“Gratitude is central to Mr. Trump’s politics. He demands it of his followers, his cabinet and, indeed, of all citizens. He deploys gratitude against his enemies and critics to embarrass and shame. Being grateful is not an option. It is a requirement. Donald Trump has made “thank you” divisive.” — Diana Butler Bass Like Caesar … Read more
“The Republican Party, as an institution, has become a danger to the rule of law and the integrity of our democracy. The problem is not just Donald Trump; it’s the larger political apparatus that made a conscious decision to enable him. In a two-party system, nonpartisanship works only if both parties are consistent democratic actors. … Read more
“When Mormons are among Trump’s most zealous supporters, we betray our faith. We dishonor the core spiritual and religious beliefs we claim to revere.” — Brian S. King. A recently published Gallup Poll, that included 2,141 Mormons, showed that 61 percent of Mormons approve of Donald Trump’s job as president. In response, The Minority Leader … Read more
George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eight-Four (published in 1949) describes a dark, oppressive, totalitarian society in which the government systematically destroys the English language in order to prevent criminal thoughts. The idea is that one cannot think a seditious thought if there is no word for it. Thursday, a representative of the Trump administration gave senior … Read more
Mormon Republican Arizona Senator Jeff Flake has written a $100 dollar check to the campaign of Democrat Doug Jones in his race against Republican sexual predator Roy Moore for the open Alabama Senate seat. In the “For” line on the check Flake wrote “Country over Party.” Mormon Republican Mitt Romney has tweeted “Roy Moore in … Read more
I don’t want to write about a mass shooting every month. Twenty-six more people were killed Sunday by that same AR-15 type assault rifle that had once been banned. The Republicans, once again, are dismissing the need to deal with this growing crisis. They are spinning the same old story about how “mental health” is … Read more
“Every conversation about gun deaths should begin by recognizing one blindingly clear fact about this problem — the United States is on its own planet. The gun-related death rate in the United States is 10 times that of other advanced industrial countries. Places such as Japan and South Korea have close to zero gun-related deaths … Read more
“That which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; … Read more