I read an interesting article last week which was linked through the WSJ’s opinion column, Opinionjournal.com:

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations official charged with election assistance yesterday threw a barb at American troops in Iraq,accusing them of conducting an “overenthusiastic” campaign to promote this weekend’s Iraqi election.

The chief of the U.N. Electoral Assistance Division, Carina Perelli, was asked in a press conference about reports that American troops helped Iraqi officials distribute information on the electoral process to Iraqi citizens, and encouraged them to participate in Sunday’s vote.

Ms. Perelli said that U.N. officials spent time “asking, begging military commanders precisely not to do that,” but the time has not been well-spent. The Americans were “overenthusiastic in trying to help out with these elections,” she said. “We have basically been saying they should try to minimize their participation because this is an Iraqi process.”

At the same time, she acknowledged that the U.N. itself is “not happy” with the way information on the election was disseminated. There are 22 U.N. election experts stationed in Baghdad as part of an international group of 40 election workers advising the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission, she said.

So, what I’m reading from this quote, and the full article posted here, is that the UN, as usual, was fumbling the ball when it came to Iraqi get-out-the-vote efforts, yet they were unhappy that US troops were out there doing the job for them? Yep, sounds like typical UN “efficiency” to me.

Of course, what most people forget is that US troops have long been what I like to call “evangelists for liberty.” These are people who, like us, grew up living, breathing, eating, and sleeping, the freedoms that we’ve all enjoyed as citizens of this nation.

The major difference, however, between those of us who have not served in the military and those who do serve is that they’ve taken an additional step. They have actually put their lives on the line for our freedoms, and, because of that, know the value of liberty better than anyone.

They’ve lived our freedoms here in the US, fought to protect them overseas, and now they are living examples of America’s zeal for democracy. Who better in all the world than our troops to help get out the vote?

If Ms. Perelli had any common sense, this is what her quote would have looked like in last week’s New York Sun:

Ms. Perelli said that, “our own get-out-the-vote efforts were hampered in many ways, however, US Troops enthusiastically supported all of our efforts and were able to have a much broader impact because of their already-established ties to the communities they’ve been assigned to protect throughout Iraq. These men and women showed in no uncertain terms how much they care about the future of Iraq.”

Yes, I know. It’s too much to expect from any UN official, isn’t it?

Well, at least we, the ones served most directly by our best and brightest, can offer up our thanks and gratitude for what they’ve done. It was their blood, their sacrifice, and their determination that paved the way for that history-setting vote yesterday.

Thanks to you, our men and women in the military, the world is a better place today than it was just two days ago. Thanks to you, we live in a freer world. You are the world’s fiercest warriors, and America’s greatest ambassadors.

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

It strikes me as very silly, this debate over whether or not the US will “attack” or “invade” Iran. We don’t need to invade or attack; we are already at war with Iran. They know it, the Bush Administration knows it, the US military know it… Why don’t you?

The day we invaded Iraq to remove Saddam and assist the Iraqis in establishing their own democratic government we, in a real sense, declared war on Iran, and Syria, and every other Islamic-style government on the face of the Earth. Afghanistan was somewhat different because the Taliban closely harbored and supported al Qaeda. Everyone knew we were going there and what the final outcome of that battle would be.

But Iraq was still a question mark. And even if we did take Saddam out, no one knew if we would then stick around to help foster democracy in that nation.

But President Bush had already made the decision; it was time for the Middle East as a whole to begin experiencing the same process of democritization that so many other regions in the world have been experiencing. I think a recent Opinionjournal.com article written by Joshua Muravchik helps make my point:

Those who are skeptical of injecting issues of freedom, democracy and human rights into the conduct of foreign policy call themselves “realists,” and they accuse their opposite numbers–the so-called idealists–of an almost juvenile enthusiasm. But a sober reading of the historical evidence shows that President Bush and his fellow idealists are more realistic than the “realists.”

To begin with, the idealists are right about the possibility for freedom and democracy to spread across borders and cultures. In 1775 there were no democracies. Then came the American Revolution and raised the number to one. Some 230 years later there are 117, accounting for 61% of the world’s governments…

Moreover, there is the factor of example and momentum: As the proportion of democracies rises, it will become harder for the remaining authoritarians to hold out. The skeptics ridicule President Bush for declaring his ultimate goal to be the end of tyranny. But today probably no more than 20% of the world’s governments could rightly be called by that name, whereas once the proportion was vastly higher. Why shouldn’t that 20% go the way of the others?

