And now as adults, while our imaginations have taken a turn towards creatively producing a source to maintain and sustain the life of a “mere mortal” in the “real world”, one of us has disappeared into the corner telephone booth and changed into a master of scribe to produce and develop successful science fiction television drama series based on many childhood fantasies called “Heroes.”

Premiering on NBC September 25, 2006 and telling the story of ordinary people who have genetic traits that have given them superhuman abilities, Tim Kring’s “Heroes” became a truly extraordinary television series. Kring’s characters slowly figure out that they are not average humans and try to balance a normal life with their life as one who is destined to do more than normal. Each character engages the audience allowing us to see what it is like to discover you have unordinary abilities and how it can enhance or impede normal life.

Now in its third season, after suffering through a 100 day writer’s strike in the middle of season two in 2007, “Heroes” is going through growing pangs. Emmy Award winning creator Tim Kring, also known for screenwriting the hit TV shows “Knight Rider” and “Crossing Jordan”, has made it clear that “Heroes” will continue to keep viewers entertained. Personally, I think the show is lacking direction and creativity; however my DVR still records it weekly. I believe Kring and his partners have taken out the very traits that made the show a Monday night addiction. They are taking the show in directions that seem a little far fetched for even the truest fan. I just don’t know that there is much more to be done …the first two seasons have seemingly fulfilled all imaginative super-human ideals, now it seems as if though they are grasping at straws and hoping we’ll continue to take a sip of their weakened potion.

All in all, “Heroes” is in need of a complete cast overhaul. Presently, there are too many characters vying for the “spotlight. It was the simplicity of the show that made it compelling and intriguing to watch. Now, all of the mystery is gone. This season’s writing seems juvenile with the insertion of calculated and predictable twists and turns. I am rooting for Kring and his team to get back on track, but if they don’t find a way to shield themselves from the kryptonite of sagging viewership and ratings, I may have to allot the time on my DVR to the mundane performance by David Caruso on CBS’s “CSI Miami” or goodness forbid, the even lamer ABC newcomer “Castle”.

Further expanding upon his unique media approaches of the past week,  the President held a Web Town Hall via the Internet on Thursday, March 26, 2009. The webcast, which could be seen on www.whitehouse.gov, as well as through most major news websites, began at 11:30 a.m. EST, and lasted for about 90 minutes. The premise was simple- up until 9:30 a.m. on March 26, 2009, you could go to the White House website, and post a question for the President. The public then had the opportunity to vote on which questions they liked or disliked. From this list, Obama would be addressing the concerns of the people in his Web Town Hall.

“When I was running for president, I promised to open the White House to the American people,” said Obama at the opening of the first ever Presidential Town Hall meeting. “I’ve been working to deliver the changes you sent me here to make.” And with that comment, the questions began, both from online submissions in both text (format)* and video format, as well as from a live audience in the White House.

The meeting was another example of how the President has changed Presidential politics for future generations. As presidential candidate Obama, he first built a powerful political machine by taking advantage of the internet as an invaluable resource to recruit supporters and raise money. As his campaign progressed toward victory, it became obvious that his focus on having a stellar internet campaign with web blasts and e-mail lists had motivated a demographic of voters to become extremely active in the 2008 Presidential Campaign. So, it was only natural for the President to hold the first ever Presidential Web Meeting, as he could thank the Internet and the “Internet Generation” for his ascension to prominence.

The meeting was filled with questions ranging from the economic crisis, to education, and health care, amongst other topics. A few key tidbits from the meeting:

When asked a question about the auto industry, the President promised some announcement “in the next several days” concerning the auto industry. He warned that the U.S. automakers would be expected to make structural changes, or risk losing opportunities for taxpayer bailout money.

The President voiced interest in a plan to take banks out of the Student Loan business, and make the Federal Government and Direct Loans the only method of borrowing money for higher education.

In a question about whether or not marijuana should be legalized to grow the economy, President Obama noted that marijuana discussions were one of the most popular question topics posted by the online audience. “I don’t know what that says about the online audience,” the President joked. “The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.”

For nearly 90 minutes, Obama answered questions. Perhaps this is a new method by which Obama hopes to convey his messages and relieve fears- a two pronged attack, some might say, of a press conference for the Press Corp followed by a Web Town Hall Meeting for the “regular Joes” (not at all to be confused with Joe the Plumber, who did not, by most accounts, pose any questions for the President to answer today).

Once again, it appears this President has the distinction of yet another Presidential first. Just as FDR had his Fireside Chats, and JFK became our first true “Television President”, maybe President Obama will be remembered for his “Webmeetings”. Only time will tell.

Bush’s unconditional support to the governing elite in Georgia (President Mikheil Saakashvili) might have served a bad example as they felt that they could get away with almost anything as long as they had such powerful backer. Georgia suffered with super powerful Georgian presidency, weak Parliament and judiciary. The political opposition was left without a say in decision making process and gradually turned into radical political force which would suffice with nothing more than Saakashvili’s resignation. Many ordinary citizens felt that the government employed unnecessary aggressive tactics for implementing the reforms undertaken in various directions. Combination of these factors resulted in large scale demonstration in November 2007 which was brutally crushed by the law enforcement bodies. Many in Georgia felt that Bush’s administration used double standards with regard to Georgia’s leadership in fact encouraging their feeling of impunity.

