The Greatest Sad Night in American History?

We Don't Need a Different Despot

I just listened to President-elect Donald Trump's victory speech after apparently being elected as the 45th president of the United States. Like Barack Obama eight years ago, he said he understood that there were many who didn't vote for him, but that he would work hard to be their president as well. (See my blog post on election night 2008 here).

Mr. Trump, I didn't vote for you. Though you didn't ask, let me give you some practical advice on how you can work to represent me.

You weren't elected because the country thought we just needed a different despot at the helm. We have seen what happens when our president decides to govern by Executive Orders.  I would suggest that you look at every Executive Order of the past sixteen years very critically and repeal most of them.  Then demand that Congress draft legislation to address these issues and present them for your signature in the first 100 days of office.

Many of those Executive Orders addressed real issues facing our country dealing with immigration, healthcare, equal opportunity and the rule of law.  My suggestion is that you address them within the first six months of your term.

Govern based on principles, not politics.  The first principle should be to govern based on the Constitution of the United States. Before you do anything, ask if it is something that the Constitution states should be handled by the federal government.  Immigration and national security certainly would fall into that category.  Everything else should be relegated to the states.  I believe that states can better address needs such as education, healthcare, welfare and the like. Look at eliminating the departments of housing & urban development, health & human services, education and the bureau of land management,

Well, I'm tired now and have to work tomorrow.  Give me a call and I'd be glad to give you more unsolicited advice

Why I'm a Ute!

Why I’m a Ute  (What’s a Ute?)

Metric	UTAH	byu
Overall wins in series*	56	34
Wins in last 10 meetings	7	3
Blowout wins in last 10 meetings	3	0
Shutout wins in last 10 meetings	1	0
Shutout wins in series**	18	3
# national titles using 1984 criteria	2	1
Alumni on current NFL rosters ***	18	6
# conference championships	24	23
# undefeated seasons in history	7	1
# overall #1 NFL draft picks	1	0
Bowl game winning percentage	.765	.435
# BCS final top 5 rankings	2	0
#excuses why we lost the game in YYYY	0	5,932,506,743,854,218
#current players named Joseph Smith	1	0
Needs to disclaim Jim McMahon as alum	0	1
Probable score of 2013 game	34	31

 * Best thing about the rivalry is that the two schools even disagree on the historical records,  Utah says it’s 56-34-4 and BYU says it’s 54-31-4

**Including Utah’s 0-0 victory in 1928

*** Most surprisingly, Utah has 3 current NFL players with the last name of Smith and BYU doesn’t have any

California 2012 Ballot Initiatives

There are eleven ballot initiatives on the November 6 ballot in California this year.  I am certain that there are thousands of people waiting for me to weigh in before deciding how to vote themselves ;)

Well your wait is over.  Here is how I will likely vote on these initiatives,

Proposition 30 VOTE NO -- This proposition Increases personal income tax on annual earnings over $250,000 for seven years.  Increases sales and use tax by ¼ cent for four years. Allocates temporary tax revenues 89 percent to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges

If you only vote on one of the initiatives this year, this is the one.  I can't possibly list all the reasons for voting against this proposition as it will probably take up all of the storage space Google has to store blog posts for others with blogger accounts.  Here are the major reasons to vote NO:

• Quick, name the last 'temporary tax increase' in California that wasn't extended or made permanent upon the conclusion of the temporary period.  I can't recall one either. What I do know is that California is already the fourth highest taxed state in the nation (New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Hawaii), but if this is passed we will have the distinction of taking the top position.
• The proposition claims that the revenues go to education, but the additional tax revenues are left up to the legislature on how they should be distributed.  The California legislature has already proven that they can't be trusted to spend tax dollars responsibly, so why give them more money to waste?
• The legislature and Governor Brown always say in defense of any tax increase that if it doesn't pass then they will have no choice but to cut funding to schools and parks.  Don't buy it!  The legislature has sold out to the California Teachers Association and the public employees unions (don't even get me started on the public employees unions) and they refuse to seek real reform or look meaningful cost reductions where they are most needed -- union pensions and health benefits.
• As long as one dollar is allocated for the California high speed rail boondoggle we should never, ever listen to any politician that says they need more money to run the government.  That is the project that was projected to cost $9.95B in 2008  (from the high traffic Bakersfield to Madera route), but is now projected to cost over $98B.  Get rid of waste such as this and the myriad of other idiotic spending initiatives and then if we may require more tax revenue we can talk then.