The one region completely left behind, until now, by this democratic revolution is the Middle East and North Africa, where Israel remains the only democracy among 18 states. In the wake of 9/11, President Bush concluded that it was no accident that this region where democracy was uniquely absent was the epicenter of global terrorism, and it was here that he launched his campaign for freedom, of which last week’s speech was a broader statement.

The invasion of Iraq, then, is FAR more than just an effort to remove one annoying and likely dangerous dictator… It was nothing less than a modern D-Day-style invasion meant to establish a beachhead of democracy among the various tyrannical governments of that region.

Again I say; they know it, the Bush Administration knows it… why don’t you?

A successful democracy in Iraq will prove wrong once and for all the naysayers who believe that Islam and democracy cannot coexist. A successful democracy in Iraq will embolden the growing insurgencies in Iran and Syria, as well as in other nations ruled by tyrants in that region. And, finally, a democratic government in Iraq, with a widening sphere of democracies growing out from that nation, will become a knife blow to the heart of Islamic-style terrorism.

And that is exactly why both Syria and Iran are backing the terrorists operating in Iraq.

It was a consequence that I don’t think Osama bin Laden ever considered; that we would challenge the tyranical, male-dominated governments in the middle east with our most potent weapon… Liberty!

If Iraqis choose liberty, then so will Iranians, and Syrians, and the Lebanese. And many other nations in that region which are not yet democracies. All that will happen without having to invade those lands and without having to fire a shot. They will take heart from Iraq and they will free themselves. Ultimately, they’ll choose a brand of democracy that suits their culture and their way of life, just as so many other nations have.

Yes… They know it… And now you know it too.

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

dis·sent ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-snt)
intr.v. dis·sent·ed, dis·sent·ing, dis·sents

1. To differ in opinion or feeling; disagree.
2. To withhold assent or approval.

n.

1. Difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement.

Okay, I’ve heard many conservatives sound off regarding the group calling itself Sorry Everybody, which has a psuedo-blog at Sorryeverybody.com. I classify these folks, not as evil, unpatriotic, un-american, euro-lovers, or any other number of names which I’m sure have been applied, but as young and stupid.

Why young and stupid? Because, if you take the time to read their F.A.Q. page, you’ll see what I saw, that the thought process behind the whole concept is “philosophy-lite.” In other words, it seems more like a feel-good type of effort for peaceniks than any kind of serious effort to oppose anything. More than anything it seems, they are just devoted liberals who are dismayed that their candidate lost so clearly and decisively on November 2nd. And so, for them, Sorryeverybody.com is more of a cathartic exercise than a serious effort to apologize for the 48% of America they claim to represent.

The need for catharsis is understandable, especially considering the dramatic fashion in which Kerry lost. In October, the polls indicated anywhere from a dead heat to a 3% lead for President Bush, and the great Zogby took a huge leap of faith to call the election for Kerry just a few days before the election. Then, on the day of the election, the exit polls (now shown to have been invalid… duhhh!), initially showed Kerry possessing a decisive lead. Just as Kerry supporters thought they had it all wrapped up, the actual election results begin to appear, showing a decisive victory for President Bush.

Such dramatic events call for some kind of emotional release, and we’ve seen plenty of those, haven’t we? For some, it means trying to invent some conspiracy theory on how President Bush actually LOST in Ohio, despite winning by a whopping 115,000 votes. For others, it means blaming the “morality” vote, whatever the hell that means. And for those who established and maintain Sorryeverybody.com, it’s a weak attempt to apologize for the democratic process in America.

And it is truly a weak attempt. To illustrate my point, let’s take a look at the Sorryeverybody.com F.A.Q. page:

What’s this site about?

Most people who think carefully understand that Americans are not really any more jingoistic or xenophobic than people in other countries, but it never hurts to reinforce, especially considering what happened on November 2nd, 2004. What must it have looked like to the world outside our borders? America proudly re-appointed its reckless, incompetent and corrupt government. How much of America? Fifty-two percent. The rest of us are aghast and dismayed.

