Let's hear it for the Dems in 2008

Today is the day of the year where we look back and review the events of the past year. If I were to put my tag on this last year politically speaking, I would say it was the year of the democrat. Why? Well here we go:

First, the presidential election was quite a triumph for the democratic party in the sense that the two front runners for their presidential campaign were minorities; a woman and a black man. I am sorry that it had to be that woman and that black man, but never the less, quite a notable accomplishment for the party. Also, winning the election in spite of choosing Joe Biden as VP; a politician that represented everything that Obama's campaign was running against. Somehow this did not deter their core supporters who wanted promised change. This either shows that we are a country of suckers for marketing, or there is more Ole' Joe than I have seen.

Two, in congress, there were some seats that were picked up by the democrats giving them almost complete autonomy in the votes governing the federal actions of this country. Nancy Pelosi, as the first female speaker of the house, managed to dodge all possible attacks that would point to her coming into office over the last two years as having any effect on the economy as is. As a matter of fact, I have not heard of anything going wrong in this country to her credit even though this democrat majority congress has a lower approval rating than that of our not-so-beloved president. Some how it has always ended up as someone else's fault.... hmmm, curious.

Third, the environment has come to the forefront with such 'important' legislation as mandatory florescent light bulbs (sorry incandescent bulb) as the light bulb that all Americans must buy come 2014. Somehow the democrats view this as some kind of small victory. I consider it to be an abuse of congress' power to determine what kinds of products we as American's can buy. We can't seem to eliminate cigarettes which cause cancer and add to pollution, but we will make sure that our light bulbs are low energy consumption. I think I hear a rain forest shouting for joy at this sort of legislation. If these bulbs really are so much better, then let them win out on their own. Let America choose to embrace them. If they do in fact save money for the consumer, I wonder how monopolizing which bulb is on the market is going to keep the cost down. What's next, mandatory recycled toilet paper.... who knows?

Finally, with John Edwards lying about cheating on his ill health wife then admitting to it in true Clinton-democrat style, Gov Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is all but impeached and convicted of selling a senate seat to the highest bidder, our soon to be president having connections with domestic terrorists and religious wack jobs, as well as spewing communist doctrines openly from the pulpits all along the campaign trail even though the cold war ended just 25 short years ago or so, buying up the auto and lending industries, and probably many more mistakes, the democrats have come out on top in 2008. This of course in spite of many things that I would consider a nail in the American democracy's coffin.

I am no endorser of the republican party mind you. There has been a fare share of things that the we can point out, but in spite of all that went on that can be seen as attacks on what I consider to be the cause of preserving American freedoms and liberties, one thing remained successful, and that is what the LDS Church stood behind. That is the preservation of traditional marriage. Amongst all the successes that liberal democrats had this year, one thing still prevailed that was counter to their causes; and that is the one that the Lord and his Church stood behind. Measures set up to preserve the protection of traditional marriage were upheld all over the country. And it was done in a peaceful, democratic fashion. The voice of the country has spoken. The prophecies of the Lord are being fulfilled each day if we are willing to look around us. We then can be grateful that we are members of the Lords church and are lead by a prophet.

Amish Fireplaces: As Seen On TV!

For those that live in warmer climates you may have not seen these commercials for Amish Fireplaces. From the first time I saw this advertisement I was sent into a bit of confusion. According to the company's website and the produced TV commercials, the Amish have abandoned centuries of tradition and standards and have industrialized. Now you too can own a "real Amish" manufactured fireplace! Or is it really Amish? Watch the ad then we can discuss (not the ad on TV-but ironic nonetheless):


Now from my perspective these Amish are far from the anti-modernization Amish I grew up reading about. I thought they shunned electricity and even being photographed. The ad's say that the Amish are hand crafting these mantles but if you look closely they are hand assembling them; they use the term 'finishing'. It appears to me that they are mass producing the wood parts and assembling them by hand to keep them "handmade Amish". The internal heating units are obviously mass produced and they use electricity to function!? While the company is clear with the fact that the heating units are designed by some Chinese genius, there really is no miracle here. A 1500 watt space heater produces 5,000 BTU's as this one claims to be producing. That is fact, not some Amish or Chinese miracle. They are simply selling a pretty "hand crafted" mantle that houses a heating unit that stands for everything the Amish were against as a people. In fact the TV commercials, which I have not been able to find online yet, make it sound like this is Amish technology and that 'we too can enjoy a secret of the Amish that they have been enjoying for years now!' Then I wondered, "How are they being shipped?" Not by horse and buggy, but by USPS and other industrialized carriers.

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't this seem like the most public display of religious hypocrisy since the advent of the poor box at the front of the gaudy gold platted catholic cathedrals around the world? The message I get here is that it is okay to break your moral code if you are selling to the people who are not of your same belief. Yet another illustration of how the world views making money as being worth abandoning principle. With that mentality I can go start an adult site as long as I don't market it to Mormon's.

After Posting Update: I found this news story back east about some people who purchased these units. Check it out when you get a chance.

Pretty please help us be gay?

The local news here in Utah shared a story that over 27,000 letters were hand delivered to the church offices by the Gay Rights lobby. According to this article, the letters were written in an effort to persuade the church to support their cause for equal rights. Since we have already gone over the false and misleading argument that gays have less rights that anyone else, I won't go there. Instead I want to point out how this is a pretty obvious effort by the adversary to once again manipulate the public's perception away from the truth, or the image that was painted of the gay rights folk days after the passage of prop 8 in California. To goal here is, instead of people viewing them for being angry hypocrites preaching tolerance at an angry protest outside a religious sanctuary, the PR firms for the gay rights activists probably suggested a different more passive approach. So they staged a hand delivering of peaceful requests to let homosexuals have their way with the church's endorsement. So just because they wrote down their hatred for mormon's means we are supposed to change our opinion?

Nice try, but this church is not the work of men. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the work of the Lord who is unchanging in his adherence to eternal law. The day will come when people will learn that letters, or 'public opinion', won't change the church. They are not going to see 27,000 letters and say, "Wow I had no idea that gays wanted us to not oppose their lifestyle. Perhaps God needs to change His mind. After all they did write a lot of letters."

Bankruptcy = Temporal Atonement

With all the bailout talks and people going into foreclosure I have noticed a negative view on Bankruptcy. While I am not endorsing it, and I am well aware of all the drawbacks that come from it, I started to wonder if there was a way of looking at bankruptcy in a positive light, or with some kind of spiritual parallel.

Bankruptcy either gives a person or entity the opportunity to restructure and realign what is obviously not going right financially, or there is the bankruptcy where the individual or entity can seek to wipe clean their slate regardless of what went wrong prior to filing. I am no lawyer, like our friend Iguana Montana of the Legally Bankrupt blog, so I can't say for sure, but Bankruptcy has the air of being a temporal repentance that perhaps we as Latter-Day Saints should be more understanding of.

With baptism, there is a wiping clean of our previous life and the starting of a new life. With regular repentance through priesthood authority or individually, we are able to take our mistakes and have them be 'forgotten' of the Lord and reform our lives appropriately. As with sin, it is of course better to not have need for such things as bankruptcy or repentance in the first place, but have we not all been commanded to be baptized? Has there always been a need for this kind of renewal in other aspects of our life? Why not in temporal matters?

I see repentance as part of our learning process. Some people need excommunication as a way of coming back into the fold in the right way. To deny someone repentance would be a serious abuse of the power of the atonement and the suffering of Christ. So to take away the chance for the auto industry, or the financial industry to go bankrupt, to learn from their mistakes, we are doing a serious disservice to the future of this country and to the industry itself. There will be other slow economic times, just like there will be times where we will sin. The need to suffer to some degree for mistakes of the past is healthy and part of God's plan; part of becoming perfect. Where there is no punishment, there is no reason to reform and improve. In fact taking away bankruptcy would be like taking away an individuals chance to repent or be baptized. In like manner you can't be excommunicated more than once and still be admitted back into the kingdom, so it should be with bankruptcy. In this way, such mercy would not be abused. We should not allow justice to rob mercy and vice versa even in temporal matter. In fact it was Christ who taught to forgive debts was it not?

Christmas 1776

I would like to honor one of the many sacrifices made by those who put their lives on the line in defense of freedom. I encourage you to read the account of the battle of Trenton, where George Washington and his patriots marched on Christmas Eve amongst bitter cold and dire circumstances in an effort to further the cause of freedom and the establishment of a new republic.

As one who has served away from home for the holidays both as a missionary and as a United States Airman my desire was to celebrate Christ's birth with my family. I can't imagine the feelings of those who have gone before in serving this nation under circumstances much worse than mine, and for that I am grateful. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

First Presidency Christmas Devotional Online

For those that haven't seen this years First Presidency Christmas Devotional you can watch it on the Church's website here. Perhaps it is a good way to spend your Christmas Eve instead of driving around looking at Christmas lights in your GM or Chrysler soon to be known as the Federal Auto Company. Either that or spend the night in your foreclosing home with the knowledge that bakers everywhere are drinking the most expensive champagne on your tax dollars for bonuses.

Watch the video so that you can be reminded that no matter how soon our country goes bankrupt in the midst of tax increases and nationalized health care, we are members of the Lord's church. That Zion is being built upon the principles of righteousness and true charity. That God knows the evils of the world and has provided temples as a place where we can go to be out of the world. Remember that in the church no crooked politician can sell your seat in the celestial kingdom.

We can find comfort that Christ was born, lived a perfect life, suffered, died, and was resurrected so that we can be secure in our faith that there is a reward for enduring this world. We are blessed with the knowledge that the Bill Maher's of this world will suffer a fate worse than watching their programs. While listening to the Lords Prophets, we can feel the peace of the gospel and find joy that we are known of God. We are reminded that Christ is helping to carry our load and that as we rely on Him and not the governments of the world, we can experience lasting joy. Merry Christmas y'all.

What the UAW spends its much needed money on.

I am not about to reveal how I came to know about this place or how I obtained first hand knowledge of all this, nevertheless I once stayed at a 'little' lodge called The Walter and May Reuther UAW Family Education Center that is located on Black Lake near Onaway, Michigan (upstate). This facility is the property of the United Autoworkers Union, or the workers of the "failing" (I choose to call it poorly managed) Big Three automakers in the USA. Here is what the UAW 's own site uses to describe what this retreat has to offer (don't forget to watch their video on the place):

Center accommodations include 241 completely remodeled guest rooms, featuring lakeside rooms at Maxon Lodge, hotel-style rooms and fully equipped condos. The campground is open to all UAW members. Campsites are equipped with sewer, water and electrical hookup with nearby indoor shower, toilet and laundry facilities. There also is a boat launching ramp and dock.

A beautiful gymnasium houses two full-sized basketball courts and can seat up to 1,200 people when set up as an auditorium. There is an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, a sauna next to the men's and women's dressing rooms, an exercise and weight room and pool and table tennis tables.

Black Lake Golf Club is the newest addition to the recreational side of the Family Education Center. Designed by acclaimed architect Rees Jones, the course takes advantage of the spectacular property and is situated on 1,000 acres of heavily-forested land on the southeast side of one of Michigan's largest inland lakes.

Remember they are proud of this place. It is a point of bragging. I stayed there. It was beautiful. In some ways it served as a temple or shrine to the UAW presidents. The people were nice. The food was decent. However, in their written description of the place, they forgot to mention the two sports bars, restaurants, and the over 3,000 sq. ft. first class cabin space that each UAW president gets to stay in the rest of their lives (in case that isn't clear, each president has his own cabin, they don't use the same one over again like the white house-New president; new cabin). When a guest arrives at this resort (not much of a learning center, more like a resort or UAW compound) you park your car in a designated parking lot. From there if you wish to be taken anywhere on site, there is a courtesy shuttle system that drives you around. All you have to do is call the front desk or mention it to any of the staff at this retreat and they will contact a shuttle to come pick you up where you are and take you to where ever you want to go.

At this point I think you get the idea. This place has had some bucks put into it. How is this all paid for you may ask? According to the UAW website the resort was paid for with the interest made off of the "strike fund". Meaning the union dues that are paid by each worker goes into a fund to support their effort to not work until they get their way. A professional pouting fund in other words. That gigantic pool of money is invested in some way and pays for this resort where the president of the union and all of the union hierarchy have unrestricted access to anytime they want. The union members can come and stay there, but they are charged a fee like a hotel stay. Once a year these autoworkers and their families come to this "education center" to be taught how to be better union members. Not better employees, not better humans; better union members. If this was a religion this place would be considered a cult compound. Watch the video. They are clear that they have this place to indoctrinate the workers and their families.

Now, consider how this trickles down to you the US taxpayer. This bailout that is now a 'necessity', is due in part to the "pay" or demands of these autoworkers. That is going to pay for what exactly? To pad what fund? That pays for what? Also consider how much more you have to pay for a car when you go to buy a vehicle.... for what? To help support a fund designed to support the autoworkers right to not work when they don't get what they want. You are also paying for a posh resort in upstate Michigan that these 'impoverished' workers can vacation to and develop campaigns such as this one they are on now. Does that make you feel better about your purchase and your desire to support American made products?

If you look at it, this bailout has been going on for years in a way. I suppose it would be taboo for any politicians (who have probably stayed at this resort in exchange for 'election help') to say that the UAW should sell off their resort to help pay for their own downfalls like anyone else who comes on hard times. I say the taxpayers have been supporting the UAW for far too long now. FYI, Anyone who buys a car where a United Autoworker works, you support these things. Just thought you might like to know.

Nothing More to Say

No need for me to embellish on this article. I just want to say that this bailout thing has gone from stupid to criminal.

Christmas can be Punny....

It's okay to laugh when things are punny. (Funny + Pun = Punny)

K, Boys, let's go kill some Terrorisstss (insert voice of Tim Gunn)

Well...... this one is just too good to pass up:

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/poweringup/archive/2008/12/18/gay-man-for-navy-secretary.aspx

If you pay close attention to the fine print, it says there that our new Commander in Chief may be considering an openly gay man for secretary of the Navy. There are plenty of jokes and innuendos that could be suggested here, but this is a serious issue.

There are so many things wrong with this, I just don't know where to begin. Well, I'm sure we are all aware of the quick and easy arguments from both sides of this issue and I know that the left likes to demonize those who are against having gays in the military as homophobic and intolerant. But seriously, I know this may be a bit much to ask of the left, but stop and think for a second. I know it may be hard for you because you are ruled by your emotions and stopping to think for a second is borderline beyond your capabilities and certainly against your daily habits, but seriously stop and think. Consider this:

Transmission Category
Estimated # of HIV/AIDS Cases, in 2006 (CDC - Center for Disease Control U.S.)

Male-to-male sexual contact
17,465

Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use
1,180

High-risk heterosexual contact*
11,584

Granted these are only reported cases but the point I'm trying to make here is that homosexuals are a higher risk group for the transmission of HIV/AIDS. I do worry sometimes given the sexual promiscuity of heterosexuals I serve with in the military. Working in a dangerous environment such as the military can put you in proximity of blood and wouldn't it be a tragedy to surivive a combat situation only to die from a blood born illness contracted from attempting to save the life of a fellow serviceman who was behaving immorally? This risk will increase with the relaxation of the military's current policy of "Don't ask, Don't tell".

Let me add that the military's current stance is not "Are you gay? Then stay away!" it's simply stating that your sexual preference is not pertinent to the accomplishment of the military's mission.

There are many other reasons and not enough room on this blog, but I would like to leave you with another thought. Has anyone considered what gays might suggest for uniforms?

Is this really cruel?

According to this article there is a woman selling "gothic kittens" over the internet. These are cats with ears, tails, or other parts of them pierced with gothic style jewelery. She got arrested and might be spending some jail time based on animal cruelty charges. I am certainly not one to condone animal cruelty but is this really animal cruelty? The arguments that I have found on the web is that the cat is a defenseless animal that can't chose to be pierced or not, and it could cause them pain in the piercing process.

Then I saw one person who made the counter-argument, "so ... lemme get this straight... it is “cruel” to pierce the ears or tail of a kitten... but it is just fine to pierce a baby’s ears?" Not my point, but one well taken in illustrating that we sometimes place animal rights over human rights. I think I don't know the whole story here. But on the surface the idea sounds unappealing. However Ebay sold a few of the gothic cats it sounds like. So people have bought them for one reason or another which means other people are possibly going to produce it.

For those that are animal lovers you should check out the book "Animals in the Church" by Gerald E. Jones. It covers some really cool quotes from general authorities and prophets about how we are to view and treat animals. I doubt piercing animals would keep you out of the temple, however, it hardly seems inline with the teaching of Christ to do so. I wonder, is this any different from tagging a cow, or branding a horse, chopping off the tail of a dog? All commonly accepted practices in the world. To defile your body with multiple piercings was declared a no-no for young men and women a few years back. This concept of keeping your body a holy temple could apply to all of God's creations could it not? So for now, it would seem that this is more like animal stupidity, and not being a wise steward over God's creations. I am reserving the temptation of throwing this into the category of cruelty until convinced otherwise. I am open to someone making a convincing argument that it is considered such if anyone wants to give a stab at it.

Economic Funnies

My wife forwarded me these cartoons. All very appropriate and funny. By the way have you heard that Obama's bailout proposal has now hit the 1 Trillion dollar amount? Just thought you might like to know where your tax money is going and where it will be going when he has to raise taxes to pay for that. The bottom one is my favorite.

Little Socialistic Drummer Boy

If you have not heard the David Bowe and Bing Crosby duet of the song "Little Drummer Boy" there is a subtle little push for the socialistic ideals by forcing children how they must behave and what they must be made to do. See if you can find it. Hint: It is after all the cutesy little skit at the beginning of the video and after the first verse of the song.

You complete me.

I am reading a book by general authority Sterling Sill called "That Ye Might Have Life" that I picked up from Eborn Books. I came upon a chapter called The Unknown Solider where the author uses Hemingway's book "For Whom The Bell Tolls" among others to illustrate the concept that we as a people are all connected.

Sterling Sill writes, "Mr. Hemingway says, 'Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind.' And so it is. We have a stake in every other man's accomplishment. We have an interest in every other man's deeds. When one beautifies the landscape or discovers how to improve our health or invents a labor-saving device, everyone is enriched thereby. When one improves the frontiers of his own mind or spirit, the general intellectual and spiritual level is increased. On the other hand, when anyone dies, all of us are diminished because a part of us has also passed away. When anyone loses his grip and starts downhill, everyone else is the loser."

With that backdrop I watched the morning news after waking up and wondered how crooked governors, cheating investment brokers, angry homosexuals, and so on, have any effect on my life? Is the world becoming more and more evil because the actions of these other individuals cosmically connect to my life in someway? Who am I then feeding off of in determining who I am and how I think? If I didn't watch the news talking about all the crappy things happening in this world would I feel the same sense of growing evil? Or in other words, is the above quote only relevant to those parts of humanity that we expose ourselves to?

The author continues to say this, "As we honor our heroes, we tend to build their great qualities into ourselves. We are also the beneficiaries of everyone else who has ever lived, for the world would be incomplete without them. The Lord has said the church hath need of every member, and so does God need all of us, and so do we need God, and so do we need each other. Each of us is an unknown soldier, and one of our most exciting truths is the fact that we were created to be the benefactors of the rest of mankind."

"Henry Van Dyke gives another voice to this philosophy when he says that no one is ever born into the world whose work is not born with him. There is a purpose for everyone's life. There is some part of the work of the world, and there is some part of the work of the Lord that can best be done only by me alone. We receive something from the good that is done by everyone else."

So when watching the news and wondering what is to be done with such evil, consider that life's circumstances not only effect us individually in someway, but that we can also have an effect on them. We can choose to perpetuate their negativity and destructive works or we can chose to be proactive in the cause of good; the cause of Christ. Perhaps that is the spirit of Christmas; not that bad things aren't happening, but that we take this time of year to remember and recognize our potential to combat such things with good works and kindness.

Happy birthday to you.

Because I don’t have any children of my own I am still up in the air on the baby names. I know that K names are really hot in Mormon culture right now, you know all the Kirsten’s and Kurstens and so on. On top of that parents spell the names weird in an attempt to set their children apart when in actuality it just becomes a point of frustration their whole life because no one ever gets their name right. It’s like attaching a chip on their shoulder at birth.

The part I question is the Book of Mormon names for kids. I mean if I name my boy Alma or Nephi I am taking away any ability the child may have had to blind in away. But on the other hand you are giving the child a name that represents something and I am behind that.

However weird Mormon names are though I think this couple has us all beat. Turns out there is a couple in Pennsylvania that wanted to give their small boy a name to live up to as well, only when they went to get him a birthday cake they got turned down by the bakery because they felt inscribing a cake with the frosting name of “Adolf Hitler Campbell” pushed the limits of good taste. But the loving parents didn’t stop there, apparently one of their other lucky children got the name of “Aryan” Granted Aryan’s name is stuck in the middle so Adolf really did get the short end of the swastika.

I understand everyone thinks their child is exceptional and some how smarter then all the other children so they deserve a special name to further set them apart. I contend though that a child or adults actions not their name is what will really set them apart. As such putting some strange burden on them like a goofy name is just mean.

One last thing, if I ever meet another stoner who has named their kid “Mary Jane” I will be calling CPS.

War is wrong, abortion is okay.

As I was sitting on the toilet doing my usual bit of morning thinking, my mind wandered to the argument against war and killing and how the liberal constituency generally float towards the ideology that abortion is okay. For those against war, the foundational argument is that killing people is wrong. Fine, I agree. Death should be in the hands of God who knows our time on this earth. The argument that is usually expressed in defense of this ideology is the phrase "give peace a chance". The twist here of course being that they are for peace, not simply against war or death. If we do our logic math here, that would mean that being for peace is also a stance of pro-life; right?

The message that I am receiving is that it is not okay to go kill full time active military personnel of aggressive or terrorist nations, but it is okay to kill innocent defenseless babies with infinite potential for good through abortion and all its ugly forms. On one hand there is stopping the evil designs of men vs. killing a life filled with goodness and potential for greatness. What is the logical choice for this segment of the population? Kill the innocent-why? Because we should have the right to. The same twist exists. "We are not for killing, we are pro-choice." Yet somehow these folk have the nerve to paint those willing to defend the freedoms given in the constitution of this heaven established country as horrible war mongering cold blooded messengers of death.

Why is it that the liberals of this nation make it so easy to rip them to shreds? Do they know that double standards make them look stupid? I say we change the name of such liberal hypocrites to a new acronym: Democrats Interested in Pushing Shifty Hypocritical Ignorant Thoughts. I will let you put those together. I for one believe that a woman's right to choose was extended to them when they chose to have sex. We don't have the right to chose the consequences of our actions or to chose when the right time is for babies to die.

Day without a what? Do I have one anyways?

So how did your day calling out gay go? You did know that to show your solidarity with the gay community and our combined commitment to allow homosexuals the right to marry we where supposed to call out of work "gay" Wednesday the 10th. What you didn't know about the day without a gay protest? Maybe like those who did hear about it you just didn't care.

As it turns out the protest came and went without incident, houses where still remodeled, Ikea stayed open and the shows on Broadway continued their decline into irrelevancy. Heck even these guys got out for a good time in their time of trial.
What did this useless protest show the world? Number one much like the "day without a Mexican" a couple years ago it showed the world that the gay community as a whole is entirely irrelevant to our economy. Not a smart move. As we learned from the Hispanic protest the story's of total economic shut down brought on by underpaid employees not showing up for work just didn't happen. Instead we learned that minority groups are just that, a "minority" meaning they are a small portion of what makes up a big whole. So what if they don't show up? They have to be back tomorrow or they will go hungry.

The second thing it should show us yet again is something most people don't even thing of and is most peoples actual number one political concern which as it turns out is the concern no one can say out laud because it is politically incorrect on the right as well as the left. That is that cash is king. All the gays I know showed up for work on Monday, why? Because they care about their pocket book above everything else. It's the very same reason I don't go join the unwashed masses in protests I may believe in, I am too busy making money. Far from being a negative I see this as a positive and I think everyone else should as well.

Economic interest overcomes many sins inherent in any society. Sure the gays want to get married but they, like me want to make a living. Anyone who doesn't care about their living only loses or doesn't develop desire for an income because they have the means to stop caring. We call them "Cake Eaters." They are the kids who have the trust funds and the safety net which allows them to be unproductive and thereby seek out meaning in some other way other then making a living by jumping on the nearest band wagon for equal rights.

I learned this lesson in the construction industry. Most foremen are white and many of them harbor prejudice thoughts toward minority groups like the rest of the world. However tell these foremen that a little Mexican guy will do the same job as a white guy only for half the pay and with less breaks which employee is he going to hire? As any construction site will demonstrate they follow the money. There is no need for government intervention here, the minority gets hired. Over time like the res of us they will and have gotten hire wages for their work but it was the Foreman's pocket book not his altruistic nature that opened the door.

Fine let's talk about it.

(Read this article - it might help the discussion.)

This article tells the story of a man who broadcast his assisted suicide on British Television. The original material was part of a documentary discussing the issue and relevancy of assisted suicide. Currently in the UK the issue remains unresolved but apparently legal as opposed to the United States where there has been plenty of case law to determine that assisted suicide is not currently legal. The ethical issues on this topic reach pretty far and on many levels. To patients suffering from apparent terminal illnesses the prospect of assisted suicide becomes a much more approachable issue than perhaps those who are in good health and find the practice wrong.

Controversy of whether or not something like assisted suicide should be broadcast on TV is its own topic entirely; lets focus on the root issue itself. Presentation of or documenting of assisted suicide and the rights to broadcast are separate from a discussion on IF it should be allowed to be done.

The church has a very strong stance against suicide and has been quite clear on the fact that those who commit suicide and are capable of understanding right from wrong, or are accountable, are denied entrance to the Celestial Kingdom. However, are assisted suicide and suicide the same thing? Is assisted suicide considered mercy?

Consider this backdrop for a moment. Christ lived his life and suffered so that we don't have to suffer if we repent. Christ also spent a good portion of his ministry in the healing of those that are sick and afflicted. However, can we with a clear conscience apply these principles across the board to issues such as assisted suicide or is this the work of the Savior for our spiritual salvation? The healing's Christ performed were due to the faith of the individuals not the fatalist attidudes of the individuals; right? One could make the argument that Christ himself committed a suicide of sorts because he was the only one who had power to lay down his own life.

Even writting that makes my fingers hurt. There is nothing about those rationalizations that feel good to me.

It seems to me that the practice of assisted suicide places at its heart the sanctity of life and our feeling towards it. God never taught that it was good to be alive as long as life was all roses. IN fact we are taught in several cases that life will be hard. There will be suffering and there will be disease. When a person is suffering spiritual pain it is not an acceptable practice to give up spiritually. Why should we consider the approach to telestial life any different?

The only way that God's children have been authorized to take part in the creation process is through the covenant of marriage. There has been no covenant or power that authorizes his children to determine when another dies before it happens naturally. If a person hurries the inevitable, or seeks to subvert celestial law and it's determined times to perform certain acts before acceptable is wrong. Engaged couples are not encouraged or admonished to start the sexual acts that are saved between a married couple based on the logic that it will soon be okay. With that same standard to the ending of a life, each person will be accountable for their time on earth. Any case where that time is cut short will be the responsiblity of the party accountable. Who is to say how much more good a person who has committed assisted suicide could have been able to accomplish in their short time on earth. In fact, assisted suicide stands against all of what Christ taught. Assisted suicide represents a selfish desire to end personal suffering. A higher law would seem to be for that person to divert their own interests and seek ways to assist others in their times of need.

In fact it was Christ who, while bleeding and dying under the weight of the cross, was concerned for the welfare of those hanging next to Him along with the welfare of his earthly mother. His example is so far reaching, and to my interpretation, speaks to the invalidity of argument for assisted suicide.

Bill Maher, a modern day Korihor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EssksjXjIA

Wow. Where to begin....... there are multiple things to address in this video clip but the root of it as I see it is Bill Maher's statement about Joseph Smith being a con-man because DNA testing proves that Native Americans are not descendants of Isreal. Bill Maher said, "Faith suspends critical thinking...if you can't prove it it's not true."

Let's see what Korihor said;

Alma 30:12-16 - 12 And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:

13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.

14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers.

15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.

16 Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.

Sorry Bill, your trick is at least a couple of hundred years old. Satan seeks to appeal to the "carnal mind". Well, I like to think of myself as a critical thinker and I do not rule out those pieces of information that contradict my particular view. Case in point the brightest philosophical and scientific minds at one time thought the earth was flat. They also thought that the earth was the center of the galaxy rather than the sun. The understanding of man is limited and I do not need to see something with my eyes in order for my critical thinking to be considered fully satisfied. I try to give proper weight in the fufillment of my critical thinking to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, a merciful Father in Heaven has communicated with me; one of His trillions of children, and communicated with my intelligence that the Book of Mormon is true among other truths. As I see it, I have "proven" a truth to my understanding as critically and as real as proving it through seeing, touching or any other of the physical senses. The gospel is true, God is real, and as far as man's understanding, it is limited. Particularly so for Bill Maher.

Subsidizing Failure

So the good old democrats heard the cry of yet another industry that dug their own hole with over spending and poor business practices and is bailing out businesses. Correct me if I am misunderstanding how the government is supposed to work fundamentally, but it is not to endorse poor business practices by handing out money to any industry that is falling on hard times in a slow economy. Perhaps if the people in the high administration of the company earned their top dollars through running an effective company they would have their own money to give bonuses.

Sure the government is giving them a loan. I get it. But at the same time they are securing it through the ownership of stock interest. Ethically speaking I have a hard time with the government owning the largest mortgage lending institutions in the land who own the mortgage notes on half of the country. Now they want to own the auto industry. Outside of maybe computers, homes and cars are the two most influential, revenue generating industries in this nation. The government plans to own controlling portions of these industries. With a socialist friendly president looking to nationalize health care, we are moving closer and closer to what Great Brittan was when we revolted against the country back in the late 1700's.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump: 'I am not a smart man Jenny, but I know what communism is when I see it.' What message are we sending to the world? You are only important to the government if you are a company and have lots of money? I repeat what I have written in other blogs, the United States is a government for the people, not causes, not businesses, for the people. The argument that saving the auto industry is in the best interest of the people is not complete. It is in the interest of a select few. The autoworkers unions, and the corporations that employ them. That doesn't even make up one hundreth of a percent of our population yet we are spending 15 billion of the nations taxes fixing their poor practices. What would happen if the automakers had to close their doors? Well perhaps that makes way for other car makers, who make good cars, and sell them at reasonable prices to compete? If the goverment bails out the "BIG 3" the goverment is endorsing certain companies and giving them special favors that are not afforded to all companies. This type of favoritism is exactly what got Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois arrested. Can we not arrest the whole congress? They are making illegal actions with the power that was entrusted to them. Did Nixon not teach us anything as a people? Letting our leaders off the hook helps no one but the leader.

What they don't tell the truth?

Quick everyone pretend to be shocked, The Democrat governor of Illinois was arrested this morning on corruption charges. Turns out he was trying to sell the vacancy left by Obama in the Senate to the highest bidder. But thankfully Barack Obama is above all this, he is after all a reformer who is changing the face of politics with all the same people who have been there their whole life. But wait Antoin "Tony" Rezko Obama's best buddy is involved here as well as giving the next president great deals on real state.

But thankfully this is only happening in one state in the mid west. I am sure all of our local politicians are much cleaner and would never get involved in this type of corruption.

When will we as a society get tired of this type of behavior from our elected officials? What is the breaking point for us? When will we say enough is enough and tear the whole current system out and go back to what the country was originally supposed to be? My guess it will happen when we cant text mssg each other any more. Then all the BFF's around the world will wake up and say "WTF!" I want my TRL.

O.J. Stands for Orenthal in Jail!

The sentence is in! No more OJ for some time. Minimum of 9 years with a max of 33 years! Goes to show bad things can happen to bad people too!

Prop 8: The Musicial

I don't know if you have seen this video but it is sure to be everywhere in no time. This post is sure to help that happen. However I am not wanting to endorse it, rather I want to say that I have never felt so talked down to for having my opinions. I am really tired of Hollywood thinking they are smarter than everyone else? And you know if the gay support movement is trying to use the bible to manipulate us into thinking that Jesus is okay with Homosexuality then you know their argument is running on fumes. I feel that I can't throw my support to people who claim that they want diversity but hate anyone that has a different opinion for them. Its the same thing when the automakers show up begging for money in their private jets.

For a group of people that claim to be proponents of diversity and respect, there has never been a more blatant display of hypocrisy. They have announced their ignorance to the whole world. Why does Hollywood think we expected to take their word for grand intelligence? For me, I laughed but I was solidified in my opinion as a result. If the stupid disagree with me, that is a good thing.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Well Done Elder Wirthlin

Christmas Day 1997, M. Galt, Cletus, and I were in the MTC preparing to head out to the mission field. We were away from our families and few aspects of that day resembled Christmases we were all used to; but it is one I hope to never forget.

On that day Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin brought several members of his extended family including, grand children, to be with the missionaries at the Provo MTC Christmas morning. His family spoke to us and sang songs with us. Elder Wirthlin concluded the meeting with powerful testimony of the Savior and few, if any, missionaries felt sadness being away from home because one of the Lords anointed selflessly spent his holiday with people he had not met. I felt as if Christ would have wanted to have been there Himself so he sent Elder Wirthlin to go in his place.

Upon news (clik the link for a good news story on Elder Wirthlin) of his passing on December 1st 2008 at 91 years of age, I was reminded of that day and I felt grateful for having been in his presence and to have had Elder Wirthlin's example be a part of my life. I chose to see the passing away of such an honorable servant of the Lord as a day of rejoicing. We get to see how the gospel empowers the potential of man, and we get to feel the rewards of righteous living. I am sure Elder Wirthlin now sits at the right hand of the Savior as one of the Lords chosen servants.

I agree.

Bring it on Mr. Obama!

I thought rich people were smart

So I read the news today as a few of you may have also done. We are now officially in a recession. As news of this hit the stock market, the DOW dropped almost 680 points. That is quite significant, but it is also kind of sad. Sad because the reaction in the market seemed like this was some kind of shock to the financial leaders of worlds most influential stock market. Was the economy 680 points better the night before?

The last I checked, things have been bad for a while, but now because we are calling it a recession it means that over night it got that much worse. I am no stock trader so I am not going to pretend to possess some deep intellectual base when it comes to matters of high finance. On the other hand, I consider myself to be observant enough to not take news like this to be a shock and react so out of line. Nor do I think that the DOW Jones industrial average represents the nations economy. It influences it, but it certainly doesn't measure it.

I wonder how president elect Obama reacted to the news. Oh yeah, he further initiated his plan for "change" by giving us more of the Clinton administration - only this time he appointed the head of the Clinton regime, Hillary, to be Secretary of State. Now correct me if I am wrong but that is not the change people wanted when they voted for the man. If they wanted the Clinton's, they would have voted for her to begin with. She lost. Party or opinion of the Clinton's aside, why would you go and pick a person for a job that the American people have already said they don't want her to be involved in?

'Nuff said. It just goes to show you that money can buy certain things, but it can't buy happiness. and it can't buy brains.