Simple Utah Mormon Politics

Perhaps it's blatant shysterism, and then again expectations regarding a contribution of $7.5 million for a soccer complex may just be two sets of expectations that have passed like two ships in the night. As you may infer from the title of this post, I think it is the former. I don't know Dave Checketts, and if I did, I might probably think he was a pretty good guy. But in my experience in city government, I've met a fair number of people who either did a great job pretending to be good guys, or who were good guys except when they got into a business deal where a lot of money was involved. With all the posturing, bullying, and name calling that went into finally acquiring county funds for a soccer stadium--by 'virtue' of state dictation of how such county funds be used--I suspect Dave Checketts is involved in a deal that involves too much money for his integrity to handle. I was surprised (...only for a minute) the other day , when I found out that Mr. Checketts...

In today's weekend radio address, President Bush stated that we needed to reform United States immigration. Somehow I don't think he's very serious about his noble-sounding words. Part of President Bush's address today was this; In Washington, we are in the midst of an important discussion about immigration. Our current immigration system is in need of reform. We need a system where our laws are respected. We need a system that meets the legitimate needs of our economy. And we need a system that treats people with dignity and helps newcomers assimilate into our society. The system can only treat people with dignity if we have laws that are enforced. This requires that we not only make it possible for non-lawbreaking immigrants to easily immigrate and assimilate into society (while being encouraged to keep their ethnic traditions, by the way), but that we make it much more difficult than it currently is for gang members, drug dealers, and other miscreants from plantin...

What was George Bush thinking when he said that Vladimir Putin was a good man? Despite the fact that Communism fell, one of its greatest enablers, the KGB, never went away. Russian society is more closely resembling Communism now than in any of the It's ironic that at the death of "The Man Who Killed Communism", Boris Yeltsin, it has become necessary to comment on a totalitarian resurgence in the former Soviet Union. The Russian judiciary used to be independent. No longer. Can you get the truth from the news in Russia ? Not nearly as much as before. What about people who disagree with Putin? They get shown the door or a prison cell or are asked to resign if they're lucky. If not, they are served chemicals, such as polonium, (or more often lead) for dessert. What about people who get rich providing an important product or service to the people of Russia? They get a prison cell. All the while, the KGB gets its cut of everything--capitalism, legal judgment, a...

In a society that considers murdering innocent children even outside the womb as "abortion", it's not hard to imagine that some psychopathic killers will also develop a wanton disregard for the preciousness of life. As many as 1 in 30 babies being aborted actually survives outside the womb and is left to die an agonizing death (in some cases as agonizing as the abortion procedure itself may have been). Researchers found that one in 30 of babies aborted by this induced labor abortion were delivered alive, living an average of 80 minutes. A few lived several hours. This statistic increased to one in 10 when babies were aborted at the gestational age of 23 weeks, the current medically drawn line of viability. In at least one case, a baby was sealed in a large zip-lock bag so that it would suffocate. In many others, they are just left to languish until they expire. Regardless of how you feel about a woman's right to choose, how can you support something as egregious a...

The way some outlets (oh, let's just take a random example....ummmmmm.....how about.....Associated Press) report crime stories, you'd almost get the impression that the reporter thinks that those killing their assailant in self-defense are unjustified in doing so. At least the story makes it look like the self-defender didn't know how to use the gun. And now, the rest of the story... The Associated Press story begins thusly : The owner of a popular pizza shop opened fire on three robbery suspects, killing one of them and apparently wounding his own son. What does that conjure up in your mind? That he recklessly endangered his son's life? That he didn't know how to use a firearm? That he shouldn't have had a firearm on the premises? I remember working as a college student at a 7-11, whose policy at the time was that we could not bring firearms on the premises. My employment was not in a particularly high-crime city, but I remember thinking how stupid that ...

China was a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is projected to overtake the United States this year in such emissions. Is China going to be able to live up to its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol? Of course! Their job is to look at other countries and tell them to stop polluting. Their other job is to thumb their noses at everyone else and say 'Neener, Neener, Neener'. It was actually easy for China to sign on to Kyoto, because they don't have to reduce their emissions a bit. Looks like they can increase them just as much as they want, as well. Kyoto is a farce. The Chinese government made it clear that they have no intention for now of reducing emissions, because that would make a huge dent in their economic development. Wouldn't it for everyone! That's the whole point. Good for them. I'm glad China is growing. But why did they sign on to Kyoto in the first place? I salute the United States for having the guts t...

I was listening to the radio this morning, and one of the guests talked about how important reading to your children is. By the end of the segment, I remembered. It was important to me as I was growing up, and instilled in me a desire to read. Mothers and fathers who read to their children will find that their children are more well-rounded and kind to each other. Not only that, they will get to sleep more easily and will sleep better. Children who are read to have less fear and greater optimism. It took me a while to think back, but I remember when my mom (and every once in a while my dad--about the same as it is in our household now) would read me stories. It had almost escaped my memory, but now that I think back about it, it brings back fond memories. I remember some of those stories even now. Here are my favorites. Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak The Sneetches (along with The Zax, the Pale Green Pants, and Too Many Daves - Dr. Seuss Are You My Mother? - P.D. Eastm...