Lots of fuss is made about the “global village.” The Internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn’t do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. The Internet was supposed to lead to education and understanding. It doesn’t. Rarely do people on the internet apologize. I thought it was high time. The world needs to understand that there are people in America who don’t like what our government is doing. And from the mail we’re receiving, there are people in the international community who appreciate this.

Also, come on, it’s kind of amusing. [emphasis mine]

Actually, if you ask me, it is kind of amusing. Their reasoning behind the whole effort is amusing. As I said, philosophy-lite.

Now, impressed with their own efforts, they are going mainstream and publishing what looks to be almost a yearbook of photos from those who are “sorry” that we have a democracy in America. And who knows, perhaps the reason why Sorryeverybody.com went for the commercial “.com” rather than the non-profit “.org” internet extension was to make some money in the process.

Don’t you find that amusing? I think it’s hilarious.

More on this in my next post when I talk about whether or not the terrorists are as sorry for their behaviour as these folks seem to be over the outcome of a democratic election. Until we meet again…

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

This is a post from a new member of the Hi-5 fan board. If you’ll remember from my previous post regarding the cast of Hi-5, I mentioned that they are a very hard working bunch and really seem to care about their fans. Well, they proved just how much they care about their fans yet again in North Carolina and, at the same time, left a soldier and his family with some very special memories.

This is a good story:

We went to see Hi-5 at the Greensboro, NC concert. We were unaware of the meet and greet after the concert, but my son begged us to find a way to let him see Hi-5 one more time. We waited near the tour bus until they came out. The group had to have been exhausted, after a wonderful concert, and the time they dedicated to the meet and greet, not to mention loading up for a long night’s drive to perform the next day. We were hoping for just a quick wave and final cheer, but what we got was so much more. Let me back up and begin by saying this concert was a gift to my children from my husband who was headed to Iraq for a 15 month deployment just days after the concert. He wanted to give them something truly special to hold onto before he left. The cast came out, one at a time, and they were fabulous.

Everyone was generous and kind and sweet, and they all gave us autographs and pictures. When Jenn found out my husband was in the service and on his way over to Iraq, she took the time to thank him, talk with him, and told him she would pray for him. She then took our camera and took family pictures of us with the rest of the cast so I could be in the shots as well. We said goodbye and thank you to the cast as they continued their tour duty. The day came for my husband to leave, and needless to say I was a wreck. My son hugged me tight, and through his tears told me he knew his daddy would be okay, because even Hi-5 is praying for him.

He continued with saying that his daddy was a hero and could make anything happen, because he found a way for my son to meet Hi-5. He said that his daddy could do anything, and he knew this now and he was so proud that his daddy was keeping him and Hi-5 safe. I know this sounds a little cheesy, but hearing Jenn say those things and offering her gratitude to our military…it gave my son everything he needed to deal with his dad’s deployment. My son is not yet four, so the fact that he was able to process such things astounds me. But hearing support from one of his Hi-5 heroes made all the difference in the world. It may not seem like such a big thing, but I am forever grateful for the beautiful souls of the Hi-5 group. They gave my son a rainbow to hold on to during a storm.

I know that some will say this is too cheesy to be true, but the account above is consistent with everything I know about the cast of Hi-5. I’m going to add my voice to the voices of the cast of Hi-5 who took the time to thank the soldier for his service and his family for their sacrifice as well. I’m so thankful for the service of such men. Thank you for keeping us safe and for helping to spread freedom and democracy.

We’re all grateful for your service.

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

If you remember a previous post of mine, I discussed a comment made recently on the Laura Ingraham Radio Show:

Interestingly, on her show today, Laura Ingraham played some of the background comments and tried to isolate their voices. At one particular spot, you could actually hear one of the Dems, Laura thinks it was Biden, talk about “delaying confirmation.” Now, whether Biden was saying this was a good idea or a bad one is anyone’s guess, but the very fact you could hear Democrats talking strategy on national television while another of their member was busy grilling Dr. Rice is just so completely unprofessional.

