Just trying to make a joke!

So, in case you haven't figured it out I like to make jokes about polygamy.   When I was Catholic I'd make jokes about Catholic schooling, being an altar boy, etc. I'm also able to make fun of my political views. 

You shouldn't take anything too seriously. Even though everyone has that one issue they can't joke about. It might be suicide, eating disorders, autism-they are almost certain to remind you that you have offended them in some way. 

Comedians have a tough job in 2016. Growing up, the people who usually were offended by everything were religious types. I'm religious as well (surprise!) but I'm not one of those types that wants everything I disagree with banned. Now, it's gotten to the point where it's the social justice warriors that are offended by everything. Even people who are leftists themselves (Tina Fey, Louis CK, Amy Schumer) have gotten into the crosshairs if they say something that doesn't fit in with the politically correct line. 

It's scary. Free speech doesn't care about your fragile feelings, and it shouldn't. There are things you shouldn't joke around about unless you really know someone-just because you you are being unpc you shouldn't be a jerk-but if someone makes a joke you find offensive the best thing to do is really ignore it, not get offended. 

Gordon Hinckley again said it best. "Happy is the man who can brush off offending remarks and go the other way". 

Big Brother

Talking about the show on CBS, not the government entity talked about in 1984. I don't like that big brother, but I really like the show on CBS. 

In fact, the past few years I've gotten the live feed. I check online message boards, I follow the show on Showtime-I really am a big fan. 

I don't like the past few seasons. I preferred it when the had a truly diverse group of people from age 18-75. African American sons of preachers. Conservative Catholics. Atheists and people hostile to religion. They haven't had a libertarian punk Mormon on-hey producers, here I am! 

Just kidding. With my ego and personality I wouldn't make it past week one. 

Big Brother is one of the grandaddies of reality tv. It's more of a game show after all, these people do have to do things like win competitions and form alliances. It's not like the Kardashians where they simply show famous people living their lives or Dance Moms (my significant other loves that show) where it shows people screaming at each other. 

In a show like Big Brother or Survivor you have to walk a fine line. You can't come across as too strong or strategic or they'd throw you out. You can't sit on your butt all day and do nothing because you won't last long. You can't play the game as "Simon Pure" because the game doesn't work that way. Seriously, you can't tell someone "Ok, we're going to vote you out now." That's not Big Brother. Sure you don't have to lie about family members having diseases or cheat on your spouse, but a little bit of deception is a mandatory in those games. 

Big Brother and Survivor are also much harder than what it looks like from the comfort of my own couch. I can talk about my "strategy" or talk about how a certain person shouldn't have done acted a certain way-but I'm not the one in the house playing the game.

Album of the weekend

Metallica-.....And Justice for All

One of the best heavy metal albums of all time, this is Metallica at their peak. With songs that cover the darkest topics, this is not an uplifting and positive album that you can listen to as lighthearted fun. The lyrical content doesn't matter it's the music that does and the metal is strong with this one. Long songs and intense guitar solos are in almost every single song. If you are a heavy metal fan, this album is a must own. 

Wikileaks

Everyone loved Wikileaks when they were releasing information about the "illegal" Iraq War and the evil, nasty, republican George W Bush. If Edward Snowden leaked his information during the Bush years he would be viewed by the left as not just a hero, but a God. Obama would push for an immediate pardon and perhaps make him chief of the NSA. Hillary Clinton would embrace him, call him a hero to the people and perhaps the lord and savior of the country.

Does it go both ways? Of course it does. Republicans right now are praising Wikileaks because it's current target is Hillary. In 2007 republicans were screaming that Wikileaks was guilty or war crimes and that Assange should be executed. So it goes both ways but only republicans are called out for their hypocrisy. Democrats get a free pass and the Wikileaks scandal is total proof of that.

When Wikileaks releases information about your opposing side, they are heroic. When they release information about the other side, they are threats to democracy.

Keeping the genders separate

We both know that growing up religious (LDS or not) there is a lot of pressure to try to keep the genders separate. We know why too-church leaders and parents don't want anyone to break the chastity regulations that the church has.  I see why they do this and I totally understand it. 

But there are unforeseen consequences to this. The biggest should be obvious-if you keep the genders separate they don't know how to interact without thinking the other gender has ulterior motives. Women think "Is this guy being nice to me because he wants to sleep with me?" and men think "Is this girl talking to me because she just wants to land a husband?" In the non religious world where genders are intermixed people of opposing genders can generally communicate with each other better than in the religious world. Again, this is just a generalization and yes, there are exceptions-but that doesn't mean it's not generally correct. 

To me it comes down to stereotypes and judging on appearances. The more people you meet the less likely you are to rely on stereotypes and appearances. The fewer people you meet, the more likely you are to judge on appearances and believe in stereotypes. That's one of the many, many blessings of social media. We meet more people and we have our stereotypes challenged. 

Flu shots

It's that time of year again. Even if you don't care about your own health, get a flu shot.  Like the popular meme says, you don't get a flu shot to protect yourself (though that's part of it) you get the flu shot to protect your grandmother, newborn child, friend with a weakened immune system...any many more people. The ultimate sign of selfishness is to not get a flu shot.

Yes, even if you get a flu shot you might still get sick. It's only about 50% effective, sometimes even less. But here's the good news-50% effective is better than 0% effective. When you jump out of an airplane, would you rather have 50/50 odds of the parachute opening, or no chance of it opening? Yes, even if you don't get the flu shot you still might not  get the flu. And yes, sometimes when you play Russian roulette just based on dumb luck you don't get stuck with the the chamber that has the bullet on it.

Do the little things matter?

It's become a cliche to think that the "little things" matter. And maybe they do, to some people. I'm not sure they matter all the time. Ask yourself this-would you rather your husband stay faithful to you  and not answer all your texts within five minutes or sleep with his co-workers and buy you flowers and candy every month? That might be an extreme example, but it raises a good point.

No job, no new car, no other person will ever be able to meet all your needs, much less your wants. Being an adult means realizing and accepting that. I've personally seen people whose lives are drama filled and a disaster because they foolishly expect a new marriage or moving cross country will solve all their problems and fulfill their lives in every single way. Maybe it's because they focus on the "little things" instead of looking at the big picture in life. Sure, looking at the "big picture"is also somewhat a cliche in life but there might be some truth to that one.

Politics and friendship

The best way to find out who your true friends are is to become vocal with your views. Your real friends will stick by you and accept you no matter what. People who you thought were your friends will soon treat you much differently. 

The hard thing is seeing that "lifelong friends" never really knew you the way you thought they did. After all, how well do friends know each other if they don't know your views on issues and news? Sure, mom always said that you shouldn't talk religion and politics but that's more for strangers. Close friends, like a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship should be able to talk about basically anything. If someone you know is suddenly shocked and appalled that you are pro-life/pro-choice or whatever and stops talking to you-you've learned the hard way what friendship is all about.

The fun thing though, is learning who your real friends are. Your real friends like you no matter what your views are. While that's very much a cliche and it's just words, there is a lot of truth to it. It helps you weed out those who don't care for you so you can focus on those that do. 

Album of the weekend

Blink 182-Enema of the State

Okay, so the title isn't appealing, and Blink 182 is known for their juvenile sense of humor. Beneath all that though is a great album. It's not as good as Dookie by Green Day but that album was legendary. However it has a Green Day pop punk feel that is quickly engrossing. It's also a little deeper than one might think-songs dealing with suicide, sexual frustration and the refusal to grow up.

Am I overblowing it? A little bit. No one will ever mistake Blink 182 for lyrics for Bob Dylan music or John Irving novels. But if you like pop punk, and sometimes we all need that bubblegum in our lives, this is absolutely an album to check out.

9/11 conspiracy

People who believe in some giant 9/11 conspiracy are usually beyond help. I pat them on the head and let them spout their garbage, but in reality I think it does considerable harm to our society and those who died. I have zero respect for the hardcore conspiracy buffs and wish they'd shut the hell up and go back to the Alex Jones whack job lives.

Why do people these bullshit conspiracies? Several reasons. They want to feel smarter and wiser than all us "sheep" and dummies who believe the "mainstream" report of what happened. Since many of us are skeptical of the government, how can we believe the official government report? Simple. It's been confirmed by hundreds of journalists and sources outside of the official 9/11 commission report.

Another reason is a much more sad reason. People have a hard time admitting that great evil exists in the world. Since they can't handle that fact, they make up excuses and reasons for things that are the result of great evil existing. They can't handle or understand that 19 homicidal zealots exist and want to give their lives in order to kill people, so they make up a conspiracy that takes away the responsibility from the perpetrators. This also works with people who agree with the views of those responsible or those sympathetic to those who are responsible. IE-I hate George Bush, so anyone who hates him must be good. The 9/11 attackers hated him. Erg. the are good. Think I'm being simplistic? Ask your nineteen your nephew who hates all things republican/conservative/American about 9/11. Same kind of thinking.

Here are two links that debunk the 9/11 conspiracies:

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48389/9-11-conspiracy-theories/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a49/1227842/

Why I am a libertarian

Libertarians are relatively useless in the political world today. There just ain't a lot of us out there. Most people who say they are libertarian really mean that they aren't republican or democrat, and don't have a clue what libertarian means. Recently and much to my happiness, the republican party has embraced the "big tent" philosophy and allowed Rand Paul and others like him to stay in the party. The biggest detriment to the political life of the republican party is the liberty wing of the GOP, which is my political home.

Libertarianism has great respect for the individual. The philosophy allows individuals to live their own lives, for good or bad as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Libertarians are often accused of being personal libertines or having no personal morality, but that's nonsense. Libertarians can live highly moral lives, and often times very traditional ones, but unlike the modern day left and right they have no desire to make everyone else live the same way they choose to live theirs.

Libertarianism means "you leave me alone, I leave you alone. You don't run my life, I don't run your life. I don't hurt you, you don't hurt me." That's scary to some people, and the fundamental flaw of both the right and the left is that they do think you are too stupid to make your own decisions and run your life as you see fit. The right wants to tell you who to marry, that you can't read certain books or watch movies, while the left forbids you from owning a gun for protection and who you can or can't bake that cake for. Libertarianism stays out of your bedroom. Libertarianism lets you read the bible or Penthouse or nothing at all. Libertarianism allows you to own a gun and doesn't care who your business serves.

Libertarianism isn't naive. We know someone will make bad choices, we know there will always be crime. We accept that war is an inevitability in certain cases.  We believe that allowing people to be individuals and letting them have free minds and free markets, while scary, is the best

Trying to debunk everything you see on the internet

Let's be honest-there is a lot of garbage out there on the internet. From misleading click bait to politically tainted "news" to outright conspiracy theories and bullshit-it takes a healthy dose of skepticism to survive out there. It's a dangerous world. My Pepere (French Canadian term for grandfather) used to say "Believe 25% of what you read and 10% of what you hear." Wise words.

Part of the reason people post and believe things is because they want to believe. This accusation of believing what you want to believe is usually a charge that atheists throw at believers-even though everyone is at least partially guilty of this. The radical organic no-GMO people want to feel superior to others who :: gasp :: feed their kid regular food instead of the expensive GMO/Organic stuff. So they'll believe every pro-organic study they see and fall for every hip food trend in order to feel better about themselves. Everyone is at least partially guilty of this too-most christians aren't going to believe things that puts their faith in a negative light.

Trying to debunk everything you see is a fools game. One-it's Sisyphean and never ending. Two, it's done so you too can feel smarter/wiser than those idiots who believe everything. Speaking of everyone being guilty of things, I am dead on guilty of this. Someone recent posted that "All honeybees are dying" (they aren't, the story is far more complex than we realize) and I tried showing him some links that showed otherwise. He didn't believe them of course. I'm comforted that I was right, but it's still frustrating that he didn't believe them. I'd like to say I'm so tough that it doesn't bother me and I just move on-but of course like everyone else it does bother me.

Outrage fatigue

Outrage fatigue is that feeling you get when someone you know is outraged and offended by everything. After awhile, it just becomes words and an outlet for their anger and mental issues. People rightfully and correctly talk about "snowflakes" being offended by everything-and it's true, college students who complain that they have to read Shakespeare because he's a "dead white male" are obnoxious and delusional, but so are older snowflakes who found something offensive in every single tv show, movie, comic book, music album and game or hobby.

No one can be genuinely offended all the time. It's not possible. You would become too tired and too emotionally drained after awhile.  Being "genuinely offended" is a good thing because it means you have morals and values. Bluntly put though-acting like you are genuinely offended just because you see a girl in a bikini on prime time or hear the word "damn" coming from an eighth grader means you can't control you are suffering from something deeper than moral outrage. You are probably wanting to show how holy you are and how the rest of the world is a fallen and sick place. You also inflict outrage fatigue on everyone around you.

When you treat everything like it's a mortally offensive, the term "mortally offensive" loses it's actions. If you are called "stupid" by your boss every day it begins to lose it's power and you realize that the problem is with the name caller, not the person being called the name. With outrage fatigue eventually everyone around realizes that the problem isn't with the world, it's with you.

Scripture Sunday update

I'm going to start taking Sundays off, so my Scripture Sundays will be coming to an end in the next few months. I'll probably publish a few more, but not one today. 

