Simple Utah Mormon Politics

Prepare yourself to be inundated by a three hundred million dollar advertising campaign to convince you that you are at fault that the globe is warming, despite mountains of evidence that there has been no recent warming at all. Al Gore and his trusty Superfriends--from both sides of the political aisle--will be attempting with both barrels to lull you into a belief that the question has been settled once and for all. When I was a kid, I used to watch the Superfriends on Saturday morning TV. There was always someone, like the man who, with his evil xray ice gun, was bent on taking over the world. But Superman, Superwoman, Batman, and the whole cast of Superfriends always saved the day. I was almost as scared then that the iceman was really going to freeze the earth as my kids were recently that Al Gore's "documentary" told the truth about man and global warming. It was comforting to them when I cited several bits of evidence that An Inconvenient Truth is mostly lies. T...

Imagine what it might have been like if Hillary Clinton were George Washington's press secretary. mis·speak / mɪsˈspik / Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation [ mis- speek ] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -spoke, -spok·en, -speak·ing. 1. to speak, utter, or pronounce incorrectly. 2. to speak inaccurately, inappropriately, or too hastily. 3. to flat out lie your pants off [Origin: 1150–1200; ME misspeken; see mis- 1 , speak ; cf. OE missprecan to murmur ] So this is what the campaign for presidency has become, a circus, lasting for approximately two out of every four years, where the most qualified candidates are ignored, and the least qualified (Obama, Hillary, and McCain...) are paraded before America as our only choices. Why are they the only choices? Because they make for great theater!! If you type "hillary mis" into the Google search widget of your browser, the second thing...

Would you ever ask an LDS General Authority for an autograph? What do you think they would say to you if you asked? What would you think of them if they signed one for you? I was part of an interesting conversation a couple of days ago. We were talking about " priestcraft ", which requires two things: To receive the praise of throngs of people. To solicit and bask in that praise. Based on the first definition alone, President Gordon B. Hinckley might have been accused of priestcraft--millions of people adored him. But if the second definition is figured in, he would not be guilty of priestcraft, because surely he didn't do it to receive all the attention and praise. I suspected that at times such adoration was slightly embarrassing to him, and I wondered aloud in our conversation: "Did President Hinckley ever get asked for autographs? If so, how did he handle the situation?" I think he would have politely declined, but I guess I'm not sure. There is a p...

One of the reasons that health care costs so much in the US is because general hospitals are not required to publish their costs. Claiming that publishing their costs would contribute to collusion and higher prices, they hide their costs from consumers. Hiding costs is precisely what does allow for collusion. That's a main reason why your health care costs are so high. Why do the general hospitals hide their costs? Because the United States Congress allows them to by law. And you thought American health care was inefficient because the free market doesn't work. News flash! US Health Care is hardly a free-market industry. Health care in the United States continues to gravitate further away from the free market. Subsequently, health care costs rise--while fewer and fewer people can afford to pay for even the insurance to protect against these costs. The other day I went to the grocery store. Here's what happened. I don't do the grocery shopping very often, so ...

Maybe it's because it doesn't have all the materialistic trappings of Christmas. Perhaps because it's starting to feel like it's finally going to be Spring this year! But for whatever reason, this Easter has been one of my more memorable ones. Did you enjoy Easter 2008? Even though I woke up early and worked an uncustomary 7 hours yesterday and 1 today, I still rate Easter 2008 as one of my favorite Easters ever. To appease the Christians, the Pagans, and perhaps everyone else , the date of Easter varies each year. Because it's a bit earlier this year, it falls on the day before my father's birthday (he has since passed on to the next life) as well as my father-in-law's birthday, who were born on the exact same day (March 24, 1935--we haven't established how close in time on that day they were born). Last year's Easter, celebrated with the Staheli side of the family, was just as enjoyable. I remember my mother asking one of my younger children w...

Barack Obama said a lot of the right things in his speech in Philadelphia yesterday. The only problem is--I'm not sure if I can trust him. I agreed with some of the things he said, but I wonder about some things that weren't said, and I also wonder about the potentially hidden meanings of others. Some of the Things I Agreed With In No Other Nation - I agree with Obama's implication that America is something to be uniquely proud of: I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one. Reverend Wright's "Profoundly Distorted View" - I appreciated very much that Obama publicly chastised Jeremiah Wright for his overtly racist statements: But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simpl...

