The Funniest Conservative Hip-Hop You'll See Tonday

At first, I thought this was an SNL thing, but then I realized it was too funny for SNL.

I'm not responsible for any famage to your head or your keyboard when the 2 collide.

From The SideTrack

Jim Matheson to run for ..... Something in 2010

Utah's Second District Congressman Jim Matheson is probably the most powerful man in Utah Democratic politics right now. He tells KTVX that he's considering running for Senate or Governor next year if he doesn't run for reelection. Let's look at some pros and cons of each race:

Congress: He'd be looking at his sixth term if elected, which is a high probability. The higher-profile races are drawing Republicans away from this race. Matheson's leaving for higher office could open the door to someone else from the Dems stepping up. Also,should Matheson announce his decision to leave the house early enough, look for a Republican that won't win one of the other races will jump in.

Senate: Sam Granato will be officially announcing his candidacy on Monday, so Matheson jumping in could lead to a intra-party battle to riva the GOP's.

Governor: There is a large online movement to draft Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon to run for this office. Should Matheson run for a this position, Corroon could pull a Chaffetz and run (If memory serves me right,the Corroons live on H Street. The east side of I street is in the 2nd district).

However, The least you can say is that it is a fun time to be a political junkie in Utah!

-Bob

From The SideTrack

Sam Granato US Senate Campaign Launches Next Monday

What: Sam Granato for US Senate (2010) Announcement
When: Monday, June 1, 2009 11:30 AM
Where: Granato's Deli: 1632 S Redwood Rd, SLC

See you there!

-Bob

From The SideTrack

Comparing Apples to Oranges in politics can be dangerous

Sometimes in politics, and life in general, we tend to make a jump of logic that really is illogical.

Like the following exchange Rob Miller posted on Facebook tonight:

was just asked by Todd Taylor, "Why would Republicans who believe we should carry personal firearms into national parks, churches, and universities have a problem with any country having weapons of mass-destruction? Doesn't natural law give them the right to defend themselves too?" First principles folks!

Now, I'm no "tote your guns anywhere" guy (private property rights trump your right to bare arms), but this is stretching it a bit.

Unless Todd can ind someone saying we can carry anthrax and suitcase nukes to Bryce Canyon, it really is comparing apples to oranges.

Or, more like comparing apples to pickup trucks.

-Bob

From The SideTrack

Annother Member of the Loony Wing Joins the Senate Race

Ethan Millard writes on KSL.com that Cherilyn Bacon Eagar "is forming an exploratory committee in preparation to join the race to replace Senator Bennett."

She Joins Mark Shurtleff and Tim Bridgewater on the Republican Side. Joe Granato is the only Democrat to have announced at this point.

Who is Cherilyn Bacon Eagar?

Cherilyn Bacon Eagar is an owner of and marketing director for WebsTarget® by Computer Camp, an Internet marketing company that services the real estate industry nationally. She is President and Policy Analyst for World Class Education Research, founded to publish and advocate for ideals that strengthen the traditional family. She was co-author of the first state Family and Educational Rights to Privacy Act, to protect students from invasive psychological and non-academic testing. She is also author of an education policy manual entitled Edugate America: The Deconstruction of a Culture and is completing a book on pornography to help the family members of sexual addicts.

She has presented nationally on education reforms and related topics for over 20 years, has been a media spokesperson for many causes from Stop ERA of the late 70’s to hosting an opinion/comment talk radio show. She is featured in Sean Hannity’s book Let Freedom Ring in recognition of her successful post-9/11 national campaign against the Red Cross’ “neutrality” policy which prohibited the singing of traditional American patriotic songs such as “God Bless the USA” and “America the Beautiful” and “Declaration” (with text from the Declaration of Independence), and songs which mention the words “God” and “prayer.”

She developed a summer program in New York City for aspiring performing artists working with Broadway directors and instructors and rated among the top 2 programs along with NYU’s “Cap 21” program. She received highest ratings while on the faculty at the Orange County School of the Arts (a charter school) and at Brigham Young University. She has been accepted into the Masters Degree program in Education and in Marriage and Family Therapy from Liberty University in Virginia.

Cherilyn has had a wealth of experience in the private, non-profit charitable sector, having raised approximately $1 million for various causes from the Boy Scouts to the Special Olympics, as well as fighting pornography over the past decade. She has also had a lifetime of experience in the political arena in several regions of the U.S., multiple times as Republican county and state delegate, a candidate for the school board in Texas, as campaign manager for the 1994 Congressional race in Utah’s 3rd District, and in supporting conservative candidates and causes that strengthen families.

