that, in Canada, a seriously ill public official chose to come to America for treatment instead of simply using her country's socialized health care program. Canada’s health care system is basically what Barack Obama wants to implement here in the states if, God forbid, he wins in November. It was mentioned that the Democrats are constantly telling the public that "millions of Americans don’t have health coverage." Of course, Dennis Prager always points out this lie. Uninsured people are, in the vast majority of cases, not turned away from hospitals. Rodger even told us of an uninsured friend of his that’s being treated at nearby Metro Health Hospital.

Dianne informed us that the doctors in Canada are paid only nine months out of the year. If they work beyond that they get no money. And Michael said that, in France, 1/2 of the health care is socialized while the other half is private. This is something that most people don’t know. See, these meetings are educational. So come on down and learn, learn, learn.

One of the newer Pragerites was Marjorie Henderson. Being in her early 80s, she was clearly the elder states lady of our group. Think about it. She was in high school during WWII. Marjorie certainly saw a different America than what the rest of us have witnessed. She stated: "The America today is not the country I knew 50 years ago." Boy, she hit the nail on the head with that one.

Finally, Dianne gave us a web page (rufusputnam.com) that displays her grandmother’s (Florence B. Taylor) interesting columns that appeared in The Saltsburg Press back in the 30s, 40s & 50s. The site is dedicated to her ancestors, one of which was General Rufus Putnam who served in the American Revolutionary War. Do yourself a favor and take a look at this most interesting site.

The next meeting of the Pragerites will be July 13 at Panera Bread, Great Northern Mall, North Olmsted. As you can tell by this report, if you miss it, you’ll miss a lot.

God Bless

Sonino John Paul Scardelletti - A Christian

My new favorite t-shirt

2008-06-10T20:59:00.004-05:00

Dan wore this t-shirt to the Prager group meeting on Sunday.

It's kind of subtle .... then you look closer...

Thanks, Dan!

I went to the web site www.thoseshirts.com and just ordered one for myself!

Welcome new members!

2008-06-06T20:31:00.002-05:00

Welcome Cindi, Gabrielle, Jane, Lynn and Renee!

We received your member information from Eva and are happy to have you join the group. We're spread out around the northeast Ohio area, east side and west side and south.

You've arrived just in time to come to our June 8 meeting, 2 p.m. to 4 at the Panera's bread cafe, Golden Gate Plaza in Mayfield Heights (just off I-271 Mayfield Road).

We look forward to everyone coming out and sharing their views, their thoughts, and, of course, how Dennis has impacted our lives.

If you have any questions about the group or the dates, or how to get to the meeting places, please let me know.

Please feel free to peruse the blog and get to know us a little better before you come out. And, of course, it's your blog, too, so feel free to start posting.

Hope to see you at our next meeting!

Dianne Mueller
NEO logistics

Reminder about May's meeting date

2008-05-05T05:37:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that we have moved the May 11th meeting to May 18th.

We also have six new members (Tom, Peter, Lori, John, Wendy and Marjorie) and we hope to see them at future meetings.

We had an unexpected treat recently, for those of you who follow and listen to the podcasts of the Young America's Foundation, this one was posted recently:

Wednesday Feb 20, 2008
Dennis Prager: The Left’s Distorted View of America
Young Americas Foundation
Through humor, Dennis Prager, radio host, author and columnist, speaks at Young America’s Foundation’s Rawhide Circle in Santa Barbara, California about the left’s view of America.

It's a great podcast, Dennis live and at his best.

Give a listen at: http://townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=22&ContentGuid=bf210483-9925-4ca5-889c-bc83432466be

You can listen right there through the web site or through ITunes.

And please feel free to post on the Dennis Prager NEO weblog, it's your site, your spot to share Pragerisms, or just how Dennis has impacted your life. http://pragergroupneo.blogspot.com/. If you didn't get the log in and password information just let me know.

See you all at the next meeting, May 18th at 2. If you're new, just look for a bunch of friendly and dynamic conservatives.

Have a great week! And, in case I forget, Happy Mother's Day next Sunday!

Dianne

Prager Group field trip to see Ben Stein's movie "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed"

2008-04-21T17:23:00.002-05:00

On Friday, April 18, eight Pragerites got together to view the wonderfully truthful Ben Stein movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed at Regal Cinema in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. The show started at 7:15. In attendance were Harvey & Bonnie Finkelstein, Dan & Angie Hall, John & Dianne Mueller, Ciprian Sas (whom I actually spotted holding a Prager sign as he walked inside the theater) and yours truly.

The place was more than half full on the premier night of Stein’s highly anticipated film. Personally, I don’t get out to Middleburg Heights often, but I must say it’s a great area (of course, any area is great compared to the one I live in). The movie ran about 90 minutes and the crowd, at times, laughed at some of the antics of the scientifically confused evolutionary thinkers Ben Stein interviewed.

When it ended, we went around the corner to Panera Bread, got our coffees, and started the discussion. Bill Bennett fans Angie Silva & Vicky Kudla joined us at Panera, as did Pragerite Mary O’Malley who came in prior to her attending a later viewing at the same theater. For the most part, everyone thought the film really hit home.

The movie pointed out how the hard-core evolutionary thinkers such as Dr. Richard Dawkins of Oxford University are dead-set on presenting cosmological, geological, and biological evolutionary theories as scientific facts, which they certainly are not. Ben Stein interviewed many scientists who were ridiculed and even fired from their jobs for daring to imply that Charles Darwin’s theory of human evolution was questionable. Amazing! No one’s ever seen an ape turn into a man and the evolutionists think we ought not to even question it?

You could see the anger spewing from Dr. Dawkins and others as they talked about how foolish, in their view, the Intelligent Design and Creation movements are. However, in spite of their anger, they never did offer any scientific evidence what so ever that even remotely explained how any forms of evolution could ever have taken place. The reason: there simply isn’t any evidence to be found.

