This trend should only grow stronger, for two reasons:
1. Studio executives may be liberals, but when it comes to box office grosses, they’re unrepentant capitalists. Now that they’re finally seeing that religious audiences will pay to see a movie that appeals to them, they’re starting to get on board. Noah was a big studio production aimed at churchgoers, but it alienated a lot of them because its director, Darren Aronofsky, just couldn’t help himself: He had to rewrite the Bible to insert liberal and environmentalist messages. But Heaven Is for Real got it right, and it’s a TriStar Studios release featuring mainstream star Greg Kinnear.
2. Even as the studios finally start creating movies that appeal to conservative Christians, new advances such as digital cameras, computer video editing, and crowd-sourced funding are empowering conservative indie filmmakers, who no longer have to depend on Hollywood to green-light movies and screen out anything that isn’t filled with left-wing messages. They can now shoot movies on a shoestring that can compete in quality with major studio releases.
HUNTING VS. HEALTH CARE, OBAMA STYLE!
By the end of November 2013, only 269 people had enrolled on the Obamacare Web site in New Hampshire. The state gave out 281 moose-hunting permits, so I joked on my daily radio commentary The Huckabee Report that more New Hampshire residents wanted to shoot a moose than buy into Obamacare. Well, a self-proclaimed fact-checking site called PolitiFact accused me of telling a “half-truth.” They claimed “it’s possible” that more people wanted Obamacare but couldn’t get through. And “it could be argued” that anyone who completed an application wanted it, even if they didn’t buy it yet. That’s a lot of weasel words for people who claim to deal in facts. Well, I don’t like being accused of telling a half-truth when even they admitted that my numbers were correct. So let me give you just a few more details.
They claim that the number of “potential customers” in New Hampshire who filled out an application for Obamacare was 7,817. We don’t know how many of those are legitimate, or would ever have bought insurance, but I’ll give them that number. Now, the moose-hunting permits are on a lottery system. They gave out 289 permits, but the number of applicants who filled out a form and definitely wanted one was 13,469. Even with my backward, red-state math education, I think that 13,469 moose-hunting applicants outnumber 7,817 potential Obamacare enrollees. Of course, I could argue that even more people wanted to apply to shoot a moose, but couldn’t get through. But I trust the people who set up the moose-hunting lottery application site to have done it right. After all, that job is important.
I think maybe PolitiFact needs to learn the difference between an assumption and a fact. They might also want to look up the definition of the word “joke.” And the word “opinion.” As in, “It’s my opinion, from personal experience growing up poor, that most families would find a pot of moose chili to be a lot more useful than an overpriced insurance policy their doctor won’t take.”
If you’ve had the misfortune of spending all your life in the tony, uptown enclaves of Manhattan, the Washington Beltway, or in Beverly Hills, I truly feel for you. Granted, it might not be your thing to wade in chest-deep water to hunt mallards in flooded timber, or to order a bowl of cheese grits for dinner (never, ever call them “cheesy grits” because “cheezy” means fake and cheap, not “cheese-filled”) and know what you were getting, or to attend a revival meeting in which people held up their hands during the singing in praise to God. But don’t be so smug about what makes us tick or keeps us happy. We like the simple life. Status is a Ford F-150 truck; luxury is crawfish étouffée and slaw on your pulled-pork sandwich; and privilege is front-row seats at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. Speaking of Skynyrd, their album God & Guns is the greatest collection of songs about Bubba-ville culture ever. I love every song on it, and the signature song “Simple Life” from the album says it better than I ever could:
Simple Life
Hey when was the last time you sat down
and had dinner with your kids?
Talked about what’s goin’ on in their lives
Hey when was the last time you just stopped and helped somebody out?
I bet ya can’t remember
Well a lot of people are saying it’s changing for the better
But that don’t interest me
I like the simple life
The way it used to be
We left our doors wide open, we didn’t need no key
I’ve been around the world
Seen all there is to see
I’d trade all those memories
For one more day of how it used to be
I like the simple life
I want to get up Sunday mornin’ and go fishing with my boy
Watch the sunset and kick back in my yard
Take my Harley on a real long lazy Sunday drive
And do a little more of nothin’ once in a while
Yeah maybe kick my feet up, watch an old rerun on TV
Laughing with old Barney, Andy and Aunt B.