First he's sure that he's the Republican silver bullet for Salt Lake County Mayor. Then he changes his mind and decides to run as a Libertarian for governor of Utah. In all of this, it occurred to me that (if he lived in my precinct) I wouldn't even vote for Dell Schanze to be my precinct secretary. I write this article with some trepidation, worried that if Super Dell reads it he may come to my house or place of business and brandish a firearm at me. But anyway, here goes. A few years back, at the Republican State convention, I thought a Republican challenger to incumbent Governor Mike Leavitt was serious about his campaign against the governor. Then he asked Super Dell to introduce him to the convention, and it was at that point that I concluded that he was not serious. I used to think that the radio ads for Totally Awesome Computers were funny. Somehow, though, no one else I knew thought they were. People who had been into one of his stores were the most vehemently...

It would appear that it's all over but the shouting--for and against the Establishment-anointed John McCain. Perhaps first and foremost, he now has all of Romney's delegates, right? And therefore, he's a shoo-in for the Republican presidential nomination? Actually, no. Ron Paul still has more than just a small chance. So I'm not taking down my Ron Paul yard signs just yet. My wife asked if it was time to take our Ron Paul yard sign down yet. I told her that I would prefer not to, and here's why. I am (almost) a perpetual optimist. For example, if the BYU Cougar football team is trailing the University of Utah, as long as there is time left on the clock, I am optimistic that we can come out on top against the Utes. As a matter of fact, it's happened just that way in 2007, when Harvey Unga made an 11-yard touchdown run to overcome a 10-9 deficit, and in 2006, when John Beck There are still a bunch more uncommitted Republican delegates than the establishmen...

I looked into the supposedly inflammatory rhetoric of Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Is he a lunatic? Many people seem to think so, but I don't. Some of the things he says are a bit odd, but some of them have more than just a grain of truth. I don't share his appreciation for Louis Farrakhan (and I wonder if Obama does). After all, just read The Autobiography of Malcolm X if you want to know about the Nation of Islam. But we can't paint every picture with such a broad brush--as Rush Limbaugh is wont to do. Even though Obama (and Wright, apparently) belong(s) to a different political party than I do, it's not right or healthy for me just to dismiss everything his pastor says as inflammatory and wrong. Because it's not. So, come along with me as I psychoanalyze the Reverend Jeremiah Wright--and I'll show you the nuances. Drugs, "Three Strikes", and Bigger Prisons Reverend Wright inveighed against all three of these in one breath : ...

Elliott Spitzer and Eve Carson have dominated national news coverage for the past few days. Do you think it's healthy that two attractive people--and very unfortunate events in their lives (or deaths)--take up nearly twenty percent of the news cycle--while hundreds of other news stories go unreported? I don't think so. It seems a bit voyeuristic to me. Elliott Spitzer is a fallen celebrity, and Eve Carson was a very successful, very attractive woman. Let's respect both of them--and ourselves--by leaving them and their families alone. Stories should dominate the national news according to their national importance. I know--it hasn't been that way for a long time. But the current news cycle goes to emphasize the point that outlets like CNN and Fox News think you're more interested in the murder of Eve Carson and the adulterous antics of Elliott Spitzer than you are about the failing US economy, Iraq, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and the Presidentia...

It's not all bad when oil hits $107 per barrel. In the past, high oil prices have been the impetus to find alternative energy solutions. Whenever oil prices have dropped, it has made pursuing those solutions infeasible. The price is way up, so let's research and develop!! Wait... Enter the man-made global warming lobby. 107-dollar oil is not all good either. A large portion of the cost-per-barrel increase over the past few weeks has been because the value of the dollar is plummeting. Where the dollar was once about on par with the Euro, you can now purchase 55 Euros with one hundred dollars--not very good. But historically, the increasing cost of oil has made it feasible to look for alternatives to oil. I'm not sure how a weak dollar plays into this, but let's hope American ingenuity can make lemonade out of this current batch of lemons. In 1973, OPEC established an oil embargo against the US and other nations that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur war. Presi...

The concept of a Green Building seems great. I'm all in favor of conserving energy. But not when it means creating an excruciating work environment. Green builders should build green buildings rather than just jumping on the bandwagon. The Deseret News recently ran an article about saving energy from building "green" office complexes . I think it sounds like a great idea. "We need to educate CEO's, COO's, brokers and investors about why they should be thinking about green," said Jeppeson, who is president of Salt Lake City-based Green Earth Development. "It's not just about being good for the environment." The biggest benefits for businesses to consider environmental standards in their developments are economic, because they can pocket the savings from lower operating costs from energy efficiency and reduced maintenance. "We can save 25 percent of operating costs, and that goes immediately to the bottom line of a developer," h...

