November « 2008 « News for Mormons

Mormons have the goods to care for their own

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

From The Tennesseean:

When it comes to taking care of needy church members, Mormons don’t mess around.

So on the shelves of the Bishop’s Storehouse, a Mormon-run food pantry in Hendersonville, there’s everything a struggling family needs to get by, from spaghetti sauce and canned veggies to diapers and dishwashing liquid.

Even Mormon grits.

And almost everything carries the Deseret brand. That means it was produced on farms and in factories run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“These pears right here, they are Deseret brand,” said Brent Ostermiller, chairman of the volunteer committee that oversees the for-Mormons-only storehouse. “Somewhere in the church there is an orchard where they grow pears, and nearby is a cannery where they can them.”

The bishop’s storehouse in Hendersonville is one of 138 run by Mormons. They are part of a sophisticated church welfare system, which includes food distribution, along with thrift stores, disaster relief and employment centers that help members find jobs.

The system is founded on the teachings of Jesus, said Kathleen Flake, associate professor of American religious history at The Divinity School at Vanderbilt University.

“The common, basic Christian ethic is to care for those who are poor and needy,” said Flake, a member of the Mormon ward, or congregation, that meets in Green Hills.

The Hendersonville store house, which feeds about 200 families a month, is run by Nashville-area volunteers, drawn from a pool of about 25,000 local Mormons.

It’s run at a relatively low cost. The storehouse building was constructed debt-free about 30 years ago, so the only out-of-pocket cost is for utilities. A volunteer committee, along with a full-time volunteer missionary couple, manages the operation.

Most of the food comes from a regional storehouse in Atlanta and is trucked in once a month.

“It’s a pretty good day’s work to get that truck unloaded and have everything put up on the shelves,” said Ostermiller, who is also president of the Madison Stake, the Mormon equivalent of a diocese.

Fasting funds system

The Mormon welfare system is funded by fast offerings and donations from church members.

“On the first Sunday of each month, we encourage our members to fast for two meals and to contribute the cost for those meals to the fast offering,” Ostermiller said. “It’s through those fast offering funds that most of the welfare work of the church is done.”

Those offerings go into a general pool at Latter-day Saints headquarters in Salt Lake City. Those funds are used to run the church’s food program.

Some of the food is grown and canned by volunteers. Ostermiller, for example, volunteered on a church-run potato farm in Idaho while growing up.

“We did everything from planting potatoes to picking rocks,” he said.

Flake said that because most church members contribute to the program — by donations or volunteer labor — accepting help is easier when they find themselves needing it.

“We all take turns at giving and receiving,” said Flake, who has fond memories of picking cherries and canning grapefruit while growing up in the church.

Bishop’s orders increase

To qualify for food relief from the storehouse, Mormon church members must have what’s known as a bishop’s order. Those orders are signed by a local bishop, who is the volunteer lay leader of a ward. The forms, which include a two-week menu plan, are often filled out by members of the ward’s relief society, run by women in the church.

Clark Johnson, bishop of the Hendersonville ward, has been signing more orders than usual this fall.

“Lately, every week we’ve had people going to the storehouse,” he said. “We’ve seen a big increase, since the economy has gotten into trouble.”

Johnson meets with families who need assistance, then sends a relief society member for a follow-up.

“She’ll sit, usually with the wife, and go over what they need,” he said. “When times are tough, we want to be able to make sure people are able to eat.”

The storehouse opens on Tuesdays during the day to fill the bishop’s orders. That means on Monday evening, Ostermiller and other volunteers restock the shelves and get everything in order.

Other volunteers come on Tuesday to fill orders, and to set out fresh produce and dairy products bought from local supplies.

Neolina “Laurie” Cooper, 75, has been volunteering at the storehouse for about a year and is a former relief society president at the ward in Goodlettsville. She and her husband, Bill, sort produce on Tuesday mornings, before the storehouse opens, and stay most of the day.

On a busy day, she said, “We get there about 9 and stay until 4.”

Cooper, a Hawaii native who has lived in the Nashville area since the early 1990s, said that volunteering has always been part of her faith. She knows that everyone who comes into the storehouse will be feeding a family.

“There are a lot of people who need help,” she said. “When we see their faces light up, because they’ve gotten food, it makes us feel happy.”

