Target's New Kids Brand - Gender Neutral

In a recent article in the StarTribune, retail giant Target showcased its new home decor line, Pillowfort, which lacks any distinct gender signals.  What's behind it?  Certainly not political correctness or the continued, unabated march to de-masculinize EVERYTHING to do with being a boy.  Heck no.  Here, according to a Target senior executive, it's all about expression: "Who are we to say what a child’s individual expression is? We really wanted to develop a collection that would be universal.”

Universal.  Yeah, nothing says "little boy" quite like this collection:

Sorry, Target (and those others behind it), this is not addressing a child's expression.  This is abject, full-on social gender engineering.  And those driving it will not stop until all of boyhood has been medicated and/or socially gender engineered away.

But at least your sons can enjoy their "happy place."

What Jesus' Sacrifice Means

Biblical scholars and theologians can argue about Christ's life, and what His sacrifice really meant.  Interpretations abound.

Here's one take that really got me thinking (emphasis mine):

In Franciscan parlance, Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity; Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God. This grounds Christianity in pure love and perfect freedom from the very beginning. It creates a very coherent and utterly positive spirituality, which draws people toward lives of inner depth, prayer, reconciliation, healing, and even universal "at-one-ment," instead of mere sacrificial atonement. Nothing changed on Calvary, but everything was revealed as God's suffering love--so that we could change! 

A perspective to consider as we continue our path though lent.

Saturday Song Share: Jason Eady - OK Whiskey

Line 'em up bartender
It don't have to be your finest
OK whiskey treats me better
Than that old 3.2

My Mistake

Yesterday, we here at YDP complained that the University of Missouri was still paying assistant communications professor Melissa Click.  Truth be told, she had been fired just the day before.

Unfortunately, word of her justified demise came too late for our publication, and we went to press with old information.  For that, we beg forgiveness from the University of Missouri and offer our sincere appreciation for the stand they took (even if it wasn't a unanimous vote).

Expect Ms. Click to be extended an offer from MSNBC by the end of the week.

All's well that ends well.

How is This Woman Still Getting a Paycheck?

Suspended, but with pay?  For three bleeping months?

Missouri tax payers, here are your tax dollars at work:

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Just Take it From Me Yourself

It's election time, and that means that Facebook quickly degenerates into a cesspool of veiled insults, forwards of talking points, and abject endorsements.  During this period, I'll stop following the more egregious of sharers of this type of information - one way political viewpoints are best shared in a blog like this one, and not on social media, lest one feels that the entire world shares the same belief as the poster.

Some of the most vocal folks have been the ones supporting Socialist (not a slur, but an actual, accurate label) Bernie Sanders.  I still can't believe that in 2016 we're this close to a Socialist being President of the United States, but folks it is true.

These folks go about sharing information about it finally being time for the "rich" to pay their "fair share."  School and health care are rights that need to be funded.  It's time to pay up.

Since I'm in the top 5% of wage earners, I assume that means me.

Here's a thought for all of you Bernie supporters: How about we cut the old man out of it, and I just pay you directly?  Don't have the government do the dirty work for you - take my money from me and use it yourself.  

All I want in exchange is an answer - why?  Why is it "fair" that I support you?  Why, given the divergent paths our lives took, is it necessary for me to not only pay my family's bills, but to now be responsible for paying your family's bills as well?  And as I ratchet up my output (again) to strive and try to maintain a similar standard of living for my family, what will you do?

Don't hide behind the Bern.  If you want my money, take it from me yourself.  

But look me in the eye when you're doing it, compare notes with me, and tell me why my paying your bills for you and taking care of your family for you is the fair thing to do.

Joey King and What's Great About College Sports

After their massive victory against #6 Maryland last week, Gopher senior Joey King took an interview:



I'm pretty sure that's the reason they call them Golden Gophers...

Tough Day for Mom at Church

Last Sunday, Mrs. YDP and I headed off to mass and assumed our usual position (front left near the aisle).  As it was lent, we were involved in our start-of-mass genuflection when a mother with three kids came in and sat in our pew.  My wife and I made room and the family settled in the best they could.

