Are we becoming a nation of babies?

Is it true that college students recently were "frightened" and "in pain" over seeing someone write the word "Donald Trump 2016" in chalk? 

I despise Trump with a passion. If that's not obvious, then I apologize for not being clearer. So let me be clear-Trump is a d-bag.  

In 2004, I wrote "Bush won!" on several chalk boards in my college and I hope to God I offended someone or made them "uncomfortable". I wonder why no conservative students get "offended" or "frightened" when they see Sanders supporters, their views trashed and insulted on a regular basis, or other left wing nonsense they see in virtually all the time in college. 

I also seriously wonder how we got like this. What makes someone so pathetic that they would feel "frightened" or "in pain" over seeing a political candidate they disagree with names in chalk? If I was a leftist this would be gravely disturbing to me. 

However-I do think it's more of a "delusional immaturity" thing more than a "leftist" thing. College can be two things-it can be a place where you learn, prepare for the real world and develop wonderful friendships that last lifetimes-or it can be a breeding ground for little bitches who don't know how the real world works. 

Iphones and the FBI

I've been quiet about this issue because I don't know what to think. For once in my life, I don't think I have a well thought out, educated opinion on it. I just have feelings. 

I am incredibly concerned about the growth of government and the shrinking of the individual. That doesn't make me a right-winger, a terrorist, or a radical-it makes me concerned about the growth of government to the detriment of individual rights. 

However, we have no individual rights if we are under constant attack by terrorists. Belgium and France weren't accidents-they were warning signs. I do not believe that all Muslims are terrorists and I'm as disgusted as you are by anti-Islamic prejudice. 

But I'm not stupid either. radical Islam is a problem. If you are pro gay marriage (like me) and and for women's rights (like me) radical Islam should scare you too. I've said it before, but it does need repeating-you can be tolerant, loving and believe you can hug bad guys into peace-but certain people still want to kill you. 

Which brings me to the San Bernardino. The blunt, uncomfortable truth is that radical Muslims killed innocent people in a terrorist attack. There is no getting around it. Guns were not the issue-the ideology was. 

So from what little I know the FBI found an iPhone and now want to hack into it. Apple is refusing to help. It doesn't matter because it was hacked into anyway. Was Apple right to refuse the request? It doesn't matter now, but would they have refused the request if the murderers were Christian?  Probably not. Apple is a very left wing company. They'll do whatever is politically correct at the moment. 

...if I had a backstage rider

Don't you just love looking at the riders of the D-list stars that The Smoking Gun has to offer? If my goal of becoming a world famous metal guitarist or a world famous tattoo artist ever gets accomplished (don't worry, I've long since given up on those) this is what my rider would look like:

Two twelve packs of La Croix water
A whole veggie Publix sub with jalapeños, black olives, pickles and white American cheese 
Revlon hair brush for my naturally luxurious, flowing hair
Scunci Black hair ties without that metal thingy (Ouch. They hurt when you fling them at people during stints of boredom) 
One bottle of Fructis shampoo
One bottle of Fructis conditioner (Oh, how I hate the "2 in 1" combined bottles!)
Directions to the nearest comic store (no driver needed here folks. Aren't I low maintenance?)
A hard copy of todays Wall Street Journal 

No wonder all my friends call me a diva. Even I'm mildly put off by that list of demands. Eat your heart out Mariah Carey!  

The People vs Oj Simpson

...is one of the best television series I've ever seen. 

To get it said right away, I think OJ is one hundred percent guilty and got away with murder. Not first degree-I don't think he planned to kill anyone-but murder none the less. 

When the trial was going on I was in my mid-teens. I was a precocious teenager who liked many other things that my classmates didn't. Current events and politics was one of them. 

We had to watch this irritating "Channel 1" news program. It was the schools miserable attempt to get the students more involved in the world outside the high school. Listen carefully-if you are interested in the outside world, you don't need extra help and if you aren't interested, nothing anyone does will make you interested. The verdict was announced live and during a "Channel 1" broadcast. 

When I got home that day I switched it to CNN and saw an African American guy saying that "OJ got away with murder" and that he (the black guy) "wasn't happy at all without it." That guy was the bravest man I ever saw-and even though he was a random guy on television-he's still among the bravest men I ever saw. 

The TV series shows everything, so far. The incompetence of the prosecuting attorneys, the way the defense attorneys convinced the jury that the trial was about race instead of murder-and to it's eternal credit, it provides suspense to what is a real life series of events. During the White Bronco chase scene, OJ had a gun to his head. There were times I thought he was going to commit suicide. He doesn't, of course-but the show is so good that it that it can convince you otherwise. It's like Apollo 13. We know the astronauts survive-but it doesn't seem like they will. 

