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Protect Marriage Update

September 12, 2008 by rickety Leave a Comment

Know the Facts

Voicing your support for Proposition 8 can sometimes be a bit intimidating, particularly when you don’t know all the facts. We’re sure you will be surprised to learn that many of your friends and neighbors share your support! Proposition 8 is about preserving marriage; it’s not an attack on the gay lifestyle. Proposition 8 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits from gays or lesbians in domestic partnerships. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections and benefits” as married spouses. (Family Code §297.5.) There are no exceptions. Proposition 8 will not change this.

Townhall Meetings

The Proposition 8 Campaign has been busy hosting a series of townhall meetings throughout the state, providing a local forum for communities to discuss the importance of preserving traditional marriage as between one man and one woman. To date, there have been four townhall meetings in Fresno, Sonoma, San Joaquin and Napa Counties. Each event has been tremendously successful, energizing the community and arming attendees with information on how to get more involved to ensure Proposition 8 passes.

Drawing from between 200-600 attendees, the Protect Marriage Townhall Meetings have created an opportunity for voters to learn about Proposition 8 from leaders in their own community. In each host county, the Campaign has identified representatives from each of the major faith denominations, who then speak about why voting YES on Proposition 8 is such a crucial issue, from their faith’s perspective.

Upcoming townhall meetings include Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino. For more information on a townhall meeting in your area, please contact info@protectmarriage.com.

Volunteers Needed

With November just around the corner and a likely close vote on Proposition 8 expected, volunteers can make the difference in this election. Proposition 8 is our last chance to protect the institution of marriage, to keep it from being radically redefined for all of society. You can help us tip the scales by volunteering on behalf of the Campaign.

This effort takes committed individuals working hard at the grassroots level. There are many different ways that you can help. Here’s just a sample:

Walk precincts
Phone voters
Distribute literature to your friends and neighbors
Donate
Show your support through a yard sign or bumper sticker
Recruit 10 new volunteers
Write a letter to the editor

ACLU Donation

We know that everyday our opponents are busy raising millions of dollars that will be used to mislead our voters. Just recently, we heard of the ACLU’s $1.2 million donation to defeat Proposition 8 — the largest single donation to our opponents in this campaign.

Source: ProtectMarriage.com email.

Uncle Keith

September 11, 2008 by rickety 2 Comments

Uncle Keith died of cancer last Thursday. He was 75. I remember him as a gracious host and a man who was always happy. I recall that when my own father died I was asked to dedicate the grave. I didn’t know how to do it but Uncle Keith helped me through it. I want to make a post here for those who were not able to attend the funeral and also something to remember Keith by.

Keith

Samuel Keith Utley was born in the tiny town of Flowell, Utah, on December 24, 1932, to Von Samuel and Zola Brower Utley. His fondest memory of being a boy was playing on the Millard High School sophomore basketball team with his pals Alton, Paul, Sam, and Andy. Keith fought in the Korea War with the now famous Miracle Battalion, the 213th (now the 222nd) of Southern Utah boys that all came back from Kap Yong. Keith began his career with Mountain Fuel, which would later become Questar. He began on the street crew digging ditches, but worked his way up, over the course of 38 years, to Superintendent of Customer Service.

Glenna

Keith and Glenna’s passion for the game of golf took them to Southern Utah, their second home and playground among the red rocks and warm air. He loved Utah and its beauty. They traveled the world in their retirement and were very happy together.

Services

We attended the viewing, services, and burial yesterday at Valley View Funeral Home in West Valley City. I took a few photographs at the grave site. I never know what is appropriate at funerals in the way of photography so I tried to be discrete. The chapel was packed with people. I didn’t think that everyone would get in but they did. I jotted down a few notes during the services of what his children said.

Sharilee

Sharilee was one of the speakers and she said that her father worked hard and always had a second job. For a while it was cleaning a bank with which the children helped. On the day he died he arranged for a dozen long stemmed roses to be delivered with a card that said, “All My Love.” It was Glenna’s birthday.