Couple assist job hunts

The Hendersonville store house also is home to an employment center and a family home storage center. Each Mormon family is encouraged to have at least a three months’ supply of food on hand in its home. Families can buy commodities such as sugar, flour, rice and macaroni at the center, and use a canning machine to prepare them for storage.

Myron and Jeanne Shepherd, volunteer missionaries from Henderson, Nev., run the employment center. They’ve been in the Nashville area for four months, as part of an 18-month assignment.

The Shepherds organize seminars on topics like resume writing and interviewing skills, and put out a weekly job posting list that goes to about 12,000 church members. Job hunting has become a challenge given current economic conditions, making their work vital, Shepherd said.

“It’s a tough time right now,” Myron Shepherd said. (cont.)

Link to article

Posted in Food Storage, LDS Church, Missionary, Provident Living | No Comments »

American Idol's Brooke White to turn on Mesa temple lights

Friday, November 28th, 2008

From The East Valley Tribune:

A young woman already used to the bright lights will flip the switch Friday night and turn the Mesa Arizona Temple Grounds into a dazzling world of colorful holiday splendor.

Mormon support of gay marriage ban ignites vigil

Brooke White, 25, who grew up in a Mesa ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is now a recording artist in Van Nuys, Calif., finished in the top five last spring as part of the seventh season of “American Idol” on the Fox network.

White, the daughter of Brad and Kaylene White of Mesa, will turn the switch for the 29th annual temple lights display ceremonies at 7 p.m. on the grounds, 525 E. Main St. The lights will be on daily through Jan. 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. for the public to see as they wander the sprawling grounds.

Church leaders expect more than a million people will visit the manicured grounds to walk through the gardens where trees, shrubs, walls, walkways and water features have been trimmed in colored lights on the theme “Celebrate the Birth of Christ in Lights and Music.” At 7 p.m. each day, a Valley choir, ensemble or soloist will perform on the stage on the south side of the visitors center, for a concert of about a half-hour.

More than 200 groups applied for one of the 34 nights, said event spokesman Cecily Markland. Some were requested to apply because of the quality of their music, she said.

“Some are from schools, and some are the bigger choirs in the area that would bring people with them,” she said.

On Dec. 14, however, a multidenominational choir, Voices of Peace, will sing at 7 p.m., and a combined choir of St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Gilbert and the Gilbert Arizona Stakes Choir will perform at 8 p.m. The full schedule may be found online (www.christmastemplelights.com/pages/concerts.html).

For the fifth year, the visitors center will host international nativity displays. Carefully chosen sets of crafted manger scenes by artisans from around the world will wrap around a room as individual interpretations of Christ’s birth.

“Each of these sets is an expression of deep love for the Savior,” said Debbie Horne, the exhibit’s designer. Among this year’s scenes are sets from China, Japan, Peru and South Africa.

That display opened Monday and may be seen daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Jan. 1, the same hours the visitors center will be open for tours and the showing of a short film depicting Christ’s birth.

Volunteers who have worked on the lights have continued a process to replace conventional lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lights, which use up to 90 percent less electricity.

“When you look at them, they are way brighter,” Markland said. “They are a little more dramatic.”

“It is absolutely spectacular,” said Dee Hobbs, who has overseen the event for five years.

Known as one of the Southwest’s most popular Christmas displays, the temple lights are the result of more than 4,000 volunteers working about 10,000 hours. “It has grown to be the largest-known volunteer-driven Christmas lights display,” Markland said.

Within a few years of its beginnings in 1980 with just 5,000 lights, ABC’s “Good Morning America” dubbed the Mesa light show one of the nation’s three “must-see” holiday lighting displays.

Workers typically start in September, removing light strings from a warehouse and painstakingly going over each light. Assignments to decorate certain areas of the grounds are given to families or single wards, for example.

“We have people who do it year after year,” Markland said. “We have had an outpouring of help and willingness to do it.”

Link to article

Posted in Entertainment, Temples | No Comments »

Hawaiian Book of Mormon unveilled in Laie

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

From Ke Alakai:

One of the 30 surviving 1855 copies of the Hawaiian Book of Mormon was presented on display Friday at the La’ie Hawai’i Temple Visitors Center after an unveiling ceremony. “Ka Buke a Moramona” or the Hawaiian Book of Mormon was a result of a two and half year work of Elder George Q. Cannon’ s inspiration with the help from Judge Ionatana Napela, a descendant of the great chief of Maui. Three thousand copies of the Hawaiian Book of Mormon were printed in 1855 and later were burned in fire, except for 200 copies. Most of them were destroyed, but 30 survived.