Proposition 31 VOTE NO -- Establishes two-year state budget cycle. Prohibits Legislature from creating expenditures of more than $25 million unless offsetting revenues or spending cuts are identified. Permits Governor to cut budget unilaterally during declared fiscal emergencies if Legislature fails to act.

Okay, so I've read this proposition (not the above summary, but the proposition) and I can't succinctly describe what it does.  While it intends at its core to reform the state budget process, I think one thing that would certainly happen if this passes is to see that it disrupts the relationship between local and state government and piles more bureaucratic sludge onto our already snail-like government.

I have one overriding philosophy with regards to ballot initiatives.  If you aren't certain what it does or who is proposing it then just vote NO.

Proposition 32 VOTE YES-- Restricts union political fundraising by prohibiting use of payroll-deducted funds for political purposes. Same use restriction would apply to payroll deductions, if any, by corporations or government contractors. Permits voluntary employee contributions to employer or union committees if authorized yearly, in writing. Prohibits unions and corporations from contributing directly or indirectly to candidates and candidate-controlled committees.

The one thing that prevents the legislature from doing its job in Sacramento is the incestuous relationship between the Democratic controlled legislature and the public employee unions.  I appreciate  teachers, law enforcement officers, prison guards, firefighters, etc., but their unions ability to bribe the legislature and assure that they have the ongoing funds to carry out their bribes needs to be stopped.

Much more could be done to reform the political process in the state, but I think this is a good first step.  We will probably have to attack true election reform one step at a time as the incumbent legislature has every incentive to embrace the status quo.

Proposition 33 VOTE YES--Changes current law to permit insurance companies to set prices based on whether the driver previously carried auto insurance with any insurance company. Allows insurance companies to give proportional discounts to drivers with some prior insurance coverage. Will allow insurance companies to increase cost of insurance to drivers who have not maintained continuous coverage.

Maybe this proposition has something in the details that is different than the summary, but if an insurance company wants to give a discount to me because I have had continuous coverage

Proposition 34 VOTE ???-- Repeals death penalty as maximum punishment for persons found guilty of murder and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Applies retroactively to persons already sentenced to death. Requires persons found guilty of murder to work while in prison, with their wages to be applied to any victim restitution fines or orders against them.

The death penalty is troublesome.  I am not opposed to the death penalty in itself, but I am troubled by the prospect of anyone being executed for crimes that they didn't commit.  The cost justification on the pro side of this proposition is not a reason to vote yes on this proposition in my opinion.  I am leaning towards a yes vote on this proposition because I believe that in the past innocent people have been executed, but not certain that this proposition is the best answer.

Proposition 35 VOTE YES--Increases criminal penalties for human trafficking, including prison sentences up to 15-years-to-life and fines up to $1,500,000. Fines collected to be used for victim services and law enforcement. Requires person convicted of trafficking to register as sex offender.

Is this a solution in search of a problem?  Maybe as it doesn't appear that there is any organized opposition to the initiative.  Human trafficking is deplorable; and while I don't know what the current penalty is for being convicted of this heinous crime, even 15-years-to-life and $1.5MM doesn't seem to be too harsh.  I did actually hear on a radio show someone call in who was opposed to this initiative.  She said it would make it more difficult for the escort service and adult film industries to recruit new talent to California.  Sounds to me like another reason to vote YES.

Proposition 36 VOTE NO -- Revises three strikes law to impose life sentence only when new felony conviction is serious or violent. Authorizes re-sentencing for offenders currently serving life sentences if third strike conviction was not serious or violent and judge determines sentence does not pose unreasonable risk to public safety.

The "three strikes" law as currently constituted seems to be working fine.  The argument to reduce prison costs doesn't seem compelling to me. High prison costs in California are an issue, but let's look at reducing costs in other ways.  California prison employees are compensated way above comparable people in other states.  In 2009 a dentist employed by the prison system took home more than $600k.  Let's address costs by bringing employee costs into the bounds of reasonableness, not be letting three-time convicted felons out on the streets.

