• Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them - Only in Utah...

    Salt Lake Tribune – Keep a distance: Seminary, school should be in separate buildings

    Salt Lake Tribune – Keep a distance: Seminary, school should be in separate buildings In Lindon, a new charter school – a public school that operates with taxpayer money – and a seminary operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are occupying the same building. That doesn’t technically violate the constitutional mandate that government not support or endorse any religion, since each organization separately leases its space. The Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy and the seminary don’t even share an entrance. But the perception is there that the public school is simply too cozy with the LDS…

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them

    Salt Lake Tribune – A lot to improve

    Salt Lake Tribune – A lot to improve I am writing to agree with S.J. Moormeister's sentiments (Forum, April 3) hoping for a productive interfaith dialogue between Mormons and those of other beliefs in Utah. I also lament the tensions that General Conference protesters and DVD distributors have aroused. But, the Mormon cultural, social and political dominance in Utah has contributed to the fact that no such dialogue is taking place. From the intolerance seen in certain state legislators to the religious divisions in society beginning with grade-school children, Utah has a lot to improve on. The LDS Church, with…

  • Episcopal - Good and Joyful Things - Hot Off The Presses - Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them - Only in Utah...

    Why Do Gay Rights Matter? Here’s One Reason

    Utah is a hard place to be "different." If you're not Mormon, it can be hard to make friends and be accepted, until you find the right religio-social pigeonhole for yourself. And if you were raised Mormon, but can no longer conform for some reason, it's even harder. If your family rejects you, but your partner can't legally marry you, it's much, much worse if you become incapacitated with a fatal illness.  Some of this article may be a little hard to read without a box of Kleenex handy.   Salt Lake Tribune – Lost to Lou Gehrigs disease: Even…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Romney Wants Gay-Marriage Ban on Mass. Ballot – washingtonpost.com

    Romney Wants Gay-Marriage Ban on Mass. Ballot BOSTON, Nov. 19 — Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney R said Sunday that he will ask the states highest court this week to order a ballot question on same-sex marriage if legislators fail to vote on the matter when they reconvene in January. Oh, not THAT again! Just when you thought this issue would die down until the next election cycle. Or wait, duh… Romney's probably gonna run. Gotta rally that base! Push the button! DISCLAIMER: I grew up non-LDS in Utah, and will always be irked by holier-than-thou types. 

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them

    Not So Fast: Our Growth Is Mything

    Okay, okay, my sister Timmy wanted me to be sure I saw this article. But clever me, I had already stumbled across it elsewhere (names changed to foil “religious extremist” Googlers): The claim that (Mmnsm) is the fastest-growing faith in the world has been repeated so routinely by sociologists, anthropologists, journalists and proud {Latte-less Aints) as to be perceived as unassailable fact. The trouble is, it isn’t true. Today, The (Charch of Latte-less Aints) has more than 12 million members on its rolls, more than doubling its numbers in the past quarter-century. But since 1990, other faiths – Seventh-day Adventists,…

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them - Only in Utah... - Uncategorical Weirdness

    And My Mom Wonders Why I Moved Away

    Wilson’s original goes: “Well I ain’t never been the Barbie doll type No I can’t swig that sweet champagne I’d rather drink beer all night In a tavern or in a honky-tonk or on a 4-wheel-drive tailgate. . . . Let me get a big ‘Hell Yeah!’ from the redneck girls like me.” The Eagle‘s version: “Well I ain’t never been the party-girl type I’d rather drink some homemade root beer At a fireside Sunday night Down at the ward house, or at a friend’s house While tying up a quilt I like green Jell-O and casseroles And I wash…

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them

    Rad Radio

    There are pockets of insane sanity in Utah – some of them are served by KRCL. I ran across the station one sleepless night on a trip “home” to Utah, at a pre-David time of my life when I’d end up sleeping in my old room at Mom’s house. There was usually a moment (usually late at night) when I’d start scanning for a radio station that sounded like it wasn’t based in Utah (translation: liberal politics, flexible musical format). And so I found KRCL, which intrigued me. It’s typical for a small :NPR station in the mountain states –…

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them

    Now, That’s What I’m Talking About

    Oh, boy. We’re going to Salt Lake for a visit in late March and again in May. I have to get the space booked for the first trip booked next week. I’ve been putting it off. Oh, boy. I’d better take along all my medication — I always get a horrible sinus infection whenever I return, for example. And I have to take my special anti-headexplody medicine when I go there, too. The occasion will be a lovely family celebration (no irony) at the home of a family member and his partner (again with the no irony). The family member…

  • Notty Problems: Even Leaving Doesn't Solve Them

    Crossing The Unspoken Divide

    “Here’s a Health to the Company,” The Chieftains: Celebration Well, here’s to us all. The beermaking kit finally arrived (actually, it had to be reordered, the original was lost by the Tibetan Postal Service) In looking over the instructions, they seem pretty straightforward, so we probably won’t kill anybody with our first batch. And Scott, the engineer-boot wearing bass from church, has offered his able assistance with “getting the baby’s head wet.” He brought over some of his own homebrew last summer, most of which was quite, quite tasty. Me, I’m hoping eventually for a batch of Black Raspberry Hefeweissen,…