SOPA and PIPA summarized

Here is a summary of why there is so much backlash against SOPA & PIPA in case you weren't sure by now.

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Why I've Lost Faith in the Political System

I've been thinking a lot about our current political situation. You see, I kinda saw this "Debt Crisis" as kind of a final exam for the people in Washington. "Okay, you've gotten bad grades in the past. You probably shoulda looked into this debt thing months or even years ago... but now it is crunch time, let's see you guys make it happen." And they failed. The let down America. They let me down. So I've been thinking about it all. Not just the "Debt Crisis" or whatever the most current problem happens to be, but the whole kit'n'kaboodle. The point is, there is no feeling of leadership to make things run smoothly. Not in Obama. Not in the Tea Party. Not in Boehner. Not in Mitt Romney, any other realistic Presidential Candidate (there are some that I'd think would do well, but I have severe doubts about how they will fair). Of course, unless you buy into all that crap, you aren't going to get the money to get elected in the first place.

You see, our political system is broken. Now let me be clear... Our Government Isn't Broken, just the people who run it have turned it into something horrible. The Constitution is one of the most amazing documents ever written and is vital to the success of our country. People sometimes interpret it differently from each other, and that is okay.It is still amazing. Our system of Checks and Balances and 3 segments of Government create an environment that makes it very difficult for corruption to set in and fester.

What doesn't work, however, is the bloodlust party system blanket that has been layed over the top of the Constitution rendering it inert. Every political outing is an out-and-out brawl. It is the Montagues and Capulets. A war this will continue endlessly for no reason other than Democrats and Republicans are enemies. 3rd parties aren't the answer either because they don't hold any useful sway in the modern rhetoric.

A message from a Mormon to the Gay Community

In regards to Gay Marriage, I've been thinking about this a lot recently, considering the decision of the California judge to repeal Proposition 8, and I think it is only fair to express my opinions on the matter.

You see, I have more than one member of my family that is, in fact, directly affected by the outcome of the rulings that will inevitably be decided by the Supreme Court.As I am one of the only actively practicing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in my family, I worry that my family and friends of our family may see me to be secretly intolerant at heart. Maybe I'm putting on a smile and being kind, but deep down I resent them and am very disappointed... well, if you think this of me, you are wrong.

I don't claim to speak for the LDS Church in any way, but I do claim that there are MANY other LDS people who share the same viewpoint that I do. What about all the angry bitter people? Well, they are just louder than we are.

What Would Jesus Do?

Members of the LDS church and Christianity in general have an interesting relationship. We Mormons claim to be Christian since we do, after all, believe Christ to be our Lord and Savior, but we don't share any of the same symbols, history, social structures, even our vocabulary differs greatly in reference to the same things. Since we LDS folk don't use crosses and other symbology to express our faith, we tend to forgo all other sayings as well. I, on the other hand, have a "W.W.J.D." fabric bracelet that was given to me years ago by a friend that I have worn since. Normally LDS people would not wear this. Why? Simply because we have our own culture apart from Christianity and the WWJD craze never became a part of it. To me, it is still a valid message and therefore, I choose to wear it.


Currently, I'm in Texas on an internship and I met another intern native to the southern states (who kinda looks like Martin Keamy on Lost) and we got to talking. He said, ..."so you go to BYU, that explains why you are married and have a son." I laughed and agreed. Then he said, "But you're not Mormon." I replied, "What makes you think that I'm not?" At which point he pointed to my WWJD bracelet and I said "So?" He then replied, "I like you, you are a good guy."

This led me to the conclusion that this other intern didn't believe that LDS think of Christ as our Savior. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I think we as LDS don't wear Christ on our sleeves enough. We live good works and brotherly kindness pretty well, we also have no problem wearing the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith on our sleeves... but Jesus? We don't preach it much.

Maybe it is because we know others understand it already, they already have a Faith in Christ and we want to focus on what makes us unique, but then we are missing the point.

For the two or three of you that actually will possibly read this, what do you think?