Now with the new President in the White House the general expectation is that Obama’s administration will adopt somewhat different approach to Georgia and the post-Soviet region in general. Some signs of this can already be observed- installation of anti-missile systems ( irritating factor to Russia) in Poland and Czech Republic are given the second thought, the process of Georgia’s and Ukraine’s integration into NATO is put on brakes, the negotiations regarding reducing the stock of nuclear weapons in Russia and America are launched. The tendency is to increase Russia’s engagement with the West so it can feel that it is once again the important player in the international arena. In terms of Georgia, Saakashvili now cannot hope for such support from Obama as he enjoyed from Bush and this might create an opportunity for intensifying the process of democratization in the country. The representatives of the US State Department already started to call for the dialogue between the government and the opposition. This is particularly significant statement in light of planned large scale opposition demonstration on April 9.

This change of approach of Obama’s foreign policy represents a dramatic curve from his predecessor- now it seems that Obama is interested in supporting democratic institutions rather than supporting individual politicians. Will this mean that Obama’s administration will push Saakashvili to conduct effective democratic reforms? We will have to wait to see. Obama is looking for ways to engage Russia in the dialogue. Does it mean that Georgia’s and Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO are postponed for a long time? Still there is not an answer to this question. One fact is evident- after election of Obama Georgia and the post-Soviet region is entering very interesting period of political developments.

Today, the major religions have a bad reputation, and, quite frankly, they should. The mainstream media constantly features reports of the Middle East’s religion-based terrorism. There is no doubt that the terrible violence, coming from both Islamic and Jewish extremists, is a legitimate threat to the security of all nations. Meanwhile, back in the United States, where Christianity reigns supreme, many of the mainstream religious leaders hypocritically condemn all other religions of the world, and constantly claim that Christianity is the only religion that has a positive effect on society (we all know the Crusades were a great idea). It seems, in the present day, that religion has become a competition between different beliefs, and through this competition, conflict has risen. It makes sense. What has happened is, different group of people believe that they are more “right”- or the sole moral power of the world- and therefore they are constantly trying to prove themselves over one another. Through this, conflicts begin, which in many cases result in violence against an opposing group. So is this the true intention of religion? Was religion established to provoke hate rather than to promote peace and love as they all claim to?

According to study done by Dr. Inzlicht, who is a neurological researcher in Toronto, people who are more religious tend not to be so anxious when making an error. “Anxiety is actually quite important,” Inzlicht says, “We need it to let us know when things aren’t going right. We need it to let us know when we’ve made errors, when we need to correct ourselves.” What Inzlicht is essentially saying is those who are religious do less to correct their mistakes. Perhaps that explains that constant mistakes that organized religions make today. Maybe, religion just clouds the judgment in such a way that people don’t realize when to correct an error. Today, people who are considered religious are looked down upon as those who don’t necessarily think for themselves. It would seem that religious people listen mostly to what the leaders of their church tell them. This is shown every time a presidential election comes up or a new controversial issue finds its way into the television.

I sat down with Rev. Jeff Sonafelt, who is an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) pastor and chaplain of the Lutheran Youth Organization Board, and asked for his thoughts on organized religion. He expressed to me his view on the difference of faith and religion. “Faith is an individual belief in God and everyone’s is going to be different. Religion is meant to be the way in which you practice your faith and share your testimony with others- not to be told how to believe.” Jeff went on to say “I believe Jesus came to this earth to end religion (as humanity has shaped it), not as a proponent of it.”

If there’s anything the religions need to learn, it’s how to get along with each other. As long as religions will not accept one another as equals, there will always be conflict, and until that happens, history will show religion as the bully who picks on those that are different from them. We live in a frightening time, but is religion to blame for that? Or is it the groups of followers that obey their “all knowing” leaders, rather than pondering why they should, or shouldn’t, take the actions they are told to carry out? It is ironic how a group of different beliefs claim to be the exclusive path to finding peace in one’s life, yet they cause so much division. In reality, the only way to find peace is to respect those who differ from your beliefs, and accept the fact that no one knows everything. If there is someone who does- a creator or a higher power-, who religious people believe they should be just like, He’s not wasting His time trying to prove himself.

In 2008, over 6,000 people were killed in Mexico’s Drug War, and 2009 is shaping up to be just as bad, if not worse: over 1,000 killed as of March 15, 2009. The violence stems from rival drug gangs in Mexico jockeying for power over the drug channels and routes into the highly profitable United States drug trade. Corruption within the local Mexican governments has escalated the violence as gangs strive to buy out the law enforcers assigned to bring them down.

Last week, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas, Mexican police forces recovered seven bodies they believe to be related to the Drug War. Mexico authorities have dispatched several thousand soldiers to attempt to regulate the escalating violence in the region.