Suzanne

Suzanne told of her father getting up early every day to do his exercises which he did all his life. He enjoyed a good movie or show. He could fix anything. Suzanne said that she worked on cars with her Dad because the boys didn’t want to. She said that one time when her father was under the car she tried the horn to see if it still worked without the key in the ignition. Her father let her know it still worked with a few curses. He loved football and played basketball with his friends at Questar. Even though he worked two jobs he had time for a garden and would make sure it was weeded.

Glen

Glen spoke about how Dad loved the cabin and liked to cook breakfast. He was great at omelettes and everyone had their own special order. He liked to cook steak over a fire pit. Glen was the last child at home. When he told his father he was marrying Susan, Keith began moving his furniture out of his bedroom before he even had an apartment.

Grave Site

After the grave was dedicated there were three rifle volleys fired over the grave. This custom can be traced to the European dynastic wars, when fighting was halted to remove the dead and wounded. Once an area was cleared of casualties, three volleys were sent into the air as a signal to resume fighting. Glenna was given the folded flag and the pallbearers laid their flowers on the casket. Keith’s biography, along with photographs of his life can be found at Everlasting Memorial.

My grandmother’s and great grandmother’s graves were about a hundred feet away so we went over to see them.

Sprawled Out

September 10, 2008 by Ada

My guest writer is Derek Moss of Osmossis.

It has been asked, what are the problems with sprawl? There seems to be a lot of benefit from it and the suburban neighborhoods in which we live are quite desirable. What are the problems associated with our current pattern of growth? This is my attempt to answer these questions. Most of the material is taken from Andres Duany’s Suburban Nation (2000). Please note, I will clarify my position on most points in the conclusion.

Sprawl Defined

It consists of five parts. The defining characteristic of sprawl is that the parts are strictly segregated. The first is housing subdivisions. They are residential zones comprised of single, and if you’re lucky, double access. The second part is the shopping center. The third is the office or business park. The fourth is civic institutions, like public buildings. In Utah this is debatable simply because our churches, meeting houses, and town halls are often integrated into residential zones, contradictory to sprawl. The fifth, on the other hand, is quite prevalent, and consists of the roads “that are necessary to connect the other four disassociated components” of sprawl. Sprawl is the direct result of an idea, followed by the implementation of policies that made it inevitable.

What is Wrong with Sprawl?

Congestion. Roads in the suburbs are arranged in a street hierarchy, including feeders, primary and secondary collectors, and finally arterials. The system forces all or most of the traffic onto one or possibly two major roadways. Even in small towns, because we have designed the system this way, there are signs of congestion and overwhelming traffic. Do not confuse this with main street America, discussed below.

Accessibility. In relation to the system of roads that have been created is the idea that single access and cul-de-sacs means separation. City planners have decided that we don’t want to live near retail or office space, so we’ve created this illusion by allowing for single access only. Although the shopping center may be right next door, it is all too often inaccessible by walking and the user is forced to drive to the spot, which also happens to be surrounded by a sea of asphalt. Shopping and working has developed a stereotype of being large, busy, congested, and undesirable, therefore encouraging its separation from our residences.

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How to Get a Life

September 9, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

It was suggested by one of my children that I write a post that outlines my advice to the groom who is about to be married. Here is my counsel encapsulated into one sentence:

Provide physically and spiritually for your family.

I realize that most of you want a little more detail so I have prepared the following.

Get a Job

If you already have a job that’s great. A woman needs the security of a revenue stream. In college and elsewhere you may have heard people say “Work at a job you are interested in,” or “Be employed in an area that you have a passion for.” I have often thought this is like saying, “Never get sick,” or “Always be happy.” The reality is that your job will be hard, stressful, and dull. Walk around the office and see how many married men have a photograph of their family pinned up in front of them. That’s what keeps you going when all you really want to do is to pick up the computer monitor and chuck it through the window. That is, if you are lucky enough to have a window close to you.

Get Religion

There is an undeniable spiritual dimension to life. You need to be exposed to the great teachings in the scriptures and to regularly attend church. There you will be reminded to be kind and generous, to work hard and to give service, to treasure your wife and to love your children. Of course the religion I recommend is my own. You will need to know what to teach your children about their Heavenly Father. You will be able to tune in to your spiritual nature to help you find answers for yourself and your family. Your wife will appreciate your sensitivity borne of your closeness to the spirit.