I’ve got a saying: evolution is the dumbest thing that so many people have fallen for. Of course, Dr. Dawkins and his gang of God haters (and make no mistake about it, that’s exactly what they are) aren’t interested in what science says. Not at all. They’re just concerned with keeping their secular religion (evolution) at the forefront of the scientific community.

The most incredibly foolish statement throughout the entire movie was when Dr. Dawkins told Ben Stein that evolution is as much of a scientific fact as anything could possibly be. I’ve heard other evolutionists make this statement as well. But it only takes a moment of critical thinking to understand how untrue Dr. Dawkins’ words really are. Real quick: the earth being round is a "scientific fact." No one in their right mind would disagree with this. However, that an ape turned into a man (which is what Dr. Dawkins believes) is just as much as a scientific fact as the earth being round is absolutely not true.

No one has ever seen an ape turn into a man in the same sense that we can see, right before our very eyes, that the earth is indeed round. This is just common sense, which is something that Dr. Dawkins and most evolutionists are lacking.Ben Stein’s showing of Communism (Stalin) & Nazism (Hitler) and how they suppressed freedom of thought for millions of people is analogous to what the evolutionary thinkers are trying to do to those who believe, based on science, that evolution is really unscientific.

Stein showed how evolutionary thought was the catalyst that led to the extermination of millions of people during WWII. People deemed unfit to live by the God haters of the day. Of course, that’s also happened here over the past 35 years under the guise of child killing (abortion). The Berlin Wall was shown being torn down and Stein’s film is crying out that we tear down the "Evolutionary Wall" that’s keeping public school kids and college students from hearing the scientific facts that support a God created universe. At the discussion it was mentioned that some reviews of the film were bad, but that’s to be expected.

As far as I’m concerned, if the media says it was bad, then it must be good for America. After all, they say our brave soldiers arebad, but we know they’re good. As Pragerites we realize the media is no friend of conservative minded thinkers. So, if you haven’t seen Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, I urge you to do so.

I may even go back myself for a second dose of this amazingly honest and informative movie; a documentary that should go a long way in educating the public (and Heaven knows they need educating) on how evolution is being taught in our public schools and universities solely because the God haters control those institutions and not because science supports any of the unscientific theories the evolutionists actually promote.

God Bless Sonino John Paul Scardelletti - A Christian

(DM: Great write-up, Sonny, as usual! Thanks.)

Our May meeting...

2008-04-13T19:00:00.003-05:00

My apologies, Prager People, for scheduling a meeting on Mother's Day, May 11. It will be post-poned until the following week, May 18, at the same time, 2 p.m.

We will be meeting at the Panera Bread on Brookpark Road, in North Olmsted, in the Great Northern shopping mall parking lot.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Dianne

PS - We had a great meeting today, and really look forward to the next one! Sonny will be reporting on today's meeting. (Thanks, Sonny!)

The answer...

2008-04-13T18:52:00.002-05:00

From Dennis' male/female hour last week:

LF means Love Felt

LE means Love Expressed

Love Felt is not the same as Love Expressed.

Field Trip: The Ben Stein movie "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed"

2008-04-13T18:49:00.000-05:00

Melissa had a great idea for a Dennis Prager Group Field Trip: The Ben Stein movie "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed" will be playing at the Regal Cinema theatre in Middleburg Heights, opening on Friday, April 8th.Hope you all can make the 7:15 show. This theatre is less than a block from the I 71 exit, at Bagley Road.

After the show we can go for coffee nearby at the Panera Bread, 18324 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130.

See you on Friday, April 18th, the 7:15 showing.
Dianne

____________________________________________________
Ben Stein’s Film Blew Rush Limbaugh Away…
The undisputed king of Talk Radio gave an enthusiastic “thumbs up” to EXPELLED after a screening with Ben Stein at the radio host’s.

RUSH: Ben Stein has a new movie out. He brought it by my house Friday afternoon to screen it for me. It's called Expelled. It is powerful. It is fabulous. And here's the premise of his movie. The premise is that Darwinism has taken root, Continue

Atheists Infiltrate Events for Intelligent Design FilmBy Kevin Mooney and Josiah RyanCNSNews.com Staff WritersApril 02, 2008(CNSNews.com) - Outspoken opponents of the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, including scientists Richard Dawkins and Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers, have managed to infiltrate private screenings for a soon-to-be released movie on the subject, according to a film producer who helped to organize the events. Dawkins - an Oxford University professor, biologist, and author of "The God Delusion" - attempted to gain entry to a private screening of the film, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," on March 20 in Bloomington, Minn., as did Myers, a biology professor at the University of Minnesota.Dawkins was successful; Myers was not.

However, Myers managed to intrude upon a telephone press conference call the next day that included Ben Stein, the film's narrator, and the film's producers. "Expelled" calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin's 150-year-old theories about the origins of life . Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the ID movement in a "systematic and ruthless" way at odds with America's founding principles, the film asserts.

A must watch: The Mustang Gathering and Flag Jump!

2008-04-10T08:58:00.001-05:00

A must watch: The Mustang Gathering and Flag Jump!

I forgot...

2008-04-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

My apologies to those of you who offered your favorite reading list. I promise I will post them soon.

Prager Group NEO Field Trip!

2008-04-10T08:53:00.001-05:00

Melissa had a great idea for a Dennis Prager Group Field Trip:

The Ben Stein movie "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed" will be playing at the Regal Cinema theatre in Middleburg Heights.

This theatre is less than a block from the I 71 exit, at Bagley Road. After the show we go for coffee nearby at the Panera Bread, 18324 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130.

It looks like the movie runs from the 18th of April through the 24th. I'm available for a Friday or Saturday or Sunday (April 18, 19, or 20), so if anyone else is interested please let us know!

I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Ben Stein when he was in town recently so this is like having a second chance.