If Robert Kardashian was like how David Schwimmer is portraying him, than Robert Kardashian is an amazing, high character and incredibly decent person. 

The acting is top notch, the script is outstanding. It's not manipulative either. It doesn't tell you what to think. It's not like a bad Joel Schumacher movie. 

 it's one of the few must watch shows out there.

Scripture Sunday Matthew 28:6

"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Happy Easter 

Thoughts on college degrees

Upfront-No, I didn't go to the ivy league. I went to a public college (UNH) and my BA is in English. Like the song in Avenue Q says, it's a relatively useless degree. I knew it would be tough to find employment with it. I majored for love of the subject.  

Now that that's out of the way, time for some truth. You shouldn't waste time and money getting a degree just to have a degree. It probably won't help you in the long run, and it could add to some major debt. It would be best in many cases to develop and master a skill that will make you more money in the long run. 

This is inspired by that annoying as hell University of Phoenix "If I Only Had a Brain" commercial. Again, I didn't go to the Ivy League, so take it with a grain of salt-but be very careful about the "for profit" universities. A degree from a place like that won't be looked at the same way as a degree from a traditional school. 

University of Phoenix accepts one hundred percent of it's applicants. That's not a good sign. If everyone has a degree, it cheapens the work that is put into getting one. 

To be clear, this isn't about anyones life choices. After all it is your life and not mine. I can't make choices for you. But making a huge time and money commitment to get a degree that may not provide returns for a long time is something you need to think long and hard about. 

Album of the weekend

Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities" Good Friday is today. Throughout the Christian world we mourn the death of our Savior. 

Demon Hunter-The Triptych

This is the album that made Demon Hunter surpass all the other Christian bands out there . I prefer Mortal Treason, Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying, but someone gave me this is a gift and it grew on me. It's metalcore/screamo, not traditional heavy metal-virtually unlistenable to anyone who isn't a fan of the genere-but for those of us that are fans, it's gold. It's very easy to mosh to this album. I strongly suggest buying this if you are into Christian metal.  Even if you aren't into Christian metal, it's still a great album overall if you like the style. 

The break up song post

Ahh, the break up songs. Oddly, I am in a somewhat stable and somewhat faithful relationship but I do love break up songs.  The songs we listen to when we are struggling with regret, sadness, and the classic "it's not you, it's me". We like to think that we are irreplaceable when it comes to a break up-and we are, in some ways. I'd like to think that every ex I've had in my life has taken away something beneficial from our relationship-though if they wanted to see me stabbed to death by Michael Myers-I can't blame them either.

1. You Can Go Your Own Way-Lindsey Buckingham is an underrated guitarist. Sure, he was in the quintessential pop band of the 70's, Fleetwood Mac-but that doesn't take away from his talent. I've always liked this song a great deal because it swaps the genders. When Lindsey says to Stevie Nicks "Shacking ups all you want to do" he's expressing his desire to get married-and her fear of commitment. Many, many women have accused me of having one masculine trait-a fear of commitment. "If I could-baby I'd give you my world" stings a little bit to hear, because you know Lindsey is telling the truth. What's holding him back? Her refusal to take it.

2. Your Gonna Miss Me-13th Floor Elevators-High Fidelity. Not a week goes by when I don't think of this book. I knew I would love the movie when they played this song. It's like a Ramones song without the punk sound. I don't care if the listener doesn't believe it himself.  This is the best break up song when you really want to convince yourself that "Hey, this gal/guy didn't know what they had."

3. Blurry-Puddle of Mudd "And everybody's empty and everything is so messed up. Pre-occupied without you I cannot live at all my whole world surrounds you I stumble then I crawl" And here we go without another one that hits home. Among my personal favorite songs (When I saw Puddle of Mudd live several of us were crying when they preformed this) this one tells the story of all encompassing love gone wrong. Whenever we break up with someone the initial blast is a shake from the ordinary-we lose someone we've been talking to for a long time-and many of us become preoccupied with them. We have the constant taken away from us, and my God does life become "blurry". One of the greatest break up songs ever, bar none. 

4. Don't Speak-No Doubt. "You and me-I can see us dying, are we?" If you have never been a in a failing relationship and not sure when to pull the plug, ignore this post and go on. Like the above mentioned "Blurry", the speaker in this song was in an all obsessing relationship. "We used to be together, every day together" and it's about over, yet no one can pull the plug. This song also hits on particularly sad note-"I really feel like I'm losing my best friend, I can't believe this could be the end". In relationships you not only lose a boyfriend/girlfriend-you also lose your best friend. 