It appears now that Biden and other similarly clueless Senate Democrats (what’s this thing called… A microphone? And it does what?) were indeed discussing a delay in Rice’s confirmation:

WASHINGTON Jan 19, 2005 — Senate Democrats intend to delay Condoleezza Rice’s confirmation as secretary of state at least until next week rather than grant her Inauguration Day approval, a spokesman said Wednesday.

First of all, kudos to Laura Ingraham and her production staff for picking something up that I don’t think anyone else has. What a major coup!

Secondly, I’m not going to go into any conspiracy theories regarding this whole story. The simple fact of the matter is, these folks are just so incredibly clueless. What they did is akin to a professional football coach standing on the sidelines with his playbook wide open for the cameras to pick up during a playoff game.

What has happened to this party? They are falling apart at the seams! Already, their new Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, is embroiled in a bit of a political uproar for accusing the US Supreme Court’s only African American member, Justice Thomas, of writing court opinions that read “like an eighth-grade dissertation compared to Justice Scalia’s dissent.” Now they are talking strategy on live television for all the world to hear during Dr. Rice’s confirmation hearings?

Can the DNC’s leadership do ANYTHING right? I wonder…

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s “Best of The Web Today,” edited by James Taranto:

In September the Daily Nebraskan, the student newspaper at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, published a column by Derek Kieper that argued against mandatory seat-belt laws:

As laws become increasingly strict for seat belts, fewer people will respond positively by buckling up in response to the laws. There seems to be a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up no matter what the government does. I belong to this group. . . .

Telling me to wear my seat belt is the same as making sure I have some sort of proper education before diving into a swimming pool. If I want to dive in without knowing how to swim, that is my right. And if I want to be the jerk that flirts with death and rides around with my seat belt off, I should be able to do that, too.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports the sad ending of the Kieper story:

Kieper, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, died early Tuesday morning when the Ford Explorer he was a passenger in travelled off an icy section of Interstate 80 and rolled several times in a ditch. . . . Derek, who was thrown from the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt.

When you flirt with death, you run the risk that death has something more serious in mind.

My apologies to his family, but this person died for a foolish cause.

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

I think it’s safe to say that congress is littered with colorful characters… On both sides of the aisle.

But one can be colorful and still be professional. Could someone please inform Barbara Boxer and some of her fellow Democrats of this fact?

The grilling faced by Dr. Rice these past two days underscores exactly why retiring Senator Zell Miller has called his party a “National Party No More.” And it was more than just the fact that Senators like Boxer and Kerry were asking inane questions and saying one thing, then another. While some Dems were questioning Dr. Rice, others were talking in the background. If you were watching on C-Span, you could hear their incessant chatter.

Interestingly, on her show today, Laura Ingraham played some of the background comments and tried to isolate their voices. At one particular spot, you could actually hear one of the Dems, Laura thinks it was Biden, talk about “delaying confirmation.” Now, whether Biden was saying this was a good idea or a bad one is anyone’s guess, but the very fact you could hear Democrats talking strategy on national television while another of their member was busy grilling Dr. Rice is just so completely unprofessional.

And the most pitiful thing of all is the fact that Democrats are only using Dr. Rice as a way of getting face time on television so they can take cheap swipes at the Bush Administration. If these were private hearings, they would have lasted half a day at best.

So, in a real sense, Angry Dems were using Dr. Rice, a person eminently qualified to assume the post of Secretary of State, in the cheapest way. I wonder if they realize how disorganized, angry, and unprofessional they looked to so many of us watching them on C-Span. Truly, my fellow college students who served with me on Student Government served with more professionalism and dignity than some of these pitiful partisan Dems.

In contrast, Dr. Rice looked as if she had already assumed the post of SecState and was smoothly dealing with a group of squabbling third-world government officials. After watching how skillfully and professionally Dr. Rice handled herself during the past two days, I think Americans can feel very confident regarding her ability to handle delicate and critical negotiations for the President and I’m willing to bet that post-hearing polls will reflect that confidence.

And here is the final irony from this two-day Democratic debacle:

In an unpleasant exchange yesterday, Boxer confronted Rice with the usual Angry Left line, that BUSH LIED!!!! about Iraq. But it turns out Boxer is the one taking liberties with the truth:

Rice: It wasn’t just weapons of mass destruction. He was also a place— his territory was a place where terrorists were welcomed, where he paid suicide bombers to bomb Israel, where he had used Scuds against Israel in the past.

