I agree that this issue needs to be RE-EXAMINED within the next three years. A lot of people really want to talk about this. Obama is letting his Let-Them-Eat-Cake attitude get the best of him.

Whether Obama realizes it or not, but a person's actions give him away for who he truely is. Picking Rick Warren as pastor for the Inauguration tells me that he is (1) very naive and he will get backstabbed by the so-called Moral Majority, OR (2) Obama is really is a "Fundamentalist Christian" (aka false prophet) in disguise .

What the cultists want to is to turn America into a theocracy (simillar to Iran's government), and no amount of "friendship" is going to change that. These people are just a Christian version of Al qaeda. Those false prophets are using the pulpit to gain power. They've been doing this since the 1960's when the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools.

It's obvious that Obama is trying to get the cultists on his side. Like you, I went without sleep campaigning for the guy and I voted for Obama. I didn't vote for George W. Bush-styled tricks nor did I vote for a man who wants to please the 30% of people who didn't vote for him. If he takes care of the American citizens FIRST, then people with vote for him again. I bet you that Obama is worried that he might not be re-elected, that's why he's trying to appeal to everyone.

He should appeal to the people who voted for him first! If he has nothing to show for his presidency in 3 years, I guarantee that he will be removed. The Majority isn't going to give a 2nd term to a man who has done nothing while in power. We Americans want results, pronto!

I agree. ____As a Word of Faith Christian, I think of Rick Warren as an extreme Pharisee-esque cultist. Why pick this guy when there are plenty of other TRUE Christian preachers who don't do the garbage that Warren does. Warren isn't a real Christian because his message is one of hate and fear. God is Love (1 John 4:8). In God, hate and fear cannot exist for Love trumps both.

All I said was that Bush has an ADDICTION. Drinking and Christianity aren't bad. It is really bad when a person uses objects (religions, ideologies, etc) to cover up personal problems. Addictions destroy lives, esp. the abusers' life. Thanks to his obsessions, Bushy really screwed over his legacy. That's all.

In answer to your question, yes. Laugh all you want, yet we did effect how people thought of another country and it's customs. People who thought it was "cool" to be illiterate were turned into readers. There was 2 generations of hatred and fear towards the Japanese in the western Washington area, and our group helped to melt that away.

Who says a social cause has to be an organization like World Vision, USO, or Goodwill Industries? To say that it takes an organization to to have a social cause is like saying you have to be of legitimate royal blood to create a country. If my ancestor thought like that, Britain would be Scandinavian instead of English. There would of been no Battle of Hastings. America, Canada, and Australia wouldn't of existed. If the American Founding Fathers thought that like that, America wouldn't of been born.

Social causes and civil service take all sorts of shapes and forms. We didn't need special government funding or politicians or even Hollywood to do what we were doing. If special groups that represent our cause are created, then great! We were just a bunch of anime fans who really wanted to have a local anime convention. Some people in the group would probably say that it was a $h!ts and giggles type of project, nothing more. Others, like me, saw a lot more in it. We all pooled our resources and talents (funding raising, hotel negotiations, event planning, hosting, website programming, etc.) together, and the project became successful. What we're doing via Change.gov is nothing new to me.

Just so you know, The Onion says a lot of things. It's a joke site. It's not supposed to be taken seriously. ^_^;;;

The next step for Anime & Manga is the improvement of the U.S. version of the industry, which has stalled. Most American animation from has become nothing more than a fancy set of special effects with no substance. It reminds me alot of the Big 3 auto makers. They are only beautiful shells & cool accessories with junkie engines on the insides.

STEP ONE: Many people in the U.S don't know how to write a creative story, and many people have difficulty writing in English. Lately, I seen many programs for improving math & science. The only pro-English program I've seen is the ESL program. Why not have a program (or programs) that improves the English skills for American citizens?

STEP TWO: The Fine Arts need funding and schools should keep fine arts classes, not cut them. Programs like Seattle Art Corps has worked to to fill the need for the missing art classes. Check them out at http://www.artscorps.org/ Art is the signature of civilizations. -- Beverly Sills

STEP THREE: Knowledge of computer animation & graphic arts programs, of course. Programs like Photoshop and Flash should become common knowledge.

There are other obstacles. These are the main three that Obama and his team can help out via Civil Service and Education. ^_^

One thing I would like to add: Because of our efforts (and the efforts of thousands of anime fans), many librarians and booksellers often place the manga sections next to the young adult sections. Manga acts as a not-so-intimidating intro to reading, and most kids I've met take the next step by reading a regular novel. I've met many people who were inspired to learn more about other cultures and even learn a foreign languages. Learning about Japan was only a starting point with them.

Personally, I've suspected that Harry Potter and Twilight have the manga medium to thank for their sales. Why? Because stuff on the supernatural and vampires are common subjects in manga for kids. Those subjects have been common for years. Please remember that Japan also doesn't have the religious barriers that the U.S. does. That's why the artists write this stuff.

Actually, Bush is more of a dry drunk, a person who just replaces the drinking habit with another addiction. In his case, Bush used Fundamentalist Christianity as the replacement addiction. Whenever he writes about himself or talks to his family, it is "God this" or "God that". That's the tip of the iceberge that indicates his OBSESSION with religion.

I agree! There are already a ton of services already available that need to be fixed or extended.