Get a Home

As soon as you are able you need to purchase a home. If you are still in college you should finish your studies first. Every crop of young home buyers envy the low home prices and interest rates available to the previous generation. Once you own a home with a fixed rate mortgage the ever present inflation now begins to work for you. Each year the fixed mortgage payment becomes relatively cheaper compared to your income. Surprisingly, you even get a tax deduction which seems a little ridiculous in my opinion.

You may not want to take on such a large financial responsibility but it is a necessary step in the evolution of your family. Your wife needs a home that is her own to beautify and to welcome relatives and neighbors to. It adds to her sense of stability.

Get out of Debt

With a home you have the mother of all debts that can take a lifetime to pay off. For a modest home it is considered a justifiable debt. As would be health care expenses and education. Keep away from all other debt and if you ever refinance your mortgage do not add any new money to it for home improvement. Also consider reading this post on debt.

Get Children

At an early point in your marriage introduce children into your family. You may think that you cannot possibly support children at this time. I thought the same too, as do almost all fathers. But it all works out and years from now as your hair is graying you will be eternally grateful that you were unselfish enough to allow children to share your life.

This verse sums up my attitude towards my children:

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. (Psalms 127:4-5)

This is the most advice I have given in years and most of it I learned from listening to wise old men over the pulpit. And I have proven its validity over a lifetime of experience.

Rickety Review #1

September 8, 2008 by rickety 1 Comment

Periodically I publish the Rickety Review to summarize what I’ve learned running my blog.

Post Frequency

My first Rickety post was about my Zion Vacation and was published May 16th, 2008. It was followed by another post the same day, then one the next day and one on the 22nd. More posts followed on 26th, 29th (two), 30th, and 31st. It was near the end of May I decided to post once a day, which I have have done since. At first I wanted to see if I could actually post once a day for a month. When June was through and I had met my goal I was surprised that it was easier than I had thought but still hard. I find with a goal it needs to be either daily, weekly, or monthly. Every other day doesn’t work well because the days fall differently each week and it is hard to remember. Anyway, after a successful June I decided to keep up the daily posts. If I have two things to blog about on the same day I write the extra post but wait until the next day to publish it. If I go on vacation I write the posts ahead of time and use the WordPress auto-publisher to make them public.

Theme Changes

I replaced my original theme with one designed by Andreas Viklund. The WP-Andreas09 theme is a full width, 3 column theme with a fluid central column and comes in 14 different colors. I redesigned the theme to use one predominant color, blue, and replaced the plain color banner with 36 banner photographs that randomly change on a full refresh. Although a fluid central column makes it difficult to place photographs in the text of a post I still like the design.

Widgets

I am using five widgets on my left sidebar. The first three are the usual Search, Subscribe, and Recent Comments. A text widget allows me to add the image and link to jesuschrist.lds.org. The WP-Stat widget by Lester Chan displays my WordPress blog statistics including general total statistics.

On the right sidebar I am using seven widgets. The first two are text widgets to display my dofollow logo and a photograph of yours truly. Then the usual Blogroll, Categories, and Archives. I finish up with two more test widgets that hold the latest of my starred Google articles and various rankings.

I have played with other widgets. Some didn’t meet the XHTML 1.0 Strict standards so I eliminated them. For example, I had a poll in the sidebar for awhile but I wasn’t able to fix the code so that it would pass validation.

Plugins

I use four plugins:

Dofollow. This disables the rel=nofollow attribute in comments.
Google XML Sitemaps. Generates a sitemap which is supported Google.
WP-EMail. Allows people to recommend/send my blog’s post/page to a friend.
WP-SpamFree. An anti-spam plugin.

I have experimented with several plugins but they either were not what I expected or they didn’t meet standards. I like to keep the number of plugins to a minimum.

Pages

The DoFollow page is intended to grow a directory of DoFollow blogs. Feedback and FAQ are standard fare that need no explanation. LDS is where I am compiling statistics about the LDS faith in a compact format. This is nifty because the pages drop down to a second level. And lastly the usual About.

