Category Archives: Politics

Political Fear and Presidential Politics

A few days ago the Republican Party concluded its quadrennial convention and the concluding speaker was the 2016 nominee, Donald Trump. Moments later, Ezra Klein, a respected political pundit, posted an article entitled “Donald Trump’s nomination is the first time American politics has left me truly afraid.” Since the article contains approximately 2,500 words, Klein is either an amazingly gifted typist and analyst or he had this article mostly “in… Read More »

BYU Liberality and the Pain of Being Gay and Mormon

I’ve never been a BYU student. At one time I went to the school now known as BYU Idaho, but that doesn’t mean I was a BYU student. On many fronts, at the time, we viewed BYU as our competitor, not as another manifestation of our alma mater. Even so, I was interested this week by two widely divergent articles about BYU. Or, I should say, about the climate or… Read More »

Welcoming Criminals and Terrorists

I just received an e-mail that passed on what the person called “a profound message,” under the subject of “IDAHO – my kind of state!” The passed-on message said “This sign actually exists just inside Idaho near the border with Washington.”

Half a World Away (or Further)

The Church’s issuance of what is undoubtedly only the first guidance and instructions to priesthood leaders in the United States relative to gay marriage has led to a lot of commentary around the world. I provided my own comments on the topic and then looked around for thoughtful comments by others. Some I found were just that—thoughtful. Others, not so much. One interesting read was penned by New Zealander Gina… Read More »

Traversing Rough Waters

A while back I posted my thoughts about the demise of traditional marriage and the ascendency of same-sex marriage in Utah. The gist of my opining is that I really am not happy with the track down which I see our society moving. (You can read that post for more on my feelings.) There has been a bit happening since then along this track, some obvious and some not-so-obvious. First,… Read More »

The Imminent and Prolonged Collapse of Society

I know that this post won’t make some people happy. I guess that is OK, as events of late in my chosen state of residence don’t make me particularly happy. This past Friday US District Judge Robert J. Shelby declared Amendment 3 to Utah’s constitution to be unconstitutional. The news of the ruling and Shelby’s subsequent refusal to grant a temporary injunction has reverberated around the world; the fact that… Read More »

An Ironic Double Standard

In the category of double standards, there is a recent article on the Gay Star News blog about possibly the “worst tipper ever.” It seems that Dayna Morales, a server at the Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, New Jersey, served a family that did not leave her a tip on a $93.55 restaurant tab. In deciding to not leave the tip, the following message was left on the merchant copy… Read More »

Are LDS Tensions Really Mounting?

In an essay posted two days ago on Religion Dispatches, commentator Joanna Brooks examined what appeared—at least to her—to be “divergent impulses on LGBT issues” among Mormons. The essay, entitled, “‘Hardwired’ for Hetero Marriage, LDS Tension Mounts Over LGBT Rights,” seemed focused on magnifying the apparent dichotomy between actions by those in the US Senate (including active LDS members Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch) who passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act… Read More »

Partisan Misperceptions of Chicago

Public perceptions can be a fickle thing, and a common method of forming (or reinforcing) public perceptions is in the incessant and never-ending e-mails that get composed and forwarded by partisans of whatever stripe you may choose. Today I received one such e-mail that was obviously written by a Republican trying to demonstrate how terrible Democrats are in managing the country. Their case study? The deplorable fiscal and living conditions… Read More »