Turning the Tide...: December 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

On News Corner USA: Guns Classified Utah AR15 Giveaway

New Year's Day Giveaway

30 December 2012

For Immediate Release

Gun Classifieds is hosting a New Year’s Giveaway and one lucky winner is going to be the proud owner of a brand new DPMS Panther AR15. In other words, Gun Classifieds is leading the way to Beat The Ban and defend our Second Amendment Rights. On January 1, 2013, we’re going to compile all eligible entries and draw a winner.

As we’re sure you’re aware, your right to keep and bear arms is under siege. President Obama is expected to introduce devastating legislature that will attempt to lockdown firearms that many of us hold sacred as safeguards to our way of life. Many believe the nightmare scenario will play out with a knock on the door and a confiscation of your guns.

But in proud celebration of our Second Amendment rights, Gun Classifieds is giving away the symbol of our Freedom. We’re giving away a brand new AR15 . . . a DPMS Panther complete and in the box.

The previous Federal Assault Weapons Ban, signed into effect by Bill Clinton in 1994, expired on September 13, 2004. During the period, it was illegal to manufacture, transfer and import specific firearms that fell into this newly created “assault weapons” category. Cosmetic features defined this category and included” telescoping stock, pistol grip, flash suppressor and bayonet mount. The ban also included any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

The ban became very symbolic to both Gun Control and Gun Rights advocates and after the it expired, several proponents attempted to re-enact similar forms in either the House or the Senate in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. While all of the attempts proved unsuccessful, a renewed effort to ban weapons including the AR15 was sparked by the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Fearful that new legislature could ban the AR15, many consumers rushed to stores to purchase them only to find the rifle sold out at most Utah outlets as current owners became reluctant to part with theirs. With very few available on the market, prices escalated for this very popular rifle and remain well above previous market prices today.

But Gun Classifieds was able to purchase a brand new DPMS Panther model and are using it to promote awareness of their Grand Opening as well as the recent attacks on the Second Amendment through new Assault Rifle legislation.

The owners of Gun Classifieds believe that if banning the weapon can be a powerful symbol for Gun Control, then providing one to a law-abiding citizen can be an equally powerful symbol for Gun Rights.

Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

Be a Utah Resident 21 years or older, and
LIKE the Gun Classifieds Utah Facebook page, and
LIKE and SHARE any of our Beat The Ban posts, (please note that your privacy settings must be set to public so that we can verify this.)

The winner will be randomly chosen from the list of eligible contestants on January 1, 2013 at 10 pm. We will close the contest at 8:00 P.M. MST to allow time for us to compile and process this data and then select the winner.

Winner must also pass a thorough Background Check and complete a comprehensive Bill of Sale.

No purchase is necessary to participate in this giveaway.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, Please contact Terry Brown 801.420.0687

www.gunclassifiedsutah.com

www.facebook.com/gunclassifiedutah

###

Read more stories on www.newscornerusa.com.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Movie Corner: Les Misérables

by Candace Salima
29 December 2012

Movie: Les Misérables
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Runtime/Rating: 157 Minutes / PG-13

Nominated for four Golden Globes, Les Misérables, the motion picture, does not disappoint. I came to the film with a high level of expectation in a number of areas. As one who knows every word of dialogue, song, character, etc. I had high expectations for every single actor.

The story itself is unparalleled. Victor Hugo penned Les Misérables and published it in 1862. It told the story of a man imprisoned for 20 years for stealing a loaf of bread and trying to escape, a particularly merciless and zealous lawman, and a woman consigned to the streets by the viciousness of both women and men. It is an enduring story of death, injustice, redemption, forgiveness, love, and revolution. 17th Century France was a particularly dark time in French history, and this is the background for Victor Hugo's story.

Seen by over 53 million people in 38 countries and heard in 21 languages since its first performance in 1985, Les Misérables is one of the greatest stage musicals of all time, winning seven Tony Awards, and is still performed on stages in London and around the world. The motion picture adaptation of Hugo's book, and Boubil & Schonberg's musical adaptation, gives us a movie that will leave a mark on the soul of each viewer, for Hugo's book is one of the most powerful telling of man vs. man in literary history. Uniquely, the performers sang everything live with only piano music playing into nearly invisible earbuds. It set the stage for one of the most unique cinematic experiences in industry history, the perfect blending of stage and film.