This email also serves as a reminder about this week's 2 PM Dennis Prager Discussion Group meeting at the Panera Bread cafe in the Golden Gate shopping center in Mayfield Heights (Mayfield Road (Rt 322) and I 271. That's April 13!

See you then!

_________________________________________________

EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed
Opens April 18, 2008
Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.
PG - thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking

Ben Stein follows his journey around the globe where he discovers that scientists, educators and philosophers are being persecuted in a modern day witch hunt because they dare to go against the theory of evolution. These pillars of education are being fired, ridiculed and ostracized for merely challenging Darwin’s theory; proposing that life on this planet could be a part of some intelligent design and not random chance. This thought-provoking film not only forces us to question what we have been taught but challenges us to ask--What else is being kept from us?

Read More Director: Nathan Frankowski Genres: Science & Technology, Culture & Society

"Clash of Civilizations" Bernard Lewis and Dennis Prager

2008-03-14T05:43:00.002-05:00

If you know anyone on the east coast that is interested in this subject - "The Clash of Civilizations, The Final Jihad," please spread the word about this event.

Bernard Lewis and Dennis Prager together !!!!

If we were not expecting company next week, I would drive out there to witness this program. If there is any way you can go and hear them, please do!

Dianne

============================================================
http://aishphila.com/israelevent2008.htm

"Clash of Civilizations" Bernard Lewis and Dennis Prager

Sponsored by HIllel, Aish, Federation, JCC
Student Rate $5 / pre-paid; $15 at the door (available at box office with student ID)
Regular Rate $18 / pre-paid; $25 at the door.
All seats are General Admission

Performances
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 @ 7:00 PM · order tickets

========================================================

Read any good books lately?

2008-03-12T18:00:00.003-05:00

One of the many topics that came up at the March 9 "DPG" meeting was books. I'm always interested in what people are reading. Dennis would be appalled that I spend more time watching television than I do reading but I'm flawed, very, very flawed. Still and all, I do love books.

I've even found a way around my laziness and learn what's in a book by watching C-SPAN's book channel on the weekend. I know it's cheating, but I get to hear the author tell me all about their book.

I would love to hear from everyone about what they're reading now, or have read, or are dying to read. A brief synopsis (or not-so-brief if you prefer) would be great. I will read, albeit vicariously, through you - and so will other Prager People.

In the meantime I am nearly finished with Jeane Kirkpatrick's last book, "Making War To Keep Peace," on the post cold-war United Nations, a subject she knew very well. Ms. Kirkpatrick died in December 2006, shortly after she finished the book. Once I'm finished reading I will try to inspire you to read it as well.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Dianne

After the "fall" - so to speak.

2008-03-10T06:36:00.007-05:00

The March 9 Dennis Prager Group meeting happened, in spite of the Snowfall of 'aught 8.'

Some of us were lucky enough to be married to people who had big and powerful snow blowers, the kind that cut through 17" of fluffy stuff like a hot knife through butter! To the right is my house in North Ridgeville; notice the sharply defined snowbanks?

Then there were others (Sonino John Paul, for example) who may not be able to dig out their cars yet.

We six - we adventurous six - met at Kerry's Westlake meeting room but there should have been seven. Angie, Dan, David, Phil, Melissa and Dianne were there but Kerry was missing. Our dedicated Cincinnati, Ohio, leader, Jim Searcy, looked up her phone number and I called but there was no answer. It's funny how time changes you; in an earlier age I would have been irritated that our hostess wasn't there, but now I just worried that something bad had happened to her.

And, it had. We learned later that Kerry's mother had passed away, quite suddenly, and the burial was in southern Ohio. Kerry tried to let me know that she wouldn't be there but I never saw the email.

But, in the meantime, we six headed off to the local Applebees to have the meeting, and left a note for anyone who showed up. We're still of a mind that it could be some not-so-serious reason, after all, that kept Kerry away... maybe the time change?

Truth be told, these meetings can take place anywhere. It could have been a parking lot if it had been a lot warmer and someone brought food and drink. It's the dynamics, the ripple effect caused by a gathering of Conservatives, that leaves me exhilerated, hopeful, and always more informed than when I arrived.

If only I could roll the video tape for you instead of having to rely on a bank of dusty memory chips. The Elections and the Candidates took center stage, to be sure, but the 'key' light was on Hope, hope that Republicans take the presidency.

We each have differing concerns and levels of concerns over what will happen in the next eight months but we ultimately agreed that there should be a gathering of Dennis Prager Discussion group people on election night, '08. We have time to decide where the meeting will be but mark your calendars now for the 1st Tuesday of November, 2008.

And to Kerry, our sympathies on losing your mother.

We'll see you all next month, on April 13, at Panera's Bread at the Golden Gate Plaza, in Mayfield Heights.

Don't forget to use this blog to let us know how Dennis has been changing your thinking, or just what it's like for you living like a Conservative in a world of Liberals.

My best to you all! Keep the faith! And God Bless America!

Cleveland Area Prager Group Meeting # 3

2008-02-25T18:40:00.002-06:00

Date: February 24, 2008
Location: Panera Bread, Mayfield, Heights.
Length of Meeting: 1:45Attendance: 5
Pragerites: Dianne Mueller, Melissa McCutcheon, Connie Fleming, Maryann Tegowski and Sonino Scardelletti.

The coffee and food were good. The place was buzzing. The owner's making a killing. Many topics were discussed and everyone contributed to the conversation. We talked about the Republican/Democrat Presidential candidates. John McCain most likely will be squaring off against Barack Obama. McCain would, no doubt, demolish Obama in a debate.

But Melissa stated that he must put Barack "on the spot," forcing the Senator from Illinois to make his positions clear on issues like Health Care, the War in Iraq, and Same-Sex Marriage. It was stated that if Obama became President, then another attack on our country would happen in the not so distant future.

