Westboro Baptist Church Coming to President Hinckley's Funeral

The people of Westboro Baptist Church have annoyed me for awhile. I find it disrespectful and disgusting that they travel around to soldiers' funerals and picket, carrying signs that read things like "Pray for more dead soldiers." The members of this particular extremist congregation believe that 9/11 was a result of our country's tolerance for gays. They also protested Heath Ledgers funeral. For obvious reasons. Basically, this group has made it a point to be hateful to gays, and they choose memorials to spout their message of intolerance.

So why are they protesting President Hinckley's funeral? Because he was "ambiguous" in statements about gays and "too accepting" of them. After all, Jesus was all about rejection, right? But because of who they are, they have an extra beef against the prophet, reports the Deseret Morning News:

A handful of members of the church, based in Topeka, Kan., plan to stage a quiet protest during the funeral, displaying picket signs criticizing the late LDS Church leader for being a "lying false prophet" and "leading millions of people astray," said Shirley Phelps-Roper, Westboro Baptist Church spokeswoman and daughter of Pastor Fred Phelps.

While these folks have the right to do it, and I wouldn't take it away, I still find it distressing that many people would take this as a model of Christian behavior. And, of course, I find it terribly tactless to protest at a funeral.



Tags: Westboro Baptist Church, Westboro Baptist Church funeral, President Hinckley funeral, prophet,
protest soldiers funeral

American Health Care

In all this hoopla about economic stimulus, we've managed to let health care fall to the wayside. Which is really annoying to me, since it should be a priority. It is important for the economy, too, since the number one cause of bankruptcy in America is medical bills. And many of these people actually have health insurance.

This was brought again to my attention when our Netflix movie showed up yesterday. It was Sicko. Of course, one must take Michael Moore movies with a grain of salt. Much like you have to realize that half of what Sean Hannity says is misconstrued propaganda. And Moore's antics are often over the top and he does leave out details (including the fact that France's overly-generous programs have led the country into bankruptcy).

But what Sicko does do is bring to light the rather sickening priorities we have in this country. I have written about this before, especially about the SCHIP program. To tell the truth, we do have enough money to provide universal health care. But we'd have to cut pork barrel programs, stop funding other countries' military programs and repeal the tax breaks we give Big Oil and take away the subsidies we provide to rather profitable Big Ag companies.

And arguments about waiting and sub-par care? I did that in New York. Even now, with my health insurance, if I want to see my doctor, I have to make an appointment a month in advance. My son's well check requires two months. Our health care is 37th in the world. (Cuba is 39th). Not bad, I suppose, but we've been told that our health insurance system provides us the best. We have the highest rate of infant mortality among developed nations.

Priorities need to change. Universal health care will not take this country down a path to "dreaded" socialism and then communism. We already apply socialist principles in this country. What do you think our mail system is? Besides, our corporate welfare system is socialist in nature. All those nice corporate folks are benefiting from socialist principles on top of capitalism.

What I thought was interesting is Britain's health care. The doctors are content to make $200,000 a year (in America, greed often shuns such a "modest" amount). And they get bonuses. For improving the number of patients with good health. If you have a large number of patients whose cholesterol drops, you get a bonus. What do doctors get bonuses for in America? Quite honestly, for denying treatment.

Even at Gitmo the health care is state of the art and free (after being subjected to questionable "interrogation methods" Al-Qaeda operatives can get fixed up). And prisoners get free, socialized health care at taxpayer expense as well.

Don't the rest of us deserve as much as terrorists and prisoners?

Tags: American health care, bankruptcy America, corporate welfare, universal health care,
SCHIP, economic stimulus

Goodbye, President Hinckley...

Until we see you again.

Professional Blogging: Economic Stimulus Edition

It's been quite a week. And all the financial news and economic stimulus talk has made it ridiculously easy to make blog posts this week. So I present extra posts this week. All having to do with all the "economic stimulus" that's been going on. But will it help long-term? Well, remember five years ago when the Bush Administration headed up a tax rebate to stimulate the economy? We're in about the same place. Only worse. So I think this will work about the same as the last one did.

1. The biggest news is the tax rebate offered. Depending on your income, how many kids you have and your filing status, you will get between $300 and $1,200 in a tax rebate.
   
2. An emergency Fed rate cut on Tuesday means that those with ARMs, HELOCs and credit cards may see some interest rate relief.
3. We're not done bailing out the financial sector yet. Now the government is trying to help bond insurers recover from their subprime losses.
4. And, on The Panelist, I point out that a tax rebate and other economic stimulus measures probably won't do anything for gas prices. In fact, if the economy gets going, oil prices are more likely to rise.
   

Also, here is a video I used on the Personal Finance Corner that explains the tax rebate.



Tags: tax rebate, professional blogging, economic stimulus, bond insurers,
economy, Bush Administration

What Makes a Christian?

I've been wondering about this a bit. Mainly since yet another tirade against my opinion (and others' opinions) about Blackstone has appeared. Just when everything was getting somewhat cozy and recommendations for other Logan restaurants were starting to appear.

