One Way to Read It

Iran: A nation of bloggers from Mr.Aaron on Vimeo . Iranians are more like our revolutionary ancestors than perhaps we ourselves are. Cheney wants to bomb them . War did not always go hand-in-hand with the American flag.

from Failblog

The Twilight actor who played Edward, Robert Pattinson, said this of the books: When I read it ... I was convinced that Stephenie was convinced that she was Bella, and ... it was like it was a book that wasn't supposed to be published, like reading her — her sort of sexual fantasy about some — especially when she says that it was based on a dream, and it's like, "Oh, then I had a dream about this really sexy guy" and she just writes this book about it, and there's some things about Edward that are just so specific that ... I was just convinced that this woman is mad, she's completely mad , and she's in love with her own fictional creation. And I sometimes ... feel uncomfortable reading this thing, and I think a lot of people feel the same way, that it's kind of voyeuristic ... It creates this sick pleasure in a lot of ways." So that validated my opinion . Huspah. Click here for more insults to the books.

Here is the first editorial I published in the BYU paper on June 26th. I thought it was timely.

My editorial got published. My coworkers said I kind of misconstrued what he said, and didn't give him the benefit of the doubt. I said that if my editorial had been reasonable and well-thought out, it wouldn't have been published.

You've all seen this picture that "proves" that Obama is a Muslim: It is used to scare Americans who think your identity changes depending on what clothes you wear. These people annually crap their pants on Halloween. Well, it goes the other way too. It looks like Al Qaeda is scaring Muslims into thinking Obama's a Jew: The man wears many hats. Of course, we all know he's really a Christian. Yikes. And yet it seems like church is always so boring. But then your preacher starts talking crazy to wake everyone up. Or one of your friends asks you to try something on, someone takes a picture, and it all goes downhill from there.

Last week a BYU student wrote that war makes peace . I thought this summed up his ideas well: From Buttersafe .

" They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. " -Benjamin Franklin A brilliant contradictionalist wrote in today's paper: " I adamantly insist that United States Constitutional rights legally must and morally should be preserved only for legal United States citizens and that only they may make an appeal to those rights. I do hold simultaneously the belief that all mankind are eligible to receive those God-given rights, if they act in accordance to the requirements that all U.S. citizens are under obligation to fulfill. We should strictly avoid any inhumane or degrading practice that would tarnish our own morality as well as our standing in the world scene. However, any concession or right afforded foreign enemy combatants must not fall under Constitutional rights, which are reserved for American citizens, whose rights for “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” begin with the right to live ....

ProjectCensored.org came up with a list of 25 news stories that didn't make the news: #1. Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation # 2 Security and Prosperity Partnership: Militarized NAFTA # 3 InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business # 4 ILEA: Is the US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America? # 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets # 6 The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act # 7 Guest Workers Inc.: Fraud and Human Trafficking # 8 Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly # 9 Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Testify # 10 APA Complicit in CIA Torture # 11 El Salvador’s Water Privatization and the Global War on Terror # 12 Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind # 13 Tracking Billions of Dollars Lost in Iraq # 14 Mainstreaming Nuclear Waste # 15 Worldwide Slavery # 16 Annual Survey on Trade Union Rights # 17 UN’s Empty Declaration of Indigenous Rights # 18 Cruelty and Death in Juvenile Detention Centers # 19 Indigenous Herders and Small Farmers Fight Livestock Extincti...

This is Rush Limbaugh's wet dream, it's only missing Sarah Palin: " Mario Masuku, an opposition leader in Swaziland , which bans political parties , was charged with terrorism on Monday after his arrest over the weekend. He entered no plea in a court in Siteki and was remanded to police custody. Mr. Masuku, a champion of multiparty democracy, was charged with making statements encouraging the bombing of government property, the BBC reported ." (emphasis added) From the nyTimes Imagine if they could've imprisoned Obama for being a terrorist, and not just smeared his reputation among ignorant racists. What a wonderful world it could be. Thank God the U.S. still allows opposition parties, and revolutionary ideas. Our country was founded on dissent.

