Destroy the Guns

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:4]

Mormons, along with many Christians, believe that at some point the resurrected Jesus will return to Earth and reign over 1000 years of peace. We call this the Millennium and we look forward to, and are supposedly working toward, that day.

In light of the current renewal of the "gun control" debate subsequent to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, I just thought I would quote this scripture to remind all the gun-totin', NRA member, 2nd Amendment, "Christians" in this country that there will be no Millennial Peace on this Earth until we literally melt down all the guns and turn the metal to more productive uses.

Those who manufacture and sell guns are promoting Satan's plan of "blood and horror" on this Earth, and they are doing it for no other reason than "power and gain" . Those who buy guns for "Self-defense" (rather than legitimate law enforcement use) are buying insecurity, not security.

The more guns that are available, the more gun violence there will be. Period. This simple logic has been twisted and obscured by well-financed gun-lobby rhetoric, but it is still true. I wish that my fellow Mormons would stop supporting the agents of death and focus on building the Kingdom of God.

I don't suppose the current Senators from Utah (Hatch and Lee) will vote to eliminate assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. I wonder how Jesus would vote?

Romney Commits to Radical Right Agenda

Up until now, most of Mitt Romney's campaign speeches could have been given by any Presidential candidate, from either party,  running against an incumbent. They have had essentially no substance. We're going to "take America back," "rebuild America," "restore the American Dream," "create jobs," "save Medicare," "restore hope." And, of course, the current President has "failed the American people" with his "failed policies" and "lack of leadership."

Yada yada. We all know he will say anything (and lots of nothing) to get elected.

But now, with his selection of tea party darling Paul Ryan as his running mate, he has confirmed his commitment to the Grover Norquist, David and Charles Koch, Wall Street Journal, vision for America. An America wherein the middle class, the poor, the elderly, the infirm, and those trying to go to college give up more to support the billionaires.

The facts are there for those willing to see with their eyes and hear with their ears. The numbers do not lie. As Jason Linkins pointed out today on The Huffington Post, "Ryan's plan to reduce taxes is to raise them on nearly everybody."  "His plan to balance the budget is to not balance the budget." And "His plan to reduce long-term health care costs is to ration out vouchers that diminish in value over time, relative to rising costs."

Grandiose rhetoric, proven bad policy (have we already forgotten George W. Bush?), pandering to the super rich, persecuting the poor and the elderly, these things should remind us of the warnings in the Book of Mormon. The choice could not be more clear.

But, sadly, Utah will no doubt vote overwhelmingly for these guys. God help us.

Mitt Wrong About People

"Mitt Romney tells us, in his own words, he believes corporations are people.
"No, Mitt, corporations are NOT people. People have hearts. They have kids. They get jobs. They get sick. They love and they cry and they dance. They live and they die. Learn the difference."
-- Massachusetts Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren (D)

Rich People are Measurably More Dishonest

Seven scientific studies have shown that people from higher economic classes behave more unethically than people from lower economic classes. Specifically, the studies showed that rich people were more likely to lie in a negotiation, cheat to win a prize, and endorse unethical behavior at work.

Two of the studies showed results that cause me to shake my head and roll my eyes. The first showed that upper class people were more likely to break the law while driving. Specifically, they were significantly more likely to cut off pedestrians and other drivers. (This should not surprise most drivers!). The second, showed that rich people were more likely to take candy that had been set aside for children. (In other words, rich people literally are more likely to take candy from babies!!!).

Clearly the 1% and their Republican allies are the problem.

Higher Social Class Predicts Unethical Behavior by Kiff, Paul K., et al
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, February 27, 2012 pp. 4086-4991.

Getting Away with Murder

This past week, Casey Anthony, the so called "tot mom" was found not guilty of killing her 2 year old daughter Caylee. I did not follow the media circus surrounding this case, but apparently many Americans believe Casey got away with murder. 

On his Friday night HBO show "Real Time," host Bill Maher openly equated the Casey Anthony verdict with Republican policy.

"And before you accuse me of equating the Casey Anthony verdict with Republican thinking -- save your breath, I am. I'm equating them. If you're a working-class American who still votes Republican then you don't get to bitch about that verdict," said Maher.