Dianne mentioned an interview she heard concerning a politician who wrote a book about people having to "whisper" their views on certain issues. According to Maryann and Connie, that's true, but only if you're on the Right. Left-wingers can trumpet their views and never feel the heat.

The housing foreclosure problem came up. Having not bought a house in over 20 years, I was stunned to learn from the group that lending institutions simply threw out many of the strict "borrowing guidelines" I had to meet in the 80s, thus allowing people to buy homes they really weren't able to afford. A most interesting discussion to be sure.

We all learned a little something from one another. And, since this location is near a freeway, the next "east side" get-together will be at Panera Bread, as well.

Date & time will be provided later. The next meeting will be at Kerry's Place in Westlake on March 9, 2:00.

Look for the "Prager Plaque" located on a table. Then take a seat and start talking about current issues.

God Bless
Sonino "Sonny" John Paul Scardelletti - A Christian

John McCain's townhall meeting in Rocky River today

2008-02-25T16:36:00.007-06:00

John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" came to the Civic Center in Rocky River this morning and the man himself delivered one of his "straight talks" to a group of supporters and independents alike. I was lucky enough to get a 4th row seat.

As I've told some of you already, I was not originally a McCain supporter but since Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, I am now officially on record as a McCainiac.

I noticed today during both his opening remarks and the question-and-answer period afterward that there's something quite endearing about a guy who's not afraid to tell you things you might not want to hear.

McCain talked about the "transcendent" threat of our time (radical Muslim extremists), keeping the tax cuts, treating our war veterans to a more efficient way to get their health conditions treated, fuel concerns - from having to get our oil from country's unfriendly to the U.S. - to the need for nuclear energy development. (I think I was the only one in the room who clapped when he brought up the advantages of nuclear energy.)

During his opening remarks, and right through the town hall meeting questions and on to the press conference afterward, McCain answered definitively and completely every question he was asked.

And I've never seen someone so relaxed and confident that on two or three occasions McCain actually revisited a question that someone in the audience brought up. Before he moved on to the next questioner he went back to answer it more fully before he went. Granted, he won't have that latitude during a televised debate, with it's time constraints, but today I was impressed with how McCain handled questions that he felt needed fleshing out.

McCain was a man comfortable in his own skin, and exuded the calm of someone who's got not only experience in the U.S. political arena but has an appreciation of our position in the rest of world.

The crowd enjoyed humorous quips that he borrowed (and attributed) to past politicians; any stand-up comic would be jealous of the way McCain "delivered," albeit to a mostly friendly crowd. I could be wrong but I don't think an unfriendly crowd would have seen a different candidate, though.

I was a little worried that John McCain lacked that attractive "oratory" gene, the one that's prominent in the current Democratic front-runner, Senator Barack Obama, but I'm here to tell you that McCain doesn't need it. Obama may need it, but John McCain's appeal for me was really more substantial and he left me feeling more comfortable, uplifted, and yes, even more confident that he's got all the right stuff to give the Dems a run for their money on the road to the White House.

McCain assured the crowd that he'll be back again, and again, and again, because Ohio is critical to anyone winning the U.S. presidency. So you'll all get another chance to hear the Straight Talker before election day in November.

We know that the stakes are too high - maybe the highest in my lifetime - to relax and coast through this 2008 presidential campaign season, letting others take the lead in getting the message out and just hoping that our guy will win.

I'm fine-tuning my voice and, as Melissa said yesterday in our Prager group meeting, just have to keep on speaking. Hopefully I'll get a little more articulate with practice.

Panera Bread hosts Prager group members!

2008-02-25T16:24:00.002-06:00

Panera Bread at the Golden Gate Plaza in Mayfield Heights turned out to be a great place to have our third Dennis Prager Discussion Group meeting.

MaryAnn, Melissa, Sonny, Carol and Dianne met for nearly two hours yesterday afternoon. The political climate, the candidates and the issues were all fair game.

The time flew by and we're looking forward to the March 9 meeting and hearing more insights and opinions from more of you.

Blog documenting the quasi-religious Obama phenomenon

2008-02-19T13:14:00.004-06:00

I must confess I haven't spent as much time over here as I'd like, being quite busy with my own blog. But having just heard Dennis quip about how all the Obama talk about changing the country "Scares the living daylights out of me" and having had the same reaction myself, I think that Prager listeners would appreciate this blog, "Is Barack Obama the Messiah?"

The title question is asked in jest on the site which is an ongoing documentation of over-the-top religious imagery and references to Barack Obama and his presidential campaign in news, commentary, art and popular culture. From the strange feeling in Chris Matthews leg to Michelle Obama's "broken souls" you'll find it here, along with all manner of collectivist drivel from the usual suspects, Oprah, Gary Hart, Huffington Post, Time, etc.

My favorite portion is on the right side-bar and is entitled "Heretics & Unbelievers". It features sane analysis which demythologizes what amounts to mob hysteria, deftly revealing it as such. There is some truly good comedy writing here; all good horror movies contain large doses of humor -- let's just hope this one doesn't end with this empty suit sitting in the Oval Office. That will be truly horrific for this nation and not funny in the least bit.

Daniel Pipes lecture

2008-02-07T06:40:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night I attended the Dr. Daniel Pipes lecture at Cleveland State University. Prior to entering the auditorium I observed a number of security officers and everyone had to pass through a metal detector. I thought that was rather odd but, as you'll read, security of that level was surely needed. About 100 people attended the 40 minute talk, which was followed by a lively Q & A session.

Dr. Pipes, although a supporter of the President, wasn't pleased with the way the Administration has handled the threat of radical Islamic terrorism. He felt, and I agree, that we should be tougher on the enemy. But when he pointed out how dysfunctional Arab nations are compared to America and Israel, that's when some in the audience got hot under the collar and just had to have their voices heard during the 1/2 hour Q & A session.

