Religulous Movie Trailer: An Early Birthday Present
June 7, 2008 – 10:48 pmReligulous comes out October 3rd. Happy Birthday me!!!
Anti-War Rally in SLC with Rocky Anderson and Daniel Ellsberg
June 1, 2008 – 8:28 pm
More photos of the anti-war rally here.
The Salt Lake Tribune created a photo video montage of the event.
Live Green Festival in Salt Lake City 2008
May 10, 2008 – 9:32 pm
More pictures of the Live Green Festival here.
Red in the Eyes
May 7, 2008 – 8:45 pm
Smart Car in Salt Lake City
May 7, 2008 – 8:43 pm
Michigan (Wrongly) Clings to Comfort Issues
May 7, 2008 – 10:29 am
Sometimes, public opinion is just wrong and the government needs to intervene. The Supreme Court of Michigan obviously does not feel this way.
“An amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 2004 to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman also prohibits public employers from providing health care and other benefits to the same sex partners of employees, a divided Michigan Supreme Court ruled today.”
“The court majority found that language in the amendment prohibiting recognition of other unions “for any purpose” included the extension of benefits to gay and lesbian partners of public employees. Several Michigan universities, including U-M and MSU, along with various municipal and school employers had offered the benefits as a means of attracting workers.”
[Photo credit: powerbooktrance]
Flip Ultra, Flickr Video, and Cache Valley
May 5, 2008 – 11:42 amThe Mormon Church and After Death Baptisms: Opt-Out Needed
May 4, 2008 – 8:38 pm
“The move is ‘an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms,’ according to an article reported Friday by Catholic News Service. CNS cites an April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy that directs all Catholic bishops “to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained” in parish registers.“
“A main tenet of LDS Church doctrine is to baptize posthumously, by proxy, all who have died without an LDS baptism, to enable them the opportunity to accept the faith in an afterlife. Baptisms for the dead are performed in LDS temples worldwide. The church collects birth, death, christening, marriage and other related information of deceased people, from archives and registers of churches and denominations, when access is permitted.“
This is perhaps the first time I have ever agreed with the any organized religion let alone the Roman Catholic Church. The practice of baptizing individuals who have not chosen to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is disgusting, revolting, and shows an extreme lack of respect. I guess the Mormon Church has not learned their lesson since they stopped baptizing the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. When I die, I know I don’t want to be misrepresented as a member of a religion who is so insecure that they have to store the names of those they baptized before and after death in a vault in a mountain to increase their perceived religious footprint. It is amazing that a church that preaches tolerance of other religions is so intolerant after the person dies. By doing so, the Mormon Church is essentially stabbing their fellow religious and non-religious peers in the back. How about respecting other people’s choice of religion instead of choosing a slimy, backdoor way to increase your perceived past followers.
Recently, I have been curious if there is an opt-out clause as there is in credit card offers. I don’t want to be associated to such an organization even if it is 100 years after my death. If anyone has any opt out information, leave it in the comments.
[Image credit: amyMemeMe]
Salt Lake City Nihon Matsuri 2008 (Japan Festival)
May 4, 2008 – 12:15 pm
More pictures from Nihon Matsuri here.
Can We Just Raise Gas Taxes and Get it Over With?!
May 1, 2008 – 6:30 am
“Certain realities need to be faced, even in an election year. First, oil prices are likely to remain high for some time as demand for energy continues to grow at a fast pace in China, India and other developing countries. Second, there is an urgent need to curb the world’s carbon emissions to address the threat of global warming.”
“Americans — like the rest of the world — must find ways to curb their use of fossil fuels. Higher, not lower, prices are an important way to spur the needed technological innovation and curb demand.”
“The Bush administration’s answer to high gas prices — increasing domestic supplies — is equally simple-minded. On Tuesday, President Bush again lamented Congress’s unwillingness to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration or to allow more refineries to be built on abandoned military bases. He said efforts in Congress to impose restrictions on carbon emissions and tax oil companies’ windfall profits “would make energy even more expensive.””
“There is not enough oil in Alaska to provide a lasting solution. And Mr. Bush’s prescription would do nothing to address climate change or quench the thirst for oil.”
“Fortunately, Mr. Obama has not caved to the rising calls for cheap energy and has refused to follow his rivals down this misguided path.”
An increase in the gas tax could possibly be a great catalyst to spur innovation in the stale energy sector. While it would be difficult for lower income individuals and the middle class who can hardly fill their tanks currently, the Congress could suspend other taxes for these populations that would put extra money in their wallets. As Thomas Fridman said yesterday, a temporary suspension of the gas tax is not an energy policy. Instead, we need some critical thinking in Washington and not the usual going at it alone policies of the Bush administration and his cronies.
Update: Bloomberg agrees that that gas tax holiday is a stupid idea.
[Image credit: cobalt123]
