Political Shorts

An open letter to pot smokers

2011-05-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Dear pot-smoking classmate,

I'm writing you this letter to let you know that I've noticed something about you. You've changed. You don't think you have, but that's because your brain is so clogged with bong-resin that you've forgotten who you are and don't notice that you smell like a basket of dirty clothes and patchouli.

You really need a bath and a haircut, but more importantly, you need to put down your peace pipe. I know you don't believe it, but you are addicted to marijuana. All of your hippie friends tell you it's not addictive, but they are hippies, and they are in denial just like you.

Did you know that addiction is defined as a compulsive physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance? I'm sure you did … you seem really smart when you show up to class.

That's why I'm sure you also know that according to Alan J. Budney of the University of Arkansas' Department of Psychiatry, some classic symptoms of marijuana withdrawals include irritability, anger, cravings, insomnia and fatigue, just to name a few. Of course, you have never experienced any of those symptoms.

Budney and other researchers have also found that repeated marijuana use often leads to psychosocial dysfunction, with symptoms that include persistent procrastination, low productivity, low self-confidence, interpersonal or family conflicts, financial problems and of course memory problems.

Maybe some of your financial problems are because you are spending your money on marijuana instead of fixing your car. If your car could run on grass, you'd be set buddy … but it doesn't.

You tell me that smoking weed doesn't affect your memory. I'm sorry friend, but that's just not true. The National Institute on Drug Abuse and independent researchers have concluded that marijuana has negative affects on memory, learning and even motor coordination. Remember all those times that you told me that pot helps you focus? No?

Oh … never mind then.

I know you are an adult and you can make your own decisions. That's why I can say that without a doubt you have read statistics about the age of the typical marijuana user. Just in case you missed something, or forgot, I will summarize the data for you.

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, or NHSDA, performed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average age of the first-time user is seventeen-years-old, while the mode (that means most common number … we learned about that in math, remember?) was fifteen years. That means that your adult independence is leading you to act more like a teenager.

The NHDSA also found that daily users of marijuana are almost twice as likely as less-than-daily users, and almost fourteen times as likely than non-marijuana users, to use another illicit drug.

Whoa … are those ‘shrooms in your pocket? You say you forgot you had those? That's entirely possible.

We're graduating soon, and this is my final letter to you, so I'm going to be blunt.

Sorry … I shouldn't have used that word.

I'm going to be frank with you. Your band is going nowhere, and you are going to need a real job someday. Many good employers drug test, and even if they don't, they are not going to hire you unless you quit smoking reefer. There are resources out there to help you sober up. It can be extremely difficult, but I know you can do it.

Your hippie friends will try to tell you it is hip and everybody's doing it, but you know the statistics. You know the truth. I am confident that with a little support, you'll be able to kick this habit, and when they tell you that marijuana isn't addictive, you can tell them, "That's just something potheads say."

Good luck in your future, wherever it takes you. I've enjoyed writing to you this past year. I truly hope we cross paths again someday.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Addams

Little girls should not be breastfeeding

2011-04-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

From: The Signpost

The Breast Milk baby doll recently hit shelves in the United States after successful sales in Europe. The doll comes with a special nursing top with strategically placed flowers to simulate nipples that the baby doll attaches to and suckles.

Read that again to let it soak in.

According to Spanish toymaker Berjuan, the doll is designed to let "young girls express their love and affection in the most natural way, just like mummy."

I'm trying to figure out what is natural about a little girl attaching a suckling doll to flower-shaped nipples on an apron.

Danny Lewis, Berjuan's U.S. spokesperson, said the company wants to promote breastfeeding as the most loving, healthy practice for a mother and her infant. He claims, "Little girls need to learn to breastfeed."

Some people are praising the toy, saying that this is the answer to America's discomfort with breastfeeding. These people do have a point … to a point.

There is a reason God equipped mommies with mammary glands, and to the distress of some readers, their primary purpose is to feed an infant child. Some new mothers associate breasts with sex to the point that these women are uncomfortable using that part of their body for its intended use.
There are always new studies about how breast-fed babies are healthier. According to the Office of the Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics, breast-fed babies have better immunes systems, are less likely to develop asthma and are at a decreased risk of obesity and diabetes. The mother, meanwhile, has a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. There are always individual exceptions, but whenever possible, mothers should breastfeed their newborns.

But why do little girls need to learn to breastfeed? I know several people that exclusively breastfed their children, and none of them learned it by holding a doll that made suckling noises when held to a faux-nipple.

Every child is different. Some children are happy with the stork answer to the infamous question, "Where do babies come from?" You could tell your child all kinds of stories and he or she would probably believe you. My three year-old asked me that big question the other day, and it came a few too many years earlier than I expected it.

My answer wasn't a lie … but it wasn't the full story, that's for sure. I left out some key details that he just didn't need to have floating around in his young brain. If he comes and asks me again when he's a little older, I'll give him a bit more to think about. Even then, it'll be age-appropriate information.

Despite my being a hardcore, sheltering parent who doesn't want my child knowing about the birds and bees until way after his threes, I am 100 percent confident that he will grow up and know how all of that works when the time is right. (I just hope he learns it from asking his mom or me and not from a Google search.)

Likewise, when a little girl grows up, becomes a woman and bears her first child, she'll figure out how to feed her baby. However, if she does have a question, hospitals have these wonderful people called "nurses" that deal with that kind of stuff all the time. They will get her (or the baby) pointed in the right direction.

And I promise, none of them will wonder why they didn't learn this as children.

PETA gets biblical

2011-03-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

I hate the idea of animal cruelty. I support legislation that criminalizes acts of abuse or neglect towards domestic animals, as well as the poaching of wild animals. I believe that all creatures are a beautiful part of God's creation.

But that's where the boundary of rational thought ends, and the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, begins.

PETA, my favorite eco-terrorist nut-job club, has recently taken up an interest in the Bible, encouraging the translators of the newly updated New International Version to remove "speciesist" language, insisting that animals in the Bible be referred to as "he" or "she" instead of "it."

Bruce Friedrich, PETA's vice-president for policy, said "Language matters. Calling an animal ‘it' denies them something. They are beloved by God. They glorify God."

"It" is defined in the dictionary many ways, including "used to represent a person or animal previously understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned whose gendered is unknown or disregarded."

Disregarded, because even if Moses or the other authors of the Bible's sections had known its gender, "it" doesn't make any difference.

I should point out the Bible does occasionally make reference to the gender of the animal in discussion. Take, for example, one of the earliest scriptures my dad taught me from the Bible:

"…And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." 2 Kings 2:24 KJV

If any of the children had survived the pair of female beasts, PETA probably would have sued his or her parents. They tried that in 2009 when a little girl survived a seal attack. They didn't even care whether "it" was a boy seal or a girl seal.

Friedrich also believes that the Bible promotes vegetarianism.

I respect a person's choice to abstain from eating meat. I mean, it's totally weird, but I respect it. My wife used to be a vegetarian, and I used to eat red meat religiously. We've compromised, and now I eat a lot of turkey.

Mmmmm … turkey …

But claiming the Bible promotes vegetarianism tells me one thing: you should read the Bible before you try and talk about it.

"Then he take the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven blessed them, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before the multitudes. And they did eat, and were all filled ..." Luke 9:16-17 KJV

Mmmmm … seafood …

Then, there is the parable of the prodigal son:

"And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." Luke 23:15 KJV

Mmmmm … fresh steak …

I'm no Bible scholar, but it sounds to me like Jesus ate meat, and demonstrated that feasting on a cow was an appropriate means of celebration. In fact, I'd say ordering a surf and turf combo is an adequate way to prove your faith while wearing a What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) bracelet.

PETA has once again proven to be nothing less than a club of activists who would rather make a fuss over something than do anything useful. There are better things they could do with their time than argue over an animal's right to be referenced in sacred text by their gender … like work to have all pit bulls spayed or neutered … but you've already heard my opinion on that one.

Besides, everyone already knows that all dogs are boys and all cats are girls.

Get an emergency preparedness kit

2011-03-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

Last summer, I joined approximately 20 other Weber State University students and traveled to San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, to conduct a micro-loan service project benefitting the humble Mayan women of the area. Immediately prior to our arrival in Guatemala, tropical storm Agatha crashed into Central America, causing flooding and mudslides throughout the region. One of the slides crashed through residential San Pedro.

While our group grabbed shovels and joined the locals in an excavation effort to dig out the one house still standing in the slide's path, I had the opportunity to interview the owner of the house. He told me he had grabbed his wife and children and ran to the unfinished second story of his house and watched the mud destroy his neighbor's homes.

One of the homes belonged to his brother. They stood on their roof as their aunt clung to a tree, reaching to save her 11-year-old daughter, Juanita. Unable to reach her, they watched as their cousin was washed away and buried in the mud. Juanita was one of the 190-recorded fatalities of Tropical Storm Agatha.

While 190 deaths is no small number, it is peanuts in comparison to the number of Japanese families mourning their losses after being hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a devastating tsunami. As of Saturday morning, the death toll reached 7,200 confirmed dead, with another 10,900 still missing. Similar to the residents of Guatemala, Japanese families are spending hours with tools no more advanced than simple shovels and their own hands as they dig out whatever remains of their old life they can find.

We've seen disasters strike here in the United States as well. Who can forget the tragic footage as we watched Hurricane Katrina pummel Mississippi and Louisiana? Some of us may remember the bay area earthquake during the World Series in 1989, and while it wasn't in any way a natural disaster, September 11, 2001, was a disaster never to be forgotten.

Yet, with earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis happening around the world, how many people have actually taken the time to put together an emergency preparedness kit?

The Mormons in the audience have heard the spiel dozens if not hundreds of times, and being that you live in Utah, you probably have too, regardless of your religious affiliation. I'm sure other denominations talk about it too, but I can't speak from experience.

I'm not trying to sound like a public service announcement (visit bereadyutah.gov for more information) but we are living on an earthquake just waiting to happen. The western foot of the Wasatch Mountains is essentially a line of multiple faults, with at least six different faults just within Salt Lake City. The faults are all part of the 240-mile-long Wasatch Fault. The Utah Office of Emergency Services estimates that if a 7.0 quake occurred on the fault in the Salt Lake Valley, the death toll could be as high as 6,200 people.

Another 90,000 could be seriously injured, but not all could be treated. About 50 percent of hospital beds would be lost due to the number of hospitals built directly on top of the faults.

Apparently the Mormon pioneers and early settlers weren't avid seismologists.

But whether you are a "Mo" or no, it makes no difference. Having an emergency kit is just plain common sense. Period.

You need to first create a 72-hour kit for your family. Pack non-perishable food, water, and a thorough first aid kit. After that, build up a storage room to feed your family for a week, then a month, then three months. When your neighbors laugh, smile and let them know that you will happily share if the need arises.

And if it does, try really hard to not rub it in their face that you were prepared and they weren't.

Racial scholarships are equally ridiculous

2011-03-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

Attending college can be very expensive. Some students come from well-off families, so the tuition bill is simply a matter of writing a check. Some students are able to pay for school through military benefits, and many are left with the only option available to them: work. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a little hard work and saving up the dough to foot the tuition bill.

One source of relief for students is the various scholarships available to them through academic achievement, civic involvement and leadership positions.

Oh yeah ... and the color of your skin.

The Former Majority Association for Equality, a new Texas nonprofit organization, has jumped on the bandwagon of scholarship opportunities for students who look a certain way. As of last Wednesday, the group had raised enough money to offer five $500 scholarships to male Texas students with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and who are at least 25 percent Caucasian.

The media has since hammered Colby Bohannan, the president of the organization, over the issue. During a television interview, he was told by an African-American studies professor "there's no need" for this kind of scholarship because "being white in itself is a form of scholarship."

Bohannan responded by saying that after the interview he was going to go to his bank and say, "Hey, I forgot I was a Caucasian American, can you just go ahead and throw some money in my account, please?"

I tried that once. It didn't work.

The media is acting like this is the first time white students have been spotlighted for something like this.

In 2006, the College Republicans at Boston University caused "outrage" over a similar scholarship program. Their program was for only $250, but required a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average and two essays, in addition to being at least 25 percent Caucasian. Their application was headed, "We believe that racial preferences in all their forms are perhaps the worst form of bigotry confronting America today."

No one applied for that scholarship.

The Boston club admitted the scholarship was a stunt to get attention to the issue. The FMAFE, however, says they are serious, despite accusations that it is merely a similar stunt. Bohannan says $500 is a good chunk of change when you consider that it could cover a semester's worth of books for a struggling college student.

Of course, Bohannan is now being labeled a racist, because that is the easiest thing to label a person when he or she disagrees with anything involving race. The important fact that the FMAFE refuses to accept donations from white supremacy groups is inconsequential to the lame critics who preach equality for minorities. These critics want scholarships for minorities, but according to the most recent U.S. Census, two-thirds of the population growth in Texas for the last decade is Hispanics. Non-Hispanic whites are no longer the clear majority.

Do I smell a hint of hypocrisy?

Personally, I couldn't care less if an organization wants to give out scholarships to black students, white students, Hispanic students, or blue students with stripes and a tail. It's their right, whether you like it or not.

But regardless of what professors and media pundits of both sides say, "whites-only" scholarships are a step in the direction of true equality. All scholarships primarily based on race and not merit are equally ridiculous and turn students into mere ethnic quotas.

Want my opinion? E-mail me at politicalshorts@gmail.com.

IUDs prevent fetal drug dependency

2011-03-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

According to the March of Dimes, nearly 4 percent of pregnant women in the United States use illicit drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin. This, of course, causes an immediate danger not only for the woman, but also for the helpless human life growing inside her.

The child's in-utero addiction is known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. The baby, if born living, is at an increased risk of premature birth, as well as birth defects, withdrawal symptoms, and learning or behavioral problems later in life. Babies oftentimes have respiratory problems and are sent to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Depending on the drug and quantity to which the child was exposed, the withdrawal symptoms include sleeplessness, endless crying, sucking difficulties, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle spasms and tremors. Sometimes these symptoms last for months. Ask any adoptive parent of a baby with NAS, and they will tell you it's a tragic hell that the little life is suffering.

There is no law in Utah against giving birth to a baby with NAS, so no criminal charges can be filed against these women who deliver.

However, if a baby is determined to be suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal drug dependency by a doctor or nurse, they are required by law to report that information to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. The mother is likely to lose custody of her newborn baby.

And then the toxic womb can go get knocked up again, and put another infant life in danger.

Some women recognize that they are taking dope for two. A woman interviewed by KSL said she can feel her baby getting high because it stops moving.

I have never wanted to punch a woman so badly in my life. Not in the belly, of course.

Some of these women, however, do seek out help when they realize that their drug addiction is likely to affect their unborn child. Whether it is methadone or other support, they are at least making some effort to correct their situation.

But many of the women who deliver "dirty babies" are repeat drug-addict mothers. What do we do about the women that pump out child after drug-addicted child?

According to an anonymous source, an unpublished study in Salt Lake City equipped a test group of approximately 1,400 women with an intra-uterine device to prevent delivering another NAS baby. Even with the cost of an IUD being between $600 and $800, the data collected so far shows savings of $1 million to $3.8 million on health care and DCFS costs.

In addition to the money saved on not needing to care for the child (since the mother rarely has the means), IUDs have a higher effectiveness rate in preventing pregnancy than tubal ligation and some varieties are effective for up to 20 years. That means fewer infants with tremors, and if the mother pulls her life out of the gutter and starts acting responsibly, she can have another shot at childbearing.

While part of me wants to find a way to bring criminal charges to women who recklessly endanger the lives of infants by using drugs during pregnancy, any criminal charge such women might face would deter the majority of them from seeking the medical attention she and the unborn child are guaranteed to need. Something does need to be done, however, to reduce the number of suffering children who will ultimately end up in DCFS care.

Maybe massive implementation of IUDs is the answer. It's somewhere in the ballpark of a win-win situation.

It's just a political affair

2011-02-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

Have you ever wondered why some elected officials are so stupid? From cigars, to stalls, to Craigslist, the decisions in their social and private lives ultimately lead to the destruction of their reputation. Yet, despite the notoriety earned for such ridiculous decisions, we still have scandals. And they usually involve sex.

The biggest of the scandals, of course, the Lewinsky scandal, led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, and should have led to his removal from office. Lewinsky was just the culminating point in a history of infidelity by our president and the former governor of Arkansas. Somehow, he figured he could keep the Lewinsky affair under the table.