Hugh Jackman gives us a stunning interpretation of Jean Valjean. He brings a power and depth to the role that is Oscar worthy, proving with his voice why he is already a Tony and Emmy award winning actor. Anne Hathaway also flexed her acting muscles in the role of Fantine, showcasing a stunning voice and acting ability. Both Jackman and Hathaway were equal to the monumental task before them. Russell Crowe, as Javert, did an amazing job in the role of the merciless lawman, but he simply doesn't have the vocal chops to bring musical justice to the role. And Amanda Seyfried, as Cozette, had the range, but not the vocal power.

The best musical performances in the movie were given by Eddie Redmayne (Marius), Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) and Samantha Barks (Eponine). Their voices more than equaled the task before them. Jackman, also a very skilled vocalist, was compared in my mind to Gary Morris' performance as Jean Valjean on the London stage, and I'm afraid Jackman didn't quite measure up, vocally. That doesn't take anything away from his amazing performance, I'm simply saying he didn't meet Morris' level of vocal skill.

The movie, in and of itself, is a cinematic masterpiece, although Hooper had an unnerving tendency to zoom all the way in on the actors' faces. I'm not sure why we needed to see every pore and pimple on their faces; it pulled power from some of the moments, as did the odd angles, but that's more likely a personal preference rather than a cinematic mistake. Did I like it? I was spellbound throughout the entire 2 1/2 hours. Les Misérables scores a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I predict a number of Oscar wins and a certain worldwide success. Congratulations on a masterful adaptation of Hugo's original story.

(Published on News Corner USA and US Daily Review)

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Child's Christmas Story

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Week Ending at News Corner USA 9 December 2012

Check out News Corner USA, the newest news website on the internet. Dedicated to informing, educating, uplifting and motivating people to become active participants in their lives, we have 10 unique columns a week, editorials, movie, music and book reviews, and guest columns. In addition, we collect the top stories from around the internet and that collection can be found on the site as well. So drop on by News Corner USA.

monday

Sex, Adultery and the Military by Jeffrey Denning

Should soldiers be punished for extramarital affairs? Should adultery be removed from the Uniform Code of Military Justice? "I'm going to kill him! I'm going to track him down and kill him!" Those were the words of a man I served with in war. While we were overseas, his wife confessed that she had been having an affair. "That guy's been sleeping in my bed," exclaimed the soon to be tenured soldier just before we were to leave Iraq. (3 December 2012)

* * *

Humor by Susan Curtis

There comes a time in every woman’s life when she has to face the ultimate truth: she is no longer young enough to flirt her way out of a ticket. I have known, of course, for at least two decades and change that I am past my prime when it comes to this important challenge. To add insult to injury, various members of my family to whom I may or may not have given birth have suggested at times that I drive like an old lady, so who can blame me for occasionally trying to prove them wrong? When I was pulled over recently for speeding, I was secretly proud of my geriatric Jeep for being able to go that fast. However, I didn't think the officer was impressed. I needed a strategy, fast! (1 December 2012)

tuesday

Youth Violence and Crime by Alvin Salima

Youth violence and crime affect a community's economic health, as well as individuals' physical and mental health and well-being. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for youth in our country. In 2008, more than 656,000 young people, ages 10-24, were treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained from violence. Each neighborhood and community has unique experiences with violence and different resources available to them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to preventing youth violence. (4 December 2012)

* * *

The Right Way and The Wrong Way by Candace Salima

This is a funny time to be living in America. We stand on the precipice of a fiscal cliff while Washington, D.C. blithely plays "politics as usual." Your average American would assume that every elected and appointed official would be furiously working away, twenty hours a day at minimum, finding the solution to the United States' out-of-control spending. That average American would be wrong. Barack Obama just embarked on a $4 million vacation with this family, leaving Congress to deal with the mess. America is over $16 trillion in debt, $5 trillion of which was added by the Obama Administration alone, with growth to GDP at a dismal 2.7%. In case you're wondering, we need a bare minimum of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to growth of 4% in order to maintain a healthy economy. (4 December 2012)

wednesday

What is Democracy? The Greater Good? The Greater Greed? by Cash Case

The first legal challenges to Obamacare rested on constitutional principles, but a new effort out of Oklahoma goes after the cogs that make the law function. State attorney general Scott Pruitt is trying to block the Internal Revenue Service from imposing fees on employers and individuals who don’t comply with the law’s mandates. In doing so, he may create a way for other states to fight back against the federal government’s top-down management of health care. If the suit succeeds, the law will not be invalidated, but if enough states choose to opt out, the resulting lack of funds could make Obamacare’s financial structure untenable. (5 December 2012)

