LDS Dems! Are you ready?!

THIS IS IT! This is the weekend we have been looking forward to all year. Three whole days of family friendly activities with fellow Dems, and food to boot!

So, the question is, do you have your ticket?

LDS Dems has an awesome opportunity provided by several different underwriters- if you sign up to volunteer at our booths for Thursday or Friday, we get you into the Taylor & Mayne Awards Celebration on Thursday FOR FREE! Sign up by emailing our coordinator, Elizabeth Roberts, at [email protected]. Not interested in volunteering? No worries, LDS Dems still has a great deal on tickets with the promo code LDSDems. You can order your tickets here: taylormayne.eventbrite.com/

So what is exactly is the Taylor & Mayne? Even if you have been before, you are in for a whirlwind of surprises. This year, the Thursday night festivities include a concert, a comedian, food trucks, children's activities, and lots more, all included with your ticket! Come and join your fellow Dems at this unique and exciting celebration of all that is good within our Party!

How in the world do we follow a party like the Taylor & Mayne?

I'll tell you, but it's a secret.

Although Democrats have chosen to eat their dessert first, the following courses are just as tasty and possibly more nourishing!

The Blue County Project is an all day course in the delights of activism. Whether you are a county chair, a future elected official, or someone who wants to know a bit more than they do about the political spectrum in Utah, this is the place for you. Complete with lunch as well as infinite knowledge in the land of Democratic politics, individuals who attend will be endowed with special knowledge on organizing groups, mobilizing people, messaging to those you want to reach, and properly running any kind of meeting you desire to have.

Tickets to this appetizing event can be procured here as well: taylormayne.eventbrite.com/. There are only 8 spots left!

 

And then, there was the BIG BANG!

State Convention this Saturday is going to be one for the record books! We are a young caucus, and as such, we need your help to grow! What can you offer your caucus? What can we do for you, to provide guidance and motivation for the upcoming 2014 election cycle?

We have a plan, but we need your input. We need your ideas. We need your vision!

LDS Dems can go nowhere but up, but the heights that our caucus soars to is absolutely in your hands. Join LDS Dems at 10 am on Saturday morning for our meeting covering current goals, future plans, and ways we can further enrich and uplift our community! You will be amazed at what this caucus has accomplished in such a short amount of time, and the real power we weild as LDS Dems. People are listening to the voices of moderation in the face of extreme partisan politics, and we happen to be front and center. Come help us craft the message that will be sent out to the state and the country. Let your voice be heard!

All the details on all the captivating events are located here: www.utahdemocrats.org/convention

 

We cannot wait to celebrate with you! See you Thursday!

Any questions or concerns? Call Elizabeth Roberts at 801-835-7087 or shoot an email to [email protected], and she will gladly provide you with answers, tickets, and possibly a puppy or two!

*There will be a room or rooms provided for children to play in during the convention beginning at noon, which will not be monitored by staff or any other current organization. But there will be room to play!

 

Friendship is a Gospel Principle

 

 

Gospel Truth: “If we truly want to be tools in the hands of our Heavenly Father in bringing to pass his eternal purposes, we need only to be a friend.”

 

Scripture: John 15: 13-14  “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends.”

 

“The prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism.’ That thought ought to inspire and motivate all of us because I feel that friendship is a fundamental need in our world. I think in all of us there is a profound longing for friendship, a deep yearning for the satisfaction and security that close and lasting relationships can give. Perhaps one reason the scriptures make little specific mention of the principle of friendship is because it should manifest quite naturally as we live the gospel. In fact, if the consummate Christian attribute of charity has a first cousin, it is friendship.

“There is a particular challenge we face as Latter-Day Saints in establishing and maintaining friendships. Because our commitment to marriage, family, and the Church is so strong, we often feel challenged by constraints of time and energy in reaching out in friendship to others beyond that core group (family).”

Source- “Friendship: A Gospel Principle” May 1999 Ensign, Elder Marlen K Jensen

 

Discussion:

• How is Christ an example of friendship?