Sorry, bad pun.

Then there is good ol' Sen. Larry Craig from Idaho. His "wide stance" in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport led to his political demise when the man in the neighboring stall turned out to be an undercover cop. After waffling on a guilty plea, Craig paid a $575 fine and finished out his term without seeking re-election.

The Clinton marriage is a loveless marriage, and had already been that way for years by the time the Lewinsky thing happened, and Craig might have just been the victim of improper bathroom posture (yeah, right). But resting high above other dirtbag scandals, former Sen. John Edwards sits as the king of the hill.

While his wife struggled with the return of breast cancer, Edwards struggled to keep from knocking up a former campaign worker. He failed, and his aide bore him a daughter in 2008. He finally admitted to the affair in January 2010. His wife, Elizabeth, died 11 months later.

In her book The Monogamy Myth: A Personal Handbook for Recovering from Affairs, author and therapist Peggy Vaughan estimates that 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair at some point in their marriage. The numbers are only estimates because of the fact that cheaters tend to lie to their loved ones and on surveys.

Somewhere between 50 percent and 75 percent of extramarital affairs occur with someone the cheater works with. That category includes Clinton and Edwards, but Craig didn't exactly fall into that category. I tried to find a statistic on affairs that occur in public restrooms, but the Google search provided everything but useful information.

One way Americans launch themselves into extramarital affairs is by way of Internet. It's unclear to what extent Rep. Christopher Lee of New York intended to go with his recent bout of idiocy.

Excuse me, former Rep. Christopher Lee of New York. Lee recently responded to a Craigslist ad in the "women seeking men" section. He responded with a Facebook-style holding-the-camera-phone-while-posing-in-front-of-a-mirror photo, in which he was shirtless and flexing. He told the woman he was a divorced 39-year-old lobbyist, "a very fit, fun, classy guy," and promised "not to disappoint." I highly doubt this was his first time.

So why do we keep electing scumbag cheaters?

In most states, if police officers are discovered to have had an affair, they lose their certifications. They are stripped of their badges and will never be able to work in the field again. Integrity is everything in law enforcement, and without it a cop is no good. Why should politics be any different?

If a politician is found to be an adulterer, he or she should be removed from office immediately and barred from the field. We need representatives who know if they fool around they will immediately lose their constituency's trust.

After all, if you can't trust a politician, who can you trust?

Eminem is no artist

2011-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

Tennessee Williams. Charles Dickens. George Orwell. William Shakespeare. Edgar Allan Poe. Mark Twain. Eminem.

What do all these people have in common?

Apparently, they are all literary greats.

USA Today recently published an article about the Detroit rapper, with "expert" opinion about his lyrical genius and his poetic craft as an artist.

Have we really come this far, to refer to Eminem as an artist? I know the term is used in the recording industry to describe anyone or anything that puts out an album, but that's like calling every contestant on American Idol a singer.

Little did you know, rap lyrics laden with cursing, derogatory descriptions of women and homosexuals, and threats of violence against other "artists" constitutes such high honors as placing the author in the upper echelons of history's great authors and poets.

Bernard Goldberg, author of 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, ranked Eminem at

No. 58 on his list. He says it's sad that Eminem is an icon for millions of young people, especially with his lyrics that advocate violence against women.

One of the many songs critics use as an example of this is "Superman," a song Eminem wrote about a relationship with Mariah Carey.

"Put anthrax on a Tampax and slap you ‘til you can't stand

B------, they come they go,

‘til then sit your drunk a-- on that f------- runway hoe ... "

Yeah, I can kind of see how that could be taken as violence toward women. Why did they break up?

Adam Bradley, an associate professor of English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is one of the "experts" who seems to think such lyrics qualify the rapper to be considered a literary great. He is the author of Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop and believes that Eminem's use of multiple personalities is his greatest contribution to hip-hop.

Personally, I think it's the way he uses the F-bomb while singing a song he wrote for his daughter. There is just something magical about it. It really brings a tear to my eye.

In the USA Today article, Bradley says of Slim Shady, one of the personalities, "There's comic, cartoonish violence, and the voice is savvy, self-destructive," and that while as Eminem, he displays control by using only 10-14 syllables per line, as in the song "Lose Yourself" from the somewhat autobiographical movie, 8 Mile. But as Marshall Mathers, his given name, "this one is deeply emotional. You hear the love and self-hatred played out in his private and public struggles."

Sometimes drug addictions cause personality disorders. Sometimes it causes you to see art where it is not.

Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland, really enjoys "Stan" from The Marshall Mathers LP album. After a brief examination of the song, he says it has "all the depth and texture of the greatest examples of English verse."

Whoa ... what? I'm not what you would call a "fan" of Shakespeare, but there is a big difference between Romeo and Juliet's double suicide and a song about a crazy fan who bound his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of a car and drove it off a bridge. I wouldn't feel comfortable with my son reading the latter or performing it on stage.

But then again, if it's that easy to become a literary great, maybe I should try my hand at Eminem-style songwriting.

Hey all you ------

It's time to say ------

and ------ me

for a ------- in the ------.

Now all I need to do is talk horribly about my mother and form a posse of other rappers who will protect me.

Who knew it could be this easy?

State of the Unity address

2011-01-31T08:31:00.001-08:00

From The Signpost

In a 61-minute State of the Union address last week, President Obama worked to appeal to both sides of the aisle. The difference, however, was that in a break from tradition, the chamber was not split by the aisle.

The move to integrate the parties for the speech was proposed by Senator Mark Udall of Colorado to show solidarity and support for Representative Gabrielle Giffords. All legislators wore black and white ribbons to honor their team member and all victims of the shooting.

The language of the speech featured less partisan rhetoric than last year, pointing out the need for both parties to work together.

I couldn't agree more on that point. The toxic political atmosphere has been fueled by vitriol from both parties. It's sad that it took a colleague getting shot in the head to make everyone step back and realize how damaging it is to our nation.

Obviously, the call for unity is political as well. President Obama lost a Democratic house, and now must accept his rival party and the power it has. He can't continue blaming the past administration for all of the nation's problems if he wants to have bicameral support.

But he lost me with the address' theme, "Winning the Future," as well as what this future will look like.

You don't win the future. It's not a prize. It is a result of the choices we make today. And if we make poor choices, the future will be a very depressing and costly one.

We are already buried under trillions of dollars of debt. We absolutely cannot proceed under the precedent that it will get taken care of later. We cannot keep charging to our federal credit card. The Bank of China, or Zhongguo Renmin Yinhang, expects us to pay back our debt. What happens when we can't?

I appreciate the idea of a spending freeze. That's a start. Obama also said that he would work to reduce bureaucratic redundancy and the size of government where it can be reduced, but that you can't cut everything if you want a functioning government. Too true.

But where in the world did he get the idea that Americans want more trains? And how does that save us money? Americans already have trains that they don't want to ride. Amtrak loses on average $32 per passenger, which Amtrak overcomes only by heavy government subsidies.

He also pledged to have 1 million electric vehicles on American roads by 2015. I'm curious about the vague use of the word "vehicle," but I assume he meant cars. And if he did mean electric cars, he's going to have to get past the fact that two-thirds of Americans aren't willing or aren't able to pay the premium costs of the more expensive electric model cars.

Perhaps to lower prices, we can subsidize the Government Motors Chevy Volt too.

He also called for increased spending on roads, and further investment in clean-energy technologies, biomedical research and another $4.35 billion into the "Race to the Top" federal grants for public schools.

And how to justify spending during a spending freeze? Call it an "investment."

I understand that we need to spend money on some projects to keep our infrastructure running and stimulate technological advancement, but this doublespeak causes Americans to be skeptical of any promise delivered by a politician.

Most Americans show unity in the fact that we have a ridiculous amount of debt and don't want to hand it over to our children to be their problem. Obama has begun to consider the other side and what many Americans are feeling. Now comes the follow-through. Will he work with the new Congress like his address suggested? Will Congress work together to actually tackle the issues?

Unity across the aisle may be a start, but making the connection between how Americans feel about major issues like national debt and what actions will be taken from here on out will ultimately determine how well legislator can work out these problems.

Gun control is not the answer

2011-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

A few weeks ago, few Americans knew the name Gabrielle Giffords. Now everyone knows she is a congresswoman from Tucson, Ariz.

Even fewer people knew the name Jared Lee Loughner. Now everyone knows he is the crazy %!&@#$ that shot her in the head. His Jan. 8 rampage wounded 14 people, including Rep. Giffords, and killed six others. Included in the six was a U.S. District Court judge and a 9-year-old girl.

As expected when a tragedy like this occurs, lawmakers, activists and everybody else wonders how someone could do such a horrible thing and what could have been done to prevent this. The simple conclusion people come to is gun control.

It's true, handguns are easy to purchase in most states. Some have a background check or a waiting period. Arizona has neither. You can pretty much walk into a store and buy a handgun. That is exactly what Loughner did on Nov. 30, 2010. He went to a Sportsman's Warehouse, purchased a Glock 9mm, and walked out.

I'm not morally opposed to certain levels of gun control. It only makes sense that some people must be denied the right to possess a firearm. Most commonly, convicted felons and persons on parole or probation are prohibited from carrying or owning a gun. Unlawful users of controlled substances and those with certain psychological diagnoses are commonly listed in the state's criminal code as well.

But would stricter gun control have made any difference in the recent shooting?

According the FBI's Uniform Crime Report for violent crimes in 2009, Arizona counted 354 murders or non-negligent homicides from the state's population of 6.5 million people, equaling about 5.4 violent homicides per 100,000 people. Illinois reported 773 of these deaths from its population of almost 13 million, equaling about 6 per 100,000 people.

Factoring in a margin of error, these numbers show the violent homicide rate for the two states are statistically equal.

But their gun laws aren't.

In the land of Lincoln, a Firearm Owner's Identification Card is required for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun, as well as for a handgun. The purchase of a rifle or shotgun requires a 24-hour waiting period for delivery, and handguns require 72 hours. Handguns are outright banned in some municipalities, and the city of Chicago requires registration of all firearms.

Yet with licenses, background checks and waiting periods, Illinoisans are no safer from violent homicides than Arizonans. It may have something to do with the fact that murderers and other criminals don't always obtain their firearms through legal channels.

Go figure.

And even if gun laws could somehow keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, it still wouldn't have prevented Loughner from wreaking havoc on a congresswoman and innocent civilians were he determined to do so.

I remember this one story about a really unstable guy who was mad at the government, so he blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City. He killed 168 people. He used fertilizer and racing fuel. Not a gun.

Then there were some guys that hijacked four airplanes with pocketknives and box cutters. Then they flew airplanes into buildings. They couldn't have gotten guns past even pre-TSA security checkpoints.

I don't think gun control laws would have stopped those little moments in history. Perhaps we should have stricter fertilizer control laws and pocketknife registration.

Guns don't kill people; crazy people kill people.

Want to know my opinion? E-mail me at politicalshorts@gmail.com.

Universal Healthcare Headaches

2011-01-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

"...We're dead serious...."

Those words were shared by Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. He was referring to the new Republican majority's effort to push a bill that would repeal Obamacare. Test votes show that it would pass in the House, closely following party lines.

It is sure to do the same thing in the Senate: follow party lines.

If it did pass in the Senate, there is no chance it would get past the Resolute desk with President Obama's signature.

Democrats are going as far as to call it a stunt, with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokeswoman labeling it an attempt to "score points with their base."

A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that the bill would add a sum of $230 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. Democrats have latched onto this number, touting it and the idea that it will "put insurance companies back in charge of the health of American people," quoting the dethroned Nancy Pelosi.

The new House speaker, John Boehner, says the primary reason for the repeal is because it is getting in the way of job creation. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, said, "We will repeal Obamacare again and again until we consign their government takeover to the ash heap of history where it belongs."

Isn't rhetoric fun?

While both parties bicker over legislation, you don't hear very many testimonials about how government health care in America actually works, and what it's like to receive it. So I'll tell you.

Basically, it sucks.

As a going-away present from my active-duty service, I am entitled to certain types of medical care for life for service-related injuries through the Veterans Administration. I'm glad I have that coverage, and that my list of service-related injuries is so short. Others have lists of injuries, and some have very long lists. The least that is owed to the brave men and women who nearly die in defense of our nation is for them to know that their medical needs are provided for.

As a combat veteran (I never saw combat, but served in a combat zone), I also receive full VA access for five years immediately following active-duty separation. Again, it's great to know that service members transitioning to the civilian world can be sure to have medical care while they figure out the next step in life.

But while it's nice to know that I have some health care benefits with no out-of-pocket expenses, sometimes I opt for the out-of-pocket expenses. That way I get to see a doctor that day. And get an answer. And don't have to wait a week for a referral.

I recently had an ingrown toenail (and I'm sure you wanted to know that). I called the local VA outpatient office, and of course my physician had no openings for a few weeks. It was suggested that I leave a message on the nurse's voicemail and see what they could do, or visit the VA emergency room in Salt Lake City.

I've chosen the latter before. Pack a lunch and bring a book. Or two.

After a few hours of waiting for my call to be returned, I hobbled into an InstaCare clinic and paid to have the problem taken care of that day so I could walk normally. A week later, I received a phone call. My referral to a podiatrist had been processed by the VA, and I could now schedule an appointment.

Thanks for the prompt reply.

In theory, universal health care sounds nice. Until you try it. Then you pay to avoid it.

Don't lose out to the robots

2011-01-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

I just finished talking to a robot.

The worst part about it is that when I got mad at him, he told me to call back during normal business hours. That call center robot had the audacity to tell me what to do when all I wanted to do was make an over-the-phone payment.

My wife usually pays the bills, so she has spoken with the robot before. I assume the semi-automated phone system saves the company quite a bit of money. Many of the calls received can be handled without the need to speak to a live person. That means fewer employees, and therefore, fewer expenses.

In an economy like that of today, a lot of people would happily take a job in a call center. But economies affect businesses much like they affect individuals. You do what you must to spend less, especially when there is reduced income. That means lay-offs and that fewer employers are hiring.

Unemployment hits close to home for me. I have family and friends here and back home who are struggling or have struggled to make ends meet while on unemployment or while working part-time because it's all they can find. One family member is faced with the possibility of a short sale on her house because the best job she can find is such a pay cut that she can't afford her mortgage.

One friend, referring to his lay-off and inability to land another job, vented his frustration about how it doesn't matter which party is in the White House, no one is going to fix it. The way he said it hinted that it is the duty of the government to create jobs.

While there are definitely choices made in executive and legislative branches of government that can hinder or stimulate job creation, the individual is responsible for finding a job. Sometimes that means creating your own. Sometimes that means lowering your standards.

Oftentimes, that means getting an education or other professional training first.

One study by the Department of Labor showed that in 2009, the unemployment rate for persons 25 and older averaged 7.9 percent. For those with less than a high school diploma, 14.6 percent were unemployed, and those who earned nothing beyond a high school diploma averaged 9.7 percent.

Just having some college decreases the number to 8.6 percent, but simply earning an associate degree significantly boosted the chances of finding employment, with a 6.8 percent unemployment rate. A bachelor's dropped it to 5.2 percent, and a master's down to 2.3 percent.

Keep that in mind when you are sick of classes and homework. You already have some of your degree completed, and when you put on that cap and gown and receive your four-year undergraduate degree, you will suddenly be twice as likely on average to get a job.

Clearly, an education makes you much more competitive in the job market. You still might not land your dream job, but at least you have a better chance at landing a job that can help you put food on your table and a roof over your head. Then you start searching for your dream job.

Or you create your own.

Then you can create your own call center staffed by robots who hang up on me.

A time of thanks and giving

2010-12-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I have been filled with loads of turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. Fat and happy, now I try to think of something controversial to write about.

I could write about the attempted presidential assassination on the basketball court. Or I could laugh about Sarah Palin ticking off animal rights activists by clubbing a halibut. I could even ponder why on earth the Democratic Party would keep Nancy Pelosi in any position of power.

But I don’t want to. There is still leftover pie, so Thanksgiving isn’t completely over yet. I’ve been pondering for the past week all that I am thankful for, so I will deviate this week from the norm and share with you a few of those things.

