Maybe I don't get the joke.....

From Jesse Fruhwirth at City Weekly:

As I reported first via my Twitter feed, the press conference calling for a ballot initiative to remove homosexuals from Utah was fake. At best, the organizers put together improv theater that punked the Utah press corps and maybe got people to think about gay rights for a moment. It's fashionable to make fools of news media folk such as myself, so, touche. But at its worst, it was an offensive attention-grabbing play on Holocaust-like imagery and language that does little to advance the argument for gay rights in Utah.

The phony press conference is a play out of the Yes Men play book. For example, The Yes Men once punked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by announcing a press conference, then posing as representatives of that group while calling for climate change legisation. It was funny, you see, because the Chamber opposes such legislation. Ha. Zinger. Got 'em.

I'm not sure what Ha-Ha we were supposed to get from today's action, but I think the point they must have been trying to make is that it is somewhat believable that Utah could foster such a movement of concerned citizens that would openly and publicly call for Nazi-like solutions to the "homosexual problem?"

And a response from the group who held the "press conference," Patriots for a Moral Utah:

Because of the intense anti-lgbt climate in Utah, and because our voices have been silenced by recent statements and deals made on the hill, we felt a creative solution would be to highlight just how outlandish some of their claims are. It is amazing that Utah has reached a point where even something as crazy as the "Utah Fair Solution" has legitimacy and is believable.

The goal of this political satire was purely a play off of the many groups, legislators, organizations and religions who speak against the LGBT community. As a community we hear constantly from people like Paul Mero of the Sutherland Institute who tell us that our families and love are an illusion, or Senator Chris Buttars who says that we have no morality and are the biggest threat to America.

The point was not to "punk" anybody, but to push people to continue the discussion of LGBT rights, and are thrilled at the conversations and public input that flew when news of the Patriots came out.

We love our community, and hope that our political farce has helped in highlighting what we feel is the ridiculousness and cruelty of some in our legislature and groups like The Eagle Forum, the Patrick Henry Caucus and America Forever. Thank you to all those who caught the big picture of our attempt and who have supported the efforts of all those who made this a reality. Also a very special thank you to each of the protesters who attended at the capitol, who were aware of the satire and helped to make it such a great event. This was another step in our multi-faceted campaign to achieve equality, and we're all in this together.

OK, great. I still don't get it. With Sutherland, Buttars, Ruzika, and America Forever, do we really need parody? After all, the best comedy to come out of Saturday Night Live the last couple of years was Tina Fey repeating Sarah Palin's words.

And, instead of pointing out how ridiculous they are, you made some of us think "hmm, Makes Mero not seem so bad."

Yes, you got people talking. But they are talking about your stunt, not the need for more gay rights.

-Bob

Stop The Presses! Gayle Ruzicka and I Agree on SB 248

Someone once said that politics makes strange bedfellows. You know it's true when I agree with Utah Eagle Forum's Gayle Ruzicka on a bill.

But, sometimes, a bill is so wrong (wrong isn't even the right word. Strange? Stupid? I don't know) that it requires people of all stripes to weigh in in opposition.

To the Trib:

Utah kids could begin getting hit up to play blackjack or try their luck on Las Vegas' loosest slot machines under legislation being sponsored by a conservative Utah County lawmaker.

Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, is sponsoring SB248 to exempt casino gambling from the state's do-not-contact registry, designed to protect children from solicitations for pornography, alcohol, smoking and other adult-oriented business.

He told a committee this week the casino carve-out was brought to him by the Attorney General's Office, which won a lawsuit in October brought by the pornography industry challenging the registry but feared it couldn't withstand a suit by the gambling industry.

That is not Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's recollection.

"We didn't come up with this," Shurtleff said. "The casino folks came to [Madsen] initially and asked him to run the bill and then came to us next."

Because suddenly caring about being able to afford lawsuits is important.

Because Senator Madsen cares for kids so much, he wants them to get SPAM from the Peppermill.

If I had the oomph, I'd check to see how much money Senator Madsen has gotten from the gambling industry lately. I'd be willing to be it's not a small amount. But, that would require dealing with Gary Herbert's cluster-**** of a website, which requires more patience than I have right now.