Korea just banned over twenty books because they weren't patriotic enough. And they want to rewrite their history books to make them less "left." They want pictures like this removed from textbooks: Korean Government Soldiers Laying the Smackdown on Protesters The U.S. is no stranger to banning books. Here's a link of books that are "challenged" in the U.S. I listed as a permanent link on the side Wikipedia's list of banned books . Here's a taste: Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (we bought it this weekend for $0.50) Animal Farm by George Orwell The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (love it, made me want to travel back in time to the 1930's and throw a brick) Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (caused the French Revolution, by the same guy who caused the American Revolution ) Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith Funny thing, banning a book usually makes them top-sellers. Good thing the U.S. ...

"Total world spending on military expenses in 2006 was $1,158 billion US dollars. Nearly half of this total, 528.7 billion US dollars, was spent by the United States." From Wikipedia . Old School General Motors Ad General Motors provided tanks to the Allies and the Nazis during WWII. War profiteering is not new.

For those of you I've offended and ostracized over the last two years. Especially you, Mike. But before I take a break, here's one more kick to the groin just for old times' sake. Read this article from the New Yorker about McCain's glorious defeat in 2000 and ignoble defeat in 2008. In 2000. McCain's concession speech: “ I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land,” he said . “I want the Presidency in the best way—not the worst way. The American people deserve to be treated with respect by those who seek to lead the nation. And I promise you: you will have my respect until my last day on earth. The greatest blessing of my life was to have been born an American, and I will never . . . dishonor the nation I love or myself by letting ambition overcome principle. Never. Never. Never. ” In 2008: Ads appeared accusing Obama, who had served on the boards of two charities with William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground, of being allied with a...

A serial killer, a terrorist, a communist, sounds like the beginning of a joke. Nope, it's today's obits from the NYtimes. The worst was the guy who agreed with the anti-democracy crackdown against students at Tiananmen Square . Student Vs. Tank. He rooted for the tank. The oil guy might not fit in, but I think he does.

Either this guy writes satire straighter than George Orwell, or he's a complete idiot: First wrong thing: This guy criticizes an ROTC cadet about war, but doesn't list his credentials. Either he's also a cadet, or he's an idiot. It's like Palin and Giuliani criticizing Obama on leadership ability. Second wrong thing: He praises war for war's sake, as if every war were equal. Some wars are just, some are unjust. Some are oppressive, some wars fight oppression. To lump them all together and call it good, as if it were God's creation, is the new trend in patriotism, and completely stupid. The Three Mantras from 1984 Like most Mormon proponents for war, this fellow needs to spend less time flexing his pecks, pretending he's Captain Moroni, and more time reading the Book of Mormon . The only time war is justified in that book is when one group invades another's territory, and the attacked fight against the attackers to drive them out. Preemptive a...

Some of these guys have to be joking. Looks like these children were left behind.

"Dozens of worshippers, dressed in traditional vestments of their sects, kicked and punched each other, knocking down tapestries and overturning decorations at the site in east Jerusalem. " " Both sides blamed each other for the violence, with one Armenian monk saying that Greek Orthodox worshipers attempted to place their monk inside the tomb - which he said is not permitted. " " Fights are not uncommon in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher." -From AJE Article

Look at your spouse, or significant other. Now imagine you were told that what you felt for them was wrong. That it was a sin to be attracted to them. That you could never be with them, or you would burn in hell. That is one reason people protested prop. 8. The LA temple closed yesterday because of the protests. A coworker said, "That stinks for people who planned on getting married." She meant the Mormon couples who might have scheduled a wedding inside the temple on that day. They will have the inconvenience of getting married somewhere else or waiting until the next day. She didn't think of those in-love couples who now can never get married. Period. Gay and lesbian couples, who love each other, will have to wait indefinitely. Gay marriage may be a moral issue for those who struggle with same-gender attraction. But a lack of charity is the sin many of us commit by our opposition of their choices. Their choices may be immoral, and it may be correct for us to oppo...

