Church to Go Forward with Scouting Program

The Church of Jesus Christ has chartered BSA Troops in every Church Unit across the US for a hundred years, with the understanding of shared moral values across the two organizations.

Recently the BSA Executive Committee voted to allow homosexual leaders into the Scout groups following another vote to lift restriction on troop members who declare themselves to be homosexual.

BSA executives faced a dilemma.  In our contentious society, homosexual activists have demonstrated the will to resort to litigation to force their agenda.  The BSA resisted for a time, but finally capitulated.  The revised policy throws the burden of maintaining moral standards back at the charter organization, with the provisio that they are free to choose their own standard for recruitment or leadership.  The BSA Committee essentially picked discretion over valor, leaving the charter members open to bear the burden of defending morality - in Scout Troops and in court.

At this point LDS Church leaders threatened to divorce the BSA program.  But the LDS leaders  deliberated further, and announced their temporary commitment to stay with the BSA program, at least for now.  The official news release gives the full rationale.

Flags and Political Tradition

Flag-waving is a time-honored political tradition.  In our culture, we create flags as a symbol, to represent what we stand for, and what we believe.

With certain political campaigns, some symbols are intended to enlist the support of certain groups.  They were intended to say, we're part of your group.  Vote for us.

Some of the symbols represent rather a special focus.

To which flag do you pledge your allegiance? I know which flag commands my respect today.  It has little to do with political interests.

Discriminating through anti-discrimination

Another conflict between individual rights and "anti-discrimination" laws. 

Little satisfaction from "I told you so," but - I told you so.

Ordained ministers are compelled to perform homosexual "marriage" against their will, or face punitive fines or imprisonment.

It occurs to me to ask someone to explain, how exactly does this serve the cause of "anti-discrimination"?

Such laws have been proposed in Utah and are already in place in Salt Lake City.  How do they promote anything but the homosexual agenda?  I am not in favor of discrimination, but these questions obviously go far beyond any original intent.

We have little to look forward to in a future where politically-correct ideas that promote perversion and depravity become the rule of law.   When will people wake up and realize what is happening?

Utah SB100 - Cross-dressing Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Utah Senator Steven Urquhart, the sponsor of this proposed legislation.

As for myself, this Mormon opposes the proposed Utah Housing and Employment Opportunity Act.  The "opportunity" is a promise of future legal action against any who offend the "gayness" of a "gay".  It is only calculated to "build bridges" to future contentious litigation by minority interests and homosexual advocates.

Choose you this day whom you will serve...

The politically-correct invention of problems related to "gender identity" has no merit, and does not belong in the body of Utah law. If Utah citizens were properly informed about the specific nature of SB100 proposed law, instead of attempting to disguise it as somehow relating to some vague "discrimination" hand-waving, I am confident that most of them would see little purpose for wasting any more time on the consideration of such legislation.

The Deseret News article that examines this bill contains a helpful link to the proposed legislation. I believe even a cursory examination of the actual proposal will reveal what is really intended.

What moves this particular Utah Senator to promote such interests is not for me to say.  But what is being sold to Utah citizens as "anti-discrimination" is really only intended to create new legal grounds for special interest litigation.

Excerpt from the bill SB100 that has repeatedly been proposed in the Utah Congress, deceptively being touted as an "anti-discrimination" statute...

        83          (k) "Gender identity" means an individual's internal sense of gender, without regard to
             84      the individual's designated sex at birth. Evidence of gender identity may include an
             85      individual's self-identification, as well as the individual's gender-related appearance,
             86      mannerisms, and other gender-related characteristics.
     

Near as I can judge, this is a solution in search of a problem.  It is the worst kind of politically-correct psycho-babble gibberish, as coined by post-modernist progressives, who view moral values as simply another "social construct".

The idea buried in this seemingly innocent bill is insidious.  Homosexual advocates wish to create some imaginary legal "rights" that give permission for them to play whatever sexual role they fancy that day.  I don't mind humoring occasional mental instability, but this is nothing short of insanity.

What that has to do with any actual discrimination problem is difficult to tell, but it is likely that any of the Utah Congress who dared to vote against it would instantly be smeared as a suspected "bigot" or a "homophobe".  Who could possibly vote for in favor of "discrimination"?  It has become one of the nastiest charges in our society.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why the law would presume to mandate that I concern myself about possibly offending whatever "an individual's internal sense of gender" might happen be at any particular time of day.

It calls to mind a particular scene from the popular film "Ghostbusters".

Peter Venkman: Is there any history of mental illness in your family?
Librarian: I had an uncle who thought he was Saint Jerome. 
Peter Venkman: I'd take that as a yes.

We might tend to think this is a rather arbitrary bizarre aberration, but the very question has been made the issue of a number of high-profile lawsuits, being pressed by homosexual advocates - and won - in state courts throughout this country.

Utah advocates of true principles of fairness are accurately represented at "FairToAll".  I support their efforts to promote equality and fight against discrimination.   As opposed to the shameful duplicitous attempts at misrepresentation of the proponents of SB100, this group represents an honest effort that the majority of Utah residents can stand up for, and be proud of.

In contrast to the overreach of SB100, my impression of HB87, making revision to existing statutory regulations to modernize outdated language, is a fair and sensible legislative approach to implement reasonable accommodations.  

A fair summary of related issues appears in the Daily Herald, the Utah Valley newspaper

Near as I can tell, currently in the State of California, everything is either illegal, heavily regulated by the government, or the focus of some lunatic fringe interest group demonstrating on the streets in protest.  I have no interest in transforming Utah into a similar asylum of common and perennial discontentment.

Let us continue to govern ourselves, promote freedom in all prudence and wisdom, with discussion on the merits of all issues in the public square, in true democratic fashion.