Most of these people felt they had to make a speech prior to asking their question. One Islamic man started verbally attacking Dr. Pipe for things he's written. However, Dr. Pipes, who took no guff from anyone, boldly told the man that he didn't write any of the things mentioned. A lady at the microphone called him a "liar," but he didn't let her get away with that either. He vigorously defended himself and I was happy to see him do so. He also made it a point to flat-out tell someone when they were dead wrong.

A man, who said he was a soldier who fought in Iraq, claimed that the war was "all about oil." However, his demeanor made me doubt that he actually was one of our fighting men. I've heard many soldiers speak, but this man reminded me more of an angry thug as opposed to a disciplined American serviceman.Dr. Pipes did address the oil question. He told the man, in no uncertain terms and with common sense and clarity, that the war is not being fought for oil, and for him to think such a thing is foolishness. At one point, while Dr. Pipes was answering a question, the leftists in the audience grumbling allowed, to which Dr. Pipes responded, "Are the children finished? Can I go on?" Like I said, he didn't take any abuse from anyone.

I also found it interesting that most of those asking questions failed to address the speaker as "Dr. Pipes." But, knowing how the Left operates, that's really to be expected.

When the Q & A session finally ended I walked up to the stage and thanked Dr. Pipes for his terrific talk. And I now realize how important the security measures were because, if not for them, I can only imagine how much more arrogant and rude those who disagreed with the speaker may have acted. I also believe that Q & A sessions should consist of those in the audience writing their questions down on slips of paper, then having them relayed to the speaker. This would cut out the insults, badgering, and speechmaking that many on the Left partake in when a conservative is at the podium. I must applaud CSU for allowing Dr. Pipes to speak. Many colleges don't want people with his views talking on campus. Universities are simply afraid to criticize radical Islamic terrorism.

Great going Cleveland State University!

So thanks for informing me about this most interesting lecture. I would not have known about it without your considerate letter.

God Bless Sonino John Paul
Scardelletti - A Christian

(PS - Note from Dianne... Sonino, do you remember that grey-haired woman who also went to the stage to shake Dr. Pipes hand and thank him for coming? That was me. I was sitting right in front of the "...Liar, liar!" woman and had to warn her a couple of times to shut up or else. I, too, was very grateful for the opportunity. Thanks, Sonino, for sharing your experience.)

New Members

2008-01-28T15:03:00.000-06:00

Welcome to new members, Lauren, Ricky and Shari...

We just received your membership information from Eva, and are happy to have you. Please feel free to check out our weblog for our northeast Ohio Dennis Prager Discussion group/Meet up.

You'll be getting an email with log in instructions and the password, so please feel free to make yourself at home and blog away.

There's quite a bit of information there now, but we can always use more. If you have a web site or group that you're involved in and would like to share, please do.

I've attached a spreadsheet that has all our names and emails on it, too. I've broken up the membership by area, sections 1 - 4, just to give people an idea where I think we all live. "Cleveland" could be anywhere, east side or west side, but I generally put those folks in NEO-3 section.

We have a new meeting date, March 9, at 2 PM. We also have a meeting place, in Westlake, and we'll send out the directions to you when you RSVP.

So, put the new meeting date on your calendars and watch February fly by. I'm sure to be emailing everyone before then.

Come out and mingle and meet up with other Dennis Prager fans! Bring your favorite Dennis Prager'ism and share the impact he's had on your life. You'll find other Conservatives - different breed that we are - who are comfortable in their own skins.

See you March! And Welcome!

Members' web sites....

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-06:00

Remember I said we Dennis Prager Group members were dynamic in our commitments? Here are two of our members' web sites - Milla and Sonino.

Milla's group founded www.plan2succeed.org/grassroots.

"Grassroots American Values exists to promote and defend the right to life,marriage, traditional family values, small government within the Constitutional boundaries of the Founders, personal responsibility, and American sovereignty."

And Sonino wrote the book, "GOD versus The Cleveland Museum of Natural History: Whose Side is Science On?" Read more at "http://soninojohn.com/.

"... 'GOD versus The Cleveland Museum of Natural History: Whose Side is Science On?' makes it clear that science is on the side of God and His Word, the Holy Bible, when it comes to telling us how the universe, earth, and all life forms originally came into existence: all were simply created by God the way the Book of Genesis tells us. That’s the most rational and logical answer based on the current scientific evidence."

New York Times columnist Daniel Pipes to give free public lecture on the Bush Administration and the Middle East on Feb. 5

2008-01-26T14:00:00.000-06:00

New York Times columnist Daniel Pipes to give free public lecture on the Bush Administration and the Middle East on Feb. 5

Middle East expert, author and columnist Dr. Daniel Pipes will speak on “The Bush Administration and the Middle East: an Assessment” at Cleveland State University on Tuesday, February 5 at 7 p.m. His address, followed by a question and answer session, will take place in Waetjen Auditorium in the Music and Communication Building, located at 2001 Euclid Ave.

The lecture is free and open to the public and is organized by Cleveland State’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Renowned for his analysis of Middle East and Islamic issues, including terrorism, Pipes is a historian and prize-winning columnist now writing for the New York Times Syndicate. He is the director of the Middle East Forum and a former member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The Wall Street Journal calls Pipes “an authoritative commentator on the Middle East” and CBS Sunday Morning says he was “years ahead of the curve in identifying the threat of radical Islam.”

Pipes began writing his column, which focuses on the Middle East, Islam and U.S. foreign policy, in early 2000. From 2001-03 it appeared in the New York Post and then in The New York Sun. The column is also published regularly in such newspapers as the Philadelphia Bulletin, Israel's Jerusalem Post, Spain's La Razón, Italy's L'Opinione, Canada's National Post and the Australian. It appears on many websites, including FrontPageMag.com and Townhall.com. He is frequently invited to discuss the Middle East on American network television as well as by universities and think tanks, and has appeared on the BBC and Al Jazeera.

