Monday, March 31, 2014

Sebelius and 7 Seconds of Dead Air in Interview Make for Awkward Obamacare Moment


Kathleen Sebelius


We try to stay away from petty nuances and gaffes and focus on the heart of the various issues that concern the country, the world, and the citizens affected by them. In the case of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the interview she had just prior to the Obamacare deadline in March, we had to focus on this particular slip… or lack thereof.


It was clear that she was told to not respond to any questions or statements that would be construed as negative surrounding the unpopular topic of healthcare reform. In an interview with Oklahoma Channel 9, she let that coaching go too far, letting 9 seconds of dead air cause an uncomfortable moment. She made it worse when the interviewer gave her an out by claiming possible audio problems. Instead of leaving it at that, she admitted that she heard the statement and chose not to respond.


After all, any response about something that shines a proper negative light on the debacle of healthcare reform is unworthy of anyone in the Obama administration. They’re changing the world!


Here’s the awkward video.



The post Sebelius and 7 Seconds of Dead Air in Interview Make for Awkward Obamacare Moment appeared first on Conservative Haven.






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If it wasn't so creepy, I'd love to do taxidermy for the sheer creativity



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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Recycling Social Media Content is Getting Out of Hand


Tweet from 2013


I get it. I understand the need for more content to serve to an ever-growing flow of content consumers. The art of recycling content is important, particularly on sites like Twitter where a piece of content can and should be used multiple times in order to get the message out to everyone. It’s a chronological feed, after all, and posting it once will only get it seen by an extremely small portion of your audience.


With that said, it’s getting out of hand. I have been finding posts that are months old and no longer relevant hitting my feed from car dealers around the country. There’s a limit. Old news is old news. In the case of the Tweet above, the article posted on Twitter by a Toyota dealer on March 30, 2014, is a link to an article from July 4, 2013. That’s too long for this type of news.


When recycling posts on Twitter, here are some things to keep in mind:



  • Is it relevant? Old posts are find if there’s context that makes it work today. For example, posting an article about Tesla’s early days in trying to launch with dealerships would make sense to post considering their current stance.

  • Is it timeless? Some posts, particularly advice posts that give the reader information they can use today, can be posted up until the point that they’re obsolete. An example of this would be a video that demonstrates how to change the batteries in a key fob. Until they change the way you open the key fob, it still makes sense to post for months, even years after the original.

  • Is it nostalgic? There are times when old posts are even better than new ones. A picture of an old Honda ad from the 70s would play well to show how far the company has come over the years.

  • Has it been posted very recently? This is one of my biggest pet peeves. If a post comes through today that is just a different wording on something posted yesterday, than it’s not acceptable. The exception: timely events. If you have a big sale or charity event this weekend, then posting a different variation of the same thing over and over again is acceptable and demonstrates focus on the event.


As more companies use content libraries to keep the feeds flowing, it’s important to keep in mind that the libraries must be refreshed. They must be pruned. In the case of the post above, it’s simply not acceptable. That was news for about a month. There is plenty of content out there in the form of current news about every manufacturer and the local area. Don’t get stuck beating a dead horse with your posts.






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Having a bloody mary for lunch



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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Regarding the Recent Christian Twitter Battles...

Regarding the Recent Christian Twitter Battles...:

We can’t just “all get along.” That much is clear. What we can do is put in the effort every day to fight the good fight. Unfortunately, sometimes the fight means not just going up against other religions or non-religions but those who are spreading a poor message within the Christian faith itself.


This is one of the biggest threats facing the world today. Many of the messages that are attempted in the name of Jesus Christ are anchored to this world. It’s easier to tell people that a watered down version of Christianity can help them today than to tell them that forgiveness and salvation can only come through true belief in Yeshua as Lord and Savior. That doesn’t help them pay their bills today or enjoy their lives right now. Unfortunately, that’s what many seek and some of the messages of churches and Christian leaders push people in this direction.




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US Joint Chief of Staff to Discuss Middle East Strategy During Israel Visit


Martin Dempsey


The United States and Israel have been critical of each other over the way that each country is handling the various turmoils and struggles in the Middle East recently. In a sign of solidarity, the highest ranking military officer, General Martin Dempsey, will be visiting Israel this week to discuss strategies to keep the peace in the conflict-ridden portion of the world.


He will be meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon tomorrow and may stay through to Thursday.


With the Syrian civil war boiling over into Israel and the threat of Iran’s nuclear program still making headlines, the US is hoping to dissuade Israel from a preemptive strike on either nation. Israel has maintained an open option to strike first if the United States and the United Nations are unwilling or incapable of preventing either nation from taking Israeli lives. This has not been received well by the United States government.


According to Reuters:



The U.S. State Department has said it is disappointed Yaalon has not apologized for remarks he made at a closed-door meeting this month ridiculing Secretary of State John Kerry’s push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord and saying that Washington’s handling of the Ukraine crisis projected weakness.



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What We Can Learn from Brian Houston’s Mistake


Brian Houston


As Christians, we have to be extremely careful about what we say and how we say it. In particular, Christian leaders must make certain that the message they intended to deliver is both true as well as understandable. In the recent case of statements made by Hillsong Church Pastor Brian Houston, he had a message that was partially correct and he delivered it in a way that was easy to misconstrue.