5. Ruby Soho-Rancid-This one is a bit of an odd break up song. Even in the best cases, break ups aren't pleasant. No matter what the reason, you still wonder "Am I doing the right thing? What'll happen next? Will I get my video games back from her place?" With this one, it's about a girl not being fully supportive of her boyfriends musical career. Her name is apparently Ruby (And trust me-I'm working on a "best song with a girls name in the title" list, and this will be on there too. I just flat out love this song) and with a tear in her eye, she says good bye to her boyfriend who wants to pursue his dreams of musical stardom. It's not exactly the worse case scenario for a break up (Always get a supportive partner-I can't tell you what that means. Love you hun and thank you!) but it's a great song and a great story.

6. Cold-Crossfade-I don't like this band much either, but this is among the most honest break up songs out there. The speaker in this song knows they've messed up-and they've tried to hide it from their lost love. I'm sure I'm not alone in this-but after the initial shock wears off you begin to think "Where did I go wrong?" It takes some of us longer to get to that stage than others-myself included. With my ego at first I think she's doing nothing but moping around, crying and wanting me back-but in reality she's probably sipping champagne and telling her friends she's trashed that loser. "I never really wanted you to see, the screwed up side of me that I keep, locked inside of me so deep, it always seems to get to me." For all of us who self sabotage relationships, this is the most autobiographical lyric out there. 

Belgium

First off, we should all be in prayer for the lives lost. It's another horrific attack by psychopaths with the intent on killing innocent people. Three LDS missionaries were also injured. I'm praying for them and the other victims of this senseless attack. 

Second, I'm not sure how we can stop this. How do you defend yourself against an attacker who is intent on killing themselves? How do we stop attacks without sacrificing our freedom and civil liberties?

Thirdly, and most importantly we need to remember this. The world is actually getting safer. That's right. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundation of our lives-they make us feel helpless and I can see why. The media doesn't help either. If it bleeds, it leads. 

Here is an interesting piece on how the world really is getting safer.

Here is another one.

It's a sad thing to think that no matter how tolerant, loving and accepting we are, there are people out there who want to kill us. 

Keep calm and carry on. 

Penn and Teller

I'm a huge mark for magic. I love seeing even the basic tricks. Do I think there is supernatural powers at work on display? No, of course not. That's what makes it fun. A good magicain can convince you that supernatural things are happening, even though logically we know they aren't. From making a handkerchief disappear into your bare hands or sawing a person in half without killing them-magic is cool. 

Penn and Teller were magicians and from what I've heard-they still are. Though now they are more noted for their cutting edge and beautiful satires of modern day America. I'm going to be blunt-I love this duo. I love their libertarianism, their cynical attitudes about everything and their skepticism. Sure, I know they are atheists. I don't care. I'm all for tolerance, including being accepting of those things I don't really agree with. And I don't. In case you can't tell, I'm no atheist. 

One of, if not my favorite TV shows was their recent show on Showtime. In it, they debunk everything from creationism to second hand smoke to ghosts and gun control. Seriously, if you can handle a rigorous debate and views that you might not agree with-watch this show. 

I admit I'm just as gullible when it comes to pseudo science and wasting money. I spend a lot of money on bottled water-when Penn and Teller debunked that one, it was one of my favorite episodes. 

The price of gasoline

Usually for political purposes people complain about the price of gasoline. They did it during the Bush years, they did it during the Obama years. The people who complain are on both sides of the aisle. The left complained that the price of gasoline was too high in 06-08. The right answered correctly that the president has nothing to do with gas prices. Oddly, the right then complained that the price of gas was too high during the Obama years. Oddly, the left correctly said that the president has nothing to do with gasoline prices. Such is the nature of politics. 

Gasoline is incredibly cheap. We should be thanking the oil companies for producing it so cheaply. Yes, you read that correctly. Here is a quick list of things more expensive than gasoline: 

Coke (the soft drink, not sure about the other "coke") about $3.84 a gallon
Bottled Water $10.24 a gallon
Laundry soap $19.20 a gallon
Red Bull $28.16 a gallon 
Nail Polish $1,024 a gallon

Prices taken from here.

Scripture Sunday Alma 5:28

Pride has been on my mind a lot lately. Like most things, it's good with potential to be bad. It's good-because you should take pride in some things. I'm very good at chess. I've worked hard to develop that skill. Am I proud of that? You bet I am. I've played for thirty years and at certain points in my life my chess obsession was just that-an obsession. No, I'm not good enough to go pro or anything. Not even close. But I'm not that bad either. 

