War, what is it good for...

First off, I just read two amazing posts on this stupidity in Iraq. There's a song that idealizes my sentiments, 'The crucifix ain't no baseball bat Tell me what kind of God is that? Ain't nothing more godless than a war, what are we fighting for'.

My God is a god of peace, and love. Christ taught peace and love. The book of mormon is full of peace and love. And yet the 'religious' right if you can seriously call them religious would have you believe that killing for a cause is justified. - Show me a scripture to vouch for it.

Here's two good posts, one features a great speech by President Kimball, and another features another great proclamation sent out during world war 2.

"We are a Warlike People!"

"Why Mormons should oppose the War"

Cheney in Utah? See What this Utahn has to say:

*Bends over* Kiss my...oh yeah I'm a nice Mormon boy, with politeness and manners. So I will just say... "Kiss my Donkey", At least I wasn't born and bred here, but Ohio isn't much better it's a red state too- at least it was, there's not much red left in this country. Thank goodness. Now if we could stop shedding so much blood overseas we would have it made.



Here's a cool blurb I read over on the huffingtonpost.com as a Mormon and Democrat I wholeheartedly  support these members of our church.

Hundreds of upset BYU students, professors and alumni are signing a petition in an attempt to convince BYU's administration to cancel the Cheney speech and invite someone else.

In their own words:

• "As someone who's been heavily involved and advocated for things like torturing prisoners, and what-not, I just feel like that doesn't coincide with a Christian university." - BYU student Eric Bybee
• "In our estimation, Vice President Cheney does not embody the ideals taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Inviting Cheney ... violates long-standing LDS Church and BYU policies regarding political neutrality and sanctions the actions of a prominent political figure who demonstrates questionable ethics," -Portion of a letter written by four BYU professors
• "If Cheney's visit comes to pass, I will withdraw my support to BYU. I will not make any more donations, purchase another sweatshirt or attend another of its sporting events." -Katie Hatch in American Fork, Utah

I must take a moment to laugh at the Post's slug(it's in the url).

utahs-big-dick-cheney..... As I went on to read the post some more I realized how

The author sided w/ the opposition, so I have to say - bite my big...oh well you get the picture, It kind of makes me sick to link to a pro Cheney site, but maybe it'll help my pagerank, and at least I got these 3 good quotes from student's at BYU.





Here's another good post, saying how students opposing Cheney's trip to Utah are wanting to hold an alternate Commencement ceremony - it would feature Ralph Nader which would definitely be an improvement. Check out the article over on the Wasatch Watcher.



Other Great Posts:

http://ydems.blogspot.com/2007/04/cheney-protest-success.html

http://desspec.blogspot.com/2007/04/opinion-jim-dublinski-just-not-gettin.html



Now Here are some good Posts regarding IMPEACHing Cheney, yes you heard me right one of my favorite politicians, albeit highly unlikely candidate is Dennis Kucinich - Well he recently put up a motion to impeach Cheney, which takes some big kahonies, but knowing Kucinich he's dead serious.



Check out these links for more info on this and on Dennis Kucinich that candidate:

http://desspec.blogspot.com/2007/04/look-at-big-balls-on-kucinich.html

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/04/articles_of_impeachment_to_be.html





















Technorati Tags: dick cheney, bush, george w bush, dubya, byu, cheney byu, dennis kucinich, kucinich, ralph nader

Group of people - withhold paying taxes in defiance of the Iraq War

People like this, in my view are hero's. They'll probably end up getting in trouble for it,
but if more and more people follow suit, which could happen, then we might be looking at another Revolutionary, I mean what cut us off from Britain? Taxation without representation.

I for one, feel the same way as this group of non-tax paying citizens, that if the taxes are going to the war, and I oppose the war, then why pay the taxes?

More power to all of you, in this group.

The link can be found here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/4/15/195428/456

Mormon Thought of the Day - Elder Russell M Nelson

We may pray to Him any time. No special equipment is needed.

We don't even need to charge batteries or pay a monthly service fee.