* * *

Bright Gifts by Donna Goff

8 Gifts that Engage Children, Youth, and Families. Christmas is just a few weeks away! Are you looking for Christmas gifts for children or youth? Stores are brimming this time of year. Books, toys and gadgets are heavily promoted. Sadly, many of these things are more trendy twaddle (silly or trivial) and many are enduring or memorable. Would you like to change things up? (5 December 2012)

* * *

Early America: Live Free or Die by Siska De Young

Benjamin Franklin is famous for his sense of humor. In 1751, he wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way of thanking the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England. (5 December 2012)

thursday

Parents and the Drug Trap by Muriel Sluyter

We seem to be losing almost an entire generation of our most valuable asset, our own children. A truly astonishing percentage of today’s parents are drug users, and the chance that their offspring will avoid that drug trap is problematic at best. They love their parents and have a desperate need to justify a parent’s drug habit. Worse yet, drug-addicted parents justify their own behavior by poo-pooing the culture’s indictment of drug use at every possible opportunity. (6 December 2012)

* * *

Obamacare and it's Effects on America

Patrick Holman (L) - Obamacare is Here to Stay - The idea that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or, “Obamacare,” is somehow an infringement on personal liberties or the Constitution is an inaccurate opinion for people to hold. Yes, it’s an opinion, but that doesn’t mean somebody can’t be right or wrong just because we regard any statements or thoughts as their own view. Especially when in this situation, people need to stand up and fight for the right thing. (7 December 2012

Gerald Hand (R) - Obamacare: The Taxman Cometh - All I can say is THANK GOODNESS OBAMACARE is here! I mean, like the noted genius Jamie Foxx recently was quoted as saying "Obama is our lord and savior", and to have a program rolled out to the masses that is going to be so good we have to wait until 2014 for it, and our illustrious Senators and Representatives are excluded from this coverage. But why would anyone want to not be covered by this bill? (6 December 2012)

Continue Reading »-->

friday

To Dream or Not to Dream by Tevita Tonga Toutai

The election is over and yet the biggest issue on leading Republican minds is that of immediate immigration reform. The new focus is on granting amnesty versus addressing our debilitating economic situation. Republicans are willing to sacrifice their values and stance on immigration to gain popularity with minorities.Unfortunately, Democrats have already settled into that role of promising the world and continuing to tease minorities with mere crumbs unworthy of consumption. The merry-go-round is spinning out of control causing reality to wobble as if it could maintain this unconventional angle. (7 December 2012)

* * *

Music - Jessie Funk

An accomplished musician and performer, Jessie Funk also holds a leadership certification from the University of Notre Dame and serves as a certified life coach as well. She has released five solo albums, published five books, has toured 36 states with the Broadway musical “Footloose,” has performed for former Vice-President Dick Cheney, as an opening act for Donny Osmond, Josh Grayson and Billy Dean and she has toured with Broadway sensation Maureen McGovern. She has also been hired for hundreds of recording sessions as a studio vocalist including songs heard on TV’s “America’s Got Talent” and “The Biggest Loser.”

saturday

Movie Corner: Playing for Keeps (2012) by Candace Salima

Playing for Keeps is the story of a washed up soccer player whose failed at everything he's tried since his last professional game, including his marriage to Jessica Biel's character. Fast forward to weeks before Stacie (Jessica Biel) is marrying someone else and George comes back into his son's life. As he hits up old friends trying to find a broadcasting job, he finds himself coaching his son's soccer team, which turns out to be something he's actually good at.

