Word Use of a Prophet Confirmed in This Week's Ruling

   Coming to a television or magazine near you -- I kid you not -- an ad from the tobacco companies saying something like, "We deliberately deceived you, the American public, into thinking tobacco is not nearly as harmful as it really is. Tobacco kills. Smoking kills. It kills more people than murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes and alcohol -- combined. It kills 1,200 people -- daily. Second-hand smoke, alone, kills more than 3,000 people a year."
   Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the tobacco companies must publish such an ad. 
   This will be a complete back stroke for the cigarette makers. In the past, their ads have been luring and alluring. Some have suggested their ads have been the "evils and designs . . . of conspiring men in the last days" spoken of in a prophecy given about 180 years ago by Joseph Smith.
   Conspiring men, did he say? 
   This court case confirms the use of that term, stamping it upon the tobacco companies -- for the case was brought up through a law called the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970. Those who have been saying Joseph Smith was referring to the tobacco companies, and to their ads, and to the tobacco companies being conspiring men, now have this court case to point to. In that it was brought forth through the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act, that does indicate evil, designing, and conspiring men.
  
http://hosted.a
p.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JUSTICE_TOBACCO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

UN Move Issues 'Birth Certificate' to Palestine

   The UN this week issued a birth certificate to Palestine. That is how Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas characterized the UN's upgrading of Palestine status to nonmember state.
   "Nonmember state" might not sound like much, but the significance of the UN's 138-9 vote is that Palestine is now recognized as a sovereign government in the eyes of  that body. Israel controls the West Bank and East Jerusalem (parts of Palestine), a control that is now at odds with the UN's recognition.
   The date of this decision prompts me to lift an eye. It came Thursday, Nov. 29 -- 65 years to the day after the UN voted to partition the area that was all then called Palestine into two states, one for the Jews and the other for the Arabs. In his passionate plea to the UN Thursday, Abbas said the ruling was a last chance to save the two-state solution set forth 65 years ago. 
   Bethlehem, birthplace of the Savior, is in the West Bank. The West Bank is also the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
   Israel responded quickly to the UN move, the next day announcing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews in the West Bank. The news story I saw on that had a picture of a sign put up by the Palestinians, saying, "Warning: This is illegally occupied land, State of Palestine, 29/11/12." I had never thought of it till then, but when the Arabs refer to Palestine as being occupied by Israel, they may be referring as much to the Jewish settlements as they do to Israel's control.
   I do not consider the Jews moving to Palestine to be a form of "occupation," at least, certainly not a ruling occupation. Nor do I think it should be considered illegal for the Jews to immigrate there. Perhaps I am wrong, though, and this is not part of what the Palestinians mean when they say they are suffering under an occupation.
   The Jewish settlements, though, remind me a little of another group of people considered as Israelites by some, who immigrate to a chosen land (the U.S.), only to be told they are illegal invaders. 

Let the West Bank Be an Arab Nation

If I had my way with the West Bank, I would not do the thing I would want to do.

I would like the West Bank to be part of Israel. After all, it includes Bethlehem, and I'm told it also is the historical birthplace of the Jewish people.

But, alas, 75 percent of the people in the West Bank are Muslims. I say, let a people be part of what nation they want to be part of. If they were given a chance to vote, they would vote for sovereignty, perhaps with Gaza, rather than choosing to be part of Israel.

Let them, then. Self-determination, we call it, and we believe in it, don't we?

But, I also say immigration there should not be restricted. The right of a person to move and locate where they want is a human right, to me. Let the Jews move there, even after a Palestinian state there is free from Israeli presence.

And, should the point ever be reached that the West Bank is populated more by Jews than by Arabs, take another vote and let it become part of Israel.

America is not Most Barbaric Society in History, but . . .

The 55 million abortions since Roe v. Wade probably represents the largest loss of lives any society in history has ever inflicted on its own. More, it is perhaps the largest loss of lives any society has caused, period, whether upon its own people or upon another. 

I do not think it follows that America is the most barbaric society in history, but can see how someone might justify the claim. 