And so we knew what his intentions were in the region; where he had attacked his neighbors before and, in fact, tried to annex Kuwait; where we had gone to war against him twice in the past. It was the total picture, Senator, not just weapons of mass destruction, that caused us to decide that, post-September 11th, it was finally time to deal with Saddam Hussein.

Boxer: Well, you should read what we voted on when we voted to support the war, which I did not, but most of my colleagues did. It was WMD, period. That was the reason and the causation for that, you know, particular vote.

Presumably when Boxer says “I did not,” she means that she didn’t vote to liberate Iraq, not that she didn’t read the resolution. But the resolution itself makes clear that Rice was right:

Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolution of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait; . . .

The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to–

(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and

(2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.

Ignorance is actually the more charitable explanation for Boxer’s misrepresentation of the resolution’s contents. If in fact she did read it, her own integrity is a matter of question.

And here’s another apparent Boxer falsehood:

You never even mention indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died. . . . And 25 percent of those dead are from my home state.

According to Casualties.org, the number of California servicemen who’ve died is 157, which is about 11.5% of the total, less than half the proportion Boxer claimed.

I love the irony. Barbara Boxer sat there blatantly accusing Dr. Rice of lying while she herself was playing fast and loose with the truth.

Senator Boxer, “you can’t handle the truth!”

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

Why is Sean Hannity spending so much time shouting down and/or mercilessly insulting so many of his liberal guests? Two weeks ago, I heard Michael Medved interview a liberal professor, Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas who wrote an article claiming we’ve already lost the war in Iraq and this is a good thing. It was the typical, “America is an evil empire” diatribe, and Medved (whose show airs on XM Radio, Channel 166 from 3pm to 6pm, Monday through Friday) as usual, did a great job of tearing down Jensen’s line of reasoning and exposing his weak arguments.

Ultimately, after listening to the two of them (Medved and Jensen), I decided that, while Jensen stuck valiantly to his guns, he was out of his league. It’s one thing for the professor to impose his beliefs on his captive classroom audience, but in the real world, the vast majority of us are just not buying. Probably most of his students aren’t either, they just can’t say anything for fear of getting a failing grade for daring to disagree.

The very next week, however, Jensen was a guest on Hannity’s show, and the overall tone of the show was quite different. When I turned on my radio (XM Radio channel 124 from 3pm to 6pm) to listen to Hannity, he was in the midst of shouting Jensen down, calling him names, saying things like “you lefties,” etc. Jensen, to his credit, was trying to calmly make his points, but just could not get through all the shouted insults and accusations.

It was, in a word, lame! I actually felt sorry for Jensen and was quite peeved with Hannity. Was Hannity trying to ruffle Jensen’s feathers, knock him off balance in order to get him to react in anger? Whatever he was trying to do, it sounded pitiful to me.

After a few minutes, I had to turn to a different station (Medved, as a matter of fact). I was just too disgusted to continue listening to the tirade.

Now, if this were an isolated incident, I’d have been okay with it. But this is something I’ve seen more and more from Hannity, and he’s not the only one who does this. It’s just one of the reasons why my dial has been much more consistently tuned to Medved’s show during my afternoon drive.

I’m wondering; is this something that happens to some members of the media when they become really popular? Hannity, for instance, co-hosts a TV show on Fox, has authored two books to date, writes articles, is invited to many speaking engagements, goes on book tours, etc. With all that going on, does he have the time to really prep for his show the way he needs to?

Is Hannity overcommitted; trying to make up for a lack of preparation with an approach akin to bullying? I wonder…

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

Soon after the Tsunami disaster hit, Jan Egeland, the UN’s humanitarian chief called the US and other major western nations “stingy” for their low funding pledges towards disaster relief. While I think that whole incident was another example of the UN’s bias, I’m wondering if perhaps the title of “stingy” is true in the way we are treating our troops and their families.