Summary

There is nothing new here but it does keep a record of the evolution of my blog. This is not all the changes I have made, for example, I installed Zen Photo to manage my photographs. However, I will discuss this in another Rickety Review. It appears I have stabilized for now and I am using the same processes from day to day. This greatly speeds up my writing now that I have less technical work to do. Just today I got my website approved to try Woopra Beta. It will be interesting to compare Woopra with Google Analytics in an upcoming Rickety Review. I will keep experimenting and responding to feedback to improve the blog and make it less rickety. Or is that more Rickety?

Brigham City Peach Days

September 7, 2008 by rickety 5 Comments

Peach Days banner.
Jill, Sarah, and I traveled to Brigham City yesterday for Peach Days. We were joined by Kent, Susan, Connie, Mark, Byron, and Robert. Peach days takes place the weekend after Labor day weekend. Much of the main street in the city is closed off to cars, and the festival is celebrated by a parade, a car show, a carnival, and other activities including the famous “Scuba Burger” which many Peach Day goers enjoy. In the parade were rickety fire engines no longer in service, clowns, horse and carriages, bands, floats, beauty queens, Star Wars characters, bandits, old cars, farm equipment, unicyclers, and even pioneers pulling a handcart. I was having difficult with the sun shining into my camera so I crossed the street and put it behind me. During the parade some bandits fired their guns astride their horses which made a baby in the crowd cry. The parade lasted two hours, which is the longest parade I have ever watched.

After the parade we went to the vendor area on 2nd West and bought lunch. We sat under the shade on some chairs provided by Mark’s dad and ate our food. We walked around all the booths but didn’t buy anything. There sure were a lot of people, in places it was hard to get around. Some mothers had strollers as big as eighteen wheelers which in places slowed foot traffic to a crawl. These stroller owners will have to be wary of the UTA that will want a stroller congestion tax. I came across a tank that you could go inside. The Army was out in force and a tank or howitzer or whatever it was is a good draw to help with recruitment.

I was requested in the comments a few days ago to give out more of my opinion so I will comply. What did I think of Peach Days? The main attraction for me is the parade. Recently several parades I have attended have not had very many floats which to me is the heart of a parade. Peach Days was the same, not very many floats. It takes a lot of time and effort to put one together so that is not surprising. I know when my sons helped to build a mammoth they spent a great deal of time in the construction. I believe I contributed some spare wood for the frame — it takes a mammoth amount of wood to build a hairy elephant. The parade was too long — two hours — and people were leaving before the end. I like the marching bands and any floats. Also any military hardware and anything with horses.

The rest of Peach Days I don’t care for. There is nothing in the booths I am interested in except the food. It is just glorified shopping. It was enjoyable to see others having fun so it is worth the trip for that. The young people were especially enjoying the carnival. It was great to be out in the sunshine with my family.

Peach Days Carnival

Rick by the tank

Jill enjoys her food in the shade

Retiling the Bathroom

September 6, 2008 by rickety 16 Comments

Versions prior to Internet Explorer 8 do not render the borders correctly. Try using FireFox.

The bathroom off of the master bedroom needed the rickety old linoleum floor replacing. Two of my sons volunteered to lay the tile. Follow their work in this photographic record.

	Remove Linoleum The large hole in the side of the wall was where I cut the sheetrock to find out where the shower was leaking. The smaller hole in the wall is for the toilet roll holder. The first job is to strip the linoleum. This doesn’t take very long and could be fun if you are in the right frame of mind.
	Remove Toilet Paul (left) and Daniel (right) unbolt the toilet and take it outside. We now have an outside toilet for a few days. Not to worry, we do have an operational second bathroom. After all it is America. Paul’s shirt says, “You couldn’t pay me to do this.” Correct, you won’t be paid. Daniel’s shirt says, “I hear voices and they don’t like you.” My shirt says, “Get back to work!”
	Finish Removing Linoleum The rest of the linoleum is removed. I was expecting a smell from the sewer but I was pleasantly surprised when there was none. Of course I wasn’t as close to the action as were Paul and Daniel. Occasionally I came in to take photographs — you know the important stuff.
	Remove the Subfloor Daniel works on removing the subfloor. This is a little more labor than removing the linoleum but it is soon completed. This project took several days to complete because Daniel digs post holes during the day and Paul was in college. However there were no complaints. Expert craftsman need their space.

