The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 365, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 25, 2006 Page: 4 of 16
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OPINION
4A
THE BAYTOWN SUN
Saturday, November 25,2006
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
U.S. Views
Poor
Americans
0
0
3
,1
*
Medicare
drug program
ADVERTISING
—MM.
4 1
» ■
» *
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements
Editor/Publisher
Jim Finley
retired Managing Editor
Doyle Barlow
Sports Editor
HOW TO REACH US
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements,
Publisher
cliff.clements@baytownsun.com
Sandy Denson, Business Mgr.
sandy.denson@baytownsun.com
NEWSROOM
David Bloom, Managing Editor
david.bloom@baytownsun.com
Keith Magee, Asst. Managing Editor
keith.magee@baytownsun.com
Doyle Barlow, Sports Editor
doyle.barlow@baytowrfsun.com
TERRY
MATTINGLY
FRED HARTMAN
Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
Angle Pagel, Advertising Director
angie.pagel@baytownsun.com
PRODUCTION
Raymond Jackson, Production Mgr.
raymondjackson@baytownsun.com
W IBaptoton £un
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Ron Paul,
Dist. 14 Rep.
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Gene Green,
Dist. 29 Rep.
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L
We enjoy more than a good ‘Story
0.
Government officials
Federal
George W. Bush,
President
202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2326
president®
whitehouse.gov
Dick Cheney,
Vice President
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Fax:202-456-2461
vice.president@
whitehouse.gov
Kay Bailey
Hutchison,
Senator
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713-653-3456
Fax: 202-224-0776
Fax: 713-209-3459
hutchison.senate.
gov/te-mail.htm
John Cornyn,
Senator
o
0 J
EDITORIAL BOARD
David Bloom
Managing Editor
Jane Howard Lee
retired Reporter
Keith Magee
Asst. Managing Editor
fi.
° 0
k 22
some specific group within Christianity as
a whole. But our argument to New Line
was that 200 million Americans shouldn’t
be considered a niche.”
WRITE TO US
The Sun welcomes letters of up
to 300 words and guest columns of
up to 500 words. Guest columns
should include a photo of the
writer. We publish only original
material addressed to The Baytown
Sun bearing the writer’s signature.
An address and phone number not
for publication should be included.
All letters and guest columns are
subject to editing, and the Sun
reserves the right to refuse to pub-
lish any submission.
Send signed letters to: David
Bloom, The Baytown Sun, P.O. Box
90, Baytown, 77522; fax them to
(281) 427-1880 or e-mail sun-
news@baytownsun.com.
Items featured on this page are
the views of the persons identified
with each submission and do not
necessarily reflect the views of The
Baytown Sun or its advertisers.
ties, put the focus on his images and the
story itself.
“The Nativity Story” features a cast
the nation’s prosperity. That should change.
Congress could fix the broken reform effort
by doing more to give families a way up and
out of poverty. Congress cut $55 billion from
programs that help the most vulnerable,
including food stamps, employment training
and child care. Putting this money back
would ensure the best chance of success. An
increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit also
would help families climb out of poverty.
— Daytona (Fla.) Beach News-Journal
ence” of believers heard about this movie
and that what they heard was positive. It
was crucial to follow the “Passion
Playbook” even if its contents are not per-
fect— yet. And what are some of the
guidelines?
— Seek the input of historians, theolo-
MISS YOUR PAPER?
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FBI he law that created the Part D
I Medicare drug program has an
A onerous clause barring the federal
government from negotiating directly with
drug makers to get the best price for pre-
scriptions.
The Democratic leadership in Washington
has promised to yank that prohibition in the
first 100 hours of the new Congress.
We agree the arrogant clause must go.
Government negotiation is not a violation of
free-market principles, as President Bush
and like-minded Republicans claim. Rather,
using the bargaining power of 38 million
Part D enrollees epitomizes the free-market
philosophy that the biggest customer should
get the best deal.
... The biggest hurdle for a Congress set
on changing Part D is the Bush administra-
tion. The president is likely to veto any
attempts at change. Even if Congress could
override a veto, Bush and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt would have to
implement those changes. Leavitt has said
he does not want the power to negotiate Part
D prices.
We, too, would rather he did not have it.
That power should be in the hands of
someone who is not predisposed to make it
fail — and that will take more than a
change of Congress. It will take a change of
administration.