Bullying vs standing up for yourself

Like everyone else in 2019, I'm against bullying. The only difference is that I don't think I'm wonderful for it and I don't think that I deserve everyones praise because I am against it. I'm also against giving meth to seven year olds and beating up old people. Yes,I do think the anti-bullying campaigns mean well but in reality it's another self-congratulatory cause that people join to make themselves feel better about....themselves. 

Sadly, what I'm also noticing that the people are being accused of bullying for simply standing up of themselves. If you get into a debate with someone and can't stand up for what you believe or for yourself, accuse the other person of bullying you. That'll put everyone on your side and against the mean, nasty person who is daring to disagree with you. 

Of course I'm not excusing people who are being an ass. It would help the world if everyone read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and actually took it seriously. The good news is that people who act that way almost always defeat themselves in the end. Being able to stand up for yourself and not be unpleasant while doing so is certainly an acquired skill.   

Album of the weekend

Judas Priest-Painkiller

This is the final Judas Priest released with Rob Halford before he left the band in the 1990's. Painkiller is critically acclaimed and is loved by many Judas Priest fans, even though I think it's slightly overrated. The title track reminds me of a band trying to replicate the song Screaming for Vengeance, and in fairness, that is their best song and one of the best songs of all time so it's not easy to imitate. The instrumental, "Battle Hymn" is pretty good-I'm a sucker for heavy metal instrumentals.

The album needs to be listened to in it's entirety before you download it. Perhaps it was time for Halford to leave the band for a bit, because this album is not up to par and when he came back Judas Priest released some amazing, five star albums. Sometimes a break is a good thing. 

Dying retail stores

Did you ever notice that nostalgia for a retail store skyrockets when the store goes out of business? If people cared that much about a store, it wouldn't have gone out of business in the first place. To me it shows that people again romanticize the past at the expense of the present because of false nostalgia. 

Malls and retail stores are dying for a reason. The reason is that Amazon is much, much better than shopping at crowded retail stores. People like shopping from home in their athletic pants and sweatshirts. While I'm not saying we dressed up in tuxedos to go to Macy's the fact that we can shop from home and avoid traffic and crowds is surely a reason why retail is dying. 

There are people who miss wandering around malls and just browsing in shops-and while I understand that point of view, I don't share it. You can always browse around outlet stores , and while most retail stores are dying slow deaths, they aren't dead yet so you can wander around in there too. 

Those people who miss the past focus on the good and ignore the bad. They do this with high school, retail stores, sports, music, video games-you name it. It's understandable why they do this, but it's still bizarre to me. 

9/11

Sarah Palin II

Sarah Palin, and the entire Palin family, is a mess. They are actually a warning to everyone - this is what quick fame does to you. If McCain ignored her back in 2008, we'd never know who she was and hopefully, her family would have lived a normal life in obscurity. Sure, they'd have problems (all families do, yours does too) but they would be kept relatively private. Sadly, it's all in public with them. 

Sarah and her husband Todd have filed for divorce. After 31 years of marriage and five kids, a few of them still minors. No snarky comments from me. It's just really tragic and sad when a marriage of that long ends. People trying to score political points by making fun of them are expected-it's how the culture is, especially in politics-but it's still low class and vile. I hope the Palin family finds peace somehow. 

Premature aging?

Like many other people, I have a Facebook account I check compulsively. Unlike many other people, I don't complain about how stupid/immature/or bad Facebook is while posting on it all the time. I do have my pet peeves about it though.  

Recently on Facebook I've seen about four or five people complaining about being old. They complain about aches and pains, reminisce about the "good old days" (sometimes that is a verbatim statement) and talk about how sad it is to get older. These are people who are all under 40. 

I'm going to repeat that-these people are all under 40. 

Yet they act like people in their early 60's. What happened to 40 being the new 35 and 35 being the new 30? 

You know you live in a wonderful time when people are remaining active well into their 70's. Today with better health, exercise and diets people can experience a higher quality of life longer than any other time in history.   We should be grateful, energetic and enjoy life-not complain about being "old" before your time. 

And if you still want to complain about being and feeling old-remember the old saying- "growing old beats the alternative." 

Scripture Sunday Alma 45:16

The Lord cannot "look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" and that should frighten all of us to some degree. We are all sinners and God can't allow us to get away with any of it. The good news is that God is a forgiving God and no matter how often we sin, he'll still forgive us. 

