Missouri Now Against Free Speech, Fun, and Sports

After Missouri took aim at Christians as being right-wing nuts, I saw this article on Yahoo News:

“At 22 years old, St. Louis Blues rookie sensation T.J. Oshie doesn’t meet the age requirements to be mayor of St. Louis. But that didn’t stop a fan blog called Vote 4 Oshie from organizing a hastily crafted campaign to have fans write in Oshie’s name for last Tuesday’s mayoral elections around Missouri.

Alas, it would appear that he fell a few votes short. But the campaign was so inspirational that a Blues fan actually wrote Oshie’s name on a ballot in last Tuesday’s O’Fallon, Mo. mayoral election and then proudly photographed it before having the image posted on Vote 4 Oshie.

Surprise, surpise: This is all actually quite illegal, according to county election officials. From the Post-Dispatch:

The punishment is more than just a few minutes in the penalty box: Willfully sharing the contents of a completed ballot is a class-four election offense in Missouri, carrying up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The St. Charles County Election Authority is taking a hard stance against using the ballot box to display fan loyalty. The Oshie voter “violated the law, and I’m going to prosecute,” county elections director Rich A. Chrismer said. “They may have thought the photo was cute, but it was very serious.”

St. Louis County elections director Joseph Goeke told the Dispatch that the regulation was written back in 1977 to discourage the buying or selling of votes. County officials said they intended to contact Vote 4 Oshie’s site administrator in an attempt to find out who photographed the O’Fallon mayoral ballot”

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Apparently, Joseph Goeke hasn’t heard of the First Amendment, which will likely quickly trounce any attempted prosecution. With any luck, if there is government action, after it is dismissed the fan will sue Goeke for infringing his constitutional rights with a frivolous issue.

Maybe he’ll also get some free hockey tickets.

Hinder Terrorists by Banning the Internet

California Assemblyman Joel Anderson has proposed a bill that would require Google to “fuzzy” its online mapping services so would-be terrorists cannot clearly see (at least online) buildings they may want to target. Anderson wants to impose prison time and fines of $250,000 a day for violations.

Why stop there? Banning the Internet, cell phone service, all communications, weapons, and maybe even food, would also serve to thwart terrorists.

How many terrorist attacks have there been in California due to online mapping services? Zero.

I’m sure that if the bill passes (even if not struck down as unconstitutional infringement on free speech and/or interstate commerce), would be terrorists will be saying “Shucks. Now that Google’s online mapping services are not as clear we’ll have to give up our planned attacks and play tiddlywinks instead.”

Usually, such pea-brained ideas from lord legislators deciding what the California flock cannot do, say, hear, or participate in – come from Democrats. Joel Anderson, though, is a Republican from Alpine – a tiny rural county no terrorist has ever heard of or cares about.

Instead of attacking a California success story – Google – our mighty protector of freedom Joel Anderson might want to consider what happens if a non-California based company, perhaps from China, offers similar online mapping!

Whoops. No increased security. Just more damage inflicted on California business and the economy. Thanks Joel.

California’s Spending Problem

According to the California Department of Finance, California’s state expenditures have risen from $57.3 billion in 1999 to $104.5 billion for 2009.

That is an 82 PERCENT INCREASE IN SPENDING OVER 10 YEARS.

Yikes.

State revenue (taxes) have increased from $58.6 billion in 1999 to about $97 billion in 2008, dropping to $82.7 billion in 2009. Using the 2009 figure, that is a 41 percent increase. Using the 2008 revenue figure, a 65 percent increase.

Any way you look at it, 82 percent is far, far higher than the rate of inflation.

During the past decade the aggregate inflation rate has been 32 percent.

In other words, California’s spending has increased at 156 percent the rate of inflation.

California has a spending problem.

Microsoft Updates, Uggh

I updated my computer with the latest recommended Microsoft updates and, once again – as usual – I’m kicking my self. The updates messed-up my file pointer system so that now my web browser doesn’t open all the types of files it should. (Not every web page has a html extension.)

Sometimes I think it would be easier just to let my computer be a virus infected zombie machine spewing out spam, instead of having to deal with Microsoft’s updates.

Time for Broncos Leaders to Assert Themselves

Bowlen wanted his team back from Shanahan. Well, now he has it. McDaniels wants to prove he is up to the task of being an NFL coach. Now is the time to do it.

In short, tell Cutler that he will not be traded and to get on with doing his job.

Cutler can ask for all the trades he wants, and from the news reports he sure appears to be acting immaturely. Imagine that, a 25-year old playing a game for a living, making millions, acting immaturely. That has never happened before.

But its not his position to be dictating personnel decisions.

Gee, has anyone not liked their boss??

Time for everyone involved to start acting like men and to get on with the task of preparing for the new season.

HBO – Big Love – Mormon Endowment Ceremony

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a curiously defensive Official Statement about the HBO Show “Big Love” and its upcoming episode depicting an endowment ceremony – a statement highlighted at the forefront of the Church website. You can read the statement here:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

Ironically, I wrote recently that Big Love was the best show on TV, after watching an episode that I wouldn’t have minded lasting several more hours. In that episode, the family patriarch is seeing his plural marriage family disintegrate in numerous ways. He himself is a cheater seeking to justify indiscretions by adding wives. He is promoting gambling to make money. He seeks to leverage, bribe, and manipulate anyone standing in his path.

