Communi-phobia

As I continue to walk my own fine line not fighting for or against same-sex marriage. Most of the criticism I have received is from those on the "against" side who seem to use the teachings of the Prophets to condemn me for "not hating gays enough." I don't think that's the message of the Prophets at all.

Anyhoo, I thought I would like to note that there are a lot of messages popping up on the internets linking Gay Marriage to Communism. Even on claimed LDS affiliated sites. Yep, more evidence of the paranoid style in American politics.

Is It Time Yet?

No. And it will never be. The coming presidential election fills me with dread. Hillary will be a fine president but the 47% (that voted for Romney not the 47% who . . . oh, never mind!) will make it shear misery for the nation and her. She may slip and commit an actual foul. And I sure don't want Bill in the White House again with too much time on his hands.

What pushes me to this cataclysmic decision as I go off to confer, converse, and otherwise hobnob with my fellow weirdos, was the vitriolic religious hatred for Senator Harry Reid for daring to confirm a new member of his church who happened to be a former Senator (Republican) and a friend. And that was from people in Harry's own church!

Anyway, I'm not ending the blog but it will see only sporadic posting from me as I just don't want to do it anymore. I'm tired. And my left arm hurts.

So, I leave you with this recent sparkling repartee between me and Anonymous D. I started out, for which I take full responsibility - but I may be closing comments on this:

Objectivism vs. Communitarianism

"Angels Who Have Pruned on High!"
As part of our LDS Ward Fall Clean-up, our Bishop and others help take down a threatening tree limb before it falls.
I mostly worked on the leaf-raking crews as I have few heavy-equipment or chain-saw skills.

More philosophical than political today, although I'm far from being an intellectual philosopher. And for today we will just leave aside the devil's purpose regarding free agency (you can see my view here). And I relate personal experience only to say that I attempt to walk the communitarian walk.

Yesterday, I went out to help the neighborhood in our Fall clean-up project. Most of it was yard cleaning for widows and the elderly. Our Priesthood and Women's Relief Society under the direction of our bishopric prepared a list of people to visit with the needs they had. As we went around, we hit a few other homes that needed some work - those of new move-ins, less-active members of the church, even non-members. The best part of all is that some of the less-actives and a great new move-in family came out to help and then went along with us to other houses.

Rand Paul: "What a Maroon!"

Theoretical hot chicks in Senator Paul's hot tub by theoretical drone surveillance

As my earlier post will evidence, I've tried really hard to give a little respect to Rand Paul, Tea-Libertarian extraordinaire. His filibuster on the drones brought attention to a very important issue with which I have serious differences with President Obama.

Then I see a quote from the Jr. Senator from Kentucky today:

"If there is a killer on the loose in a neighborhood, I’m not against drones being used to search them" 

Classic Filibuster - Drone on the Drones!

Senator Rand Paul (R. Kentucky)

Senator Ron Wyden (D. Oregon)

I caught some tweets and news clips of an unlikely hero (of mine), Sen. Rand Paul (R. Kentucky). I've been hard on him in the past and probably will in the future as I have just found one and only one area of agreement. And that is opposition to the Drone War. It's also the one area where I have strong disagreement with President Obama. He should know better. And my optimistic idealism leads me to hope that it is all part of a grand strategy to have it cut off before the end of his second term, hopefully with a clear decision by the Supreme Court so no President will ever do it again. (One can dream.)

It was fascinating as an old style filibuster with the Senator on his feet only yielding for questions (in the form of drawn out speeches ending in a question) by pre-arranged associates who would carry on the filibuster. Mike Lee (R. Utah - groan, now he does something I like), Ted Cruz (R. Texas), Jerry Moran (R. Kansas), Marco Rubio (R. Florida - who told him to keep his water close by), Saxby Chambliss (R. Georgia), John Cornyn (R. Texas), and Pat Toomey (R. Pennsylvania), [and John Barrasso (R. Wyoming)] - a regular tea party jamboree!! And then, and this is a big deal, Ron Wyden (D. Oregon) - one of my heroes for other reasons! (Mostly which I can't go into until I retire).

Von Mises Institute Secessionist Theory

Discuss:

"With the orderly, legal secession of the southern states, the American genius for self-government reached its highest moral expression." Donald W. Livingston of the Ludvig von Mises Institute.

Discuss is what I did with my good Libertarian friend on Facebook. With his permission, I will post the discussion here. Any other comments are welcome (under the rules of posting down below).