A lifelong, dedicated Republican, she has also had brief, but vast, top-level, “third party” experience when she helped Patrick Buchanan in his bid for the presidency. During that time, she became the National Press Secretary for the Reform Party. As a result, she is a strong advocate for working within the existing two party-system to affect change. She believes the Republican Party, though its platform reflects correct principles of government and the free market, has drifted too far toward Statism/Big Government in practice.

She is now dedicated to restoring the Republican Party to the principles of its platform, to fiscal responsibility, and to the principles of the free market and states’ sovereignty for which President Ronald Reagan stood, especially in the area of education. She opposes the recent national take-over of America’s economy and recognizes that Congress has adopted a mixed economy of predominantly socialist/fascist principles. This must change if America is to survive and remain that “Shining City on a Hill” that Reagan envisioned as the bastion of freedom for the rest of the world.

She is married to Randy Eagar, and together they have seven children and 9.5 grandchildren.

I'm wondering if the Loony wing of the party are diluting their voting bloc too much with too many candidates.

-Bob

From The SideTrack

I'm ba-a-ack!

I've been away for a while. Much of this has to do with my not having a computer for a month. However, much has gone on in my blogging absence, and much continues to go on.

So, thanks for sticking it out with me, and let's move along for the ride.

-Bob

From The SideTrack

Now, the Pig Flu Gets Personal, Hits me in the pocketbook

Stupid H1N1.

Actually, it's all the overreaction. I mean, seriously, if you were scheduled to play soccer in a place that canceled schools because of a disease, would you?

The first two domestic matches of 2009 for the U.S. Women’s National Team have been cancelled after Japan decided not to travel to the United States or Canada, citing concerns with the H1N1 virus.

The U.S. team was to face the Japanese in two games, one at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas on May 20 and another at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, on May 23. Japan was also scheduled to play Canada on May 25 at BMO Field in Toronto.

“This is an unfortunate situation, but one that we had absolutely no control over,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “We have been assured that the risk to the participating teams is exceptionally low, but we accept the Japanese Federation’s decision not to travel.”

Fans that already purchased tickets to either game will be refunded in full from the original point of purchase.

Looks like another night I won't be working. Thanks a lot, pigs.

-Bob

Note: All posts on here reflect only my personal opinions. They do not represent the opinions of my clients, my employers or their affiliates. All comments and pages contained in their links are the responsibility of their authors and do not reflect the position of me.

P.S. I hold Nothing Against Pigs Personally. They are still tasty.

Big Government Chaffetz

I saw this yesterday, and I thought "Hmm..... either I was wrong thinking of Jason Chaffetz as a small-government type, or he's a typical Utah Republican: Talks the talk, skips the walk."

But, I didn't have time to look it up. So, I defer to Curtis:

On Chaffetz’s campaign site, one of his big four issues is limited government – stating that “This principal works! I agree with President Regan: “Government which governs least governs best.” He goes on to expand on this point by stating that he is a strong supporter of federalism with the emphasis being placed on the states and that he will “seek to restrict the role of the federal government.”

Ah, but Chaffetz is also the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia and, therefore, is able to rule on all ordinances D.C. comes up with. You see, because Washington D.C. is not technically a state, rather a federal district, the Constitution grants Congress the right to pass all laws regarding the governance of the city. Everything from parking ordinances to the recognition of gay marriage is, technically, left in the hands of Congress.

But I ask Representative Chaffetz, how can you be a supporter of small government and feel that it is ok to intervene in the affairs of Washington D.C.? I understand that D.C. poses unique questions and can be treated differently than Utah – but does that mean that you should? Are the 590,000 of the District less entitled to local government than the 745,000 in yours – if not, do you consider District residents Americans? If so, why do you feel the need to interfere only in their lives but not the lives of residents who live in regular states?

Of course, Jason Chaffetz loves government so much, he is the only Representative to be represented by someone else.

-Bob

Chris Buttars Unfriends Marie Osmond

One of the things that we have to be careful of is that we don't create hate. Because people believe certain things and we can’t make everyone become homogenized.

Everybody has a right to believe what they believe. But I do think everyone has a right to have civil rights.

I believe everyone should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. You know, on those types of things, I am very supportive. When it comes to marriage, you know, I think civil rights need to be for all.

-Marie Osmond, whose daughter may or may not be a lesbian.

On Obama's Mom's Mormon Baptism

I opened my Facebook this morning and saw that several of my friends had posted a link to an article on AMERICAblog about "The Mormons" having baptized President Barack Obama's dead mother. And, of course, i had to write a post about it.

Some initial thoughts that I had:

1) either the LDS Church is true or it isn't. If it isn't true, then nothing happens to a person's soul, right?

2) In LDS Church doctrine, even after a person is baptized posthumously, that person still needs to accept it.