During the episode he is told unhappiness is the result of following a false prophet, and he ultimately is on his knees crying out to God saying he has been looking for His presence but has not found Him anywhere. At the same time, his back is turned to the Angel Moroni rising in the background.

It is a powerful depiction.

His back is turned to the Church. That is why he cannot find God. He is not following Church teachings. That is why he and his family are unhappy and disintegrating.

Perhaps some differ in their interpretation, but it seemed to be a powerful promotion of the Church, with a running theme of the show being the problems that arise from following “fundamentalist” teachings.

Now, however, in its statement the Church initially criticizes HBO because “the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons.”

What is not said is why that matters.

So what?

Some aspect of the show is necessarily about Mormons.

What is not said is that the Church does not want any show associating polygamy with the Church. Fair enough. Except that it was early Church teachings that polygamy was proper which gave rise to the practice, which is still practiced by some fringe splinter groups today.

That history and its repercussions cannot be denied by wishing it away – and that is what helps create some of the dramatic story lines in the Big Love show.

It is not a blurring of the faith and polygamy in the show. Rather, the show uses the fact that there is no blurring to create dilemma after dilemma for the family as they pretend to others to be Mormon but seek to conceal their true beliefs.

The official Church statement also mentions that “Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding.”

True. However …

Since the episode of Big Love depicting the endowment ceremony has not aired or been seen by the Church, how can the Church know any misrepresentation or incomplete textual depiction will be made? Certainly no attempt is made in the official statement to identify any misrepresentation, or to give a proper context or understanding to what will be depicted in the show.

Instead of assuming the worst and taking a peremptory shot at HBO that may or may not ultimately be justified, and issuing a statement that seems to be beneath the dignity of the Church, why not simply issue an after-the-fact statement explaining why any part of the TV show has made a misrepresentation or shown something out of context? That teaching would be much more valuable.

It appears to me that the real concern is not what is depicted, but that it is being depicted at all. Is it bad taste to depict an endowment ceremony? It’s not for me to judge on behalf of anyone else.

What is obvious, though, is that the horse named publicity left the secret barn long ago and is never coming back. Anyone can find on the Internet an incredible amount of information about endowment ceremonies and other sacred practices not supposed to be seen by non-Mormons.

Instead of issuing statements condemning such publicity, it might be better to embrace the openness of the Internet. It might be better to work with the HBO producers to ensure that if anything is shown, even if the Church does not want it shown, that at least it is accurate. It is unfair to criticize something, ahead of time, as being inaccurate when it has not been seen and no attempt has been made to address any potential inaccuracies.

The Church statement also mentions that the HBO “characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous.” That is true. Almost everyone in the Big Love series has problems and personality issues that make them unsympathetic. Especially the fundamentalist characters living in the compound. The compound characters are, frankly, insane.

That is what gives the show some spice and makes it interesting. It is a soap opera. We also need to be ‘real’ in our assessment of the show’s characters. A show depicting everyone of a certain faith as being perfect persons without fault would be even more unbelievable.

The title of the Official Statement is “The Publicity Dilemma.” There isn’t any dilemma. Recognize that a TV show today requires suspense, drama, scoundrels, etc. It is fiction. Not a documentary. A show about a ‘typical’ Mormon family, CTR, and so on, is not something people would watch on television as they can view that in their own lives. Instead of unfairly criticizing an unseen episode, embrace the publicity and seek ways to promote the Church in a favorable light.

Obama Promised to Tie My Shoes

O.K, Obama did not promise to tie my shoes in his speech to Congress tonight. But he promised about everything else. It was breathtaking.

For sure, one cannot accuse Obama of not being ambitious. And I always like to aim high and not aim for mediocrity.

But seriously, the number of incredible promises he made was ridiculous. What was Nancy Pelosi doing behind him with that silly-stupid smile painted on her face? Any real attempt to pay for all those programs and ideas will bankrupt the country.

By the end of his first term Obama’s popularity will be in the single digits if people are counting the number of promises his campaign and administration have made, and how many are actually delivered.

Big Love: Best Show on TV

Big Love, the series on HBO could be the best show on TV. It may be the only show I watch, now that NFL football has ended, but that’s because it is compelling, interesting, funny, dramatic – and entertaining.

Big Love is about a fundamentalist, Latter Day Saints (FLDS) family and their struggles and triumphs as they attempt to balance their faith and ostracism from society and the Mormon faithful – the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is unique and certainly not another crime scene, reality, or other knockoff show.

Last night I turned to my wife and said the current episode may have been the best TV show I have ever seen. I could have watched it for hours.

Since it is a continuing story, you will get more out of an episode if you are already familiar with the story line and characters. I suggest buying or renting the series on DVD to catch-up. Prepare to be hooked.

Prediction: Octuplets Mom to Lose Kids

Nadya Suleman, the new Octuplets with 6 other kids, none older than 7 years old – I predict will soon be losing her kids to California’s Child Protective Services agency.

She has 14 little ones, is single, and without a job, and many would say off-balanced by wanting so many kids. She also cannot mentally distinguish between “welfare” – which is what she is on and receiving food stamps, and “deserving” money from other people (taxpayer’s money) due to her needs. Basically, since she believes she deserves the money that means the money does not constitute welfare.

Did my cuckoo clock just go off?

Oh, and three of new non-Octuplets are disabled, for which she receives additional welfare.

It’s only a matter of time before action is taken to make sure these children are properly cared for.