You people claim to be Christian but berate others like you do.

Of course, this comment went on to berate one of the posters...

But what I would like to discuss, if we could, what makes someone "Christian"? Answers.com offers this:

adj.

1. Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. Relating to or derived from Jesus or Jesus's teachings.
3. Manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus; Christlike.
4. Relating to or characteristic of Christianity or its adherents.
5. Showing a loving concern for others; humane.

n.

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.

But is it more? Is there a feeling there? Should it be more about living life according to the teachings of Jesus? I personally think it's a matter of trying one's best to follow Christ. No one's perfect. No one will be a "perfect" Christian, and we all have our little hypocrisies.

What do you think?

Tags: Christian, Blackstone, teachings Jesus, perfect Christian,
Logan restaurants

Pick a Democrat This Week!

Last week's poll was all about picking a Republican. Same rules this week for pick a Democrat. You can see fewer options. Why? Because the race isn't nearly as interesting as the Republican race (thought admittedly somewhat nastier).

Dennis Kucinich is up there for the same reason Ron Paul was up last week. He's interesting and different. He says a lot of the things the other Dems won't talk about.

I just wish I could get more excited about the presidential race this year. But with the way our system is, quite frankly, there isn't a whole lot to choose from. We'll either get a candidate beholden to corporate special interests or...a candidate beholden to corporate special interests.

Tags: Dennis Kucinich, 2008 election, pick democrat, presidential primary,
Ron Paul

Happy Human Rights Day!

Normally, I'd wish you a Happy Martin Luther King Day. But I'm in Utah where we celebrate Human Rights Day. SO, whichever view you take, use today as a way to reflect on good principles, and consider all those who have gone before in the fight for equality and the efforts to put into practice the ideal that God sees us as equally important in His eyes.

Is American Idol Contestant Brooke White Mormon?

SO, my husband and I have a guilty pleasure: American Idol. We record it with the DVR and then watch it, sans the commercials and the usually boring human interest stories. We enjoy watching for the decent singers as well as the bad. We just watched the first night of auditions (we were so BORED by the extra emphasis on contestant stories that we're not sure we're continuing), and at the very end we saw someone interesting: Brooke White, a nanny from California working out East.

Simon asked her something interesting about herself. She said that she had never seen an R-rated movie. Turns out her parents also raised her to eschew alcohol, coffee and tobacco. She grew up and made her choice to follow their strictures. At the end of her performance, Randy said something about her purity. I turned to my husband: "I think he sees her 'Mormon glow'!" We cracked up.

I don't know if Brooke White really is LDS, but the evidence is pretty strong.

Interesting fact: no one thought Utah's American Idol Carmen Rasmussen had that same quality. Hmmmm....

I got this video of Brooke White on American Idol from the Pop Crunch Web site.



Tags: Brooke White Mormon, American Idol, Mormon American Idol, Brooke White American Idol,
guilty pleasure

Professional Blogging: Taxes Edition

Tax season approacheth. At any rate, this is probably not going to be the only professional blogging round up that has to do with taxes. Most of my writing is about financial issues. Taxes are quite popular this time of year.

1. The Bush economic plan is based on a tax rebate. It may sound good, but for most people it won't actually help the personal finance situation.
2. More Bush economic plan goodness. Getting a lot of mileage out of it today.
3. Many people are wondering about the difference between Fair Tax and a flat tax. I explain it at Yielding Wealth. Head on over and share your own thoughts.

Tags: Bush tax plan, taxes, tax rebate, fair tax,
flat tax, personal finance, professional blogging

Mitt Romney Scores Victory #1

I've never seen the Republicans so divided before. One expects this sort of disparate behavior from the Dems, but one does not expect to see three different primary-style races yield three different winners among Republicans (the Mitt Romney pulling through in Michigan blowing open the whole Republican nomination).

Of course, if Romney had lost in his home state (that's right -- he's Mormon and he saved the Salt Lake Olympics, but he's from Michigan), where he campaigned relentlessly, it might have been the death knell. But he's got a fighting change at the Republican nomination. I still don't know if I'm convinced he'll win the nomination (much less the presidency), but who knows?

I'm still trying to work out how I feel about Romney. See, I liked the Mitt Romney who was elected governor of Massachusetts. The new Mitt Romney that panders to the intolerant and really conservative -- yet the minority -- elements in the party bothers me. Much the same way that the new pandering John McCain bothers me. (Don't get me started about how I feel about Bush and his tactics against McCain in the 2000 primary. Bush's biggest crime? Denying us a competent president with war experience. One that probably would have done Afghanistan right and not taken us to Iraq in the first place.)

Of course Super Tuesday is still weeks away, with primaries in between.

Tags: Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney victory, Mitt Romney Mormon, Republican nomintation

I'm on the Huffington Post!

This is an extra helping of shameless self-promotion. But I made it to the Huffington Post, and I am quite excited. The Huffington Post is well-known in political blogging circles, and the fact that my Panelist post passed muster has me thrilled!