• What does a good friendship look like?


• By being a good friend, how are we becoming more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?


• How does friendship bring to pass the eternal goals of our Heavenly Father?

 

 

Challenge: We all set aside specific time, like this one, to learn something new and enrich our family members. This week, set aside time to learn something new with a friend.

 

 

 

by Kevin Wall - SL County LDS Dems Outreach Chair

Hello everyone!  Writing this blog post about myself reminds me of a communications class I took at the University of Utah where I was required to write my own obituary.  I felt then, as I do now, that it seemed a little self-aggrandizing to write about myself for others to read.  That being said, I was asked to write this, so I’ll do my best.

My name is Keven Wall.  I am a full time employee, part time student, husband, father, golfer, and community advocate.  I am also the new outreach coordinator for the Salt Lake County chapter of the LDS Dems Caucus.  I have not always leaned towards the liberal persuasion.  In fact, less than a year ago, I worked hard for Ben McAdams under the Republican’s for Ben McAdams campaign flag.  Here’s my story.

Two or three years ago I would have described myself as a staunch Republican.  I’m talking Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.  About that same time I began to notice an attitude of doom and gloom among all my republican friends. The country was going to “Hades in a Handcart”.  Politics began to be a contentious battle at every turn, even between republicans.  According to my close republican friends everyone was out to steal America from us.  Socialism, Obamacare, illegal immigration and other secret liberal combinations kept me up at night and the funny thing is - I couldn’t understand why.

My own personal convictions didn’t always jive with the republican policy platform.  I didn’t agree with the cold-hearted (and sometimes bigoted) stance my friends would take on the immigration issue.  I hated the live-and-let-die philosophy I would hear spewed with regards to welfare and other social programs meant to help the poor.  I couldn’t reconcile in my mind why the republicans always seemed to be the party of fiscal responsibility when the most recent Republican President of the United States was like a child who found his daddy’s credit card.  My only explanation for these and other issues that I had was that ‘smarter people in the Republican Party must know things that I don’t know.’

Then last year the candidate that I supported for SL County Mayor lost in the republican primary, and I was forced to choose a new corner to run to.  I tried to meet with both candidates, and while I was blown off by the Republican candidate, Ben McAdams met with me when I walked into his office unannounced, chatted with me and invited me to stay and visit with some of his staff.  I was amazed how warm and inviting they all were.  That atmosphere helped me open my mind, look objectively at my values, and determine where I actually stood politically.  I asked Ben some pretty direct questions about issues I deemed a County Mayor would be able to weigh in on and noticed that he and I didn’t differ very often on policy issues.  When I left his office that day I noticed campaign pins on his desk that said “LDS Dems.”  I took one, began volunteering on his campaign, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Here is what I have learned from my experiences.  First, I will never agree completely with either the Republican or the Democratic Parties, but I don’t share the pessimism and cynicism of the Republican Party.  Second, the more I learn about the Democratic Party, and LDS Dems specifically, the more I realize that we share more similarities than differences in policy.

I don’t think my experience is unique.  I think my story could be retold hundreds or thousands of times within the county.  I think that we can grow the LDS Dems Caucus by leaps and bounds just by sharing our opinions honestly, openly, confidently and respectfully.  We need to understand, and we need everyone else to understand, that while we may not all agree perfectly on every policy issue, our similarities will outweigh our differences and by getting involved we will better the caucus, the party, the State of Utah and the Country.

Let’s go share the message!

 

Post by Rob Taber Crossposted with Young Democrats of America Faith & Values Initiative
  What would you say if I told you that our nation had a program that:

1. Pumped $1.73 into the economy for every $1 spent. (According to Moody's.)

2. Has an error-rate that's at all-time low and a program budget where over 95% of all money spent goes directly to helping families.

3. And is incredibly good at responding to economic downturns, mitigating the impact of recessions and other set-backs on child health and development, which helps reduce the cycle of poverty?