Russell first recommended the article linked above in this way:

Very well written. Grant, I would like to read a rebuttal on your blog if you can find the time.

Me:

Yikes! My whole blog is a rebuttal to this convoluted argument about the power of states over people. Yes. That's the argument of States Rights. Just a smaller government rather than a big one. And if you've ever been to a City Council meeting, you can see first hand that the idea of "the smaller the government, the better" is a myth. It is still a "state" or "government" power. But can't argue you out of a deeply held belief system. The beauty of the Constitutional Union, in spite of its faults, and your article points out many, is that it allows the government of the people to protect the rights of individuals with the people's power united in a Constitutional system respecting basic human rights. Look, I know I can't convince you. And I don't think even Lincoln can, but here it is in a better summary than I could ever make:

The NRA, the ACLU, & the Criminally Insane

Just a thought. I intend to do a full report on a really good book I've been reading that I have almost finished. But I just read this today:

At first nothing more than an association of sportsmen, the NRA in the 1960s came under the leadership of militant gun libertarians who fought fiercely and adamantly against any and all forms of gun control, and their rhetoric was even more belligerent ("the best defense is a strong offense") in the aftermath of the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King. Concurrently, the ACLU came under the leadership of zealots who abetted the national movement in the 1960s to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill--to protect their "right" to live in squalor in the parks and on the streets of America. A powerful trend was thus established through the work of these very different zealots: it is now very difficult (impossible, in fact) to keep dangerous lunatics away from our loved ones. Here was an apt libertarian convergence of the left and the right to make our public places as chaotic and dangerous as possible. Striner, Richard Lincoln's Way: How Six Great Presidents Created American Power (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland 2010) p. 181.

Debate Prep - NOT Fasting for Mitt

Maybe I need to start a pledge e-mail chain . . . .

Last night I was invited by a Facebook friend to join a fast for Mitt Romney so he will do well in the debate tomorrow and win the Presidency. I was somewhat shocked and disturbed. Calming down a little, I posted this:

I've just been invited to a "fast" for Mitt Romney. I declined. This reminds of when members of my ward were using their manipulative tricks to get me to sign up for their "spiritual" self-awareness seminars. I declined that too. As a public notice to all - Please! No more invitations! If you don't understand why this is so highly inappropriate, then just condemn me to heck and move on. Please! (I think my Libertarian Mormon friends are with me on this one! Respect them too!)

I think that was a pretty temperate response. (The whole "self-awareness seminar business" I'll save for another time).

A Matter of Perception

I don't usually go for the laugh on the blog. In fact, some think I'm a little too serious (maybe even full of myself). So, in an attempt to lighten up a bit, I share this great little matrix I found on the web:

Gadianton Capitalists

Kinda proud of myself. I guess I should say "pleased" so I don't fall into Nephite disease. But I got a good one in during Sunday School today.

The Lesson was Helaman 6-12 about the Pride Cycle. Getting through the first part, the teacher asked, "What groups are there today that are like the Gadianton Robbers?"

"Ah-oh," I thought. This was heading for trouble fast.

Compromise is Not a Four-Letter Word

It has at least ten by my count. That does make it a complex word. And so often we end up arguing two different definitions of the same thing with our assumptions out of whack and our values unnecessarily threatened.

Senator Rand Paul (R. Kentucky)

This was illustrated very well today on a couple of comments in an article about Paulistas (not the people from São Paulo but the supporters of Ron Paul) being very upset with Rand Paul for declaring his support for Mitt Romney.

The World Has No Need for our Drones

Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic's resident Libertarian, has a series of articles here, here, and here on the President's drone attacks in his War on Terror (even if this President doesn't call it that). This is an area where I sort of agree with the Libertarians. The drone attacks appear to be an unconstitutional extension of the President's war power and violate principles of due process with regard to the essential human right of life regardless of citizenship. I hesitate to join with the Libertarians for a lot of other reasons and while my criticism of President Obama is justified, I see no alternative in Governor Romney as he would likely be worse in his continued attempts to out neo-con the neo-cons.

Musical Socialism

Last night, I went to the annual awards ceremony of the jazz music program my two youngest boys are in. I won't name it here because of the title to this piece and I don't want to unnecessarily politicize the Director. I continue to take responsibility and flak for my passionate moderation seen by some on the right to be as evil as Mau-Mau Marxism.