Vaping

I quit smoking cigarettes using an e-cigarette about eight years ago, before many people even knew what they (e-cigarettes) even were. E-cigarettes were trendy at the time and while maybe not healthy, they were a lot more healthy than old school cigarettes. I assume people use vaping for many reasons-but I'm sure that some people vape rather than using e-cigarettes. 

So like most new things, the government wants to ban it. Innovation is feared partially out of jealousy. We are jealous that we didn't think of that invention and the government is unsure that it won't be "dangerous". I'm glad we have a mommy and daddy government to keep me from hurting myself-without them, I couldn't make choices of my own. 

I have no problem with vaping products and e-cigarettes only being available to 18 year olds. I also have no issue with a club or restaurant banning their use on their own private property. I have a huge problem with the government forcing a business to do that or forbidding an adult from making that choice on their own. 

Album of the Weekend

The Return-Nonpoint

When I first heard the song "Misery" I thought it was by Godmack, and that's a compliment. This album has the entire sound of Godsmack. It's not post grunge, it's not nu-metal, it's not heavy metal but it's a pleasant mix of all the above and it manages to mesh the sound to create a very good album. It's not something I usually listen to and I have to be in the mood for it, and that might be the case with you as well. You certainly want to listen to a few songs on Youtube before you download the entire album. 

Why Bill Gates may not know everything about the economy

Just because you are super rich doesn't mean you know everything about every finical topic out there. In fact, being super rich usually means you know a whole lot about one thing. Bill Gates is a genius when it comes to computers and building companies. That doesn't mean he knows everything about tax policy in modern America, tariffs, immigration and politics. 

One of the biggest problems in our culture today is that ignorant people sometimes think that doctors, lawyers, scientists and professors know more than they really do. Your English professor in college may not even know that much outside her speciality as well. She might focus on Victorian literature in America and of course she knows who Shakespeare is and can carry on a conversation about him-but that's not her area of expertise. Same goes for a lawyer. Your average lawyer might be able to defend a DUI in a criminal court, but a murder case would take much more experience and when you are fresh out of law school, you aren't ready for that. 

But all my friends agree with me...

After Nixon beat McGovern in 1972 by a 49 state landslide, the amazing and brilliant Pauline Kael said "How could Nixon win, I con't know a single person who voted for him?" It's a famous political quote that's broken into pop culture. It shows what a small, insular world Pauline Kael ran in. After all, Nixon carried forty nine states. McGovern carried one. The quote apparently might be a misquote but the bigger issue still stands.

To some degree we are all guilty of this. After all, most of our close friends share the same basic values, thoughts and beliefs that we have. Yes, there are exceptions and there should be exceptions. Maybe you have a family member whose politics and beliefs you don't agree with but still enjoy spending time with.

If you find yourself saying this you need to be careful-it warps you. You begin to think "All of my friends feel the same way so all good people must feel the same way." It happens to both liberals and conservatives.

Intervention

The TV show "Intervention" is very tough to watch. It's a lot more than just "reality TV". If you have had any trouble with addiction in life-your own or a loved one-I can only imagine how painful it must be to watch the show. It's particularly troubling if you've been clean and sober for years and you suddenly see an episode.  It makes you think about how lucky you are to have not taken your addiction to the extreme that some of people on the show have.

I was watching it a few days ago and tragically, the young woman involved in the episode apparently died. Like many addicts, this girl had everything going for her. A loving family, college degree, and a bright future. My heart absolutely broke for her and her family, but part of me also got sort of angry with her. Not many people have the options and opportunities she had, and they managed to get through life without suffering from a horrible addiction that absolutely destroys the life of everyone around them. Addiction is incredibly selfish and while it's the addicts fault, I don't really "blame" the addict-even though I do. I know that doesn't make any sense.

The TV show "Intervention" might save lives. I wish no one had to go though drug addiction in the first place but if more people watched the show, they might avoid drugs in the first place. Seeing the toll it takes on the addicts loved ones is just devastating.

Hurricane cakes from Publix

Publix has gotten some controversy because of "hurricane cakes" they made.  It's Publix, one of the main reasons people move to Florida is because of that chain. Even if they start selling porn and charging 10$ for Ramens people will still love Publix. How can anyone possibly be mad at this? Sure, hurricanes are destructive, but this just shows how far society has fallen.

Almost all humor is based on misery and hurricanes are miserable. Publix is trying to make hurricanes a little less miserable by making a cake dedicated to them. t's funny, light hearted, and absolutely depressing that people would get outraged and offended by this.

Scripture Sunday

Because of Hurricane prep, I haven't had much of a chance to read my Book of Mormon this week. No scripture Sunday post this week.