The program in question: the Supplemental Assistance Nutrion Program. (More about who uses it, why they use, and fraud rates can be found here.) It is extraordinarily good at doing what it was designed to do: help children, the elderly, the disabled, and the working poor stay food secure, meaning they don't get to the point of malnutrition. Despite a reputation for fraud and abuse, fraud rates are very low and keep getting lower.

The House Committee on Agriculture has advanced a version of the Farm Bill that cuts over $20 billion from SNAP over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this would eliminate benefits of 1.8 million people per year, including 200,000 children who would no longer automatically qualify for the school lunch program.

The push to cut SNAP comes from Representative Stephen Fincher, Republican of Tennessee, who received $3.5 million in direct payments for his farmland between 1999 and 2012, including $70,000 in the last year, which is roughly equivalent to the maximum annual SNAP benefits for 12 working families. (This gets to another major problem with the 2013 Farm Bill: both the House and Senate are repealing the direct payments program, where the identity of major recipients is a matter of public record, in favor of an expansion of the funding and eligibility for the crop insurance program, whose beneficiaries are anonymous.)

The members of the House Committee on Agriculture reportedly traded Bible verses over these cuts and our responsibility towards the poor. This led Rep. Fincher to share Matthew 26:11 ("The poor you shall always have with you") and 2 Thessalonians 3:10 ("The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat") as evidence that "The Bible says a lot of things."

Last month, Rep. Fincher stated, "The role of citizens, of Christians, of humanity is to take care of each other, but not for Washington to steal from those in the country and giving it to others in the country."

[caption id="attachment_684" align="alignleft" width="169"] Granary at Welfare Square
(Courtesy, Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]

This reminds me of discussions in LDS circles, where feeding the hungry is recognized as a very good thing to do and SNAP (often referred to as food stamps) is sadly depicted as an evil, over-reaching government program. We are very focused on taking care of our hungry Latter-day Saints, either through the official Church welfare program, or through member-led efforts, and we conduct targeted humanitarian relief efforts for others around the globe. This is great, but the Church isn't our only community.

The United States is also a community, wherein we elect legislators and executives who have the sworn duty to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution, which itself was created to "insure domestic tranquility," "promote the general welfare," and "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." We pay our taxes, one of the responsibilities that comes with the rights of citizenship or residence, with the intent that our representatives will use this money towards these goals. Helping working families, the elderly, and, above all, children, receive the food they need to avoid acute hunger is crucial for them to secure the blessings of liberty. As Appleton, Wisconsin has discovered, good food can make all the difference.

During the 2012 election, the LDS Newsroom worked overtime to educate the public on what Mormons believe. A highlight was the publication of the editorial Modern and Mormon. I love its emphasis on the importance of both faith and reason and our need to ask questions, to pursuing truth, and to "seek after" anything that is "virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy." The Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP), a  praiseworthy program "of good report," is in danger of major cuts that will cripple its ability to feed the hungry and short-circuit the cycle of poverty. If you want SNAP to keep doing the job it's doing so well, let your Congressperson and Senators know that you don't want the cuts to happen. While you're at it, remind them that the sequester hurt WIC's ability to help moms and babies. We cannot starve our way to recovery.

A great example of our nation’s partisan politics is the careless discussion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps. Lately there have been several measures passed by the House of Representatives which feed on misinformation or play upon voter’s perceptions. As citizens we are left to dissect rampant talking points and blatant fabrications with little help from our media outlets. In general, misinformation has become a lucrative industry with talk show hosts, pundits, and politicians selling unsubstantiated data and twisted logic.  This leads to conversations driven by 45 second sound bites, 140 character tweets, and out-of-context statements which are shallow and divisive. 