Proposition 37 VOTE NO -- Requires labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways. Prohibits labeling or advertising such food as “natural.”

Brought to you by the same kind of people that want to monitor what \kids bring for lunch to school and those who want to regulate the size of soft drinks that can be sold.  This is just another silly food labeling law.  Virtually all food on supermarket shelves for the past 20 years have been modified as specified in this proposition.  This will only increase costs of food and is totally unnecessary.

Proposition 38 VOTE NO -- Increases personal income tax rates for annual earnings over $7,316 using sliding scale from 0.4% for lowest individual earners to 2.2% for individuals earning over $2.5 million, ending after twelve years. During first four years, 60% of revenues go to K-12 schools, 30% to repaying state debt, and 10% to early childhood programs. Thereafter, allocates 85% of revenues to K-12 schools, 15% to early childhood programs.

While this proposition may actually send money to schools (See Proposition 32 discussion above) we can't trust Sacramento with any more money until they prove they can manage what they already receive from the people of the fourth highest taxed state in the nation.

Proposition 39 VOTE NO -- Requires multi-state businesses to calculate their California income tax liability based on the percentage of their sales in California. Repeals existing law giving multi-state businesses an option to choose a tax liability formula that provides favorable tax treatment for businesses with property and payroll outside California.

This is another tax grab by Sacramento, but unlike Proposition 32 or 38 this one goes after business. In today's already difficult economic environment in California the last thing we need is yet another reason for companies to move elsewhere.

Proposition 40 VOTE YES--State Senate districts are revised every ten years following the federal census. This year, the voter-approved California Citizens Redistricting Commission revised the boundaries of the 40 Senate districts. This referendum petition, if signed by the required number of registered voters and filed with the Secretary of State, will: (1) Place the revised State Senate boundaries on the ballot and prevent them from taking effect unless approved by the voters at the next statewide election; and (2) Require court-appointed officials to set interim boundaries for use in the next statewide election.

This is about the new voting districts for the California State Senate.  It remains to be seen whether the “Citizen Redistricting Commission” really worked or was just another scam.  A “YES” vote is to keep the Senate districts as the commission drew them up.  The proponents of this initiative (the “NO” side) actually gave up already
.

No Greater Service

Service to others is one of the most important characteristics of a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is willing to bear other people’s burdens and to comfort those who need comfort (see Mosiah 18:8–9). Often Heavenly Father will meet the needs of others through you.

There are many ways to serve others. You can serve in your Church assignments and in your home, school, and community. Seek daily the guidance of the Holy Ghost to know whom to serve and how to help meet their needs. Often the most important service is expressed through simple, everyday acts of kindness.

Perhaps the greatest act of service we can render to others is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.  This video highlights the potential of one persons decision to share the gospel.

I Made a Covenant With My Eyes... (Job 1:31)

Whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Therefore, choose only entertainment and media that uplift you. Good entertainment will help you to have good thoughts and make righteous choices. It will allow you to enjoy yourself without losing the Spirit of the Lord.

While much entertainment is good, some of it can lead you away from righteous living. Offensive material is often found in web sites, concerts, movies, music, videocassettes, DVDs, books, magazines, pictures, and other media. Satan uses such entertainment to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal and exciting. It can mislead you into thinking that everyone is doing things that are wrong.

Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable.

That Which Cometh Out of the Mouth

How you speak says much about who you are. Clean and intelligent language is evidence of a bright and wholesome mind. Use language that uplifts, encourages, and compliments others. Do not insult others or put them down, even in joking. Speak kindly and positively about others so you can fulfill the Lord’s commandment to love one another. When you use good language, you invite the Spirit to be with you.

Always use the names of God and Jesus Christ with reverence and respect. Misusing their names is a sin. Profane, vulgar, or crude language or gestures, as well as jokes about immoral actions, are offensive to the Lord and to others. Foul language harms your spirit and degrades you. Do not let others influence you to use it.

Choose friends who use good language. Help others around you use clean language by your example and by good-naturedly encouraging them to choose other words. Politely walk away or change the subject when others around you use bad language.

How Far is Too Far?