I like the simple life
The way it used to be
We left our doors wide open, we didn’t need no key
I’ve been around the world
Seen all there is to see
I’d trade all those memories
For one more day of how it used to be
I like the simple life
Everything’s moving by so fast
I swear sometimes we just can’t see
So caught up on where we’re trying to get
Life as we know it can be gone in a minute
I want the simple life
The way it used to be
We left our doors wide open, didn’t need no key
I’ve been around the world
Seen all there is to see
I’d trade all those memories
For one more day
I like the simple life
I want the simple life
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
ABC
abortion
anti-abortion
government and
medicinal
accountability
Achieve
action
Adams, John
adultery
A&E
affirmative action, racism and
Affleck, Ben
Affordable Care Act. See also Obamacare
Afghanistan War
Afterschool for All
Ailes, Roger
air travel
airport security searches. See also Transportation Security Administration
Albright, Hugh
AllThingsD.com
Amazon
American Enterprise Institute
An American Family
Anderson, Ethan
Andy Griffith Show
anti-abortion
anti-terrorism
AOL
AP. See Associated Press
Apple
Applied Economics Letters
Argo
Aristotle
Arkansas governor
balanced budget
forest management and
grocery tax
health-care
innovations
staff of
welfare and
Aronofsky, Darren
Articles of Confederation
assault weapons
Associated Press (AP)
Obama administration and
phone records
Atlanta Journal Constitution
atmosphere
attitude
changing
drunk driving and
auto industry bailouts
The Bachelor
Backward California Go
ld Rush
bailouts
auto industry
bank
Wall Street
Baker, Mitchell
bank bailouts
Barker, Davi
Bartiromo, Maria
Bartlett, Doug
baseball
Bash, Dana
Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.)
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Chua)
Baugh, Chris
The Beach
Beautify America campaign
Beedie, Michael
believe-nots
believers
marriage and
Bentham, David
Bentham, Jason
Berumen, Maria
The Beverly Hillbillies
Bewitched
Beyoncé
Bezos, Jeff
Bible
divorce and
homosexuality and
The Bible
Biblical Recorder
Biden, Joe
Bieber, Justin
Big Brother
Big Government
bigotry
same-sex marriage and
Bill of Rights
purpose
biofuels
birth control pills
blogs
Bloomberg, Michael
Bloomberg Markets
Bloomberg News
BLS. See Bureau of Labor Statistics
blue
body, as temple
The Bonfire of the Vanities (Wolfe)
Boosler, Elayne
Boozman, Fay
Boston Globe
Bowman, Laurel
Brin, Sergey
Brokeback Mountain
Brooks, Albert
Brooks, Arthur C.
Brooks, Foster
Brookwood Elementary School
Broom, Paula
Brown, Jerry
Bubba-ville
church and
conservation
economy
forest management
God’s blessings and
great outdoors and
IRS and
low-pressure way of life
same-sex marriage and
thinking
Bubble-ville
limousine liberalism
man-centered worldview
money in
reality TV and
thinking
Buckley, William F.
Buckwild
Bugtussle
building permits
bullying
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Burgundy, Ron
Burnett, Mark
Bush, George W.
