Christmas Break

I don't do many "personal" posts--you know, talk about my feelings, life, family--but school is out, and my brain is taking a break from things of a political nature (not really, but somewhat). Anyway, my family and I went to a cabin for a few days in Heber; the cabin was really nice--we split the cost with Stacy's family--and we had a really good time. The cabin was huge--8 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, hot tub, pool table, ping pong table, foose ball, pin ball, big screen with satellite--and with the massive snow storm, snowmobling was pretty cool. Anyway, it was a nice way to relax after finals, and it was good way to spend some of the Christmas break--minus the fact that BYU got worked and I had to watch it with my father-in-law. 

Political Hybernation

After the election, the political scene has gotten quite boring. Watching Obama assemble a Cabinet is far less exciting than listening to him debate McCain & Palin about whether he is a terrorist. Right now is like the off-season for sports--the space after the NBA Finals ends, football hasn't started, baseball is meaningless--that's where things are at right now. The financial crisis is the issue that is talked about everyday, but its not like anything has really changed. The world was going to collapse without 700 billion from the taxpayers right away, and less than half of it has been spent; does that mean that 1/3 of the world has collapsed? Besides, the government has spent over a trillion dollars in other ways, bailing out companies that were on the verge of collapse, so I'm not sure why the even bothered asking Congress for the 700 billion. I'm close to the edge, tuition is up; I wonder if I played my cards right, could I get some of the bailout money? I'm not looking for a lot--maybe 50 million. That's not much when most of the people trying to get into the piggy bank are asking for billions; I'd be quite cheap, a discount. If anyone wants to form a company with a patriotic name, and a supposedly invaluable purpose so that we can get some bailout money, let me know.

Armageddon Approaches

We're nearly there. 40 hours from the BYU-Utah game that has more at stake than any of the other holy wars that have preceded it. BCS. MWC Champion. Top 10 Ranking. State bragging rights. The rights to all of the future superstar state athletes. The supremacy of the color Blue or Red. My sanity. The sanctity of marriage. The end of global warming. The reawakening of the financial system....wait, I've wandered off the reservation just a bit. There isn't quite as much as I would like on the line. There is, however, more on the table than there has ever been in any previous match up. The sad aspect of this game with enormous implications is that Utah is favored. The odds makers currently have Utah favored by 7. The supposedly wise men at ESPN are predicting a Utah victory. Lots of lame Utah fans are guaranteeing a win (not that they matter now, or ever). I'm worried for various reasons. This game, like every year, goes a long way towards making or breaking BYU's season. Add to it the possible BCS birth and a conference championship for the Utes if they win, and a BYU loss is potentially suicidal.  This isn't like 2005 when Utah had all of the same rewards awaiting them if they beat BYU; BYU was bad, Utah was ridiculous, and minus the death of Alex Smith, nothing was going to stop Utah. This year is different. Take away one horrific half of football at TCU, and BYU is ranked higher and probably favored to beat Utah. Take away one bad half of football at TCU, and BYU is a dark horse to sneak into the National Championship game. Erase 30 minutes of hell and BYU fans are confident of a victory on Saturday. You have fans that drink blue kool-aid, wear blue goggles, smoke blue doobies, and then you have fans like me--we always lean a litte towards the side of pessimism. We always see the worst case scenario as a possibility. So when we lean that way, we can't forget 30 minutes of vomiting on a field in Texas. We can't forget 30 minutes of what-the-hell-is-Max-Hall-a-girl. It puts me in a position of handling my grief after BYU loses, and putting me in a state of dangerously high euphoria if they win, but it creates a dark mood preceding the game. I ultimately think BYU will lose, and I don't know if that's my distorted pessimism, or accurate football perception. I would rather be wrong and have BYU win, than right and have my prediction vindicated. Either way, I'm attempting the most accurate, evenly weighted prediction I can proffer. Utah wins 38-28. The good that comes from this tragedy is the large pot of cash the BCS bowl provides to all MWC teams, and the sight of Utah being demolished by a superior team. The hurt will fade when BYU beats a bad PAC-10 team and Utah loses badly, and in spite of the loss, they give BYU a fat wad of cash. 