On Monday afternoons I host The Informer on 88.1 Weber FM, with my liberal counterpart, Gina Barker, who is also the Editor in Chief of The Signpost and writes the Wednesday column, Common Sense. With my political ideology I am often inclined to shake my head after I hear some of her opinions on current events, I am thankful that we live in a time and place where we have such a right to voice opinions and disagree. Not everyone on this planet has the right to criticize a public official or policy without the fear of reprisal. What a blessing that is, and I am thankful for my First Amendment rights.

(I am also thankful that she hired me to write a weekly column, but don’t tell her I said that.)

I am thankful for my family and every moment of ours lives together. I am thankful for my amazing and beautiful wife. She strengthens me and uplifts me constantly. She makes me a better man and I am thankful for her love and patience.

I am thankful for my two little boys. My three-year old is smarter than any three-year old should ever be, and reminds me everyday how fun it is to learn. My youngest is full of excitement for everything he sees and his warm grin could melt a glacier.

I have had the distinct honor of serving in the United States Air Force and the Utah Air National Guard with many fine men and women. Some of those I have served with just returned after spending months overseas in sandy places, and others will stay there through Christmas. I am thankful I get to spend the entire holiday season with family because others are willing to sacrifice the comforts of home to defend freedom around the world.

Those are just a few of the things I am thankful for. I know you have much to be thankful for too. Most of us take for granted the little things in life and forget about those who make do with much less.

I know it’s not PC to bring it up, but I celebrate Christmas, and Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ. With all we have to be thankful for I challenge you this Christmas to do as Christ did.

Give.

Give to someone you haven’t given to before. A friend… a neighbor… or someone you’ve never met.

Secret Santa a family in your neighborhood you know is struggling. Volunteer at the Ogden Rescue Mission or a hospital.
Shovel a driveway for the old lady down the street. It doesn’t matter if you are giving of your time or your money. Just give.

And don’t stop when Christmas is over.

I’ll see you again in a few weeks. Good luck with finals, and have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or a joyous non-denominational winter holiday.

The TSA is not that troubling

2010-11-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

In San Diego last week, John Tyner declined the opportunity to pass through one of the new security scanners, opting instead for the alternative: full-body pat-down. The Transportation Security Administration agent politely explained how the procedure worked, including where he would perform the search. Tyner responded, "If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested."

Apparently that's not the right thing to say. He was barred from passing through security, and subsequently missed his flight.

Oh, and he received a $10,000 fine for his comment.

Like John, people are whining about the new procedures. Conspiracy theorists promote the insane idea that the TSA is operated by perverts and pedophiles that are ogling at nude images in a back room and relishing the chance to perform a frisk on a child's private areas.

Yeah, and the government planned 9/11.

The new machines come in two types: millimeter wave and backscatter X-ray machines. Millimeter wave machines, like the two now installed at SLC International, use electromagnetic waves to create a three-dimensional image of the passenger, and blurs their face. Backscatter images use X-rays to create a three-dimensional image of the passenger, virtually disrobed.

Yes, the images are somewhat … revealing. I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of passing through one and being explicitly exposed to the operator. I'm not worried, however, about my picture being loaded into a database for later review.

According to TSA spokesman Nick Kimball, "after the officer is able to determine there's no threat item on the passenger, the image is deleted before the officer can scan the next passenger."

Peter Rez, Arizona State University physics professor, is concerned less about the details of the images, and more about the accuracy of the government's claim regarding the radiation dose resulting from a trip through the backscatter imager. He estimates that the dose is close to 10 times what the Department of Homeland Security asserts.

According to Dr. Eugene Cole, professor of environmental health sciences at Brigham Young University, that's still not a major threat to health.

"The radiation generated (from backscatter machines) is low-level X-rays on the order of about 0.01 millirem. Just going outside each day gives us about 1.0 millirem of background radiation from all natural sources, primarily cosmic rays … In fact, that's a continuous and greater concern at high altitudes than exposure to any airport scanner."

Some people, including pregnant women, those with certain medical implants and anyone who would prefer to not be exposed to the machines, are instead subject to a new breed of physical search. For women, the search includes cupping the breast, as well as a groin check for men and women alike.

The new patdowns are a tad awkward, but don't you think it might also be a bit awkward for the TSA agent who has to check your nether regions with hundreds of people watching? I doubt that requirement has caused an influx of TSA applicants.

Regardless of potential health risks and intimate touching associated, there is still a threat from those who want to take down our planes and wreak havoc. Last Christmas, we almost lost another jet when the underwear bomber tried to detonate his skivvies en route to Detroit. If he had been scanned or searched by the new methods, it is very likely the explosive panties would've been found.

While I don't love the new security procedure, I prefer it to being blown up. If I must choose between the two options, I'll take the scanner. It's quicker, I'm not going to get cancer, and I've always wanted to pose nude.

Just kidding.

When books go too far

2010-11-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

From The Signpost

The fact that there is such a thing as The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover's Code of Conduct makes me want to vomit and hurt people (pedophile-type people). What leaves me confused is why on earth a company would allow such a product to be sold in their store.

Amazon.com found itself in hot water with customers last week when The Pedophile's Guide become an available e-book on their website. The company was bombarded with e-mails and user comments condemning the bookseller, insisting the book be removed.

The retailer refused to remove the book, stating that "it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable." Interesting and somewhat hypocritical, considering that Amazon doesn't sell porn and removed Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers from their e-shelves in 2002, and the computer game RapeLay in 2009. (Guess the plot of that one.)

It is not censorship to remove a product that advocates an illegal activity. And we're not talking about just any illegal activity; we're talking about a book that promotes sexual relationships with children. According to every law book in the country, that's rape.

The book's author, Philip R. Greaves II, says, "True pedophiles love children, and would never hurt them."

Well, as long as you don't hurt them … I guess that's OK, right?

The book is considered a "how-to" manual, and Greaves says, "There are certain parts that are advisory," setting proposed boundaries of what is permissible to do with a child.

"Penetration is out. You can't do that with a child, but kissing and fondling I don't think is that big of a problem."

Pardon me while I throw up again. And load my gun. And check on my kids.

This sick, deranged pervert has the idea that because the media portrays pedophiles as kidnappers and child-molesters, this book can help child-lovers be safer, i.e., not get caught. The rules he suggests also keeps the child safer, therefore preventing media backlash. The book advocates that condoms are unnecessary if the adult is free of diseases and describes sexual attraction to children as a sexual preference, as if same-sex attraction between consenting adults is anything like an adult fondling an innocent 6-year-old girl.

But to Greaves, the 6-year-old girl isn't so innocent, because sometimes she wants it too.

So was the company justified in its initial refusal to remove the book?

I agree, but only in the slightest degree, with the whole "free speech" argument. A crazy pastor has the right to burn the Quran and a person has the right to write a book. No matter how sick and twisted the book is.

The difference, however, is that there is nothing illegal about hating the Quran or Muslims. But while it isn't illegal to have fantasies about another person, molesting a child is completely illegal. Period.

Not only is it illegal, it's immoral and outright horrific. There is a reason child rapists are often put in solitary confinement. They are the lowest of the low, and even convicted murderers and rapists will show intolerance for cruelty to a child.

Wednesday night, following hours of media coverage, Amazon finally removed the "manual" from their site.

An Amazon official, who spoke with me on conditions of anonymity, said that while she thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion, she didn't buy the "censorship" argument. She thinks the company did the right thing by removing the book.

I guess those poor child-lovers will just have to remain a misunderstood demographic.

Want my opinion? E-mail me at politicalshorts@gmail.com.

No fun for fat kids

2010-11-07T19:36:00.001-08:00

From The Signpost

In a vote of 8-3, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved an ordinance to ban children from having fun if they don't eat healthier.

The ordinance will prohibit fast food restaurants from including toys in their kids' meals if they do not change the food. The meals will now be expected to meet higher health standards in an attempt to combat childhood obesity and type II diabetes. Otherwise, no Megamind action figure. (While supplies last. Visit www.happymeal.com or your neighborhood McDonald's restaurant for details.)

The new standards will require the food and drink in any SF kid's meal to have fewer than 600 calories combined, with less than 35 percent of the total calories from fat, less than 640 milligrams of sodium and less than 0.5 milligrams of trans fat. A required addition is 0.5 cups of fruit and 0.75 cups of vegetables.

Eric Mar, San Francisco Supervisor, is thrilled with the nanny-law. "I do believe that toys and other incentives attached to foods that are high in sugar, fat and calories are a major reason for the alarming rise for childhood obesity in this country." The majority of the board agrees.

Linshao Chin, Mar's legislative assistant, explains, "The children are pestering their parents to take them in there and get that toy. It's something that's pretty hard to resist for a 3-year-old … so this is incentivizing children to eat these unhealthy meals with the toys."

Last time I checked, when my 3-year-old pouted because he wanted something, I had the authority to say no. Sometimes he cries. Then he gets over it and stays not fat.

The problem isn't the toy; kids will still eat McNuggets without a toy. The problem is weak parenting.

This legislation will affect only restaurants within city limits. The McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's one mile outside of the city in any direction will still offer the standard version of their kids' meals. The pestered parent who doesn't know how to say no to the child can still drive the extra mile to get what the child wants.

Even if the parent won't make the drive, it still won't make a difference. Although the toy will be accompanied with fruits and vegetables, a child won't necessarily eat either, and the parent can always buy a side of fries. Or some extra nuggets. Or a soda. Or a McFlurry.

Mmmmm … McFlurry …

But I do agree. Childhood obesity is a problem. According to a recent federal study, approximately 30 percent of children in the United States and Canada are overweight. There are a lot more fat kids today than there used to be.

Children who constantly eat less-than-wholesome foods, especially from fast food restaurants, do in fact have a higher chance of obesity and diabetes.

But you know what else causes obesity? Eating junk food at home. Might the city oversee a specific diet for hefty youngsters to make sure they receive at least the minimum requirement of fruits and vegetables at home?

Then there is the problem with excessive amounts of time in front of the tube playing video games and watching television instead of playing outside and exercising. Perhaps they should also adopt a city ordinance mandating physical fitness training for the "husky" children.

But the city might find such measures to be to a bit too militaristic, especially given the city's ban on military recruitment on high school and college campuses.

San Francisco wouldn't want to do something extreme and unnecessary, after all.

Want Mike's opinion? E-mail him at politicalshorts@gmail.com.

Obama on The Daily Show

2010-10-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

Did you see President Obama this week on The Daily Show?

I have to say, I like Jon Stewart a whole heck of a lot better than his buddy Mr. Colbert. He is courteous to his guests but is willing to put them on the spot. Also, he is genuine where Stephen is not.

During the interview, the president made a comment that caught me quite a bit off guard. But after letting it sink in, it didn’t surprise me one bit.

Obama listed accomplishments of his administration, and then added, “We have done things that some folks don’t even know about.”

You know, call me crazy, but please Mr. President, enlighten us. What things have you been doing that we don’t know about? What ever happened to the great promise of transparency?

Regardless of the fact that Jon Stewart made eye contact with the president exponentially less than he would have when asking tough questions to other guests, I was actually quite impressed with how forward Stewart was and how he handled the balance of comedian and pundit while interviewing President Obama.

Did this help the Democrats in the days leading up to the contentious midterm elections?

I doubt it.

But it sure made President Obama look good.

Pit bulls should be banned

2010-10-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

"I don't know what happened … my wife went to the restroom and the dog got to the baby. We're not neglectful parents."

Mark Valentin in Jacksonville, Fla., shared these words with WJXT after the death of his 3-day-old son Justin. The family dog attacked baby Justin, who died late in the night, Oct. 24.

You are never going to guess what breed the Valentin dog was.

The sweet, gentle, never-could-hurt-anything family dog was indeed a pit bull. A red pit bull, and a "very loving dog." The animal control officer that picked up the animal after the attack didn't quite agree. The dog was euthanized, and the family is still mourning the loss of their young child. I can't imagine the heartache.

I couldn't care less how they feel about their dog.

When I was in high school I had a golden retriever. She was a fat, dumb, lazy animal … but I loved that dog. Even when she literally ate my homework, and one time, every bill that was in my wallet. I know how attached someone can get to an animal.

Dogs can make great companions and, when trained properly, can improve the quality of life for people with physical as well as emotional challenges.

But pit bulls are different from golden retrievers, cocker spaniels and chihuahuas (worthless little yapping Taco Bell dogs). Pit bulls were originally bred for their strength and tenacity, making them top dog for dog fighting. They are aggressive and very territorial.

In a study of dog attacks in the years 2006 through 2008, pit bull breeds were responsible for 59 percent of fatal dog attacks. The combination of pit bulls and rottweilers accounted for 73 percent of deaths.

Weber County and Ogden City, like most jurisdictions, have ordinances governing the issue of "animal at large," (Ogden ordinance specifically refers to dogs, cats and ferrets), yet it is not uncommon in my neighborhood to see dogs wandering from yard to yard, including pit bulls.

A neighbor of mine had a pit bull. This menace of an animal was known for getting out and roughing with other dogs in the neighborhood.

While exploring the neighborhood one day, it found my wife gardening in the front yard with our then-6-month-old boy sitting on a blanket next to her. When she told it to go home, it growled and approached. They retreated into the house and called animal control.

The owners received a warning, which did nothing. The dog was finally put down after it got out again and attacked a little girl in the neighborhood.

More than 500 cities nationwide have passed breed-specific legislation (BSL) banning or restricting pit bull ownership, as well as other breeds. The supreme courts of 11 states and the District of Columbia have upheld the constitutionality of BSL. Pit bulls are not allowed on any Army or Marine Corps base, or on most Air Force bases.

In Utah, three cities have current BSL: Springville, North Salt Lake and South Jordan. In fact, South Jordan passed a full-out ban on the breed, and Springville requires a special permit to own one of these "misunderstood" animals.

Pit bull enthusiasts cry over the idea of BSL, claiming it is unconstitutional and that society should punish the deed, not the breed. The Constitution, however, was designed to protect human rights. According to these folks, mauling of children should not prevent people from owning pit bulls "raised properly."

I feel the same way about bears. They are always gentle, if you raise them right.

Cartels causing border chaos

2010-10-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

From The Signpost

Stories about Mexican border towns have popped up a few times in the news in the past week. I know it's a shocker, but drugs have been a common theme.

A U.S. serviceman was killed this past week in the tranquil little pueblo of Juarez, Mexico, which sits in the peaceful provincia of Chihuahua. José Gil Hernandez Ramirez traveled into Juarez despite direct orders that the border town was strictly off-limits to all servicemen. According to the Chihuahua attorney general, he was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting.

The fact that someone died in Juarez is anything but news. Juarez, which is just across a bridge from El Paso, Texas, boasts approximately 2,500 drug-related deaths this year alone.

That is probably why most people don't know that a woman was also found this week in Juarez, decapitated, in a recent surge of violence against women. That's the second headless woman found in Mexico's deadliest city this year.

The good news is not all women in Juarez are victims. Some are being trained by drug cartels to be assassins. Good for them.

Meanwhile, other border town women try to combat the problem.

In the Mexican border town of Práxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, the mayor has appointed a new police chief. This is great news because the small municipality in the state of Chihuahua has also been torn apart by violence linked to rival drug cartels.

The two gangs, the Juarez and the Sinaloa, have been at it for a while now, battling for control of the single highway in the town. The highway, running along the border of Texas, is a very lucrative drug- trafficking route.

The new police chief, 20-year-old Marisol Valles Garcia, is a college student studying criminology. She was the secretary of a police station once, so I'm sure she has all the tools necessary to lead her police force of 13 officers against violent drug gangs.

Marisol refuses to carry a gun, but has two bodyguards with her at all times. This should protect her adequately from gangs that have repeatedly murdered public officials in nearby towns. Her plans include talking to local citizens to promote civic values and prevent crimes before they happen.

I know I'm just a pessimistic naysayer, but guess what … it's not going to work. Rival gangs with assault rifles versus angry citizens armed with civic values and a 20-year-old college girl …

Riiiiiiiiiight.

In Juarez, the cartels have proven that they don't care about the age or sex of whoever stands in their way. I hope they didn't think Miss Garcia would deter the cartels with a pretty smile.

Out west along the California border in lovely Tijuana, state and local police, in a joint effort with the Mexican Army, seized over 150,000 packages of marijuana in the largest drug bust of the region in years. The packages totaled 134 tons of pot.

That's a lot of reefer.

Tons of marijuana, drug runners, U.S. border …

You know, there is a slight chance all these cartels intend to smuggle it into the United States. But then again, I'm basing that on nothing more than a mere hunch.