The three kids were aged approximately 12, 4, and 3.  They were dressed up for church, and given as much as they were fidgeting around, it was hard to believe that they stood still long enough to wear a sack, much less good church clothes.

Both of the young ones were a hand full - talking loudly, climbing on the pew, crawling under the seats.  Mom was trying hard, but she was on her own, and the kids smelled blood and were letting her have it.

Some around us flashed the stink-eye.  I have never understood that.  Could she have disciplined her kids like our parents did us?  Certainly.  But she plays by different rules, and I accept that.  She was doing the best she could.  

It would have been really easy for her to skip church that morning.  But nope, she found the energy and the courage to come in.  And yet she was still met with the stink-eye.  We're Catholics.  I thought we loved kids.  Kind of hypocritical, no?

Things got really bad right before communion, and mom finally had enough and broke down.  Both little kids knew it had gone too far, and both got very quiet.  The boy asked, "Mommy, why are you crying?" and cuddled into her side.  Her little girl hugged her feet on the floor.

When we got to the sign of peace, she shook my hand and said "I'm sorry."  I touched her shoulder, smiled wide and said "Do not apologize!"

Again, she could have took the easy way out that morning.  Instead, she brought her kids to church.  They were loud and disruptive, exactly like God made them.

And they were exactly where they belonged.  

Saturday Song Share: OK Go - Upside Down & Inside Out

This has pretty much been covered everywhere, but in the event that some of you have not yet seen it, it makes a worthy Saturday Song Share:

Bernie Singles Dating Site

There is a new website launched that acts as a dating site for those enthralled by Socialist Bernie Sanders.  Entitled "Bernie Singles," it got so popular that the site actually crashed.

Here's a screen shot:

A couple of thoughts:

• The fact that the site is looking for people to donate is so supremely rich that I can hardly stand myself
• When two Bernie fans go on a dinner date and the check comes, who pays?

My First AR

I've wanted an AR (let's call it what it is - an assault rifle) for a long time now.  The more the world gots stupid and the more our politicians followed suit, the more I wanted one.  Not because I needed one per se.  More because others really REALLY didn't want me to have one.  Plus, over the years, I've had two coyotes stalk me as I was trying to call in a turkey (evidently I sounded good enough for someone looking for a dinner, but not good enough for someone looking for a date).  The coyotes are hell on our pheasants and a danger to our dogs, but unfortunately both got wind of me before I could get them in shotgun range.  Hence, I wanted something to help clean up our overpopulation.   

Fast forward to today.  We had an offer at work that was too good to pass up on a high quality platform.  My cost was well below my company's cost, plus they were throwing in a $50 gift card.  Hence, I failed to check with my wife (sorry honey), and I went to our closest store and picked out this beauty:

It came with the six magazines (wow - generous!) and a really nice padded tactical bag.  Beyond that, it is constructed impeccably.  It is a top of the line from Scott Arms, and lacks nothing - ergo grip, flash suppressor, dust cover, feeder - you name it, it has it.  It's chambered for the NATO 5.56mm, but can also cycle the Remington .223, so it has versatility from that perspective.

I tricked it out with the front hand hold and with a sporty little red dot sight. It was really fun to put together, and it has plenty more rails from which to hang additional accessories.  It was kind of like LEGOS for old guys, and you could see how someone could totally get into it. 

I won't be able to shoot if for a couple of weeks, but that's OK.  I'll definitely be taking it with me in the turkey blind this year.

Next time, those coyotes are going to be in for a little surprise.  

Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog and Campus Political Correctness

This is pretty "R" rated, but what it exposes is so enlightening that it needs to be shown here.  I'm sure these kids were compensated for the abuse they withered, but beyond that, their world-view is downright shocking.

We are raising an entire generation that is ill-suited for the real world.  

And there will ultimately be a heavy price to pay for their ignorance and inability to survive.

No More Yeo

After an amazingly pathetic effort against the Boston Bruins on home ice, the Minnesota Wild has finally fired head coach Mike Yeo.  Given their existing free fall, (1-11-2 in the past 14 games), one can't be surprised.