"[Half of American voters] say 'I'm with the party that cuts all these programs for real people, for the 99 percent. Planned Parenthood, environmental protection, college, health care, infrastructure, but holds the line on private jets.' Voting for them is as stupid as voting not guilty for the mom who lost her baby for a month and went looking at a wet t-shirt contest.

"We're now being told that if multinational corporations bring home their current overseas profits of $1.4 trillion, they'll only be taxed five percent on it because we're told it will create jobs. It won't. It didn't, just like the last time we tried it in 2004. Companies took the savings and paid it out to themselves in dividends. Yes, Republican base, you are just like that jury. It's pathetically clear who's killing the middle class but you keep letting them get away with murder."

Mission (Finally) Accomplished

Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday in Pakistan in a focused, 40-minute, US military operation. Today, many in the US and around the world are celebrating. According to President Obama's announcement on television last night, the first intelligence pointing to bin Laden's location appeared last August. This means that the planning, from first hint to successful operation took over 8 months.

I have to say that this careful, precise, well-planned operation is an example of why we need to elect smart leaders. George Bush the younger could never have done it (and, in fact, didn't). Smart leaders hire smart managers; and smart managers plan important, tricky operations carefully. Cowboys ride after the first target they see and start shooting. I believe President Obama should get full credit for this successful operation and that it is an example of clear, intelligent, decisive leadership.

Fire the Rich

The March-April 2011 issue of UTNE Reader has reprinted an essay from Counter Punch by Davis Macaray entitled, Fire the Rich: A radical fix for the economy that greed destroyed. Here is an excerpt:

Shrinking incomes, fewer jobs ... but bigger corporate profits. Not a good sign.
Yet when you broach the dreaded subject of "class warfare." you get blank stares. When you try to demonstrate, through charts and graphs and scores of real-life examples, that the system is largely rigged to accommodate the wealthy and the powerful -- and that we face an unfortunate us-versus-them dilemma -- people back away.
There's an old joke. An Oxford professor meets a former student and asks what he's been up to. The student tells him he's working on a doctoral thesis about the survival of the class system in the United States. The prof expresses surprise. "I didn't think there was a class system in the United States, " he says. "Nobody does," the student replies. "That's how it survives."

I recommend reading the entire article. The middle class has been under serious attack for some time now. Thanks to the super rich, we are well on our way to becoming a third world country, And no one in the mainstream media is talking about it...

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.

Money vs. Morals

"The mere presense of large sums of money pushes people past their moral limits, making them more likely to lie, cheat and steal." This comes from a study in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes as reported in the December 2009 issue of Psychology Today ("The Green Monster" p. 17).

It is always interesting when science demonstrates what scripture already tells us. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 TImothy 6:10)

This scientific finding is especially interesting in the current political climate wherein Utah Mormon Republicans are worshipping corporations and pushing so-called "market solutions" to every problem. At least we now know what the market solutions are: lie, cheat, and steal.

Senator Bennett: Blind or Co-opted?

Republican senator Bob Bennett from Utah has started the TV ads for his 2010 campaign already. Why not? As a member of the Banking, Appropriations, and Rules Committees, he has plenty of corporate money to start his campaign early. Besides, he is terrified about the crazies in his party that don't think he is "conservative enough." (These are the same people that brought us Congressman "Fence out the Mexicans!" Chafetz).

Predictably, the 76 year old "Junior Senator" from Utah began his campaign by using his TV dollars to stir up fear about "ObamaCare." The line from the commercial that is the most revealing is when he says, "Health care reform should be based on free market principles not government bureaucracy!"

How can he (and most of the Republicans in Washington) have possibly missed the fact that it is their sacred "free market principles" that have created the problem in the first place??? Either the Senator is completely blind to the actual workings of the market, or he is actively working to protect the cruel, selfish, corrupt system we have now.

This morning on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kane said that the reason the Republicans are universally opposed to health care reform is because they are "shills for the insurance industry." It seems to me that Governor Kane has accurately described Sen. Bennett with this description.

Time for the Republicans to "Go Home"?

With number of lies being told about health care, followed this past week by the ridiculous fear-mongering about the President's proposed address to America's school children, even some prominent Republicans are growing disgusted at the Republicans.

Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) who is now the conservative host of the MSNBC show "Morning Joe" recently posted the following series of Twitter messages. They were published on the web by the Washington Independent.

"Dear GOP, argue the issues and avoid the insults...or just shut up. Enough with the conspiracy theories. Shouldn't our beliefs be enough?