Let's Not Overlook One of Greatest of Our Freedoms

We all believe in freedom. But just what are the freedoms we believe in? Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom to bear arms, the right to a fair trial, protection from searches and seizures, the right to vote, the right to own property? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

You're missing one, if you only came up with all those. The Bill of Rights actually doesn't mention the one I'm thinking of, yet it is one of the greatest of all our rights, one of the most vital of all freedoms.

I just think it interesting that we might enumerate all the freedoms we can think of, and yet skip over this one.

The right to better our lot in life.

We speak of America as being the land of opportunity. Well, it wouldn't be if we didn't have the freedom to better ourselves and our position in life. This is a freedom of degree. Most nations allow their people some degree of being able to make their lives better. The countries that provide this freedom the most are the ones that make it most likely for you to go from being a pauper to being a millionaire. 

I've always thought of that as being America. Hope it is so.

This is a freedom that comes not so much by decree, as by having mechanisms in place so people can succeed. Being able to become educated, is part of it. Having the time and resources to invent, is part of it. Being able to pick a job instead of being assigned to one, is part of it. Being able to participate in competitive sports, being able to express our talents in arts, and crafts and music, is part of it.

Indeed, the country that provides you the best shot at becoming a rock star or a sports star or a screen star, is the country providing this freedom the most. I like to think that is America.

If America is the land of opportunity, if chasing our dreams is so wonderful, and if the pursuit of happiness means more than just the right to have a smile on our face, then the freedom to better our lot in life is one of the most precious freedoms of all. It is a freedom central to being an American, yet we might not think of it if asked to enumerate our freedoms.

We can Accept it, or Change it; Which Will it be?

   "Thomas McDahley, he's a lobbyist with the National Pharmaceutical Institute. He would like to see you Tuesday."

   Rep. Huey V. Dibble jumped at the news. This was not an election year, but he could not help but thinking of how the NPI could be a campaign contributor in 2014.

   Now, me, I've never sat in a congressperson's office, as requests for meetings come in, to know if some get accepted or rejected just based on whether they are potential campaign contributors. But, it sure seems there could be a natural tendency for that.

   It seems the congressperson might have more incentive to sponsor legislation if it occurs to him or her that a potential contributor might be involved

   You already knew this. No great revelation at all. But sometimes we have to have a picture drawn for us before we stop to reflect on what is going on. This is America we live in, considered as noble a nation as ever there was. Somehow, it sure seems if there is a way keep such influence out of our government, we should. Are these improprieties? Of course they are. Do we say that is the way it is, and leave it at that, or do we find a solution and correct the problem? For it is a problem.
   Truth be told, this is something we can see is wrong, yet there is not movement, no groundswell, nothing much being done to change it. As a nation, we are accepting it, and not changing it.

   

Utah Redistricting Should be Done Without Waiting

  Brandon Mills, it is, who makes a point in a letter to the editor in the Salt Lake Tribune: Now is the time to change our way of redistricting in Utah. Change the system now. If having the legislators draw their own lines isn't as fair as having an independent commission draw the lines, then switch to an independent commission -- now.
   And, Sterling Bascom, writing in the online comments to the letter, suggests we should not wait until 2020 to change the boundaries, themselves.
   I must agree. If the lines were drawn to the benefit of the politicians, and not to benefit the voters, they were drawn wrongly. If they were drawn to the detriment of any party, or candidate, then they were drawn with malice, and not impartially.
   If injustice has been done, what do we do, wait nine years? That's nine long years. Do we wait nine long years for justice? No, if the process is flawed, correct it now. Now is the time to change the way we redistrict, so when the 2020 census is conducted, we already have in place a new system for reapportioning, one that is fair. 
   And, if we want to be fair, why wait until then do the actual redistricting? There are four elections between now and then. Why not reapportion now and have fair districting in place for each of them? If the redistricting was unfair, why suffer for four elections when it should be corrected now?
   Yes, it will take a state constitutional amendment, but if that is what it takes to right a wrong, let's do it. Let's not put off for nine years righting a wrong. If something is wrong, and you can change it before more damage is done, you should.