In fact, if there are any surprises, it's perhaps that Yeo held on as long as he did.

On paper, the Minnesota Wild has a very good team.  In execution, they're horrible.  They're sloppy, lack hustle, and have no discernible leader.  The Wild’s leading scorer this season is  the aging Mikko Koivu with 37 points. That is tied for 66th in the NHL. Zach Parise leads the Wild with 17 goals. That is tied for 46th in the NHL.  The numbers don't lie.

The "state of hockey" is in its worst condition since the North Stars left.  

What a mess.  It is high time to clean it up.  

RIP Justice Scalia

Sad news out of Washington (is there anything but that lately?): Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away.  His was a staunch, consistent, and eloquent conservative voice.  Even for those opposed to his positions, his candor, consistency, and communication had to be admired.  

He was one of the last Justices that viewed the Constitution as a "dead" document - unlike the living document so many consider the Constitution to be, Scalia unwavering viewed it via the context offered by the original framers.  Given the current state of jurisprudence, others knit from the same material pretty much aren't out there.  Hence, the loss of Scalia is a huge blow.

It will now degenerate into a food fight as to how and when he'll be replaced.  Regardless of what ultimately happens, he'll never truly be replaced, and our country is worse because of it.

Rest in peace.  

Saturday Song Share: Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place (Native Melody)

Perhaps my favorite song from this band.  From their Stop Making Sense tour:

Hoppy is Right - Yeo Has to Go

Former Wild center Zenon Konopka was watching the Wild piss another game away as their calendar year 2016 free fall continued.  Seeing enough, Konopka tweeted out what everyone was thinking - Yeo has to go.

Even better, he got his pet bunny Hoppy into the mix as well:

I'm not saying Mike Yeo is a bad coach but change is due in Minny #YeomustGo pic.twitter.com/1GsdYh9lvt

— Zenon Konopka (@ZenonKonopka) February 10, 2016

Hoppy is anything but a dumb bunny...

Best Father's Day Ad, Ever

At work, my team and I are working on taking our Father's Day effort to a whole new level.  I want something that gets to the emotion of the relationships we have with our Dads.

In researching on the project, I ran across this:



Great imagery, great song, great brand alignment.  Just great.

For my team and I, this is the bar.

National Hijab Day Shows Support

In the StarTribune yesterday, there was a big, wet kiss for National Hijab Day, where non-Muslim women are expected to don the hijab to show their "support."

What wasn't covered (sorry for the pun) in the article is what these women are truly supporting.  If Christians forced their women cover their bodies with a hijab, there'd be a Burn the Hijab Day.  But since we're talking Islam, the subjugation and second-class-citizenry of women is to be relished and celebrated.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” 

― George Orwell, Animal Farm

Super Bowl Ads 2016 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In 2016, the cost for a Super Bowl ad was $4.5 million.  Who got their money's worth, and who just flat out blew it last night?  Let's go to the video tape:

The Good

Audi Starman - On brand, and taking advantage of the popularity of the recently deceased David Bowie.  Perfect for its target market.  Incredibly well done:
 


Dollar Shave Club - Really effective ad that was long on benefits.  Disruptive, memorable, and money well spent:


Heinz - Bad song, great commercial


The Bad

Mountain Dew - The Puppy, Monkey, Baby ad was simply terrible.  One simple question: Why?



Budweiser - When the cusp of the ad reflects that your customer is wrong liking all of those craft beers, and they need to get back to liking your crap, you just wasted nearly $5MM



The Ugly

Doritos Baby - This is just simply too much, and in bad taste.



Editor's note - this was originally supposed to be a much thorough post.  I had many more offerings.  Unfortunately, Blogger is having some significant technical issues.  Their HTML editor is changing content without my interactions, and after spending over two hours to just get this, I need to bail.

Sorry for the crappy post.

Rubio Wrecked

Last night's debate was as entertaining as it was informative.  This late in the race, it's do or die for many candidates, and they needed a stellar showing to improve their chances in New Hampshire.  For others, they just needed to keep up their momentum and not trip up.

