When a Child is Born

The Prius

Prius Sales, Prices Soar

Toyota has said battery and electric engine supplies will only permit them to sell 150,000 Prius in the U.S. this year.
Monday, June 30, 2008


(UPI) - U.S. supplies of the Toyota hybrid car Prius have outstripped supplies, shooting prices upward, dealers and car owners said.
A one-year old Prius -- a car that boasts a fuel rating of 48 miles per gallon when new -- now often sells for more than the original purchase price and dealers are bumping prices as much as $5,000 above the sticker price, the Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

"It's hybrid hysteria," said John Mathews managing partner of Pat Lobb Toyota and Scion of McKinney, Texas.

"Nothing else comes even close to the Prius in mileage," Sonny Morgan a managing partner of Sport City Toyota in Dallas said.

Supplies are limited due to soaring demand, but Toyota has said battery and electric engine supplies will only permit them to sell 150,000 Prius in the United States this year, the report said.

Dallas resident Amy Meaux looked for a Prius in May, the Morning News reported.

She found 10 available at one dealership. But, when she inquired again two days later, there were none left on the lot, she said.

"That's when I knew we'd have to pay over window-sticker price for the car," she said."

Looks like we bought ours at the right time.

"a total commitment..."

Saturday nights I am in a special place and enjoy my time while I am there. I raised the question of the First Presidency letter to one of my associates during a slack period. I asked him what he thought of it. His response was quick and certain, "a total commitment to President Monson in this."

It is no secret what my thoughts are on the matter. Regrettably, we don't have a great history and heritage of compassion toward those who are different. We failed to get along with folks in Oho, Missouri, and Illinois. After the Prophet's death we jumped on board with the rest of America in the disenfranchisement of all Blacks. When we came west we were not satisfied with our isolation and so we whacked a wagon train from Arkansas, saving only some of the children and babies. 'The indians did it' excuse is not substantiated by the forensic evidence from a mass grave uncovered during the reconstruction of the present monument in the Mountain Meadows near Cedar City. Church historian Richard Turley's definitive book on the subject is to be out in August and I have my name on the list for a couple copies at Benchmark. Among my numerous Latino friends I am told often of ethnic slurs with Church members and without here in Utah. Our Republican legislature has a track record of being anti immigrant in spite of the pronouncements by some General Authorities.

I wish there was a more 'live and let live' attitude among Mormons and our leadership. The commitment of Mormons to follow these instructions of this First Presidency letter will not reduce any homophobic feelings among the membership. The consequence will be anyone with a difference of gender orientation than the Mormon majority will find themselves driven further away. For those of us who have a family member or friend caught up in the Church's efforts to deny civil rights to, the rest of us all take for granted, only adds to the burden and pain we experience. Are we not acting contrary to the Savior's instruction of looking for the 'one' and inviting all to come unto Him and sup at his table? I wonder.

A Matter of Conscience

More than a few disgruntled and unhappy observers have characterized the ongoing efforts by our church leadership to gain constitutional status for key aspects of the "Proclamation on the Family" like the civil rights struggle of the 60's and the question of Blacks and the priesthood. Elder Ezra Taft benson was certain, at the time, that the Communists were intent on destroying America through the civil rights movement. We cannot use that excuse now as the Commies are gone so they cannot be backing the agenda of the GLBTG community. At the height of the civil rights movement in the 60's, the foremost scholar and theologian of the Church was Joseph Fielding Smith. He was President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to more moderate President David O. McKay, the president of my youth. Asked whether there was a place for Negroes in the LDS Church, he, JFS, responded by saying, "The darkies are a good people and there is place for them in this church." Elder Harold B. Lee, who would later become President of the Church, and the decision maker during the tenure of President Joseph Fielding Smith, following President McKay's death, chastised then BYU President Ernest Wilkinson for allowing Blacks to attend BYU. He threatened Wilkinson with responsibility if his granddaughter attending BYU should become 'interested' in a colored young man. So extreme were his views that he questioned whether blood supplies in SLC for LDS Hospital were obtained from any donors of African descent. Such tainted blood carried the 'curse of Cain' apparently. Further, Harold B. Lee vowed that during his lifetime he would insure that Blacks would never receive the priesthood. The interesting conclusion one could reach about that is that he served fewer months than any other president of the church and was replaced by Spencer W. Kimball who sought and received change that came in the revelation of June 1978.

Studying the introduction, perpetuation, and conclusion of plural or Celestial Marriage in the church, I honestly believe we would or there would be a few still practicing it today had not the federal government intervened to the point of extinction of this church in causing the ending the practice. The Manifesto did not prevent President Wilford Woodruff from following a belly dancer, who performed for him in Salt Lake City, to San Francisco where he secretly 'married' her. Marriage defined as between 'one man and one woman' in the days before the First Manifesto and the Second Manifesto would have been rejected quickly and anyone advocating that would have been in jeopardy.

The recent Republican primary election in Utah and the loss of immigration moderate Chris Cannon to Jason "the Ghengis" Chaffetz, in arguably the most conservative of all congressional districts in the US, (Utah's 3rd), suggests his constituency is very much ethnically challenged as to persons of the Brown color. That district must be near 100% Mormon. The track record of our Utah legislature is equally abysmal as they introduced one bill after another to marginalize Hispanics here. There is no question from my experience and observations with Latino members there is an undercurrent in our Utah Mormon middle class culture of ethnic animosity. I believe this current of animosity, coupled with the fear of someone's activist agenda and just plain homophobic views helps us to understand what has propelled us a a church to this point, giving rise to the letter and subsequent efforts to restore the law banning Gay marriage in CA.

From my study of church history and my knowledge as a lifetime practitioner, apologist, and advocate, I would conclude the following:
1. Membership and our leadership are very slow to change, i.e. nearly 140 years in righting the wrongs of the personal prejudices grafted into church practice following the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith by his successors, principally Brigham Young.
2. Membership and the present leadership are very much influenced by the 'culture of fear' here in America. It is with uncertainty and trepidation they view and feel threatened by events such as the recent CA Supreme Court decision concerning Gay marriage. It may portend the coming wave that will sweep across the land threatening traditional marriage everywhere.
3. LDS Church leadership responds to threats, direct or implied, from state or federal governments. This battle between the forces of conservatism and 'family values' in California or any other state will not be won by any other means than a real or perceived threat to the tax exempt status of the Church. They will move quickly and stop funding efforts to support Prop 22 and like battles if there is a possibility of losing exempt status.
4. Lastly, our leaders are fallible and often speak and do so from their own experience, as I freely admit I am and do. Not always are they inspired or do they speak the 'will of the Lord'. Who can deny the off kilter doctrinal statements of Brigham Young in teaching the so-called Adam God theory? On what basis did we deny persons of color for nearly a century and a half the blessings of the priesthood?

Will change occur on this matter in the Church? Not in my lifetime, except and only unless the tax exempt status is threatened. Will writing letters to the Brethren bring about change? No. What am I going to do about it? In a private way, (as I do not want to formally compromise my status), I will support financially and otherwise, the efforts of any who would oppose the coalition, (including my church), to pass legislation such as Prop 22. I will continue to contemplate the matter and seek illumination. The process works and resolution may come.

Why vote Republican...

The ladies up in Cache Valley, (See, Hear, Speak No Evil), had this on their Blog and I borrowed it here. It is too choice not to share with everyone. Hope they do not mind.



See you somewhere in one of the aisles at Wal Mart...

The sentence has been affirmed...

The Girls are to end their existence this afternoon. Being the coward I am I cannot participate. I fed them some nice grape leaves from Margaret's vines this morning. I had RA fill their water container and food dispenser too.

No longer will they queue up to the fence or come hopping out of their house when they hear my voice. No longer will I hear their contented clucking sounds. Who ever thought chickens could become such friends?

In memory of the Girls, a piece from Mozart's Requiem:



"Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis."

Sith Lords and the Primary on Tuesday

I wrote this comment on Tyler Farrer's Davis County Watch this morning.

Tyler, who can say whether Becky is a Democrat or not. Currently, I am declared 'unaffiliated' as to my party, but I am thinking very seriously about declaring myself a Republican on Tuesday so I can vote against the slate of Republican candidates put forward by the Dark Lord Palpatine/Darth Sidious. We must put an end to the careers of so many who adhere to Sith traditions -- they who seek for power and would trample the rights of this now free, but threatened people of Utah.

Progress on the Dory

We made some great progress with the boat today. Besides doing a dry fit up of the outboard motor mount on the transom and thereby determining we need the long shaft 4 hp Yamaha, we also taped all of the exterior joints with a 12 oz. special bi-axial fiberglass cloth. Miky, one of the boy scouts, helped me tape them. You cannot see the joints because the glass becomes very clear once the epoxy resin wets it out. We are using an epoxy from a company called MAS as it is reputed to have the best barrier properties against water permeation. We will mix up some epoxy body putty tomorrow and 'fair' all of the joints we taped. Then on Weds we will cover the entire exterior hull with a synthetic glass material called Dynel. It is also woven and tougher against abrasion than fiberglass.

The outboard motor mount is stainless and raises and lowers, spring loaded. I think we can get 12-14 inches of water above the cavitation plate on the motor and that is good. We will have plenty of power to get off the lake if a storm comes up. I think a bit of a deck area, or thwart up front, would be good too if waves are high and we are pushing through them, so the water just doesn't come spilling over the bow into the boat. It means some protected storage underneath and built in flotation as well.

The plans for the 22' arrived today and it is a much bigger endeavor but very doable. We will start that after hunting season in the fall/winter. It is the Surf Scoter 22'. You can see it on an earlier post. I will be making the pilot house about 3 or 4' longer to accommodate more interior room for a sit down head and a better galley. Extending the roof back a bit so you can duck out of the rain or sun in the cockpit will be helpful.

Paul is on the right in this picture

"You are my best friend and I hope you will always remember this. I pray that our savior will forgive me and you will also."

I read a journal article yesterday in Scientific American about the catharsis of blogging and maybe an insight as to why it has become so popular in America. I think we probably all would agree with that assessment. Josh expresses that with his "Stress Filled Times of Me", doesn't he?

Today I write about my friend Paul Randall. He sent an email yesterday, maybe 30 minutes before he took his life with a gunshot to his head. The long and the short of it was that he was in pain and without hope. He had been a firefighter and EMT and a decorated one. He was my friend and my assistant in the West Bountiful scout troop and loved doing that until the pain became too great. Few parts of his body functioned in any sort of normal way. The sound of his own voice made his ears hurt. Surgery two months ago to correct the hearing only made it worse. Among other things he had Menieres disease which affected his balance, equilibrium and made him nearly constantly nauseous. In spite of everything we enjoyed a fruitful and positive relationship. We would explore the favorite places I enjoy eating in the valley. He thought the chicken on the mezedakia plate at the Other Place Cafe was the best chicken he had ever tasted in his life. That was his favorite after the Trang, dim sun at the Ahn Hang, mo mos from Shambala, and Crown Burgers. Nielsen's frozen custard was something he had never experienced until we took the boys there one night. He taught the boys how to fish, tie a hook on and cast a line. We worked on the stitch and glue boat together which he really enjoyed discovering this new process of working with wood. The boys liked him and appreciated his help and guidance with the scouting work. He was dedicated to them and they knew that.

There is a hole in my life, in all of our lives, because of his passing. Thanks Paul for being one of the best friends I ever had.

An update -- Following the funeral services yesterday his widow informed me that she had his Scout shirt buried with him in the casket, "because he loved scouting with the boys so much."

June 9th is my Dad's Birthday

I was privileged to enjoy a long association with my father because we lived next door and were involved more with the folks during their retirement years. My children were blessed to have loving grandparents so close. I am grateful for that and all I learned from them. I received the priesthood from him. I have used it and given it to my son and blessed my daughters as well. That is its nature. I have given it to others who didn't have a Dad like mine. I cherish the first Sunday I sat with him in the High Priests group. I was called to be a most junior member of the Centerville Stake High Council. For a number of years my Dad served on the Davis Stake High Council. When I was a kid we would go with Mom to hear him speak in Farmington and Kaysville.

In honor of my Dad I took RA and Em to the ice cream store here in Ft. Bragg today. Naturally, I ordered a scoop of strawberry. He was definitely a strawberry guy. When we were kids we often would take a Sunday drive that ended up with an ice cream cone, sundae, or shake, usually at the fountain at Service Drug in Bountiful. Later when Baskin and Robins opened we would take our kids and the folks would treat everyone to ice cream. Families always came before anything else including silly interpretations of rules about not shopping on the sabbath, even to buy ice cream cones. My Dad was like that. He was honest and down to earth, the most honest man I ever knew. He always told it the way it was and did not mind the use of a few good four letter words here and there. Mom used to marvel that none of us picked up on any of his bad words. He never used those words to put anyone down but they could be applied to a weather report for example. Once we were contemplating a trip somewhere and Mom asked Dad what Bob Welti had said the weather was going to be and he responded by saying. "the damn weather is going to be raining with snow in the mountains." Astonished my mother questioned whether the weatherman really said "the damn weather..."

My Dad had few hobbies other than working though he liked to fish and hunt in his earlier days with friends and some family members. He liked a nice car and I had some pretty sweet rides to drive to high school and beyond. Once a brand new Buick came home for a few days and never left. At first he told Mom it was just a "loaner". Finally, he admitted he had bought it. Our boat was acquired similarly. It was planned secretly without Mom knowing about it until the time was right and after several inspections at Otto Smith's workshop the secret was revealed.

Dad instilled in all of us a sense of duty and service. He wore his life out in doing things for others and for all of us. He was an example in many ways and there is lots more than his love of strawberry ice cream and Sunday rides that continues with us to this day.

Thanks Dad for everything and Happy Birthday!

Fence is done

Our construction and staining has been a little delayed because of a nest of small birds on one of the electrical panel boxes out back. We do not want to interfere with the mother and babies so we work a little and then come inside while the mother feeds her babies.

We have the deck now surrounded by fence so next month when the boys and dog arrive we can maintain the perimeter.

The Dory

We have finished the exterior sanding and fairing of the hull and are working on the skeg. The next step will be to tape the seams and glass the entire hull before we install the skeg. Keep in mind this is in lieu putting fiberglass on a cardboard box for a bird house to fulfill one of the requirements of the composite materials merit badge.

Still have not decided on colors or the name yet. We are learning how to do the stitch and glue process of boat construction in preparation for the 22' Pilot House Surf Scoter.

She said 'yes'

It is called a pilot house cruiser and we can start building it this fall. It is 22' long and powered either by an IO Volvo Penta Diesel or a 90 hp outboard hidden in a well. There is another option too, something called a sail drive. I have ordered the plans so we can start making some modifications. The pilot house needs to be enlarged to accommodate a better galley as well as an enclosed head. Privey for you landlubbers. To keep us all from getting too much sun the pilot house roof will be extended aft and then an awning to keep us in the shade while cruising. Its range is more than 300 miles with a 50 gallon gas tank. That means some serious exploring on Lake Powell or at the Gorge. Certainly a charcoal grill we could hang over the side for cooking our catch of trout or bass would be required.

Dark Canyon is a destination in Lake Powell that is only reached with some difficulty by trail from above. Driving the Noyo King to to its mouth and throwing out the anchor and wading ashore to explore the springs, pools and water falls will be one of the first destinations. GPS, a sonar fish finder, an I Pod wired sound system, a small heater to take the chill of fall mornings on the water, a solar array to keep our batteries charged and a cooler stocked with Calistoga, what else do we need? How about a launch date of summer 2009?

I have seen several of these designs also carry a mast for a simple cat rig sail. With a breeze we could cut the engine and hoist the sail and drift along with the fishing lines over the side. Anyone want to bring along a good book too? Maybe a lounge chair on the foredeck for the first mate?

Rubber band powered airplanes...

When I was a kid, maybe Jack's age, we used to get these rubber band powered airplanes. You would wind the propeller backwards until the bands became taught. To launch it you would release the prop with the left hand while giving it some forward thrust with your right. The plane would climb and circle a bit and then coast in hopefully for a soft landing on its gear. Care had to be taken lest the bands be wound overly tight and stressed which would result in premature failure as they would develop cracks and break. Eventually they would all succumb to that in any case. Sometimes the landings were less than soft and the balsa wood wings and other components would need to be repaired with Elmer's glue until that was no longer possible. Replacement bands never seemed to be available or any spare parts for that matter. While the planes flew in the sunshine of a spring or summer day we were all in high spirits and imagined we were aviators on board our fragile ships set free for a few seconds from the bonds of earth to soar above.

Tonight in the temple I worked with a brother, a decade or so older than myself, and he was struggling. He had forgotten some essential dialogue and gave incorrect direction to one of our guests. I had to have a coordinator intervene to remedy that and he was embarrassed. He apologized later and we visited for awhile. He is a retired doc and internist. His last mission for church was being the medical coordinator for all of Central America. He seemed uncomfortable as we visited and favored his right foot. Seemed to be even in some pain. Turns out he had surgery on his foot and it was not healing because of diabetes. Later in the evening he bumped his knuckle and was bleeding on things that are white there. The blood stained white fabric was near me and I pointed it out to the coordinator so the panel could be replaced and first aid given to my friend.

I guess one of the challenges for me in working at the Bountiful Temple are the almost weekly reminders, the awareness of the cracks forming in the rubber bands amongst my friends and people I get to know. The mortality rate for that senior group is higher than maybe one would encounter on the golf course or in the work place. Cancers, ALS, and other maladies have taken people out of my life there that I have loved and miss. My friend, the recorder, is diminishing weekly with the effects of mesothelioma. It is both inoperable in immune to chemo therapy. The roll call is being added to for those who have gone on.

Yes, the rubber bands break and no longer are the dreams of flying and soaring possible. I even heard RA suggest the new Bosch duel fuel oven/stove we bought this week would be her 'last one'. I used to become annoyed when I would hear my folks make similar comments about their 'last car', or the 'last shingle job' on the roof at 460 North Main. They sometimes would phrase it in words like: 'this should see us out'. Now it seems we are where they were and are focused on similar kinds of things. Maybe that is the natural order of things. If so give us a little understanding if you hear more of these kinds of things from us. My friend I was told went home early. He was not having a good night. Maybe he will have a better one next week.

A View Forward off the Port Beam

We are making significant progress on the wood and composite Dory. It is now wired together and the next step is to epoxy the interior and then we can pull the wire stitches out. The boys are enjoying it and becoming better acquainted with materials and a few hand tools.

Stitch and Glue Boat Manufacturing

This is it, the boat the Boy Scouts and I are building in the garage. Overall it is 15'-4" long and has a beam of over 4'. The plywood is made in France and is marine mahogany. We have not spent much time working on it. This week maybe the sides will go on and we can start the epoxy and glassing. We are building it from plans and a set of instructions from the Devlin Boat Works in Olympia WA.

When we are through the boys will have received their Composite Materials Merit Badge.

Still trying to decide what to name it.

Another view of 'A Child's Prayer'

Are we or aren't we... Will it be WP or Joseph?

From today's Des News:

By Carrie A. Moore
Published: Monday, Nov. 12, 2007
After more than a century of speculation about whether LDS Church founder Joseph Smith had children with any of his plural wives, a local geneticist said he recently has crossed two such purported descendants off the list of potential candidates.

Ugo Perego, director of operations at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, told the Deseret Morning News that technological advances in DNA testing during the past couple of years have helped prove with "99.9 percent certainty" that two early Latter-day Saints thought by some to be Smith's children are not his descendants. They are:
• Mosiah Hancock, son of Clarissa Reed Hancock, who was married to Levi Hancock.
• Oliver Buell, son of Prescindia Huntington Buell, who was married to Norman Buell.

Perego said that brings to five the number of people that some believed were Smith descendants whose paternal DNA does not match up with his. To date, at least seven other early Latter-day Saints have been identified in various historical documents or in later writings as potential Smith offspring, he said.

In 2005, Perego said DNA testing also ruled out three other alleged male descendants — Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (son of Mary Ann Frost Pratt, married to Parley P. Pratt), Zebulon Jacobs (son of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith, married to Henry Bailey Jacobs) and Orrison Smith (son of Fanny Alger).

Some candidates are surrounded by what he called "strong historical evidences like journal entries," while other alleged descendants have little historical basis to be related, other than "speculation based on conclusions that sometimes may have been too rushed," Perego said.

In Hancock's case, "historically, there is nothing about him. In fact, another son of Levi Hancock is more in question, named John Reed Hancock." Mid-20th century historian and author Fawn Brodie, in her book "No Man Knows My History," had "quite a lot about John Reed Hancock," he said.
Brodie also believed Buell was Smith's child, born during the early church's days in Far West, Mo., he said. "She goes quite far to explain why she thought this was the case. The time was perfect because (Prescindia's) husband was gone from the church, and there was a plural marriage that took place while he was gone."

Brodie also offered as evidence a photo of Buell resembling two of Joseph and Emma Smith's sons, writing that his "physiognomy ... seems to weigh the balance overwhelmingly on the side of Joseph's paternity."

Historians say Smith was married to as many as 30 women before he was killed by a mob in June 1844.
Perego also has gathered DNA samples on about 120 descendants of Josephine Rosetta Lyon, daughter of Sylvia Sessions Lyon, who was one of Smith's wives. But Y chromosome evidence, used to determine paternal relationships from father to son, is not present for Lyon because she is female. The effort to determine Lyon's parentage is ongoing, he said.

His most recent findings were presented as a paper at the annual John Whitmer Historical Association conference in Kirtland, Ohio, in late September. The group's officers since have asked Perego to put his presentation into an article format suitable for publication in their next annual journal.

The list of approximately 12 people alleged to have been Smith's children "may grow over time," Perego said, noting historical documents continue to surface. "I'm not saying the list I have is definitive or complete at all. But out of those we have data for, there is no evidence from DNA at this point that Joseph Smith had any children from women other than Emma Smith.
"In the future, if DNA data will be able to be collected and tested, we might know otherwise. But right now, we're able to eliminate five children from that list. There may be some cases we might never be able to test at all."

While Y chromosome DNA is passed from father to son and is most accurate in identifying living people, mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to daughter and is more often used in paleontology and archaeology, Perego said. As a result, there are distinct limitations on the testing that can be done to date because such testing on a living — and cooperative — male descendant requires an unbroken male line.

Perego has mapped Smith's DNA by retrieving samples from living descendants of two sons he had with Emma Smith — Joseph Smith III and Alexander Hale Smith. "Their Y chromosomes were identical, so we know for 100 percent sure what Joseph Smith's Y chromosome looked like. We can now use that standard to verify any other alleged sons," which he did with those who have been eliminated as possible descendants.

"For 160 years people have been writing in books or speculating that these people could have been Joseph Smith's children. When people write something in a book, many people refer to that almost as a fact. Brodie went on and on about Buell, talking about the timing and the picture — everything seems to indicate Buell was Joseph Smith's son. But the DNA says otherwise."
Perego said he was not only able to eliminate Smith as their father, but also was able to confirm that the men who were married to Hancock's and Buell's mothers were actually their biological fathers.

As he finds living descendants of people in question, Perego said he will be happy to continue to test them. "I think this will always be a work in progress. Hopefully, someday we'll be able to test some of the girls as well, when genetic testing is developed to accurately conclude if some of these girls were or were not his descendants."

Plural wife Sylvia Sessions Lyon left a deathbed affidavit for her daughter, Josephine, telling her that her father was Joseph Smith. In terms of circumstantial evidence, "that is probably the strongest case out there, but it involves a daughter. I've collected maybe 120 samples from descendants of Josephine, but as of today, there is not an accurate method" to prove parentage.

Perego's work is an independent project that Sorenson has allowed him to work on, rather than something the foundation does full-time, he said. His motive, he said, is truth, not glory.

"As a scientist, I like to look for truth. If there is a book that says this person was Joseph's son, and I have evidence that's not right, it's important for me to offer an alternative explanation from science that people can refer to. New authors in the future can then take that new genetic evidence into consideration.

"My goal is not at all a crusade to prove or disprove either that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy or that he had children from women other than Emma. I have no agenda to prove or disprove.

"There are legitimate cases of individuals studying family history who have a pedigree chart in front of them that shows" Smith as a third-great-grandfather.

"Because there is some evidence like a book or a rumor in the family, individuals don't know who to put on their pedigree chart. We're talking about real people who want to know who they are descended from.
"Most have told me they don't really care if they come from Joseph Smith or from someone else. They just want to know which one."

For information on DNA testing for family history research, see Sorenson's Web site at www.SMGF.org.

"Pick it Willie."

Almost became a Ghostrider today on my first ride to work this spring. I was about to cross some tracks and had to swerve to miss a car coming fast from behind, consequently my back wheel went into that opening between the RR track and the pavement. I had slowed enough to get the bike under control and it was fortunate it was not the front wheel or I might have had a case of road rash.

When I ride my Ipod is on and often listen to inspiring music. I happened to be listening to Willie and Johnny doing "Ghostriders..."

The song was written about sixty years ago and about a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the ghosts of damned cowboys. He is warned that if he does not change his ways he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies." According to Wiki the song's story seems to have a marked resemblance to the northern European mythic Odin’s Wild Hunt illustrated here juxtaposed with a recumbent rider.

These first 10 miles were good and I am happy not to be riding in the sky chasing the devil's herd or cleaning dirt from a scrape.

Update: I dropped the bike off today at the bike shop as it did not ride well last night going home. I have a broken spoke and a bent derailleur it seems and I cannot ride it for a week while it gets repaired. Maybe I need a back up bike.

"Prius owners have...

a cult like devotion to their cars" according to one reviewer. In addition, JD Powers says the owner satisfaction with a Prius is at an unprecedented 98%.

I went to hybridcars.com and took a little test to see how we did comparing the Avalon to the Prius. Driving 12K miles per year our green house gas, C02 emissions, are reduced from 10,264 pounds to 4893. We will do better than that as the mpg for the test Prius was 46 and we get 49-50.

R's enjoy their SUV's maybe.

A recent survey completed about hybrid car owners discloses the following:

•Are twice as likely to say they go skiing, hiking or practice yoga than non-hybrid owners.

•Eat more organic food and drink more decaffeinated coffee than the general population.

•Say they are savvy when it comes to computers, mobile phones and digital electronics.

•Lean, politically, away from the right, with 14 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat and 34 percent independent.

I believe it is also true that hybrid car owners enjoy the drive more as they drive slower, keeping the mileage 50+ in the HOV lanes.

Is there a hybrid in your future? and Martha

We drove our green, (red), Prius from Centerville to Green River Utah last night on regular, 85 octane, gas and averaged 54+ mpg. We drove above the speed limit especially in the HOV lane but many people in their SUV's and trucks sped around us at much higher speeds.

We continue to Monticello today. Who knows maybe we will make the whole trip on one tank. We saw that Prius sales were up 38% in CA on 2007 over 2006.

Just an update as we concluded our trip... Our total for the entire drive was 52.6 MPG.

The reason we we went to Monticello was to visit Martha and Kelly before they leave for the John Wayne Cancer Institute. As some of you know Martha had half her liver removed because of melanomas. She was able to keep half and it regenerates in time she told us. She has had chemo therapy which was ineffective against this type of cancer and one other type of treatment from the John Wayne Clinic. She start a new treatment regimen, and this is the last one in the doc's bag, beginning on May 1st.

We solicit your prayers importuning heaven for a miracle for her.

She is ever positive and you would not think a single thing was out of order in her life. Kelly remains stunned as any of us would be, like me, and is doing his best. They send their greetings to all.

Life on the North Coast

Having a good day here on the Mendocino Coast midst the redwoods. We rescued a sea star from a poacher at the Westport Headlands this PM. Not just any sea star but a Sunflower Sea Star. Ate lunch at Ricarda's. Gave the cash in my wallet to someone's daughter begging in the Safeway parking lot. Got excellent help from Bill, an old guy maybe 75, who works at Coast to Coast, and helped us find the right cord to plug the Ipod into the Prius. Found another guy to tell the manager what a swell employee Bill was. Maybe I will send the manager a note. Walked around the Headlands at Mendo and observed the visibility was 40' and the tide was down about three feet. Kept the Prius above 45.2 mpg. Listened to John Lennon's 'Imagine'. Did some good email work from the Branscomb office. Ripped up some back deck and moved the top soil out of the planter to the empty planter in the front. Setting up the telescope with RA after we had supper and a soak in the hot tub. Temp is 102 as usual. A hot shower ahead of time prepares me for the pain upon entry. Discovered Mars is in Gemini and will see if we can spot the red planet with our 8" Schmidt-Cass.

Dalai who?

His Highness the Dalai Lama and the Mormon situation...

Friends and family have read Buddhist and teachings from Dalai Lama over the years. Not with any serious intent I have lightly read from his teachings. In the news presently protesters are drawing attention to the unlawful Chinese occupation of Tibet, aiming toward the Beijing Olympics to lend efforts to free their homeland. Chinese riot police are smashing heads and arresting protesters yet his Highness maintains a calmness and peace not shared by the young and the rebellious of his followers.

Several years ago his Highness gave a speech at ASU and carried on some dialogue with a western physician and psychiatrist on the subject of the purposes of existence and life. The Dalai Lama like Aristotle, Henry James and Joseph Smith teaches that happiness is the purpose of life. In a quirky, from his perspective maybe, and typical western approach to things I down loaded this collaboration between Dr. Howard Cutler MD and his Eminence from ITunes. Discovery should come from meditation on some rock in the shade of a cottonwood tree in Escalante Canyon or in the redwoods near the ocean, not from an IPod, right?

So, here I am, fat, no longer 50, 60 in fact, a true blue warrior and member of the LDS Church, and advocate of same. Yet, I along with others I know close hand suffer from depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, pride or as RA can tell you just plain bad moods. Is that a condemnation of my faith to suggest my religion has failed me or my ability as a practitioner of it has been less than satisfactory?

In Jos. Smith's letter to John Wentworth he opened the door for his followers to seek after good things and we have confirmation in the 88th section of the D&C to search and to look for truth. Here is the question then, can I read the writings of the Dalai Lama and find as the introduction of the book offers "a deeper and more abiding source of inner peace"?

I would match Gordon B. Hinckley to any Lama whoever lived, the same for Spencer W. Kimball, Neal Maxwell, Henry Eyering, and more. I am not sure others are on that level in the leadership of the LDS Church to the Dalai Lama, but who is to know. I know from history and extensive readings of diaries, histories and journals we have a very glossed over and rosey picture painted for us of our Mormon past, this in terms of leadership, personalities and events.

I am going to carefully listen to, even purchase this book edited by Dr. Cutler, and determine if I can apply and learn a few good things from the experience of 2500 years of Buddhist meditation and teachings of which the Dalai Lama is the living exemplar and practitioner. There are a number of parallels already as I have started listening between the two faiths and yet very stark differences.

You be the judge if I learn anything.

Easter and Noise

Too often in my haste and given the noise of things less important in life I ignore or forget the transcendent and supernal. Gratefully this morning I caught a few bars from the Tabernacle Choir broadcast doing this number from Handel's Messiah. They are not to be found on the web but Robert Shaw will do here. It awakened in me the importance of this day, though I confess I was not impressed when I arrived at the church parking lot to see see sisters from an earlier ward hiding Easter eggs around the back of the building. I hope the children remember something more than getting candy filled eggs.

With the Deacons this morning we read from the 11th chapter of St. John wherein is told the story of Lazarus. What a remarkable event. I asked the the young men if they had seen a dog or cat lying on the road from being run over and how after a short time the remains bulge and putrify. What power, what knowledge God possesses to bring about the restoration of life for Lazarus and for all who have slept. Consider Martha's concern, (the sister of Lazarus), when she warned the Lord, "Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days."

Jesus encourages Martha to believe, to trust him. The account continues, "And when he thus has spoken he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus. come forth. And he that was dead came forth..."

Earlier, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

May we truly believe Him and Happy Easter to all of my friends and family on this most beautiful of days.

We are green but it is red!

After going to two Prius dealers we found the better deal at Tony Divino in Ogden. Driving it back to Centerville tonight on Highway 89, (the freeway was closed), we averaged 56.4 mpg. Divino was about $3k less than the 'last of the little guys' in Woods Cross. Our friends the Wrights get a $50.00 certificate for dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse for referring us to this Toyota dealership.

We are loving the car and its efficiency. Fun to watch the display. It is distracting to one's driving. We have the navigation system also which told us to turn right on 36th Street to get to Highway 89 south.

Uncle W gives a $3150.00 tax credit too.

Sweeeeeeeeet!

Scout Camp this Summer

Troop 1049 of the West Bountiful Hispanic Branch is scheduled for summer camp August 12 through the 16th. We are staying at this Forest Service Cabin in the Ashley National Forest. It was built in 1933 and is now available for rent to families and groups. The cabin is north of Vernal and features a propane stove, refrigerator, running water and a flush pottie. The cabin sleeps four though there is ample tenting room around the exterior for the boys. We discovered this place elk hunting last year and it is delightful.

This year's dates at Westport

We are leaving Centerville on Pioneer Day, July 24th, and driving to Westport. We intend to stay through August 7th and be home on the 8th again. Micky and Alain will be looking after the place while we are gone. Most likely Bruce will be back before then as well.

Let us know your plans and dates you can be there. I think we have a couple projects to work on. Another 20' of back deck could be installed. We could begin work on the store room conversion into additional living space. There is some additional painting to do. In between the work projects will be fishing, book shopping, sand castle building, beach walking, tree hugging, star gazing with with the Schmidt Cassegrain, fishing on the Trek II and maybe even some diving.

Professor Firmage wrote eloquently...

His was the letter of the week and was published in today's Tribune:

Public Forum Letter
Article Last Updated: 03/01/2008 12:49:32 PM MST

"I am impressed with the faith communities in our area in speaking out for compassion and fairness on immigration and the rights of aliens. Compassionate care for the "stranger amongst us" is central to the biblical teachings of the prophets and the parables of Jesus.

The success of Christianity was assured by St. Paul's consistent direction to move beyond parochial thought to see the universal vision, ever outward through the categorizations by nationality, ethnicity, color, servitude and gender.

Similarly, the American Constitution speaks in universal terms. The story of human rights in the 20th century, from Brown v. the Board of Education on, has moved from categories of race and color, to ethnicity, to gender and sexuality, to alienage - moving ever outward toward the vision of a common humanity. The 14th Amendment speaks of providing for equal protection of the law and due process of law not only to citizens but to "persons."

The strength of human rights in any nation may best be judged by our treatment of "the stranger." At one or another time in the human story, we all get our chance to be that stranger, the alien in our midst."

Ed Firmage
Salt Lake City


I could let my mind wander a little and imagine I was reading something written by your grandfather Hugh B. Brown, whom I and so many loved.

Thank you!

I'm a dreamer...

It has not lost its relevancy over the years, neither its beauty.

Immigrants and Crime -- Myths dispelled

To so many of my friends, our Utah Legislators, and some family members the myth of the undocumented committing crimes here in the US is without basis. Today's San Jose Mercury News carries an article of a study done by the Public Policy Institute of California. This study suggests that California's foreign-born population which makes up more than a third of the state's adults has a disproportionately small role in serious crime.

Seems these folks are here to work and staying out of trouble with the law is their goal. Among their findings:

"Foreign-born men make up about 35 percent of the state's adult male population, but they make up roughly 17 percent of the state's overall prison inmates.

U.S.-born men are jailed in state prisons at a rate more than three times higher than foreign-born men, and they are 10 times more likely to land behind bars.

Male Mexican nationals ages 18 to 40 -- those more likely to have entered the country illegally -- are more than eight times less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to be imprisoned.

Those who entered the country when they were 1 year old or younger make up about 0.8 percent of those institutionalized.
The low crime rate among foreign-born Californians can be seen in the crime tallies for cities such as Burbank, Glendale and Norwalk, which large proportions of the state's immigrant population call home.

From 2000 to 2005, those cities experienced crime dips far greater than cities with smaller immigrant populations.
Butcher said the report shows, among other things, that "spending more money to increase penalties against criminal immigrants will have little impact on public safety."

So if you have been one of many perpetuating these bigoted myths maybe it is time to step back and change your views.

My heart aches for the Danzigs...

In today's Trib there is a fine article by Peggy Fletcher Stack over a courageous couple forced to resign their membership in the LDS Church because of their opposition to the church's ban on gay marriage.

I really had hoped the September Six would be the last of these kinds of things. I guess I wished in vain. The forces for uniformity are alive and very powerful in quelling dissent it seems.

We have all lost something with the passing of the Danzigs out of our fold. I wish them my best and my respect for their courage and faith.

Michael Moore, Richard Nixon and Barack Obama

There is always something good on Michael Moore's web page. I saw this photo of from the 1960 presidential race between Nixon and JFK. It is appropriate for those unsure or who are against Sen. Barack Obama because of his so called 'lack of experience.' We can ask as MM does who had more experience than Nixon and what did it bring to the White House and America?

Maybe intelligence, ethics, morals, and the ability to inspire and bring together a divided country are reasons to support Barack Obama.

'Waterboarding is not torture', my mother in law says...

Waterboarding is defined as a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent.

A few notes from Wikki on this 'enhanced interrogation technique': "Waterboarding has been used in interrogations at least as early as the Spanish Inquisition. It has been used for interrogation purposes, to obtain information, coerce confessions, punish, and intimidate. Today it is considered to be torture by a wide range of authorities, including legal experts, politicians, war veterans,intelligence officials, military judges, and human rights organizations. Waterboarding gained recent attention and notoriety in the United States when the press reported that the CIA had used waterboarding in the interrogation of extrajudicial prisoners and that the Justice Department had authorized this procedure. The CIA has admitted waterboarding Al-Qaida suspects Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri."

It should be noted that 'W' did not instigate the practice of kidnapping terrorist suspects and flying them off for torture in exotic lands, neither Cheney. It was used by the Clinton Administration, yes, Hillary's husband Bill. According to insider and administration official Richard Clarke this procedure was developed by CIA officials in the mid-1990s who were trying to track down and dismantle militant Islamic organizations in the Middle East, particularly Al Qaeda. This one way ticket to torture was euphemistically called 'extraordinary renditions'.

Extraordinary renditions were operations to apprehend terrorists abroad, usually without the knowledge of and almost always without public acknowledgment of the host government…. The first time I proposed a snatch, in 1993, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joined the meeting, having just flown overnight from South Africa. Clinton recapped the arguments on both sides for Gore: Lloyd says this. Dick says that. Gore laughed and said, 'That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass.'"

Mitt refused to disavow this form of 'enhanced interrogation' in his failed attempt to be commander in chief. Sadly, my mother in law and a number of others believe it is o.k. for us to waterboard. Us or them right? It is cleaner than other methods of torture as it leaves no bruises, maybe...

Here is one view of it by medical personnel:
"Dr. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue/N.Y.U. Program for Survivors of Torture, has treated "a number of people" who had been subjected to forms of near-asphyxiation, including waterboarding. An interview for The New Yorker states, "[He] argued that it was indeed torture, 'Some victims were still traumatized years later', he said. One patient couldn't take showers, and panicked when it rained. 'The fear of being killed is a terrifying experience,' he said." Keller also stated in his testimony before the Senate that "Water-boarding or mock drowning, where a prisoner is bound to an inclined board and water is poured over their face, inducing a terrifying fear of drowning clearly can result in immediate and long-term health consequences. As the prisoner gags and chokes, the terror of imminent death is pervasive, with all of the physiologic and psychological responses expected, including an intense stress response, manifested by tachycardia (rapid heart beat) and gasping for breath. There is a real risk of death from actually drowning or suffering a heart attack or damage to the lungs from inhalation of water. Long term effects include panic attacks, depression and PTSD. I remind you of the patient I described earlier who would panic and gasp for breath whenever it rained even years after his abuse."

To all of my friends and family who tell me about the 'rule of law' and to Sen. Hickman and other legislators where is your outrage over this state sponsored form of terrorism?

Hello Neighbor - Chris Buttars

How easy was it to understand the messages of Fred Rogers, AKA Mr. Rogers, for the kids and their parents who watched his shows? It was forty years ago this week that 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood' made its debut on public television. Rep. Buttars says he has spent his life working with youth. Too bad he never learned anything from Mr. Rogers.

So this is for you Chris Buttars:

"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has—or ever will have—something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression."

Remember Mr. Buttars, not everyone fits into your category of what is normal. Jesus tried to teach the Republicans of his day what a Samaritan was and who are our neighbors. Hope you and your friends can figure it out one day, both for you and the people you have hurt.

My Letter to the Trib

Editors,

I cannot pick up my copy of the Tribune on any morning and not read how our misguided legislature seeks to marginalize, minimalize, and add to the burdens of those who are different but live among us. They may not look exactly like me, though I like salsa better than ketchup and tortillas better than Wonder Bread. They may not share my gender orientation, but their agenda, if there is one, does not threaten my marriage, my family or my values. I am an old Mormon bishop and I cannot sit still any longer and listen to the garbage coming from the hill from our ethnically challenged and homophobic legislators. They are a threat to me and the tranquility of my life.

I ask these erstwhile champions, protectors of our freedom, our race, our morality, wouldn't the world be a better place if you just enjoyed your lobbyist paid for Jazz games and junkets to the Caribbean, and left the rest of us alone? In spite of these legislators of morality as people of Utah, who are kind, compassionate, and caring, can we not find and share the things we have in common, celebrate our differentness, enjoy that which is unique about us all as children of a loving Heavenly Father rather than marginalizing and criminalizing so many among us?

My letter to Utah Pride

Valerie,

I regret very much the efforts of our legislature to take away, minimalize, and add to the burdens of people whom I care about, but may not be exactly like me. I am an old Mormon bishop and I cannot sit still any longer and listen to the garbage coming from the hill and our homophobic legislators.

Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could find and share the things we have in common rather than build barriers between any of us because of gender, race, ethnicity or religion?

My best wishes to you and your friends and thank Rep. Buttars for the motivation to make a donation to your organization.


On Feb 12, 2008, at 11:38 AM, Valerie Larabee wrote:

Dear George

Thank you so much for your recent online donation to support our work here at the Utah Pride Center! Thank you also for being an ally in our fight for acceptance and equality.

Valerie

Valerie A. Larabee
Executive Director
Utah Pride Center
355 N. 300 W.
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Work: (801) 539-8800 x 10
Mobile: (801) 403-1038
Fax: (801) 521-5215
Email: valerie@utahpridecenter.org

A letter to Rep. Barrus (R) Centerville

Dear Roger,

I am very disappointed to see your name among the "yeas" on HB 239 denying driving privilege cards to my friends. I hope you can look Paco and Lucy in the face and explain to them your rationale and how they and so many others, any of us for that matter, are benefited by your action in supporting this bigoted measure. The bill is punitive and is based on the politics of racial animosity and fear. I read the bill's sponsor, Rep Donnelson, is an active supporter of the Utah Minutemen Project.

What happened to Elder Ballard's advice to legislators to be compassionate in these matters?

In two years or less with the Democrats controlling the US House, Senate and with either HRC or Barack in the White House they will undo everything the small minds of your party in the Utah Legislature will have attempted here, should any of it actually pass the state senate. Even the likely R nominee, Senator McCain, will undo what you and others are trying to do here in Utah and Oklahoma.

I am very angry and it is difficult for me to not write hateful and mean spirited things. I find this absolutely repugnant and evil. Shame on you Roger and don't tell me again that if I knew all that you did I would have voted the same way.

Waterboarding, Mitt, Enemas and Eminem

Among friends and family I hear the phrase, “the rule of law.” This ‘rule of law’ of course is limited in scope to the current discussion of undocumented immigrants in the United States. I grant my friends, and some family members as well, the benefit of the doubt and therefore won’t call them hypocritical. If we extend this seemingly all encompassing ‘rule of law’ to other areas of politics, government, and public debate maybe there are others areas it should apply to. Mitt Romney is one of those, as are a few Mormons, who believes the rule of law applies to the debate on immigration alone. I disagree.

Justice Lewis Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the US Supreme Court said: "If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law." There are a number who say the detention of ‘illegal non combatants’ at Gitmo held without due process and contrary to the Geneva Convention is a blatant disregard for the rule of law. We have been the lone beacon in the world for advancement of human rights and dignity. With Abu Ghraib and now Gitmo where do we stand in the world? We have dark sites in Thailand, Uzbekistan, Rumania, and Jordan. Shaikh Khaleed Muhammad impressed his CIA torturers in Jordan for how long he could withstand the waterboarding before he broke.

Time magazine has published on the interrogations of one Guantánamo detainee, Mohamed al-Kahtani, a Saudi who may have been 20th hijacker on 9-11. According to Time: “Al-Kahtani was interrogated for as long as 20 hours at a stretch, according to the detailed log. At one point he was put on an intravenous drip and given three and a half bags of fluid. When he asked to urinate, guards told him that he must first answer questions. He answered them. The interrogator, not satisfied with the answers, told him to urinate in his pants, which he did.”

FBI agents, reporting earlier on the treatment of al-Kahtani, said a dog was used "in an aggressive manner to intimidate" him. At one point, according to the log, al-Kahtani's interrogator told him that he needed to learn, like a dog, to show respect: "Began teaching detainee lessons such as stay, come and bark to elevate his social status to that of a dog. Detainee became very agitated."

Experts in the field including candidate McCain have said such treatment is outlawed by three sources for the rule of law. The United States respected these for decades and called loudly for North Viet Nam to abide by the Geneva conventions. That is until the administration of George W. Bush. Those who have suffered in Viet Nam and other places have called for the US to observe the Geneva conventions, the UN Convention Against Torture and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The International Herald Tribune reported that detainee Kahtani was, forcibly given enemas until he hurt but was not allowed to relieve himself being chained. Officials said it was used because it was uncomfortable and degrading. The Pentagon said the procedure was medically necessary because Mr. Kahtani was dehydrated after an especially difficult interrogation session.

Water boarding, ear drum breaking rapper music, forced enemas, violent dogs, sleep deprivation, chaining in uncomfortable positions for 24 hours, and the list goes on. SECDEF Rumsfield outlined 24 of these kinds of things for the illegal enemy combatants at Gitmo. Bush, Cheney and Romney have defended these extreme measures. Where is the respect for the civil rights of others and the ‘rule of law’? Because we have broken international laws and trashed our own high moral values then is it little wonder that the world looks upon us with contempt.

The aftermath of Mitt's departure

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win, and in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Those were the words last week from Mitt as he announced his withdrawl before the ultra conservative group CPAC. Does anyone outside of CPAC really believe the Iraq war was about or is about terror? The one thing we know for certain about terror since our invasion of Iraq in '03 is that world wide terrorist acts have increased seven fold. We know too that we have killed and caused the deaths of more Iraqi's than Saddam did in his reign of terror.

I am not surprised with Mitt's statement. It is just like so many others from this man who has claimed to have such executive experience. How could he expect to be the president of the US when his thinking or at least his statements are so flawed? Where are the advisors any good CEO must have to give him sound advice? Who has advised him on foreign policy issues? Dick Cheney? For all of Mitt's executive experience to me he is very flawed. Politically positioning and pandering to the right may be the only explanation for this statement and his odd behavior.

To my Mormon friends and family who cannot stomach Gov. Huckabee or Senator McCain pick up Sen Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope". You will be inspired.

Mormons DISmayed By Harsh Spotlight

Nephew H brought me his copy of the Wall Street Journal today and wanted me to read a front page article entitled: "Mormons Dismayed By Harsh Spotlight" A few excerpts are in order.

"Mitt Romney's campaign for the presidency brought more attention to the Mormon Church than it has had in years. What the church discovered was not heartening.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in late January revealed that 50% of Americans said they would have reservations or be "very uncomfortable" about a Mormon as president. That same poll found that 81% would be "enthusiastic" or "comfortable" with an African-American and 76% with a woman.

"I don't think that any of us had any idea how much anti-Mormon stuff was out there," said Armand Mauss, a Mormon sociologist who has written extensively about church culture, in an interview last week. "The Romney campaign has given the church a wake-up call. There is the equivalent of anti-Semitism still out there."

Nevertheless, Mr. Romney's campaign exposed a surprisingly virulent strain of anti-Mormonism that had been largely hidden to the general public. In December, political pundit and actor Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. unleashed a tirade on the "McLaughlin Group" television talk show, tearing into the Mormon Church and Mr. Romney's faith. "Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and a rapist. And he comes from that lineage and says, 'I respect this religion fully.'...He's got to answer."

Soon, the Mormon Church began posting its videos on YouTube -- 22 so far. One clip, for example, showed Mr. Ballard, the church apostle, answering the question "Are Mormons Christian?" It has drawn 26,000 views. By contrast, a cartoon clip from "The God Makers," a 1980s film that mocks Mormon beliefs, has been viewed 945,000 times.

Although Mr. Romney's withdrawal from the race is likely to quiet the controversy for now, many church members believe the turmoil of the past year will have lasting effects.

"There will be a long-term consequence in the Mormon church," says Mr. Mauss, the Mormon sociologist. "I think there is going to be a wholesale reconsideration with how Mormons should deal with the latent and overt anti-Mormon propaganda. I don't think the Mormons are ever again going to sorrowfully turn away and close the door and just keep out of the fray."

As a few of the bloggers have observed and even KSL's Doug Wright maybe it is time for Mormons to reconsider their party affiliation, maybe find a place under the tent of the Democratic Party, taking their place alongside other persecuted minorities. Think of those agendas...The Gay and Lesbian, the Feminists, the Black and then we would have the Mormon agenda. Think of the impact this coalition would have on the likes of Gov. Huckabee and the evangelical right of the R party.

As a Man and a Mormon I can vote for HRC...

If Hillary wins I will be happy. This is the first presidential campaign in a very long time that I have been so enthused and excited. Daughter M. sent me an email this morning quoting from feminist Robin Morgan. I found her essay outlining a few reasons why Hillary Rodham Clinton should be our president to be powerful and moving. I found myself agreeing with just about everything Ms. Morgan wrote. I have excerpted several paragraphs about women, the struggle, and HRC.

“Women have endured sex/race/ethnic/religious hatred,
rape and battery, invasion of spirit and flesh, forced
pregnancy; being the majority of the poor, the
illiterate, the disabled, of refugees, caregivers, the
HIV/AIDS afflicted, the powerless. We have survived
invisibility, ridicule, religious fundamentalisms,
polygamy, teargas, forced feedings, jails, asylums,
sati, purdah, female genital mutilation, witch
burnings, stonings, and attempted gynocides. We have
tried reason, persuasion, reassurances, and being
extra-qualified, only to learn it never was about
qualifications after all. We know that at this
historical moment women experience the world
differently from men-though not all the same as one
another-and can govern differently, from Elizabeth
Tudor to Michele Bachelet and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf…

We are the women who brought this country equal
credit, better pay, affirmative action, the concept of
a family-focused workplace; the women who established
rape-crisis centers and battery shelters, marital-rape
and date-rape laws; the women who defended lesbian
custody rights, who fought for prison reform, founded
the peace and environmental movements; who insisted
that medical research include female anatomy; who
inspired men to become more nurturing parents; who
created women's studies and Title IX so we all could
cheer the WNBA stars and Mia Hamm. We are the women
who reclaimed sexuality from violent pornography, who
put childcare on the national agenda, who transformed
demographics, artistic expression, language itself. We
are the women who forged a worldwide movement. We are
the proud successors of women who, though it took more
than 50 years, won us the vote

We are the women who now comprise the majority of U.S.
voters…

Hillary said she found her own voice in New Hampshire.
There's not a woman alive who, if she's honest,
doesn't recognize what she means. Then HRC got drowned
out by campaign experts, Bill, and media's obsession
with everything Bill.

So listen to her voice:

"For too long, the history of women has been a history
of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying
to silence our words.

It is a violation of human rights when babies are
denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their
spines broken, simply because they are born girls. It
is a violation of human rights when woman and girls
are sold into the slavery of prostitution. It is a
violation of human rights when women are doused with
gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because
their marriage dowries are deemed too small. It is a
violation of human rights when individual women are
raped in their own communities and when thousands of
women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of
war. It is a violation of human rights when a leading
cause of death worldwide along women ages 14 to 44 is
the violence they are subjected to in their own homes.
It is a violation of human rights when women are
denied the right to plan their own families, and that
includes being forced to have abortions or being
sterilized against their will.

Women's rights are human rights. Among those rights
are the right to speak freely-and the right to be
heard."

That was Hillary Rodham Clinton defying the U.S. State
Department and the Chinese Government at the 1995 UN
World Conference on Women in Beijing (look here for
the full, stunning speech).

So goodbye to Hillary's second-guessing herself. The
real question is deeper than her re-finding her voice.
Can we women find ours? Can we do this for ourselves?

"Our President, Ourselves!"

Time is short and the contest tightening. We need to
rise in furious energy-as we did when Anita Hill was
so vilely treated in the U.S. Senate, as we did when
Rosie Jiminez was butchered by an illegal abortion, as
we did and do for women globally who are condemned for
trying to break through. We need to win, this time.
Goodbye to supporting HRC tepidly, with ambivalent
caveats and apologetic smiles. Time to volunteer, make
phone calls, send emails, donate money, argue, rally,
march, shout, vote.

Me? I support Hillary Rodham because she's the best
qualified of all candidates running in both parties. I
support her because her progressive politics are as
strong as her proven ability to withstand what will be
a massive right-wing assault in the general election.
I support her because she knows how to get us out of
Iraq. I support her because she's refreshingly
thoughtful, and I'm bloodied from eight years of a
jolly "uniter" with ejaculatory politics. I needn't
agree with her on every point. I agree with the 97
percent of her positions that are identical with
Obama's-and the few where hers are both more practical
and to the left of his (like health care). I support
her because she's already smashed the first-lady
stereotype and made history as a fine senator, because
I believe she will continue to make history not only
as the first US woman president, but as a great US
president.

As for the "woman thing"?

Me, I'm voting for Hillary not because she's a
woman-but because I am.”

I will vote for Hillary or Barack. I have donated to both. I am a happy voter for the first time in decades. I note the Republicans are in disarray and who knows even poobah Limbah says he may vote for HRC too. Maybe a few Mormons will realize there isn't a home for them in the R party given the trashing of their 'golden boy' Mitt.

The link to Robin Morgan’s web site.

For HRC go to: HillaryClinton

Go Hillary!

As a Mormon I could not vote for Mitt...

Aside from his altogether too conservative (current) posturing, I have two fundamental problems with Romney as a member of the faith I practice. First of all, he has taken a less than Christian attitude toward many of my friends who are Brown and undocumented. Doing so puts him at odds I believe with the basic tenets of compassion and charity of the LDS Church. I admit though there are more than a few in the pews who fit into the mold of 'let's send them all back to Mexico, etc', including members of our Utah State Legislature. Secondly, Romney has never disavowed the CIA use of torture including water boarding and other techniques. He follows too closely Cheney and Bush on that subject. Even our FBI has on numerous occasions testified information obtained from torture is of very low quality and refuse to partner with their CIA peers in trying to keep America safe.

Too bad Mitt does not appreciate what POW's went through in Hanoi during the Viet Nam War and know that torture does not yield good intel. John McCain, when tortured, divulged the names of members of the Green Bay Packers football team as his squadron mates. Lucky Larry Chesley, another downed pilot, POW, and member of the LDS Church, gave his captors the names of his Burley Idaho High School graduating class as members of his squadron. Information obtained from torture is junk.

It wasn't hard today at the polls for me today to touch the screen for Senator Barack Obama. It was only hard for my Mormon friends and neighbors to understand why I would not vote for Mitt.

The biggest war since WWII is _____?

The civil war in the Congo. Children shown here in a UN refugee camp have made toys from mud of what they see and have experienced.

The emptiness of the Bush administration’s foreign policy is underscored by the total lack of humanitarian effort or involvement in this deadliest war. As Americans we are nearly totally ignorant of this decade long war in the Congo. Wonder why? Is it because Exxon Mobil has no oil fields there? Is it because these folks are Black Africans? Sadly, I have not heard any discussion among the candidates to replace Bush about this human disaster in the Congo. Looking at the web sites of the candidates I found something on Senator Obama's site, nothing on the other's including Hillary, McCain and Romney.

45,000 die every month and who gives a damn about them in the US? An international rescue group said preventable diseases and starvation aggravated by conflict have claimed 5.4 million lives since 1998. This is the equivalent of the population of Denmark. War officially ended in 2002 but malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition continue to take thousands. Half of all the fatalities have been children under the age of five. Rebels still control some portions of the country where young girls are kidnapped to become the sex slaves of the militias. Mass rape is altogether too common in the lives of the women in the Congo. The CBS news program ‘60 Minutes’ reported the story of a brother and sister. The young woman was raped multiple times by soldiers while her brother was forced to watch. The soldiers then told him to rape his sister, which he would not do. They killed him.

I am reminded of another time when the founder of Mitt’s church cried out in pain over injustice and plead for the mercies of heaven:

"O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward those..."

in the Congo?

One must ask how many children must die and women be raped before we do anything? Indeed 'how long shall they suffer'?

You can read more at this link from the Guardian in the UK.

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Racism of Republican Rep. Donnelson

Our legislature continues to swim in a vacuum it seems. In action yesterday on the hill and reported in today's Trib we have Rep. Donnelson assuring us that police all across the state support his bill to empower local cops to act with ICE authority. Salt Lake's top cop, Chief Chris Burbank, spoke against the bill. Not a single law enforcement representative spoke in favor of the bill. Donnelson told the committee that he's spoken with officers statewide who support his proposal. In an interview with the media Donnelson could not provide the names of any law enforcement groups that back his bill. The bill passed committee on straight party lines, 7 to 3, and now moves to the full House. He told the Trib reporter his bill was not about racism.

One has to wonder are there any constituencies in this state who support anything that goes on among House Republicans? It is clear who Representative Donnelson constituency is. There are kudos to him with expressions of gratitude from the Utah Minutemen Project. These are the vigilante nut jobs that get their hunting rifles and ride their ATV's along the US Mexican border looking for saboteurs, members of al Qaeda, and hungry families looking for a better life in the US.

The Godless, Huckabee, and Dissipating Sensuality

In last night's non debate by the Republican candidates for president the Reverend and former Governor Mike Huckabee said that Americans "ought to be able to respect people who don't have any faith." Yet, in a book he co-wrote in 1998, Huckabee spoke from his heart of hearts when he said this: "Men who have rejected God and do not walk in faith are more often than not immoral, impure, and improvident (Gal. 5:19-21). They are prone to extreme and destructive behavior, indulging in perverse vices and dissipating sensuality (1 Cor. 6:9-10)."

Which is it Mike? I find his duplicity to be obnoxious and is right up there with the other religionist candidate Mitt Romney. I have more than a couple friends who are non believers in any God or in Christian theology/tradition. I have known all of them to be highly principled, ethical, respectful and constructive members of our society.

Maybe Mike only knows of the godless in Arkansas and maybe that's how rednecks who have lost their faith behave. We could talk about another man from Arkansas who indulged in perverse vices and dissipating acts while governor of Arkansas and occupant of the Oval Office for eight years.

Thanks to MoJo News