[UPDATE 3/4/10 5:54 PM] Someone looked into Senator Madsen's donations back to 2008 and couldn't find any gambling interests. [end update]

Oh, and Gayle Ruzica's take on the bill?

But Madsen's proposal has conservative groups, who traditionally back the like-minded legislator, concerned about the impacts.

"I didn't like that bill from the beginning," said Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum. "Senator Madsen is a really, really good man who believes in that registry. He would never do anything to destroy it. ... That registry has to be protected at all costs."

If the state has to exempt gambling to preserve the rest of the registry, she said, it is a pill they will have to swallow, but she would rather leave it the way it is.
"I don't believe anything [the casinos] are saying. They're evil people," she said. "They'd love to addict all of us, including children."

Hey, Carl! Don't shoot Gayle!

I *ALMOST* agree with Gayle Ruzika

The story, from KSL:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

And the big, bad controversial video:



Now,it does have a bit of a political message. After all, someone wears an Obama shirt, and the pledging service to Barack Obama is a little much.

And I am very against showing a political message to a bunch of school children.

However, I wonder if there would be this big of an uproar from Gayle Ruzika if this was last year, and it was George W Bush that was quoted.

But, Gayle is right. service is a crazy, liberal agenda. After all, it was a great liberal leader named Benjamin that said "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

-Bob

Cherilyn Eager and Conservative Heretics

Cherilyn Eager made her candidacy for US Senate official today, with a rally (?) at Marie Calenders.

Eagar began her campaign by taking shots at the other GOP candidates in the race.

"I'm told this is a four-way race. It's not," she said. "It's a two-way race: a race between three counterfeit conservatives and one authentic conservative. I'm the real deal."

She added, "I have one word to say about Bob Bennett: bailout," complaining he voted for the initial bailout for troubled financial firms (although he opposed later versions). She also said his actions have helped put America on a "bullet train to tyranny."

"I have two words to say about Mark Shurtleff and Tim Bridgewater: John McCain. At a time when the field had several great conservative choices, Shurtleff and Bridgewater chose the guy in the middle of the road," Eagar said. "And we all know what happens to the armadillo in the middle of the road."

She said she supported Mitt Romney for president.

Which one was Mitt Romney -- the one who did a complete 540 on abortion (semi-pro life, then pro choice, then very pro life)), or was he the guy who as governor of that conservative hotbed of Massachusetts when they started allowing Gay Marriage?

Oh, he was the one who showed great personal fiscal responsibility by owning homes in 4 states and spending $25 Million of his own money to come in third. That guy.

Maybe that's what Gayle Ruzicka meant when she said of Eager: "I know she won't change. What she says is what she'll do — and that's important."

As Ethan at KSL pointed out:

The Republican Party is looking for heretics when they SHOULD be looking for converts.

From The SideTrack

My Take On Big Love

Back before Comcast robbed me of HBO, I loved watching Big Love. The only time I've missed HBO has been when Big Love was on.

But I haven't really wanted to see it. Until this week.

Because I wanted to see for myself what the uproar was over.

I watched it illegally on YouTube. And, frankly, the uproar was misdirected.

After all, as LDS Scholar Hugh Nibley said (H/T KVNUftp):

“Even though everyone may discover what goes on in the temple, and many have already revealed it, the important thing is that I do not reveal these things; they must remain sacred to me. I must preserve a zone of sanctity which cannot be violated whether or not anyone else in the room has the remotest idea what the situation really is… No matter what happens, it will, then, always remain secret: only I know exactly the weight and force of the covenants I have made - I and the Lord with whom I have made them - unless I choose to reveal them. If I do not, then they are secret and sacred no matter what others may say or do. Anyone who would reveal these things has not understood them, and therefore that person has not given them away. You cannot reveal what you do not know!” (The Temple and the Cosmos, p. 64)

One thing that killed me was how many people made it sound like the full Endowment Ceremony was going to be portrayed. In fact, only a small portion was shown.

