Dang it! I got tapped to be chairperson of one of the two ministry teams I joined at Holy Moly today. Actually, I was nominated in a pre-meeting email, and hadn’t responded, thinking “I’ve never been good at this leadership stuff. I’m too disorganized. I don’t want to fail miserably. I’m forever making promises I don’t keep, but people are too kind to say anything.” And then the readings today…all of them… seemed to be about hearing the call, being a good disciple to a master that passes on the call, and not being wishy-washy. So what could I do?…
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I’ve wondered about this before, but OneUtah.org’s post pointed out some recent studies that were collected about the huge disparity in health care, income, education, and plain old quality of life between “Blue” states and “Red” states, and offers an interesting analysis. First, some examples, none of which are going to be all that surprising, really. PERRspectives Blog: Health Care the Latest Red State Failure The same dismal pattern applies to a wide array of measures of social dysfunction and pathology. 8 of the top 10 states with the highest murder rates are squarely in Red America. 7 of the…
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Salt Lake Tribune – Full quivers don’t pay The opinion by David M. Pearson (Forum, June 9, “Subsidizing children”) is the most illogical and self-serving analysis I’ve seen in a long time. He wrote that he is helping to subsidize people with few or no children. Since he has nine arrows in his quiver, he gets enormous tax deductions for his progeny. This means he pays little, if any, taxes compared to a single person, or those with few or no children. How he can figure that he is “subsidizing” anyone is a real fantasy. As a consumer of governmental…
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“Cleanup on aisle nine; rhetorical blood on the floor.” It’s a pleasure to read this fine rebuke and wonder “What would I say if I ran into one of my senators in the Dom’s Natural Market aisle?” Sadly, I actually have things in common with at least one of my Illinois senators – I’d be able to talk to Sen. Obama about hybrid cars and maybe a bit about community organizing. Durbin would be a tougher case, but he’s gained my grudging respect since the Dems got into power – although my patience with the party leadership is slipping now…
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…because the Letters to the Editor section sometimes contains material like this: Salt Lake Tribune – A woman's place I think it is a serious mistake to assign Brig. Gen. Kathleen Close as the commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center ("Change of guard at Hill," Tribune, May 17). I believe it's contrary to social, military and Christian strengths and values (Proverbs 31:3; 1 Cor. 11:3). For obvious reasons, I can't imagine a woman coaching the Dallas Cowboys or the Chicago Bulls. I feel the same about a military leadership position. I adore womanhood, but I also respect manhood, and…
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This little item caught my eye: CW Blog: Irregular Blogging by Irregular Writers …: Urning Potential Evidently, the editors at the Provo Daily Herald have realized how useless online surveys are and have just whimsically started asking whatever nonsense questions pop into their heads. Here’s this week’s bizarre poll: Which statement best describes your view on cremation? ( ) Makes resurrection difficult; cremation should be avoided ( ) Cremation should be encouraged; God doesn’t care … because, of course, there are people in the United States who, after much thought, have realized that cremation is just a huge incovenience…
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Salt Lake Tribune – New T-shirts percolating at coffee store Want one of them coffee shop T-shirts from Salt Lake… needs me a funny shirt.
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Boing Boing: Satan responsible for illegal immigration, says Utah delegate Years ago, in fact immediately after leaving Utah for college in Oregon, I quickly learned to say "I was born in Colorado" when asked where I was from. It avoided conversations where I would have to try to explain the inexplicable about a state, and a state of mind.
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Here are a few simple rules on how to succeed as an arsonist: Use a slow accelerant so you can make your getaway and establish an alibi. Work clean, work careful. Don't spill, don't use smelly stuff, trim excessive hair. Don't blow up your own house; you'll be first on the suspect list if you screw up. Under no circumstances should you ever run out of your own house with burning hair and beard, smelling of gasoline, just before it blows itself to smithereens. Salt Lake Tribune – Explosion disintegrates Sugar House home, sparks fires in neighboring houses About 10 p.m. Monday,…
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I read just now on her blog that Holly Mullen will now be an editor at the City Weekly, a Salt Lake alternative newspaper. She had been a well-regarded columnist at the Salt Lake Trib, but left in a disagreement over the direction the paper was taking. She is happy about this development. Very happy! And before the news was even official, a former collegue called and got the scoop. And somehow, the Trib has even discovered Holly's unofficial new duty: she is now apparently in charge of editing names. The City Weekly's blog noticed this fact in an early…