Bob McCarty Writes

Recently, two items — a book and a game — arrived in my mailbox, sent by people hoping I will mention their products in one of my posts.  I hope the information that follows makes those people happy.

“SECULAR SABOTAGE” by Bill Donohue

Preceded by an e-mail from Valerie M. Russo, senior web publicist with the Hachette Book Group in New York City, the book arrived in my mailbox inside a plain brown envelope.  No letter.  No business card.  No pitch.  Just the book  No subtle attempt to influence me one way or the other.  Fair enough.

I knew I would like this book — or, at a minimum, agree with its author — as soon as I read the small print on the cover:  HOW LIBERALS ARE DESTROYING RELIGION AND CULTURE IN AMERICA.

A list of eight bullet points on page one of the book reinforced the positive feelings provided by the words on the cover.  Below is a sample of those points:

• A college student is threatened with expulsion because she prayed on campus for her ill professor.

• A professor predicts violence will follow a movie about the death of Jesus and cops are ordered into theaters to monitor the situation.

• A civil rights organization protests a statue of Jesus found on the ocean floor.

• A religious outreach adviser to a political party signs a brief trying to excise the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Though I have yet to read the book cover to cover, I plan to do that soon.  Based on the small portion I’ve read so far, I’m confident the author — who is president of the Catholic League and makes frequent guest appearances on Fox News Channel — is on the right track.  Worth reading.

To order this book, click on the link below:

Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America

“PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 500 PROMISES” from U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

In a manner similar to the one described above, I received a copy of “PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 500 PROMISES” from Donna Wiberg of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Though I thought about leaving the game’s shrink-wrapped in plastic to preserve it’s value as a collectible, I changed my mind, thinking I owe Donna the courtesy of looking beyond the exterior packaging and into the game itself in order to write an objective review.

Once inside the box, however, I learned the “game” was, in reality, a clever search engine optimization tool.  You see, the box contains two shrink-wrapped stacks of 255 cards each — 510 cards total.  According to an unwrapped insert placed inside the box, each card represents “an actual statement of promise made by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign or in the beginning of his White House administration.”

Furthermore, according to the insert, “each card also provides a brief description of the promise, often with additional information on the background, context, or Obama’s reason for make the promise.  In some cases, details are provided as to how President Obama plans to enact the promise and what results he hopes to achieve.”

The whole SEO aspect of the game comes into play when one reads the type at the bottom of each card:  view status online at www.PolitiFact.com.

Clever.  Very clever.  Using a deck of 510 cards to drive people to a web site where, I’m certain, other products and advertisements await.  On the scale of 1 to 10, I give this one a 10 for being SEO clever, but I feel used by the same tool  As a result, the cards will remain in two plastic shrouds inside the now-unwrapped cardboard box.

If you want to buy a copy of the game to see it for yourself, click on the link below:

President Obama’s 500 Promises Cards