Mark James, from the English Language Teaching and Learning Department said, “My main interest in seeing this rare edition is because I am serious student of LDS Hawaiian history. It’s so amazing to me that BYU Hawaii has three copies of one of the rarest books in church history. A copy of the 1855 Hawaiian Book of Mormon is more valuable than an original 1830 Book of Mormon.”

Elder George Q. Cannon wrote in his journal that he felt like a stranger among the native Hawaiians while he was on his mission and was homesick. He found comfort through the Book of Mormon. At that point of his life, he said that he found more value in the Book of Mormon than he ever has before.

“But there was no Book of Mormon in Hawaiian that he could share with the Hawaiian people that he loved so much, and so he said, ‘Well, we’ve got to get this translated,’” said Elder Jacobs of the Hawaii Temple Visitors Center.

In January 1851, the translation work began with few pages and finished in July 1853. In January 1855, 3000 copies of the Hawaiian Book of Mormon were printed.

Only about a dozen of the 200 remaining books survived this one because in 1920, it was given to N. Ford Clark, as a gift after in three and half year mission in Hawaii.

James said, “What I really enjoyed the most about the unveiling ceremony, was listening to brother Ellis read from his grandfather’s Journal about the experiences he had as a missionary from 1917-1921. Because he loved the Hawaiian language so much, a Hawaiian family decided to give him such a valuable possession–an 1855 edition of the Book of Mormon. And of course it’s such a beautiful thing that his descendents would want to give it to the BYU Hawaii archives, to preserve it and show it.”

Dean Clark Ellis, grandson of N. Ford Clark said.”He was a collector of books, and I’m sure this was his most prized possession.”
Two Hawaiian ladies, who are the descendants one of the people that Elder Clark taught, were introduced as special guests in the meeting.

Rhonda Martinez, from Colorado explained that she and her husband had never seen the Hawaiian Book of Mormon before. Both found out about the conference through the newspaper. She shared that her favorite part of the conference was when the descendants of the people that elder Clark taught were introduced.

Martinez said, “My favorite part was when he’s introduced the ladies who are part of the history.”

In order to gather pieces of history of this Book of Mormon, it took a year and $15,000 to restore it page by page. Moreover, Ellis was able to trace back the history of his grandfather’s mission companion who liked to take pictures and negotiate to have his grandfather’s mission pictures donated to BYU-Hawaii as part of the history.

Spencer Haynie, senior in psychology from California, said, “I liked the presentation by Dean because I liked the story about how they got pictures from his grandfather’s companion and donated them to BYUH.

James said, “The stories that Dean Ellis read from his grandfather’s journal remind me also of how important it is for each of us to keep a journal.” He continued, “And most importantly, I thought about how little of our church history is available for people to read and see and learn about. We have thousands of people coming to Laie every year, but if visitors want to learn about the history of the Church and the people of this community, there is nothing for them to see and no place to go. I think we really need a small church history museum somewhere in our community. This would be a great benefit not only to visitors but to each rising generation here in our community.”

Ellis said. “This is where it belongs. This is where my grandfather wanted it to be, where my parents wanted it to be, and I’m glad now instead of it being in a vault that is on display.”

You can see “Ka Buke A Moramona” at the Visitors Center near the temple. It’s open every day.

Link to article

Posted in BYU, LDS Church, Scriptures | No Comments »

Director of Twilight given the green light to start work on a sequel

Monday, November 24th, 2008

From The Telegraph (UK):

A fantasy romance in which a girl falls in love with a vampire, it has taken $70.6m (£46m) in its opening weekend in the US.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, it set a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a female directed film.

Film company Summit Entertainment has now agreed to the sequel, New Moon, according to Empire magazine.

The story focuses on Bella Swan, a human played by Kristen Stewart, and her vampire lover, Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson.

Based on the first of a series of novels written by US author Stephenie Meyer, Twilight is proving extremely popular with the same teenage audience that enjoyed Harry Potter.

In fact, producers of the film have brought forward its UK release to fill a gap in the market created by the delay of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which will not hit British screens until July next year.

Mrs Meyer, a Mormon housewife, has been hailed as the new J K Rowling.

