Church and State

I voted today. Eight days before the official election day. I like early voting. There was no line to wait in. However, the early polling place was in the LDS Bountiful Regional Center. This is the building where all of the many LDS Stakes in South Davis County, Utah, hold their quarterly conferences. It is a "dedicated" church building. I don't believe the County should have arranged for voting to occur in a church building. I don't think the LDS Church should have approved it.

Many Utah citizens already feel that the Mormon Church controls everything in this state. These people already feel politically powerless and ignored. To ask them to vote in a Mormon church building is tactless, at best. I wonder how many will simply refuse to vote? (I even wonder if THAT is why my Republican County officials made this decision).

I didn't let it stop me, though. I've been in that building many times. I proudly went right in and voted straight Democrat!

Designated Driver

The other day I got a nice letter from President Obama. Of course, it was just a fundraising letter for the Democratic National Committee, but I like the analogy the President used. Speaking of the Republicans he said:

"First, they drove the car into the ditch.
Then they made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it out.
And know they want the keys back."

The selfish, politically-motivated, Republican obstructionism during the past year and a half demonstrates that they don't deserve to govern again. And the years of GeeWhiz Bush proved that they don't know how.

Sen. Tom Harkin - Speaking Truth in the Senate

Once in a while someone will tell the Truth publicly, plainly, and directly. That person is usually ignored or attacked. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) gave an important speech in the Senate yesterday that should be read by every American. The Congressional elections this Fall should not even be close. That they probably will be is a testament to the efforts of professional liars and the gullibility of the American voter. Please click on this link, read the speech (the transcript is below the video) and send it to others.

Sen. Tom Harkin - Speaking Truth in the Senate

The Truth about the "Big Bad Deficit"

The right wing folks -- from the tea party crazies, to the radio and TV hate mongers, to the obstructionist Republican office holders --  are all in a lather lately about budget deficits.
EXCUSE ME?
Didn't ya'll support George W. and his "free market" deregulation (ie. the "Free-for-all market" which became the "Free-fall market"), and his tax cuts for the rich, and his two (!) wars?
Here is a link to an analysis of the the true causes of the Federal deficit. Click on it if facts don't scare you.
I have to tell ya, it ain't Obama's policies that put us in this mess....

A conservative Mormon speaks out against "hate mongers"

Lynn M. Hansen, former Reagan-appointed ambassador and recently-returned LDS mission president in Germany, wrote a guest column in the Ogden, Utah Standard-Examiner this past week entitled "Obama, Reid, Pelosi deserve our thanks." The focus of Hansen's article is on why health care reform is good and was necessary and I strongly recommend everyone read it, print it, and pass it around.

Still, what I found more even interesting was what he has to say about "half-truths," "hate-mongers," and civility in public discourse:

"Until the administration of George W. Bush, I was an avid Republican and served in the Reagan and Bush (senior) administrations as a political appointee. But I will not allow Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh to define conservatism for me, nor will I accept the half-truths and invectives with which they pollute the airways.

Those who listen to these hate-mongers should realize that they have become millionaires by peddling the views they do. I recall Limbaugh frequently stating that he hoped Obama would fail. That is tantamount to wishing America would fail for Obama is our freely elected president.

What has happened to civility in this country? I did not vote for Obama but we, the American people, did. 

... For as long as he is president, I will respect the office of president and the person who occupies it."

Paul Rolly wrote an opinion piece about Hansen's article in the Salt Lake Tribune. He said he had contacted Hansen about the response to his article. Hansen told Rolly that he had received more positive than negative responses, but that one woman told him he was "an agent of Satan."

An example of Mormon intolerance

Paul Rolly, a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, reported this past week that Senator Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D, Nevada) was invited to give a fireside talk at an LDS stake center last weekend. Reid agreed to speak about his spiritual awakening and conversion to the Mormon faith.

Rolly goes on to report that when word got out that Reid would be speaking, organizers of the fireside received emails and phone messages threatening that if Reid spoke, they would heckle him inside the chapel and harass him with demeaning signs and slogans. The fireside was cancelled for fear the meeting would turn violent.

Who are these people? What has happened to some members of my church? How can so many Mormons have been deceived by the forces of narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and hatred?

I have often thought that the violence in the world that seems to have its roots in the Muslim faith, could be greatly ameliorated if the believers and leaders of that faith would speak out courageously, strongly, and often, in favor of tolerance and against hatred and violence.

This incident makes plain the need to promote tolerance and civility among our own. Here is a link to an official LDS press release on the topic of civility in civic discourse. Clearly, more of our members need to read it.

Black is White

I just heard the most astonishing thing on a radio station that calls itself "Family Values Radio." Some "conservative" commentator was going on about how "the liberals" never answer or discuss the "issues" that conservatives "lay down." Instead, he said, "the liberals" just attack the conservative speaker. Liberals, he claimed, avoid discussing issues in favor of just attacking conservatives personally.

The astonishing thing, of course, was that the person speaking was doing exactly what he claimed was so reprehensible. How can he get away with this?  Are the listeners of "Family Values" Radio" so naive that they don't recognize when their opinions are being so blatantly and shamelessly manipulated? Scary.