~ Elder Russel M Nelson - Ensign, May 2003, 7



What a great idea that is, when we're down and out, when things aren't going

great, we have a loving father, the true leader of mankind who is willing to listen

to each of our please, unlike our leaders of this nation, he doesn't make mistakes.



He's infallible, what a comfort it is to know we can call on the greatest leader

and teach ever, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from the day

we're born till the day we die, and we don't need to pay any service fee's, or buy batteries.



That's the power of prayer - the energizer bunny ain't got nothing on it.





Side note, I know I get hot and heavy when it comes to politics, but I do believe in Christ, and that's why I am who I am. That's why I don't support this illegal war. That's why I don't support our leaders. As a song once said: "The crucifix ain't no baseball bat, so what are we fighting for?"  Christ does not endorse war, not for any reason, in fact many of his commandments and teachings say to love those who persecute you, love your enemy, thou shalt not kill, we need to answer iraq with arms of love not hatred, and maybe then we can enact change.



If iraq did indeed attach us I'd say go ahead they started it and for security purposes we need to finish, but they didn't start anything. This is a war over oil. Plain and simple.

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Stem Cells, closer to reality.

I believe stem cell research is a great boon, and will help many millions of people live an increased level of comfort. For many it is the answer to paralysis and other degenerative diseases.



Why must these people suffer? I'm against abortion, but we're already flushing these stemcells down the drain. The embryo would be destroyed regardless of if we use them to aid mankind.



If something is going in the trash anyways, why not use it to the betterment of all? Is this immoral?



It's like plastic, and aluminum throwing it away is bad on the economy, but recycling it, resolves that issue.



I am sure that eventually this will get passed, already Patient Advocate groups are ramping up to do media blitzes against any presidential candidate who won't support this, and this is a hugely bi-partisan discussion as there are many many republicans who have family members who could be benefited by stem cell research. This is a national issue not a party issue.



It would've have passed veto-proof had 3 democrats voted on it, but they abstained, whether they attended the session or not I do not know, the bill only needed 1 more vote to make it a 2/3rds super majority in the senate, whether it would clear the house, is another matter, but I personally believe it would have had enough strength in the house to succeed.

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Here it is, the Bush quote of the day.

"There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.'"

- George W. Bush October 3, 2000 Boston, Massachusetts



This was before his presidency and he admits people saying all the time "I don't want you to let me down again'.



For cryin' out loud, if we knew then, what we know now... can you say Hello President Gore?

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Now the Pentagon is extending All Iraq Army Tours by 3 Months

According to this article: "Pentagon to extend all Iraq Army tours by 3 months"



The pentagon at the order of Robert Gates will be extending all IRaq tours of duty.



This comes at a time when support for the war is down in the 20% range.



It doesn't matter how many soldiers you send at this thing, Iraq will

not be fixed, they're way to deep.



Continuing this insane war will only create more threats of terrorism,

and more animosity towards Americans.



Imagine if we could only put 10% of the $500 billion dollar Pentagon

budget towards schools, or roads, or business development in poverished

areas of America. What if we could just get our nose out of other people's business

and make America -truly a country that other nations lookup and admire.



In order to be the benchmark for other nations I personally think we need to be number 1.



America isn't the greatest nation in the world unless it's number 1, am I right?



Number 1 in:

Violence Control

Immigration Policies

Scientific Research

Healthcare

Poverty - a country like America has no reason to have people living in Poverty.

Education - Everyone should be able to get the best education regardless of circumstance.

And above all else - FREEDOM that's what America stands for and if you start taking

away our freedom, then we become Nazi Germany, and what's the point of spreading

democracy to countries like Afghanistan and Iraq if our very Democracy fails.



When your marriage is having problems do you go walking down the street to help all your other neighbor's marriages? NO. You fix things at home then you can go out and help others. Let's Fix America FIRST.

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Hell - frozen over? Could it be true?

According to MSN - yes it is true! Hell, or as close as you can get to it in the USA - Phoenix, AZ actually got snow this weekend, upto a whole inch even! I call it hell, not because of unpleasantness but because of the extreme HEAT, I lived there for a whole year and I can tell you especially in the summers, it's as hot as hell could be.