Utah Endangered

Earlier I noted the great rock-tipping incident that was staged out in the Utah desert.

The now-famous rock tippers of Goblin Valley Utah are now facing felony charges.  I suppose the Salt Lake Tribune can take major credit for trumpeting the alarm.  The SLTrib publishes the latest.  Not to be outdone, the Deseret News adds their documentation.

It would appear that Utah is under threat from illicit rock-tipping.  The lawlessness is out-of-control.  We need government intervention before every rock in the desert is ravaged by such evil maniacs.

Just imagine what these guys might have done if they got their hands on the iconic Rainbow Bridge, or Natural Arch.  How fortunate are we that the ever-vigilant State authorities are so busy keeping the dramatic natural features of this pretty great State safe from such evil predators.

Meanwhile, at the Utah State Capitol, homosexual advocates demand "equality".  They argue that anything that can be referred to as "love" is every bit as legitimate as any other specious rationale for State-sanctioned "marriage".  With the intent of demanding normalization for their ironic parody of "marriage", they storm around and stage petulant tantrums.  Prancing parade marchers mock the faith of the pioneer founders of Utah.  Under the complete umbrella of protection by the laws, the few members this deviant lunatic fringe invoke "free speech" rights to promote their deviancy and immorality as "normal" behavior.  All the while spewing derisive slogans justifying their perversion.

Most ironic are the common gutter epithets and slanderous smears with which they characterize their opponents.  And they have the unmitigated temerity to denigrate any attempt to utter a contradictory expression as "hate-speech". 

I am not surprised at the turn of current events.  Such things are bound to happen, in this diverse world.  What I dismay at is the disproportionate response.

On the one hand, we see a major expression of social outrage when some idiots dislodge a rock.  On the other hand, we see minority interest groups vying to overturn major foundational principles of society, that threaten the very future of mankind.  About such an absurd attack on the future welfare of the human race, we hardly hear a whimper.

Difficult to grasp.

Bananna Bread and Current Affairs

I am so concerned about the confused world we live in.

What does it mean?

Is there black and white?

I am thinking now about teaching my sons, but I fear greatly that the power of the destroyer reigns openly now and is winning on so many fronts, it causes me great fear.

One issue that brought my fear to the front so dramatically was an article in Sunday's Salt Lake Tribune. (A copy of it online).

The article stated that two gay men advocating same-sex marriage were baking some banana bread to distribute, by no coincidence, in the district of Utah Senator Chris Buttars. Senator Buttars has a rather poor public image, to put it mildly.

I have a different view. Turns out, Buttars is bishop of an LDS ward, and my one of my son's wife used to be in his ward in West Jordan. Now on with the news story.

The homosexual advocates staged a visit to Buttars' home and feigned astonishment that he willingly accepted their embassy, and actually even appeared to be listening to them while they pleaded their message.

This was the essence of the article.

To the unaware or uninitiated, there were many things here that were not apparent, and would lead to gross misunderstanding. On that basis, I was so offended that I nearly went into shock, literally. I got out of my rehab bed at the hospital to denounce the article to my room mate. Bob was more sensible and less emotional, but he was also outraged and visibly upset.

First problem is casting Buttars as a bad man, a homophobe, and bigot. Because of my church affiliation and loyalty, and life-long practical experience in such matters, I know without asking that Buttars meets the highest moral and social standards, and is an honorable man in whom I could trust.

Something is wrong here. Whose judgement of morality is the more reliable?

Should I believe the sensibilities of a news editor and some social advocates with an axe to grind, or men who I know are serving the Church of the Living God?

For me, this is no choice at all, but I recognize that this kind of background information is totally missing for most readers of the news article. To them, Buttars is a firmly entrenched homophobe whose Archie-Bunker like heart is melted by kindness and gay love and banana bread.

So it teaches us that gay lovers really know what love is after all, and we are just cold hearted and mean- spirited to say our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes same-sex marriage.

The position staked out in the newspaper article by the gay advocates is laughable, to any who know the job a Mormon bishop fills.

Bishops are primarily a sort of social counsellor to their congregation, thus they serve first and foremost as a sympathetic listener to the troubled. To any and all who are troubled or afflicted in any way, they can knock on the bishops' door, day or night, and at the very least, unburden their soul to an active and sympathetic listener. The Bishop does more than just listen. He often pays bills for the indigent, soothes the troubled soul of the abused or depressed, gives referrals for professional counselling, provides food or clothing or financial assistance for the naked or hungry or cold, or perhaps just a shoulder to cry on or an ear to share glad tidings when there is no one else. How ironic that these two men come bringing symbols that represent the very essence of what no being on earth could possibly understand better than a man like bishop Buttars. And according to the SLTrib columnist, they feign surprise that he listens to them!

[I am not half done with the issue yet, but I'm much too tired to continue and do any justice to th subject, I thought it would be a idle time in my life, and I can hardly get a word in edge wise, More to come,,,]

THOUGHT occurred to me last night that some might mistakenly think I am attempting to defend bishop Buttars. Or represent his position better than the SLTrib editors and columnists can do. I am not. I am just making my voice heard, for what it is worth, because I think there is a problem with the way the story is being told now, from both sides of the aisle.

I don't know the banana bread makers, nor the SLTrib people, nor Chris Buttars, nor any of the countless others involved in this melee of misunderstanding. I just want the big wheel to stop on a number that is a winning number, that pays off for all. I believe the world was designed very purposefully and carefully to afford us all the opportunity to find our own kind of happiness, if we just take the right opportunities as they come along. We get subtle guidance to help our choices, so we aren't completely alone all the time.

Anyway, more about the news article and the bishop.