Her most recent book knocked Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows from the top of international bestseller lists.

The Twilight series has sold close to 14 million copies worldwide – most of them in the United States - and has spawned dozens of internet sites for fans, who refer to themselves as ‘Twilighters’. (cont.)

Link to article

Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »

Good News: Hundreds Thank Mormon Church for Supporting Marriage

Monday, November 24th, 2008

From CitizenLink.com:

The National Organization for Marriage has launched a petition drive in response to incendiary attacks from gay activists in California and around the U.S. AboveTheHate.com has collected nearly 1,500 signatures of people thanking the Mormon Church for its support of Prop. 8, California’s marriage-protection amendment.

The list includes Dr. James Dobson and Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, Chuck Colson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Bishop Harry Jackson and other marriage advocates. The public is invited to sign on, as well.

Since Prop. 8 passed Nov. 4, gay activists have vandalized property, disrupted Sunday services and mailed threatening letters to marriage advocates around the country. The Mormon Church has been a primary target.

Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said: “The answer is to organize together in defense not only of marriage, and God’s truth about marriage, but in defense of basic, American decency about how we treat each other when we disagree.”

Bishop Harry Jackson, chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, said the petition makes an important statement “that we are going to operate with Christian integrity no matter how the other side operates.”

Link to article

Posted in Politics | No Comments »

John Mark Reynolds: California and Thank-A-Mormon Day

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

From Scriptorumdaily.com:

Proposition 8 would not have passed if it had not been for LDS (Mormon) money and manpower. For their hard work as participants in the process, this small religious group received some of the worst attacks of the political season. They were demonized and stereotyped by opponents of Proposition 8 and sometimes by the mainstream media.

Within the Republican Party the areas dominated by LDS members delivered for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Though not a monolith (paging Mormon Senate Leader Reid), the LDS are some of the most consistent pro-family voters in the nation. Prop 8 did not win on their votes (that took millions of people), but one reason it won was their know how and fervor.

Despite this fact at times a plausible Mormon presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, was the subject of unfair religious scrutiny. (Some forms of scrutiny of religion are fair, but some are just bigoted. Distinctions start here.) Too often people they have supported in the past were weak in their condemnation of such bigotry.

Republicans should not ask for Mormon money and manpower and then regulate their leaders to the backrooms when leadership roles are handed out.

Of course, nobody should confuse political and social agreement with theological unity.

My theological differences with the Mormon faith are deep and important. Within the last month I have argued that the LDS view of the God is not compatible with what we know about Divine love. Those theological discussions and disagreements must continue bringing clarity with charity to the important disagreements.

They are important because they are, after all about eternal things.

In the battle for the family, however, traditional Christians have no better friends than the Mormon faithful. It would be wrong if that support were taken for granted. We are intolerant of the false attacks on Mormon faith and family. We stand with our Mormon friends in their right to express their views on the public square. We celebrate the areas, such as family values, where we agree.

A heart felt thank you may not win points from other friends who demand one hundred percent agreement from their allies, but it is the decent and proper thing to do.

Thank you to our Mormon friends and allies!

Link to article

Posted in LDS Church, Politics | No Comments »

Silent one could make most noise

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

From The Calgary Herald:

Nik Lewis figures the silent member of the Calgary Stampeders receiving corps could very well be the X-Factor in today’s Grey Cup championship against the Montreal Alouettes.

“I just know, in a game like this, he’s going to make plays when he gets the opportunity,” Lewis predicted. “He doesn’t beg for the ball. But when he gets it, he does something with it every time.”

“And this is showtime.”

Ken-Yon Rambo, Lewis and Jeremaine Copeland are born showboats. Ralph, on the other hand, prefers to keep a low profile.

A devout Mormon, Ralph doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke, cuss or watch R-rated movies.

“He’s our designated driver,” Lewis said. “Ralph the Dog talks more than Ralph.”

Ralph, 26, talks by actions, not words. The Raymond native caught 52 passes for 724 yards and five touchdowns this season.

He often goes virtually uncovered as defences cheat towards Rambo, Copeland and Lewis.

“It gives me the opportunity, at times, to have a little success,” Ralph said, bashfully.

At five foot 10, 175 pounds, Ralph won’t intimidate with his size or speed. He simply has a knack for getting open and catching the ball when it comes his way.