If hell's frozen over, maybe now we can think about getting out of iraq, after all I think the president saying something about bring them home asap, "When hell freezes over". Or something like that, but at least there's hope.

Should we, and Can we Impeach Bush?

There's a website that's picking up steam. Now that the democrats are in control of congress, and the house it may even be possible.

Can we impeach Bush? Should we impeach him?

In my opinion, nobody, no president not even Nixon has run this country further into the ground, so yes, constitutionally I believe it is our right to impeach him. It is our duty to stand up for our rights. It is our duty to fight back against oppression, just as the founding fathers fought against tyranny and oppression so is it our duty to do the same.

Am I alone in thinking Bush should be impeached? NO way. Check out the following website: http://www.impeachbush.org There are currently better than 800,000 signatures on this petition. That's a large number. Go check them out now, they're even running a FULL page ad in the New YORK Times TODAY! I give them huge props, for making a stand, I think whether or not we can impeach him we should at least try.

Here's an email I got today from them:

Full page Impeach Bush ad in today's New York Times!

*please circulate widely*

Dear Patrick,

Click here to see the full ad Click here to help us place more ads

Today's New York Times carries the full page ad calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush (Jan. 12, 2007). Congratulations to all members of ImpeachBush/VoteToImpeach.org who helped place this New York Times ad. This is the third full-page impeachment ad to run in the New York Times. With everyone's support, we have also placed ads in the San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, USA Today, and other newspapers around the country.

The timing for the ad is excellent. Coming 36 hours after Bush brazenly announced an expansion of his criminal war and occupation in Iraq, the country is seething with anger. Because Bush remains in office, thus far escaping impeachment, thousands more Iraqis and U.S. soldiers will be killed and wounded in a war that should never have happened.

We want to seize the momentum and place the ad in various other newspapers. We will also be having a major impeachment contingent on March 17, the 4th anniversary of the war in Iraq, at the March on the Pentagon in Washington DC. We can place more ads and organize the nationwide grassroots campaign, including this contingent, with everyone's continued support and commitment to ImpeachBush.org. If you can help, click here.

The danger that Bush poses is extreme. His speech of Wednesday night, directly in opposition to the wishes of the American people, not only announced his plan to deepen the war in Iraq, but made clear his direct threat to attack Syria and Iran. Impeachment is imperative. Congress must act before more and more are killed and before Bush's war spreads into other countries. We cannot wait two more years.

Please take action today:

1. Forward this email to all of your lists and your friends and families. You can do so by clicking here.
2. Be sure to sign the referendum for impeachment and get everyone you know to sign it too. We will be announcing the new calendar and plan of action shortly to everyone who has signed up.
3. Donate now, your help is urgently needed for the impeachment effort. Click here.

\n

The coming months are critical for the impeachment movement. Not only do 70% of the people oppose Bush's expansion of the Iraq war, the so-called "surge," the majority believe that Bush should be impeached if he lied about the reasons for the Iraq war, or if he engaged in illegal wiretapping. He did both. This is a people's movement and everyone's help is needed. As ImpeachBush.org has stated, "The Constitution cannot defend itself. The people must act."

\n

If every member and supporter of the impeachment movement made a donation, this ad could be placed in newspapers across the country. If you have contributed before, consider making another donation now. If you have never donated this is the time to take action. Please donate today by clicking here.

\n

Your work and support has taken the Impeachment movement to a significant moment in U.S. politics. People throughout the United States are now openly and frequently discussing the possibility of impeachment and urging their Congressional representatives to take the right step. The letters to the editor and full page ads ",1] ); //-->You can do so by clicking here.
2. Be sure to sign the referendum for impeachment and get everyone you know to sign it too. We will be announcing the new calendar and plan of action shortly to everyone who has signed up.
3. Donate now, your help is urgently needed for the impeachment effort. Click here.

The coming months are critical for the impeachment movement. Not only do 70% of the people oppose Bush's expansion of the Iraq war, the so-called "surge," the majority believe that Bush should be impeached if he lied about the reasons for the Iraq war, or if he engaged in illegal wiretapping. He did both. This is a people's movement and everyone's help is needed. As ImpeachBush.org has stated, "The Constitution cannot defend itself. The people must act."