Even the resort towns are no longer immune to the violence. In February 2009, retired Mexican Army General Mauro Tello Quinones, who was hired to fight corruption in the local Cancun police force, was tortured and killed for his involvement in tackling the Drug War.

The violence may not be limited to Mexico for much longer. While the terror has reached beyond the border towns and into the resort towns, there are fears that it is inevitable that these acts of violence will make their way across the Mexican border into the United States. The expectation is that any violence would of course begin at United States border towns like El Paso and Brownsville Texas, and possibly even San Diego, California situated 15 miles north of the Mexican border.

Mexican drug gangs seem to be well armored with weaponry, primarily supplied by America. While the U.S. government, and groups within the U.S., are not advocating and supporting the gangs, the readily available cash these gangs make from drug sales, usually within the United States, has afforded them the chance to venture to their northern neighbor and purchase military-grade firearms. A scary statistic- while 90 percent of the cocaine flowing in to the United States comes from Mexico, nearly 90 percent of all firearms confiscated in Mexican drug crimes come from the United States.

President Obama has taken notice- he has considered dispatching National Guard officials to the border, and has Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making a visit to Mexico to discuss strategies against the Drug War, amongst other things, with the Mexican President and officials. In an omnibus spending plan signed into legislation this year, the U.S. Government allocated nearly $300 million for counter-drug operations in Mexico and Central America.

Spring Breakers should keep this in mind as they make their plans for their week of debauchery. While many will be drawn to the allure of Mexican beaches and cheap travel prices in today’s tough travel economy, they should be mindful that their own country warns them of this escalating violence. For cartels and gangs looking to make a statement to the world about their power, what a better way than to stage a kidnapping/torturing/murdering of college tourists?

Without passports, destinations free of drug cartel wars are plentiful here in the United States. Spring Breakers should consider the white sandy beaches of Florida, the nightlife of New York City, or even a Caribbean cruise. These trips will be memorable, and just as debaucherous, without the fear of a kidnapping.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html

The opening credits of the HBO series “Big Love” are accompanied by the classic Beach Boys hit “God Only Knows” and it is undoubtedly an appropriate choice which summarizes the characters of this gripping tale. “Big Love” is yet another genuine hit for subscription channel that has produced several Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning series which include: “The Sopranos”, “Oz”, “The Wire”, “Sex and the City”, “Six Feet Under”, and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Nearing the end of its third season and locked in for a fourth, “Big Love” has become the bedrock drama on HBO’s schedule. I have found it to be quite amazing that a show centered on a polygamous family can attract such a tremendous following and I must report that I am happy to see it doing so well.

Like many, I find the idea of plural marriage either fascinating or abhorrent, and the main thing that makes this show so intriguing is that it doesn’t glorify polygamy, but rather displays it with four consenting adults who have chosen the lifestyle and are dealing with the day-to-day challenges plural marriages may represent, in addition to the issues that surround the uniqueness of the situation.

Yet this show, for all that might be seen as a dramatic gimmick, actually works. Bill Paxton, an actor most recognized for his film roles in “Weird Science”, “Titanic”, and “Twister”, makes a perfect everyman starring as Bill Hendrickson, a Home Depot-style conglomerate owner in Utah, who has landed in a world that would be hard for anyone to truly understand. And his first/second/third wives, Jeanne Tripplehorn (Barbara), Chloe Sevigny (Nikki) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Margene) all bring completely different personas as his family. The completely different characteristic of each wife is what makes the show so much more interesting and possibly more relatable to the audience.

Barbara is perhaps the most interesting of the three wives as she is obviously Bill’s first love. Their relationship is the show’s equivalent to what would be considered as the traditional family unit, albeit with two other wives and the “un-Brady Bunch” group of kids. Second wife Nikki, the daughter of the “Prophet” of the compound from which this mode of life was introduced (the show has made it clear it does not represent the beliefs of the Mormon Church), is the crazy one. Margene, the third and youngest wife, is a young girl in her twenties who wants to be a good wife but is still distracted by the allure of the “other” world that is so attractive to a woman her age.

In addition to the four main characters, who live in 3 houses in order to keep up the appearance of three separate homes, there is the assortment of other personalities that bring an array of character to the story line; for instance, the confused kids –all dealing with teenage sexuality and the anxieties of selecting a college to attend. And the friends, neighbors, and coworkers–some are polygamists, and others in opposition of the practice of plural marriages are active participants in an ongoing witch hunt to expose families like the Hendrickson’s. The church members, who live on the Juniper Creek Compound which is lorded over by the foreboding “Prophet” Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), is possibly the most fascinating of all the lot.

It would be easy to turn the fictional Juniper Creek compound into something out of a horror story, but instead the “Big Love” writers have invented a society that lives by its own rules, yet in a very earnest manner and only trying to do right by themselves and their neighbors.

Adding the ingredients of a delicious amount of drama, jealousy, intrigue and yes, even murder and creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer have crafted a show that has a strangely realistic vision of a taboo world populated with characters we cheer for, sneer at, care for and even…at least in my case, have a Big Love.