On Monday, December 19, 2022 the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol referred former president Donald J. Trump to the Justice Department for potential prosecution on four Federal crimes. These crimes are: 1. Obstruction of an official proceeding, 2. Conspiracy to defraud the United States, 3. Conspiracy … Read more
While shopping three days before Christmas, I saw a group of 3 or 4 young men walk by a large display of Christmas wrapping paper that was on sale. One of them said, gleefully, “I’d like to take all the Democrats and wrap them all up in a ball and throw them away!” I was … Read more
It appears that democracy in the United States may have survived the 2022 election. Perhaps even more important than the Democrats keeping control of the Senate is the fact that all 13 election-denying Republican candidates, in 6 battleground states, for governor, secretaries of state, and attorneys general, lost their races. (The Arizona Attorney General race, … Read more
It is well-known that politics can be divisive. This is especially true in our current climate of distrust, class division, and demonization of political opponents. In LDS Church meetings the general understanding is “We shouldn’t discuss politics in Church.” This frequently heard statement is based on a vague sense of an actual Church policy (which, … Read more
There once was a man who built a planter box beside his driveway. He filled it with rich topsoil and planted a garden to provide fresh, healthy, natural, food for his family. He believed that the garden would become a ongoing source of joy for his family for years. The planter box was quickly filled … Read more
Before your LDS family and friends in Utah, Idaho, and Arizona blindly vote straight “Republican” once again, I strongly encourage you to call them and point out that the Republican Party they think they are supporting no longer exists. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, recently published a piece in which she documented the removal … Read more
Many Americans will be basing their voting decisions this year on strongly held beliefs that are complete nonsense. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that voters are stupid. I am saying that they often don’t do their homework thoroughly and are therefore easily deceived by simplistic slogans, false conspiracies, and fake outrage. Even worse, … Read more
The Republican Party has encouraged and exploited bigotry, extremism, and paranoia for decades. They have done this deliberately and unashamedly in order to acquire and keep power (and gain). Rather than present practical, useful, well-considered, policy proposals to better the lives of the American people, they have found it much easier to attract votes by … Read more