If every member and supporter of the impeachment movement made a donation, this ad could be placed in newspapers across the country. If you have contributed before, consider making another donation now. If you have never donated this is the time to take action. Please donate today by clicking here.

Your work and support has taken the Impeachment movement to a significant moment in U.S. politics. People throughout the United States are now openly and frequently discussing the possibility of impeachment and urging their Congressional representatives to take the right step. The letters to the editor and full page ads that you have worked to place have forced the mass media to acknowledge that impeachment is a real issue for this President. Check your email in the coming days for announcements of the next steps and actions, and be sure to get as many as you can to sign the referendum and get involved.

All of us at ImpeachBush/VotetoImpeach.org

Just More Rhetoric? Yup! Look's that Way!

Last night of course was a huge night for Politics, Bush's Iraq plan was unveiled. Frankly, he's good at spouting rhetoric, heck even I was almost bought over by it, and I loathe Bush. But I think it's just that, talk, he's too afraid to give up, and his ego is too big. One thing I do know is if the democrats even let him do this it will be the last chance he gets.

This war is tiring. We need to be over and done with it once and for all.

Can Bush turn this around? Doubtable. I honestly don't see how 21,500 new troops are going to affect this war. We've lost about 5000 troops as it is, so in theory we're only really sending 15000 more than we started with. 15000 isn't much at all, how does he expect it to make any kind of difference?

Just more waste of life and money. More tears for Americans to cry as they lose more loved ones, as that is the only certainty with this plan. With more soldiers comes more bloodshed for us as well as them.

When will it end?

I'm so tired of this war. I'm even sick and tired of blogging about it. I sure hope it ends soon.

Here's what Dennis Kucinich has to say about Last Night's Speech:

Kucinich: Bush setting stage for wide war
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C – Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) issued the following statement tonight in response to President Bush's nationally televised address to the American people.

"President Bush appears to be setting the stage for a wider war in the region. He has blamed Iran for attacks on America. The President is vowing to disrupt Iran. He is going to add an aircraft carrier to the shores off the coast of Iran. He has promised to give Patriot missiles to 'our friends and allies.' Isn't one war enough for this President? It is time the media and the Congress began to pay attention to this President when he talks aggressively about Iran and Syria.
"It is imperative that Congress step up to its constitutional responsibility to restrain this abuse of executive authority by notifying the President that we will no longer agree to fund the war in Iraq. The supplemental budget request of up to $100 billion would enable the president not only to continue the war against Iraq through the end of his term. It would give him the resources to attack Iran, in the name of defending Iraq and the region."
"In Iraq, his new plan is a plan for more door-to-door fighting, more civil war, more civilian casualties, more troop deaths, more wasted money, more destabilization in the region and more separation from the world community. The President wants to send more troops to Baghdad, where they will work to quell a civil war. Only a small portion - less than 20 percent - of the new effort will be spent in al Anbar, to fight al-Qaeda. Does anyone in this Administration have any sense left at all? They are sending more US troops into the middle of a civil war!
"Congress needs to take a stand against the President and take the necessary steps to bring our troops home. We need to begin talks with Iran and Syria -- and not blame them for our misguided war in Iraq. Diplomacy is the only way to avoid a widening war. If we follow the President's path of war, we will get . . . more war."
On Monday, Kucinich announced a 12-point plan (www.kucinich.us) to withdraw troops from Iraq, establish an international security and peacekeeping force under the auspices of the United Nations, and take steps to begin the political reconciliation process, shore up Iraq’s economy, re-start reconstruction efforts, and institute reparations for Iraqis.

Another Mormon Democrat website. Check it out.

Hey guys and gals, yesterday in my searches I found a really cool website called ...dum dum dum dum...."The Mormon Democrat". Pretty straight forward, wonder what it could be about? Okay, no I don't, I hope it would be about a Mormon Democrat, or else I had been led astray.

Anyways it's a really cool website, relating why democrats are more closely aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ than are republicans, and why, it even has scriptures supporting it.