And, there were two glaring mistakes. I won't mention what they were, but they were obvious.

And, the Temple wasn't the only secret thing portrayed. In the end of the episode, the head wife gets excommunicated from the LDS Church. I'm not sure how accurate the proceedings were to reality, but I'm sure you can't find that on YouTube like you can the Temple ceremony.

And, it should clear up any rumors that they are trying to paint mainstream Mormons as polygamists.

But what should really trouble us was something the LDS Church pointed out in their press release:

Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous.

And the problem isn't that they are portraying tus that way. It's the Mormons who are portraying themselves as unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous.

I'm talking to you, Gayle Ruzika. Chris Buttars. Paul Mero.

I'm guilty of it, too, on occasion.

However, it's usually what my non-LDS friends mean when they tell me I'm not like other Mormons they know.

As a missionary, I was always nervous when someone informed me they once lived next to/worked with/knew a Mormon. Was the person they knew a "good guy" or narrow and self-righteous?

And, I think City Weekly hit it on the head a few weeks ago with their cover story:

Utah is bisected along religious, cultural and ethnic lines. But Utah doesn’t like to show its two faces. Every effort is made to wear just a good face for our visitors, to smile for the cameras, to promote our wholesomeness and to otherwise let the world know that Utah is normal. Except it isn’t. And it’s getting worse.

The death of former LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley marked a transitory time in Utah’s perception of itself and of its residents’ willingness to cooperate with one another. Beloved on one side and highly regarded on the other, Hinckley may have been the last finger in the dike, holding back what is becoming a bloodbath of ill will toward each side of Utah’s cultural divide. Since Hinckley's death in late January 2008, a slew of angry influentials have grown so powerful and outspoken that, to persons outside the LDS faith, they appear not only to speak for the LDS faith but are tacitly allowed to do so.

Thus, to non-Mormons and outsiders, state Sen. Chris Buttars—who frequently cites LDS scripture—is the face of Mormonism, not current LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson. We can’t imagine this is a good thing. Nor can a growing number of formerly silent Mormons. If people like Buttars—and his hatemates on Capitol Hill—are ever to change or decline in influence, that change will have to come from pressures within the Mormon community itself.

I hope it's parody....

...because reality would make it depressing.

Liveblogging HB 267 hearing

I'm listening to the committee hearing on HB 267 on discrimination.

1500: the bill does not care about what you think your sexuality is. It's about discrimination based on what others perceive your sexuality to be. Rep Johnson cites the case of a LDS Temple Recommend holding father of 5 being fired because he was perceived to be gay because he spoke in an effeminate manner.

1519: sorry. connection went out. rep morley has concern with creating protected class, because it would then discriminate against people not in a class.

1520: public comment period begins.

1524: LaVarr Christensen taking the stand.

1526: LaVarr -- empathy and compassion, blah blah blah.... counters that he never said that amendment 3 would not exclude rights for gays.

1527: lavarr says common ground is goundbreaking. claims that this would be the basis for further rights declared by the courts.

1529: lavarr syas that we can't use civil rights, that that is a protected term.

1530: sue rice gets a turn. small business owner. supports the bill.

1532: bill duncan. attorney. bill has exemption for employers of under 15 employees. concerned about litigation costs, training (isn't this usually covered in sexual harassment). costs of restroom arrangements. religious liberty concerns.

1536: Rev shawn dennison. has seen the effects of discrimination in workplace and housing. "should my landlord learn that I am here and transgendered, I could be evicted in 30 days" (near exact quote). in every religious tradition, leaders are asked to care for the downtrodden, the despised. quotes mosiah 4 from book of mormon.

1541: paul mero's turn. i'll have to transcript it, it was so full of crap. (Paul- if you want to send the text for me, please do so.)

1544: brian horn, lds rm who is gay. jan 10, 2008 -- fired from large credit union. in privately asking if partner could get benefits, got fired because they did "not want his type around."

1547: Gayle Ruzika: my dang internet cut out on me, and I've missed most of her statement. I'll have to transcript it tomorrow, too.