SNAP has expanded rapidly under the Obama administration making it a popular talking point with right-wing pundits.  The guilty-by-association rhetoric leaves out critical information needed to understand the trends, and focuses entirely on the “what” and not the “why”.  Republicans are correct to point out food stamp participants have grown 65 percent since 2008 increasing spending to an all time high of $74B (2 percent of budget), but when asked the cause they fall into the trap of popular propaganda.  They do not know that 50 percent of food stamp recipients are under the age of 18, or 15 percent are elderly. They do not understand that 20 percent of food stamp households support the disabled. They incorrectly believe that President Obama has passed legislation that enables the expansion of the program or incentivizes participation.

In addition, Republican's association of food stamps with left-leaning blue states lacks credible data.  The highest SNAP participating state is Mississippi with 22.5 percent of their residents receiving assistance.  7 of the 10 highest SNAP participating states are red and primarily in the South. The state with the most people on food stamps is Texas, which is surprising given California has 12 million more residents.  Even the reddest of states, Utah, has seen participation double in the last five years (from 5 percent to 10 percent).  Regardless of state targeted data, food stamps are distributed somewhat evenly. Currently 16.8 percent of red state residents are receiving food stamps compared with 14.3 percent of blue state residents.

The solitary driving force behind the expansion of SNAP was the rapid unemployment spike from 2008 - 2010 which led to more households applying for assistance.  In the final year of President Bush’s administration unemployment jumped from 4.9 percent to 8.7 percent and continued to 9.8 percent under President Obama.  The doubling of the unemployment rate corresponds with the doubling of food stamp participants under President Obama’s tenure.  As families were left without employment they turned to the government for support.

It is not fair or reasonable to hold the Obama Administration accountable for SNAP participation increases.  It is fair to hold the Obama Administration accountable for households leaving the program now that unemployment is improving (7.8 percent).  Moving people off of government assistance is a sign of progress and should be the desire of every Democrat who understands the bridging role of social programs. However, decreasing participation needs to be persuaded, not forced, as any mandated cut in SNAP will disproportionately impact the elderly, disabled, and children.

Food stamp talking points, like all issues, need to be challenged and understood.  Focusing too quickly on the “what” will lead us into a partisan spin zone and dull our problem solving ability.  We need to ask the right questions, understand the impact of our choices, and weigh the impact to our fellow citizens. Accepting popular talking points to support an ideology is not only disingenuous, but undermines the need for solution-oriented conversations to tackle our country’s major challenges.

Note: This is being forwarded from an email blast from Kim Burningham.

The end of today's Republican Party is near.  Just ask Bob Dole, previous Republican presidential nominee and Senate Majority Leader who’s recent appearance on Fox News has created a stir, “I think they ought to put a sign on the national committee doors that says ‘closed for repairs’ until New Year’s Day next year — and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas.”  When asked if he or President Reagan would be elected by today’s Republican Party he responded, “I doubt it. Reagan couldn’t have made it…we might have made it, but I doubt it.”

The Republican base continues to scream into an echo chamber fueled by the right wing media which dismisses any opposition as liberal propaganda.  This rejection of differentiated thinking closes the window for compromise and collective understanding.  Once the overreaching rhetoric is exposed without support from new ideas or strong leadership, the right is forced to change the rules to avoid irrelevance (ie. gerrymandering and filibusters).

The GOP has separated itself from every minority voting block.  The Southern Strategy and Civil Rights opposition has carried through several decades with Black voters.  Anti-immigration and over reaching border security rhetoric has dispelled the Hispanic vote.  Pro-life heretics and insensitive comments by prominent Republicans leaders have alienated the woman vote.  Venomous opposition to gun control, gay rights, and unapologetic military policies has lost the moderate vote.  Voter registration continues to favor the left across the younger population which will lead to a healthy majority in the years to come.

Obamacare will be the final nail in the coffin of GOP relevance.  The ideas for insurance mandates and exchanges were initially driven by Republican leaders and conservative think tanks opposing President Clinton’s universal healthcare legislation. With inclusion under Obamacare the right should have lined up with support.  With early adapter states already demonstrating the positive power of market driven exchanges, its easy to understand why voting to repeal the law 37 times is a priority for the Republican controlled House.  It also signifies the de facto strategy for the right; a lack of ideas drives the need to dismantle opposing ideas.