Several border towns on our side feel the violence bleeds over while gangs expand into U.S. territory to claim drug-trafficking routes.

While I support building a fence, I don't think it will solve the problem. We need two fences, with the space between filled with land mines.

They say, "Fences make good neighbors." But two fences could make great neighbors.

Especially if it keeps their crap out of our yard.

Right-wing film frustrates liberals

2010-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

I Want Your Money was released in select theaters this past weekend.

What is I Want Your Money, you ask? That's a great question. I hadn't heard too much about it either before a few days ago.

I Want Your Money is a film by Ray Griggs, produced to teach the dangers of socialism and to encourage conservatism in politics and limited government. It is a mix of interviews, historical footage and bizarre bobble-head animation of politicians, including President Obama, Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin and America's favorite romantic couple: the Clintons.

I know this is going to be a big shock, so brace yourselves … some liberals are upset about this.

Apparently it blurs the line between entertainment and propaganda, and is accused of being strategically released in mid-October to encourage swing-voters to vote Republican.

Actually, Captain Lefty, that sums it up pretty accurately. Thanks for your input.

Can you imagine what would happen if a liberal ever did that? Oh, wait …

Remember Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11?

Don't be shy. It's OK to say ‘yes.' Like you, I unfortunately saw it too.

I was young, curious, and I experimented with crazy ideas, like "maybe Michael Moore isn't a Castro groupie" and "maybe he has something really intelligent to say and doesn't distort all the facts by taking clips out of context …"

I remember sitting in the theater, wondering why I had subjected myself to a night of conspiracy theories, surrounded by hippies and lunatics. Needless to say, I embarrassed my friend when I was the only one vocally questioning why Moore had decided that Britney Spears' testimony best illustrated that Americans blindly followed George W. Bush following the terrorist attacks.

But those who applauded the 2004 film should be thrilled about the release of I Want Your Money.

In the 2004 elections, just months after the Democrat-praised film was released, what were the results? The GOP increased their number of seats in both chambers of Congress.

If history repeats, the new movie should help the Democrats increase their stronghold.

Honestly, I'm in no hurry to see the movie. I'll probably Redbox it at some point, but I'm not so eager to see it that I would drive down to West Valley, the closest place with a theater playing it.

But, then again, I am a bit intrigued by anything that quotes Nancy Pelosi saying, "We need to pass the bill, so that you can find out, uh, what is in it," referring to the stimulus bill.

Another included bit of Pelosi wisdom is her preaching about "pay as you go … no new deficit spending."

She sure stuck to that principle.

Ray Griggs also appears throughout the film to narrate its message, along with Michael Reagan, Steve Forbes, Newt Gingrich and other right-wingers.

I truly doubt that the film will have enough effect on voters to make any significant difference at the polls, especially with its limited release. All the film will really do is ruffle some feathers of a few die-hard Democrats and give the Republicans a few good laughs.

At least it only cost $400,000 to produce I Want Your Money, which, by the way, is 0.0000029 percent of the current deficit.

Apostle's remarks spark debate

2010-10-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

Some people are up in arms over the words of Boyd K. Packer, president of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoken during the 180th Semiannual General Conference weekend of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Protests have formed in response to his sermon on repentance, specifically the portions that were referring to homosexuality.

Quoting "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Packer read, "We … solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan…"

NEWS FLASH: The LDS Church doesn't condone homosexuality, and only supports married men and women having babies.

Oh, the audacity of a church leader vocalizing tenets of the church's doctrine!

I am a Mormon. I won't hide that. I have been my whole life, though I wasn't the best ambassador for the Church in my early twenties.

So … I'll fill you in on a little secret: the Church's stance on the issue is nothing new.

Why do you think there are so many Suburbans and minivans in your local LDS chapel's parking lot? Mormons, on average, have larger families, and those babies don't happen with homosexuality. It's not rocket science.

So why the protests?

"Kids kill themselves, or are thrown from their homes because they are taught by men like this that God doesn't love them," said Eric Ethington, a gay rights activist from Salt Lake City.

I'm not going to mock suicide and I don't mean to sound insensitive. Like with cancer, everyone knows someone who has lost a family member, friend or co-worker to suicide, myself included.

But the Mormon church is responsible for a teenager deciding to take his or her own life?

Apparently he didn't actually listen to Packer's words, and has no idea what he is talking about.

On Thursday night, a protest of approximately 600 people was coordinated, surrounding Temple Square. The activists wore black to symbolize … something.

Ethington, the rally coordinator, said prior to the protest that it was not aimed at Packer or other Church leaders but was organized to support the youth of the Church.

He said, "…you are not alone, there are millions who are just like you."

Really? Millions? Did you count them?

At the start of the get-together, he announced that the overall purpose of the rally was the goal to change Church doctrine.

"We are here with a message of hope, and a demand for change," he announced from a park by Temple Square before their triumphant march for … change.

A group of 600 people are demanding a change in gospel doctrine of a church whose 14 million members believe the words of their leaders come directly from God?

Right. Good luck with that.

If a group of people wants to gather and peacefully protest, I support the right they have to do so. But I also have the right to sit back, scratch my head and wonder why they are wasting their time.

Rebellion is healthy for government

2010-10-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

More than 200 years ago, our forefathers declared independence from the British Crown. The Revolutionary War was a rebellion against a government that didn't listen to its people.

With the 2010 elections only a month away, some Americans are once again rebelling, but not against tyranny or a distant monarchy. They are rebelling against incumbency.

Like I've said before, I'm a conservative before I'm a Republican, and I agree with some aspects of the Tea Party movement. Congress needs to be reminded that "We the People" are their employers and that they are subject to us, not the other way around.

And don't get me wrong - I'm all for Nevada's Harry Reid being ousted from the Senate. It is hard for me to see any real drawback to the senior senator shopping in the job market.

But do we really want to throw just anyone in there to replace him?

While I'll admit that most coverage of Tea Party Senate hopefuls is obviously going to lean a bit left, even Fox News couldn't help Sharron Angle, Reid's challenger, who looked a little dazed and confused during her interview with Fox's Carl Cameron.

After stating that she wants the press to be her friend, Sharron explained that she wants them "to ask the questions we want to answer, so that they report the news the way we want it to be reported."

Oh … that's how it works? In that case, visit her website and make a donation, because she wants me to tell you that too.

I feel like some Tea Party candidates didn't think they really had a shot, so they only planned their campaign up to the point of the night of their respective primaries; but if you get to step two, you must be prepared to do the hard interviews and discuss the skeletons in your closet.

Of course, nominating candidates without such skeletons would be preferred, but you and I both know that even when there isn't a scandal, one will be created. Be prepared to discuss it.

Take Christine O'Donnell, for example.

I agree with a lot of points the Delaware candidate makes, whether they are popular or not, but she has a unique way of creating sound bytes that can be so easily taken out of context.

"I dabbled into witchcraft … One of my first dates with a witch was on a Satanic altar."

She said this on Bill Maher's first show, Politically Incorrect, back when people thought Bill Maher was funny.

Taking advice from the resigned Alaskan governor, O'Donnell canceled most of her public appearances to spend more time campaigning to her potential constituency. That makes sense, since they are the people that could vote her into office, but the people of Delaware do have access to television. She needs to show that she can defend her positions in front of a crowd a bit less coddling than Sean Hannity.

While I question some of these candidates who have been nominated by nothing short of a rebellion against incumbency, I must digress.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote in a letter to James Madison, "A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical … It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."\

Our government is very sick, and Obamacare sure isn't going to make it any healthier … so perhaps Dr. Jefferson is right.

The right prescription for a sick government may simply be a little chaos.

Colbert's Capitol Hill catastrophe

2010-09-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

Friday morning Capitol Hill was graced with the presence of Stephen Colbert when he testified and shared his thoughts during a congressional hearing. He played his conservative pundit Comedy Central character, the only version of Colbert known today.

Colbert was invited to speak by Democrat Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California. The pair met when they spent a day as agricultural workers after receiving invitations from Arturo Rodriguez, president of United Farm Workers. They were two of the 16 Americans who participated in the UFW's "Take Our Jobs" program, which was intended to bring attention to the plight of illegal immigrants working in our country.

The pretend right-winger, after working the fields for a day, decided that illegal farm workers should be given a path to legal status. The faux-conservative persona declared, "At this point, I break into a sweat at the salad bar."

The media stunt successfully increased the standard viewership and publicity of an ordinary hearing. Lofgren stated that she had never seen so many cameras in the hearing room since the impeachment.

In addition to that, Comedy Central received some free publicity and people have now heard of the United Farm Workers. Other than that, Colbert and Lofgren missed the mark they were shooting for.

In fact, to say that his routine fatally bombed would be a massive understatement. Maybe it was because most members of Congress don't fit into the 18-34-year-old demographic that his show typically caters to. Maybe it was because he was making a totally mockery of the institution he was preaching to.

After three and a half minutes of failed jokes about submitting his colonoscopy footage into congressional record and a Chilean giving him a Brazilian, he finally managed to awkwardly work in some farm acreage statistics and mention the "AgJOBS" bill, which would give some illegal immigrants a pathway to legal residency.

Most of Lofgren's colleagues seemed less than amused by the skit. Rep. King of Iowa quietly expressed his feelings toward the actor's speech by holding an unwavering bored stare on his face throughout the performance.

Rep. Lee of Texas showed her enthusiasm for the inappropriate use of a congressional hearing by sending a text message on her BlackBerry. Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz called the hearing "a joke."

Questioning why the thoughts of a comedian's alter-ego persona would have any relevance to the AgJOBS bill, Colbert said, "…We're not here to make Comedy Central look good. We do that all by ourselves."

The fact that this debacle was even allowed to take place is evidence that the role of the Congress is not taken seriously by even some of its own members. With a mere 20 percent approval rating, Americans find Congress' efforts laughable at best. When you already aren't being taken seriously, it's not advised to resort to gimmicks and one-liners in an attempt to garner legitimacy.

Colbert commented that some Democrats might be looking for jobs come November, and that perhaps they would consider a career in agricultural labor. Lucky for Lofgren, she now has some experience in that field. No pun intended.

Weber Cares aids financial irresponsibility

2010-09-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

Most members of the Weber State University Student Senate went on a hunger strike last week to solicit donations for Weber Cares, a program designed to help starving students.

Students who find themselves in need can visit the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership and request a $10 gift card to be used for a single visit at any Sodexo food location on campus. The program was started in response to the concern that some students go three or four days without food, blaming the rising cost of tuition and books.

I will never knock the goodwill of those who genuinely want to help another person, but who is this program really helping?

In a previous issue of The Signpost, it was said that Weber Cares has already been used by 175 students, “illustrating a greater need than expected.”

The only thing that has been illustrated is that the program has been used, not that it is needed.

To receive the gift card, a student is only required to read a note that states the purpose of the program and say, “Yep … that’s me.”

There is no requirement that a student demonstrate a true need for the assistance. Similarly, there is no reason the student couldn’t take a semester off to save enough money to cover the total cost of being a student.

I do realize that some of the recipients of this welfare program may truly be in need, but the real problem could be a lack of ability to budget properly. For that reason I have three simple meal suggestions for the financially troubled:

1. Peanut butter and jelly. An 18-ounce jar of peanut butter costs about $2. Jelly costs about the same. A loaf of bread can be found at a grocery store for as cheap as $1 and if you visit one of the name-brand bakery outlets in the Ogden area, you can often get two loaves for $1. Throw away the heels and that’s 18 sandwiches for $5. Cost per sandwich: 28 cents

2. Ramen. Prices have gone up, bringing ramen noodles to a whopping dollar for five packages. Everyone knows someone with a Costco or Sam’s Club card, so why not have them pick you up a case of 48 packs for $7? Cost per bowl of noodles: 15 cents

3. Cereal. A box (or bag) of generic cereal costs about $2, and if you pay attention, you can find sales to get an even better deal on name-brand cereals. A gallon of milk is $2 and that will last through at least two boxes of cereal. Cost per bowl of cereal: 38 cents (averaged)

Of course, you will want to make sure you get some fruit and vegetables in your diet as well. A 15-ounce can of peaches or pears is about $1. Green beans are 65 cents.

While repeating the same meal day after day isn’t always the most pleasant, don’t tell me that you can’t survive on those three meals. I did for more than two months straight, with only the occasional pizza when I felt like splurging on payday.

Perhaps instead of gift cards, Weber Cares should consider providing coupons for the above items and coordinate personal finance seminars.

If you give a student a gift card, he or she will eat for a day.

But … if you teach a student to be financially responsible and plan ahead so they don’t find themselves hungry … because they forgot to budget for food …

Well, you can finish the rest.

Remembering 9/11

2010-09-14T21:19:00.001-07:00

Sept. 11, 2010, has now passed, and it has been more than nine years since the worst single attack on American soil in history.

Three thousand lives were lost. Nationals of more than 70 countries perished.

Nine years later, cable news is providing us with 24-hour coverage of a pastor who wants to burn the Quran and the protests over the proposed Islamic center in New York City.

The so-called “man of the cloth” has the right to burn a stack of Islamic scripture if he wants to. There is no law preventing him from legally doing so.

If he does, I pray that the world will see this man as a radical, just like those who converted four civilian aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. The ones who rained hell upon us that dreadful morning are not the same people who are proposing the Islamic center he is protesting in New York City.

Similar to the hateful clergyman’s right to burn books, there is no law that can prevent the Muslims in New York from proceeding with their plans to build, whether or not they invoke feelings of anger.

But these people aren’t members of the club that brought us so much pain. If you can prove to me that the intention behind this Islamic center is to cry victory for the mass murder committed, I would concede. But that proof isn’t there.

We all remember where we were when we heard the news that an airplane had hit one of the towers.

I remember that pit in my stomach. I remember the fear and confusion over who was our enemy and who was our ally.

I also remember feeling like the country pulled together in unity. Suddenly, political parties didn’t matter. Whether you were red or blue, you were still a color of the flag.

That flag was flown proudly on virtually every house and every place of business. That flag was flown on big ol’ redneck trucks and luxury-class sedans alike.

I remember seeing a picture of a little girl in the Czech Republic lighting a candle next to a tiny American flag. The world was behind us as we came together. We were perishable, and we needed each other.

What has happened to us?

President Obama called for Sept. 11, 2010, to be a day of service as well as a day of remembrance.

“I hope each one of us find a way to serve our fellow citizens … not only to reaffirm our deepest value as Americans, but to rekindle that spirit of unity and common purpose that we felt in the days that followed that September morning.”

I couldn’t agree more.

My hope, however, is that the spirit of unity and common purpose we felt nine years ago doesn’t just come back for a single day.

BP Coffee Spill

2010-09-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Consider the obligation before joining the military

2010-09-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost

On April 8, 2009, Naser Abdo enlisted in the United States Army. He felt that he could serve his country and his Muslim faith simultaneously.

He is currently assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Conveniently, as his unit awaited deployment, Private First Class Abdo decided that he is now a conscientious objector. As a result, he was assigned to the brigade’s rear detachment, which typically remains behind during a deployment.

The military, however, may still order him to deploy to Afghanistan. If this happens, he will refuse to go, regardless of the charges that will be brought against him in a military court-martial for violating several articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

He believes that the consequences of refusing deployment are much less than those that he would face from Allah if he did deploy. He claims that Islamic standards would prohibit his service in the U.S. Army in any war.

Maybe he should’ve thought about that before signing his papers. I hope he enjoys his 15 minutes of fame before his maximum two years in confinement.

Of the many service members I have had the honor of serving alongside, I served stateside and overseas with members of many faiths, including Muslims, who would shake their head at the idiocy of a boy who didn’t think about what he was getting into, and would now claim “conscientious objector” to weasel his way out.

The process of proving that you are now a “C.O.” is not an easy one. It’s a long paperwork process, including interviews from a shrink, a chaplain and an investigating officer. One reason for the length of the process is deterrence to yellow-spined youngsters that change their mind once they realize that military service is actually hard work.

(Sidenote: I once served with a female that cried “C.O.” as a Rastafarian. When the first sergeant didn’t buy it, she threatened to kill him. Ironic?)

Private Dirtbag — I mean, Abdo — is not the only weasel weaseling his way out of his deployment obligation. Just like any other group of loonies without a pulpit, there are enough deployment-dodging weasels to facilitate an entire weasely website.

