Mother Seeks Refuge from ICE in Salt Lake City Church

  Instead of boarding a flight deporting her to one of the world's most dangerous cities, a Utah mother, Vicky Chavez, turned her vehicle around and headed for a church offering sanctuary for her and her two children.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not normally seek out immigrants in sensitive locations, such as churches. One can only wonder if other immigrants will follow, and sanctuary in Salt Lake area churches will become somewhat common. 

   And one can wonder why it is mothers being caught in the federal agents' net. On Christmas night, Maria Santiago Garcia and her four children boarded an American Airlines flight for Guatemala, being forced to leave America by ICE agents. So, Chavez would have been at least the second mother deported in just more than a month, had she continued to the airport instead of reversing course and heading for sanctuary.

   Court precedence suggests offering sanctuary is not illegal, as long as the sanctuary is not hiding the immigrants by failing to disclose they are there. So, the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City and the volunteers there with Chavez and her two daughters might be safe in providing protection for the family. If ICE does come calling it will break precedence, but not be breaking any statute.

(Note: Reading further news accounts suggests that while Vicky's decision to go to the sanctuary came at the last moment, she might have made that decision before actually starting to drive towards the airport.)

Trump Trumpets Trump, but the Bells should Ring for Obama

   President Trump credits himself for lowering the Black unemployment rate to its lowest level in history. Pick up a graph of the rate, though, and notice how it has been on the decline for at least six years. It was early in Obama's presidency that the rate was reversed from climbing to falling, and it was during the Obama years that the definite majority of the decline occurred. Not giving Obama his due is not being fair.
   If one person were to push a cart a mile up hill, only to have someone step in just as the top was being approached, and say, "Hey, I'll take it from here," and push it successfully over the top, who would we give credit to? What would we think of the person who just pushed the final few yards if he were to say, "Hey, see what I just did! I pushed the cart over the top! Bless me for what I've done!"

A Leader is only as Great as his Vision, so what of Donald Trump?

  A leader is only as great as his vision. He is only as good as his ability to pinpoint what is wrong and then go about fixing those things.
  Enter Donald Trump. How does he measure, then? What of his State of the Union Address?
  Fixing the infrastructure seems a good thing. I hesitate some, but generally feel it is wise to strengthen our military. I do not like his immigration policies, including those that call for merit-based admittance. Just the same, I do wonder that if you seek to only admit high-character people, it should translate into higher-character people walking the streets of America. I see reason in not extending foreign aid to nations that are not friendly with us, though I consider that if the aid goes directly to the needy, not helping the governments, I might still favor it. I consider the economy, wondering but what he might be returning it to greatness. I don't know. Will his tax plan spur growth? Let us see. ISIS? Has it been conquered? Certainly a big victory. Lowering prescription drug prices? A wonderful goal, and if he succeeds, a wonderful thing.
  Trump perhaps takes more credit than credit is due. Still, there are a lot of positive things that have happened during his first year in office, and there remains hope that great things are yet to come.
 
 

A Man is only the Size of His Dreams, so Dream like Nobody ever has

  Dream a little dream for Salt Lake City, imagining what it could become if we went about tourism like no place has ever went about tourism before.
   Salt Lake City: Where the World Comes to Visit.
   As the tourist steps off the airplane, he walks down Welcome Row, a interactive tunnel where you touch the walls, and they respond with electronic images, swirling and exploding at the touch of your fingers. You speak to the walls and they answer. You say, "Hello," and the image of sailor, or woodsman, or astronaut, or Irishman comes alive on the wall, responding, "Welcome to Salt Lake City, me laddie. Me thinks I have never seen you before." The image then walks along with the tourist, conversing with him till they reached the luggage rack.
   Would this be a high step for artificial intelligence, or could such an interactive wall be built?
   For those not departing directly, there would be a hospitality suite, a full-wall television screen displaying the wonders of Utah - from the national parks to the the exciting offerings right near the airport.
   Yes, stretching west from the airport would be the largest tourism district ever conceived. No city has ever tried the likes. Tourism sites are scattered throughout the town, in most cities. In contrast, Salt Lake would have a massive tourism zone, stretching out mile after mile after mile. Robotic theme parks? There could be a Jurassic Park, or a park with Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, and all the fairy tale figures you would want, or a park where the bright moments in world history were played out.
  Or, all of the above.
 Imagination come to life.
  Pack in the finest of museums. Bring in the best of musicians -- both your own and those you could book from around the world. Have plays and playhouses, comedians and magicians, stores and shops with the exotic, and stores and shops with collectibles.
   Oh, yes, it would be a pricey endeavor, this, to build such a tourism zone. And, I have only discussed the half of it. But, if we were to build it, the world would come, the world would pour into our city, taking tourism to a whole new level.
   Laugh and say it is a silly thing to even consider. I say it is something that could be done. I say, a man is no bigger than the size of his dreams, so dream like no one has ever dreamed.