Bob Dole’s frustration with the Republican Party’s direction is not inconsistent with many tenured GOP activists.  It is also very telling of the lack of leadership and recessive ideas that lead party members to oppose any hint of cooperation.  Infighting between inter-party groups is dominating Capital Hill driven by extreme primary candidates elected under the pretense that compromise is akin to failure.  It is under this environment that the GOP needs to reinvent itself, much like Clinton’s “New Democrats”, or face irrelevance.

In 1962, Reagan's defection from the Democratic Party didn't come as a surprise. "I didn't leave the Democratic Party," he explained. "The party left me." If Reagan was alive today he would say the same thing about the Republican Party.  His support of the Brady Bill, balanced budgets that included tax increases, compromise to drive political progress, immigration, and amnesty support would leave him off the invitation for the next CPAC meeting. Reagan knew the power of political middle ground, which has been lost on today’s GOP.

(Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune)

For us who strive to be followers of Christ, regardless of creed, there are a few basic doctrines we must adhere to. (C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece, “Mere Christianity”, is the classic summation of those doctrines.) Those teachings include: Love your neighbors. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Forget the mote in your neighbor’s eye and worry about the beam in your own eye. Judge not that ye be not judged. Let your conversations be “yea, yea; nay, nay” because anything greater than this is evil. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that despitefully use you and persecute you. Blessed are the meek. Beware hypocrisy. Teachings of the restored gospel expand on this theme of humility, compassion for others and brotherly love.

Given the fact that we’re a self-proclaimed Christian nation, the lack of basic Christian civility and kindness among some of our nation’s elected leaders toward the Obama administration the last few weeks has been remarkable – especially since there appears to be significant correlation between the degree of self-proclaimed devotion to Christ and the virulence of the attacks against that person’s political opponents.

Part of our Christian beliefs is that there has been only one perfect man, Jesus of Nazareth.  The rest of us make mistakes. I believe the scriptures when they teach that our own sins will be forgiven in the degree to which we treat the mistakes of others with charity.

However, this basic Christian doctrine conflicts with a key strategy of the Republican Party: We are the anti-government party, so anything we can do to get Americans to despise government and hate government workers and elected officials, the better for us. Therefore, anything we can do to foment rage and hatred is fair game. Outrage and paranoia are certainly the main marketing tools of media shock jocks like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

Certainly there are times when righteous anger is appropriate. But those times should be the exception rather than the rule. Followers of Christ should look for the positive, should give their brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt, rather than rush to judgment at the drop of the hat. But, as previously stated, that conflicts with basic Republican strategy.

Donna Brazile, in her excellent commentary, “We’re pointing a gun at our democracy”, gives a sobering warning about where this strategy is leading us. “This road we're on will lead us step-by-step to an extreme: either an autocratic government that functions, or a dysfunctional anarchy. The petty squabbles, bilge in the name of party or principle, will dissolve our self-government.

“Abraham Lincoln felt no foreign power could ever defeat the United States. He said, ‘From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never...No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.’

“We're pointing a pistol at our heads. A government of, by, and for the people requires that people talk to people, that we can agree to disagree but do so in civility. If we let the politicians and those who report dictate our discourse, then our course will be dictated.”

I witnessed this first hand, when I had the historic opportunity in December 2008 to be in the audience in Washington during the House Finance Committee hearings on the “bridge loans” for GM and Chrysler.  I have never been more embarrassed for America. Instead of an honest give-and-take to find ways to save – with the benefit of hindsight – what was a key industry in leading us out of the Great Recession, I suffered through almost three hours of arrogant blowhards posturing for the camera, competing with each other to see who could show the most outrage. There were few hints of any desire to actually learn anything or find workable solutions to saving America’s automotive industry.