A man protesting at a Mormon temple gave me a good idea. Another reason to love our enemies, we could learn from them. My friend Steve, my cousin Mike , and a bazillion other people voted McCain because of gay marriage. They want to protect the family. I told Steve that McCain had disqualified himself as "protector of the family" because he destroyed his own family by committing adultery . More LDS men are at risk of ruining their families by committing adultery than they are by . . . what is the other risk? The gay one? Am I at risk for suddenly going gay and leaving my wife? Not likely. On the other hand, infidelity and divorce are rampant. At the Republican National Convention this year many Republican officials stopped by the local nudie bar. I'm sure these same men are rampant marriage protectionists. The Daily Show was there to make fun of them. Homosexual intercourse is a sin. Why? Because it will keep you from obtaining the highest level of the celestial ...

Protesters rallied around the Mormon temple in Salt Lake yesterday. Here's a firsthand account of what happened there, and here's a video. Video Courtesy of KSL.com It seems like the protesters are a little late, since the legislation already passed. It's a divisive issue. The wife of Steve Young , famous Mormon footballer, is against it. I've joked that that's what you get for working on Sunday. Of course, I work on Sunday too, at BYU. Don't do anything crazy, Kathy. Catholics have come to our defense . Protests were also held at the LA temple . Here's a gallery of pictures . And video: Someone argued that Obama helped Prop 8 pass , because he helped get out the black vote, and blacks voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8: But it's probably not kosher to protest against black people, except for in some parts of the South, and in Utah. This ad probably helped convince blacks to vote yes: It was sent to homes in mostly black neighborhoods, witho...

Remember how your mom used to say: "Eat that last bite, because children are starving in China." I just figured out why. We will be fattened and delicious, so when the starving Chinese take over they can eat us. Turns out your mom is a terrorist, or a sleeper agent, or a socialist, or a communist, or whatever it is that the government wants us to be afraid of nowadays.

In an earlier post I quoted my friend Steve as saying he voted McCain, but is glad Obama won because he'll make a better president. Steve took it back: " I retract my statement that I am glad that Obama won. For some reasons I am glad he won, but, for the most important reason to me, I am disappointed to have a president that doesn’t have a strong position against the legalizing of same-sex marriage. " For the full response he gave, check the comments on the post " Voting For the Worser Man ." Thanks Steve. Sorry I called you dumb, you've proved you are not. I still disagree. I think we should work for this issue, but I don't think we should use it as the basis for selecting our nation's leader.

Was President Monson wrong on Prop 8? Such a thought is immediately deemed a heresy by most members of the church. But other faithful members disagree with the prophet, while still believing that he is the only man alive who can receive revelation for the entire earth. Some of my Mormon friends have said, "I cannot understand someone who could disagree with the prophet." I do not understand either, but I want to, even if I disagree with them. When most people say they do not understand something, they leave it at that. Such a lack of the want to learn will surely lead to damnation just as well as any other heresy. For we cannot be saved in ignorance . Prophets have never been popular. The Bible, if anything, is a history of the rejection of the prophets. Those who grasp most closely to the Bible now days scoff at the idea of another prophet coming, and so the cycle of rejection continues. Those of us who believe in a living prophet fear rejecting him and then being coun...

What will I blog about now? Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

An earlier post mentioned Jehovah's Witnesses incidentally and I was unfair. I merely mentioned them to describe how my system of taking ideas to the extreme worked. I thought of the Jehovah's Witnesses example years ago, and posted it again without giving it another thought. Of the responses I've received, one said that they would be able to subdue a violent man with peaceful means, or at least without weapons of murder. The other said that my point was flawed because if everyone was a Jehovah's Witness there wouldn't be violence at all. So let's put it this way. Let's say an entire nation converts to their church, and that other nations turn against them in war. Or, if perhaps the nations within which they live decided to wipe them out on a mass scale, what would happen? The Savior taught us to turn the other cheek when attacked. So-called Christian nations have reverently set that aside as unrealistic. But what really happens if a people follows thi...