Davis Sanchez is tasked with covering Ralph and Rambo today. The Als cornerback agrees the quiet one could make the most noise.

“He’s a very good receiver and doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is. He’s kind of overshadowed by the louder guys on that team,” said Sanchez.

Link to article

Posted in Member News, Sports | No Comments »

Large families, big rewards

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

From SunJournal.com (Maine):

The McWhorters

Cindy and Phil McWhorter began having children in 1971 with the birth of their daughter Shannon. Three girls - Stephanie, Rachael and Amber - followed nearly every other year until 1980, when their only son, Alex, was born. Nicole, who was a surviving twin, arrived in 1984, and Ashley was born 1988. A son in 1991 was stillborn.

During the 20-year span of their family’s growth, they lived in several states and even Italy; Phil was in the U. S. Air Force. Cindy credits their strong Mormon faith and sense of family with making each move less difficult. Their faith is also why they chose to have a large family.

“Faith first, family second, country third,” said Cindy, who originally thought she wanted 12 children.

While their size may not be commonplace, their values and family dynamics are quite traditional. Cindy raised the children on her own much of the time because Phil was deployed to various locations around the world, something that created hardships but that taught some longer-lasting lessons, like independence and responsibility.

Despite four of the children being diagnosed with dyslexia, Cindy says all of her children are intelligent and hardworking, and it just took finding the best way for all of them to excel.

Being resourceful and willing to learn helped Cindy - the third-oldest child of 11 in her own family - especially during those lengthy periods when Phil was away.

The family held weekly meetings to manage the various music lessons, activities and sports, at which they compiled a calendar that everyone followed. Cindy says that things didn’t always go smoothly, but that was where they learned to make adjustments and learn.

Money was spent on essentials and enrichment activities; clothes and material items were purchased on sale or at yard sales, and kept as long as they still had use. If one of the children wanted something that did not fit in the “need” or “enrichment categories” they had to earn the money for it themselves.

Cindy and Phil felt that providing enrichment activities to their children was their responsibility “so that they can be tools to enrich others’ lives,” said Cindy.

All seven of the McWhorter children learned to play piano, are multi-lingual and have traveled to various countries throughout the world. Each of them paid for their college educations on their own and, as adults, are either working or finishing school, and nearly all hold at least a master’s degree in some area.

“Realize that there will be rough times and that every child is different,” advised Cindy, on raising a large family.

Link to article

Posted in Families, LDS Church, Member News | No Comments »

Julianne Hough Hangs Up Her Dancing Shoes

Friday, November 21st, 2008

From The NY Daily News:

The perky, two-time winner and professional dancer has ended her run on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Utah-native Julianne Hough, who suffered from appendicitis during this season’s run, told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Thursday that she was calling it quits.

“I really, really want to focus on the music and, you know, kind of be taken seriously a little bit,” she explained.

Hough, 20, has already released a pair of albums this year, the first was earlier this year, a country music CD titled “That Song in My Head.” The most recent, “Sounds of the Season,” was a holiday album that hit stores in October.

“It’s kind of hard to be on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and do singing,” Hough, who has been romantically linked to country singer Chuck Wicks, told Seacrest. And “music is where I wanna be.”

Hough, and celebrity partner Cody Linley, were elminated from ABC’s hit dance competition reality show earlier this week. She also performed one of the songs from her holiday album on Tuesday night.

Link to article

Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »

Sports Executive Dave Checketts on Ambition, Passion and 'Difficult People'

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

From Knowledge@Wharton:

Longtime sports executive Dave Checketts, chairman of New York-based sports ownership group SCP Worldwide, works in “a world of difficult people,” and he wanted the audience for his recent Wharton Leadership Lecture to know that difficult people are not limited to the world of balls, bats and baskets. “If you’re going to go into this industry or any industry as a leader, you have to be prepared to deal with difficult people.”

Among the war stories he shared to prove his point was a behind-the-scenes tale of a tense encounter he had at Madison Square Garden in July 1996. This run-in did not involve an athlete or coach; instead it put Checketts nose-to-nose with New York’s mayor at the time — the hard-charging Rudy Giuliani.

Checketts was president and CEO of Madison Square Garden LP, then a $4 billion enterprise that included the Garden arena, the New York Knicks basketball team, the New York Rangers hockey team and the MSG television network. He was in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the NBA free agent season, walking into a midnight meeting with the agent for guard Allan Houston, when his assistant telephoned with urgent news. There had been a brawl at a boxing match that night in the Garden. It had spread from the ring into the crowd, and it looked as if 14 people were killed. Checketts immediately flew back to New York, fearing the worst, not least for the future of his company. He learned that Giuliani was on his way to the Garden. “My PR guy said, ‘We are dead,’” Checketts recalled.

In fact, no one had been killed, but there were injuries and robberies. The terrifying melee had been televised live on HBO. At 1:30 a.m., on a ramp inside the arena, Checketts saw the mayor approaching him with the police and fire commissioners — and the media in pursuit. “Dave, we’ve got a problem,” Giuliani said. Checketts recalled “thinking that this is either the end of my career, or something productive is going to come out of this.”

Giuliani told Checketts he planned to tell the media that the MSG security staff had acted badly. Imagining the next day’s reports — saying the Garden was unsafe — Checketts didn’t back down. “I said, ‘Rudy, if you say that our security acted badly, I’m going to say that the [police] acted badly.’”

Giuliani parried: “Well, then, I’ll say your security acted slowly.”

Checketts: “Well, then, I’ll say that your police didn’t react at all.”

At that point, Checketts recalled, Giuliani did “what difficult people do: He came right up about four inches from my face and said, ‘Do you want to battle with me?’”

Checketts said no. But he refused to let the mayor ruin the company’s reputation. After all, there had not been an investigation into the causes of the brawl. The two men adjourned to a side room and argued for an hour. By 2:30 a.m., he said, “We walked out, joined at the arm basically, and said, ‘This is outrageous. There’s no room for it in New York or anywhere else. There will be an investigation.’ And we announced steps to make sure it never happens again.” The damage was minimized.

Checketts, 52, said it took him years to master the art of the confrontation. He had plenty of practice in New York. Toward the end of the 1998-99 season, for example, Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy and general manager Ernie Grunfeld were sniping, and James Dolan of Cablevision, which owned the team, instructed Checketts to fire one of them. He reluctantly sacked Grunfeld, his friend, because he felt the players were more loyal to the coach.

Such “who’s in charge?” power struggles can undermine any organization, he said. They affect employee morale and ultimately the product — which in sports, perhaps more than other businesses, is a quick way to lose customers.

Checketts became a sports business superstar early, but he hadn’t planned to. Born in Utah, he graduated from the University of Utah, served as a Mormon missionary and earned his MBA at Brigham Young University. He went straight from there in 1981 to consulting firm Bain. “For three years in Boston, I was trying to find a way to save the Firestone Tire Company,” he said. “We fired 27,000 people and closed seven plants. I was working around the clock…. That was great experience for me when I took over the Utah Jazz, which was almost in bankruptcy. I understood what to do.” (cont.)

Link to article

Posted in Member News, Sports | No Comments »

An Open Letter to Senator Cornyn (R-TX)

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Dear Senator Cornyn–

Before the TARP vote, I wrote to you urging that you not support this $700 billion bailout program. My letter to you, in part, stated:

This proposal ignores moral hazard and rewards banks and other financial institutions for their reckless behavior. I do not think it is appropriate in any way to use taxpayer money in such an ill conceived and unregulated scheme. Giving Sec. Paulson unfettered power to spend $700 billion of taxpayer money seems reckless and irresponsible.

In spite of opposition to this bill by a majority of your constituents, you decided to ignore our wishes and vote in favor of the TARP bailout.

On October 22, 2008, you sent me an email explaining the reasons for your vote. In that email you wrote:

Any actions by the federal government must be temporary and limited. Furthermore, any taxpayer money that is used to support our troubled economy must be subject to strict oversight and be repaid—in full—to the American people.

We are now hearing that, in fact, there has been almost no oversight of this program. Last Friday, The San Antonio Express News wrote:

So far, Paulson has spent $290 billion of the bailout package. How have those TARP funds been used? No one really knows other than him.

You see, Congress was supposed to create a five-member congressional oversight panel — but hasn’t. And the White House was supposed to nominate — and the Senate was supposed to confirm — a special inspector general to audit and investigate where the funds are going. After six weeks, President Bush hasn’t made a nomination.