ALSO, I read on and found out that he used to even be a republican, imagine a republican mormon turn democrat, will wonders ever cease?

Some other cool features of his website are Famous Democratic Church Leaders, like did you know President Wilford Woodruff was a Democrat? Did you know also that so is James E. Faust of the First Presidency? Well, now you know!

Another cool feature is the Hall of fame featuring Mormon Democratic reps now and through history with pictures.

Another feature is a list of Conservative Hypocrites, to me this show's proof to all those Christians who believe that the Republican party is the party of Christ, would Christ support these leaders? I doubt it..

So check it out. http://mormondemocrat.com/

What do you think?: Illegal Immigration.

Today, I've decided to start a question and answer session, hopefully if you're reading this you'll partake in it as well.

I'm calling this segment of my blog: "What do you think?" Each day I'll ask a question and you can leave a comment about some ways you think we could combat the issue.

Today's topic is Illegal Immigration. How do you think we should handle it, and let's take it from a realistic standpoint there are some 10 million illegals already here, how do we handle that ethically and fiscally?.

Personally, I think right now there's nothing we can do about those already here, yes we can deport them, but I think this may hurt a lot of families that are mix legal/illegal. I also think it will hurt our economy because there won't be enough workers to go around.

Here's my suggestion on how we combat this problem.
1. We build a big huge Barrier or Wall separating America from Mexico, this wall should also go about 20 feet underground, to get rid of any tunnels, I would say maybe use concrete.

2. For those already here, give them legalization, if they can meet the following requirements:

1. Learn English. By 2010.
   
2. Get their GED /H.S. Diploma
   
3. Get fingerprinted and sign a declaration that they will honor and sustain the law of the land, and live by it's precepts or lose their right to live here. Along with this, if they were criminally charged they would be required to serve their time then be deported.
4. They would be required to get identification and documentation, and be empowered to report any kind of discrimination by employers. This would put them on the grid, so to speak. It would make it so they could be tracked for criminal activity, as well as for taxes and other issues.
   

Look at it this way, there are 5-10 million of these illegal Americans. They don't really have any rights so work a lot cheaper than Americans. When they have a medical issue they go to the emergency room, which raises our insurance costs. They don't have to pay any taxes at all, and some are almost non-existant or hidden from the government's knowledge.

If we give them some protection that they will be paid as well as everyone else on minimum wage, if we require documentation, we can then receive tax revenue off of them. 12 million extra tax payers could help out our national debt drastically.

I also think another reason for legalization and documentation is the threat of terrorists. With the influx of illegal immigrants our terrorism threat heightens. If every illegal in America is fingerprinted, and has their fingerprints and a dna sample put into a computer database, then if there are any threats we can better be able to follow up on them.

These are just some of my ideas, I believe that this is a huge issue though, that needs some discussion, so please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks for reading!

The Book of Mormon and the Iraq War....

Does the Book of Mormon support blind nationalism? Should we blindly follow our leaders without questioning? Isn't that how the Nazi regime began?

We are taught that the gospel is a gospel of peace, that war is wrong, unless necessary, and that the ONLY time war is necessary is when it is brought to your land, then only in the defense of yourselves, your wives, and your liberty do you have the right to fight.

When a leader lies and stirs up the hearts of men to support a war, when we fight an enemy that did not attack us, an enemy that doesn't even have a name, are we living according to the gospel?

It says over and over that we shall not fight unless we are fought. I've done my due diligence as each of you who reads this should. I believe there is a time for war, and there's a time for peace. I believe that before you should step in the middle of a fight between two neighbors who've been fighting for 1000 years, that maybe you should repair the damages of your own home.

This war was started because of lies, this is common knowledge. Nobody even questions anymore if our leader should remain our leader, even after he lied, they just accept it and move on. I thought America was founded on the principles of standing up and fighting for the right. I fear that Pride is going to destroy us.

According to the Book of Mormon, the biggest Nephite weakness was Pride. The cycle of pride usually follows this cycle -> First you humble yourself, then God grants you some comforts and gives you blessings, those blessings and prosperity lead you to becoming prideful, and then God humbles you again. If you could have prosperity and remain humble there would be no need for him to humble us, but mankind has always been slow to remember God. Even slower now-a-days.