1552: shanna (?): director of hr. discrimination is discrimination. a non-discrimination workplace allows employees to work without fear of being let go for reasons other than their job. this culture also allows them to recruit the best and brightest. if you vote against the bill, you are giving employers permission and endorsing discrimination.

1555: last one is sandra rodriguez, america forever. apologizes to those who think they are hateful. if america ceased to be righteous, america would cease to exist. if you pass bill, you will be endorsing homosexuality. 267 will lead to reading books lke heather has 2 mommies.

1559: rep hansen: people are different. as a government, we are either going to do thing to people, or for people. bill protects him as a heterosexual. two hetersexual men who lived together were targeted as gay in his neighborhood. relates discrimination to mitt romney's problem during election.

1604: rep Jackie Biskupski: if protected classes were a problem, there would be a movement for removal of all protected classes (race, religion, etc)

1606: rep johnson summation: burden of proof is on employee. you can still fire someone, as long as you don't say "you're fired because you're queer." when we create a tolerant work environment, we create a productive work environment. This is not an endorsment of alternative lifestyles. no vote is endorsment of discrimination.

fails 5-8

Sen Judiciary Committee bucks Gayle Ruzicka

Tribune:

Updated: 11/19/2008 12:31:37 PM MST

A bill pushed by gay-rights advocates that would enable heirs - besides spouses, children and parents - to sue in the event of a wrongful death passed the Utah Senate's Interim Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

But only after a tense debate over whether the measure, which also would protect gays and transgender people who lose a partner, violates Utah's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

In the end, the committee voted 11-4 to give the bill, sponsored by Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, a favorable recommendation after language was added that explicitly states the protection "cannot be construed" as treating a same-sex relationship as a marriage or a civil union.

Proponents of traditional marriage protested the measure, which is part of a collection of legislation aimed at bolstering gay rights. That effort, launched by Equality Utah, has been dubbed the Common Ground Initiative.

"Maybe on their own, by themselves, [these bills] seem harmless enough," said Gayle Ruzicka of Utah's Eagle Forum, but she noted, "they add up."

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights and a committee co-chairman, disagreed with the "slippery-slope" argument, even though he considers himself a culture-war "soldier" who helped to pass Utah's same-sex marriage ban in 2004.

Bell voted to recommend McCoy's bill.

"So long as we do not undermine traditional marriage," Bell said, "there are relationships in our society that do warrant some governmental protections."

Listening to Gayle Ruzicka is a slippery slope into madness. I'm sure that Chris Buttars was a normal, sane, person before Gayle entered his life.

-Bob

Twice as powerful as Gayle Ruzika

Gayle Ruzika and the Utah Eagle Forum are supposedly the most powerful people in Utah Politics.

I'm here to declare that that notion is baloney.

Last week, Gayle's Eagle Forum issued a petition in support of Senator Chris Buttars. Even with some obviously false names on the list, their list is at 152.

The next day, I sent out my own petition opposing Buttars. I posted about it and sent out an email. People who got my email or read my blog passed it on to their friends. While there are many fake names on the list, my list is at 428.

In fact, I just counted all the fake names on my list. 128.

428-128=300.

300 signatures vs. 152.

You and I are more powerful than the Utah Eagle Forum.

Senator Buttars and Gayle Ruzika are Liars

It's bad enough that Gayle Ruzika would defend Senator Buttars, but then to lie about Buttars' 2006 interview with KVNU. Even worse to lie about it on the same KVNU program.

And then, Chris Buttars says the exact same thing to FOX-13, you know it was on purpose.

See, and hear, the details here.

-Bob

Disturbing Video at the Amicus

If you've just eaten, make sure you wait a few hours before going over to the Utah Amicus to watch A Square Dance Social on Utah's Capitol Hill starring Senator Buttars, Senator McCoy, Representative Johnson, and Sister Ruzika.

-Bob

Jessica's law passes house, Gayle Ruzika sleeps thought it

The House just unanimously passed HB 256, otherwise known as Jessica's Law. It deals in issues of Child Abuse.

Unfortunately, Gayle Ruzika from the Eagle Forum missed it. She was taking a nap...