* * *

News Corner USA EDITORIAL: A Nation Remembers by Candace Salima

On December 7 of 1941 the United States of America was attacked, without provocation, by the Empire of Japan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a shocked and grieving nation:

sunday

Book Review: The First Prophet by Candace Salima

The First Prophet is the first book in a new Bishop Files Novel trilogy. Kay Hooper's new offering is stunning in her ability to continually come up with fresh new stories in this fascinating series about a psychic department within the FBI. That being said, that psychic department rarely comes up in the book, although a couple of characters do show up off and on.

* * *

Suicide and Bullying, Who's Responsible? by Erin Apelu

The weather was unusually warm for December, but the afternoon felt normal. Not long after the bell rang, Bennion Jr. High students emerged from the doors that held them prisoner for the past six hours and spread like lava across the hibernating lawn. Close by on the sky bridge, where students hurried over the bustling road towards their homes, fourteen-year-old David Phan pulled out a gun from his backpack and fatally shot himself in the head in front of his friends. (9 December 2012)

Friday, December 7, 2012

A Nation Remembers Pearl Harbor

by Candace Salima, News Corner USA Editorial
Originally posted on 8 December 2012

On December 7 of 1941 the United States of America was attacked, without provocation, by the Empire of Japan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a shocked and grieving nation:

This attack brought America fully into a World War they'd desperately tried to stay out of, and we were drawn into the battle on two fronts. In the South Pacific, Japan made its move on the United States of America. It was their very mistaken belief that if they could draw America into the war, we would give up the Hawaiian Islands as being too costly and step back while they continued their march on island after island.

"The [American military] base on [Oahu] was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of these eight damaged, two were raised, and with four repaired, six battleships returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded." Source

Until September 11 of 2001, this day in American history lived as the most horrific attack on America. Thousands of our soldiers died; and instead of surrendering Hawaii, because America doesn't surrender, we were drawn into the war on two fronts: the Pacific theater and the European theater. Before World War II was over, 400,000 Americans had given their lives to keep the world free.

While my expertise is in the European theater of that war, I know that the war fought by our soldiers in the Pacific was horrifying on all levels. Americans, especially our Greatest Generation, fought for God, family and country. The price they paid for our freedom was beyond measure or understanding by Americans today.

In speaking with a veteran of that war, his voice trembling while tears choked his throat, he addressed the current affairs of our nation, "This is not the America I was wounded for; this is not the America my friends died for." And he's right. When they fought the Japanese, the malaria, the starvation, the shortage of weaponry and ammunition, and the unfettered viciousness of the Japanese in the P.O.W. camps, so many died and died horribly. And that horror began at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii early that December morning. But the U.S. Military triumphed over the Japanese, and ultimately, they paid dearly for that attack on Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday, social networking was alive with the remembrances of Pearl Harbor, and it was heartwarming to see so many honoring those whose lives were lost, those who were wounded, and those who waited at home. Today, News Corner USA wants to remind Americans the cost others have paid for the lives we live today. Is it so little to ask that we honor the sacrifices of those who have gone before us? To ask that we remember that the freedom and liberty each generation of Americans has been born with, does not come freely. We must take the responsibility of educating ourselves about:

The founding and development of our nation;
Why the Founding Fathers chose a republic over all other types of government;
Study and fully understand the U.S. Constitution; and
Why our Founding Fathers chose to found America on Judeo/Christian principles.

Each day you awaken, thank God for your life, and thank the men and women who draw that line in the sand that allow you and yours to sleep peacefully at night.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

On News Corner USA 4 December 2012

On News Corner USA today:

Youth Violence and Crime
by Alvin Salima
4 December 2012

Youth violence and crime affect a community's economic health, as well as individuals' physical and mental health and well-being. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for youth in our country. In 2008, more than 656,000 young people, ages 10-24, were treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained from violence.¹

Each neighborhood and community has unique experiences with violence and different resources available to them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to preventing youth violence. However, communities can help reduce youth violence by developing a city-wide strategy that combines prevention, intervention, treatment, and re-entry strategies. Organizations like the The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention work with communities to design these strategies.

Youth violence destroys quality of life and decreases the freedom, health, and prosperity of individuals, families, and communities. Unaddressed youth violence and crime negatively affect our communities' physical, mental, and economic health and challenges our ability to educate, grow, and prosper. Research done has come up with the following: