Facebook giveaways

No, you are not getting a new RV no matter what you share on Facebook.
No, you are not getting a new car no matter what you share on Facebook.
No, you are not getting a new 'tiny home' no matter what you share on Facebook.

Notice a trend? Seriously, this is idiocy. If I started a trend saying you'd get slim thighs, hair on your head and a flat stomach just by sharing something on Facebook, I seriously think people would begin to believe it. Some people say "I never post things like this, but..." well, you've done it now, haven't you?

People who are skeptical about things like this find themselves doing a lot of banging their heads against the wall. So much so that we get headaches. I'd like to think I'm the jaded skeptic who doesn't believe things that aren't true, but I've been duped before by this or that-you have too, by the way. A person who says they've never been duped is either lying or is so stupid they constantly get duped and aren't bright enough to realize it.

Tiger Woods

I admit, it's hard to have sympathy for Tiger Woods. I am not a golf fan, but his celebrity surpassed golf and he launched into pop culture. He was on late night talk shows, he was considered a role model to millions of people and he brought golf to an entirely new audience. I like his video game series-in fact, I'm pretty good at the Tiger Woods for GBA. Now, he's on late night talk shows, but he's a punchline instead of a guest. 

Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. It's not hard to find companionship if you are wealthy and one of the most powerful men in your field. Let that be a lesson-sexual nature is so powerful that it can take down someone who seems to have it all. From congressmen to athletes to businessmen-no one is immune. 

I get it, because of the scandal there is a large group of people that will chalk up any bad thing that happens to him as "karma" or say "he deserves it". For a Christian to think that way is quite nasty, and I've seen Christians say that very thing. First off, what is a Christian doing believing in karma? Second, you deserve it too-we're all sinners. 

He was busted this weekend for DUI in Florida. His mug shot, now worldwide shows a man who has aged horribly. I agree that it's hard to have sympathy for him, after all he called a lot of this on himself-but I think he's a broken man. He needs to be punished for the DUI of course. However his fall from grace is both stunning and tragic. 

Memorial Day

When we crack open a beer today at our cook outs, let's toast to the men and women who gave their lives so we can sit on our asses and enjoy freedom today. Hope you have a glorious and wonderful end to your weekend.

Scripture Sunday Jarom 1:10-12

Forgot about the Book of Jarom? Don't worry, most of us have. I think in my entire time in the church, I've only heard one person comment or even refernce it. Chill my fellow LDS, it's not an insult to us or the church. I think I'm onto something though. It's not really a vastly popular chapter in the book of Mormon.

But even though it's short, it's still insightful in passages.

The prophets of old days tell the people some bad news in this passage. The prophets labor day and night to tell the people to repent and believe in the the Messiah. Luckily, the people seem to get the drift and this time, they choose the right. Part of being a prophet of God is to tell the good news, and the bad. In our society today no one wants to hear that they might be on the wrong track, but sometimes a prophet tells you not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. Same goes for today.

Chris Cornell

It's been a few days since Chris Cornell died. I've wanted to take some time and think about what happened. It's tragic-so many of the childhood performers we loved have passed away. It started with Cobain. Than Layne Staley. Then Scott Weiland. Now, Cornell. Yes, there have been others who have died along the way but these are the grunge heavyweights. The talent we have lost is hard to fully comprehend.

Soundgarden, like Nirvana, defined the grunge era. So many of their songs have broken into pop culture and become iconic. Cornell was incredibly talented-he was proficient in so many forms and styles of music. Virtually all human life is valuable and precious (yes, most. Terrorists and murderers are pond scum) but when someone so talented passes away at such a young age, it brings it to another level to the loss.

And it looks like now that he committed suicide. A tragic story became much worse. Nothing is more upsetting and disturbing then a suicide. The scars and heartbreak that it causes never really goes away. I hope that his family can achieve some sort of peace after this.

Album of the Weekend

Ugly Kid Joe-America's Least Wanted

This album is like listening to a giant mood swing. There are some good songs, some terrible songs, and some songs that just don't belong on the album. Cat's in the Cradle is the cliche song about people who have bad relationships with their father and it can be touching at times, but what's it doing on an album that also has the tongue in cheek, "Everything about You"? It's like one part of this band thinks it's Weird Al and the other part wants to be this gritty, take me seriously emotional band. Not sure what they were going for.

Does it mean the entire album is bad? No, it's not bad just weird. Your best bet is to Youtube the songs then pick and choose which you want to download. The entire album isn't worth a full purchase. I'm not sure what happened to Ugly Kid Joe. Perhaps if they found their distinct voice and choose what type of rock band they wanted to be they could have lasted longer.

Manchester terror attacks

I have only vaguely heard of Ariana Grande before last night. Since I don't have kids and I'm not under 25, I don't pay attention the modern pop music scene. I am very happy that she is okay and not hurt, and like all other decent people, I'm incredibly disturbed and troubled by these terror attacks.

Life is many things, but it involves risk. We will never have 100% safety in our daily interactions. While the chance is small, the plane you are one might crash. A texting driver might hit you as you cross the street, and yes, a terrorist attack might occur where you are. We don't plan for these things-I've yet to hear someone say "I knew my plane would crash today." When we see documentaries about terror attacks, people almost always say "It was a day like any other day." Planes that crash take off with the flight attendant saying the same thing as every other flight attendant has before and will after. 

We need to be alert of course-but not paranoid.

We need to mourn the dead and ask ourselves some tough questions about terrorism. Will it happen? I doubt it. We'll make excuses, look the other way, whistle past the graveyard-then act shocked and appalled when the next terror attack happens.

Thomas Monson health "update"

Church president Thomas Monson will no longer attend regular church meetings.

This isn't a health update of course, but it's not a good sign. It's sad when we see a reminder that we will all get old one day. Watching our prophet suffer from some mental and physical decline is not a pleasant experience. From the public side, it looks like he has handled it with as much grace and class as you can expect. Sure, he doesn't run marathons every day and he might have lost a bit of fire-but he's still the prophet and will continue to be until God decides it's time.

Gender roles

I've never been a big fan of gender roles. Oh sure, if a woman wants to stay home and raise kids and do other stereotypical old fashioned gender things than by all means go for it. Feminism is many things (and almost all of them good) but one thing feminism is about is choice. Thank God ten thousand times that we live in 2017, where a woman can choose to be a senator, astronaut, mom, doctor, or whatever she damn well pleases. It's insulting and asinine to say "A womans place is in the home." Thankfully, now when you say that it shows how backwards you think. It's on the decline, and good riddance to it. 

The other good thing is that a man can now stay home with his children, do the housework, cook, clean, and do other things that were once stereotypically feminine characteristics. Sure, you'll get comments from idiots insinuating that you are somehow less masculine or feminine because you don't buy into the traditional way of things but in reality those comments show more on the making the accusation. 

To me, gender roles take away individual choice. In the end, a man or a woman gets to decide what they want to do. It's so frustrating to me that religious people seem to buy into the old fashioned gender roles.

Yale dean showing off her tolerance

A Yale dean showed her multi cultural spirit by calling lower class white people "white trash" and other charming names. 

Shockingly, (and I was seriously shocked by this) she was placed on leave. I would have bet the house that she was not going to be punished at all. After all, colleges aren't really known for taking a stand against professors and academics who speak like this.

The blunt and brutal truth is that attitudes like this are all over the place in elite circles, and Yale is without question part of the elite establishment. This is why Trump won. The elites of both parties sneer at working class white-they also sneer at working class minorities but they wouldn't be caught dead saying anything out loud about non-white working class people because they know it would cost them their career. My take? Making fun of working class/poor people of any color is rude and insulting.  

It's funny/sad to me how the elites love to act like they help people by advocating large social projects that claim to "help the poor" while in private (or in her case, public) sneering at lower class people.

I'm glad that it's getting attention throughout the media, but the dean will be back with a pay raise, a more powerful position and a long career ahead of her after this blows over.

Scripture Sunday Enos 1:8

When I read this passage I think of doubting Thomas, the legendary apostle who demanded to see before he believed. It might be shocking, but I've always admired him and really emphasized with him. Like him, I prefer evidence first than belief second.

This passage seems to reiterate what the Savior said to him. "Blessed are those who see and don't believe." Instead of saying that this passage instead says "because of thy faith in Christ which thou has not seen....they faith has made thee whole." (yes, I skipped a bit). Both passages (this one) and the doubting Thomas one are not my favorite. I've always thought it was easy to tell people to "hope and believe in things you haven't seen" when you yourself, have seen them. It's easy for Christ to tell me to have faith in Him. After all, He is Christ. He knows who He is.

Faith is not easy for some of us.

European elections

It's been about a week since the French election. The dust has settled and like all elections sometimes it's best to wait a week or so to find out what really happened.

The left was thrilled with the results of the election, but that's only because the "right-wing" candidate,  Le Pen lost. To me she is only right wing on immigration and actually quite moderate on every other issue out there. I get it, a moderate in France is like a left winger in the states/Canada. That shows how skewed to the left Europe generally is. Their "right wingers" like Sarkozy or Theresa May from the UK would be considered moderate republicans here in the states.   That's not to say I would vote for Le Pen in the French elections or May in the UK. In fact, I'd probably vote for Macron in France. I'm not a a fan of Corbyn so by default I'd support the Tories.

One thing I love to see is social media in the states following the European elections. What they do over there does have ramifications throughout the world. Knowledge is power and ignorance of world affairs is not something you really want to embrace. Seeing everyone pay attention to what is going on across the globe is another reason I am very happy to be alive today.

Album of the weekend

Aerosmith-Permanent Vacation

I'm not an Aerosmith fan, I will never be an Aerosmith fan. I find their ballads horrible. Over the top, melodramatic, sappy, and loved by teenagers forever as the first song they slow danced to. That's actually a good description of Aerosmith period. Even their better songs (yes, they do have some good songs) are fairly over the top. Kiss is also over the top, but we all sort of know it and are in on the joke. Aerosmith just isn't like that. 

But I try to be objective and fair. Someone gave me this album many, many years ago and I recently found it when I was reorganizing my cd collection. Just for giggles, I put it in my cd player, hoping that maybe it's not as bad as I remembered it to be.

My second opinion of this album, and perhaps Aerosmith: it's not bad, but it's not good either. Aerosmith might just be an acquired taste, and while it's not my own, I am beginning to see how some people might (key word, might) like it. It's not for me, it'll never be for me. I don't like this album. "Angel" is so cheesy it could have been sung by the Zach Attack on Saved by the Bell. "Rag Doll" is easily forgettable. "Dude Looks Like a Lady" is still a bad song, no matter what the content is. Like songs by Offspring, it can't decide if it wants to be funny or not. This is not an album I enjoy in the least, but if it's your thing, go for it.

One last comment: If you are an Aerosmith fan, ask yourself this: "Do I like the music because it brings up good memories, or because I actually like the music on it's own?" Nothing wrong with liking it because it brings up good memories but my question is a good one.

Legitimate "first world problems"

We often use the term "first world problems" in jest, and I understand why. After all, having Starbucks mess up on your coffee order isn't going to stop the world from turning or cause you any great distress in the long run. However there are legit "first world problems" that are causes for legit angst and concern.

A Facebook friend of mine recently got her car stolen. She lives in a very rural part of the midwest where a car is a necessity. From what little knowledge I have of her area Uber and Lyft aren't really common out there, there is no public transportation and no one can rely on friends for a ride one hundred percent of the time.

I was talking to a mutual friend about her situation and I said in passing that the woman who got her car stolen (she is not LDS) should talk to her priest about it. Her priest is not from America and my friend mentioned that he would not understand the magnitude of the situation, instead he would think of it as a "first world problem."

I get it, when you are struggling for food and shelter the loss the of a car is not a big issue. But it is for some of us here. Without a car in the rural parts of the country it's basically impossible to get your groceries, go to work, go to church-much less go out with friends and family. It's hardly a "first world problem", it's a legit concern. I don't know the priest and yes, my friend and I were just talking about over Facebook, but sometimes the issues and problems that we have in the more developed countries can be just as serious as those in the less developed worlds.

Some politically incorrect comments from Miss USA...

Miss USA is a woman from Washington DC who is a nuclear scientist. She graduated from college with a degree in chemistry. That's like, a hard degree man. I graduated with a degree in the humanities. That's easy because all we have to do is write papers without black or white answers. In the math and sciences, you actually pay a price for not knowing what the hell you are doing. She is by all accounts, an amazing woman who we should idolize.