I also have a nice car. It's not a Mercedes or a Corvette, but I'm proud of it. Do others have better cars than me? Yup. But I've had some junkers in the past. One was so bad it had to be push started because I couldn't afford the repairs. So yes, I'm proud to have a nicer, newer car. 

Don't confuse being a "Christian" (and yes, we LDS are Christians) with being a shy, meek and humble person. You can be good standing and loyal LDS and still be loud, opinionated, and yes-you can take pride in certain things. 

Pride becomes morally wrong when you start thinking "I am a better person than you because I am better at chess. Or basketball. Or because I have a better car." You know when else pride becomes wrong? When people think they are a better person than someone who has less or more money then they do. Yes, poor people can sin as well. 

When people claim to be a better person morally than someone else that's when pride is evil. That's what I believe the scriptures to be talking about when they mention "pride". 

Album of the weekend

Pantera-Vulgar Display of Power

The title of the album reminds me of The Exorcist, when the demon says "Much too vulgar display of power, Karras" in response to the priest asking it to undo the straps that are holding Reagan down to the bed.

"This Love" is as "ballad-y" as I get, and it's one of my favorites. It has a sing-song style to it. Going from hauntingly mellow to aggressive and loud-classic Pantera really. 

There is something dark to the overall feeling of the album. It's because of many reasons-the screams of Phil Anselmo seem to come from something inside of him that he can't control-it's like the uncomfortable laughing Anthony Perkins does in Psycho. Wow, two horror movie references in one blog post. 

Another darker aspect is the flat out outstanding riffs that Dimebag Darrell can play. Dimebag is the only one who can come close to Dave Mustaine in his guitar playing. Both men tell stories with their guitar. Close your eyes and listen to them. During Hangar 18 from Megadeth you can hear the story play out just with the guitar solos. The maniac depression style this album has is played out perfectly by Dimebag Darrell. 

A Time to Kill

So I was at a family event recently and I was, not surprisingly, bored stiff. I don't get along well with a certain side of my family. It's not like we argue-we just have nothing in common. We speak totally different languages on interests, hobbies, religion and politics. Peter Hitchens, when asked about his relationship with his brother Christopher said, "We're different people, we have different lives, we have entirely different pleasures, we live in different continents. If we weren't brothers we wouldn't know each other." Sounds about right. 

They put on the movie "A Time to Kill" with Sandra Bullock, that guy from 24, and Matthew McConaughey. When the movie starts off "Based on a John Grisham book" you know you are in for a special treat. 

I sort of agree with the premises. A father should have the right to take revenge on the pieces of human garbage that sexually assault his daughter-but my God, this is the most manipulative movie I've ever seen. Like Roger Ebert said of a Robin Williams movie, (I think it was Dead Poets Society, don't quote me on it though) "It extracts tears one by one. I've seen political ads less one sided." The prosecutor and the defense attorney of course hate each other (in real life, they usually know it's business) and the judge despises the poor defense attorney. It's the epitome of vapid-it doesn't challenge you. You are told what to think and feel.Typical Grisham? Maybe. Not much of a fan. 

Anyway, there is a scene *spoiler alert* where the defense attorney (who has more bad things happen to him than Job did) has his house go up in flames. He's sitting there in the ruins of the house calling for his dog. When the dog finally comes bounding into the scene, I started to laugh. My family hushed me and said it was "insensitive" and it might have been-but it was just so manipulative that I couldn't help it. This movie told you what to think and God help you if you didn't agree 100%

Celebrity promises

In case anyone can't tell, I don't like Donald Trump. Sure, I talk about him a lot-but he's such a newsmaker that those of us who like politics can't avoid him. He's not interesting enough to talk about on his own but he's too dangerous to ignore. He's not Hitler though-thankfully I can express my dislike of him without resorting to the fifth grade argument of "Everyone I don't like is Hitler."

The only people I find more obnoxious than Donald Trump are the celebrities who "vow to leave the country" if he wins. If Trump is elected-and I don't think that'll happen, the GOP shot themselves in the foot, again-it'll be a disaster, but America will survive. Thankfully, we have a checks and balances system of government that the brilliant founders created. 

But you know what else won't happen? Celebrities leaving the country. Most celebrities are deluded to the point where they think we care about what they say. Even my favorite celebrities suffer from this. When Alec Baldwin or Miley Cyrus promise to leave the country if someone is elected (Baldwin did this in 2000 when Bush won) and then stay put-it really does show their character.

Hopefully they mean it this time, but I'm not optimistic. It would the sole benefit of  Trump being elected. 