When you obey God’s commandment to be sexually pure, you prepare yourself to make and keep sacred covenants in the temple. You prepare yourself to build a strong marriage and to bring children into the world as part of a loving family. You protect yourself from the emotional damage that always comes from sharing physical intimacies with someone outside of marriage.

Do not have any sexual relations before marriage, and be completely faithful to your spouse after marriage. Satan may tempt you to rationalize that sexual intimacy before marriage is acceptable when two people are in love. That is not true. In God’s sight, sexual sins are extremely serious because they defile the power God has given us to create life.

Choose Wisely

Your Heavenly Father has given you agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for yourself. You have been given the Holy Ghost to help you know good from evil. While you are here on earth, you are being proven to see if you will use your agency to show your love for God by keeping His commandments.

While you are free to choose for yourself, you are not free to choose the consequences of your actions. When you make a choice, you will receive the consequences of that choice. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will always follow, for good or bad. Wrong choices delay your progression and lead to heartache and misery. Right choices lead to happiness and eternal life. That is why it is so important for you to choose what is right throughout your life.

This video provides a good example.

Song of the Righteous

Music is an important and powerful part of life. It can be an influence for good that helps you draw closer to Heavenly Father. However, it can also be used for wicked purposes. Unworthy music may seem harmless, but it can have evil effects on your mind and spirit.


Choose carefully the music you listen to. Pay attention to how you feel when you are listening. Don’t listen to music that drives away the Spirit, encourages immorality, glorifies violence, uses foul or offensive language, or promotes Satanism or other evil practices.


Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, has said, “Young people, do you think Satan has music in his program? Do you think the Lord has music in his program? … Satan’s music has a way of destroying the godliness within a human soul, and there is some … music that is definitely not from the Lord. It will tear down your spiritual strength and your divine nature. … Remember Satan will try to lure you away with conniving and deceitful practices so that you hardly know you are walking down the road with him” 




See how one young woman's choices regarding music has affected her life and the lives of others.

A Timeless Principle for All

For Strength of Youth has this to say about dress and appearance.

Your body is God’s sacred creation. Respect it as a gift from God, and do not defile it in any way. Through your dress and appearance, you can show the Lord that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.

 Elder Jeffery R. Holland said on the topic, "...choose your clothing the way you would choose your friends...  in both cases choose that which improves you and would give you confidence standing in the presence of God."  We need to be ever vigilant in choosing what our clothing says about who we really are, for clothing that may be modest in what it covers may be entirely immodest in what it communicates.

Your choice to choose modesty in dress and appearance can bless not only you personally, but countless others as well.  Here is a good example.

Honesty is the best policy

We believe in being honest.  Those are the first five words of the thirteenth article of faith which should tell us how important this principle is to those striving to live the gospel.

The For Strength of Youth Pamphlet tells us, "Be honest with yourself, others, and the Lord. When you are honest in every way, you build strength of character that will allow you to be of great service to God and others. You will be blessed with peace of mind and self-respect. When you are honest, you will be trusted by the Lord and by those around you."

Further, President Brigham Young said, “If we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deals, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives”.

Perhaps there is nothing says more about character than other people knowing that you can be true to your word.

Standards Week 2011

The blog posts for the next several days will be directed to the youth of the Thousand Oaks 4th Ward, but anyone is welcome to read and comment.

We face troubling times in the world, but also have tremendous opportunities.  If we are to achieve the potential that God intended for us we must base our lives on the high standards that He has set for us.  We will discuss briefly each day this week one of the standards in the For Strength of Youth pamphlet issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Determination to achieve

Tonight for Family Home Evening Kerry gave us the lesson that she gave yesterday in Young Women's on setting goals to achieve things that are important.  It reminded me of a poem that I memorized on my mission that I have posted below.  It may not be precisely as I have written below, but here is how I remember it.


DETERMINATION

If you want something bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it

If only desire of it
Makes you mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry and cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,
If gladly you'll sweat for it,
Fret for it, Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you'll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold, poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You'll get it!

Having Lunch....

About 10 years ago, or so, I attended a Daddy/Daughter event at church with my oldest daughter. One of the activities that they had was a game where they asked the dad's a question and then asked the daughter's what they thought their dad's answer would be. The only question that I can really remember was, "If your dad could have lunch with any one person in the world, who would it be?"