Sadly though, she thinks for herself on issues like health care and feminism. Therefore, she'll be marginalized. Oddly, you'd think she would be a role model to women and men but no, because she thinks for herself she's automatically going to be punished for it. I seriously wonder what would have happened if she walked up and started babbling about the Kardashians and US Weekly instead of thinking for herself. Actually, you can think for yourself-just don't dare speak on those thoughts.

I admire her. Hope she keeps on being punk.

Sears

I've mentioned before how I'm fascinated by dying retail stores, and watching the slow decline of Sears has been amazing. I went into a Sears a few days ago, just to see if it was as bad as the media portrays it. It was creepy. The store was filthy-it looked like it was five minutes away from appearing in a Fallout game. It was empty and the rest of the mall was actually sort of busy. People were walking in the mall but they seemed to avoid Sears.

Even the employees seemed to avoid it. One of the many pains in the ass about Sears was that you could never seem to find a cashier when you needed one. This time, it was even worse. Sure I didn't want to buy anything but in the rare case someone else did there was no one there behind the cash registers.

Sears did everything wrong. They did everything wrong on a micro level, they did everything wrong on a macro level. On the micro level, they pestered you about opening up their credit card or buying a warranty plan whenever you bought anything there. I must admit that I don't buy a lot in retail stores anymore. Like everyone else, I go online. When I do go to retail though, the biggest annoyance to me is Best Buy asking if I want magazines or Sears trying to get me to buy this or that product. Having worked in retail (one of my first jobs was working for the women's clothing catalog, J. Jill) I know the employees have to ask the questions and offer you other products. I don't blame them, I blame the company.

On the macro level, Sears never competed with Wal Mart. They never opened up grocery store/other goods store combinations. They never removed commission based pay from their employees. They had terrible leadership. They tried to merge without another dead store, Kmart. In the future, Sears will be a case study of what not to do for people who study business.

Wall with Mexico

The wall with Mexico is not talked about anymore, but it has been on my mind. I think it might still be in the works. 

I get it, Trump isn't a conservative. He's a big government authoritarian. He hijacked the republican party because a rich white guy from Manhattan would have a hard time as a democrat, in particular against Bernie and Hillary.

This wall with Mexico is a horrible idea. For the first time in my life, I'm seeing "conservatives" embrace big government idiocy with absolutely no thought given to the practical issues that come with government building anything. Look no further than the "big dig" in Boston. Think government can build anything efficiently? Think again. I'm in favor of some border security. Like virtually everyone else I don't want psychotics, criminals or terrorists walking into Houston and killing people. Building a wall is not the solution to the problem.

Something else to think about: when democrats get back in power (and believe me, they will. Nothing lasts forever in politics) do you think they'll let this border wall stand? Of course not. They'll tear it down first chance they get. So you've wasted billions of dollars with nothing to show. 

To paraphrase James Callaghan, former Prime Minster of the UK, Conservatives being in favor of this wall are like turkeys being in favor of an early Thanksgiving.

Scripture Sunday Mosiah 27

Virtually all religions have their own versions of the redeemed sinner first rebelling than being welcomed back into the fold with open arms, and Mormonism is certainly no different. In this passage, several sons of righteous men become unbelievers. Unlike the famous prodigal son in the parable, these guys don't go off to party with wine, women and song-instead they try to damage the church with their words and actions. Apparently they were successful too-and several people left the church of God to follow them. 

It works out for the rebellious sons though. They eventually see and hear the Almighty, repent of their sins and do their best to patch up the damage that they did to the church. 

Many times in life, we want to dislike and admonish people who we think have "attacked" the church in some way. In reality, while we have every right to defend our church we shouldn't attack the people critiquing it. Personal attacks will get you no where. We need to be more like the parents in the prodigal son and Alma-pray for them, leave it up to God, and hope for the best. 

LDS and Boy Scouts are breaking up

Caveat-I was never a Scout. Growing up I always though they were outdated and little square.  

Apparently the Boy Scouts and the LDS church are going through a hard time and decided to divorce. It's obvious as to why: some of the morals and values that the Boy Scouts have decided to follow are contrary to the values that the LDS church has.

Putting my own thoughts on gay rights on the shelf (I've mentioned many times I'm pro gay marriage, pro gay adoption, etc) I think the Boy Scouts are going to seriously regret this divorce. The LDS church does a huge amount for them-donating time and money. While I understand that the LDS church doesn't have to allow anyone to be involved with scouting who violates their morals, I'm also sure that the Boy Scouts becoming more progressive isn't exactly helping the relationship between the two organizations. 

In my limited understanding, the church still has something to do with the scouts. I'm not sure what it is and if someone can correct me, please do. If they are still connected in some way, I'm not sure it'll last either. Might be time for both sides to make a clean break. 

Album of the weekend

Danger Danger-Danger Danger

This might be the most pop-orientated hair metal album I've ever heard. Like so many other hair bands I've been listening to lately, they never caught on and that's strange. Even though the album is mediocre to me it's very catchy at parts, in particular their greatest hit "Bang Bang." I found myself singing it several times afterwards and I hate myself for liking it. This band reminds me of bands not edgy enough for Rolling Stone magazine and they'd be all over the cover of Tiger Beat instead. Sort of like a glam rock band without the really raunchy lyrics of Kiss or the "I'm going to kick your ass" lifestyle of Motley Crue.

So is the album good? Actually no, not really. Some hair bands are victims of the time period they were in (Firehouse comes to mind. Much too late on the scene), some are victims of not being very good (Winger) and some are a bit of both. Danger Danger opened for Kiss but they never did much else in their career. This album is medociore at best but if you want extremely sanitized and radio friendly "rock" (think of rock played on NBC Saturday morning shows like "California Dreams") this might be for you.

Do LDS have to agree on everything?

Oh this question. Like many LDS who have a majority of non-member friends, I get questions about my faith from time to time. "Hey, can a free thinker join this church?" or, "Tim, you are pro gay marriage. How come you haven't been excommunicated yet?" :: ahem :: so is Harry Reid, who hasn't been excommunicated yet, but anyway. 

I have heard troubling stories of people being kicked out for "apostasy" but for the most part no, LDS do not have to think alike on everything. Obviously, we have some common values and beliefs. We believe that Joseph Smith Jr was a prophet. We believe that the Book of Mormon is spiritual and inspirational. We believe that we are led today by a modern day prophet. In fairness, common beliefs are not an LDS thing, that's a religious thing. People from all religions generally have the same values as other members of that religion. Catholics (for the most part) believe the Pope to be a successor to St. Peter. Protestants do not. Jewish people generally do not believe in Christ. Muslims generally believe that the Koran is a holy book. (I know some people are so emotionally fragile that just hearing their religion mentioned makes them get offended, but nothing I said here was pejorative. If you are a Catholic and you are offended by someone telling you that most Catholics obey the Pope, you need to take a serious look at yourself. There. My CYA statement is over. We move on.) 

Religious views are one thing, but do LDS have common interests outside the church? Sometimes it's rare. I admit, as an LDS guy who can't change a tire and would rather shoves shards of glass up my nose than go camping I am in the minority. I'm sure there are other LDS like me, but LDS men and women who don't have stereotypical guy/girl interests can feel like a bit of an outsider sometimes. So I understand LDS who are into offbeat hobbies feeling a bit out of place sometimes. Generally though, diversity of interest and politics is welcomed in the church.

NYC gay journalist comes out of closet....

In a staggering show of tolerance and inclusion, a gay man talks about the reaction he got when he came out of the closet....as a conservative. In New York City.


Anyone who isn't in the leftist bubble understands this-those who preach about tolerance and acceptance are only tolerant and accepting to those who vomit out what they believe. When presented with ideas that aren't the exact same as their own, they either get angry or get confused. People stop talking to them-they treat them as though they have the Ebola virus. It's sad, pathetic and totally expected.

This guy, Chadwick Moore, is realizing this the hard way. Like everyone else in New York City, he voted for Hillary but now considers himself a conservative. This guy should be majorly commended for having the backbone to think for himself.