Book of Mormon witnesses-David Whitmer

David Whitmer was one of the big three (not like the Celtics big three, but Garnett, Pierce and Allen are also just as important! Go Celtics!) of the original witnesses. Like the rest of them, he broke from Smith, was never re-baptized-but never denied his testimony in the validity of the Book of Mormon. 

And boy did have the opportunity to do so. He was not the longest lived of the three witnesses. Harris died at 92-an amazingly old age at that time period, when life expectancy was much shorter, and Cowdrey died in his forties. Whitmer was the final living one for thirteen years. He was asked about the golden plates many times, and even though he was quite bitter towards the church over polygamy, bank failures, personal disagreements with Smith-he never denied that he actually saw the golden plates. 

Whitmer was also asked if he saw them in a "spiritual" vision only or if he saw them in physical reality. He knew he didn't have much time left  (he was in the "sunset" of his life) and he made it clear that he saw them when they were "in the spirit" but also "in body also". 

It's been said before, but liars make bad martyrs (not my line, I forgot where I heard it). All three of these men had nothing to gain, and a lot to lose-by professing belief in the validity of the Book of Mormon. It would have been easier for them to just deny it and move on. 

Muslim bakeries

Why doesn't the left ever protest Muslim bakeries? Why is it only Christians that get to focus of their sputtering rage and anger?

The left says it doesn't like bullying, but they do it more than anyone else I've ever seen. If you are in college and express a non-liberal opinion good luck you to. If you work for an internet company and privately support traditional marriage-you are doomed. The left will either bully you into submission or force you to resign. God help you if you disagree with them. It shouldn't surprise me. The same people who claim to hate bullying yet also do it are the same who claim to be tolerant.

The left doesn't confront Islamic bakeries/mosques over making a cake for a gay wedding for the same reason they don't go into black churches and argue for gay marriage. They generally don't care about the cause itself-they care about what Tom Wolfe called "radical chic". That phrase means many things, but it partially means that the left tends to focus on whatever current cause is the most trendy.  That's why they care a lot about hate crimes-but since guns aren't trendy they don't want gays to have the right to arm themselves.

Are their certain true believing leftists that would force an Islamic bakery to bake for a gay marriage? Sure. But they run the risk of being called "racist" by their own kind. Of course Islam isn't a race, but stupid people think that anything anti-Islamic is "racist"-and you'll be tagged as one.

Scripture Sunday 2 Nephi 2:13

Partially this scripture is describing the modern world. "If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. In the culture of today, the word "sin" has become seriously politically incorrect. Some people wrongly think that those who call sin "sin" are "judging". And, of course, that phrase "judge not lest ye...." has become more popular and well known than John 3:16 

The flip side to this one is that-like the passage says-there is no righteousness either. Since there is no such thing as sin, their can't be any such thing as avoiding it. Interestingly, Nephi says that, after the exclusion of righteousness there is no happiness either. Again in the society of today, happiness is a goal that many people just don't achieve. Nephi virtually saw the future with this one. 

It fits logically that if there is no sin and no righteousness, there is no heaven or hell either. Life becomes sort of meaningless if this is the case. CS Lewis again had a great quote. "If there is no God, than His existence is the cruelest joke ever played on humanity."

Being politically incorrect and being rude

Being "rude" is not being politically incorrect, and being politically incorrect is not being rude. Sound confusing?

People these days, mostly leftists, look for reasons to be offended. The confederate flag is a perfect example. I'm agnostic on the flag issue, I don't care one way or the other, but I have noticed that most people "offended" by the confederate flag are only offended because they were told to be. It's trendy and politically correct to show how "racist" that flag is. It also shows your friends how tolerant you are. 

On the other side there are people who think that being "politically incorrect" gives them a license to be rude or a jerk. I don't think racial jokes or jokes about someones sexuality are "politically incorrect" I find them-racist or bigoted. I don't get offended by them, even when people make jokes about Latter Day Saint libertarians with long hair. 

I find leftist hothouse flowers offended by everything just as obnoxious as your average frat boy who hasn't matured past the dick joke stage.  

Album of the weekend

Alice Cooper-Billion Dollar Babies 

Let's take a moment to hail the Godfather of Glam. All rise and salute. 

Okay, now that that's over, let's get down to business. Alice Cooper is the master, and like all great musicians, it's hard to pick just one album that is their best. One way to sort of prove what a good artist you are is to see how many people you've influenced. Like Johnny Cash, musicians of all stripes have been influenced by Alice Cooper. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and David Byrne of the Talking Heads are two of the more prominent ones who both love this album. 