Pipes is publisher of the Middle East Quarterly. He has written 12 books and his website, http://www.danielpipes.org/, is among the most accessed sources of specialized information on the Middle East and Islam. Two presidents have appointed him to government positions. He earned a B.A. in history and a Ph.D. in medieval Islamic history from Harvard University.

For more information, please call Cleveland State’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at (216) 687-2290.

"Young America’s Foundation teams up with Hot Air"

2008-01-25T17:07:00.000-06:00

Know any young people struggling against the Liberal mainstream? They might appreciate this video:

Our first meeting of 2008

2008-01-25T16:15:00.000-06:00

Eight members of the Dennis Prager group NEO met last Saturday evening, half of us for the first time.

Left to right: David Golladay, Dan Dolesh, Angie Hall, Melissa McCutcheon, Steve Terranova, Dianne Mueller, Phil Armada and David Sauter.

We took the opportunity to get to know each other that evening, and how we came to be part of the Dennis Prager fan club. Our life experiences are as varied as our ages, but our commitment to our conservative values are not. The way we express those values is pretty dynamic.

We all have Dennis Prager to thank for opening the door to a vibrant community, if a little far-flung, where our differences pale in comparison to our unity.

I hope that each of you eventually has the opportunity to meet and spend some time with other Dennis Prager fans - just folks - trying to make our way in a world that thinks "conservative" is a four-letter word. Fortunately, we know better, don't we.

Another special thank-you to Angie Hall for her hospitality and amazing desserts - all fat-free, of course :).

Until next time...

Books in the interest of happiness

2008-01-21T16:04:00.000-06:00

In the interest of promoting happiness, "How to Make Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie is quite good. I know the title sounds a bit hokie but really is a book everyone should read.

Welcome to Aaron, Amy, Brian and Sonino, and Milla!

2008-01-16T15:27:00.000-06:00

We just received your member information from Eva, and have added you to our northeast Ohio (NEO) membership list. You will see emails every-so often addressed to all the members and copied to our Ohio organizers, Jim Searcy and Jim Feuer, both from Southern Ohio.

Eva tells us that Milla is from Huron and a new Ohio organizer, too.

You all have arrived just in time to join us for our first Prager Group meeting of 2008. This meeting will be in North Ridgeville, this coming Saturday, the 19th at 7 p.m. I'll send you directions to Angie Hall's place if you plan to come.

And if you can come, please let me know,if you plan to bring anyone with you. If you want to bring a snack, please let me know that, too. It's really short notice, but if you can make it we'd love to have you.

On December 2, 2007 we introduced a blog site for the Prager Group NEO and encourage you to visit the site and when you get your "invitation" to join and "author," we hope you do just that. This is one of the ways we will begin to get to know each other and share in our "conservativeness." If you have any trouble getting into the site, please let me know.

If you have your own blog already started be sure and link to it. It's already apparent that although we're conservatives we're a very diverse group and the appeal of Dennis Prager is far-reaching.

I've attached the spreadsheet that I've been using to add new members. Please notice that the location ID corresponds to map quandrants I used to divide up our territory; the dividing line runs through downtown Cleveland north to south and from east-to-west along I-480. The PragerGroup NEO blog site shows the map with the 1-4 quadrants. I thought it would be an easy way to plot our approximate locations, and to give the Dennis Prager staff an idea where we all are. (For those of you who gave your location as Cleveland, I put you all in the NEO 3 section, by default)

Again, welcome to the NEO Prager Group, and watch your email for the invitation to the blog site. We look forward to meeting in person one day soon, probably at an evening social, after the New Year, after the busy-ness of the holiday season.

If you have any questions or suggestions on what we can do or what you would like to see happen with the group, please let me know. We're new at this and hope to evolve over time.

Best regards,
Dianne Mueller,
NEO logistics

Saturday night Prager Group meeting!

2008-01-16T14:53:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder, Gang -

Saturday at 7 p.m is our first Dennis Prager Group NEO meeting of 2008 at Angie and Dan Hall's house:

They're going to leave leave the Christmas lights up around the door and wil turn them on that night to make it easier to locate.

This time I will remember to bring my camera out for a group picture.

I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and if you would like, I'd love have you share how Dennis has influenced you, or how he has changed your life. Dan got me thinking about topics and I'm sure you all will some of your own to offer. I just have to remember to bring them with me!

By the way, I tried to make plans to go and hear Dennis speak on February 7, in Cherry Hill NJ, a mere 7 hour drive from here, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to go. If one of you decides to make the trip, here's the information web site: http://www.congregation-bethel.org/calender.asp . I wouldn't wait too long to order your tickets, though.

If someone does go you can share the experience with the rest of us!

See you Saturday!
Dianne

A 'History of Thought..."

2008-01-10T18:22:00.000-06:00

Please forgive me for sharing something from Hugh Hewitt's program on Dennis Prager's NEO blog site, but I just can't keep a good thing to myself.

Some of you may have already heard Hugh's six-part interview series with Hillsdale College President, Dr. Larry Arnn last week, a "history of thought." It seems to have been Dr. Arnn's choices of the world's great thinkers and from Socrates to Churchill.

I've been working at temp job for a couple of weeks, on a pretty boring although necessary project, and I turn on my I-Pod Shuffle in the morning when I arrive and leave it on all day, listening over-and-over again to the wonderful capsulettes Hugh and Dr. Arnn put together for us.

I recommend at least one run-through of the series for everyone; its' just that the soft and rhythmic sound of Dr. Arnn's stories has become like music to my ears and I have yet to tire of it. I especially love the vignette about George Washington.

When you go the Townhall.com web site to listen to the podcasts remember there are six of them, across two pages. Enjoy!!

Welcome and Happy New Year!

2008-01-09T17:37:00.000-06:00

Hello, Barbara, and Happy New Year to the whole northeast Ohio Prager Discussion Group!