The site www.couragetoresist.org features stories about Abdo and other traitors who vowed to serve their country, only to scurry across the border or dodge what they have sworn to do. They share their stories using their ranks before their names, while simultaneously denouncing their military service. They like how cool the rank sounds, but refuse the associated responsibilities.

If you don’t agree with what the military is involved in, don’t join.

If you join, but then the military changes course in a way that you don’t agree with, don’t reenlist.

If you would prefer to sit in a cell wearing an orange jumpsuit in a hybrid of prison and basic training, I guess you have no choice but to go ahead and refuse your orders.

Good luck getting a decent job with that dishonorable discharge, Abdo.

Prop 8 ruling and 3-story houses

2010-08-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

From the fall semester orientation issue of The Signpost.

I will be your conservative columnist for the next few months. Before I dive in, let me tell you a bit about myself so you get an idea about the man behind the column.

I am the general manager of 88.1 Weber FM, and the host of The Informer every Monday at 3 p.m., joined by Gina Barker of The Signpost and Shay Baker of Weber State News. I am an Air Force veteran, a husband and father. While I am a Republican, I am a conservative first. I do not consider myself a Tea-Partier, although I support some aspects of the movement.

Over the course of the year, my positions will become clear, and occasionally I may surprise you.

One issue I hold strong opinions about is the California Proposition 8 garbage that has crawled back into the news following a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

On November 4, 2008, Proposition 8 passed. This amended the California Constitution, reading “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Proposition 8 passed not because of the Mormons. Not because of the Catholics. Not because of a variety of other excuses.

Proposition 8 passed because the majority of Californians who went to the polls that day voted “yes on Prop 8.”

Judge Vaughn Walker of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overthrew the vote of Californians and ordered same-sex marriages to resume. Surprisingly, the judge has used a dash of common sense, granting a stay on the ruling until December 6, when the 7 million Californians who already said no get the opportunity to repeat themselves.

But same-sex marriage is a heated issue, and that may be why some can’t see past the media rhetoric. Let’s pretend, for just a moment, that this constitutional amendment was about something completely unrelated.

Let’s say the majority of Californians don’t want houses any taller than two stories.

Then some people in neighborhoods statewide decide to build their houses three stories tall. Eventually, a law is passed stating that new houses cannot be built more than two stories tall. If you want a third story, you can have a basement.

The tall house supporters hold parades and rallies. Eventually, the California Supreme Court decides that the Constitution does not provide any grounds for allowing or disallowing height standards for your dream house.

The two-storiers organize and buy up airtime and ad space to gain support for amending the state constitution. This will add a section reading, “A residential dwelling will contain no more than two stories above ground.”

After months of slanderous campaigning by tall-housers, they lose, fair and square. The state constitution now says “two stories only,” with the already existing three-story homes grandfathered into the law.

But then the appellate court decides that Californians are stupid, including the California Supreme Court, and the people should be allowed to build three-story homes anyway.

Sound fair?

The people of California have spoken. It doesn’t matter if they were voting on the definition of marriage or the height of houses. Neither issues are addressed in the U.S. Constitution, and are therefore issues of the state, per the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

The issue, of course, will eventually head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

NAACP Claims Aren't Justified

2010-07-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

From The Signpost.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People adopted a resolution at its national convention in Kansas City on Tuesday, July 13, condemning the so-called “racist elements” of the Tea Party movement.

The organization has accused members of the Tea Party of accosting black lawmakers on Capitol Hill in March with an arsenal of racial remarks.

Interestingly enough, however, the so-called racist remarks that the NAACP is referring to have no proof of existence.

None.

Of course, if there are bigots among any political movement, the majority of the members should denounce such comments.

If a Tea Party member did publicly comment on a group of another race, skin color or religion, I would expect Sarah Palin to say, “Whoa … sorry, guys. That dude was way out of line! That’s not what we’re all about here.”

But then again, I would just love to hear Lady Maverick say “dude” at a political rally.

I’m sure the NAACP would do the same thing if someone from their ranks ever made an insensitive comment about another group.

Especially if it was the ever-so-eloquent Rev. Jesse Jackson, and he used the words “Hymies” and “Hymietown” to refer to Jews and New York City, respectively.

Or if the smooth-talking Rev. Al Sharpton referred to Jews as “diamond merchants” and stated that “if the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house,” during the Crown Heights riot of 1991.

Oh … wait. Those things did happen.

Of course, the NAACP doesn’t distance themselves from these comical characters. In fact, Reverend 1 and Reverend 2 spoke on behalf of the NAACP on July 13, attempting to downplay the unfounded racism accusations.

Jackson stated that the focus on the Tea Party was a “diversion” from more important issues.

(Important to remember: Slander is completely okay, as long as there are “more important issues.”)

Sharpton later added that the Tea Party movement emphasizes states’ rights, which he believes would lead to more discrimination against minorities.

That’s a great point … because we all know that the federal government is the only thing that keeps Whitey on a chain, and keeps him from reverting into an early 1800s southern slave owner.

Those of us with any common sense know that there are racists out there. Racism isn’t gone, and it never will be.

We also know that the majority of Americans don’t see race as having anything to do with the mainstream political affiliations of today. The Republicans and Democrats both have members of various skin colors, and as of last week, neither have a former Klansman in the Senate.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that … the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

The table has been set for a while now. The NAACP is welcome to have a seat.

Bill Gates' Head in the Clouds

2010-06-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

A recent grant from Bill Gates is making it possible for researchers to explore the possibility of reducing global warming by spraying clouds with a seawater mist to make them whiter and more reflective against the sun’s harmful rays.

Read that again, but try it without laughing.

Armand Neukermans, the recipient of Gates’ $300,000 grant, is working to design a conceptual spray mechanism that he would equip to a fleet of ships. This mechanism would then be used to extract salt crystals from the ocean and lift them into the air.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just some new crackpot idea. This is an old crackpot idea, kicking around since 1990.

John Latham of the National Center for Atmospheric Research was the first to propose this ludicrous idea, and has since expanded on the idea to include hundreds of wind-powered boats generating a magical sea mist. Meanwhile, a combination of airplanes and satellites monitor the clouds’ moisture content and “whiteness.”

Latham estimates that the project would cost approximately $4.5 billion but would buy the planet another 30-60 years. He figures that by that time we should be able to develop a “more permanent solution.”

That should be just about enough time to stop worrying about global warming, and once again panic about the threat of global cooling.

In the 1970s, people were scared to death of global cooling. Many referred to the period as the “little Ice Age.” Paranoid climatologists were frustrated with world leaders who refused to participate in a plan to melt the polar ice caps by covering them in a layer of soot.

Aren’t we glad we didn’t invest in that little experiment?

Both cloud-whitening and ice-blackening are ridiculous ideas that fall under the umbrella term “geo-engineering.” Geo-engineering, or climate engineering, is the study of proposals and options to deliberately alter the earth’s climate to counteract global warming.

Excuse me. I, of course, mean “global climate change.”

Pardon me for being so bold, but I believe in God. I believe He created the earth. I’m joined by approximately 80 percent of Americans who do as well.

That being said, I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that He has a little more control over the earth and its atmosphere than any of us do, including Bill Gates. The planet’s operating system is probably a tad more complex than any version of Windows, with or without patches.

Earth is estimated to be approximately 4.5 billion years old. There have been ice ages. There have been warm periods.

Most geologists agree that once upon a time, there was only one continent. With time, that changed too. I wonder what Al Gore and Bill Gates would have done to prevent that disaster.

The planet is constantly changing and will continue to do so.

Maybe the environmentalists should go back to worrying about recycling and let God handle the whole “commanding the elements” thing.

Immigration Laws are Just

2010-06-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

What part about the word “illegal” do you not understand?

I know the question has become rather cliché, but it’s a perfectly valid question. Especially in response to what I hear some people saying about Arizona State Bill 1070.

SB1070, also known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, goes into effect July 28, 2010. This has some people crying that this is racial profiling. Most of them probably haven’t read the bill.

If you don’t understand the definition of “illegal” or you can’t read, it can be really hard to understand SB1070. So I’ll summarize for the common-sense-impaired.

This bill will amend Section 2, Title 11, Chapter 7, of the Arizona Revised Statutes by adding Article 8, titled “Enforcement of Immigration Laws.” This article states that no state agency, county, city or town may adopt a policy that limits federal immigration laws. During a lawful stop by law enforcement, an officer may upon reasonable suspicion require proof of legal status (immigration papers, state-issued driver’s license, state-issued ID card). A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without warrant on probable cause that the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States. Upon arrest, the alien is to be immediately transported to custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the United States Customs and Border Patrol.

Sounds to me like police are being granted permission to do their job.

In addition to the creation of Article 8, Section 4 will be amended to specify the class of felony to be charged for human smuggling.

To simplify, that means they want to punish kidnappers. And it doesn’t matter if they are white, black, brown, red or blue with stripes and a tail.

Page 6, lines 28-30 of SB1070 clearly state, “The attorney general or county attorney shall not investigate complaints that are based solely on race.” In addition, anyone who knowingly files a false complaint is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

I’m still trying to figure out where the racial profiling part happens.

A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted near the time the bill was signed showed 60 percent of Americans were in favor of the measure, with 31 percent opposed. Another Rasmussen poll conducted in Arizona days after the bill was passed showed Arizonans still supported it, 64 to 30 percent, despite the negative media.

Governor Brewer’s approval rating has risen as well.

Maybe that’s why legislators in Utah, Georgia, Colorado, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and others have introduced similar bills in the past few weeks.

With the approval rating of the bill in Arizona being statistically even with that of the nation, Americans are ready for a stop to the uncontrolled bleeding flow of law-ducking, job-stealing burdens to society, as well as the toxic increases to drugs and human trafficking.

Political Shorts... is back!

2010-06-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Political Shorts is back!

Not only on Blogspot, but now in the Signpost as well. Political Shorts has been chosen as the new Conservative column for Weber State University's student written and operated newspaper. There will be columns sporadically through the summer, and weekly beginning mid-August. Feel free to comment here, Facebook, or on the Signpost online.

Spread the word. Also visit The Informer to get a take on the news that you can only get at 88.1 Weber FM...

Ogden's Radio Station.

The Informer.

2010-02-09T20:38:00.001-08:00

Yah, so I haven't posted here in a bit, eh? That's because most of my time goes into the radio station, KWCR - 88.1 Weber FM, "Ogden's Radio Station." To check out the page for the station visit www.weberfm.org.

Every Monday I do a show called The Informer, where we talk about news, politics, current events, and other stuff. We podcast the show, and I encourage you to have a listen. Visit our new webpage at theinformer881.podbean.com or search The Informer on iTunes.

Maybe I'll be back posting stuff here again later. We'll see.

Fox News has perspective.

2009-10-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Rahm Emanuel.

I don't preach the gospel of Fox News, but I think it's ridiculous and juvenile how people want to cry about Fox and how it's not fair... because most of it's on air staff doesn't eat out of the current administration's hand. And it's especially juvenile how someone like Rahm Emanuel will pretend that Fox isn't a news organization.

If he thinks that his snub is going to hurt Fox News, he's way off.

Hillary Clinton in Pakistan.

2009-09-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

FACT: I love The Onion.

Remember.

2009-09-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

No politics today. Just 3000 Americans remembered.

Where were you 8 years ago today?

You lie!

2009-09-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

When the President of the United States of America is speaking... you listen.

Then, afterwards, if you don't like it, you say something about it.

Apparently, Representative Wilson of South Carolina wasn't aware of that.

Here's a hint to my fellow Republicans, whom seem to not have any sort of cohesion at the moment: When you are in the minority, do everything you can to look good. Not just good, but better. There is a reason the Democrats are in power right now in all three houses. They don't yell "You lie!" while the President is speaking.

They only yell "You lie!" at Bush-bash rallies where it's okay to look stupid.

"Bush lied and men won't talk to me."

And they have Code Pink and other radicals do it for them.

I am not a fan of President of Obama and his healthcare reform. (I believe most politicians have supporters and constituents. President Obama has fans.) I spent six hours the other day in a VA hospital to be told, "we are going to have to send you to a specialist. If you don't get a call within a week, call us." I know what a socialized health care system would look like. It's long lines and free substandard care. It's a bad idea.

But don't call him a liar during his speech. Don't even boo. Just don't clap.

Otherwise, you just look like an idiot.

The passing of Ted Kennedy.

2009-08-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts has passed.

I won't lie and pretend that I think he was a great Senator with great ideals and policies. I won't pretend that I don't think he made some pretty poor choices along the way. I won't pretend I don't think he should have served some time for manslaughter of Mary Jo Kopechne.

But the fact is, I believe he loved his country and served with a sense of duty. He was the longest serving Senator is US History, next to the current senior Senator, Robert Byrd.

And unlike Byrd, Kennedy was never a Klansman, let alone a KKK chapter Kleagle or Exalted Cyclops.

Today, I offer my respect and my prayers to the Kennedy family and his constituents for their loss.

Senator Edward M Kennedy
February 22, 1932 - August 25, 2009

JibJab: He's Barack Obama.

2009-08-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

I should be studying. No need to watch past 2:06.

Global Warming on August 8th.

2009-08-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

That Global Warming is soooooo unpredictable...

Temperatures ended up in record territory, with the high temperature in Salt Lake City at 71. The record coldest high ever on this date was 77, so we were not only 20 degrees colder than normal this afternoon, we eclipsed the record coldest high temperature for the date by 6 degrees. That is uncharted territory for August 8th.

Maybe this is why the new proper term is "Global Climate Change." Now no matter what happens, it might have changed from the day before.

Well, it changed. Quick! Buy some carbon credits and let's fight this evil weather!

Buy a truck. Get a free AK-47.

2009-08-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

After not posting for over a month I post a YouTube video. Not a whole lot of thought required on my part.

What I love is that the guy doesn't back down about any point he's making. And if it's legal, and it sells cars, fantastic. If people can be duped by the "green" sales pitch, why can't people buy a truck if they like the incentive of a discount on an item that the second amendment allows us to have?
But, uh-oh... he mentions God too.

Those crazy, Midwestern, truck-driving rednecks... with their guns and their religion.

Observations of a Nevada Border Town.

2009-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

West Wendover, Nevada. Not quite Vegas... but almost as ridiculous. And maybe tackier.

Ok... definately tackier.

wendoverfun.com

I'm staying at the hotel with rooms that don't look like 1970s pimp lairs.

I've been here for over a week, but not for the sole purpose of gambling. Some that I am with have already lost hundreds on slots, poker, and binges, but since I've gotten here all I have lost is $5 playing nickel poker, and that was because I needed to kill time and stay up all night to get prepared for a week of night shift.

This makes me an outlier. I went to the Nevada Visitor's Center to find out where I could find a wifi hotspot. After they learned that I was in town for awhile and didn't gamble, they figured I must be an entertainer.

During my times walking through the casinos (And oh... they are all unique in their own ways. One of them doesn't even have neon or mirrors everywhere!) I have noticed the people sitting at the machines pumping in quarters one after another.

You see... slots players are different from Poker players. They are even different from Craps and Keno players. (I would know... I downloaded some apps for my iPhone.) When you play Poker, you have to play your cards right, combined with some luck and some bluffing. Craps actually has the best odds, and Keno is boring.

Ok... Keno was a bad example.

What does a slots player do?

Nothing.

There is no thinking involved at all. You just put in a quarter. Even worse... you don't even pull the handle. You push the button labeled "Pull". And people keep pumping quarters in. Wait... no, they don't take quarters. The quarter slots only take dollar bills.

And I know that more than half the people in here didn't leave home to go on vacation and say, "I am on vacation! I will allow myself $50 a day in the casino to spend as my vacation activity! If I lose the $50, I will spend no more, because that's my vacation budget!"

And like I said, this isn't Vegas. This isn't the Bellagio or the New York, New York. This is the closest place with legal gambling from Salt Lake City. Most the cars in the parking lot at every casino here (all 5, not including the Pilot station) have Utah plates. I wish I could count the people in here that are on welfare. (<--- Unrelated to Utah plates.)

Not to mention the fact that most of the people here are in their elderly years. Not to rag on the retired, because they have earned their rest... but how many of the seniors here are spending a budget of saved up money, versus social security money? Is that why I am paying social security? So that someday I can gamble? Or will there still be social security? Is this how it is getting used up? I can understand your weekly trip to the beauty shop, but Ma'am... can I please have some of my money back?