3) My great-grandmother has been baptized posthumously at least three times, despite the fact she was baptized while she was alive (and a lifelong member at that). I use this to point out that some members of the Church tend to wildly put down names to be baptized for without doing their homework.

4 (and this is the big one)) I'm fairly certain that this is against Church policy to do Temple work for people who have next-of-kin who haven't given permission.

It was this last point that made me do some homework, so that I would present correct information.

And, low and behold, I found more information on the Chrusch's web site than I thought I would. While it was written specifically to talk about problems with baptizing of holocost victims, it applies here as well. I have copied the following from the Church's Newsroom section, and have put in bold some of the pertinent sections.

A fundamental Church doctrine is that God grants to everyone the opportunity to receive His offer of salvation. God’s offer is universal, but each person must choose for himself or herself whether to accept it — God does not dictate the choice and no one else can impose it. Church doctrine states that to accept God’s offer one must, among other things, have faith, repent of sins, and be baptized by immersion.

It is fundamental to the Church’s concept of God as perfectly just and perfectly merciful that the baptismal invitation be extended to all. The Church’s extensive missionary program is an effort to extend that invitation to people throughout the world. However, millions have died without the opportunity to accept baptism. Church doctrine teaches that these persons continue to exist in the afterlife as conscious spirits with the capacity to learn, exercise faith, and make choices pertaining to their personal salvation. Consistent with practices dating back to New Testament times (see 1 Corinthians 15:29), Church members perform proxy or vicarious baptisms on behalf of those who have died without baptism. Proxy baptisms are considered so sacred they are performed only in Church temples.

The temple (proxy) baptism ceremony is simple and brief. Two people, dressed in white clothing, enter a temple baptismal font. One offers a short prayer in which the name of a deceased person is reverently spoken. He then briefly immerses the other person in the water.

As required by Church doctrine, a temple baptism is noted on Church records. However, the Church does not list persons as members of the Church or “Mormons” merely because proxy baptisms have been performed. Church doctrine teaches that at some point the spirit of the deceased person will be informed that a baptism has been performed on his or her behalf and will be given the opportunity to accept or reject it. The Church has no way of knowing whether a person has accepted the baptism and thus does not consider such persons Church members. In this way, Church members extend the opportunity to accept the Church’s message and faith to all people.

Although the Church teaches that temple baptisms must eventually be performed for everyone who did not receive them in this life, from the beginning Church members have been taught to focus their efforts on their own relatives. Hundreds of thousands of members throughout the world conduct private genealogical research to determine the names of their departed relatives and then submit those names to temples for the performance of proxy baptisms. The process for submitting names is relatively open and depends on the accuracy and good-faith of Church members around the world. Because any Church member can research and submit names for temple baptisms, errors and duplications sometimes occur.

Church members are specifically instructed not to submit the names of persons not related to them. Before performing temple baptisms for a deceased family member born within the last 95 years, members are instructed to get permission from the person's closest living relative.

So, to sum it up: Yes, the person who submitted the name was in error.

-Bob

Fear not the Pig: We're Way Overreacting

I understand being cautious about things, but my heck we're overreacting a little bit with this swine flu (or H1N1, as it's called now).

I mean, the regular flu kills 35,000 Americans a year.

That's an average of 3,000 a month.

Of 12 possible cases in Utah (as of Sat morning), Zero were being hospitalized.

And yet Park City gave the students a four-day weekend because 3 students may have the flu. (I understand the movie theaters in the area were crowded those two days.)

They even canceled prom! I wonder how many other, more deadly, deseases they prevented by canceling prom.

When I was in high school, we had several Mono epidemics break out. We never got out of school for it, unless you were the one who got the mono. The football team got banned from kissing their girlfriends, but that was it.

Canceling school? Prom?

Now, this from the DesNews:

A decision over whether Park City's spring athletic teams will be allowed to participate in 3A postseason tournaments won't be made until at least late this evening by the Utah High School Activities Association, UHSAA executive director Dave Wilkey confirmed this morning.

Wilkey confirmed his association will be responsible for making that decision and not the Park City School District, as was previously thought.

Park City's participation in 3A sports tournaments this spring was cast into doubt last week after three students in the PCSD were thought to have possibly contacted the swine flu from Mexico, and it was put into serious jeopardy after at least one of those students was confirmed Saturday to have had the virus.

As of this morning, Wilkey was trying to pull together a meeting involving the 3A representatives of the UHSAA that would take place this evening. Wilkey said the UHSAA is planning to release a statement with its final decision Tuesday morning, though it could take longer than that if the association can't come to a consensus this evening.

Oh. My. Gosh! Johnny could get pig flu if we let students who aren't even sick but live in the same community as people who are sick (but not sick enough to got to the hospital)! We can't let that happen!

What's next? Or what am I missing?