 
 

I Consider what Nancy Pelosi Says

A post comes across Facebook quoting Nancy Pelosi as saying, "We should only deport illegal aliens if they do something illegal."
I reply:
"I follow what she's saying, and I agree. Freedoms should not be lost unless you break a law. In this case, they are losing their freedom before a law is even broken. They are told they cannot come before they even try. I'm of a mind to say Nancy is right. Freedoms should not be taken away before a crime is committed. Ours is a nation of freedoms, and we, of all people, should be diligent in protecting them."
I pause, then re-enforce what I am saying with this:
"Freedom to migrate is a freedom until you take it away. If you are free to do it, it is a freedom. You might argue that we shouldn't give them this freedom, but I think you must concede it is a freedom until you take it away. I agree with Nancy that freedoms should not be taken way unless and until a crime is committed. As I just said, ours is a nation of freedoms, and we, of all people, should be diligent in protecting them, whether they are our own freedoms or the freedoms of others."
I think about it overnight, then add this:
  "On second thought, I think I'm wrong on guessing what Nancy Pelosi was saying. I believe the immigrants shouldn't have the freedom to migrate taken away until after they commit a crime. But, I don't think that is what she is saying. I think she is saying simply that if they don't commit a crime in the U.S., then they should not be deported. So, I and Nancy don't have the same thought, after all."

Galatians 8:1

  Perhaps no other scripture is used against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints more than Galatians 1:8. To me, though, that is a scripture that rather than testifying against the church, testifies the church is true. 
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most biblical of churches, following the Bible more completely than any other belief system I run across. Not only do its practices and doctrines more closely follow the Bible, but there are scriptures in the Bible that surely seem to be referring to the LDS faith. 
  You are probably aware of one, Rev. 14:6. "And, I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Have we any other event since the time of Christ that so fits this description, or even comes close? For, surely, if the Bible said it would happen, it must happen. Do we have anything other than the angel Moroni's visit that matches the revelation? The gospel was restored through an angel, even as the revelation said it would be.
  You might suggest the Bible also warns against an angel from heaven preaching any other gospel, and that is fine. But, it does not overrule the fact that the Bible says an angel would come, bringing the gospel. If the Bible is true, both scriptures are true, not just one. I can tell an angel did restore the gospel, even as it says in Rev. 14. That gospel is going forth unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, just as the revelation said it would. This is revelation fulfilled, scripture fulfilled. The Church of Jesus Christ has one of the most expansive missionary forces in the world, which fits with the prophecy saying the gospel would go forth to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. 
   What of Galatians 1:8, then? "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." It is worthy to note that Paul places himself and the other leaders of the church in the same category as the angel from heaven. "Though we or an angel," he says. We have no more reason to assume the angel Moroni brought a false gospel than we do to suppose Paul preached a false gospel. That Paul named the church leaders of that time in the same phrase as an angel from heaven is significant.  Even as Paul is worthy, so is the angel Moroni. And, even as Paul surely does not lead us astray, neither does the angel Moroni. Did Paul know of the angel Moroni that he should be referring to him? I only say that the angel Moroni is alluded to in Rev. 14. And, I only say that those who quote Galatians 8 say he was referring to Angel Moroni. So, it is of their own admission. 
   Galatians 8:1 seems to me more of a witness of the LDS faith, than it is a witness against it.

We Spend More Money When the Money isn't Our Own

  When we spend another person's money, we spend more than if we spend our own. That's a principle of economics.
  As our nation looks at the high price of health care, we should notice this principle at work. As long as the insurance is in place, covering the bill, we aren't careful about the expense. We should be, though, for eventually the insurance companies pass along the expense to us, charging us higher premiums.
  Is having a system based on insurance a good thing? I think we should give it thought.