For the record, I have never listened to the sermons or researched the doctrine that Houston preaches. This is my first experience with him and it’s an important one. Here’s the quote that has gotten him into hot water with many church leaders saying that he is promoting a concept of “Chrislam” where the God of Abrahama, Isaac, and Jacob is the same god that the Muslims worship:



“How do you view God? In a desert there’s two types of birds: there’s vultures and there’s hummingbirds. One lives off dead carcasses; rotting meat. The other lives off the beautiful, sweet nectar in a particular flower on a particular desert plant. In the same desert, they both find what they’re looking for,” Houston says in the sermon.


“Do you know – take it all the way back into the Old Testament and the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God. Allah to a Muslim; to us, Abba Father God. And of course through history, those views have changed greatly. But let’s make sure that we view God through the eyes of Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the beauty of a Saviour, the loving open inclusive arms of a loving God.”



The statement highlighted in bold is the one that most are attacking as well as the one that follows it. It is possible that he was making a proper factual statement, that the roots of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity stemmed from the same source initially. All three major religions were born from the initial contact that God made with Abraham and then branched out from there. Judaism and Christianity followed the line of Isaac, Abraham’s son with his wife Sarah, while the Muslim faith followed the line of Ishmael, Abraham’s son with Sarah’s handmade, Hagar.


The biggest challenge that many have is in understanding what took place in these early days. The Bible does not go into detail about what became of Ishmael other than how his children and nation expanded and influenced the lives of the Hebrews. We know that God built great nations through Ishmael and we know that there was contact between Ishmael and Isaac (including the burial of their father) but there is no indication of what happened from a religious perspective. Somewhere along the lines, the God of Abraham was not the one that was worshiped by Ishmael and his people.


That is all up for a much longer debate. The key point here is that those who will teach others about the Bible and the path to salvation through Jesus Christ must be very clear about the messages that they put forth. It’s easy to misstep. It’s even easier to be misled. Brian Houston and his church are under fire now based upon the statements. It isn’t relevant whether or not that fire is deserved. The important part is that the world is already loaded with too many distractions when it comes to spreading the Gospel. There is no need to add to those distractions by making irresponsible statements.


The post What We Can Learn from Brian Houston’s Mistake appeared first on Judeo Christian Church.






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Such a cool ride. 1964 Pontiac Catalina Ventura.



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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Obama’s Omission of ‘Under God’ Should Not Be Dismissed


Obama Gettysburg Address


Four months after President Barack Obama willfully omitted the words “under God” in his recitation of the Gettysburg Address, it has become old news. Many people were unaware as it happened around the Christmas season in a time when our minds were on other things. Now, it’s important to revisit and remember it because it’s that important.


This is not the type of thing that should be dismissed. It wasn’t a mistake. The spin that he was using a different draft than every other significant reading of Abraham Lincoln’s words is ludicrous. It is imperative for the agenda of those behind Obama that he participate in the destruction of belief in God and Jesus Christ. They needed this omission as a single component of the systematic destruction of the United States and the world.


Remember it. Remind people of it. Inform them. When any nation, government, or people turns its back on God, there are consequences. This has been happening slowly for decades but is finally starting to accelerate at a dangerous rate right now.


Here’s a video of his reading of the address followed by commentary by Glenn Beck and his team:




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Reminder About Obama Firing Generals


Obama Fires Generals


There has been a disturbing trend in politics over the last five years. No, it’s not just healthcare reform, Bengazi, or any of the other things the White House and President Obama have done to damage the country. The latest trend that simply isn’t getting enough attention is the removal of military leaders at the highest levels.


It’s unprecedented. Dozens of generals, admirals, and other high-ranking military personnel have been getting fired by the administration for strange reasons. Looking at the situation, one might speculate that individuals with certain ideologies were being targeted through discreet investigations to find enough dirt to remove them without drawing suspicion about the motives. From possession of fake poker chips to cheating on a spouse, the government has become extremely adept at discovering some reason, any reason, in order to remove these officers.


The way that the military is set up, it’s very easy to remove these officials. It’s at the discretion of the President and the Pentagon to remove high-ranking officers based upon moral or ethical indiscretions. This isn’t to say that they didn’t deserve to be removed. It’s the sheer fact that so many of them are having their indiscretions discovered that’s alarming. With enough investigating, just about any military leader can be found to be doing something worthy of removal. They don’t have to break the law. They simply have to be representing their position inappropriately. Unfortunately, if you dig deep enough, just about all of them have done something that could be labeled as damaging to their rank and their representation of the US military.


Why are they being targeted? To call it a coincidence is naive. These plus so many other strange things happening in law enforcement and other official government offices makes it all look like a masterful job of installing the right mentality within the powers over the people. It’s the type of circumstances that would make a normal person question motives, let along conspiracy theories and alternative news buffs.


Here’s a video that has some enlightening information regarding these firings:



The post Reminder About Obama Firing Generals appeared first on Conservative Haven.






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Too tired to think of a good caption, so "something something long neck something something giraffe."



