Simple Utah Mormon Politics

Hindu leader Rajan Zed has offered several prayers recently--in the US Senate, and in various state legislatures. This has prompted some people to claim that the United States is a Christian nation, and that such things as Hindu prayer in government or other public gatherings should not be allowed. Do you agree? I sure don't. Apparently in some states, legislative bodies have prohibited the invocation of the name of "Jesus Christ" in legislative session prayers. This has some people in those states frustrated that Hindu leader Rajan Zed has been allowed to cite the Hindu " Om " in his prayers in various legislative bodies. I contacted the person at the Utah legislature who coordinates prayers in the Utah House and Senate, and I was very impressed with Utah's policy. Utah invites members of various denominations to offer prayers, and no judgment is made as to the content of the prayer. In keeping with this policy people have not been prevented from endin...

Mixing bad apples with bad apples will accelerate the ruination of the entire bunch. The United States, even though it has wandered far from its Constitutional moorings, would be dragged into despondency by joining the Strategic Partnership for Prosperity Security and Prosperity Partnership. The people of Mexico and Canada are great people, but their governments, including the people who run them, suck. They will only be prosperous when they realize and rectify this fact. These are the reasons why I support the Utah Senate's call for the United States to exit from the misnamed "Security and Prosperity Partnership". Except for the riches and control that will accrue to the elite few if it is passed, there is no prosperity nor security in such a partnership. The Utah Senate is correct to encourage the United States Senate to reject the SPP, because it is, instead of being a recipe for prosperity, a prescription for disaster. The first problem with the SPP is that it i...

Sugarcreek Township, Ohio has decided, based on traffic and sewage impact, that they will not allow a mosque (smaller than the one pictured) to be built near an existing Baptist church. The reason for denial might be accurate, but it sounds like--regardless of other impacts--the mosque would not have been built anyway. Opponents are celebrating a supposed victory for freedom of speech. But what about the most important freedom--religion? The first question I ask Boy Scouts whenever I teach the Citizenship in the nation merit badge is "What is the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights?" What do you think? Speech, right? No, actually. The first part of the First Amendment to the US Constitution says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion... In the past couple of days, it appears that a group of Muslims' freedom of religion was thwarted . I don't know for sure, because a supposedly valid reason was given: The board of zoning ap...

Sometimes when you expect things, they don't happen. Other times, when you least expect them, they do. So it was tonight with the passing of LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. We'll miss his example, his wit, and his impenetrable optimism. We were just concluding an LDS stake priesthood meeting when our stake president stood before the closing prayer to announce the passing of President Hinckley. Through the wonders of modern technology--a smart phone "dialed in" to local news sites--we confirmed the reality of a very sad event. I smiled, though, as I thought that the only ones who are sad are we, the ones who will miss his wit and good cheer-he'll miss us, too, I'm sure, but he's now back with his sweetheart Marjorie. Tears of sorrow at being apart from his best friend have now transformed themselves into tears of joy. By the time my son and I got home from our meeting, the other members of our family had learned of President Hinckley's pa...

Currently it is legal in Utah to discriminate against someone in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I personally think it's a choice rather than an orientation, but I don't support discrimination against it either way. To respect someone's sexual orientation or gender identity does not encourage or condone public displays of homosexuality any more than it encourages public displays of heterosexuality. For this reason I support the healthy changes that are included in Utah House Bill 89. Currently, as well, cohabiting couples are legally prohibited in Utah from adopting a child, regardless of any other circumstances. I think that the courts should be able to consider those other circumstances. Cohabiting couples, regardless of sexual orientation, are not necessarily unfit to be adoptive parents. Measures are already in place to ensure that any unfit adult will not be considered as fit to adopt a child. For this reason, I also suppor...

Because for years they haven't been able to bring themselves to do what needs to be done, Congress today, in bi-partisan fashion, approved a "stimulus package" for the American economy. It will be scarcely a speed bump to an economy whose political inertia propels it pell-mell in the wrong direction. In other news, a hospital in middle America today helped a man who lost an arm by applying a regular-sized Band-Aid to his bloody stump. Say it with me! "Stimulus package! Stimulus PACKAGE! STIMULUS PACKAGE!" Like a mantra. If only we all believe collectively, then today's $150 billion bandage applied to America's gaping economic wounds today will put us on the path to making us whole again. There are certain things that government does that make me so frustrated that I could scream myself an aneurysm. This is one of them. President Bush called the Band-Aid very important . "This package has the right set of policies and is the right size. It...

I don't think there are very many people left in America who really like the job that President George W. Bush is doing. I certainly don't. If you're in my camp, you should probably be voting for the candidate who, regardless of political affiliation, is least like Bush. Who is that candidate? Ron Paul. Now that would be the real change that all the other candidates are talking about. Alternet has some pretty somber words about our next president. He or she will probably be a lot like George W. Bush . The political calendar indicates that in one more year – on Jan. 20, 2009 – the presidency of George W. Bush will come to an end. However, the worst consequences of his disastrous reign, including the Iraq War, may be nowhere near ending. I hope we Americans are more vigilant than that. Considering that hardly anyone approves of Bush's performance as president, who should we elect as our new president to ensure that we don't have the same failed policies, both fo...