While Democrats nationwide rejoice, those of us here in Utah are cautiously optimistic. We’d be rejoicing too, except the four of us are afraid we’ll be hung and quartered–and maybe tar-and-feathered, too.

T.B. asked if there was a “shakeup” in Utah politics, like the rest of the nation saw. I laughed so hard I spit Frodka (Fresca and Vodka) on my computer screen, and that stuff is HARD to clean up.

The news ticker on all the local stations went something like this: If you are a republican candidate, you won. If you are a Republican candidate, you won. If you voted for a Republican candidate, they won. If you voted for a Republican candidate, they won.

As Forbes said:

Reeling Republicans can take heart that Utah still sings its favorite old songs. Loyal voters sent songwriting Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, 72, to Washington for a state record sixth term. And exit polls showed majority support for the Iraq war and for President Bush’s job performance.

When the prophet speaks, the thinking has been done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On another note, I am saddened to hear of the passing of Ed Bradley, 65. As Bloomberg reports:

Ed Bradley, an elementary school teacher and pioneering black reporter who rose to the heights of American broadcast journalism on CBS’s “60 Minutes,'’ died today. He was 65.

Bradley was my favorite 60 Minutes reporter.

Godspeed, Ed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And lastly, a Mormon scientist, who is CURRENTLY under academic backlash because of his belief in BIGFOOT, is also an ARDENT supporter of the Book of Mormon.

He says that pesky DNA evidence just doesn’t mean SQUAT. DNA will never refute the Book of Mormon!

“Ultimately we are impressed by the realization that the fundamental question of the veracity of the claims of the Book of Mormon lies beyond the ken of modern DNA research. The final implications of the book, as a witness of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith and as another testament of the divinity of Jesus Christ, remain within the realm of faith and individual testimony.”

Meldrum will also bear his testimony as the truthfulness of BIGFOOT. Really, he will. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. His ISU peers are not amused.

… many scientists are embarrassed by what they call Meldrum’s “pseudo-academic” pursuits and have called on the university to review his work with an eye toward revoking his tenure. One physics professor, D.P. Wells, wonders whether Meldrum plans to research Santa Claus, too.

As for me, it makes perfect sense. If you can TOTALLY disregard all the DNA evidence disproving the Book of Mormon, and spend hours and hours writing articles about how the BOOK OF MORMON DID happen, despite the DNA evidence and lack of archaelogical findings, then you just take the next step. If you can do all this and, faced with reality, finally end up saying GOD CHANGED the DNA EVIDENCE to make the Mormons rely on their faith (I am not quoting Meldrum here, but I’m betting he has considered this option), then Bigfoot is just a logical step.

And the Easter Bunny. And a Democratic majority in Utah. ALL OF THAT COULD HAPPEN. It could. Just ask Meldrum.

Our friend in mockery, GR, responded to my post–the one where I showed him ALL the many, many different ways and times the LDS Church has mocked and mocks ALL OTHER RELIGIONS–with this:

“You and your religious HATE can drop dead.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I am FEELING the Christian love and tolerance. Aren’t you?

There has been much ado about the fact that Mormons SEEM to worship Joseph Smith much more than Jesus Christ. Growing up, I will admit that there was MUCH more emphasis on Joseph Smith than there EVER was on Jesus.

The typical rote testimony went like this:

“I know this church is true. I know it’s the only true Church. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I love my mom and dad. Nameofjesuschristamen.”

Jesus never really figured in. I supposed that has changed some, but last year there was even a “Joseph Smith Nativity” on the BYU campus. No lie.

Nonetheless, Mormons get pretty riled up when you say they worship Joseph Smith instead of Jesus Christ.

So Gordon B. Hinckley’s little SLIP UP here, is kinda hilarious. Jesus has a last name, and it is Smith.

American Heritage Dictionary - v. mocked, mock·ing, mocks
v. tr.
To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride.