This Week's Poll: Republican Candidates

Primary season is in full swing. And even though I dislike our two-party system immensely, campaign season is always exciting. So, this week, I've got a poll up on which you can pick which Republican you'd prefer. So, even if you aren't GOP, give it whirl (next week we'll do Dems). Think about which you would pick if you absolutely had to. It's impossible to list them all, so I've got up the most popular/viable to this point. And I've tossed up Ron Paul because he intrigues me.

Why Ron Paul intrigues me

While I probably wouldn't vote for him, I do like that Ron Paul has very laid-out plans for what he wants to accomplish. And I like that he voted against the Patriot Act and would work for its repeal. I like that he has voted against Congressional pay raises. I like his opposition to the large amount of spending we do in terms of foreign military aid.

I dislike his take on immigration. And I think his tax policies are impractical at this point. While abolition of the income tax would be nice, we expect too much out of our government to make it practical. One of the interesting incongruities of living in Utah (and many other "red" states) is that while residents moan about the income tax, in reality "red" staters actually get the most benefit from tax distribution per dollar paid. The number of young Utah couples having babies on Medicaid comes to mind...




Tags: Ron Paul, Election 2008, Ron Paul income tax, Patriot Act,
Utah Medicaid, politics

Professional Blogging Roundup: Politics Edition

This week is starting out markedly better than last week, despite a moderately sprained ankle. (Those who have known me since high school know that my ankle was nearly always in some distress from being twisted because I was just standing there to a fracture -- with mild to severe sprains the norm. It has been years since this has happened, though.)

Anyway, it's political season, so those who see me on a more personal basis get to hear all my rants. The joy. Here is last week's blogging round up:

1. BET is out to push the "black vote." I write about the channel's two-part series on candidates wooing blacks on the Harlem Hip-Hop Tours blog.
2. Over at Yielding Wealth, I share my feelings about a proposed $500 tax rebate for everyone. Perhaps I will make my feelings known at length here...
3. And, in the world of blogging, politics is also present. I'm always happy when someone notices me. Because it's important in terms of rising in the page ranks. Get Elastic mentioned one of my posts on Varien. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
   

Tags: professional blogging, $500 tax rebate, blogging politics, black vote,
Get Elastice

Some Weeks...

*Sigh* Anyone else ever feel like you just can't do anything right? And that no matter how hard you try you just can't keep up? That's my story this week...

Book of Mormon Stories -- Without the Actions

I teach primary. And, inevitably, I sing Book of Mormon stories at least once a week. Sometimes even more. But I don't ever do the actions. I suspect that my team-teacher is starting to wonder about this. Because I do all the actions with the kids. Including those to Once There Was A Snowman.

Why don't I do it? Well the reasons are varied. But mostly because I feel stupid making actions that are both stereotypical and disrespectful. But my son makes the actions, with enthusiasm. How do you explain the nuances of disrespect and stereotypes to a five year old? And where does that go with the whole Native-Americans-As-Lamanites thing? I've never believed that the sole ancestors of Native Americans are Lamanites, but Gavin doesn't really understand that stuff yet.

I've just managed to explain to him that our Japanese friend Toshi comes from a place with different customs, and that he has different beliefs (that don't include God). He's still coming to grips with the fact that not everyone is from America, and not everyone is Mormon. And that it's okay to be neither. (At least he's getting that better than the whole boys can't have babies thing.)

So I don't think I'm ready to tackle the intricacies of stereotyping and what-not. But sometime I expect he'll notice that mommy isn't doing the Book of Mormon Stories actions like everyone else. And I'll do my best to explain it to him. And let him decide what he's going to do about it.

Tags: Native Americans Lamanites, Book of Mormon Stories, Book of Mormon Stories actions, Mormon,
Once There Was a Snowman, primary songs

Professional Blogging Roundup

The joy of another week. :0)

1. Another new blog. Let's give Lending Leaves some love.
2. I was not ready for vacation to end, as I mentioned on WorkShak. After all, work is work. Even when you do it from home.
3. What makes a company environmentally friendly? I try to answer the question at the Personal Finance Corner.
   

Way to Go Idaho! International Year of the Potato Kicks Off

I've been pretty spotty the last couple of weeks. And some of you have noticed. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know that a few of you actually miss me when I'm "gone."

As some of you know, I spent my formative years in Idaho. My parents still live there. I enjoyed a lovely weekend being snowed in there, wondering how the roads could be worse after it stopped snowing. (Answer: the wind and the ice -- but mostly the wind, blowing the new snow all over.)

So when the U.N. made the announcement (the decision was actually made in 2005) that this year will be the International Year of the Potato, I got excited. I love the potato. It is versatile. And, as the U.N. points out, it is chock full of nutrition and easy to grow and harvest. The idea is to focus on the potato as a food source in the coming years, especially for developing countries.

Yay potato! Yay Idaho! For this one year, I will stop irritably correcting all my non-Idaho friends when when they refer to Idaho as the "potato state" instead of by its proper nickname, the Gem State.

Tags: International Year of the Potato, U.N., Idaho, potato state,
U.N. announcement, Idaho Gem State