Komen had to decide between its ability to help women and its promise to not get involved with entities currently under investigation by U.S. authorities.  After some outrage on both sides, Komen decided to amend its language and considered Planned Parenthood’s issues with the government to be strictly political and not criminal.  Wanting to keep the focus on promoting a cure for cancer, Komen chose to stay out of the political fights and simply continue to help out women as they have in the past.  Naturally, Planned Parenthood was pleased with the end result as was many liberal supporters of the Komen foundation.  Some conservatives against abortion still had issue with the idea of helping a group that supports abortion.

It’s a very strong and important topic, and no matter which side of it you are on, you likely have an opinion on this story.  Now you have some facts to go with it.

Read on:

Komen reverses move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

Ryan could use some help with future ideas, because while the spirit is willing, it can get difficult to avoid being repetitive.  Post a comment on his site and offer an idea if you have one.  Better yet, repeat one of his ideas yourself and pay it forward.  Ryan shows that good deeds need not be expensive or exhaustive.  Make an effort and any amount of kindness is better than none.

Why is this a Dinner Topic?  Because with so many headlines promoting the negative (such as every political story), it’s important to bring a little positivity to the table.  Tell this guy’s story the next time you get together with a group of friends, and people just might enjoy themselves a little more and want to do more.

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Read on:

366RandomActs.org

Sittercity.com New Years Savings – 25% off memberships w/code JAN25 expires 1/31
Read on:

ChaCha.com – What is the name of fear of spelling words wrong?

Zap2It.com – Have Paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th)? Today is not your day

(image taken from: CafeMom.com)

“Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It’s OK to Shoot”¹

Besides the unnecessary plural in “Operators” (perhaps the woman spoke to more than one but that fact didn’t make it to print), the glaring error is the false claim of “911 Operators Say It’s OK to Shoot.”  Within the story itself, the 911 dispatcher was quoted as saying “I CAN’T tell you to do that…”  That’s right, CAN’T.  The dispatcher did say “do what you have to do,” but that is hardly the same as saying it’s OK to shoot.  Furthermore, the headline seems leading as if to suggest that a 911 operator’s confirmation of something is somehow legally binding or at least justification for an act. 

Based on the few facts given, it would appear that a woman in severe duress needed some reassurance that her future actions to defend her child were within the scope of a clear-headed person detached from the situation.  The dispatcher acted nobly, speaking generally while recognizing the need for immediate support in a potential life and death situation.  In a scary situation, the woman and the dispatcher acted professionally and within what they believed were their individual rights.  Only the writers failed this story, and if the writers didn’t create the headline, then that job needs to be reassigned.

There are many uplifting and interesting stories out there if you look hard enough, but it’s our individual responsibility to use several sources and learn to read between the biases of those behind the pen to find out the reality of each news story.  While most people skim the headlines and skip the content, might I suggest to the loyal Dinner Topics readers to occasionally skip the headlines and read the content?

Happy New Year everyone.  When Dinner Topics isn’t here to give you the depth of story you might have missed, don’t be afraid to dive into an article and judge it for yourself rather than just taking the writer’s slant.

Read on:

ABCNews.go.com – Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It’s OK to Shoot

Good grief, Target shoppers

You may have noticed video news clips and articles about people lining up outside Target stores this week acting like it’s Black Friday.  Why?  Missoni, an Italian designer, rolled out a special “Target only” line of merchandise from clothing to hand towels, and as soon as it went on sale Tuesday, shoppers invaded the stores buying everything in site and crashed Target’s website thanks to the huge volume of online shoppers.  Missoni is a luxury brand, but the merchandise made available for Target was specially discounted both in price and likely quality.  On top of that – the labels all say “Missoni for Target,” so there is no mistaking where that dress came from, nor is it any different from the ones worn by the three other moms out to the same restaurant that night.

Wondering what’s so unique about Missoni?  Based on most of the samples, just about everything involves a zig-zag pattern, giving each item specific brand recognition.  Personally, I think the photo to the right shows the true father of this style.

Here’s where it gets weird and Dinner Topic-friendly.  There are now THOUSANDS of “Missoni for Target” items available on eBay, with many selling and/or listing for multiple times their original values, including a $399 bike for $1,000.  That means some people are willing to spend almost as much for the discounted merchandise as they would for the original brand.  Interesting. 

Another topic worth discussing: when so-called “iconic brands” like Missoni begin making discounted and lower quality merchandise for the masses to afford, is the brand still iconic?  Think of it this way: if you owned a Porsche and Porsche decided to put its name on a 4-cylinder, 2-seat plastic box for about $10,000, would you feel any different about your car?  Having not owned a Porsche or any Missoni merchandise, I can’t say, but I would suggest making purchases based on your own likes rather than the popularity or scarcity of a label – it will eliminate any buyer’s remorse.

Read on:

USAToday.com – Missoni frenzy at Target shows shoppers still crave luxury

Target.com – Missoni for Home (notice everything is Out of Stock)

CNBC.com – Missoni Launch: Success or Missed Opportunity for Target?

Broasting is actually a trademarked process using specific equipment only available to commercial users directly from The Broaster Company in Beloit, Wisconsin.  I’m not making this up.  The broasting process itself involves marinating, breading, and “pressure frying” which is designed to cook the chicken faster and in its own juices so that less oil is absorbed, making it a healthier alternative to fried chicken in terms of fat content (and even calories according to the Broaster.com website).  Some people try to broast chicken in their homes using pressure cookers, but true broasting only comes from official commercial outlets.  Other items (potatoes, etc.) can be broasted as well, but chicken is the most popular.

The video below gives a very good demonstration of the pressure frying process of broasting (move ahead to the 1:30 mark).

Now, with school starting and families getting busy, the next time you swing by Chicken Manor for some quick takeout, you can tell your kids all about the broasted chicken as you dig into the juicy carcass.  Just don’t explain it this way:

New Crayola Products for 2011!

Read on:

Broaster.com – The Broaster Advantage

Turtle

You might be heading on a vacation soon and will stumble upon a slow moving hard shelled creature along the side of the road on your great American venture and will hear your kids say “hey, look at the cute turtle!”  No need to be the proper police, but you might want to point out that if this “turtle” was seen on land walking along a path or desert highway, that “turtle” isn’t really a turtle but rather a tortoise.

Tortoise

While people like to use the word “turtle” to describe all hard-shelled slow green animals, turtles typically reside in water while tortoises are completely land based.  Don’t forget about the terrapin!  Terrapins are like tweeners in that they split their time between swampy water and dry land just to add confusion to this topic.¹

The biggest difference between a tortoise and a turtle?  Turtles have a MUCH shorter life span, ranging from 20 to 40 years while a tortoise can live upwards of 150 years!

Read on:

WiseGeek.com – What Is the Difference Between a Turtle and a Tortoise?

Diffen.com – Tortoise vs Turtle