Bush, Jeb
Buzzi, Ruth
CAFE. See Corporate Average Fuel Economy
California. See also Hollywood; Los Angeles
Backward California Gold Rush
job migration and
man-caused disaster
Silicon Valley and
taxes
campaign finances
capitalist system
progressives and
carbon footprint
Carlin, George
Carroll, Kathleen
Carroll, Lewis
Catch-22
Cathy, Dan
bigotry toward
on family values
hate speech and
on same-sex marriage
Cathy, Truett
CDC. See Centers for Disease Control
cell phones
Center for Public Integrity
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
National Diabetes Statistics Report
on out-of-wedlock births
CFG. See Club for Growth
charity giving
Chase, David
Chick-fil-A restaurant chain
Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day
closed on Sundays
pressure on
privately owned
Chief Executive
ChiefExecutive.net
Child, Julia
children. See also public school exodus
childhood obesity
mass-media education
play
TSA and
WIC
China
censorship
growth of
Internet blocking
regulating daily life
Tiananmen Square massacre
Christian belief
Christian worldview
Chua, Amy
churches
Bubba-ville and
church people
as equalizer
homeless shelters
New York City
underground
cigarette advertising
circle of life
Cleveland, Grover
climate change
denying
Obama, B., on
climate chaos
climate disruption
Clinton, Bill
Clinton, Hillary
Club for Growth (CFG)
CNN
coarse speech
Coca-Cola
cohabitation
Coleman, Ken
commencement speeches
Common Core
concealed-carry law
Confucius
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
conservation
conservatives
fiscal
Senate Conservatives Fund
Constitution, U.S.. See also specific Amendments
powers in
protections
upholding
Conyers, John
Cook, Tim
cooking
Cool Hand Luke
Coolidge, Calvin
Cooper, James Fenimore
Cops
corporal punishment at home
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
Cosby, Bill
Coulson, Andrew
“A Country Boy Can Survive”
Couric, Katie
courtesy
cowboy boots
Cowell, Simon
Cracker Barrel
cream gravy
creativity
cronyism
Crouch, Michael
Crouse, Janice Shaw
crude, culture of
Beyoncé
coarse speech
lewd behavior
as mean
online sneers
profanity in films
in stand-up comedy
Cryer, Rachel
Cuban, Mark
Cure Strategy
cyber theft
Cyrus, Miley
Dallas
The Dating Game
DEA
Deadliest Catch
debates
decency
Declaration of Independence
Deen, Paula
DeMille, Cecil B.
Democratic National Committee
Democratic Party
donors
women and
Denver Post
DEP. See Department of Environmental Protection
Depardieu, Gerard
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Justice
Depression
Destiny’s Child
Dewey, Thomas
diabetes
DiCaprio, Leonardo
Dingell, John
dirty laundry
Discovery Channel
diversity
code for uniformity
essence of
left and
value of
divorce
Bible and
domestic violence
Domino Theory
Downey, Roma
dreamers
Drudge Report
drunk driving
attitude and
<
br /> “Drunk in Love”
Duck Dynasty
Ducks Unlimited
duct tape
Duggar, Jim Bob
Duggar, Michelle
Durbin, Dick
Earth Day
Eastwood, Clint
eat your own first movement
eating
e-cigarettes
economy
auto industry bailouts
bank bailouts
Bubba-ville
CAFE
government role
Hollywood
September, 2008 nosedive
struggling
trickle-down economics
United States economic freedom
Edison, Thomas
Education News
educrats
Edwards, John
Egypt
Eich, Brendan
Eisenhower, Dwight
Emanuel, Rahm
empowering people
Engler, John
entertainment
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
environmentalism
air travel and
apocalyptic predictions
biofuels and
extremism
forest management
Greenpeace and
in Hollywood
hunting and
hyperenvironmentalists
personal freedom and
wind power and
EPA. See Environmental Protection Agency
equalizer
executive branch
Facebook
FactCheck.org
Fair Tax movement
faith-based movies
family
family hour
force of
family values
Cathy, D., on
fashion
fatherhood, trivialization of
Fear Factor
federal agencies. See also Environmental Protection Agency; Internal Revenue Service; National Security Agency; Transportation Security Administration; Troubled Asset Relief Plan
feminism
Ferguson, Colin
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Fifth Amendment
finance. See also economy
campaign finances
New York City
Senate Finance Committee
First Amendment
exercising
fiscal conservatives
Flip It Forward
flyover country
normal views
food safety
food stamps
Forbes
foreign policy
Foreman, George
forest management
Founders
Bill of Rights and
bill passage
paranoia
revolution
states and
401Ks
Fourth Amendment
Fox News
Fox News Channel show
great moments
guests
Franklin, Benjamin
God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy Page 26