The Good News is In!

HE IS HOME!!!!!

HE'S HOME! HE'S SAFE!

I love you, Cousin! Thank you for being such an honorable man!

He served honorably in the 116th Convoy Security Company and has opted to make the military his career. He is almost halfway to retirement! Here are some of the articles about his troop...

Troops aim to win hearts, minds

Ditch the butts and head to Utah

After horrors of war, the 116th is coming home

Soldiers return from Iraq, but some comrades volunteer for an extended stay

Jeff Fisher made it home. He is safe. All holiness be praised!

I've Been A-Thinkin'

So, I am wondering... when one is completely oblivious to the goings-on in the political arena, is it acceptable for one to vote completely Democratic simply because one's father is voting Republican because that's what all good members of his religion do? Now, he says he is not going to do that, as does his wife, but in the last week all I have heard either of them report on was which Republican one which State. And, usually, it's quite jovial news when it is Romney that took the State. And she says she will "never vote for Hillary" because she doesn't like her husband and what he did when he was President. Now, hey. Isn't that sorta judging someone else for the sins of another? Doesn't The Church teach that that isn't what they do?

Sadly enough, I have lost faith in our government and the way that it does its business. I no longer believe that any politician is actually going to stand behind that which he/she claims he/she will be doing during his/her term. I believe that the way our government was originally set up to run is no longer a viable way to run a country. It seems that our President has just become a celebrity spokesperson who poses and looks "pretty" for the camera, without really being able to do anything of worth because Congress, the Senate and the Lobbyists have the person in that position by the balls and backed into the corner. And then, when it appears that the President may be doing his own thinking, it is only because he seems to have lost his damn mind and is paying no heed to the citizens anymore and is going haywire over the edge and taking the whole country with him.

So, with all that being said, I am wondering... how do I vote for something I don't believe in? And, how can I not vote and continue to watch this country be destroyed? How can I hope that my vote will mean anything? Especially if I am going to vote for an underdog because then "others" view that as splitting the votes away and weakening the election...

I am wondering if McCain feels like a minority in the Big Four of this race. I mean, he cannot say he's black or Mormon or a woman. He is just a plain, Good Ole Boy, white boy at that, apparently hailing from a non-controversial religion because I have no idea to which God he prays.

I am wondering if it would be bad of me to vote for Obama simply because he is black. Or for Clinton because she is a woman. As for Romney... I have played in that sandbox my entire life here in Utah and am not really interested in having The Church run the country - not saying that that would necessarily happen. I just don't want to chance it. So I wouldn't vote for his minority state of being. The other two, however, I am considering simply because I think this country could use with a sizeable dose of something other than the Good Ole Boy energy that has been all too pervasive for far too long.

I am wondering why I don't feel more about the passing of Gordon B Hinckley. I am wondering why I got pissed off because they kept interrupting the Hallmark movie I was engrossed with to tell me that he had died and then pay tribute as breaking news. Shit. I am wondering why people are gathering in lines to wait to view his dead body. I am wondering why people are sobbing heaps of humanity, grieving his death. I am wondering why the Kansas Baptist group feels the need to protest at his funeral. (K... so that is just dumb. They need to get a life.) I am wondering why I didn't cry or even want to post a remembrance when some of my never-been-Mormon friends have done so. I am wondering if I am now going to hell for sure.

Photos for the Candidate Collage above found at following sites:

http://www.johnmccain.com/
http://www.mittromney.com/
http://obama.senate.gov/
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

Gordon B. Hinckley photo found at:
http://www.lds.org/ (and, ironically enough, the label of the photo was: GBH_hero)

Politics

I am listening to Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" address to the Union. Having been born into and raised in the LDS religion, the religion from which Romney hails, I am able to hear the religion ringing through his words, although not in the ways that I thought I would hear it. He was very humble and loveable and believable. I felt proud of him and admire that he wrote this speech himself. He quoted President John F. Kennedy who also gave a "Faith in America" speech stating, "I am an American running for President." He was clear and succinct in how he presented himself in relation to his religion and he came across as open and loving of all religions.

I imagine that, if he is elected, there will be a large number of Americans who cry "conspiracy" and "cult" and various other things. I imagine that, if anything goes wrong during his term, it will be, according to many Americans, because of his weird religion. I imagine that running this country, no matter which religion, is a daunting task to undertake.

Power to you, Mitt. Although I cannot be swayed by tender speeches when it comes to voting for my President, I was impressed.

Lions for Lambs

I saw a movie this weekend, Lions for Lambs and was so moved by the performances and the three different story lines that were intricately interwoven. For anyone interested in the state of our involvement with the ongoing wars, I highly recommend this show. It gave me something to think about, wonder about and, even, feel afraid about. For anyone who has a loved one enlisted and in active duty, be sure to take a really big hanky. That particular story line ripped my heart out.

Voter's Tuesday

Call me unpatriotic... I do not feel like voting today. It could be because my brain was deposited back in Daylight Savings Time. It could be because I am tired after a night of endless dreams of struggle and uphill climbs of which I cannot remember but feel the remaining vestiges of my efforts. It could be because I have lost all faith and hope in this system we call democracy.

I don't believe it works anymore. I feel as though our "two party system for the people by the people" has become a jumble of lobbyists and oil companies. It seems that the "people" for which it stands have had deaf ears and blind eyes turned toward them. Perhaps that is because I am not voting, you are not voting, we are not voting. Perhaps.

And, perhaps... and this is simply my very humble opinion... perhaps it is time for a change. And I don't see how the change that is needed is going to come through the old ways...

A conundrum.