Bill Maher

Bill Maher is a very funny and insightful guy who I agree with on maybe 10% of the issues. He's also rude, vulgar, mean to those who he disagrees with and is generally unpleasant. Think Michael Moore with a meaner streak and without the blue collar appeal. He also has every right to be rude, vulgar, mean and generally unpleasant and right wing snowflakes better get over this. Calling for him to be fired is 1) useless and 2) acting like thin skinned college students. 

Calling for a boycott of his show just calls more attention to it. It's like the people who talk nonstop about how bad pornography is. Well jeez, if you stopped talking about it for five minutes less attention would be cast upon it and maybe people won't pay attention to it that much, will they? When you talk about boycotts, throw your arms up and stomp your feet-it accomplishes the exact opposite of what you usually want to accomplish. 

Being a billionaire in 1918 vs just being alive today

I get it, I talk a lot about how lucky we are to be alive today and how life is getting better. That's because I see people incessantly complaining about how bad things are and it drives me insane. I get it, it's easy to complain about life today (from our air conditioned/heated homes) and we over romanticize the past (nostalgia sucks! The good old days sucked!) at the expense of the present.

Even living like a Rockefeller in 1918 was worse than living like a blue collar family in 2017.

We take so much for granted that our ancestors would have been stunned at. The article touches on this, but think of medicine. In 1917, if you suffered from depression or were bipolar there were no legit treatments available. you basically had to suffer. Nothing else. Literally. Now, there's at least hope. Like the column brilliantly mentions, things like basic knee surgery or having your tonsils out were vastly more complicated back in 1917, often times leading to death.

There is so, so much more to show how lucky we are living today in the time we do. Sadly, religious people often complain about the breakdown of society/morals/life in general and they ignore the wonderful positives our culture has made. I'm not saying that we should look at the world through rose colored glasses-there are problems in the world today of course, but life is generally overwhelmingly better today than it was even fifty years ago. 

Scripture Sunday Mosiah 2:10-14

King Benjamin apparently was a genuine badass. He kept the peace, kept the taxes low, didn't throw people in prison, didn't enslave anyone...dude sounds like a libertarian role model. Seriously, out of all the characters in the Book of Mormon, this guy is one of my favorites.

He's humble too. I like what he says in the beginning of the passage, that he is "just a mortal man like all of us, subject to the infirmities in body and mind." Yet, even though he was still a man, he was "consecrated by my father and suffered by the hand of the Lord to be a ruler." It's pretty obvious that this passage makes me think of the prophet that we have today. Like all of us, Thomas Monson (and whoever is the next prophet, and the next, etc) is a man like the rest of us. The difference is that he's been "consecrated" like King Benjamin has. Chosen to lead the church in these latter days.

50 Shades of Gray

It's an "older" book and the trend has certainly died down, but at one point it was a phenomenon among a certain type of women. I never read the book and I wouldn't at gunpoint-not because the content offends me, but because the people who read the book offend me and I have absolutely no desire to be associated with them. You are known by the company you keep, after all.

I've met men and women (in particular religious ones) who are vehemently, almost obsessively against pornography or "all types". In the mind of these people the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated would be considered "pornography". That's fine if you think that way it's no problem with me even if I don't agree. But you can't have it both ways of course. You can't read 50 Shades of Gray or other adult girl porn than scream at your husband if you find a Playboy magazine under the bed. 

Again, this isn't me. I'm not a porno guy. Sure I've looked a Playboy magazine before but I've never been a chronic user of the stuff. Just for the record though, there is a big difference between looking at porn and having an affair. The two aren't even close, actually. 

Album of the Weekend

Red Hot Chilli Peppers-Blood Sugar Sex Magic

I'm going to come out and say it-if I'm in the right mood, "Under the Bridge" can make me cry.  I don't like slow songs. I never have, never will. But the quiet energy, passion and love that Anthony Kiedis has for his adopted hometown of Los Angeles is gorgeous. That song alone is a reason to buy the entire album, but there are other good songs on it.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are a weird band. I never liked them much until this album and I have to admit that the entire album is just average at best, with a few standout songs. At this time in their career they had a unique sound that was like coffee or beer-an acquired taste that was not for everyone. Notice I said at this time in their career, their later albums were different and I'll touch on those later. Acquired taste doesn't mean bad either. Frankly, I think these guys are amazingly talented and incredibly innovative.