In late December, Senator Allen (R-VA) released a statement to the press calling upon the US government to raise what they call the “Death Benefit” for families of soldiers who die in combat from a miserly $12,000 to a more appropriate $100.000. I think Senator Allen sums up the situation perfectly:

“I think the people of a grateful nation want to be able to help the families who lose their sons or daughters in defense of our freedoms. The current amount of $12,000 is a miserly and paltry amount that I strongly believe should be much higher. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important issue when the 109th Congress convenes in January,” said Senator Allen.

Senator Allen is just now beginning an initiative to craft a bill to raise the death benefit to $100,000 and I think we need to voice our support for this effort in the loudest and clearest manner possible. If you aren’t convinced regarding the need for this kind of change, let me point something out to you:

Before our troops went into Iraq and tore the Saddam regime to pieces, Mr. Hussein was giving the families of suicide bombers $25,000 every time one of their sons or daughters died committing an act of terrorism. So, Scum-of-the-Earth Saddam was giving more than TWICE AS MUCH to families of people who were targeting innocent women and children in suicide bombings as we are currently giving to the families of our troops… Men and women who are even now sacrificing themselves to put an end to terrorism forever!

What is wrong with this picture?!

First of all, thank you Senator Allen for bringing this issue into the light of day! God bless you for that.

Secondly, PLEASE contact your elected officials to voice your support for this bill. This bill must be passed as soon as possible.

Finally, please, when contacting your elected official, make sure you ask that this benefit be retroactively granted to all those who have already fallen during actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The families of those whose loved ones have died in the war on terror deserve this increased benefit.

I’ve said before and I’ll say again that our troops are the best of us. They put their lives on the line so that we can enjoy unprecedented freedom, and we have to give back to them appropriately for their courage, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Our troops have never failed us. Lets not fail them… Or their families.

Thanks,

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

The madness began a year ago. I got a call from my wife while I was at work that she and my two daughters (12 months and 4 at the time) were going to the mall to see this new group called “Hi-5.” My wife, Julie, knew absolutely nothing about them.

My reply? “Have fun,” I said with a slight smile. I hung up the phone and went back to work.

Then, almost two hours later, I received another call… I should have known then that I had a serious problem on my hands.

“We had so much fun,” my wife told me. “They are great! We’re staying for their second show.”

This time, my reply was more along the lines of, “ummm… Okay, have fun.” And, again, I hung up the phone and went back to work.

But when I got home from work that day, the new Hi-5 DVD was already in the player, with my oldest daughter dancing around in the playroom. Julie was excited too; she really enjoyed the “concert” (how it went from a “show” to a “concert” I never quite grasped).

And, of course, we had it all written down that Hi-5 was on TV every morning, starting with the Discovery Channel at 7am and then The Learning Channel at 7:30am. And now, a year later, we’ve all just come from our first REAL Hi-5 concert in Baltimore, and the craze has both widened and deepened.

You know what? I don’t even mind; despite the fact that my wife is every bit the crazed fan that my girls have become.

Even my 21-month old, who is still just learning to talk, will walk up to me, put her hand up with her fingers spread and say, “hi!” Of course, that means she wants Hi-5 on the DVD player pronto. Sometimes I’ll pretend not to understand. “Hello to you sweetie,” I’ll say with a big smile on my face.

She knows my game. She won’t smile back, she’ll just give me the Hi-5 sign again and repeat her “hi” request again and again until she gets what she wants.

I look at it this way, at least she’s not asking for those damned Teletubbies! But I digress.

The fact is, I don’t mind my whole family being crazed Hi-5 fans for a very simple reason; I like the show too. Not in the same way, of course. I don’t sing along in the van and do all the motions when we’re listening to “Living In A Rainbow,” or something like that. I like the show because, as a father, I know that it’s a good show.

We hear all the time how much “crap” there is on television, don’t we? We hear it, of course, because it’s true! But, with all the umpteen hundred channels you can get with cable service these days, there are a lot of good shows too.

There’s a lot more crap on television these days and there’s a lot more quality too. Hi-5, in my opinion, falls in the “quality” category.

To me, the fun music is incidental. More in the way of icing for the cake. What I like about the show is that, during their skits, they are teaching things that are important for young kids to know.