Alice Cooper is the Johnny Cash of glam in some ways. His songs deal with dark subjects and aren't for everyone. Ironically Vincent Furnier himself is a religious man and now, a teetotaler. He only writes and preforms songs about the dark stuff-he lives a pretty quiet and orthodox life. Cooper grew up a Bickertonite, which was a small offshoot of the church that Joseph Smith started. 

"No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Billion Dollar Babies" are the two best songs on the track. They really epitomize the glam rock era-simple, easy music combined with lyrics that aren't terribly deep but lean towards the dark side, like a fallen Jedi. 

Without Alice Cooper, hair bands and glam rock would be totally different. Most of his albums are great, and this one is one of his best. 

Ham sandwich Christians

One of my favorite sayings is, "A good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich." This means many things-that we have much too many laws, that prosecutors aren't always as noble as you think, and that a good prosecutor can make anyone sound guilty of anything.

We've all met preachy, holier than thou Christians who believe everything is sinful while they casually ignore their own failings and flaws-those people are obnoxious, but easily cast aside and marginalized. Worse than them in some way are the Christians who, while admitting their own faults and sinful behavior-view everything as "evil" or "sinful" in some way.

Look, there are bad things in the world that should be avoided. But someone who is really good at complaining, really good at preaching, can make anything sound sinful. The extreme left does this by reading into things that just aren't there-for example when they say that enjoying the sport of football is promoting violence. The extreme right does this when they say that enjoying football is immoral because the games take place on Sunday. Disney gets this treatment too. The left doesn't like Disney because it promotes "capitalism" and feeds into false gender myths about women and their "Prince Charming". The right doesn't like it because Disney has a "gay day" designed so that homosexual families can go to the parks. Either way, Disney can't win. Neither can football.

A short list of things that were called "sinful" or "evil" while growing up were: the card game Magic, Dungeons and Dragons, the rock band Kiss, rock music in general, outside weddings, Rolling Stone magazine,  the WWE, most video games, comic books, and I'm not kidding about this-Saved by the Bell once because it said the word "Studmuffin".

It's pathetic, really. None of the things mentioned are inherently evil or sinful, and most are actually quite innocent.  When teachers or parents started lecturing us about them-and they did-it showed me that people really do fear the unknown.

As an adult, it shows me that people with too much time on their hands really can indict things that are totally harmless.

Caitlyn Jenner

Ms. Jenner is a hero to me. That sounds odd for a Mormon to say, but allow me to explain. 

First off, she's living her life. It must be hard for people who go through what she has. In the the 70's she was conisdered a great athlete (I'm too young to remember her as an Olympian. In fact, I didn't even know who she was until the early 2000s) but she wasn't being herself. I'm sure she always knew that she was born in the wrong body. 

Sure, the church frowns on sex changes. It's an offense that would get you ex-communicated. I support the church on this-it's their right to do what they want. No one forces you to be LDS, so you have no right to change their teachings. However, you also have no right to force Ms. Jenner or any other transgender person to live by your rules. Basically-you leave them alone, they leave you alone. 

My grave concern is how the "tolerant" left and many LBGT try to force their views on the church. If forcing a transgender person to live as a gender they don't want to is wrong-and it is-so is when the gay community freaks out over a baker not baking a cake for them. 

Speaking of the gay community, it generally votes democratic. Overwhelmingly so. Again, Ms. Jenner bucks the system by being a Ted Cruz supporting conservative. That alone, deserves your respect. She can think for herself and isn't afraid to be independent. In other words, she is a Johnny Ramone punk. 

Things that need to stop

The terms "Date night" and "chick flick" -these phrases was popular in the 2010. Sure, you should have dates with your spouse, but not every trip to the grocery store without your kid qualifies as "date night"-and not every move that appeals to the female gender is a "chick flick". 

Jump the shark-this phrase has jumped the shark. 

Gender stereotype jokes-Not all woman are bad drivers and not all men can't ask for directions, but all people who believe that they do are probably Trump voters and Adam Sandler fans. 

Women in their forties who dress like their eighteen year old daughters-you think you "still have it" and you might very well still have it, but your eighteen year old daughter has more of it. 

Using "gay" as an insult-you don't have to be radically pro gay marriage to not be a jerk. If you use "gay" or other nasty terms like that thinking they are an insult, it shows who the asshole is and it's you. 

Calling yourself tolerant-did anyone else notice that tolerant people are the quickest to hate others who don't vomit out what they believe? And if you really were "tolerant" you wouldn't call yourself that. 