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Monday, March 24, 2014

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Garage Sale Advertising



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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Something's about to go down



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Friday, March 21, 2014

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

My daughter would scream



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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Bacon and cheddar waffles with caramelized apples



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Dodge #Challenger - then and now



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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Clever Seatbelt PSA



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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Saddest place on earth



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Monday, March 10, 2014

Gorgeous VW



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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Website Chat Should Shoot for Quality First, Quantity Second


Tearing Down the Wall


There’s a disturbing trend I’m seeing in the automotive industry when I visit websites. Perhaps it’s been like this for a while and I simply took my eye off the chat ball. When I see chat windows that instantly prompt for the customer’s contact information, it makes me cry a little inside.


This isn’t what chat is supposed to be about. I’d love to have that debate with anyone. Chat is an alternative means of instant information. In other words, it’s more akin to phone calls than to anything else. If you believe in having a barrier of entry for your customers to chat, then you should have your receptionist answer the phone with, “Thank you for calling XYZ Motors. Can I have your name, phone number, and email address, please? No? Okay, thank you for calling.”


Click.


I totally understand how this came about. Chat companies were pressured to generate leads and that became the only goal. If you, as a car dealer, believes this, then I would contend that you’ve either been misled or you’ve lost touch with what chat should really do. There are two parts: lead generation AND customer service. Some people call the dealership to find out when the parts department closes. You don’t need their contact information in order to tell them a time over the phone just as you should not require their contact information to give them the time over chat.


Whether you believe it or not, here’s a fact that common sense should tell you: you’re making some of your website visitors unhappy by creating a barrier to inquiry. Some people (more than we all want to admit) will never give their contact information before coming in. Unless your leads have a 100% appointment ratio, a 100% show ratio, and your lead volume is at 90% of your total traffic to the dealership itself, this fact should be clear. Despite what the up-log says, your customers are not driving by randomly. They went online. They’ve probably been to your website.


With that understanding, why would a dealership want to put a bad taste in their customers’ mouths before they even decide to come by the dealership?


Serve your customers the information they want online without prejudice. Don’t force them to fill out a lead form first. A skilled operator should be trained to work with people during chat, determine if they’re a valid prospect, and gather the information the dealership wants DURING the chat process, not before. Will volume decrease? Maybe. Maybe not. I am no expert but I would imagine that the people who come into chat that wouldn’t have entered because of the lead information wall will be more likely to leave their information as their questions are being answered.


You don’t just want leads. You want good leads. You want great leads. Chat should be the best of both worlds, combining the dialogue potential of the phone with the information gathering of a lead form. If you make them fill out the form ahead of time, you’re pushing away many who want to have a dialogue first. This is a big mistake.


Some would say, “If they’re serious, they’ll fill out the form, first.” BS. There are plenty of serious buyers who want information but who have had bad experiences when they fill out lead forms. There’s a reason lead form submissions are on the decline. People have been burnt in the past. Get them into a conversation first, then pursue the lead when appropriate. That’s the right way to handle it.


To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, “Mr. Chat Provider – tear down this wall.”






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William Clay Ford Sr – Football and Cars


William Clay Ford Sr


In many ways, William Clay Ford Sr. represented Detroit more than any politician or celebrity. He worked with cars his whole life. He owned the Detroit Lions NFL team. The man has played a large role in shaping Detroit for the last several decades.


As the last of Henry Ford’s grandchildren to die, he was influential in bringing the company back into the family and helping his son rejuvenate the company as its CEO prior to Alan Mulally. The company is thriving once again with the highest level of overall success of all of the domestic automakers. USA Today did a nice piece talking about his life:



Ford, who died of pneumonia at 88, served the automaker for 57 years as an executive and later as a director. In the early years, he served at the side of his brother, Henry Ford II, as the company prospered in the 1950s and 1960s. In those years, he made a large impact when it came to design.



Read More: USA Today


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Yeah. Right.



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Tesla Makes Environmentalists Happy


Tesla


It should go without saying that friends of the environment love Tesla. The automaker is championing the green world weather it wants to or not. As environmental technology continues to push forward into everyday life, a green car like the various Tesla models are appealing to a good chunk of the masses.


Of course, most of the masses around the world could not afford what Tesla brings to the table, but that doesn’t stop them from loving the company.


It’s a pure love fest at NHRegister as Vivek Wadhwa discusses the ways that the company has brought the movement further in the last few years than many efforts have accomplished in decades. Wadhwa loves Elon Musk. That much is clear. Should we all?



My only complaint after owning my Model S for a year is that I now have a hard time driving conventional gas-powered vehicles. They seem clunky and crude. It’s like going back to cassette tapes after using iPods and iPhones. I forget to switch the engine on, find the noise deafening, and feel the jerks when the gears change.



Read More: NHRegister


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Saturday, March 8, 2014

Friday, March 7, 2014

Ridiculously photogenic lizard



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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Long... live... the king.



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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Parenting



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Monday, March 3, 2014

Clever marketing, Walmart



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Sunday, March 2, 2014

MK III Cobra. Just... wow.



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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Well played, Adam West. Well played.



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