My daughter answered "My mom". I told everyone that she had the right answer because I would certainly have my wife come along with me as well. (Good save Anderson!) The person we would have lunch with, however would be John Wooden. Virtually all the girls said "who?", while the dads generally responded "Yeah, that would be cool!"

While a freshman at the University of Utah I attended an on campus event that was called the "Challenge Lecture Series", or something like that. One particular day John Wooden was the invited guest speaker. I knew that he was arguably the greatest college basketball coach in history at that time -- and may be so even today, but I didn't know anything else much about him. He gave a lecture that was one of the most inspirational I have ever heard. He talked about integrity, individual responsibility and other virtues. He is so much more than a great basketball coach

Well, today while on the internet I came across this video about John Wooden who now 99 years old. I have even more respect for the man today than I did at the time I answered that I would have lunch with him. For Britt and her friends who didn't understand my answer, I hope you enjoy the video clip as much as I did.

State of the Union

I didn't actually hear the State of the Union address last night. Cody was playing basketball and, quite frankly, that was more important to me than what the President has to say. He campaigned with the slogan of "Change we can believe in." One year later "Changing what we believe in" seems more appropriate.

I agree with the main priority he set out in his speech (based on what I have read). We need to get American's working again. Unfortunately, he appears to believe that the answer is government job creation. Other than the military and other security related jobs, I don't know that government-related or created jobs are worth the effort. It seems to me that a job should create something (goods/services) that is demanded by the economy. Government should stay out of the way and let the markets determine where to allocate resources.

The President's proposal for high speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever hear. I don't know one person who would use it. If I have to drive my car to get to a high speed train in Los Angeles and then not have a car when I get to San Francisco, I would simply rather drive myself. The government subsidy figures I have heard rumored for this project is $2.3 billion. On the other hand, the cost of that type of rail has been estimated at over $40 billion. Where will the difference come from? No private lender or enterprise is going to fund this effort because there is simply no demand.

I tend to believe that the surest way to stimulate the economy is to stimulate population growth. A growing population require goods and services. That type of demand is what drove the economic boom in the United States in the last century.

Clearly, the last thing we need in this country is more deficit government spending for projects without a hope of succeeding. The last 'stimulus' bill was replete with such projects and they haven't generated any economic recovery that I can see.

My Baby Had a Baby

So, it turns out I married a grandmother. Well, she wasn't a grandmother when I married her, but she became one the other day.

It's taken a bit of time for me to be comfortable with being a grandfather. It literally seems like yesterday that Kerry and I brought Brittny home from the hospital.

Anyway, good job Britt & Eric. I hope little Samuel brings as much happiness to your lives as you have to mine.

Oh yeah, here is the little guy (little only relatively as he was 8 lbs 11 oz. and 21.5" long)



Other pictures can be viewed somewhere on the internet, but I can only find them on Samuel's Facebook page and you probably can't see them unless you are his friend. Maybe Brittny will post a link for more photos as a comment.

Thanks to my baby brother, Kelly, I can post the video of mom and baby from eight hours post partum. Kelly had some magical video format conversion tool that could convert a QuickTime file to wmv which Blogger seems to like much better (even if it is about 8 times larger).

What's Fair?

Sorry for not getting back to your earlier with my comments on your inauguration speech, Mr. President. I've been rather busy with a few things. See, my business doesn't seem to be on the radar for a bailout, it doesn't seem to be a target for the economic stimulus plan; and my family requires more attention to guide them in the world we live in. It's not fair that I have to work this hard, but it's okay. I think that is why I am here.

That leads me to my thoughts about your inaugural address. I thought it was well written and your delivery was terrific. The substance of the speech had some very thought provoking points.

One such point was your call for 'fair play'. Having observed your actions, I believe you must have a vastly different definition of the term than I do.

Tell me how your call to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act is fair? It may be politically expedient. It caters to a special interest group that voted for you. But it certainly isn't fair to children brought into the world who have the right to have both a mother and a father. I know, some parents are pretty pathetic at caring for their kids, but don't undermine the basic building block of our society with a warped view of fairness.