Anyway, the Director said something interesting last night. In getting a little emotional about how much he respects his students for their talent and their basic goodness even more, he said that music education is so important because it teaches good citizenship as a lesson in civics. My ears perked up.

A Save This Time Takes Six of Nine

The non-radical John Roberts

Chief Justice Roberts is my friend. It's not just because he doesn't creep me out nearly as much as Scalia, Thomas, and Alito do. It's probably because he is a more traditional, solid conservative in the institutional and political sense, not just judicial, and will likely not overturn the ACA (AKA - "Obamacare") in any radical way.

I still wonder if the Chief Justice might have had a little talk with Justice Alito about his injudicious jumping at the President's bait on Citizens United in the 2010 State of the Union Address. True Conservatives preserve the status quo and try to avoid causing scenes. Right now, the status quo is President Obama and the American People with health care in their pocket.

Santorum, Romney & Paul Win Iowa for Obama

This vote count is going slowly tonight because the top three guys are so close. I won't be able to check my predictions of last week for a while, but I'll be pretty close. I even fell asleep for a minute, and my son changed the channel to the Michigan--Virginia Tech game, which was pretty exciting when I woke up at the end of the second quarter.

Earlier, I had this exchange with my fourteen-year-old trying to convince him to watch CNN with me (and before I dozed off for him to switch the channel). We were watching the projections based on those entering the caucuses:

Son: "So, who do you want to win?"

Me: "Huntsman."

Son (thoughtfully watching the screen): "Dad, he's not going to win."

YTREBIL: That's "Liberty" Backwards

This is the problem I have with the the Libertarian/Conservative viewpoint as evidenced by the newest attention to old revelations about Ron Paul. We apparently see the world differently--frontwards or backwards. And who is to tell what side of Alice's looking glass we are on?

It's a simple difference in perception. Paul and other conservatives, particularly those of a Libertarian bent, or in LDS culture, the followers of Skousen and the ultra-conservatives, are offended by classifications of people by groups that give them "special rights." (Of course, if it is a group under "states rights doctrine," that is somehow OK).

Race and Ron Paul (and Mormons)

The best thing you can say about the Ron Paul newsletter controversy is that his Libertarian sentiments are broad-based to the point that they simple don't recognize race. Worse, and more accurately (IMO), with Paul's attempts to distance himself from an unidentified author, and allowing such expressions under his name without much contemporaneous concern, reflect societal cancers of racial prejudice--at least the prejudice of neglect and avoidance of the malignancy.

I've been reading a quite a few reports on the Paul controversy, mostly on the Atlantic website and on Andrew Sullivan's where he initially endorsed Paul then withdrew the endorsement after a reconsideration of the newsletter issues.

The Third Seal Opened the Market Based Economy?

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vasnetsov
Note the third rider on the black horse carrying the market scales

So, I was sitting there in Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class amazed by the teacher skimming through that lesson on Revelation Chapters 4-22, which is quite a lot to cover in forty minutes. We did have the McConkie outline explaining that it is mostly historical based on the dispensations of the Gospel and not all still to come. We read about the first four seals and the horsemen. There was a comment about the third seal representing famine and starvation because people of the world don't share the resources we have resulting in inequities. I went back and read the verses again:

Anarchists Occupy and Ron Paul Supporters Come Full Circle

Proving the political continuum is not a line but a circle, the Occupy Wall Street Movement marched through downtown Salt Lake with dispossessed Libertarians. As we watched from the windows of the Federal Building, they were at least smart enough to realize that a branch of the Federal Reserve was across the street and that's where they focused their pass-by march rather than just yelling at us for trying to serve the public. There were over 200 of them which beats out the last tea party tax day protest by a long shot.

Pretty cool design - the whole red revolution-thing going
with the socialist (oops, "industry") beehive 

Richard L. Bushman: Honorary Passionate Moderate Mormon

I was not able to attend this lecture, but I read a report from Peggy Fletcher Stack in the Salt Lake Tribune. Professor (Brother) Bushman is right on my themes of moderation and political tolerance that should be coming out of Mormonism. He may even be a bit more optimistic about all this than I am. But I welcome the voice.

He is the author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. This is a great biography, some have characterized as "warts and all," while I see it more as a fascinating, true story of a real human being who many millions, including Bushman and yours truly respect and honor as a prophet of God. Read it. I heartily recommend it.