— The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.
WW That does it mean to be poor in
America? For many of the 37 mil-
▼ ▼ lion Americans trapped in eco-
homichbndage,it meanswork,often back-
breaking work, for little pay. Illness, car
trouble, a rent increase — any of these can
spell disaster, sending a family into eco-
nomic meltdown.
For seniors struggling to live on a fixed
income, an increase in a power bill or at the
gas pump can send a monthly budget crash-
ing. More seniors are now relying on their
adult children for financial help. And for the
13 million children living in families with
incomes below the poverty level, it some-
times can come down to challenges as basic
as having enough food.
Recently, Congress has done less and less
to help Americans hanging onto the ledge of
The players in studio power offices call it
the “Passion Playbook.”
At least, that’s what the Variety — holy
writ in Hollywood — calls the slate of
commandments that insiders are supposed
to be following in order to reach the $612
million audience that backed “The Passion
of the Christ.” Or was it the $744 million
audience that embraced “The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe”?
Whether a savvy consultant has produced
an actual “Passion Playbook” doesn’t mat-
ter. Everyone knows that studio executives
are becoming more interested in the
“Christian market,” even if admitting it still
gives many of them sweaty palms.
The latest high-profile test case is “The
Nativity Story,” a reverent epic from New
Line Cinema that premieres this Sunday
(Nov. 26) at the Vatican.
“The success of the ‘Passion’ made this
film possible on a studio level. I definitely
think that from a studio and a financier
standpoint, you look at that and you go,
‘Well the nativity story — at Christmas —
could work for us,”’ said producer Wyck
Godfrey, whose past projects included stan-
dard studio projects like “I, Robot,” “When
a Stranger Calls” and “Alien vs. Predator.”
Nevertheless, he added, “1 don’t think
anyone knows anything when it comes to
this stuff in terms of how to, exactly, get to
this market.”
Still, Godfrey said it made sense to take
Merry Christmas, y’all
Mr. Sanders wrote in the Nov. 17th
issue that he was glad to see Walmart
[and hopefully other major retailers]
return to saying Merry Christmas. I,
too, am glad to see this. However, I
think Mr. Sanders misses the greatest
gift and meaning behind Christmas -
God’s word-Christ. Christmas is all
about the fulfillment of God’s promise
to send a savior, Jesus Christ, who
became flesh and dwelt among us [John
1:1-3,14].
Without Christ, there is no Christmas.
Without Christ there is only mass hyste-
ria, confusion, and mass hopelessness.
For Christians, everyday is Christmas
because of the gift of eternal life given
us through faith in Christ Jesus by
grace [Ephesians 2:8] and our eternal
hope in Him.
As for the Christmas carols and
nativity scenes Mr. Sanders says he
loves (and I’m glad he enjoys them), he
is missing the truth - God’s Word - that
gives all believers in Christ their reason
for celebrating Christmas. Most, if not
all, of the beloved Christmas hymns
speak directly of our God-given gift of
Jesus Christ who came to save us from
our sins [Matthew 1:21 ] and give us
eternal life. I encourage Mr. Sanders to
actually listen to the words of these
beautifid hymns.
I also agree that Christmas is about
family - my earthly family - and my
Christian family to which all believers
belong when they are baptized in the
name of God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Christians cel-
ebrate Christmas because we belong to
Jesus Christ who freely purchased us
with the most precious and priceless
gift of all - His blood [1 Peter 1:18-19].
Any gift we might purchase and give to
our loved ones is symbolic of God’s gift
of His love first given to us [1 John
4:19],
And be it true or not that “Christians
do not have a lock on Christmas,” I
pray that I as a Christian celebrate my
Savior’s birth and His gifts of redemp-
tion, salvation, and eternal life first and
foremost in my life to the glory and
honor of God my Creator and thereby
set a Christ-like example to my atheist,
Jewish, Buddhist dr any other neighbors
who have not heard the good news of
God’s redeeming love and salvation by
grace through faith in Christ - a free gift
[Ephesians 2:8] - the Best gift anyone
could receive.
I encourage Mr. Sanders and every-
one to read the Christmas story in God’s
love letter to them in the Bible: Luke
1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-25
and John 1:1-18.1 pray that God will
open Mr. Sanders’ heart and others this
Christmas to hear His wonderful, life-
saving good news that Jesus Christ
came to earth to live, suffer, die and rise
from death for Mr. Sanders sins that he
may someday share in Christ’s glory liv-
ing with Jesus in heaven. Amen!