Here's a take on the performances last night:

Got Better

• Jeb Bush - This was his best debate yet.  Still, his persona is wooden, and there was not enough delivered to put off the inevitable:  Bush is toast.
• John Kasich - He finally delivered some construct to his debate arguments, and is definitely trying to position himself as the most moderate candidate in the field.  He's invested a huge amount of time and dollars in NH, and we'll see if that, combined with the debate performance, gets him anywhere.
• Ted Cruz - He looked the most presidential last night.  He was human in delivering the story of his drug-addicted sister, was genuine and sincere on his explanation (and apology) for the Ben Carson situation, and laced the "gotcha" question about the North Korean missile to the gap for a double.  His performance was pretty much flawless.

Trended Sideways

• Donald Trump - Again, he was bereft of details, but it doesn't seem to matter to anyone.  Those that were already Trump fans likely enjoyed it, and those that were not weren't swayed
• Ben Carson - There just wasn't anything of substance to move his campaign off to a different trajectory.  

Got Worse

• Marco Rubio - The early exchange between him and Christie was difficult to watch.  Rubio wasn't prepared, and needed to be as the attack was obviously going to come (perhaps not from Christie, but it was going to come).  Was it brutal enough to scuttle a campaign?  Boy, that's a good question.  His responses were that awkward and that bad.  Time will tell, but Marco had a terrible night.
• Chris Christie - Many are stating that Christie won last night's debate, and he very well may have done so.  However, he do so by appearing to come off as a blowhard and a bully.  I think the net effect is that he'll pay for it.  He may have won the battle but lost the war because of it.

 

Saturday Song Share: Ike Reilly - The Boat Song (We're Getting Loaded)

TV in Finland Teach Women How to Avoid Being Raped

With the rapid influx of Muslim immigrants, followed by an immediate influx of rapes committed by said immigrants, the women of Finland are marked for prey.  One could expect such a situation, since many in the faith view women not covered by the burka to be "uncovered meat."

Context?  Here's the most famous quote from an influential Aussie imam:

If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred.  - Taj El-Din Hilaly

While there's work to do to educate rapists Muslim immigrants, in the meantime women need to feel safe.  Hence, Finnish TV has developed the following game plan for women to be protected:



This is where political correctness leads, folks.  It ain't pretty.  Not at all.

Bad Lip Reading - New NFL Edition

This is really good, but the end is pure gold:


That Drew Brees huddle cracks me up every time...

Hunting With Kin - A Recap

I just returned from our annual trip to Louisiana to finish off the duck season.  As usual, we had an incredible time, although this year the ducks chose not to cooperate.  Regardless, the weather was gorgeous, the food outstanding, and the laughs plentiful.

Here are some moments captured during the trip:

 Sunrise in the bayou does't get much more beautiful

 A nice decoy spread doesn't matter if there are no birds out there to see it

When we weren't hunting, we were outside because it was so damn nice out there

Three boys in flooded timber

More action (or lack thereof) in flooded timber

Someone was the butt of the joke at the truck stop...

...and it was pretty damned funny

I'm very, very lucky to have the family and the friends that I have.

Lessons from Iowa

The election process finally kicked into third gear last night with the Iowa caucus, and now we're off and running.  It feels like it took forever to get here, but get here we did, and with some impressive results.

Here are some interpretations from what transpired last night:

• Jeb, Christie, and Huckabee are over.  In fact, Huckabee took the formal step of "suspending" his campaign.  It will be interesting to see where supporters of these candidates (admittedly small, but supporters nonetheless) land.
• Trump is vulnerable.  The candidate that appeared to have the most wind in his sails was bested by Cruz, and darn near got beat by Rubio as well.  Did his refusal to participate in the Fox News debate backfire?  And more than that, how does he react to getting beat?  
• It is astonishing to me that in the United States a self-avowed Socialist can basically tie for the Democrat nomination in Iowa.  It only goes to show how much that party, and our society, has changed.  Scary.

Iowa is hardly the entire election, and we have a lot more to go from here, however it's a start of the end of what should prove to be a very interesting election season.