The Hi-5 cast all have certain domains of learning which they teach during each show. For example, Karla specializes in fun movement and coordination skills, Shaun focuses on exploring shapes and colors, Kimee deals with numbers, puzzles, mazes, and sorting, Curtis focuses on musical concepts, and Jenn deals with language and sound.

What can I say, I’m no expert. My college and grad psychology degrees were both oriented towards adult learning, and my speciality is corporate education programs and services. But I do know this, my most important title is “Daddy,” and I now have almost five years of hands-on experience in early childhood development. The one thing I understand clearly about this period of their lives is that I want them to learn the right standards of behavior as soon as possible, before they have too many opportunities to see the wrong standards in action.

I want them to know how to play with other kids, talk to other kids and treat other kids. Before too long, they are going to see how they should not do all those things and, when that happens, I want them to be able to say to themselves, “that’s not how you do that.”

Hi-5 is one of those shows that teaches the right standards of behavior. Standards such as cooperation, teamwork, openness to others who are different, inclusiveness, and other important things that children should learn as soon as possible.

Which is why I’ll happily pack them all into our van and drive them 30 miles into Baltimore or DC (playing a Hi-5 CD or DVD on the way, of course) to see their favorite show live.

Watching the cast in action yesterday, I saw that they really do work very hard during their show. They were the ones moving their stage pieces around between various songs and skits. And sound problems right at the beginning of the show made it clear that they were not pulling an “Ashlee Simpson” on us either. They work pretty hard and they seem to lean on their own talent rather than technology. Also good lessons for my kids to learn.

After the show, because we happen to know “the secret fort club handshake,” my wife was able to get us invited to the VIP lounge to see the cast. Not that we were alone. As a matter of fact, there were at least a hundred others who were eager to have their kids meet the cast as well.

And the members of Hi-5 saw every one of us. After what must have been an exhausting couple of hours, they went up to their lounge area and then took another hour to two hours to see a whole long line of fans.

They were very nice and gracious and my 21-month-old daughter walked right up to Shaun and put her arms out for a hug and he put his pen down and reached down and gave her a huge warm hug. Unfortunately, today, I walked into the playroom and my daughter was kissing the TV because Shaun was on the screen.

Anyway, I walked away from the concert even more impressed than before. No, I’m not a groupie. That would be my wife, who, after yesterday’s show in Baltimore, managed to get third-row tickets to the second Hi-5 show in DC today and took my oldest with her to that show.

Apparently at this show, which was held in the MCI Center, they had some sort of Hi-5 mosh pit up front where all the kids could dance. You know you’re big when your fans are moshing in front of the stage. Hell, at this rate, twenty years from now, Hi-5 will be starting their reunion tour.

But now I have to end this overly long post. Except that, I still have a few questions which, until they get answered, will bother me till my dying days. Perhaps I should say, “answer me these questions three!”

1. Did I see an engagement ring on Jenn’s finger during the show?
2. How low can Shaun really go?
3. Will poor Kimee EVER see Jup Jup?

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com

The following is a narrative taken from a recent meeting of the Maryland Chapter of Spoilerholics Anonymous (SpoilAnon):

Ron Smith: Hello everyone and welcome back to our weekly meeting of Spoilerholics Anonymous, Maryland Chapter. As you know, we here are a part of a growing chorus of burned out, joyless souls who have, for years, errantly believed that knowing everything about anything — books, movies, songs, etc. — before they ever reach market was a good thing.

We now know that we were sadly, tragically mistaken… don’t we? [A chorus yes’s and head nods from all 16 attendees] Well, tonight we have the opportunity to greet a new member of our enlightened group. He’s going to tell us a bit about his journey and his move towards recovery. David? Would you come up to the podium please?

David: Hello, my name is David Flanagan and I’m a Spoilerholic.

Group: Hello David!

David: …. Well, I guess it all started with… ummm… with Star Trek. I loved the show and grew up with it, you know. [Heads nodding] Well, several years back, while The Next Generation was getting ready to end its television run and they were going to launch their first movie, I heard from a friend about this site, you know, where you could get information and read rumors about the upcoming movie. [Looks of sympathy and understanding emanated from the audience].

So I went there, and it was great! All kinds of information, and the rumors they had there… It was good stuff! But I figured it was all just a bunch of garbage, just guesswork.