Good vs. Evil

Saturday. Good vs. Evil; Jesus vs. Satan; Obama vs. Bush; Mormons vs. Catholics; Me vs. My Pathetic Brothers on the ping pong table. Saturday brings THE showdown of the year for both teams. The game on Saturday will be the biggest, most important game in the history of the BYU-Utah rivalry. This game will determine once and for all if the Church is true. There is no way God will let his chosen University lose to the evil ones up north; meaning a Cougar loss proves the Catholic Church is true. I'm serious. Think about it. The Utes have obviously made a pact with the devil to have an undefeated season (it's the only possible explanation) and it's up to the Strippling Warriors to end this less than savory deal. More to come later, but be prepared for the 2nd War in Heaven...(Lucifer will lose again)

Sports Writer

I don't want to brag...but I've made it to the bigs! I'm gonna be a sportwriter for the Spanish Fork News! What, you're not impressed? With the Spanish Fork News? It's sort of like being the mayor of Wasilla--it may get no respect, but it can be a stepping stone...to things like the presidency...or the Daily Herald. Actually, for someone who has never written anything for the reading public outside of the blogosphere, this is a step in the right direction. I can't host Pardon The Interruption and have my own sports column for some big newspaper without working up the to tum poll. For all of my big fans--mom, wife, 3 year old son, 92 year old grandma--I'll make sure to post links so you can see my scintillating tales about Spanish Fork basketball and...brace yourself...high school wrestling!! Yeah, that's right, wrestling. I may not have let on before, but I'm obsessed with WWF. I had daydreams of marrying Hulk Hulgan, and spending the rest of my life shooting roids' and watching my man bash people with chairs. Alas, I had to forgo that dream for Stacy, but this is an awesome consolation prize. Anyway, stay tuned for mind bending stories about the unsung heros of the high school wrestling community--one legged victors, hermaphrodite champions....you get the point.

The 7 Aphorisms

Pleasant Grove has been in the national news this week due to a case pitting the city vs. a religious group. The group, Summum, asked the city to display a monument with the 7 Aphorisms on it--these were apparently on the 1st tablet Moses received from Jehovah--but the city declined. The issue deals with religious freedom, government speech, and the intermingling of the two. Pleasant Grove's Pioneer Park has a monument with the 10 Commandments on it, and it also has a stone from the original Nauvoo Temple. Pleasant Grove is claiming that because the city accepted the monument and chose to display it, the monument is government speech and therefore Pioneer Park is not a public forum. If this is the case, then the argument is that Pleasant Grove is endorsing one religion over another, violating the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. If it isn't government speech, then the park is a public forum, meaning the city can't deny Summum's 7 Aphorisms from being displayed. Pleasant Grove claims they chose to deny Summum because they display artifacts that have links to the city's history and heritage--something Summum can't claim. That defense still doesn't answer the question of whether or not the city has violated the Establishment Clause. Some would argue that it is impossible for the 10 Commandments in the park to be considered government speech, because Pleasant Grove obviously didn't make up the 10 Commandments--but this fails to absolve Pleasant Grove because once again, that makes the park a public forum. The current Supreme Court generally splits down the middle with Justice Kennedy acting as the tie-breaker, so it will come down to how he views this. I guarantee that Justices Roberts, Thomas, Scalia, and Alito will back Pleasant Grove, and that Breyer, Bader-Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens will support Summum. A decision isn't expected for at least a couple of months, but the court's behavior on issues surrounding religion is somewhat predictable--they could prove me very wrong, but this is my prediction. I believe the city should be allowed to determine what to display in the park, but I also believe they shouldn't be allowed to display such overtly religious artifacts if they want to have that right. Certainly Pleasant Grove is primarily Mormon--and Christian--but there are also members of the community that fall outside these groups. By accepting one religious faith's monument, while rejecting another, the city is creating in-groups and out-groups. They are saying that Christianity is more valid and accepted than other faiths--whether they defend it with other excuses like heritage or not--and doing so clearly violates the Establishment Clause. The citizens of Pleasant Grove could also push the city to sale the park to private donors, and those donors could then display whatever religious artifacts they choose. Such a move would likely end up in court, but it would be a possible loop-hole. They could put a referendum on the next ballot, and then have an open bidding process if the citizens approve the sale--they would just have to hope that someone in a minority group didn't outbid everyone else. Anyway, it's an interesting issue that will certainly be referred to in other cases regarding religion and government. 

Rise Against

I had the good privilege of seeing Rise Against last night at Saltair. They are really, really cool. It's the third time I've seen them at Saltair, all with my brother-in-law, Brett. Anyway, this is a video of them playing one of their new songs.