Tell me how reversing the gains made in welfare reform in the past 15 years that your 'economic stimulus package' calls for is fair. The welfare state it is creating is not stimulating. It is repressive. Repressive to those who look for a handout instead of work. Repressive to an economy that needs workers, not idlers. Repressive to future generations that will be burdened with the increased national debt.

Mr. President, government is not the answer to our nation's difficulties. For the past 20 years it has been the problem. I have heard you and your supporters blame greedy capitalists for the current financial market troubles. Actually, I believe government policies are more to blame. Take the mortgage 'crisis' for example. It was brought about in part because certain interest groups who, in the interest of fairness, wanted the government to guarantee mortgages for people who couldn't afford them. Where sound financial analysis in the private sector would have quickly classified these transactions as imprudent, at best, the presence of a government guarantee led to a false sense of security. Our government usually does well at fighting wars. Most other things are better left to the private sector.

I would pocket the fairness card for now, Mr. President. Encourage people to be fair-minded. Encourage our elected officials to be fair-minded as well. Fair-minded means to be just and impartial. Government today has shown itself incapable of being just and impartial. Reduce government involvement in the lives of the people. Enact and enforce laws that encourage and support families and hard work. That will the best and ultimately fairest economic stimulus package that could be enacted.

Defining a Landslide Victory

The 2008 presidential election in the United States was been labeled as a 'landslide victory' and a 'mandate of the people' by many. The vote breakdown from this election for the two major candidates are as follows:

Number of Votes

Barack Obama - 67,066,915 (52.6%)
John McCain - 58,421,377 (45.9%)
Others - 1,933,645 (1.5%)

States won

Barack Obama - 28 (56%)
John McCain - 22 (44%)
Others - 0

Electoral Votes

Barack Obama - 365 (67.8%)
John McCain - 173 (32.2%)

Given that 52.6% of the vote evidently represents a 'landslide' or 'mandate' in political terms, let's use that as the barometer for measuring the voice of the people as it relates to same-gender marriages in California and the United States.

California - Proposition 8

Number of votes
Yes - 6,838,107 (52.3%)
No - 6,246,463 (47.7%)

Counties won

Yes - 42 (72.4%)
No - 16 (27.6)

In the United States the president is elected via an electoral college with 538 possible electoral votes. If California ballot initiatives were decided via an electoral college, similar to the way we elect the president of the United States, with each county given relative votes based on population with at least three votes allotted per county (as with each state in the United States) then the results would have been as follows: (analysis that of the author)

'Electoral' Votes

Yes - 418 (77.7%)
No - 120 (22.3%)

By every measure used to gauge political landslides the passage of Proposition 8 in California would appear to be mandate from the voice of the people to their elected leaders. Interestingly, the issue of same-gender marriage in the United States has been the most pervasive ballot initiative that I can find. According to the research of columnist Lee Benson of the Deseret News, of the thirty (30) states that have taken the issue to a vote of the people all thirty have passed laws or constitutional amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

A 30 - 0 record is further evidence of a mandate. According to Mr. Benson's research there have been 58,911,741 votes cast on this issue in the last decade with an astounding 63.9% of the people voting to define marriage as between one man and one woman. If this were a little league baseball game the mercy rule would have been invoked two innings ago.

All this makes it reprehensible that there are two non-binding resolutions under consideration in the California state legislature (SR 8 and AR 5) to "make it official state policy to invalidate Prop 8." Apparently there are some in the legislature that, along with Governor Schwarzenegger, who have forgotten that they took an oath to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California.' (California Constitution Article 20, Sec.3)

That is why I am supporting the California Petition to Protect Marriage to be presented to every member of the legislature and the governor reminding them of their duty and obligation to represent the people who elected them to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California.' Join me in signing the petition by going to http://unitedfamiliesca.org/default.asp?contentID=244.

While you're there sign up for United Families California email alerts. It is a great way to be informed on issues that affect California families. To read the United Families California email alert on this issue click on http://unitedfamiliesca.org/default.asp?contentID=246.

Links in this post:
http://unitedfamiliesca.org/default.asp?contentID=246
http://unitedfamiliesca.org/default.asp?contentID=244
http://www.unitedfamiliesca.org
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_20
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267125,00.html
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/props/map190000000008.htm
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?f=0&year=2008

Thirty Years Ago Today

Today I attended church where my nephew was speaking. He is leaving in a couple of weeks for Argentina to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sitting there caused me to reminisce...