Marlyss Young
Dayton
Thankful every year
Thanksgiving. Everyday I think
about Thanksgiving of 1967 but on this
day it hits me really hard.
My Chinook helicopter took 29
"hits" the week before Thanksgiving in
'67 setting the first howitzer on the first
firebase the first day of the Battle of
Dak To. 069 was shot up pretty bad but
she stayed together for me long enough
to get my crew off that hill and, a short
time later, to med-evac about 20 criti-
cally wounded back to the 71st Evac
hospital, Plieku.
069 should've crashed but she hung
together and got us home. More impor-
tantly she got a load of wounded GI's
back to the care they needed to live.
And later, when 069 was released
from maintenance, she helped evac the
Skysoldiers of the 173rd Airborne
Brigade from Hills 1338 and 875. Lord
knows she did every thing I ever asked
of her and more. She was top notch
and I always, always, gave her a kiss on
her hinnie every morning before I
dropped the ramp and opened her up
for business.
My left gunner at DakTo was a young
black guy from Massilon, Ohio, Ron
Stanton. We buried Ron and the rest of
the crew (MIA) of Freight Train 053
May 25,2001 at Arlington. He was my
Bro and his sisters are now my sisters.
I lost 13 friends when 069 went in
(crashed) April of'68.
Thanksgiving. Do I have something
to be thankful for? You bet.
I've got a whole bunch of "some-
things" to be thankful for.
J. Larry McAdams
Baytown
h
. IWWGAWHOLE
(PTOFCHARCOAl AND
drawn from eight or nine
different nations, and the
only familiar face is 16-
year-old actress Keisha
Castle-Hughes of New
Zealand, previously nomi-
nated for an Academy
Award for “Whale Rider.”
“The stars of our movie
are Mary and Joseph,”
said co-producer Marty
Bowen. “You have to be
careful when it comes to casting something
like this, particularly with very iconic char-
acters. If Tom Cruise is playing Joseph,
that’s probably going to take a lot of people
out of the movie.”
— Court the core Christian audience to
create buzz that will reach pulpits and
pews. Let test audiences in strategic Bible
Belt markets see early versions of the film
and listen to the feedback. Hire publicists
who understand what sings in the parallel
universe of Christian media and know how
to produce promotional materials that work
in church sanctuaries and Sunday school
classrooms.
— It helps if the creative team includes
Hollywood professionals who are sincerely
motivated to reach the “faith-based audi-
ence.” In this case, screenwriter Mike Rich
is an articulate Christian known for writing
“Finding Forrester” and “The Rookie.”
Godfrey and Bowen grew up in strong
Christian homes before heading to
strategic steps to ensure that the “core audi- Hollywood and both recently decided to
-----x-t-i:------J -I—..* xi.:-----•- make major changes — spiritual changes,
even — in their lives and careers.
— Remember that religious consumers
like quality entertainment but prefer not to
be offended when they grab their popcorn.
When seeking studio support, noted
Godfrey, he kept repeating this mantra:
gians and clergy early and often and try, try, “Christians watch ‘Lost.’” They also watch
try to nail the details. Most of all, find out “Battlestar Galactica,” Pixar movies,
how to avoid making mistakes that will “Pirates of the Caribbean” and many other
offend ecclesiastical shepherds whose opin- hit shows.
ions filter out — through print, radio and
television — to their flocks. It’s impossible
to make everyone happy, but it helps to try.
Some people in Hollywood hear the
words “Christian audience,” said Bowen,
and they “immediately start thinking about
— Make the story the star. In the case of micro-budgeted niche films that cater to
the “Passion,” it helped that director Mel
Gibson was an A-list superstar who —
while already controversial in Hollywood
— had made numerous films that were
popular in middle America. Still, he did not
cast familiar faces and, with his daring Terry Mattingly is director of the
decision to use ancient languages and subti- Washington Journalism Center at the Council
...... ’' ' for Christian Colleges and Universities and
leads the GetReligion.org project to study
religion and the news.
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Clements, Clifford E. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 365, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 25, 2006, newspaper, November 25, 2006; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1191183/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.