GOP leaders in my home state are accusing the POTUS of trying to "indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda." Seriously?

WHERE ARE THE NATIONAL GOP LEADERS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THIS KIND OF HYSTERIA?

Indoctrination of socialism? The president as a racist? Death panels? Seriously? That's all you've got? If so, it's time for you to go home

I'm just naive enough to believe that a party that shows restraint at home, restraint abroad and respect for the Constitution wins elections

Perhaps that party just doesn't exist."

"Dangerous, Dishonest, and Self- serving"

The following quotation is used to conclude the book Broken Government (p. 200-201) by John W. Dean. He is quoting an "old friend from the Nixon White House" whom he describes as "a life-long Republican." The opinion expressed here is very telling and I believe we should all take the advice given. I added the bold type.

"Just tell your readers that you have a source who knows a lot about the Republican Party from long experience, that he knows all the key movers and shakers, and he has a bit of advice: People should not vote for any Republican because they're dangerous, dishonest, and self-serving. While I once believed that Governor George Wallace had it right, that there was not a dime's worth of difference in the parties, that is no longer true. I have come to realize that the Democrats really do care about people who most need help from government. Republicans care most about those who will only get richer because of government help. The government is truly broken, particularly in dealing with national security, and another four years, and heaven forbid not eight years, under the Republicans, and our grandchildren will have to build a new government, because the one we have will be unrecognizable and unworkable."

Straight Up Lies

"All politicians stretch the truth, massage it into the best fit with their message. But, let's face it, John McCain is running a campaign almost entirely based on straight up lies. Not just exaggerations or half truths but the sort of straight up, up-is-down mind-blowers we've become so accustomed to from the current occupants of the White House.

"John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest and race-baiting campaign of our lifetimes. So let's stopped being shocked and awed by every new example of it. It is undignified. What can we do? We've got a dangerously reckless contender for the presidency and a vice presidential candidate who distinguished her self by abuse of office even on the comparatively small political stage of Alaska. They've both embraced a level of dishonesty that disqualifies them for high office. Democrats owe it to the country to make clear who these people are. No apologies or excuses. If Democrats can say at the end of this campaign that they made clear exactly how and why these two are unfit for high office they can be satisfied they served their country."

The above is quoted from Josh Marshall at the "Talking Points Memo" blog.

What does Obama stand for?

"Would we call this a cult of personality?

Today that term is all around Barack Obama — perhaps because there seems so little other way to explain how a first-term senator has managed to dazzle his way to front-runner in the race for the presidency, how he walks on water for so many supporters, and how the mere suggestion that he is, say, mortal, risks vehement objection, or at least exposing the skeptic as deeply uncool."
The Charisma Mandate By KATE ZERNIKE The New York Times, February 17, 2008.

Most of my Utah Democrat friends (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron) seem to be excited about Barack Obama. It seems to me that they have given little thought to just what a President Obama would actually DO once in office. They seem to have bought into his mantra of "change" without asking the critical question "change toward what?" When I try to ask this question, I get back something like "Anything is better that the current administration!" I have to presume that they mean any of the Democratic candidates would be better that the current Republican occupant, because these friends would likely agree with me that Guiliani, Thompson, and Huckabee, at least, have the potential to be WORSE than GWB.

But that still begs the question of which Democrat would be the BEST for the country as President.

I have been following Obama longer than my friends have. I subscribed to his podcast when it was new, just after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, I thought he was intelligent and well-spoken. But as a Presidential candidate, I keep feeling that he is all style and no substance. My Democratic friends seem to be buying the package, but they have no idea what is inside the box.

Than I read the article cited above and I learned that his campaign without substance was a deliberate strategy. Here is the key paragraph:

"Accounts of the campaign’s “Camp Obama” sessions, to train volunteers, have a revivalist flavor. Volunteers are urged to avoid talking about policy to potential voters, and instead tell of how they “came” to Mr. Obama."

This strategy may be effective, but I find it disingenuous. Mr. Obama's campaign strategy is to offer himself as a "savior" to a troubled country. By avoiding any specific policy details, he can appear to be all things to all voters.

I, for one, prefer substance over flash. I want a President that I know and trust. I want a President that will get things done. With John Edwards out of the race, I am supporting Hillary Clinton.