Thinking that high school is the "best time of your life"-I feel sorry for you if it really was. You are in high school for a very brief time and let's be honest, it's a miserable time. As an adult you have the freedom to do what you want, hang out with friends who aren't from your small little town, and not listen to teachers who know less than you do. 

Getting poorly thought out tattoos-There is nothing wrong with getting Chinese letters tattooed on your body-but know what they really mean. You want the word for "strength" not the word for "Google" in Chinese. And do Chinese people have English words written on them? This goes double for getting 50$ tattoos from your buddy in his basement. Don't complain about how much tattoos cost-real artwork takes time and costs money. Your tattooist doesn't and shouldn't work for free. 

Posting about how much you hate the internet and how cool you are for the internet and how much you hate your kids using the internet...on Facebook. 

Overrated bands

Upfront caveat-I know there is no greater insult than hearing when someone doesn't like your favorite bands. Wars have been started over less, and I understand that. We are all fanboys and fangirls at heart. It's not personal, and I hope you don't take it as such. 

Abandon all hope ye who enter here. Here are bands I either don't really like or think are overrated.

1. Green Day-Not a bad band really-just vastly overrated. The only types of people I have utter disdain for are Boston sports fans and those who dye their hair blue and say they've "been punk forever man" Green Day fans are the Boston sports fans of music. They both think their teams/Green Day are "the greatest" and know nothing about the sport or music itself.  Did I have Dookie at age 14? Sure did. I loved it, and I really do enjoy some of their other stuff. But Green Day is still overrated. 

2. Radiohead-when I was in high school, I thought life sucked and I that I was "dark and angsty". Think a male version of Daria or Angela from "My So Called Life" in other words, I tried to be a 90's a version of Holden Caufield. After college, I grew up. Radiohead is an acquired taste, I guess. Acquired by hipsters and people who are trying to seem cool in order to impress you with their "totally unique" music taste. I had a cousin like this. He talked about a "band I never heard of named Primus". When I told him that "Jerry was a race car driver" (one of their better songs) he looked mortified. He was trying to show me how hip, obscure and cool his music taste was-and by definition-how uncool, stupid and square mine was-but I rained on his parade. Needless to say, I'm not wildly popular at family reunions. 

3.Led Zeppelin-Yes, you read that right. I do not like Led Zeppelin. Well, the better description is that I find them overrated and am super picky about their songs. Let me start with the prom song of the 70's, "Stairway to Heaven".  For 4/5ths of the song, it's an overdone and over the top ballad (And I like Kiss!) that goes nowhere. I don't care about a lady who is looking for a staircase and no, that's not "deep". However the last 1/5th of the song is pretty good.  Led Zeppelin IV is fairly good, it does have some good songs (Black Dog, Rock and Roll) but it is not the best rock album of all time. So I do like some of their songs -but they are overrated. 

4.Metallica-Let me explain. Metallica pre "The Black Album" is correctly viewed as one of-if not the greatest-thrash bands of all time. For people who like metal, Metallica is rightly iconic. Then "The Black Album" came out.Widely considered their masterpiece, I believe this was the beginning of the end. Enter Sandman is a good rock song-not a good metal song. It's short for a Metallica song. It lacks the longer guitar solos that their previous songs off Justice and Ride the Lightning have. That would be okay if there was a freshness to the songs that Kill em All had (easily their best album and hands down one of the greatest metal albums in history). Ask yourself-would "Unforgiven" or "Nothing else Matters" be on Puppets of Ride the Lightning? No. Even the slower songs on those albums have an "edge" that the Black Album doesn't. The Black album isn't bad-it's just a signifier of what was to come.  

Scripture Sunday 2 Nephi 1:5

Many LDS think that America was created for them by God. This might surprise you, but I have agreed with them since before I was LDS. I always thought America was different from the rest of the world. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died the same day. July 4th. George Washington survived many things that would have killed a normal man.  You can say these things are based on luck, and while unlike many other religious people I believe in luck-but luck has it's limits. This passage reminds me that America is "a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands". Perhaps most importantly? The land has been covenanted to us and our children forever. 

Album of the Weekend

Marilyn Manson-Mechanical Animals 

Sure, Manson is a jerk, a Satanist, and generally an unpleasant person-but he's also incredibly bright. Startlingly so, really. Brian Warner comes across as well read, well spoken, and able to debate and defend his positions better than you'd think. 

He's also a great artist. Mechanical Animals is the concept album that the late David Bowie could have made. It's easily the most underrated album by Manson, and one of the most underrated albums of all time. 