Someone suggested that I design a very legit looking survey about income and gambling habits and visit with some casino patrons. I have a feeling I might be asked to leave. That would be bad, because this is the only hotspot around that doesn't require me sitting outside a public restroom or ordering a Big Mac. Or both.

Tomorrow is my last full day here. Who knows... maybe I'll win big.

COME ON BIG MONEY!

"Obama Man"

2009-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Just funny.

The true meaning of Memorial Day.

2009-05-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day.

A day to remember those who gave their lives so that we can have the freedom to submit ourselves, voluntarily, to the seventh circle of hell. And at the heart of this hell is where you'll find the GAP.

Yes... that hell. The mall.

I hate the mall, but sometimes it is a necessary evil. I needed shorts and jeans; she needed maternity stuff. We were near the outlet mall, so it made sense, but every time I go to a mall I am reminded of why I hate it so much. Part of it might be because I can feel my soul being sucked out as I squeeze between racks in every crowded store.

It makes me ponder the following questions:

Why does the word sale make every potential buyer lose 25 IQ points, minimum?
Why put both sale items and non-sale items on the same rack?
Why buy half of the stuff these stores even sell, especially if it makes a dude look like a cross-dressing hobo and makes a girl look like a discount prostitute?
Why does the only pair of jeans that fit me need to cost more if they look like they were dragged under a truck tire?
Where are the "non-thrift store" looking pants (with the same holes in the same places on each pair... meaning that they were designed this way)?
And shouldn't they be cheaper if they looked trashed?
(Speaking of trash... that is the only thing that would wear a skirt as small as the one on the front display table.) Why is it also more expensive if the clothes leave everything exposed?
Shouldn't less fabric mean less expensive?

And we wonder why some youth are so screwed up.

It starts with the rap music. Then the clothes. Then the drugs.

At least I got my shorts.

Happy Memorial Day. I'm going to bed.

President in my office.

2009-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the dead, and happy to be here. When I say dead, I mean Hawaii. And when I say happy, I mean I have no choice.

Have you ever noticed that there is a disparity in courtesy from conservatives towards liberals, and vice-versa? This of course is a generalization... another trend that is generally done in greater quantity from the left than the right... generally.

I'm not a fan of Obama. I think that's usually pretty clear, but I'm willing to accept that he is the President. I think he makes some choices that are bad for America, but I don't think he warrants overly-used, extra-ignorant nicknames. When he's out of office in 4 or 8 years, if I see him, I'd take the opportunity to shake his hand, and smile, and thank him the same way I did when I got to meet W and Lady Laura.

I'm also a bit of an antagonist. I like to pour fuel on a fire sometimes, especially if I can step back and watch the flames when they don't affect me. This is precisely why I have a life size George W. Bush in my office. (Chewbacca joins him, but everyone loves Chewy.)

The other day in a car ride with some Bush haters I mentioned the presidential guest in my office, which sparked a typical round of comments about how stupid Bush is. Apparently, as I learned, his father bought him passing grades. Interesting. When those comments come up, I wonder where the commenter went to school, because often times they didn't. In this case however, they were all students and a professor. Then they tossed around the "never heard before" joke about how his autobiography will be a pop-up book with big words. Clever. I'm sure Obama's will be an extensive series of works with chapter forwards from Hollywood's greatest.

Today, a student came to my office to ask some questions about the summer class, and he was joined by his father. His father started off by pointing to Bush and saying, "Is that your dart board?"

"Absolutely not."

Awkward silence.

Then we talked for a minute about the class and where to meet. The conversation ended with the student walking up the the cardboard cut-out and flipping it off. I think it made him feel more like a man to flip off an inanimate object.

"He says hi right back to you."

I think President Bush is going to help me make a lot of new friends.

Why socialism fails.

2009-04-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

For my 100th post, I really wanted to write out some eloquent thought of my own, but there were a few problems:

1. I am not very eloquent. I'd rather tell you that you are stupid than tell you why.
2. I am cramming for my all of my finals to be taken today and tomorrow so that I can fly to Kauai for my sister's wedding, and don't have much time to think for myself.
3. This quote hits the problem dead on. I can't put it much better. Nor will I.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931 to 2005)

Thank you, Marie, for sending me this quote.

Mislabeled.

2009-04-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

On the site for my radio show, The Informer, I list previous episodes of my radio show. The link takes you to a saved video format file on the website www.veoh.com. When you upload a file, you select a category that it fits in. The best fit for the show is News.

I checked my account this morning to find that the episode that I uploaded late last night, which I hadn't even linked the The Informer webpage yet, already had 51 hits.

Apparently if you accidentally file an upload under "Sexy" you are a lot more likely to get hits on the site.

What does this say about most people that use this site?

Obama bows to Saudi King.

2009-04-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

One question...

WHO REALLY CARES?

Why is everyone making a huge deal about this? Yah... it's kind of weird, but W kissed him. We aren't at war with Saudi Arabia, and we need them as an ally. He wasn't pandering. He was being polite, whether it was weird or not.

There is bigger news out there. Go find it.

Try here: www.fark.com

Oh say, can you sing this well?

2009-04-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I'd buy the rest of their music, but DANG.

Apparently the Cactus Cuties have been singing awhile. I think they were born to sing this song. It gives me goosebumps, but then again... I'm a sucker for our national anthem. Must be something about the number of people that have died to protect our freedoms or something.

Weight-loss.

2009-03-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

See! It wasn't the government that distributed it!

The Pope suggests abstinence will prevent spread of AIDS???

2009-03-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

WHAT RADICAL NONSENSE!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29734328/

To think... that a religious leader would suggest such a thing.

Maybe it's because the majority of AIDS and HIV deaths in the world are from one region, and condoms haven't eliminated AIDS in any single place in the world?

Maybe that instead of finding ways to keep doing what they are doing, they actually need to CHANGE something? (And hope something, too. Hope and change can solve everything, after all.)

Nonsense. The Pope must just be a zealot and a bigot.

HBO pre-apologizes for Big Love.

2009-03-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Statement from HBO:

"We know that the writers/producers of the series have gone to great lengths to be respectful and accurate in portraying the endowment ceremony. That ceremony is very much an important part of this year's story line. Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology. It should also be noted that throughout the series' three-year run, the writer/producers have made abundantly clear the distinction between the LDS Church and those extreme fringe groups who practice polygamy."

As long as you apologize in advance, it's all good. I can kick you in the face, but if I apologize first, then really there is no problem.

Yah, HBO has made "efforts" to make sure that it's known that the show is about polygamists groups and not about the LDS church, but when you have a show about a polygamist family in the Salt Lake area, who do you think people are going to identify the characters with? Especially when most people know nothing about the Mormon church, other than that the headquarters are in Utah.

And with the temple ceremony in the upcoming episode, all I can say is that it shows how tasteless the writers and producers are, and makes me wonder if they would ever apologize in advance but still air an episode if it was offending Muslims in America? What happens in the temple isn't secret... it's sacred. The show is about an FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) group, which has nothing to do with the Mormon church, so I have no idea if their temple ceremonies are still like the LDS church. I can only assume that they are not, because the LDS church doesn't practice polygamy. But they brought in a former member of the church to be an advisor for the scenes. So yah... they are blurring the lines between the churches. But they don't care. It has gotten more people curious, and they will tune in and watch.

Regardless, the church will still grow beyond it's current 13+ million members, and Big Love will continue to cross it's fingers for more viewers.

Back on Uncle Sam's plantation.

2009-03-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Someone who gets it...

Back on Uncle Sam's plantation
Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist - 2/9/2009 8:00:00 AM

Out of the mouth of someone who has been there.

Six years ago I wrote a book called Uncle Sam's Plantation. I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it. I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas -- a poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism. I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps ..... A vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960s, that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty.

A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?" Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems -- the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others. The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

Through God's grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is. I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996, passed by a Republican Congress and signed 50 percent. I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth-producing American capitalism. But, incredibly, we are now going in the opposite direction. Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh." Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell "Massah" in order to get more cash. There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Worse, socialism seems to be the element of our new young president. And maybe even more troubling, our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.

In an op-ed on the opinion page of the Washington Post, Mr. Obama is clear that the goal of his trillion dollar spending plan is much more than short term economic stimulus. "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America 's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and education." Perhaps more incredibly, Obama seems to think that government taking over an economy is a new idea, or that massive growth in government can take place "with unprecedented transparency and accountability." "It's the same old sell". Yes, sir, we heard it from Jimmy Carter when he created the Department of Energy, the Synfuels Corporation, and the Department of Education. Or how about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 -- The War on Poverty -- which President Johnson said "...does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty." Trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same, but black families are not, with triple the incidence of single-parent homes and out-of-wedlock births.

It's not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama's invitation to move onto the plantation, or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom.

Does anyone really need to think about what the choice should be?

Just funny.

2009-03-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

Nothing political about this. It is just funny.

I was posting a comment on a blog, and had to do the "word verification" thingy. This is what I had to type in:

Caution: May be flammable.

The Creation Never Happened: Follow up.

2009-02-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Although "the creation" has been proven false by the religion of science and exploration of space, one major historical scientist sure thought differently.

Describing what it was like to be the first to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong compared it to what it must have been like for Adam to be the first man on the Earth.

And this description came from the man who actually went there. Not from a man who has looked in a book and a telescope.

This just in: Creation is officially false.

2009-02-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in an astronomy class right now.

The topic: The beginning of the universe, and the Big Bang theory.

I was just told quite bluntly, "Those of you who believe in the Creation theory... sorry, but you are wrong."

Interestingly, we were told if we want to know for ourselves that we need to read the Bible ourselves, and be open minded, and we will see that it can't be true because it contradicts itself. Funny, because reading the scriptures with an open mind is the same thing you are counseled to do if you want your own testimony of their truth.

Interestingly, being open minded does not include recognizing that there is a theory held by many that intelligent design had something to do with the fact that all of the elements work just right on this little planet to support life, and that the sun is in just the right place for the proper heat we need.

Of course, everything to some of these secular minded scientists comes back to the Big Bang: the origin of the universe.

Well then... what caused the Big Bang?

How amazingly egotistical man is to think that we have solved every mystery in the universe, and that God, the Almighty and Omnipotent, could not have had anything to do with it.

There are some out there who are a bit more humble. I just had to do a paper reviewing an article titled, "Why Study the Sun?" by Arvind Bhatnagar. To simply his answer: "Because there is a lot that we don't understand."

We're about to watch Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth in class. I wonder if he'd be interested in watching Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

Jamaal Green: Patriot.

2009-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hero of the day: Jamaal Green

Jamaal Green was a NFL defensive end. He played for the Eagles, the Bears, the Redskins... and now he plays for the Patriots... in El Paso, TX. His uniform: green. His pay: well... let's just say it's not what the NFL paid him.

We need more people like this.

From elpasotimes.com (click link to also see a video)

EL PASO -- The dream career for some people would be to play football for the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears or the Washington Redskins.

For Jamaal Green, who once was a defensive end for all three teams, his dream was to one day work in law enforcement. His dream became a reality on Feb. 17, 2008, when he became a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the El Paso area.

"A lot of kids look up to professional athletes as heroes," said Green, who currently works at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Montana Avenue heading towards Carlsbad. "Me, I looked up to law enforcement officers as heroes."

Green, who was born and raised in Camden, N.J., said it was never his boyhood dream to play football. He started playing football during his junior year at Woodrow Wilson High School at the urging of one of the team's coaches.

"He saw I had some kind of athletic ability and he saw how big I was," said the 6-foot-3-inch former athlete. "I picked up the game pretty well."

Green was so successful on his team, he was named to the New Jersey All-State first team. His success also earned him a full scholarship to the University of Miami, where he lead his team in sacks and helped win a national championship in 2001 during the Rose Bowl game against Nebraska.

But after he was picked during the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, he was plagued by a rash of preseason injuries.

"I was five minutes away from where I grew up. It was my hometown team and everybody was excited," Green said. "During my third preseason game, I broke my right fibula and I tore a ligament. I have a plate and seven screws in my leg right now. That injury caused me to miss my whole first season in the NFL."

Green was heartbroken but determined to come back in time for the next season, but was injured again during the preseason.

"I was fortunate enough to come back and have three good games in a row," Green said. "I was projected to be one of the starters (in the next year)."

Those expectations were shattered when Green was injured again during the preseason. After earning an NFC Championship ring with the Eagles, he was released and picked up by the Chicago Bears, but after yet another preseason injury. he was released and joined the Washington Redskins.

It was during a home game with the Redskins that, during a pregame show, Green discovered the U.S. Border Patrol.

"The Border Patrol was at the game doing a pregame show with the National Anthem. They were saluting at the game, and that was the first time I've ever seen the Border Patrol," Green said.

Green, who majored in criminology at the University of Miami, said his wife, Nailah, knew about the agency and once thought about applying there.

"I looked up the Border Patrol and found out what they wanted to accomplish," Green said.

After growing up in Camden and seeing first-hand how drugs and gangs could destroy families, Green said he could make a difference in combating those problems by becoming a Border Patrol agent.

"It's one thing to be talking about it, and another thing to do something and prevent it," Green said.

Moving to El Paso has also given the Green family a better opportunity at a safer upbringing. Green and his wife have two children, a son Jahaan, 2, and a daughter Jahzara, 1.

"It's great being a lot further away from places like (Camden) to raise kids," Green said. "It's a good thing to be able to move out here to a safer city and have a better chance at a decent life. It's a lot better."

At least three Camden natives have had the same idea. Green said he's run into three people in El Paso who also attended Woodrow Wilson High School.

Many of Green's coworkers have asked Green why he gave up the glamourous life of an NFL player to become an agent. While at the Border Patrol academy, Green said he received calls from the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans with offers to join their respective practice squads, but Green declined.

"They (co-workers) said 'That's crazy that you would do that, leave your dream to come to the Border Patrol,' " Green said. "I tell them that was never my dream. It was a quick way for me to earn a free ride to school. I stayed in football long enough to get out of there safe. In my position (as defensive end), it's so brutal that by the age of 45 you might not be able to walk straight. My health is more important than the extra money."

For the most part, Green has been welcomed with open arms by his fellow agents and his superiors.

"Agent Green is representative of our expanded recruitment efforts that continue to be conducted throughout the nation," said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Victor M. Manjarrez Jr. "His background speaks highly of the quality of our employees and the varied work experiences that support our national strategy of protecting our nation's borders."

Don't abort Obama.

2009-02-11T01:12:00.000-08:00

Watch.

It's amazing that they had such stunning ultrasound footage back then. And that his mother in poverty could afford it.

Yes. That was a video about Obama. He is pro-choice. He was born into the life that most pro-choicers use as an argument for abortion.

Isn't it ironic...

Don't ya think?

CitiBank: Did you know...

2009-02-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the current housing market and economic crisis can be blamed on the issuing of mortgages to people who couldn't afford them?

Did you know that some of the banks, including CitiBank, did not want to participate in those subprime mortgages?

Did you know that Barack Obama was one of many who sued CitiBank in the case of Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance to force them to issue those mortgages to the people who couldn't afford them?

Did you know that because they were forced to accept these unworthy clients and give them houses that they couldn't afford that this caused CitiBank to be one of the many banks that had to take bailout money to stay afloat?

Did you know that President Obama set a salary cap of $500,000 for CEOs of all banks taking bailout money?

Did you know that this means that the bank that Barack Obama sued in 1994 for not voluntarily doing what would eventually cause the economy to fall apart now has a CEO salary cap, which Barack Obama put in place?

Limbaugh.

2009-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

From the NY Post:

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

Soooo... if you want to get along with Obama, listen to him, and him alone. Especially when it involves spending $1 trillion. There should be no arguments to the supreme leader. He knows what your money should be used for much better than you.

But I'm ok with it all... because I've always been a firm believer that when your in debt, the best thing to do is go to Vegas and try to dig yourself out.

And on the same day, when Congressman Cantor (R-VA) dissented on his plan to increase benefits to low income workers who already don't even pay taxes...

"I won... I will trump you on that."

Thank you Mr. President for reminding me that you won. After the 3 day peace rally in Washington D.C. the American people had already forgotten that you won.

Please Mr. President, let me know how else my money can be used to help the people that didn't earn it.

If you want more money, find a better job. If you can't find a better job, find a cheaper life.

Yes, you can too!