We just received your member information from Eva, and have added you to our northeast Ohio (NEO) membership list. You will see emails every-so often addressed to all the members and copied to our Ohio organizers, Jim Searcy and Jim Feuer, both from Southern Ohio. I try to do logistics for our northern group.

Hope everyone's 2008 is off to a good start. A couple of you have taken a crack at posting on the PragerGroupNeo blog. Keep up the good work! (I'll be adding you, Barbara, to the list of members, and a separate email to let you know how to sign in and post your own thoughts. If you have any trouble getting into the site, please let me know.)

Did anyone go and hear Happiness Hour theme song? - Lyrics by Alan Miller. I would love to see us sing along - on video, of course - at our January 19th meeting. I'll be adding a link to Allan's YouTube rendition by the end of the week - maybe even tonight.

I have RSVP's from those of you planning to come to the January 19th meeting at Angie and Dan Hall place (in North Ridgeville) but if you plan to bring a guest would you please let us know ahead of time. We might need more chairs. And, if you can bring a dessert or snack it would be appreciated.

We're really looking forward to meeting and if you would like, we'd love have you share how Dennis has influenced you, or how he has changed your life.

A few of you have ask about adding some Dennis-oriented topics to our meeting so we'll all have an opportunity to drop an "agenda" item into the Suggestion Box that will waiting there for you. (Paper will be provided.)

How would you all feel about meeting every other month?
Please let me know, okay?.

We have had an offer to use one of our members party room facility in Westlake. We're grateful to Angie Hall for housing us on the 19th.

Again, welcome to Barbara, and Happy New Year one and all.

Dianne

Iowa 2008 Caucus

2008-01-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

The results are in from Iowa and Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama are the winners for their respective parties caucus. While I am still a free agent for whom I will support, a large part of me is glad to see Huckabee win in the face of Romney's multi-million dollar barage of Iowa.

As for Barack Obama I believe he is a nice man with an honest agenda. Unfortunately it is the antithesis I what I would like to see. I do not buy into his change revolution. Every four years we here about change. Two words that make me cringe are "change" and "progressive. Progressive really means oppressive and the change we need is to change back to the morals and values that brought our country to this point. That said, when I see and hear Obama I am reminded of the quote the classical compose Claude Debussy made about the music of Richard Wagner, and I am paraphrasing; "He is a magnificent sunset mistaken for a dawn".

"BASEBALL, DENNIS AND THE FRENCH"

2008-01-01T09:08:00.000-06:00

As promised, I proudly share "BASEBALL, DENNIS & THE FRENCH."
by Paul Croshaw.

Hello,

My name is Paul Croshaw and I'm the producer of the documentary BASEBALL, DENNIS AND THE FRENCH -- which features Dennis Prager.

You all are "hardcore" Prager fans like me. And the websites and blogs you all have created are really good. Like you , it's become my mission to promote Dennis Prager and Judeo-Christian values. Most of you are leaders of Prager discussion groups and I want to know if you would forward this email to your members.

It's a Special Update e-blast with a unique fundraising request. Read the Update and if it's appropriate, I would really appreciate it if you would forwarded to your members and anyone else who cares about the values we share. Some of you, without solicitation, have already donated to help make this film.

Thank You! I would also be happy to link your website or blog on my website. Let me know -- I'm flexible.

Again, thank you so much and if I'm ever in the area I would love to come to a meeting.

Paul Croshaw, Producer http://www.BaseballDennisandtheFrench.com

First Prager Group meeting of 2008!

2007-12-27T17:16:00.000-06:00

It's official! Our first meeting of the New Year will be at Angie and Dan Hall's house at 7 p.m. on January 19, 2008.

What a great way to kick off 2008, hanging out with other Dennis Prager fans!

Please RSVP to Dianne and I'll forward directions to you. As long as you can get to I-480 West you'll find that North Ridgeville is very easy to get to.

Spouses and Significant Others will, of course, be welcome, too.

If you have an idea for a food or drink item you'd like to bring just let us know that, too.

Have a happy New Year, Everyone!

Best regards,
Dianne,

Prager Group NEO logistics and Group Photographer

More new members & Meeting date!

2007-12-16T16:56:00.000-06:00

We haven't announced new members in a while, although they have each received the personal Dennis Prager Discussion Group NEO Welcome letter.

We're glad to have you: Malv, David, Don, Kerry, Michael, Stephen, Thomas, Aaron, and Valerie.

Please check your calendars, everyone, and see if you'll be available for a real, honest-to-goodness Prager Group get-together. We're looking at a couple of locations (Angie and her husband already have extended an invitation to meet at their house) but we need to settle on a date.

We're looking at either

Friday, January 11, 2008 or Saturday, January 19, 2008

Please let Dianne know your preference. Keep in mind that if you're not available for either date we'll do it again as soon as we can.

Come out and mingle with other Dennis Prager fans! Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Where do I belong on the “Offend-o-meter”?

2007-12-14T13:33:00.000-06:00

Dennis’ Happiness Hour today was on one of my very favorite topics: I’ll admit it, I’m a recovering Offendee, and that is in spite of my honest-to-goodness feeling that I’m not terribly sensitive.

In an effort to check my recovery, I will tell you what happened the other evening and then ask you to vote on where you think I belong on the Offend-o-Meter. A high rating means Dennis would say I went overboard in being offended in this situation and a low rating means I handled the situation well, non-offensively speaking. If you think “offended” doesn’t fit this scenario, you can say that, too.

I entered the auditorium at a local college and looked for a good seat from where I could reasonably see all the performers on the stage; I didn’t want to sit behind a pole or since I’m short, behind a tall person. I’m trying to curb my bad habit of taking an aisle seat, even when the row is empty, so I selected a middle section row and a seat that was two-or-three from the aisle and next to another couple.

I reached to pull the seat bottom down and heard a voice, “You have the whole auditorium to pick from and you choose here.” I looked around and a woman in the seat directly behind mine was looking at me.

I said, “Did you say what I think you said”?

She said, “Yes.”