I would support this war fully, if our Leader had a mandate from the people, if everyone supported it or even a large percent believed that we were there for a reason, and if this war was not started because of a lie. Satan is the father of lies, and deception, if our leader, perhaps the most powerful person in the free world, lies and deceives the people, does that not make this war a satan led battle? Does that not mean our leader is influenced by satan?

The fact that less than 30% believe in this war, and ALL of the military's best leaders have said that a surge in troops will NOT turn the tide, so why bother. Maybe we need to bite our lip, swallow our pride, and come home. This war is a failure, there's nobody who will disagree to that statement. Let's be prudent now, pride could destroy us, we have bigger worries.

Let's bring our troops home, and strengthen our own borders, repair our streets. Let's work on the real problems, like poor healthcare, poverty, homelessness, a failing education system, the economy, let's work to revitalize America, and bring back the American dream. As stated in a movie once before "There was a dream that was America, lets have it be realized". I believe not one person should be homeless, uneducated, or in poverty in America, and if there are people that are then why the hell are we fighting for? Shouldn't we take care of our own? Shouldn't make sure every human being in our borders, legal or not is taken care of? Shouldn't we make sure that our borders are secure? If 3000 illegals can enter our country over the border each month, how hard is it for terrorists? Not very.

Let's re-examine things, we were wrong, when you're wrong, you can be a child and protest that you're not, blame it on someone else, or you can be a man and say, "yes, I messed up. I take full responsibility for messing up. I'm sorry, let me fix it the best of my ability, if any of you have any idea's I would greatly appreciate your help, and I would beseech of your forgiveness, and know that I make mistakes too."

I beseech of you Mr. Bush - be a man, and fess up, by asking forgiveness and overcoming pride, and letting us know that you know that you're not God's own son, that you're not perfect, that you do make mistakes. For the sake of all the families of the fallen, and the soldiers who are still in Iraq, be a MAN Mr. Bush, realize your weaknesses, and repent.

I've prayed and have a testimony that this war is not of God, he does NOT support this war, he hardly supports any war, and he ONLY supports those who are in the defense of theirselves, not those who brought war as we did. He loves all people and is no respecter of persons, they may not have the true religion, or gospel as I see it or someone else in America sees it, but he still loves them. Regardless of what they believe in, he loves all his children.

I end this post and testify to these things in the name of my Savior - Jesus Christ. Amen.

A glorious day indeed!

Congress is now back in the hands of those who would fight for the everyday american. The interests of big businesses will no longer be the only interests honored.

It's exciting to see the turn of the tide, I'm enthusiastic and excited to see what changes the new congress will bring, perhaps we could even get an impeachment proceeding started, as I think there's definitely probably cause to bring about impeachment. The Iraq war should be enough, as it was started with a lie, and thus perjury was it's father.

Let's bring home our troops, they've served us honorably let's bring them home to their families where they belong. I used to believe America was the best country to live in, but now I'm not so sure, you'd think if we truly were the best nation in the world we'd be number 1 across the board in different statistics, wouldn't you? Aren't most 'bests' measured in benchmarks? Why should the USA be any different.

Are we really the best?

Then why aren't we number 1 across the board? Are we #1 in Education? What about National Security? What about international opinions? What about needs of individuals? Poverty? Crime? Freedom of Speach(We rank 54th in the world)? Roads? Immigration? If we truly were all that - wouldn't we be #1 in all the above benchmarks and more? How about the economy? Healthcare? Border? Safety in schools? Media?

All I see are crisises left and right, not stability. If we would take just 15% of our Iraq budget and direct it to our areas of need within America, then yes we could be the best country in the World. America once was the best, I feel we can get there again someday, I also feel if we don't fix some things and change the way we're headed, then we're in danger of becoming a New Rome. And Rome of course fell, and so must America if we keep spreading ourself so thin. We owe billions upon billions to China, what happens when China calls us on that debt, and won't loan anymore? We're already taxed beyond belief - how would we function if all of our loans were called due? We'd be in a pretty tight predicament. We need to be very careful.