I don't really remember much about the day. I think it was cloudy. It was probably a bit chilly. I remember the week before had been very emotional.

We had dinner at my grandparents home on Thanksgiving. The next day I attended the Salt Lake temple for the first time. On Sunday I said goodbye to my brothers and girlfriend -- I would have a long term relationship with my brothers, not so the girlfriend. Wednesday I was set apart by President Jesse E. Godfrey as a missionary and said goodbye to my younger sister.

On Thursday, November 30, 1978 I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah with my parents in preparation to serve two years in the Michigan Dearborn Mission. My parents left after about an hour, but I stayed for five weeks. That mission doesn't exist anymore - at least by that name. It is now the Michigan Detroit Mission, but in 1978 there wasn't a mother anywhere in the Church who would willing send her son to Detroit.

It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Harder than 50 mile back pack trips. Harder than recovering from knee replacement surgery. Harder than anything I have faced in life. That's probably why I look back on those two years so fondly.

I had lots of expectations of what the missionary experience would be like. Looking back, I realize that I didn't have a clue as to what lay ahead.

I made some of the best friends I ever had. Although it seems odd to write that as I haven't really kept in touch with any of them. I have run into them at various times and places. Most have remained faithful to their testimonies. A few, sadly, have not.

Maybe it was because I was more sensitive to the workings of God at the time, but I literally saw miracles. After being in Michigan for five weeks I met a sixteen year old girl, Rose Buccaletto. In answer to prayer she had seen the Salt Lake temple in a dream, but she didn't know what the building was or what it meant. A few days later she saw a picture of the temple in a magazine and called the missionaries. For some reason they only visited her one time and never came back. When I got transferred to the area I was picking up a book and a little scrap of paper with her name and address fell out. One day while on her street I remembered seeing that little scrap of paper. We knocked on the door and when she saw us there she started crying and asked us in.

We taught her the missionary discussions and I baptized her a few weeks later. Towards the end of my two years I was invited to speak to a comparative religion class at a local high school. Several of the students in the class recognized me from a picture that Rose had shown them from the day of her baptism. They said she was always talking to them about the Church and the joy she felt. I haven't ever seen her since then, but I did receive a wedding announcement from her a few years after I had returned home. I think she was marrying a young man from a nearby ward in the Washington D.C. temple. I hope I sent her a card, but I probably didn't.

Dale and Martha Daniels had three young children. Their oldest daughter who was seven at the time had leukemia. The chemotherapy she was receiving caused her to lose all of her hair and she wore a wig most of the time. Her parents were baptized in June of 1980 and I left the area at the end of July. To this day I can remember her telling me how she knew that she was loved by the Savior. She felt His support when sick and His comfort when other kids would tease her about having no hair. Today I wonder where the family is and how they are doing.

I met some wonderful people who had a tremendous influence on me. From my mission president's, William R. Horton and Vernon A. Cooley, to bishops Kurt Mikat and Ray Hansen from Fenton and Adrian, respectively. I got to participate in organizing a regional church conference, held in Ann Arbor on September 20-21 of 1980 with some extraordinary church, business and political leaders -- George Romney, Richard Headlee, Bud Stoddard and Ed Jones, among others. They encouraged me to keep in contact with them after returning home. They offered to mentor me in my schooling and career decisions. Unfortunately, I have never spoken with any of them after leaving Michigan.

For a few years after returning home I felt as though I had 'grown up' while in Michigan. In reality, a mission was just another stepping stone along my continuing path to growing up. I made friends with other missionaries that I hoped would last a long time. In reality I have only spoken with a few after leaving Michigan. I learned a great deal about people, the Savior, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the joy of service. Mostly, I learned about myself in a way that could not have happened at any other time or any other place.

Looking back I see how unprepared I was for the serving as a missionary. I wonder if I could have made a bigger difference in the lives of others. I wonder if my service was acceptable to the Lord. I wonder if anyone can say that meeting me helped them in any way. Ultimately, I was the biggest benefactor of my missionary service and that is not something that I am entirely comfortable with. My guess is that everyone who has ever served has felt this way.