To mimic, as in sport or derision. See Synonyms at ridicule.
To imitate; counterfeit.
To frustrate the hopes of; disappoint.

~~~~~
Our friend GR writes:

“One thing the LDS church does not do is mock other religions. It’s a shame that you folks cannot extend them the same curtesy. In light of that I wonder who is truly demonstrating christian behavior. Mitt Romney has an impressive list of accomplishments and views reguardless what his denomination is. I will vote for him based on that alone. “

Mormons don’t mock? Are you KIDDING me? The basic TENETS and SCRIPTURES are the ultimate in mocking and derision, filled with contempt. When’s the last time your church was called a WHORE, GR?

“Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the Church of the Lamb of God and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore whoso belongeth not to the church of the lamb of God belongeth to that great church; which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” (The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:10)

Let me give you a few more:

“Nothing less than a complete apostasy from the Christian religion would warrant the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (Documentary History of the Church, Introduction, xl)

“I was answered that I must join none of them (Christian Churches), for they were all wrong…that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight” (Joseph Smith History 1:19).

“…orthodox Christian views of God are Pagan rather than Christian.” (Mormon Doctrine of Deity by B.H. Roberts, p.116)

“…the God whom the ‘Christians’ worship is a being of their own creation…” (Apostle Charles W. Penrose, JD 23:243)

“The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their knowledge of the salvation of God.” (Brigham Young, JD 8:171)

“We may very properly say that the sectarian world do not know anything correctly, so far as pertains to salvation. Ask them where heaven is?- where they are going to when they die?-where Paradise is! -and there is not a priest in the world that can answer your questions. Ask them what kind of a being our Heavenly Father is, and they cannot tell you so much as Balaam’s ass told him. They are more ignorant than children.” (Brigham Young, JD 5:229).

“The Christian world, I discovered, was like the captain and crew of a vessel on the ocean without a compass, and tossed to and fro whithersoever the wind listed to blow them. When the light came to me, I saw that all the so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness.” (Brigham Young, JD 5:73).

“What! Are Christians ignorant? Yes, as ignorant of the things of God as the brute best.” (John Taylor, JD 13:225)

“What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing…Why so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God.” (John Taylor, JI) 13:225)

“Believers in the doctrines of modern Christendom will reap damnation to their souls (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.177)

“I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” (Joseph Smith, DHC 1:6)

“I spoke of the impropriety of turning away from the truth, and going after a people so destitute of righteousness as the Methodists.” (Joseph Smith, DHC 2:319)

“…brother Joseph B. Nobles once told a Methodist priest, after hearing him describe his god, that the god they worshiped was the “Mormon’s” Devil-a being without a body, whereas our God has a body, parts and passions.” (Brigham Young, JD 5:331)

“…brother Heber C. Kimball was beset by a number of Baptist priests who had been attending a conference. He read them all down out of the New Testament….With regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world.” (Brigham Young, JD 8:199).

“The Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant church, is the great corrupt, ecclesiastical power, represented by great Babylon….” (Orson Pratt, Orson Pratt, Writings of an Apostle, “Divine Authenticity,” no.6, p.84).

“…all the priests who adhere to the sectarian religions of the day with all their followers, without one exception, receive their portion with the devil and his angels.” (The Elders Journal, Joseph Smith Jr., editor, vol.1, no.4, p.60)

“And any person who shall be so wicked as to receive a holy ordinance of the gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent of the unholy and impious act.” (Orson Pratt, OP-WA, “The Kingdom of God,” no.2, p.6)

“…all other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God; and any person who recieves baptism or the Lord’s supper from their hands will highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt people.” (Orson Pratt, The Seer, pg. 255)

“…the great apostate church as the anti-christ…This great antichrist…is the church of the devil.” (Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine p.40)

“Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the “whore of Babylon” whom the lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness.” (Pratt, The Seer, p.255)

“Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth.” (Brigham Young, JD 6:176)

“Evil spirits control much of the so-called religious worship in the world; for instance, the great creeds of Christendom were formulated so as to conform to their whispered promptings.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p.246)

“After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, there were only two churches upon the earth. They were known respectively as the Church of the Lamb of God and Babylon. The various organizations which are called churches throughout Christiandom, though differing in their creeds and organizations, have one common orgin. They belong to Babylon.” (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, p.324)

Yeah, no mocking, contempt or derision there, GR. Not a bit.

Kim Stagliano is a very brave, witty woman who is raising three daughters with autism. Frankly, I don’t know how she does it. I have nothing but admiration for her, and all the parents across the United States like her.

Reading her blog, I happened across this videotape on the Imus Show Blog,

Republican Congressman Joe Barton is holding up a very important bill in congress, the Combating Autism Act. When an upset parent of an autistic child tried to attend a meeting that Barton was holding, supposedly with parents of autistic children, he was not only denied access, even though there was CLEARLY room for him to attend the small meeting, but Barton’s office called the police to have him removed.

In the video, a Barton aide gives excuse after excuse as to why he cannot be admitted into the meeting. Then they CALL THE POLICE, even though all this father wanted was to TALK TO HIS ELECTED CONGRESSMAN!!!

See the problem? I found this article this morning.

What to do? Approve the funding.

But in Washington, where nothing comes easy, Rep. Joe Barton has other ideas. The Texas Republican is blocking the bills in an ill-conceived strategy to rally support for his efforts to overhaul the National Institutes of Health.

As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Barton can single-handedly hold up legislation, even bills with a sponsor list a mile long. The congressman wants the Senate to pass the National Institutes of Health Reform Act, which would give the agency’s director more discretion in allocating research dollars and would develop a new reporting system to share research.

Barton says he’s trying to take the politics out of funding disease studies. That’s a worthy goal. But using a political maneuver to trumpet taking politics out of the process is a shaky strategy.

So, basically, by his little manuevers, and in attempting to TAKE THE POLITICS out of funding disease studies, he is affecting MILLIONS of lives, adversely, by PLAYING POLITICS. Rep. Barton, while your original concept may have been well-intentioned, it has moved beyond stupidity now, and it is time to wise up.

Pull your head out of wherever it is stuck and release this bill!

I would ask everyone to please email Rep. Barton and show their displeasure. I know I intend to do so.

info@joebarton.com

Visit the CombatAutism site for more information on how you can help.

From the CombatAutism site:

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (TX) still refuses to release the Senate passed Combating Autism Act from his committee for consideration by the full House this session. He is practicing politics as usual and has stated publicly (on CNN) that he will not consider the CAA until and unless the Senate passes his NIH Reform bill. Chairman Barton, Majority Leader Boehner and Speaker Hastert must hear from us and also their colleagues in the House that this is unacceptable!

We need your help today!

Studies show that 1 in 166 children born every day has autism. Do the math (I know, I know, I hate math, too. But in this case, let’s make an exception.). This is an epidemic. This could be YOUR child. Speak up.