If lots of money in Washington and little oversight sounds alarming, it should. It’s the same toxic combination that helped create the current financial crisis. Now the Troubled Asset Relief Program is becoming a huge cookie jar into which politicians are reaching for

I would appreciate an explanation of why your assurance of “strict oversight” of the TARP program (that you voted for) has not happened, and why you have allowed $290 Billion of taxpayer money to be spent with virtually no accountability.

Sincerely,

Your constitutent

Posted in Provident Living | No Comments »

Romney’s Rejection of Detroit Bailout

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

From The New York Times:

Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate, created a bit of a stir today by writing an op-ed in The New York Times that featured the provocative headline: “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

Those who followed Mr. Romney closely during his unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination would be forgiven for doing a double-take.

Mr. Romney, after all, campaigned as a populist champion for the auto industry on his way to winning Michigan’s primary last year, excoriating Senator John McCain for declaring on the stump that some of the industry’s lost jobs were not coming back.

“I am not willing to accept defeat like that, that those jobs aren’t coming back,” Mr. Romney said on the stump at one point. “I will fight for every good job for Michigan and for America.”

Mr. McCain, who struggled to overcome his frank statement and accusations of economic pessimism, argued it was misleading to imply that all of those lost jobs could be returned to the state and all but accused Mr. Romney of pandering for votes.

During the Michigan primary battle, Mr. Romney played up heavily his personal ties to the state, arguing its problems were personal for him — his father George was chairman of American Motors and governor of Michigan.

Mr. Romney’s circumstances are dramatically different today, of course. He is free from the pressures of trolling for votes in a must-win primary, as Michigan was for him after he suffered grievous blows in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. There is also tremendous unease within his party’s conservative base about the government’s bailout of the financial industry and the one being considered now for the auto industry.

In his op-ed, Mr. Romney lays out his case against a cash infusion from the federal government for the automotive industry, contending that a bailout would simply perpetuate its problems, as opposed to a managed bankruptcy, which would force the industry to restructure to stay competitive.

He still portrays himself as a champion for the industry, saying “Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.”

But back in Michigan, his piece is already drawing reaction. At least one major former Republican backer, L. Brooks Patterson, the Oakland County Executive, said to the Detroit Free Press: “I can’t believe those words tumbled out of his mouth. I think Mitt is way off base on this one. I’m disappointed because I’m a big fan of his.”

Update | 8:58 p.m. Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Mr. Romney, dismissed any notion that Mr. Romney has changed his tone toward the auto industry, pointing out that he had said before the Michigan primary that he opposed a bailout but supported a “workout,” calling for a $20 billion investment in research and development, just as he had in his op-ed. But Mr. Romney had also vowed to bring together automotive industry leaders in his first 100 days in office to develop a plan to rebuild the industry. Some conservatives had harshly criticized Mr. Romney back then for abandoning small-government principles and essentially calling for a bailout of the industry.

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Posted in Politics, Provident Living | No Comments »

Trial begins in Virginia shooting of LDS missionaries

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

From Standard.net:

Chesapeake, Va. — A white cap with blue stripes, next to two 9 mm bullet casings, was left at the scene where two Mormon missionaries were shot nearly three years ago in Deep Creek.

Prosecutors seek to use DNA evidence to link James Boughton Jr. to the baseball cap and other items recovered the night of the shooting.

They hope to put Boughton, a 21-year-old Camelot man, at the crime scene on Elkhart Street that Jan. 2, 2006, night.

Boughton is accused of shooting Morgan Young, of Bountiful, Utah, and Joshua Heidbrink, of Greeley, Colo. Young, 21, died from a 9 mm gunshot to the head. Heidbrink, 19 at the time, was shot in the shoulder.

Boughton is on trial in Chesapeake Circuit Court for first-degree murder, malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding and three counts of the use of a firearm. His defense attorney, Andrew Sacks, argues Boughton has an alibi that puts him at a home in Camelot.

On Tuesday, Officer Richard Watts, of the Chesapeake Police Department’s forensic unit, testified about the baseball cap, bullet casings, religious material and other clothing items recovered from the scene. Watts said a hooded sweatshirt and do-rag were also recovered at other locations that night.

Prosecutors contend Boughton was attempting to shoot Gregory Banks Jr. on Elkhart Street when he noticed the two missionaries nearby.