Looking back thirty years I can still say that it was the hardest thing I have ever done. The hardest and most influential experience in my life.

Links in this post:
http://www.lds.org
http://www.mtc.byu.edu/

The Day I Defended the Indefensible

I moved from Utah to New York in December of 1984. My wife, Kerry, had accepted a job at WROC-TV in Rochester as the weekday meteorologist. We arrived in Rochester on Friday, the 14th of December and she began working the following Monday.

Three days later I went to the TV station between the 6:00 and 11:00 news broadcasts and met some of the people that she worked with. I remember vividly meeting the sports anchor and discussing college football with him. Eventually our conversation moved to the Holiday Bowl that was being played the following night in San Diego between #1 rated BYU (11-0) and Michigan (6-5).

It was his opinion that even if BYU beat Michigan they should not be awarded the 'mythical' national championship as they 'hadn't played anyone'. It was true. They were the first, and remain to this day, the only college football team to be ranked #1 at the end of the regular season without having played even one team ranked in the top 25 in any major poll. I was as ticked off as anyone that BYU was playing for a 'national championship', but I felt obliged to defend them.

I maintained that it really wasn't their fault that their schedule wasn't very strong. As schedules are booked several years in advance it is virtually impossible to know who will be good in any particular year. In their defense, I pointed out that they had played at Pittsburgh (1984 record of 3-7-1) the first game of the season and won. When that game was originally scheduled, Pittsburgh was coming off of a national championship season themselves (1976) and had back-to-back-to-back one loss seasons from 1979 - 1981.

Further, I argued that if anyone was particularly interested in proving that BYU wasn't the best team in the nation they should arrange to play them in a bowl game. BYU, by virtue of being WAC champions, was committed to play in the Holiday Bowl , and nobody (not even BYU, as I recall) was willing to discuss a buyout of that commitment so that BYU could have played a top ranked team in a bowl game.

There were a number of teams that could have accepted an invitation to play BYU, including third ranked Washington (10-1), but they all decided to take a larger payout and hope that Michigan beat BYU. For their part Washington accepted an invitation to play #2 Oklahoma (10-1) in the Orange Bowl. BYU ended up beating Michigan in a very unconvincing manner 24-17, while Washington beat #2 Oklahoma 28-17 in the infamous Sooner Schooner penalty game.

BYU was voted the 'mythical' national championship at the end of the season. I guess they deserved it for the most part. They were the only undefeated team in the nation. No team could claim that they were better by proving it on the field. I think BYU was certainly a top 10 team that year - maybe even a top 5, but most assuredly were not the best. In my opinion the BYU 1983 team was better.

There was minor outrage at the end of the season that BYU had been awarded the championship. It seemed for a while that this incident would lead to a true national championship game. Instead, eight years later in an even bigger money grab, the six largest football conferences and Notre Dame developed the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Sorry, the BCS is even too indefensible for me to try mounting a defense.

Tomorrow in Salt Lake City, the University of Utah (11-0) will play BYU (10-1) for the Mountain West Conference championship. If, as expected Utah (the good guys, wearing the red hats) beats BYU (booooooooo!) they will have a far stronger claim for consideration of the national championship than BYU did in 1984. They will have beaten five teams that had been ranked in the top 25 during the year (Michigan - okay they didn't deserve it, but they were ranked at the time, Oregon State, Air Force, TCU and BYU). They will likely receive a big bowl game payout from one of the BCS bowls, but should be a given a chance to PLAY for a title.

Utah went undefeated in 2004 and became the first team from outside the BCS structure to be awarded a berth in a big payout BCS game. Unfortunately, they were invited play an extremely undermatched, Big East Conference champion, Pittsburgh team in the Fiesta Bowl who they beat 35-7. I wouldn't for one minute claim that Utah was the best team in the nation that year. They probably would have put up a better fight against USC, however, than Oklahoma did in the Orange Bowl (final score 55-7).

Our newly elected president of the United States, Barack Obama, has indicated that he thinks that college football should have an end of season tournament to determine a national champion. It is maybe the only thing he has said that makes sense to me. It may not happen in my lifetime, however. The money for the six BCS conferences is just too big and the rest of the country doesn't have the clout (or television viewing populations) to unseat it at this time.