Now it is time to stop removing and begin adding.

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Vice Presidential Questions

September 5, 2008 by rickety 6 Comments

Yesterday the question was asked by a co-worker, “If a vice president dies, how do we get a new vice president?” We racked our rickety brains but nobody knew so I researched the question and added a few more.

How is the Vice President Replaced?

The 25th amendment provides for a replacement if the vice president dies in office, resigns, or succeeds to the presidency. In the original Constitution there is no provision for selecting a replacement, so the office remained vacant until the beginning of the next presidential term. The issue arose in 1963 when Vice President Johnson succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of President Kennedy and was rectified by section 2 of the 25th Amendment.

Section 2 of the 25th Amendment provides that:

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Who was the First Vice President Selected by this Method?

After the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1973 Gerald Ford was the first vice president selected by this method. Ford then nominated Nelson Rockefeller as vice president.

When can a Vice President Become Acting President?

Sections 3 and 4 of Amendment 25 provide means for the vice president to become Acting President upon the temporary disability of the president. Section 3 deals with self declared incapacity of the president, and section 4, which has never been invoked, deals with incapacity declared by the joint action of the Vice President and of a majority of the Cabinet.

Section 3 has was invoked in 1985 when Ronald Reagan underwent surgery and twice more in 2002 and 2007 when George W. Bush underwent colonoscopy procedures requiring sedation.

Who is Eligible to be Vice President?

The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:

…no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

Unlike the president, there is no restriction of the number of terms a person can serve as vice president. To serve as vice president, an individual must be a natural born U.S. citizen no younger than 35 and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Sarah Palin may be the first woman vice president.

Is There an Oath of Office?

The United States Constitution does not specify an oath of office for the vice president. A vice presidential oath, which has been used in various forms since 1789, is also recited by Senators, Representatives and other government officers.

What are the Duties of the Vice President?

Vice presidential powers are limited by the Constitution to becoming president should the President become unable to serve and acting as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate. Informal roles of the vice president often include drafter and spokesperson for the administration’s policy, as an adviser to the president, as Chairman of the Board of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as a Member of the board of the Smithsonian Institution, and as a symbol of American concern or support. They may meet with other heads of state or attend state funerals in other countries, at times when the administration wishes to demonstrate concern or support but cannot send the President himself.

Where does the Vice President Live?

Since 1974, the official residence of the vice president and his family has been Number One Observatory Circle, on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

Has a Vice President Ever Resigned?

John C. Calhoun in 1832 to take a seat in the Senate.
Spiro Agnew in 1973 upon pleading no contest to charges of accepting bribes while governor of Maryland.

Did any Die in Office?

George Clinton in 1812.
Elbridge Gerry in 1814.
William R. King in 1853.
Henry Wilson in 1875.
Thomas Hendricks in 1885.
Garret Hobart in 1899.
James Sherman in 1912.

Were any Assassinated?

Andrew Johnson was an unsuccessful target of the same conspiracy which murdered President Abraham Lincoln.
Thomas R. Marshall was an unsuccessful target of a letter bomb in 1915.
Dick Cheney was in the vicinity of a bomb allegedly meant for him.

Which Vice Presidents Succeeded to the Presidency?

John Tyler when William Harrison died.
Millard Fillmore when Zachary Taylor died.
Andrew Johnson when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
Chester A. Arthur when James Garfield was assassinated.
Theodore Roosevelt when William McKinley was assassinated.
Calvin Coolidge when Warren Harding died.
Harry S. Truman when Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
Lyndon B. Johnson when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Gerald Ford when Richard Nixon resigned.

Have any Vice Presidents won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 (when he was the President).
Charles Gates Dawes in 1925.
Al Gore in 2007 (after he left the office).

Rickety signature.