“Did you really mean that”?

She said, “YES.”

__________________________________________
Now, please take the “What should Dianne do next?” poll on the right-hand column. Thanks!

Then you can go to my blog to see what really happened and then you can tell me what you think.

If you have had a similar experience to relate and are looking for judgment from your Prager Peers, go for it!

short time listener

2007-12-13T14:51:00.000-06:00

Been listening now for about a year and a half.Rarely miss a day!The man is so right on and there aren't enough people out here who think and feel the way Dennis speaks.Almost everybody that I engage with in conversation is so left leaning and emotionally driven that I find it nearly impossible to ever look at them again.
God save us.

First an Introduction

2007-12-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

Thank you for inviting me to post on this new Dennis Prager blog. As I have not yet become an active member I should probably introduce myself before I step up onto my soapbox.

I was raised in Los Angeles and have listened to Dennis since approximately 1982. My first exposure was a local radio show called "Religion on the Line", perhaps the finest hour on religious thought I have ever encountered. Dennis moderated the show and it was his guidance that caused me begin to take religion seriously, and not as the caricature we so often find in the media and amongst our friends and family. I would never had gotten to where I am on my journey had I not been fortunate enough to come across this show and more importantly Dennis and his other radio show and his books. Somewhere in my home office I still have some cassettes of his shows which I recorded off the radio. Before the days of podcasts I would listen to them quite frequently.

I am looking forward to becoming active in the group. I know the people I will meet will share many of my views and values. I also know that they will believe what they believe because they have examined their views and have arrived at them by way of reason and clarity and not by group think. For a brief period in the 1980's I switched to the Democratic party and found that group think flourished. Also I found, as Dennis says, that as a whole these are very angry people. They are fond of demonizing everyone who disagrees with them. Curiously they rarely demonize our enemies. In fact I can't remember hearing the word "enemy" while I was in the Democratic party of the Reagan years.

Thank you again for all your efforts and I look forward to reading more posts.

I can (and did) change my mind; the Woman's prerogative - Dianne

2007-12-09T16:55:00.000-06:00

After writing about the Prager Discussion Group NEO "field trip" on Sunday to see the Frank Gaffney program, “Islam vs. the Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center,” I decided a more appropriate venue for this particular blog was my own page. So, I moved "Who is the 'Public' in Public Television, anyway? " to "The Patriot."

By the way, the benefit of spending time with other Prager Peeps is still the best part of this experience.

And, again! I forgot to pull out my camera and take a picture of us at our 1st field trip!

Welcome to the Dennis Prager Discussion Group in northeast Ohio!

2007-12-02T10:26:00.000-06:00

Dennis Prager changes lives.. at least that's how most of us - members of the Dennis Prager Discussion Group NEO - seem to feel.

We thought we would start this new Prager Group NEO blog, and we hope you will find

1) a comfortable place to share your conservative views
2) others who just might feel the way you do

This blog won't be a substitute for our face-to-face meetings in the future, it's rather a place to begin getting to know one another.

It might also be a way to tell others about the group and get people to turn their radios on to the "Dennis Prager Show," where CLARITY trumps AGREEMENT.

We can share our favorite Dennis Prager radio moment or moments, how it changed us, changed our thinking.

Just like Dennis says that we can have an impact on his thinking, we can have an impact on each other's thinking.

Blog away!

____________________________________
For anyone who accidently found their way to our blog and don't know Dennis like we know Dennis, "The Dennis Prager Show" is a three-hour live radio program airing Monday-Friday, rain or shine, on holidays, too, from Los Angeles, CA, on KRLA radio. In our northeast Ohio neighborhood, WHK radio, 1420 AM carries the program. Check your local stations for the one/s that carry Dennis' program on the Salem Radio Network.

Over time you will meet the members and perhaps become a member yourself. We'll be posting upcoming events as they are planned and most importantly we will try to share the most meaningful lessons we take away from listening to Dennis' program.

But wait! You say you can't get Dennis on the radio where you live! Technology to the rescue:

You can listen to Dennis Prager on your computer, through podcasts downloaded through I-Tunes. It's a lot easier than you might think; just go here for step-by-step instructions. (If you're still having trouble, send us an email and we'll try to help you.) Once you've downloaded and installed the I-Tunes application, you're half way there.

Read more about Dennis with an introduction right from his web site at PragerRadio.com

"...Los Angeles Times

'An amazingly gifted man and moralist whose mission in life has been crystallized - 'to get people obsessed with what is right and wrong.'"ToastMasters "One of America's five best speakers." Radio/TV Personality Tom Snyder" To my mind, Dennis Prager is the best radio talk show host in America.'

Buzz Magazine'
One of the ten most powerful people in Los Angeles. . . a moral compass."

Radio and Television
Dennis Prager is one of America's most respected radio talk show hosts. He has been broadcasting on radio in Los Angeles since 1982. His popular show became nationally syndicated in 1999 and airs live, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to Noon (Pacific Time) from his home station, KRLA. Widely sought after by television shows for his opinions, he's appeared on Larry King Live, Hardball, Hannity & Colmes, CBS Evening News, The Today Show and many others.

Books
In August of 2003, Simon and Schuster reissued Dennis' totally revised seminal work on anti-Semitism, Why the Jews, co-written with Joseph Telushkin.

Happiness Is A Serious Problem, was published in February, 1998 by HarperCollins and was best seller for fifteen consecutive weeks on the Los Angeles Times best seller list Think A Second Time(HarperCollins), 1996 contains 44 essays on 44 different subjects. Bill Bennett called it "one of those rare books that can change an intelligent mind." USA Today columnist and professor of law Susan Estrich called it "Brilliant, a tour de force."

The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, Simon and Schuster, co-written with Joseph Telushkin has been translated into nearly a dozen languages, and is the most widely used introduction to Judaism in the world. It is still a best-seller in paperback over 20 years after it's release...."