Banks testified Tuesday that he “played dead” after being shot at, heard the gunman run away, then heard two more shots. The two missionaries were proselytizing door to door in the neighborhood when they unwittingly walked into a conflict between Banks and the gunman. Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney D.J. Hansen are expected to resume the state’s case today.

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Posted in Crime, Missionary | No Comments »

Married to the Mob: Insane same-sex-marriage rage

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

From National Review Online:

By Michelle Malkin

Before Election Day, national media handwringers forged a wildly popular narrative: The right was, in the words of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, gripped by “insane rage.” Outbreaks of incivility (some real, but mostly imagined) were proof positive of the extremist takeover of the Republican party. The cluck-cluckers and tut-tutters shook with fear.

But when the GOP took a beating on Nov. 4, no mass protests ensued; no nationwide boycotts erupted. Conservatives took their lumps and began the peaceful post-defeat process of self-flagellation, self-analysis and self-autopsy.

In fact, in the wake of campaign 2008 there’s only one angry mob gripped by “insane rage”: left-wing same-sex marriage activists incensed at their defeat in California. Voters there approved Proposition 8, a traditional marriage initiative, by 52 percent to 48 percent.

Instead of introspection and self-criticism, however, the sore losers who opposed Prop. 8 responded with threats, fists and blacklists.

That’s right. Activists have published on the Internet an “Anti-Gay Blacklist” of Prop. 8 donors. If the tables were turned and Prop. 8 proponents created such an enemies list, everyone in Hollywood would be screaming “McCarthyism” faster than you could count to eight.

A Los Angeles restaurant whose manager made a small donation to the Prop. 8 campaign has been besieged nightly by hordes of protesters who have disrupted business, intimidated patrons and brought employees to tears. Out of fear for their jobs and their lives, workers at El Coyote Mexican Cafe pooled together $500 to pay off the bullies.

Scott Eckern, the beleaguered artistic director of California Musical Theatre in Sacramento, was forced to resign over his $1,000 donation to the Prop. 8 campaign. Rich Raddon, director of the Los Angeles Film Festival, is next on the chopping block after the anti-Prop. 8 mob discovered that he had also contributed to the “Yes on 8” campaign. Calls have been pouring in for his firing.

Over the last two weeks, anti-Prop. 8 organizers have targeted Mormon, Catholic and evangelical churches. Sentiments like this one, found on the anti-Prop.8 website “JoeMyGod,” are common across the left-wing blogosphere: “Burn their f—-ing churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers.”

Thousands of gay-rights demonstrators stood in front of the Mormon temple in Los Angeles shouting “Mormon scum.” The Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City received threatening letters containing an unidentified powder. Religion-bashing protesters filled with hate decried the “hate” at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif. Vandals defaced the Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, Calif., because church members had collected Prop. 8 petitions. One worshiper’s car was keyed with the slogans “Gay sex is love” and “SEX.” Another car’s antenna and windshield wipers were broken.

In Carlsbad, Calif., a man was charged with punching his elderly neighbors over their pro-Prop. 8 signs. In Palm Springs, Calif., a videographer filmed unhinged anti-Prop. 8 marchers who yanked a large cross from the hands of 69-year-old Phyllis Burgess and stomped on it.

In San Francisco, Christians evangelizing in the Castro District needed police protection after the same-sex marriage mob got physical and hounded them off the streets. Enthusiastically shooting themselves in the foot, anti-Prop. 8 boycotters are now going after the left-wing Sundance Film Festival because it does business in Mormon-friendly Utah. (cont.)

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Posted in LDS Church, Politics | Comments Off

News for Mormons

Archive for November, 2008

Mormons have the goods to care for their own

Fasting funds system

Bishop’s orders increase

Couple assist job hunts

American Idol's Brooke White to turn on Mesa temple lights

Hawaiian Book of Mormon unveilled in Laie

Director of Twilight given the green light to start work on a sequel

Good News: Hundreds Thank Mormon Church for Supporting Marriage

John Mark Reynolds: California and Thank-A-Mormon Day

Silent one could make most noise

Large families, big rewards

Julianne Hough Hangs Up Her Dancing Shoes

Sports Executive Dave Checketts on Ambition, Passion and 'Difficult People'

An Open Letter to Senator Cornyn (R-TX)

Romney’s Rejection of Detroit Bailout

Trial begins in Virginia shooting of LDS missionaries

Married to the Mob: Insane same-sex-marriage rage

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