Then I went to see “Generations,” and some of it was actually true! The part where Data gets the emotion chip, and… [Chokes back a sob] The death of Captain Kirk! [A few in the audience close their eyes and bow their heads in pain].

[Eyes full of emotion] That’s when I was hooked… The power of it… The ability to actually KNOW what was going to happen before it happened! When “First Contact” came out, I knew all kinds of information about it, and it was largely accurate. That’s when I started posting to chat boards, and even tried to start uncovering and posting some new bits of information myself.

But then I began to notice that it just wasn’t as much fun as before. I got less of a high from each new rumor and, by the time Star Trek IX hit, you know, when someone scored the first copy of the script, I was beginning to think that I had made a mistake. [More heads nodding] I remember downloading a copy of that stolen script to my desktop… I was so happy!

But then I started reading and… I wasn’t happy anymore, you know? By the time I hit the third page, I was disgusted… with myself, with this whole spoiler thing, with everything! I put my head in my hands and kept asking myself… What have I done with my life?!

I felt bad, first of all because my enjoyment was gone. [Yes! Said a few in the audience] You know what I’m talking about, it was actually WORSE to know what was going to happen, not better, because I was always disappointed when I actually saw a show or movie after learning all the details of the plot. Somehow, it was never as good as I imagined it would be, or I would just be disgusted with the script and never watch the show or the movie in the first place.

And all those obsessive emails that I had been sending to the production companies, demanding that they change a script because I thought it was lousy. And I must have signed something like a hundred online petitions asking for script changes… It was all becoming so miserable and everything felt so futile. I entered this period of long depression; feeling as if none of the shows I loved would ever be good again.

Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager… They all made me miserable!

Then, somewhere in there, it’s kind of a blur so I don’t remember exactly, but I heard the rumors of Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace. I began to troll the Internet for any scrap of a rumor I could find. I was almost frantic.

And I realized… I was going to ruin this too? NO!! [Right! Shouted one listener] I deleted all my links to my favorite spoiler sites, I erased all the email addresses of my suppliers, I decided I was going to take back my life! I was going to get rid of this filthy habit! I was going to deny these feelings of entitlement!! [That’s right! From the audience]

I don’t need to know what is going to happen in a show or a movie BEFORE I see the thing. I was happier before, not knowing. Remember how awesome it felt to watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the first time? [Emphatic “yes’s” from the audience], how about Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home? [More “yes’s”] I didn’t know a damn thing about those movies going in, and I walked away thrilled… Higher than any high I ever got from those spoilers!

Well, I was going back to those days, whatever it took. [David heard a “good for you!” from the group of listeners] Right! I don’t need to know and I don’t want to know, and I turned away for good. I have to tell you, I felt so good about myself, finally getting clean again, renewing my mind; my attitude too!

But then I made a mistake… [David pauses, clearly emotional] Well… [From the group he heard Ron’s voice say, “It’s okay David, tell us.” “Yes’s” followed Ron’s encouraging comment.]

[David looks up from the floor where he had been focused] Okay, I’ll tell you. I made a mistake because I thought I could just go ahead and let everyone else do his or her own thing and I could just do my own thing. But I realized that, even while I was getting myself clean, thousands of others were sending their lives spinning out of control.

They’re making a mistake, but I can’t FORCE them to get clean. But, they are not just hurting themselves; they are hurting all of the rest of us too. [From the group, murmurs of “Yes they are.”] First of all, they are getting others hooked all the time and ruining their lives. [From the room: “Yes!”] Secondly, they are so obsessed with their need to KNOW everything about any show, movie, song, book, or whatever, that they are driven to dishonestly obtain all that inside information. [Again: “Yes!”]

They don’t care about the rights of the scriptwriters, the producers, the authors, or anyone for that matter. They just constantly need to feed off of other people’s talent and exploit relationships in their drive to score a spoiler. [Yes]

They don’t even care if their habit hurts the studios financially, rather, they just know they have to feed; they have to feed their need! [YES!]

It has to stop; we have to help those lost souls break the spoiler habit… [Pause] And that’s why I’m here.

Thank you. [David offers a slight smile while the group stands up to applaud and come to the podium to shake his hand]

THE END [Queue the triumphant end-credits music]