"Suck my Kiss", "I Could Have Lied" and "Breaking the Girl" are the other good songs on this album. Youtube the rest of it first, than decide if you want to buy it. It's not the kind of album you want to buy without hearing the entire thing first.

How social media can distort things

There was a story going around social media that as long as you take a selfie, you can break into a car to save a dog or baby in it. This is incorrect legal advice-you might morally be justified to break into car to save a baby or dog, but there are generally ramifications for intentionally damaging another persons property, regardless of your intentions. I think the end justifies the means in most circumstances like this and I'll probably pay the fine in order to save a dog and certainly pay the fine in order to save a baby. However, you can't go around playing vigilante and playing hero without consequences.

So I posted a link to the Snopes article debunking the story on Facebook and people missed the point. I should have been expecting it, but most friends on my list are fairly intelligent and capable of reading and understanding.  People were asking me "So you wouldn't break a window to save a dog/baby!?" or "Well I'd go to jail than." Several more comments were like that. I tried to explain, but it was hopeless.

No, I am not in favor of babies and dogs being in hot cars. No, I was not saying that you shouldn't be allowed to break into a car to save a baby. What I was saying and what I stand by is that you can't play vigilante without consequences, and people need to be very careful about what they post on Facebook.

Should you leave a marriage if a spouse loses faith?

Something all marriages have to deal with is religion. Are they the same religion? Will they raise kids in that religion? What if one person leaves that religion or wants to change religions? How will they handle that? I've been reading some things online about various couples that went though issues when a spouse left their faith. Some of these couples even ended up divorcing. 

My views on divorce? Quite conservative and traditional. I think unless there is abuse, adultery, or addiction, divorce should be avoided at all cost. That includes religious upheaval in a marriage. I get it, losing faith can be disturbing, especially if religion plays a huge role in the couples life. But breaking up a marriage over that would be like pouring gasoline on a fire. In the real world religion and life are messy and you aren't the same person at 30 that you might be at 54. You can lose faith in a religion, gain faith in another-life is hardly a straight line for any of us. 

Any minster of any religion who advises a couple to divorce strictly because the other is going through a faith crisis loses their right to be called a man/woman of God. That goes for Catholics-Protestants-Jews-Muslims and yes, LDS. 

Just for the record, no, I don't look down on people who have gotten divorced for other reasons than abuse/adultery, etc. No one is perfect. 

Presidential approval ratings

I don't like President Trump either. I never have, I never will. I've blogged many times about my opinion of him. Just because I'm not a liberal doesn't mean I like Trump, and just because I lean to the right doesn't mean that I like Trump either. Hopefully, I've made it clear that I don't like him.

But I don't believe the BS that we're hearing about his approval ratings being so low. If they were that low, he wouldn't have gotten elected in the first place.

The same people who are talking about how low is approval ratings are are the same people who were talking about Texas swinging blue and how Trump will lose in a 50 state landslide. I get it, it's politics and we don't learn anything. We also have a strong sense of confirmation bias and "I want to believe" so we are quick to believe fake news if it fits our political bias. We need to be honest here though. Many, many people still like and approve of the job Trump is doing. Many Trumpers are like Obama apostles-if Trump/Obama said to club baby seals, they'd run to the docks and pound away.

A former professional wrestler is missing

Sean Waltman, a former professional wrestler also known as X-Pac, Syxx, and the 1-2-3 Kid has (of this writing) apparently gone missing. He's a skinny guy, like I am. As a kid he was one of my favorite wrestlers because we had the same build. He was the smallest wrestler I had seen at that time and he was always in the ring with guys much bigger than himself. I could relate, to some degree. I was always the smallest guy in class, for sure.

He's had a long history of drug issues, relationship drama and other troubling problems in his life. I get that in the end, his behavior is his own fault and needs to be accountable.

That doesn't mean I can't pray for him. I do. Wrestling is not fake, it is scripted and there is a huge, huge difference between the two. It's a hard life for the wrestlers and it was much harder back in the 90's. More travel, less contact with the fans, a more closed off life in general-all sorts of problems. Here's hoping and praying that he gets found soon.

*Update-It's Tuesday, and I just found out that Waltman was apparently arrested for trying to smuggle meth and weed. Yes, he was wrong, but I hope he gets the help he needs.