How do we get out of this destructive cycle? I always expect a little more from my fellow Latter-day Saints, and would hope that Mormon political leaders might be at the forefront in combatting this destructive trend. And indeed, there are some of our members who are out there working to increase Christian civility, to restore proper discourse in government and get back to the people’s business. Names like Udall, Matheson and Huntsman come to mind.

However – at the risk of sounding politically incorrect – the above list of Mormons are not exactly known for being regular churchgoers. What about active Latter-day Saint political figures? I think of the good Governor Romney could do right now, both for his country and his church, by speaking out for civility. He was given the opportunity to do so last week. What was his response?  “I’m not a fan of Obama.” What a petulant response; what a wasted opportunity. He should take a cue from George W. Bush, who has graciously resisted criticizing the President. And let’s not forget Senators Lee and Hatch and Congressman Chaffetz, who have been at the forefront of recent witch hunts.

I sincerely worry that one fault Latter-day Saints are susceptible to is the sin of self-righteousness. This was the sin in the Book of Mormon that let to all other evils and eventually to destruction. It surely appears that modern conservative politics fits what Brigham Young called “decoys”, tricking Latter-day Saints into attitudes and emotions they otherwise would consider evil.

Those of us who love America, the Church, and our fellow Latter-day Saints, can no longer remain silent on this issue. We need to preach “The Mormon Ethic of Civility” courageously from the rooftops.

May

Family Home Evening:       Nature-Evidence of Heavenly Father’s Love

 

Scripture:  D&C 59: 18, 20  “Yea, of all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, . . . And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess.”

Suggested Song: My Heavenly Father Loves Me (CS p. 228)

Everything in our environment evidences in all its wonder, both in the way it functions so efficiently and in the way it enriches our lives with its beauty, that God organized the universe for his children (See Alma 30: 44). The body is a marvel of engineering. Families, the church, societies, and even governments were inspired for our growth and security. God revealed the plan of salvation with agency, responsibility, and repentance for our exaltation. He sent his son to show us the way.

Activity

Take a nature walk with your family. Stroll around your neighborhood and point out how beautiful the things are that you see around you every day. There may be some special places near your home, such as a wood, the seashore, the mountains, or a desert. Take advantage of these places to inspire a love of nature in your family.

Create a nature collage or scrapbook. Draw pictures, use pages from magazines, and have the older children match up scriptures with specific scenes. (Psalms 65: 9-13, 96: 11-12, 106: 1; Isaiah 32: 18; Romans 11: 36; D&C 59: 16-21; Moses 3: 9; Abraham 5: 9)

Challenge: While we appreciate all that heavenly Father has given us, he has charged us to tend to these gifts as well. What ways can we encourage good uses of the earth? How can we protect the earth? Can we experience our own little bit of creation through growing of gardens, exploring the outdoors?

 

The American people and press have been slapping the suffix “gate” on any real or pretend political scandal since the famous political burglary at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. That “second-rate” burglary was followed by obstruction of justice in several ways; the payment of cash money from illegal campaign funds to silence the burglars hired by Nixon campaign officials, the attempt to have the CIA cut off the FBI investigation by claiming it was a national security operation arising out of the conflicts with Cuba, the destruction of investigative records by high officials of the FBI, perjury, and various other political dirty tricks in support of Nixon’s reelection in 1972. This led to Nixon’s resignation while articles of impeachment were being prepared.

One of the less known fall-outs from the initial “gate,” was that Senator Frank Church, Democrat of Idaho, headed a committee to investigate the intelligence agencies of the United States. The Church Committee was wide-ranging and delved into and exposed such activities as attempts to poison Fidel Castro with his own cigars (like exploding cigars out of the Three Stooges) to the less humorous wire-tapping and letter-opening by FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover who tried to link the Civil Rights Movement to a world-wide communist conspiracy. The Church Committee was certainly controversial in many respects but it was also bi-partisan and investigated abuses in both Democratic and Republican Administrations. There are legitimate doubts as to whether the current House Committee on Benghazi has the same bi-partisan interest or possibly represents the political and constitutional threats of Watergate itself.

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