I completely agree with the Salt Lake Tribune editorial staff. Our children should be taught in school about global warming. Okay...well...I don't completely agree with them. For starters, I think they should be taught the truth about global warming. And I just found out that, based on my opinion of global warming, the SL Trib editorial board thinks I'm an "obtuse naysayer". Oh! Ouch! Have the Brits become smarter than their progeny who declared independence from them 232 years ago? It would seem so. At least they can recognize a crock when they see it . Caught up in a religious fervor, however, the Salt Lake Tribune editorial staff has revealed one of its interesting blind spots. You see, with 90% surety, they are absolutely positive that the theory of man-made global warming is an issue of science, and, as far as the vast majority of legitimate scientists are concerned, it is settled science. Crock alert! Show me one--seriously--one scientist who says t...

In a speech at BYU, Harry Reid spoke of his reverence for Franklin D. Roosevelt. I didn't realize, until reading the book Liberal Fascism , just how pervasive FDR-worship was in the 1930's and 1940's--not to mention in our current century. Nor did I understand just how that worship could color the politics of Harry Reid. When Harry Reid was a child, his family had a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the wall of their home. He spoke very fondly of FDR and how--to this day--he agrees with FDR's policies. What I didn't realize is just how big of a phenomenon FDR was in his time (although it was in my family--see below). Understanding this issue helps us to understand not only how FDR can still be revered today, but how he could be so successful with his implementation of plans that so clearly spat upon the Constitution of the United States. (Incidentally, to understand the fervor of socialist hero worship in the early part of the 20th century, one need only look ...

I told you two weeks ago that Hillary Clinton was nowhere near finished with her presidential campaign. James Carville and others were preparing her epitaph, because she wouldn't win both Texas and Ohio, which would doom her campaign. How do you like the looks of my latest conspiracy theory now? There was no question in my mind that Hillary would win both Texas and Ohio, because the establishment has already ordained Hillary the next US Minister of Socialism. The campaign still makes for good theatrics, but it was never in doubt that Clinton wins in Ohio and Texas would be carefully orchestrated. It will be close, because close bolsters ratings, but Hillary will get the nod in the end. (It's "too bad" that Ron Paul isn't Establishment material--otherwise, the media could have a double-dip a great ratings.) Clinton's triumphs ended a month of defeats for the former first lady, who told jubilant supporters, "We're going on, we're going stron...

It is very observable that if wages are raised to a certain level, then certain individuals will no longer be employable. Ironically, this was exactly the reason for early 20th-century progressives to support a minimum wage. Their less-than-honorable intentions were to rid society of those human beings who didn't 'make the cut'. In our day and age, Conservatives are branded as fascists because of their opposition to minimum wage laws. But one hundred years ago, the progressive predecessors of 21st-century liberals understood the effects of minimum wage laws perfectly. That's why they wanted a minimum wage--as an excuse to cleanse society of its human refuse. This is another of those strange-but-true facts that the American Establishment has been nearly successful in stuffing down the "memory hole". Empirical evidence supports at every turn the Conservative contention that those who can least afford to lose their jobs are the first to be priced right out o...

Mike Huckabee just dropped out of the Republican presidential race. That leaves just John McCain...right? Not so fast! The Republican race, to the chagrin of Establishment Americans everywhere, is now down to TWO candidates, despite what the establishment media would have you believe. And you know what? Given the honest chance, I think Ron Paul can clean John McCain's clock . It will be difficult, because McCain and all his establishment buddies are now wussies running scared. This makes potentially for a very interesting Republican National convention. There used to be a plethora of Republican candidates for President of the United States. Now there are two. I'll bet most of you thought that with Mike Huckabee's exit there was only one . Mike Huckabee bowed to reality Tuesday and out of the Republican presidential race. ''We kept the faith,'' he told his end-of-the-road rally Tuesday after John McCain clinched the nomination. ''I...

Many people have come to believe that America should be the leader of the world. I happen to disagree. I rather think that America should should be the world's example. For nearly one hundred years our foreign policy has been one of "leadership". For nearly one hundred years America's iron-fisted foreign policy has been mostly wrong. Nine days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, President George W. Bush spoke the following words The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them. Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice -- assured of the rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come. Patiently, invoking the name of God, and assured of the rightness of his cause, he proceeded to colonize Iraq. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...