Concept albums tell stories. This one is about a drug addicted glam rocker and an androgynous alien that comes to earth to become a drug addled glam rocker. Seeing how little people feel in modern day America, the alien correctly views them all as "Mechanical Animals". It's a lot like "The Wastelands" by TS Eliot which, in poetic form, tells the story (at least partially, that poem is incredibly complex) of how we lack passion, vision and emotion in the post World War One era. 

Musically, the album really is a reminder that, at the time, rock/metal was dead and mostly sounded alike. Wretched bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit were the popular ones, and those of us who liked rock and metal were desperate for a savior. Manson is no savior, but this album did provide some small form of redemption. This album is vastly superior to "AntiChrist Superstar". 

The best songs on the album are "Posthuman", "I Want to Disappear", "New Model 15" and "Rock is Dead". This album is another 5 star, must have for fans of glam rock and rock in general.

Unity

I don't like the word "unity" in it's modern usage. It's a fools word, really. Oh sure, unity makes us feel better and gives us the warm fuzzies, but in reality, it doesn't do anything. 

We love bi-patirsinship. It makes us think that government is working! Yay! What does it really mean though? It means that one side sacrificed what they believe. Let's say the democrats work in agreement with the republicans on an abortion issue (this isn't about abortion, using it as an example, and yes, there are pro-choice republicans and pro-life democrats.) The democrats agree to abortion restrictions and the republicans agree to...abortion restrictions. Or, the republicans agree to compromise with the democrats and set restrictions on gun ownership and the democrats agree to-restirctions on gun ownership. So bi-partiniship is cool. Unless you really car about the issues. 

On to religion. Let's have some unity between LDS and Protestants. How does that work? Sure, we agree on some issues. Abortion, gay marriage-but will a Baptist suddenly accept the book of Mormon as scripture? No. Will a Latter Day Saint suddenly say Thomas Monson isn't the Prophet? Probably not. 

I understand that in reality, bi-paritsinship has to happen. I'm not against it, though I am skeptical of all calls for it. Unity means "unite under my value and ignore yours". That's why I'm a libertarian-well one of the many reasons. You leave me alone, I'll leave you alone,and unless we have a mutual interest and mutual agreement-I don't really want to "unite". 

Donald Trump and the death of the Republican party

Donald Trump is a jackass, and his followers are worse. 

In 2008, Obamabots shocked me with their slavish devotion to their leader. Sure, many of us knew he was a ideologue who was incapable of "unity", but young people and naive older people are easily duped and will vote for anything if it sounds good. In 2008, I was called "ignorant", "intolerant" and most charmingly "racist" by many Obama voters just because I didn't drink the Kool aid. Trump voters are nastier. Much more so.

The same people who bashed Obamabots because of their blindness are totally addicted to Donald Trump. Trump offers no specifics whatsoever on how he is going to "make America great", just like Obama. I am telling you upfront-no, the government can't make a wall and force "Mexico" to pay for it,  nor can Trump "force businesses to stay in America." If a business wants to leave-and if conditions are right, they should-you can stomp your feet, pout and cry-but there is nothing you can do about it. 

Donald Trump wants to put a freeze on Muslim immigration. This is vile and scary. Muslims first, Mormons second. If this doesn't frighten you, you have been duped. 

The Christian right (a foolish, shrinking and mostly immature voting bloc) will stay home or vote third party. Generally, I think this is the moral equal of taking your ball and bat and going home. Still do, really.  

When Trump wins it will lead to the unrecoverable death of the republican party, and the most vulgar and glaring suicide in political history. Watching Trump destroy the republican party is like watching Nicolas Cage drink himself to death in Leaving Las Vegas. 

"Be a Man"

Is there anything more obnoxious than that phrase? 

A key tenant of feminism is not letting a woman be defined by her gender. A woman can be intelligent, independent and glamorous at the same time. It's 2016 and this really shouldn't be an issue. 

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, men interested in non masculine things virtually all the time had their masculinity/sexuality questioned by people who, simply put, were not that bright. I would solve this by going out with their girlfriends (You want to see gay? I'll show you how gay I am) -but that didn't stop the gay accusations. No, there is nothing wrong with be being gay (I've said many times I'm pro gay marriage. Still am) but in the 90's it was, sadly, viewed as an insult. 

I still get questions on my masculinity all the time because I know nothing about cars, would rather go to Rooms to Go than Home Depot, and have some other "feminine" qualities. It's still obnoxious but it really does show more on the accuser than accused. Traditional gender roles are on the way out, and good riddance to them. Nothing wrong with being old school, but you don't have to drive a truck, watch football and know how to shoot a gun to be a man. 

(But I can shoot a gun and drive a standard)