2009-01-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

Ever wish that you could have your very own Che Guevara-esque poster like the Commander in Chief?

Well now you can!

Visit http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/ to create your own.

Hail to the Chief.

2009-01-21T08:19:00.000-08:00

God bless America.

We have a new Commander in Chief, and overall, the inauguration was great. It's fantastic that we live in a time and place where someone can come to power by the ballot, and not by blood. While I don't agree with many of his policies, I accept the fact that he is my President. So... hail to the chief.

I was a bit irritated with many Americans yesterday, however.

I know everyone is excited that Obama-rama has begun, but what about the guy leaving office? Doesn't he deserve at least an applause when he walks out? What was with the booing? How inconsiderate and juvenile can you get? Hope and change will be out in a minute, so at least clap for the guy that has dealt with the most difficult job in the world for the past 8 years.

And other than Obama's cordial formality at the beginning of his speech, he didn't mention Bush's hard work either. A simple, "We owe President Bush our gratitude for keeping us safe after 9/11" would've been nice. Or a "we don't see eye to eye on everything, but we do have one thing in common: our sincere love of this country."

Also, why did the benediction have to become a civil rights speech? We're past it. We elected a black President. Let's move on (dot org).

My beautiful wife rarely expresses political opinions, but she did a great job speaking her mind on our family blog. You can read it below:

I am not a very political person. In fact, on an interest test back in college, I scored lower than the career counselor had ever before seen. Ironically, I married Michael who is mildly :) politically minded. Since then, I have found myself thinking about the government more.

Aside from former lack of interest, I also fully admit a lack of knowledge to back up many of my opinions and therefore, I shy away from giving my opinion because I can't debate well. But, here is my simple assessment of the events thus far today anyway.

The Inauguration ceremony was simple and nice. I felt a swell of gratitude for this great nation and the democratic way that it is lead. I was touched by the pictures shown while "My Country 'Tis of Thee" was sung; we really do live in a great nation. And although, opinions may differ, I felt a need to respect and support President Obama in his new position. And because I love this country, I hope we will go forward positively under his leadership.

But shouldn't that same respect be given to the outgoing president. Honestly! Even if I really disliked a Professor, I was still humbled and grateful for their service as my teacher when I walked by them on my graduation day while they all stood in a line in their own graduation robes. I still shook their hand and said thank you. Even if a boss or a co-worker was not my favorite person, I still thanked them and tried to dwell on the positive when we parted ways. And even if you don't agree with the policies or choices, out of respect more should have been said in appreciation for the office that was held by the former President, in the prayers, in the narration and especially in the inaugural speech.

And so, to express what so blatantly was not today. Thank you President Bush for being President. For making tough decisions with the good of our nation in mind, knowing that you would be criticized by many. Thank you for doing your best in light of difficult times. Thank you for loving our country and for the personal sacrifices you and your family made for it. I, for one, appreciate you.

A reason to give Obama a chance.

2009-01-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

If Hugo Chavez doesn't like him... I guess I should at least be willing to give him a shot.

Chavez Likens Obama's 'Stench' to Bush's

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says Barack Obama has the same "stench" as President Bush, suggesting he doesn't appreciate the president-elect's referencing Chavez's support of the Colombian terror group FARC.

The last day of W.

2009-01-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

The last day in office for George W. Bush, and he finally does what I've been waiting for.

One Bush policy that I certainly have not liked has been the handling of illegal immigration, border drug running, and the incarceration of our border patrol agents, Ramos and Compean. But he finally did something right in that fiasco, by commuting their sentences to end March 20. Not familiar with them? Read here.

They should've been fully pardoned, but we'll take what we can get.

Other than that, people keep talking about how excited they are about the inauguration of The Chosen One. I'm personally trying to not wet my pants in sheer joy of hope and change, and I want to start singing "Heal The World" by Michael Jackson.

Bush is heading back to Texas, with his "not-so much-fans" wishing it could've happened sooner.

Now the question is... in 20 years, how will he be remembered?

As the crusader who brought democracy and free elections to 2 middle-eastern nations ruled by oppression?

As the American Hitler who wanted to kill whoever stood in his way in the conquest of oil?

As the President who knew about 9/11 before it happened, and launched a missile into the Pentagon? (my personal favorite conspiracy theory)

Or as the healer?

(What? The healer?)

Read:

Bush saved 10 million lives

Pepsi: The Cola of Change.

2009-01-15T13:50:00.001-08:00

The following might be an excerpt from a famous magazine.

PepsiCo CEO, Indra K. Nooyi, introduced the new Pepsi Cola logo by saying, "Pepsi needed a change in direction, and we hope this opens up a new generation of Pepsi drinkers."

When challenged by President-elect Obama's lawyers and told that she couldn't use the logo because of it's striking similarities to the Obama campaign logo, she simply replied with, "Yes we can."

In the past few days grocers in Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho have seen a strong surge in the sales of Coca-cola as a direct result of the new Pepsi logo.

The Death Penalty

2009-01-14T06:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't listened before, I have a little talk show on 88.1 Weber FM in Ogden, UT, called The Informer. Nothing too fancy. But this past Monday we had on a few guests to discuss the death penalty. The first half was pretty unorganized, and that was my fault. We invited the first guest, Ryan Jessen, to come back and talk more about Juan Melendez, the 99th death row exoneree.

The second guest, Chris Zimmerman (retired cop), and our call-in guest (who cannot be named, but was on the firing squad for the last one in US history) had a bit of a different take on it. We discussed the case of John Albert Taylor and their involvement. The details are pretty scary, but it might open your eyes about something:

He will never harm a little girl again.

Click here to listen.

You can listen every Monday at 3pm, on the radio or online, only at 88.1 Weber FM.

Tune in. Get informed.

George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People.

2009-01-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'm back.

But I have nothing to say today.

So, watch this video of Kanye West and Mike Myers from Hurricane Katrina.

This kind of stupidity is directly linked to rap music. Scientists are still trying to decide which is the cause, and which is the effect.

12 months of hope.

2008-12-11T20:10:00.001-08:00

I went to Costco today after my last final to go pick up a copy of The Christmas Sweater. They were all out.

I did find the perfect gift, however.

A Barack Obama calendar! Every month, you change it to a new picture of next President.

I didn't see any George W. Bush calendars. They must have been out of those too.

Al Gore to the rescue.

2008-12-09T08:19:00.001-08:00

Please tell me that Al Gore's visit to Chicago to meet with Barack Obama does not mean a major role in the next administration. Al Gore's peeps say it doesn't, but I don't trust them.

I wonder how much fuel his private jet burned for the trip. And how many harmful carbon emissions he created. But as long as he buys his carbon credits, I guess it really doesn't matter. Because every environmentalist knows... money can solve the pollution problem that they are fighting.

Money fixes everything.

Smelly tourists.

2008-12-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

Gosh I hate it when smelly tourists stink up the whole town. Nothing fries my bacon worse than that. Really.

Give the gift of abortion.

2008-12-04T08:59:00.001-08:00

Why not celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior this year by helping someone destroy the human life they created because they were irresponsible?

Planned Parenthood Offers Gift Certificates

Fantastic. Planned Parenthood (...aka Abort and Save) is offering gift certificates this Christmas.

According to this article 95% of the services performed by planned parenthood are not abortions, but whether that's an accurate figure or not, that's not the full point.

What is the purpose of planned parenthood? To perform services improving the health and well being of people who have made some very poor choices.

"But Michael... what about parents that just want to make sure their daughter has a way to get her pap smear so that she stays healthy?"

Well reader... why doesn't the parent instead talk to the child about abstinence instead of condoning the fact that the teenage daughter is having sex with her 20 year old boyfriend? You only need a pap if you are sexually active. And if they still feel its necessary... why don't they take her to the family doctor, or a different doctor in a regular clinic where there is more of a doctor-patient relationship? And why is she allowed to date the 20 year old guy anyways?

The same goes for contraception. The majority of teens using it aren't using it to help with their acne.

But even if the parents aren't the ones giving the gift certificates, who is really going to be excited that their friend or boyfriend gave them a gift certificate to have a pap, get the pill, or have an abortion? Is that the gift that really keeps on giving?

Don't answer that.

Rosie not so live.

2008-12-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

Rosie Live! died a horrible death.

Darn.

Hearing about it on TV, I heard many different views of why the show tanked after (during) its first episode. They ranged from "America's just not ready for that 70's style of variety show being brought back..." to "People were expecting a different side of Rosie... the controversial side."

Finally I found one that rings a bit more accurately: "It just sucked."

Rosie O'Donnell's version of a New Variety Show "Rosie Live" canceled

Hollywood, California

Promoted to the tune of a catchy jingle that promised viewers that if they tuned into the new variety show "Rosie Live" hosted by Rosie O'Donnell they could expect a train wrack or meltdown of controversy was dropped by NBC today. As the show received a preliminary 1.2 share rating among 18-49 year-olds meant the network would not be picking up the TV show.

"We were expecting a firestorm of controversy man," said a network executive. "Instead all we got was 'Ding, ding, ding goes the trolley."

Apparently, when O'Donnell was signed for the TV show, network executives thought they had an understanding that she would be the next Rush Limbaugh, only for the left.

"We would have settled for a Jerry Springer knockoff," said a network executive. "No body watches O'Donnell for her singing talents, because she has none. People tuned in expecting a fight. To see who O'Donnell is going bash for having an opinion different from her own. She really let everybody down, acting so normally."

"What the hell happen?" said a devoted Rosie fan. "Did Rosie attend rage management classes? I had to keep flipping the channel because I thought I was watching a Perry Como Christmas special. I kept having to pinch myself to stay awake."

Network executives first realized the show was in trouble from the start by the guests O'Donnell had lined up.

"Liza Minnelli, Clay Aiken and Alec Baldwin. Oh, come on now! Obama won. The country gets it. Move on now, okay," said one 42-year-old male viewer of the show. "Couldn't she book anyone that didn't think just like her? I never saw so much head nodding in my life. They all looked like those little toys that bob their heads up and down at the slightest touch."

Reportedly, ratings even fell among gay males, O'Donnell's hardcore fans. As they complained the constant barrage of show tunes was too much, even for them.

"Look, I'm gay," said Roger Hemming, a homosexual. "So show tunes run in my vanes but to have O'Donnell host a variety show where she has a legitimate reason to sing? No body's that gay."

"I liked Rosie O'Donnell better when she sang show tunes as a transition leading either into or away from something controversial. And by that I mean someone having made the near fatal mistake of expressing their own opinion opposite to hers," said another gay male and now former O'Donnell fan. "Then you could really feel the tension building up in the air. It gave the loving show tunes she sang an underlining current of irony contrasted with that jen-a-say-qua of 'Oh, my God! She's gonna blow!"

Producers were so desperate to save the show that at one point they resorted to using a split screen.

"Not even that worked," said one of the show's producers. "O'Donnell just sat there with a big smile on her face as her show tanked."

No word from O'Donnell on what she plans to do next.

Change.

2008-12-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Yah. Change.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that he has diffused his biggest potential rival within the party by giving her a place in his administration?

Nah.

Richardson for Commerce... because no one else wants it.

2008-11-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

Some minority groups are a little ticked off about the word that Hillary Clinton will officially be named Obama's Secretary of State tomorrow morning at a press conference in Chicago. The fact that former Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico is Mexican... excuse me... of Latino decent... and the first Hispanic governor means that some people think that he should be America's primary ambassador. But hey... maybe that would make Obama look like he was playing the race card.

He would never do that. Ever.

Instead of skin color, let's actually look at qualifications. Sure, Richardson is better suited for Sec of State than Hillary, but so is Bill Ayers (at least he could relate to some of our enemies). Hillary has experience as a senator and a first lady, while Richardson has been a congressman, a governor, energy secretary, and a diplomat as the U.N. Ambassador (as well as other jobs). Luckily this makes him a perfect runner-up for Secretary of Commerce (because the first nominee backed-out).

Maybe President-elect Obama thought that Richardson wanted a change? Like how Richardson changed his allegiance to Obama after being friends with the Clintons for so long.

We all may be surprised... but Obama is playing politics.

WEIRD.

Read more at The Richardson Snub.

SecDef.

2008-11-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

As the days tick by we are beginning to see more of who Obama is talking about appointing to his cabinet. And, I'm actually surprised by this one:

Current Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates... might be taking the post of... Secretary of Defense, at least for the first year.

For one thing, I thought we were getting change.

For another... this is actually a good idea and makes sense.

Barack Obama, I think, is realizing that he wish list of things to do to save the world is going to be harder to achieve than he expected, and he needs to be realistic with his policies and approach towards Iraq and Afghanistan. It's going to take someone who knows what is happening over there.

This has surprised me in only one way: This leaves nowhere for Colin Powell to be in the administration.

Watch, next thing we know, Secretary of Agriculture will be given to someone who knows about farming.

The Christmas Sweater... part 2.

2008-11-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Yah... I know... I like Glenn Beck. (Just like... not "like like".)

But I wanted to share that you can see The Christmas Sweater, even if he isn't coming to your town.

It will be showing on December 17th across the country in select theaters for a single live showing 8pm EST... 7pm CST... 6pm MST... (taped and aired at 8pm PST). It's still more expensive than a regular movie, but it's cheaper than the regular in-person performance.

I will buy the book the second I'm done with my finals, and I will watch the show at 8pm in Redmond, WA, at the Bella Bottega 11 cinema.

Join me! (by clicking here)

A letter from a concerned citizen.

2008-11-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Mike, What do you think will happen if Hillary Clinton becomes Secretary of State?
- A concerned citizen

Dear concerned citizen,

As a student of social science, I have learned that sometimes we all must allow ourselves to progress through the five stages of grief. While this may seem silly, it is often the best way to progress through trials.

1. Denial.
No way. Hillary Clinton? That's not possible. I refuse to believe that she is a reasonable option. She's as diplomatic and welcoming as a scorpion. This can't be happening...

2. Anger.
HILLARY CLINTON!?!?

3. Bargaining.
Please don't put Hillary Clinton in as Secretary of State. Please? I'll quit the NRA if you pick someone else. How about we compromise... you put her in as Secretary of State, but put Romney in as Secretary of the Treasury. How about that? That's fair, right?

4. Depression.
I don't want to talk about it. This is the worst day of my life.

5. Acceptance.
Enough people were upset with the way the economy and Iraq have been run, that the pendulum has swung to the left, and Obama is the President-elect, and he will select who he selects, and after confirmation we don't get a say in the matter. Life will go on, and we will have the opportunity to elect a new President in 4 years. And to be honest, as a cabinet member she is subject to what the President tells her to do. Although, I kind of wish the roles could be reversed.

Let's keep in mind, Senator Kerry and Governor Richardson are also rumored to be a possibility, and Clinton was rumored to be Obama's running mate at one point as well. And then he picked Joe Biden. You never know what he's going to do.

And, look at the bright side... at least it's not Reverend Wright.

Sincerely,
Still at stage 1.

The Christmas Sweater.

2008-11-11T19:29:00.001-08:00

If you haven't heard, Glenn Beck is no longer on Headline News and awaits his debut at Fox News. Personally, I wish he wasn't moving. He is going to blend in too much at Fox News. But, oh well, I'll still watch him when I can. And I can on December 6th. In Salt Lake City. At the E Center. You can check the schedule at glennbeck.com to see if he is coming to a city near you.

More than his television show, his radio show shows a truer (is that even a word?) side of him. Last year, I saw an ever truer side of him during his Christmas stage show. This year... it's going to be even more truer... er.

If you have ever wondered about forgiveness and if it is possible, you need to hear about it from him. He has an amazing story to tell. If the show isn't coming to your town, or even if it is... the book hit the shelves today.

"Honey... I know what I want for Christmas... or tomorrow."

Intolerants for tolerance.

2008-11-09T19:37:00.001-08:00

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in response to the passing of Proposition 8 said, "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done." Apparently he has decided that he is in support of gay marriage, when he used to not care, and before that, he was against it.

Thanks Ahnold for your help on this one. Did you think to maybe add a "but, please, stop threatening the churches."

I know I've written quite a bit about Prop 8 recently but I wanted to point out a few thinks said on gay activist websites recently.

Remember, these are from the people that are angry because other people are intolerant.

"Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT."
"I'm going to give them something to be f--ing scared of....I'm a radical who is now on a mission to make them all pay for what they've done."
"Burn their f--ing churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers."
"I hope the No on 8 people have a long list and long knives."
"I swear, I'd murder people with my bare hands this morning."
"Trust me. I've got a big list of names of mormons and catholics [sic] that were big supporters of Prop 8....As far as mormons and catholics...I warn them to watch their backs."

This is funny to me, because I haven't heard one member of the Mormon or Catholic church (or any other church, for that matter) scream that we need to burn down gay bars and churches that condone homosexuality.

You can read more about it at Violence urged against marriage supporters.

"Give me back my sandwich!"

Tip of the day:
If you are at a protest, don't argue with a tattooed Polynesian member of the Mormon church. Whatever he has to say, just smile and nod. There is a reason BYU football recruits players from Samoa and Tonga.

Catholics + Mormons = Friendship.

2008-11-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wait a second... not all of the 5.6 millions votes for Yes were from Mormons? This is an excerpt from a posting from a favorite blog, The Duchess Manual of Style

Follow up

Bishop William Weigand, who is now head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, issued a statement in defense of the LDS Church and their involvement in Proposition 8, part of which said:

"Catholics stand in solidarity with our Mormon brothers and sisters in support of traditional marriage - the union of one man and one woman - that has been the major building block of Western Civilization for millennia.

…Bigoted attacks on Mormons for the part they played in our coalition are shameful and ignore the reality that Mormon voters were only a small part of the groundswell that supported Proposition 8."

Change (dot gov).

2008-11-07T19:50:00.001-08:00

I could have sworn that .gov domains were reserved for official government offices and agencies. But I guess that changed.

change.gov

I wonder if he will appoint a Secretary of Change.

Will he also create the website, hope.gov? This, of course, would be the main page for the Department of Hope. I'm hope he picks someone hopeful for that post. Hopefully.

A letter from a reader.

2008-11-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

"So is it sad that I came to the realization yesterday that if I didn’t vote for John McCain, that I was in essence casting a vote for Barack Obama? Although for how liberal my state it, I could have voted for Mickey Mouse and it wouldn’t have mattered. But it stinks that I had to cast a vote for someone I didn’t like, just to make sure that the person I really didn’t want to win didn’t get any bigger of a margin than necessary…"

Dear Jared the Frustrated,

I wouldn't say that not voting for McCain would've been a vote for Obama, but it would not have been a vote against Obama. I think a lot of Republicans this year were thinking, anything but Obama, even though that left them voting for McCain. Kind of reminds me of 2004, with why people were voting for Kerry... because they were only voting against Bush. And Kerry didn't win.

That's why McCain didn't win either.

But the popular vote margin wasn't too big at all. All we can do is cling to our religion and guns and try again in 4 years.

Share.

2008-11-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

I received this in an email from a family member. It was written by her friend who lives in New York.

Share: A Social Experiment on Redistribution of Wealth

On my way to lunch recently, I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama; I need the money." I laughed. In a restaurant my server had on an "Obama 08″ tie. Again I laughed. Just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came, I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Barack-Obama-redistribution-of-wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need―the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful. At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment, I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient "deserved" money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

I have added the name of this author to my list of "favorite people in the world that I have never met, but would really like to."

It's nice to see that at least some people get it.

The next day.

2008-11-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

As you can maybe tell by my other post tonight, election day has passed, the congratulations have been given, and now we can get back to business.

All hail.

2008-11-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

But...

2008-11-04T21:03:00.001-08:00

I have to add something.

Barack Obama gave a very admirable and strong acceptance speech. I am very touched and think it says very much about the character of President-elect Obama that he recognized the incredible service that Senator McCain has given to this country, including things that no man should ever go through, and that the country is better because of his service.

But then... not Obama's fault...

The crowd barely even responded. You could only hear a faint applause.

That makes me sick.

President Barack Obama.

2008-11-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

I pray, honestly and whole-heartedly, that God blesses the new President-elect with the ability to lead this amazing country.

I cannot begin to explain my pride in my country. I love this country so much. Pardon me for getting emotional in my words as I type this with wet eyes, and pardon me for talking up an accomplishment of my own.

In 2001, we were attacked in a horrific act of hatred and violence. Many raised their fists in anger. Many flew their flags proudly. Many pledged to do what it takes to fight all that threatens our great nation.

Many spoke. Some acted.

I remember the thoughts and fears running through my head as I boarded a plane to head to basic training. Some close to me even predicted when I would fail and come back home. I had discovered my great love for my country, and I could not fail.

I could not fail. And I did not fail.

Some right now have their doubts about our country with Barack Obama as our next President. I can't hide the fact that I disagree with many of his policies. I make cynical comments routinely. But I refuse to hope that he fails. I know how that feels.

If he fails, we fail.

We cannot fail.

We have to stand together as a country, whether we voted for President Obama or not. He is our next President, and I hope that people can grasp that concept.

I fear for President Obama. We've already seen an assasination plan foiled. We will see more. Guaranteed. He will have more attempts against him than any other President. I pray to God that the stupidity of someone does not turn into the success for the march of racism and hatred. I beg my fellow Americans to not lower themselves to hate speech to voice your frustration in the results of this election.

I am a Republican. But first... I am an American. I am proud of my country. I am proud of my right to vote. I am proud to recognize the historical significance of Barack Obama being elected.

Congratulations, President-elect Barack Obama...

...and God Bless the United States of America.

Missionaries: The Marriage Police?

2008-11-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

The "No on 8" folks hit a new low. Instead of focusing on the actual issue, they are attacking the Mormon church for supporting Proposition 8. The same Mormon church whose buildings that many of the No troops have defaced.

As if the No propaganda wasn't bad enough, it was WAY off on what Mormon missionaries are like.

First off... they weren't wearing nametags.
Second... they weren't wearing suit jackets.
Third... one of the guys had their top button unbuttoned.

And finally... they have to have a warrant to search a homosexual couple's house for a marriage certificate. Everyone knows that.

I voted.

2008-11-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

Did you?

A political call.

2008-11-03T18:04:00.001-08:00

I got home from class tonight to find my wife on the phone answering a survey about education legislation in Utah. She had been getting similar calls all day.

"Tomorrow is election day and we are conducting a survey to find out..."

Don't they realize that they will know tomorrow what people think about candidates and legislation? Why ask them tonight?

We were in the middle of preparing dinner, and the phone rang again.

"It better not be a political call," says Amber, frustrated with the day's trend.

I looked at the caller ID...

POLITICAL CALL

I couldn't believe it actually said that. Curious... I answered.

It was candidate so and so... a recording of him... who lost in the last election to the incumbent Speaker of the House (of Utah), immediately after which every Republican in the house did something deplorable and it's because he wasn't elected 2 years ago. He then pleaded that we all go vote for whichever Democrat is running in our district because they will save us from corruption.

Reminder... the Democrats are in control of Congress which has a lower approval rating than Bush.

I just hope the phone stops ringing so we can get some sleep. I really doubt there are many people tonight who are getting these calls and saying, "Wow... I'm sure glad I got THAT call. I'm changing my vote!"

Besides, we all know who's going to win the Presidential election tomorrow.

Pedro offers you his protection.

2008-11-03T10:33:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is election day. It's finally almost over.

In addition to the Presidential and local candidates working hard for one more day, the people on both sides of Proposition 8 are battling head to head as well.

The "No" folks have taken to creating ads comparing those for securing traditional marriage with those who interred Japanese Americans during WWII. They label traditionalists as "biggots", "offensive", and "intolerant". Yet, it's the ones supporting "No on Prop 8" who are defacing churches, cars, and other property to get their message out. And Mayor "Freakshow" Newsome probably couldn't be happier.

A plea to our California friends:

Please don't forget... this issue is no longer just about traditional marriage. That vote happened already a few years ago. This vote is about restraining judicial activism. This is about restoring the vote that already took place in 2000.

The people of California spoke in 2000. I hope to hear them speak loudly again defending what they had already decided.

The Informer - Live Debate.

2008-11-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, November 3rd, I will host and moderate a live debate on my show, The Informer, at 88.1 Weber FM. The debate will be between the chairs of the Weber State University College Republican and Democrat groups. This 90 minute debate just might help you decide who to cast your ballot for on Tuesday, if you haven't done it yet. Be sure to tune in and listen at www.weberfm.org at 3pm Mountain time.

Tune in.
Get informed.
Vote.

And thanks for listening.

Obama, Biden, and Hilton.

2008-10-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

A lot of people today are talking about the Obama tape from 2001 on Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ) that has surfaced. It's interesting...ish.

If you want to read about it, go here.

If you want to see Bill O'Reilly talk about it, go here.

If you want to see a clip of Joe Biden talking about how all 7-11 stores and Dunkin Donuts are run but Indian-Americans, go here. (Seriously... you really should.)

But I found something even more appalling.

Paris Hilton is back on her "campaign" for the White House. Once again she spent the day learning big words so she could make a video and sound totally smart.

WARNING: This video contains Paris Hilton. This of course means she is in a bikiki...ish...thing. Viewer discretion is advised.

"Look at Bush... it couldn't be that hard."

Interesting choice of words. Bush graduated from Yale, and then got an MBA at Harvard. Paris Hilton received her GED after getting kicked out of high school for breaking school rules. Before politics George W. Bush was a businessman. If you look up Paris Hilton on wikipedia, her primary occupation is "socialite"... which of course means "making money while doing nothing."

I wonder if she received any help with the rhyming. That stuff can be, like... super hard sometimes.

And now the tune is stuck in my head. Dang it.

Login to MyBO.

2008-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last night I was cruising the internet. Surfing the web. Coasting down the information superhighway.

I was checking out the Barack Obama site to prepare for an interview on The Informer (3pm MST - www.weberfm.org). I noticed something I hadn't seen before, and it makes me wonder what someone was thinking.

The bottom right corner is what caught my eye.

Really? MyBO? Is that the best idea? They couldn't think of anything better? It's not Barrack Obama's fault that those are his initials, it's his parents. And really, I think it matters as much as his middle name being Hussein. It's just the fact that we're are being asked to login to our BO.

That idea just stinks.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

2008-10-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Maybe you didn't know this... but it has been proven that Hurricane Ike was the fault of the Bush administration. So was the 2003 Space Shuttle disaster. And an unnamed Bush administration insider has revealed that Bush intended to blow up Kansas in 2004 to show that terrorists are in the United States and that he is the only man that can stop them.

Yah... it's about as ridiculous of a thought as the idea that the economic collapse was his fault. He signed the Economic Stimulus Act, which was a joke of an idea... but he didn't create this mess.

Finally, a journalist who happens to be a Democrat points out that the whole notion is ridiculous. Just about as ridiculous as the standards in journalism today.

A long read, but a good read. Thank you Jared for bringing this to my attention.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
By Orson Scott Card

Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.)

Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."

Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.

As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay entitled "Do Facts Matter?" ( http://snipurl.com/457townhall_com] ): "Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury."

These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.

Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout!

What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame?

Now let's follow the money ... right to the presidential candidate who is the number-two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae.

And after Freddie Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.

If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was.

But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an "adviser" to the Obama campaign — because that campaign had sought his advice — you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign.

You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican.

If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish, and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.

If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis.

There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension — so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)

If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.

But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie — that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad — even bad weather — on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.

If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth — even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.

Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means . That's how trust is earned.

Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naiveté time after time — and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing.

Meanwhile, you have participated in the broking of Sarah Plain, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter — while you ignored the story of John Edwards's own adultery for many months.

So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?

Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?

You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women. Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles.

That's where you are right now.

It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there.

If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.

Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.

You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a Senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way.

This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion.

If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe — and vote as if — President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie.

If you do not tell the truth about the Democrats — including Barack Obama — and do so with the same energy you would use if the miscreants were Republicans — then you are not journalists by any standard.

You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a news paper in our city.

This article first appeared in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina.

A possible blessing in disguise.

2008-10-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

It bugs me. It really bugs me.

What bugs me is not that Colin Powell has decided to endorse Obama and not McCain. What bugs me is that it was a good idea.

Obama has talked to Powell often, building his understanding of foreign policy and military affairs. Powell is a very smart man in this regard, as proven with his resume of National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State, not to mention the 35 years of being a professional soldier. Obama has been smart to court him for support for a long time.

As for as the blessing in disguise...

Obama will be the next president. If you don't see it, take off your blinders. All we can do now is hope for some methods of damage control.

Enter Powell.

I sincerely pray that President Obama makes good use of Powell in his administration. Secretary of Defense Colin Powell has a nice ring to it, and would be ten times better than the other options Obama could come up with. A guy with actual experience. Who'da thunk it?

I wonder if Donald Rumsfeld would be on Obama's list too.

Debate 3.

2008-10-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

So much for McCain having a chance.

McCain went on the attack, and didn't really give up, but didn't really have a knock-out blow at any time either. He kept trying to throw difficult pitches, and Obama kept getting base hits.

The only time McCain actually threw one that wasn't from the talking points list was when he responded to Obama's comparison of him and President Bush with, "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."

But once again, Obama took a simple swing right back.

Obama also laughed several times during McCain's responses. If McCain had simply addressed the fact that he was laughing with a "oh, you think this is funny?" That would've caused Obama to respond more aggressively and make Obama not look so comfortable. But he didn't.

Frankly, I'm thinking about casting a write-in for "Joe the Plumber."

We have a few weeks to go, but unless something huge happens...

...all hail President Obama. It's over.

Romney in 2012.

Proposition 8.

2008-10-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

This matters most to those in California. But just because you don't live in California, don't think that this doesn't affect you. Four activist judges vetoed the voice of 4.3 million people. To these judges, the majority of 61% doesn't matter. What can happen in one state can happen in another. In fact, it has.

While San Francisco's radical freak show of a mayor thinks that we're subject to the desires of many in his little town, let's hear what the presidential candidates of both political parties think:

Proposition 8 is not about barring homosexuals from doing whatever it is they want to do with their lives. It's about preserving marriage. It's about not allowing the term marriage to be used in defining anything other than the sacred institution between a man and a woman.

People are arguing that churches that are for Proposition 8 need to get with the times.

News flash: The Lord doesn't get with the times. He created it.

The Informer.

2008-10-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Tune to 88.1 Weber FM at www.weberfm.org every Monday at 3pm MST to hear my new show: The Informer.

Current schedule:

October 13 - STAND (Students Taking Action Now Darfur)
October 20 - Weber State University College Republicans
October 27 - Weber State University College Democrats
November 3 - Republican / Democrat Live Debate

Debate 2.

2008-10-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night served up debate 2. Town hall style. With a side of slightly boring.

Overall, another big yawn. Obama sounded condescending and McCain looked comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Conan O'Brien had a pretty funny take on McCain at the debate.

It stayed pretty mild, with no really heated moments. But I did enjoy when Obama accused the McCain camp of being the real problem behind Fannie Mae. Then he threw in a "but, look, you're not interested in hearing politicians pointing fingers. What you're interested in is trying to figure out, how is this going to impact you?"

It is a documented fact that if you say that... then you have completely redeemed yourself from the accusation or insult. It's like calling someone ugly and then saying "bless their heart". If you say that, you can say anything you want.

Since the topic of the night was to be the economy, I wasn't surprised to hear questions about foreign policy.

I noticed something that has never been mentioned, or at least, I haven't heard. There is so much talk about the need for a time table of withdrawl in Iraq. But...

There was a little thing that happened in the early 1970s called The Nixon Doctrine. The Nixon Doctrine was a response to the popular opinion that led to the full withdrawl of US troops from Vietnam, which was completed in 1973 and also called "Vietnamization." This was Nixon's huge success of reaching "peace with honor." We handed everything over to the South Vietnamese and wiped our hands of the problem. And then guess what happened.

Two years later the North conquered the South. Saigon became Ho Chi Minh City. The country was reunited as one... and is still to this day the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. So much for the containment of communism. But at least it was a formal government. In Iraq we are dealing with radical Islamists. Obama seems to think that we can leave them alone there, but catch them else where. I call that "selective containment." It wouldn't be if Iraq was ready to handle it themselves, but they aren't. General Petreus has said that. Even their generals have said that.

Obama keeps touting the fact that we need to sit at the table with Iran and other countries that we don't get along with. I've decided that there is some merit to that. There will be a war with Iran. If we talk to him, then it at least looked like we tried to be diplomatic first.

We can try, but it won't work. Then there will be bombs.

But I hope the bombs don't happen for a while. We need to restock our inventory first.