Protect Marriage Campaign

September 4, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

Volunteers to Visit More Households

50,000 Proposition 8 volunteers have already reached more than one million households up and down the state. These incredible results were accomplished by volunteers who devoted just a few hours of their time during two consecutive weekends. We need to increase this great effort if we want to ensure that Proposition 8 passes come November. If we each do our part, we can protect and restore marriage to the traditional definition that existed before 4 liberal judges working in San Francisco changed it.

Campaign Urges Supporters to Donate

We are up against a well-funded effort to redefine marriage for our children, our families and all of society. Our opponents have already reserved millions of dollars of television advertising, and no doubt have ads ready to confuse and obscure the issues at stake. We need to reserve our own TV and radio time to counter these efforts. With just 60 days left until the November election, the Proposition 8 Campaign is requesting supporters to donate.

iProtectMarriage.com Targets the Youth Vote

In conjunction with the Pastors’ Rapid Response Network, we recently launched a Web site targeting the youth vote in California. At the iProtectMarriage.com Web site, young people in California can learn about the important issues involved in Proposition 8, and can sign up to help.

iProtectMarriage.com targets teenagers and young adults both from secular and faith backgrounds. Miles McPherson, one of Proposition 8’s key supporters and senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, says the site aims to reach out to all young voters, especially those who support same-sex marriage for the wrong reasons. McPherson, a former NFL player with the San Diego Chargers, said:

Right now they’re driven by the wrong information and a lot of emotion. They’ll say, “I don’t want to be called a bigot. I don’t want to discriminate.”

Making it clear that the Proposition 8 campaign is not “anti-gay” but pro-marriage, the site challenges its users with information in key areas: civil rights, kids, churches, education, public health, faith and society, showing that Proposition 8 is about much more than marriage alone. It shows young people how they can to take action for Proposition 8.

Paul on Politics: How to Reduce the Federal Deficit

September 3, 2008 by paul w 6 Comments

My guest writer today on the Rickety blog is my Uncle Paul. We have been talking about the deficit and I present here some of Paul’s thoughts. He characterizes them as “musings” that are subject to discussion and not his final word.

Percentage Cuts

How to reduce the Federal deficit? Lopping off a percentage across the board is one strategy and used most of the time. I don’t prefer that type of approach because it may reduce programs that are performing for us. Moreover, when we make percentage cuts, the agencies simply cut the programs that hurt the electorate the most. Then there is a hue and cry until the public pressures legislators to restore the cuts or they pass a special levy to create a new program.

Paul’s maxim takes effect: “The demand for services rises to consume all available resources.” Programs came into effect one by one. Some do furnish services we need like law enforcement — not all law enforcement programs by the way should be kept. We can do without programs like D.A.R.E. as an example.

Reduce Unnecessary Services

Therefore, reducing unnecessary services dictates an examination of each program one by one to evaluate its efficacy. And, it dictates some honesty on our legislator’s part to deal with special interests. Of course, legislators are, for the most part, elected by special interests — teachers’ unions for instance. So it is up to the voters to remove ill performing legislators. Especially professional legislators. A big step in that direction would be to remove retirement benefits from the list of legislative benefits for elected officials. Our system of liberty demands citizen participants that rotate to refresh the body politic and intellect and who want to serve the public.

To evaluate efficacy, services need to be audited by an outside source who then reports to the legislature. Here in Washington, we passed an initiative from the people to create independent audits. The legislature had to be dragged by the heels screaming and kicking like some spoiled child. Some of us worked to promote independent audits for at least ten years. Results are promising but we need more time to evaluate how it is working.

Agency Function

One year, the Republicans in the legislature, in concert with a Democratic Governor (Gary Locke), approached the problem by forcing every agency to list their functions in terms of the agency priority. Then the Governor lopped off the lowest valued programs until his budget goals were met. That worked marginally O.K. but we are still left with the fact that agencies protect themselves first which doesn’t mean the public is necessarily served well by their evaluation.

If I were the legislature, I would cause the agencies to compete for funding instead of colluding to run up all their programs. When an agency must justify itself to survive, we get more information to work with in deciding which program is performing, intended, and worth funding.