Mormons have taken a bad rap for taking a stand on Prop 8. Damaging, bad acting notwithstanding. Jon Stewart also: Watch 0:40 - 1:07 California is far enough away that unfortunately I haven't learned much about Prop 8. I like what Orson Scott Card Wrote about it . The actor who played Sulu on Star Trek has an interesting perspective . Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, and prophets have never been popular.

Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan argues that Obama is conservative. He says Obama is temperamentally conservative Excerpts: "I want to bring calm reason and prudence back to American government." Upping the ante by Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, by torture, by wars that have no end, we are losing the war. We are losing in Afghanistan. "I want to win, and I want to put someone in there who can do it."

Physicists test the laws of physics by taking them mathematically back to the big bang. I apply this test to ideologies. I take them to an extreme to see if they would hold up under pressure. For example, Quakers and Jehovah's Witnesses do not fight. If everyone in the world were Quakers and Jehovah's Witnesses, one armed man could rule them all. With money, if everyone in the world had a million dollars, everyone would stop working, and the economic system would collapse. Capitalism depends on a poor working class for it's existence. Who knew Ed McMaughan was a communist?

A friend told me today that he voted McCain, but that he's glad Obama won, because Obama would make a better president. That's the kind of diversity of political thought that I respect. Still, kind of dumb, voting for the worser guy. A co-worker asked me, "Do you think that we are going to go to hell, as a nation." now that Obama is our next president. Both of these comments are symptoms of the same disease. Religious people try to vote 'morally' by voting for the party that claims it is 100% against abortion and homosexuality. Unfortunately they ignore a slew of other moral issues, like war, corruption, helping the poor, caring for the earth. By voting Republican constantly, they do not necessarily vote for the best candidate. And in Utah, it has destroyed the two-party system. Don Jarvis (Dem) lost to a worser candidate. Though I'm happy Obama won, I'm sad that incumbent Republican candidates in Utah keep their jobs despite poor performance. Com...

Can you think of having a name crappier than Hussein? How about bin Laden? Osama bin Laden's son, Omar, wants to live in Spain . He's married to a British woman and is a pacifist. He's the fourth of nineteen children. I think it would speak of the greatness of the Western world to not punish children for the sins of their fathers. Update: Spain rejected him.

More Star Wars Nerdome. See more funny videos at Funny or Die

A good summary. Acorn defends itself. Scary music.

Ignorant of the scriptures, many Christians have mingled their current lifestyle and political opinions with tidbits of the Gospel and thought it the order of heaven. They despise the poor as lazy and honor the rich as hardworking. They have replaced the glory of heaven with the glimmer of gold. And though they profess to worship the living God their hearts are upon their treasures and their money is their god. I would like to remind them of the rich man and Lazarus . I'm sure the rich man worked very hard and deserved every penny he owned. And yet he lifts his eyes up in hell. No mention is made of the poor man's life choices. He could have been as lazy as the curs with whom he associated. Because he had not much to give, much was not required. The rich have worked hard for what they have, and feel they deserve it. But they base their sense of justice on a twisted worldview, forgetting that the social systems under which we currently live were formed by the god of this ...

No one can hurt the U.S. but us. 2 Nephi 1 31 . . . Nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land forever. 32 Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the security of thy seed . . . I've repeated this a lot. We do not need our military to be so big. We do not need troops permanently stationed in over 100 countries. We do not need army troops on the ground inside the U.S. We do not needs stockpiles of nuclear weapons. If we are righteous, God will protect us. If not . . . Majority Rule on Abortion and Gay Marriage Mosiah 29 26 Now it is not common that the a voice of the people desireth anything b contrary to that whichis right ; but it is common for the lesser part of the c people to desire that which is not right ; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. 27 And ...