Simple Utah Mormon Politics

Heterosexual promiscuity in the world today has done far more damage to society than homosexual promiscuity has. Homosexuality is no more "gross" than heterosexuality. It is a way of life for some people.  While I think it is not a healthy way of life, I am much more convinced that it is wrong to belittle people who  happen to live that lifestyle.

It seems as though everyone in the Utah legislature agrees that the federal government is not doing a very good job of enforcing illegal immigration laws in the United States. Utah Representative Steve Sandstrom wants to "skin that cat" by doing the federal government's job for it. That's not a good solution. I expect Senator Luz Robles has a much better idea, and I prefer to wait for her legislation, which will appear in the next couple of weeks.

Can the 14th Amendment be clarified to remove automatic citizenship for "anchor babies" without another Amendment to the Constitution?  When visiting with Rod Arquette yesterday on KNRS 105.7, Republican Senate candidate Mike Lee got the answer right, while Democrat Senate candidate Sam Granato didn't really give an answer to that question, because he was too busy campaigning for your vote.

At least my credit union isn't THIS disingenuous. Five months ago, Bank of America announced that it was no longer going to charge overdraft fees on debit card transactions.  On August 15, BOA, along with every other bank and credit union, will no longer have the option of not charging such fees if customers "opt in". I'm trying to figure out how this is better for me. Update: 8/2/2010 - 9:31 PM : On second thought, maybe my credit union is the problem. Update 8/3/2010 - 2:30 PM After all the confusion, fostered by the federal government, I am just fine.

I've often thought of the term "Saviors on Mount Zion" as referring exclusively to the kind of service that Latter-day Saints provide to our kindred dead in LDS temples. What I've discovered, though, is that temple service helps us to recognize the obligation to save people in need who are not dead, but who are instead living all around us.

I believe that America is an exceptionally good nation, but not more exceptionally good than it really is.  Bad American history turns America into an airbrushed supermodel--exaggerating its virtues and even inventing quite a few. One of the latest airbrushings is the somewhat unfortunate book Seven Miracles that Saved America , which, among other things, displays a profound misunderstanding of the damage that United States foreign policy has done to the world.

Good leaders serve the people.  Bad leaders oppress them.  This concept was reinforced for me today as we read about an oppressive Israelite king in our Sunday School class.  It struck home when I realized that the Israelite king had an unfortunate modern-day parallel--the American oppression of Iraq, a problem which has only recently begun to be fixed.